Katie writes:
I need help with some name suggestions. My husband and I are expecting baby #2 on January 8 and have not found out the sex. We have a 3 year old girl, Lily Beth. We did not find out the sex with her either. Lily was the only girl name we could agree on and Beth is my mom and I’s middle name. Our boy name choice was Jackson Dean, but that is not an option this time around (too many Jacks around now). Will Gregory was also an option, but not so this time around. So, we’re starting at square one with Baby #2’s name.
We seem to have middle names picked out already though. If it’s a girl, the middle name will be Lane (my mother-in-law’s maiden name) and if it’s a boy it’ll be Dean (my father-in-law and husband’s middle name). Our last name is pretty standard and most names flow well with it. We tend to like kind of old-fashioned names. Some options on our list include:
Girls:
Evelyn “Evie” (I have a friend with a daughter named Evangeline who they call Evie. I’m not sure what the etiquette is on that. Would we be copying? They’d be 3 years apart in age)
Lucy (We don’t necessarily want a Lily and Lucy though. Also, Lucy Lane is a lot of L’s.)
Chloe
GracieBoys:
Everett
Grant (my dad’s cousin’s name is Grant and I’m not sure if it would be weird to use his name. We’re not particularly close and we wouldn’t be naming the baby after him, per say)So far, we just haven’t found anything that we absolutely love or that we can agree on. Most of the options listed above are names I like. My husband hasn’t contributed a lot to the lists, just vetoes what I come up with. Ha!
Thanks for any help and advice!
I think an Evelyn-Evie born three years after a Evangeline-Evie is fine. I know some people are more sensitive on this issue than others, though, so if you think your friend might mind you could feel her out by mentioning that you’re considering the name. Evelyn Lane is both pretty and strong, and is my first choice from your list.
I agree with you that Lily and Lucy is not an ideal sibling pair. Chloe and Gracie both work well with Lily, although any name that ends in an “ee” or even an “ah” sound will run together with Lane, making it sound like Elaine. That’s not really a problem since we rarely say the first and middle names together (and since Elaine is a perfectly nice name), but it’s the sort of thing I’d want to have thought of beforehand in case it WAS a problem. Gracie Lane, for example, sounds the same as Grace Elaine. Lucy Lane could sound like Loose Elaine.
Eleanor is similar to Evelyn, and you could pick between Ellie and Nora as nicknames. Eleanor Lane.
I wonder if you’d like the name Georgia? It’s one of my own favorites. Georgia Lane. (A little too much like George Elaine?)
Or Esther. I think this name is so underused. Esther Lane.
Another of my favorites in the old-fashioned section is Clara. Clara Lane. (It sounds the same as Claire Elaine, but again, I think it’s a minor issue.)
Beatrix goes exceptionally well with Lily, I think. Beatrix Lane.
I was going to try to coerce you into using the name Millicent, but then I realized that would give you a Lily and a Milly.
My first choice of your boy names is Everett. Everett Dean is terrific.
I think it’s fine to use Grant even though it’s your father’s cousin’s name. It may be a little awkward, yes, but the awkwardness will quickly pass. Grant Dean, though, seems choppy.
I also think you should reconsider Will Gregory—that’s a very good name. Or Dean Gregory? Or Dean Jackson. Lily and Dean is wonderful.
I like Milo with Lily. Milo Dean.
Or Isaac? Isaac Dean.
Name update! Katie writes:
Hi, Swistle! Thanks for posting my question and offering some suggestions. I enjoyed reading them and the comments, even if it ended up being after the fact. We had a baby boy on December 21! His name is Henry Dean and he was 6 lbs. 11 oz. Had he been a girl, the name would’ve been Maggie Lane.
Margaret Lane (nn Maggie or Greta) would be cute with Lily.
Another idea would be Madeleine. I know a lot of little girls who go by the nn Maddie but not many who go by the full name.
Maggie and Lily
Madeleine and Lily
I agree with Swistle that the -ee ending is confusing with Lane. For that reason, I’d avoid Gracie, as nice of a name as it is! I had a friend who named her daughter Emma LeAnne, and because I only heard her name spoken for several weeks, I seriously thought her name was Emily Anne. Both nice names, just confusing!
What about Margot, Phoebe (which I guess has that -ee issue, though people are unlikely to think her name is Phoeb), or Elsa?
For boys, how about Miles, Elliot, or Oliver? All sound great with Dean!
I really like Everett from your list. Everett Dean Lane. Nice. For a girl, I like Evelyn very much.
Here are some charming names you might like.
Adrian
Julius
Porter
Tobias
Walker
Adrian Dean, has a nice ring to it. Or… Tobias and Lily sounds like a nice sibling set.
Frances
Hazel
Josephine
Lena
Mathilda
Mathilda Lane. Hazel and Lily sounds nice… but perhaps it’s too wordy? How about Josephine and Lily?
I like the suggestion of Eleanor Lane for a girl. Evelyn and Chloe are also nice. I like William Dean or Everett Dean for a boy.
I love love LOVE Gracie Lane. It has the same prettiness and spunk as Lily Beth. I like that both names can be said as a double first name or on their own. It’s a great name. I really don’t think the ‘ie-Lane thing is a big deal. I like the suggestion of Dean as a first name too.
if you don’t want common (as you indicated with Jackson), don’t go with Chloe or Grace…
http://baby-names.familyeducation.com/topnames/girls/
What about my own name? Darbi. :) hee hee… Darbi Lane sounds adorable. My own in Darbi Lynn. :)
Please, please, please use Dean for a boy.
Lily and Dean sound gorgeous together
Girls:
Amelia Lane
Fiona Lane
Hannah Lane
Olivia Lane
Violet Lane
Boys:
Bradley Dean
Ezra Dean
Henry Dean
Nathan Dean
Oliver Dean
Margaret and Eleanor are beautiful! I love those suggestions best.
More ideas:
Dorothy Lane (Dot!)
Cameron Lane
Hannah Lane
Eloise Lane
For a boy:
Everett Dean is very handsome.
A few suggestions:
Wilder Dean
Edwin Dean (I’d love to see Edmund but maybe too many D’s?)
All the best to you!
I think Evelyn and Everett are great choices. I like Chloe, too.
For a boy, maybe Garrett instead of Grant? It’s similar, but skirts the cousin issue and it flows better with Dean. Or Gregory since that was in the mix already. Gregory Dean. William Dean’s nice, too. Or Wilson Dean, if you’d still like to use Will.
I like Everett and Evelyn.
I don’t think the friend’s daughter being called Evie is such a problem, especially if they are not close enough in age to be regular playmates. And not to be very negative, but how often do friends stay friends the entire span of their children’s lifetimes? It’s possible they or you may move away and rarely see each other again and you might end up kicking yourself wishing you hadn’t ruled out a great name because of that issue which turned out to not be any issue at all.
Would both Evies be pronounced the same way? Maybe if the friend pronounces it with a long /e/ (eevie), then you could pronounce your child’s name with a short /e/ (evvie) or vice versa.
My name won! (even if I suggested it long after he was already named it!) I love it!
Sorry… I’ve been reading Swistle for a while and this is the first time my favorite option was chosen. :)