Robyn writes:
I think we have picked our name, but wanted to write you and see what you (and your readers) think, or could possible give any other ideas for us! J
Our Son is Cameron Ashton Roland, will be 4 in February. Ashton was because we liked the name, but not enough to use it as his first name. Roland is after my dad.
We are now expecting our daughter in March and trying to decide on a name that we both like.
favorites are:
Grace (Gracie)
Scarlett
Charlotte
Kieraother ideas were:
Olivia
Caitlin (originally didn’t like 2 C names, now we know a little girl with this name)
Madeline
SidneyMiddle name will be Joanna (or Joanne) after my mom – she wants it to be Joanna. And the question lies with, do we have 2 middle names with her as well???
We really like Old traditional names that will be a strong name when they grow up. Also don’t want there to be 5 of them in the same class! Didn’t think like that with Cameron, just liked the strong sounded aspect of it…
What we can’t figure out is what nicknames she might be called (we aren’t ones to shorten their name) or what possible bad names could come from it once teasing starts in school.
Really looking forward to your ideas! J
About two middle names: I think it depends in part on your family plans—but that it can still go either way. If you’re stopping at two children, I think it would be nice for them to both have two middle names. If you’re planning on more children (or even if you’re not), then I think you could say the two middle name thing was a firstborn thing, and not do it for the others. Well, OR you could keep going with two middle names. You have a nice pattern set up: one name you liked but not enough to use as a first name, and one family name. If you have enough of both kinds of names to go around, it might be fun to keep going with that. For example, this baby girl could be ____ Caitlin Joanna Price.
The four finalist names all look good to me, nickname/teasing-wise. A Charlotte could be nicknamed Char or Lottie; Charlotte was the name of the spider in Charlotte’s Web, so it’s possible there could be some teasing there. A Scarlett could be nicknamed Lettie; I suppose someone mean might bring up Scar or Scarlet Letter, although surely they won’t think of the Letter thing until high school English. Grace could get references to how her actual gracefulness fails to meet the expectations set by her name. A Kiera could be nicknamed Kiki.
If you want old, traditional, and strong, Charlotte and Grace are the best two on your list. If you’re trying to avoid common names, Grace was #21 in 2008 and Charlotte was #87; however, Grace seems to have leveled off and even seems to be slightly decreasing in commonness, whereas Charlotte is still steadily rising. (Source: Social Security Administration.)
If you don’t want two C names, Grace looks to me like the best bet, and Grace Joanna Price is a beautiful name. If you don’t mind having two C names, Charlotte Joanna Price is also wonderful. Or if you want to use two middle names, maybe Grace Caitlin Joanna Price or Charlotte Sidney Joanna Price. Looking at the options, I think I prefer the names with just one middle name.
Everyone else, please weigh in on your favorite options—and can you think of any more nicknames or potential teasings?
Name update 04-22-2010! Robyn writes:
Thanks again for your (and your readers!) help!
Erica Lee Joanna was born on March 22 – and did, in fact, remain nameless for about 5 days.. Once I decided on the name, I couldn’t decide on the spelling! LOL
I have a Charlotte who has nicknamed herself “Cha-cha” pronounced “Sha-sha.” It’s super cute since she’s only 2. We have avoided Char since I don’t like the sound of that – only my husband’s grandpa seemed inclined to go in that direction. Plus, Charlotte is only 2 syllables – despite being 9 letters – so most people are willing to say the entire name without shortening.
There is potential teasing with Charlotte’s Web, but it’s considered such a classic novel that I don’t think it’s going to be very hurtful. “Oh, your name is Charlotte like the SPIDER in that . . . beloved children’s book!” ???
WOW – thank you for the detailed post for us!!
I guess I should have waited to send you an email because our list has completely changed!
Our new Favorites are:
Lauren
Avery
Erica
Olivia
With either Joanne and Joanna being the middle name.
We are also thinking of ‘Alexis’ as a middle name and then Joanna after it.
comments welcome!
thanks!!!
I like:
Avery Alexis Joanna (my favorite)
Olivia Alexis Joanna
Cameron and Avery
Cameron and Olivia
And I think you should continue with the double middle names, it can be a fun family tradition you have started!
I think Lauren is lovely. Cameron and Lauren are a great sibling set, and Lauren Alexis Joanne/a Price is not too much. I would be hesitant to put three three syllable names together, and even with Lauren I like Joanne better.
Don’t know if you are using your old list at all anymore, but I liked all of those (except Grace, Im just not a Grace fan, probably the only one) too.
I think especially if you go for Olivia, leave Alexis out, its a lot of flowy L syllables together.
Avery is my favorite from your new list. I like the combo of Avery Alexis Joanna. Good Luck!
From your new list I love Erica. Cameron and Erica. Erica Alexis Joanne. Beautiful. The Erica (Erika) I know sometimes goes by the nn Rika, which is lovely too.
Olivia is a great name, but in 2008 it was at #6, so that’s hyper popular in my book. Avery was 38, Lauren was 30, and Erica was 293. Not sure how important it is for you to avoid common names?
You new new list brings these traditional (but not so popular) names to mind: Amanda, Estelle, Juliette, Louisa, Phoebe.
Good luck!
Olivia – Of your new list, Olivia was the sixth most popular name in 2008. It seems like there would be a strong possibility of your daughter being in a class full of Olivias.
Avery – This name just recently made the transition to a girl’s name, so I’m not sure it’s the traditional name that you are seeking.
Lauren – Pretty. If you like Lauren, then how about these names:
Ellen (same ending, more traditional, less common (#672 in the rankings)),
Cailin (same ending, Gaelic like Cameron, different from the Caitlin that you know)
How about these?
Bridget (It is also Gaelic like Cameron. It has the –et sound like Charlotte or Scarlett, that you liked. It’s 394 in the rankings.) Bridget Joanne sounds nice.
Nellie, Molly (Same sort of “Gracie” feel, traditional, less common)
Just thought of one more!
Evelyn, same ending as Robyn. It has the added benefit of having the same “bird” like meaning without being weirdly obvious about it. Robyn, Cameron, Evelyn seems to go well together. Evelyn Joanna sounds nice. It’s no. 54 in the rankings.
From your “new favorites” list I like Olivia best. From the old list Grace and Charlotte.
Olivia Alexis Joanna Price
Grace Alexis Joanna Price
Charlotte Alexis Joanna Price
If you don’t use Alexis for the middle, how about:
Olivia Alexandra Joanne Price
Olivia Eve Joanna Price
Olivia Meredith Joanna Price
Olivia Grace Joanna Price
Olivia Charlotte Joanna Price
I really like —– Alexis Joanna Price. My favourite is Lauren.
Lauren Alexis Joanna Price.
Somethings that come to mind.
– Cameron is a unisex name (sounds like Camryn), so I would avoid another unisex name for a girl. There goes Avery. But by no means is this how everyone feels about the matter. I don’t recall, Swistle, have you done a naming issue post with unisex names in sibsets?
– I don’t usually like the sound of a name that ends with A followed by one that starts with A but it kinda works with Alexis and the A endings sound great with Price. So I like Joanna better than Joanne in third spot. But I still think that Lauren Alexis Joanna Price is the nicest. Maybe even Lorena or Laura?
Lorena Price. Lorena Alexis Joanna Price.
Laura Price. Laura Alexis Joanna Price.
– I’m sorry to see Scarlett off the list.
Scarlett Alexis Joanna Price. Olivia Scarlett Joanna Price.
Scarlett Avery Joanna Price.
Grace Price is a little choppy-sounding to me. I love Charlotte!
Karen L.- Hm, no, I don’t think I ever have, and it’s a good point. If I remember right, Rosenkrantz & Satran (Beyond Jennifer & Jason) recommend pairing a unisex name with a strongly-gendered sibling name: Cameron and Alyssa, Camryn and Robert.
Anonymous- Good point, and I hadn’t thought of it. Yes, Grace Price isn’t quite right, is it?
I love Lauren and Olivia. From your old list, I loved Charlotte.
It may be telling that Olivia is the only name that lasted from your original email to your new list — perhaps that’s a very real contender for you then? It is very popular right now, maybe that’s your hesitation? I wouldn’t worry so much though about popularity — I’ve grown up as a Stephanie, born in 1985 with about a billion other Stephanie’s (including TWO of my best friends). I actually love having a well-known/popular name — it is always pronounced and spelled right, it never takes someone by surprise.
Also — just because Olivia is popular on the list of top baby names, doesn’t mean there are tons of Olivia’s in your neighbourhood/school district — so you could still be okay.
I love Olivia Joanna Price; I don’t think you NEED to do the two middle names, but it’s not a bad idea to go for it (I too love the idea of your second favourite name going second, like you did with the name Ashton — keeping the pattern to the names).
If you like Lauren, I want to encourage you to consider Laura. Laura is actually more established and less common than Lauren. Although Lauren has sort of become a modern classic along the lines of Allison and Megan, and therefore I consider both Lauren and Laura traditional.
But Laura is quite a fascinating name. It was last popular around the 70’s, but in no way is it dated, and before the 70’s it was last popular around the late 19th century around the same time current favorites Emma and Sophia were popular.
Since names recycle, in a way Laura was ahead of its time in the 70’s, and would fit in right now. I’m not the first to notice this. The author of The Baby Name Wizard, who happens to be named Laura, pointed this out on her blog once. I don’t have time to search for the post.
The suggestion of Laura as an alternative to Lauren made me think of Laurel, my favorite alternative to Lauren (not that there’s anything wrong with Lauren).
Laurel Olivia Price is lovely.
About the middle names: I have three siblings and two of us have two middle names and two of us only have one middle name and I had never really thought about it until…just now. If you have two middle names that you really like, use them – if not, then don’t stress about finding that extra name.
It seems you really like Olivia, it made it to your second list! I think I wouldn’t stress TOO much about popularity if you really love the name. I have a name that is pretty uncommon in the U.S. and STILL ended up having two other girls in my class with the same name! So you just never know. Go with the names you love :-)
From your new list I think Erica is the best. It is a beautiful name.
It has a strong sound like Cameron and it is traditional and yet not too popular.
It also is a name that ages well from a young girl to a woman.
Second choice would be Lauren another modern strong classic.
Both Olivia and Avery seem to be trendy and Avery does not seem traditonal for a girl.
I guess this isn’t really relevant anymore, but in case you come back to the name Charlotte, I want to mention that Charlie is a common nickname for it. I personally think Charlie is a DARLING nickname for a girl – but you may not. Just something to keep in mind!
I also want to second that I think Grace Price is a bit choppy. Grace might be another middle name possibility, though. Olivia Grace Joanna Price, maybe? :)
Ooooh StephLove, LOVE the suggestion of Laurel! Laurel Olivia Price IS a lovely name. I vote for that! I really like Laurel with Cameron too!