Tara writes:
We are looking to name child #2, sex unknown, due September 30th. We have one daughter named Madeline Claire. For girl names we tend to like more of the timeless/elegant/classic names. If it’s a girl I really want our first and second daughters names to go together. For boys we tend to go more for an all boy kind of name. I am not as concerned with the styles of boy and girl matching each other, but I do want the names to sound good together. As for popularity; I don’t really want a top 10 where the child will have 3 others having the same name in their classroom. We live in a smaller town where trends arrive later so a name that is projected to rise is not as big of a concern for me.
For girls:
–Kate: I love this name and wanted to use it for our first daughter. My husband thinks that it’s too bland to stand up next to Madeline
–Ella: My husband loves this name; it would be his first pick. I like the name, but I fear that it’s too popular.
–Gabby: We both like this name. We would probably name her a longer version and then call her the nickname. The concern: we don’t call Madeline “Maddy” as a nickname but I do hear it from some friends and family so I worry about having a Maddy and a Gabby.
–Lucy: We both like but also worry about it sounding good with Madeline and getting too popular.
–Grace: Same worries as with Lucy. (Have considered using as a middle name)
–Arden: I really like this name, but not sure if it really goes with the style of the other names on our list. I want the name to definitely be a girl name and think this may be one of the in between names that could be used for both sexesFor boys:
We don’t really have top names for a boy. If our first child had been a boy the top contenders where: Miles, Griffin, Cole, Heath, and Cooper. But none of those names would work now for various reasons. Other names on the list are:
Reid, Jack, Grant, Blake, Brent, Mack, Will
I also love the idea of using a surname but haven’t found one that is not being used by friends/family that I like.Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.
If you haven’t found Madeline too popular, I suspect you’d find Lucy perfectly appealing. Lucy Arden sounds like a great sister for Madeline Claire.
Katharine or Katrina nicknamed Kate sounds like Madeline’s sister, but I’m not sure that Kate and Madeline sound quite right together – it feels like Kate is missing something. (Though normally I think she’s fine on her own – just not with a sister with a longer name.)
If you like Will and like the idea of a surname, would you consider Wilson, Wiley or Wilkie?
I can’t imagine Madeline and Mack as a sibset – they feel mismatched. And Jack is wildly popular. But Reid and Grant seem to meet your other criteria, and fit with Lucy and Madeline.
For girls, as much as I love Kate, I think I agree with Abby that it doesn’t quite fit with Madeline. A few names that come to mind are Caroline, Evelyn and Jocelyn, though after a bit of thought it sounds like I’m going with the -lin trend. Still solid names, though. I also like Eleanor and Cecelia.
For boys, I like Reid and Grant from your list. Other suggestions – Garrett, Preston, Nathaniel.
Caroline (pronounced with a long “i”)would be a cute sibling name–on paper they look similar, but when said aloud, they have very different sounds.
Your girl choices are very similar to my sister’s taste (she wants a Madeline, Lucy, or Grace) so I’ll make a suggestion from her list:
Anneliese
Lily
Katelyn
For boys I love Reid, Grant, and Will.
I work in a preschool in a smallish college town and have come across a few Jacks, Miles’ and Coles but your other choices have a good chance of being less common.
I love Kate too. I don’t see it as bland, but as a strong, spunky girl’s name. I think Madeline and Kate sound fine together, but maybe Kate should have a longer name to balance the two names? Katharine “Kate” sounds very strong to me . With that spelling, the 3-syllable pronunciation of Katharine can be emphasized, and thus Madeline and Katharine. From your list, I would pair Katharine with Grace.
Madeline Claire
Katharine Grace “Kate”
Or you could name her Kate and give her a longer middle name, so her name coordinates with Madeline in an opposite first and middle name pattern, eg. Kate Elizabeth.
Madeline Claire
Kate Elizabeth
There are other 3-4 syllable names you could choose if Elizabeth isn’t a favorite of yours.
With Madeline Claire, I also like Lucy Catherine. Lucy isn’t in the top 100 (ranks 101), so it’s less popular than Madeline(64). I don’t see Lucy becoming a top 10 name. (The names on your list that are currently the most popular are Ella (14) and Grace (17).)
From your boys’ names list, I especially like Will (William) with Madeline. I’ve also seen Alexander paired with Madeline.
Other suggestions:
Nathaniel “Nate”
Gabriel “Gabe”
Best wishes!
Some further thoughts:
Catherine or Catrina both lead to “Cate”. Maybe your husband would find Cate less bland that Kate? You could even give her a middle name beginning with M in a reversal of your older daughter’s initials:
Madeline Claire
Catherine Maeve “Cate”
Or how about Madeline and Catrina (Cate)?
Madeline Claire
Catrina Jane
or
Catrina Grace
Since we don’t know your surname, it’s impossible to tell which names would go best with it. Could you let us know something about your surname in the comments? Perhaps number of syllables, if it’s strongly ethnic, and/or a name similar to it [eg. Black could be used to represent Brown or “3-syllable Italian name with accent on the first syllable” or strongly Germanic name — something along that line].
Madeline Claire
Catherine Marie
Both full names have French connections, plus the reversed initials.
Madeline and Cate
I LOVE Lucy and Kate and think they both stand up with Madeline. If you want something more formal, maybe go with Catherine (“Cate” or “Kate”) and Lucia. I like all your girl names!
I know one Reid, and I never understood why the name was not more used. I don’t know what middles you are considering, but maybe Reid with one of your top contenders from last time or a family name. Sterling could be a cool middle name, slightly edgier than your naming style which makes it fun for a middle name and has the surname-thing going for it. Another surname as a first name that I don’t hear so often: Clinton. Good luck!
I like Kate for you, perhaps a longer giver given name that would lead to the nn Kate would be the solution. Katherine or Kathleen? I’d go with Kathleen to give a non -ine ending. Kathleen Grace; Madeline and Kathleen.
Or how about Lucille for Lucy? It has French roots like Madeline, and has a modern spunky sound. Lucille Arden; Madeline and Lucille.
For a boy, William would give you Will; Madeline and William.
Jackson for Jack; Madeline and Jackson.
(those are the two from your list that I like with Madeline.)
Or:
Graham; Madeline and Graham
Oliver; Madeline and Oliver
Good luck!
I like Ella, Lucy and Grace for you. If popularity is a concern, of those three I’d go with Lucy.
From your boy list I like Blake, Grant and Reid, especially Blake.
My suggestions are Alice, Charlotte or Elise for a girl and Adam or Garrett for a boy.
I suggest Emmeline/Emmaline. It rhymes with Madeline (I’m saying it Mad-a-lynn, though I know some people say Mad-a-line). They both have a cute, well-known nickname (Maddy and Emme/Emma), but you guys can stick with calling them Madeline and Emmeline. Emma is close to Ella, which is on your list.
However, it might be too matchy-matchy for you. Some other girl names to consider:
Victoria Grace. Madeline and Victoria, Maddy and Tory.
Dorothy Arden. Maddy and Dory. (Yes, there is a fish named Dory, so maybe not!)
Matilda Arden. Madeline and Matilda. Maddie and Tilly. Matilda Grace is quite pretty.
What about Lucille instead of Lucy? Lucia? (I’m saying it Loo-see-a).
For boys, I really like the name Reid. On a recent post, Reid came up, and I suggested Reve, which is an unusual but not crazy name.
Madeline and Reid. Madeline and Reve.
Jack is a sentimental fave of mine. However, I think having such a short name for your son would only encourage people to shorten Madeline’s name, which you don’t do. Jackson is a surname, easily shortened to Jack. Madeline and Jackson/Jack. Will has the same issue. Madeline and William/Will.
I’m going to throw Henry out there. It’s an “all boy” name without an obvious nickname. Madeline and Henry. Of course, you might get a few people who call him Hank, but it seems like fewer and fewer people know that Hank is a nn for Henry.
I like Caroline, Kate, Evelyn, Lucy, or Eloise for you. Emmaline would be great, too. (I’m not sure if you pronounce Madeline with -lynn or -line)but that would be cute with Caroline or Emmaline. Also, Emilin is one of my favorite names that might fit with your style. Whatever you pick, you already have some beautiful suggestions. Best of luck!!
Right away I thought of Meredith Kate for your little girl. Audrey is another lovely name. I like Lucy the best from your list.
Finley is a great boys name and seem to suit your style and Rhys might too. From your list I like Reid and and Will the best.
Madeline Claire and Meredith Kate
Madeline Claire and Audrey Grace, Audrey Paige
Madeline Claire and Lucy Elisabeth
Madeline and Will
Madeline and Rhys
MAdeline and Finley
Oh! Boy names!! I forgot.
Harris
Miles
Grayson
Cole
Heath
Grant
Mack
Reid
Judson
Owen
are my faves for you. Will, in my opinion is terrribly over-used.
I’m sure you must have thought of it already, but how about Gabriella? It gives you both the Gabby and Ella nicknames that you like. Madeline and Gabriella.
I like the suggestions for Katelyn, Katherine or Kathleen for Kate. Guess it depends on whether you pronounce your daughters name Mada-lyn or Mada-line.
From your boys names I like Reid most but like the sound of Madeline and Grant together.
How about Clark for a boy?
I, too, like the suggestion of Catherine (with the nickname of Cate). Other girl names for your consideration:
Giselle (nickname of Ella or Gigi)
Lillian (nickname of Lilly)
Victoria (good idea, Alison) (nickname of Tori)
Clarissa (nickname of Rissa)
Joscelyn (nickname of Jolie or Josie)
On to the boys! I seems like you gravitate toward strong, single syllable, masculine names.
What are your thoughts about:
Anderson
Rafe
Marshall
Dirk
Murphy
Williamson
Brown
Drake
Watson
Bradford
Carson
Wishing your growing family the best!
I think that if it is a boy, you should name him Mordecai Roy. If it’s a girl, you should name her Cleo.
Katelyn or Caitlin probably go better with Madeline and you can use the nickname Kate/Cate if you like.
For boys how about Elliot, Sebastian, Luke …
A couple more ideas for a girl: Francesca or Susannah.
Just ran across this after watching the movie ‘Madeline’. Wondering if you had another girl or your first boy. Then the second question is: What name did you choose?