Bren writes:
Repeat customer here! You and your readers gave us some great naming advice in January 2009 (We chose the name Eli for our son) and I am asking for your help again. I am now pregnant with a baby girl who is due this Thanksgiving. I am becoming a bit (or a lot) panicked that Husband and I have not been able to agree on a name for our baby.
Our children’s names are Rose, Tess, and Eli. Our last name is 2 syllables, starting with a “Y” sound and ending in -er.
In my mind, this baby’s name is Jane. I love it. I think it’s sweet, classic, and goes well with our other children’s names. My husband is less than enthusiastic about it. He brings up things like “Jane Doe” and “Plain Jane”. So either he needs to see the light, or we need to come up with a name that we both can love.
Other names that I have on my list are:
Ada, Alice, Wren, Cora, MaeIt’s important to me to have a name that won’t be shortened to a nickname, as well as a name that is not currently trendy or popular. I tend to like shorter names.
My husband doesn’t seem to have a “style” of name that he likes. His suggestions come from all over the place, so it’s been difficult to even try to find some common ground. Some that he’s suggested:
Bella, Lacey, Amelia, Mattea, Ashley.The middle name will likely be a family name that will be decided once the first name is chosen.
What do you think? Any hope for us?
Thank you!!
If you like Jane but your husband is worried about Plain/Doe, there are several girl names that are nearly the same except for the vowel sound:
Jean
Joan
June
My favorite is June: Rose, Tess, Eli, and June. But I really like all three.
(There’s also Jade, but I think it lacks the sweetness/softness of your other girls’ names, and of the name Jane.)
I also love love love Cora from your list. Rose, Tess, and Cora is SO PERFECT for the three sisters: all three names SO DIFFERENT, and yet all having four letters and all very similar in style.
Name update! Bren writes:
Our little girl, Jane, made her appearance on December 3rd – a full week past her due date. She is beautiful and sweet and not a “Plain Jane” in the slightest. Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions. I think all the positive comments from your readers helped my husband see what a great name it is. Thanks again!
My first thought was Mary – but if your husband thinks Jane is plain, then he might feel the same way about Mary.
I like June the best from Swistle’s list. I feel Jean and Joan sound more plain than Jane, but that’s just my opinion.
I really like Alice from your list, but it could get shortened to Ali.
I like Cora too.
Have you considered Lucy? It sort of sounds like Lacey on your husband’s list, but has the more old-fashioned feel of your other children’s names, and it can’t be shortned, usually.
I love the names on your list, especially Alice .Rose, Tess, Eli, and Alice. LOVE! I also love Mae.
I suggest
Amy
Ida
Joy (or Joyce)
Nell
Tia
I like Joyce for you. Joyce Y__er; Rose, Tess, Eli, and Joyce.
Good luck!
I really like your naming style. I also thought of Beth, but then though Beth and Tess are too close. Lucy was a good suggestion, but maybe too popular right now? What about Shae, Leah or Bree?
I was so excited to see Wren on your list! It is a guilty pleasure name for me. We have a 1 syllabel last name that is a noun. So short FN don’t seem to flow.
I would try to get your husband to love Wren too. Wren Olivia is a name I love! Cora is lovely too
I also like Swistle’s sug. to use June or Jade! It goes so well w/ Rose, Tess and Eli.
Here are some other names to think about: Willa, Lucy, Sadie or Kate.
Drew would be cute for your daughter too.
Cora was my first thought.
I also like Grace, which is less common for a first name.
What about Claire? I like sticking with one syllable for girl names now for you. I love Jane too though, so if you can get him to see the light….I also like June and Joy
Oh, I LOVE Cora. It was on our short list for a girl. :)
Otherwise, I also really like Jane and June. Super cute.
Jane is very pretty, but if you need an alternative, I think June would be perfect! It’s short and sweet like Jane, but may have a more “dressed up” feel for your husband. I also think Joan is lovely, but it may be a bit more sober than other options on your list.
Otherwise, I like Cora or Lucy. Another name possibility that occurred to me is Thea, but I wonder if that’s slightly too close to Tess. Other suggestions: Nora, Clara/Clare, Elise, Lena, Eve, Vera.
Best of luck!
I love Cora. Love. And similarly: Nora & Clara.
We had Jane on our short list until my Aunt Jane said she HATED being “Plain Jane” growing up. But she was the last of four girls who all have very original, Scandinavian names. Jane fits much better with Tess and Rose.
i like Eve, Clara, Maggie, Cate, Jude, Alice, Ada, Mae, Maryn, and Belle for you. best of luck!
Someone suggested Clara and I think that would work well for your family. It has the sweet, old-fashioned feel of your other two daughters’ names and it’s short to boot. I’d choose it over Claire because it’s somewhat less popular. This is probably my top choice for you.
Even though Amelia, from your husband’s list, is fairly popular, it seems to fit into your family very well. I’d give it some more consideration. From your list I really like Ada and Alice.
I keep wanting to suggest Isabel even though it’s so close to Isbella, the #1 girl name in the US, which might make you want to run screaming into the woods, but hear me out. It’s my favorite variant of that name (so much cleaner and less fussy than some of the others), and it goes so well in your family and in that spelling, it’s declining in popularity, just like Rose and Tess. So, there’s my 2 cents.
Jane’s not plain; she’s classy and classic!
http://youcantcallitit.com/2008/05/19/little-black-dress/
http://appellationmountain.net/2009/02/17/name-of-the-day-jane/
Earlier this year my expecting granddaughter agonized over the name Jane because it was the ONLY name she loved for her baby girl and her husband was on board with Jane too, but their surname is one of the most ‘generic’ in the English language. (Lucky you, not to have that concern.) Emma considered several names with Jane as the middle and Chloe Jane was the name for a couple of months until she realized that she still would be *calling* her daughter JANE. I did a fair amount of research on the name Jane, and Emma, her husband, her mother (my daughter), her sisters and I just loved the name Jane more and more. So Jane she is — born in Feb. — with Violet, another family name, as her middle name.
Our Jane is 9 months old now, and ‘wears’ the name well. I just can’t recommend the name enough! ;-)
Best wishes!
I love Mae, love the suggestion of June, and love Cora.
If he likes Mattea, maybe just Tea? (Like Tay-ah). Or Bea? (“Bee”). I love Jane and don’t find it plain at all. Oh or Eve, like suggested above.
Good luck!
I think Jane or June would be perfect!
I also like Mae and Cora a lot.
Some ideas:
Rose, Tess, Eli and
– Liv
– Maeve
– Maia/Maya
– Mila
– Lynn
– Ava
– Quinn
– Lyla
– Romy
– Nina
– Nora
– Neve
– Skye
– Vera
– Isis/Iris
– Stella
– Faye
– Neva (means snow)
– Sadie
– Lara
If Jane is too plain, what about
Jayma
Jonna/Janna
Jana
Jasna
Jemma
Jenna
Oh, Stella (from the last commenter). I like Stella. Or how about Petra?
Your children’s names are wonderful. I like Mae so much that it is hard to talk about any other name. However, Joan comes in a close second because I am always saying “why doesn’t anyone name her daughter Joan?!”.
I will give one suggestion which I think fits well with your family and is not popular at all right now:
Ann or Anne.
The Clara thing is interesting. It is a name that I have liked in the past but it seems to me to be getting very popular now. I have friends who named their baby Clara even though they had an older child with a name quite similar to Clara. Also, I hear it a lot this past year. I am going to go out on a limb and predict it rocketing into the top 100 before long.
What about Rose, Tess, Eli and Britt?
Cora is perfect!
I, too, love Jane and would push hard for it if our baby-to-be weren’t signed up for a common, one-syllable last name. Also love Alice, Lucy, Clara for you.
So many wonderful suggestions already! Too bad that DH isn’t a fan of Jane, it is such a lovely name.
How about Rose, Tess, Eli AND…
Greta
Mia
Isla
Ivy
Good Luck!
PS I really like that Wren is one your list. It is quickly becoming one of my favs :)
In my area at least, June is a bit trendy in that you never heard the name and now there are newborns with it as a first or middle name. I like Jane. Or you could always go with my name – hard to shorten!
Try these names, they were all popular pre-1950, providing them with the sweet-and-simple style you seem to love (I do!)
Maisie
Estelle
Dorothy
Grace (love this)
Mable
Ella
Belle
Sadie (this might be too popular for you!)
Molly
Emma
Sophie
Ivy
Ruby
Elaine (Love it!)
Lucy
Minnie
Iris
I love the name June. We have friends who used it and they are the only people I know with a daughter named June. It is a lovely name.
I also love Wren. If our neighbors down the street hadn’t used it (again, they are the only people we know who used it), we would be seriously considering it. Everyone who meets their Wren comments on how gorgeous the name is.
I’m so glad you named your baby Jane, the name that seemed so right for this baby. I’m pleased readers of this blog helped you convince your husband that Jane is a very special name. Thanks for letting us know what you named her and including a photo of your darling Jane. Congratulations to all of your family!
Congratulations on the birth of Jane. She’s adorable!
Wonderful that you named her Jane. Love how it fits with your older children’s names, especially with the 4 letters & one syllable connection to your two older daughters!