Nealy writes:
Help! We have six weeks to go and still do not have a name for our second daughter! She’s due on December 26th, and I’m starting to panic. :) My favorites are the older classical names, yet so many of these have become so common. I also don’t like the classic names of my generation (Amanda, Michelle, etc.) or anything that is too common.
Our first daughter is named Callie Christine, last name Landon. We both agreed and loved the name Callie – it’s a classical name yet still fairly uncommon. We’re considering the middle name Lucille because it is a family name, but are open to suggestions of this as well.
Here are some names that I like:
Ella (my husband thinks this is too common- what is your opinion?)
Evelyn (not crazy about Evie though)
Betsey (is this too 50’s???)
Clara
Emma (too common)And my husband’s top:
Brielle (sounds too “made-up” to me…)
ClareAny help would be greatly appreciated!
Name update! Nealy writes:
I would like to update you on the birth (and name choice) of our daughter from this post…Clara Lucille. Thanks so much to the help and advice of Swistle readers!
Go with Clare/Clara – it’s on both your lists. Either one could be the official name and the other a nickname.
FWIW, I have an Ella and we rarely meet other Ellas. I think it’s regional.
Betsy’s a great name – full of spunk and attitude with historical connections – Betsy Ross.
Someone wrote to Swistle with Betsy on their list, and I wholeheartedly endorsed it! Imagine my surprise when the update came back and they chose Betsy! That like hardly ever happens! I meant to comment that I was so excited that the parents went with my suggestion and I don’t think I did…
The qualities that make Betsy seem 50’s now, actually make Betsy ahead of it’s time. The Baby Name Wizard agrees with me:
“Betsy is perennially girlish. If you meet a real Betsy, though, chances are she’s not a young girl but a mom or a grandma. That disconnect has the name in fashion limbo for now [this was in 2005], but its fundamental charm will eventually bring it back.”
But I don’t want to get too enthusiastic about the name in case I have more influence than I think and the name suddenly becomes the next Emma or the next well Betsy of the 50’s. (I’m trying not to sound too egotistical here – I’m just opinionated about name, but didn’t think many people took my suggestions – until it happened.)
If you like Betsy, you may like Sally too, another name ripe for rediscovery.
I LOVE the name Betsy! I don’t think it’s 50s but more ’30s and ’40s, and even more so a name popular in Colonial America (Betsy Ross was just one of many Betsys during that time period). I just looked at Betsy in SSA records and found that the name entered the Top 200s in 1937 and remained in the 200s through 1965 when its popularity began to decline. Thus Betsy was never a Top 100 name but mildly popular for 25 years. Of course there were also many baby girls born in those years who were named Elizabeth and called Betsy.
McCalls Magazine came up with the Betsy McCall paper doll in 1951, so that may be why you associate the name Betsy with the 1950s. http://www.thebleudoor.com/betsymccallhome.htm
I recall there was a little poem about a Betsy (which I think was in McCalls); I remember the beginning of it because I liked the name Betsy so much:
There once was a girl,
had a room of her own.
Her name was
Betsy Belinda Joan.
Callie Christine and
Betsy Belinda (or Betsey Belinda)
would make a perfect sister pairing.
Regarding some other names on your lists:
BRIELLE
Usage: English (Modern)
Short form of GABRIELLE. This is also the name of towns in the Netherlands and New Jersey, though their names derive from a different source.
(behindthename.com)
So not exactly made up, but “modern” and thus not a good match with Callie.
I love Clare and Clara and especially like Clare with Callie: Callie and Clare.
Clare Lucille
Clara Lucille
Or how about Lucy as the given name: Callie and Lucy?
Betsey is cute. Not too 50s. Betsey Lucille. Callie and Betsy. I think it works for you. (I would also endorse Lucille in the first name slot, if that’s an option!)
But I wonder if Clara / Clare is the best name for you, since it’s on both lists. It IS a great name.
Good luck!
I like Betsy too! I like Clara/Clare, but I usually don’t like sibling names to start with the same letter. So I swing towards Betsy.
You might also like, June, Mae(May), Dorothy (which I love but no one else seems to), Elyse, Eliza (w/ the nn Ellie or Ella?), Cora, Ruthie, etc.
Good luck!
my favorite from your list is betsy. i know a betsy (nn for elisabeth)in her twenties and she is a complete sweetheart.
i also like clare/clara and ella.
other names you might like: joy, jane, emme (less popular than emma).
I agree with the first commenter. The fact that Clara and Clare are on both your lists make it a natural. In choosing between them, I have a slight preference for Clara, but Clare (spelled that way) is less popular and declining in popularity unlike most of the names on your list, which are rising. There’s also Claire, which might be a middle ground.
I think Betsy is super cute for young girl but I don’t see it as a teen/adult name.
Although I’m not normally one to choose a name for the nn perhaps in this case consider naming her Elisabeth or Bettina (or something), call her Betsy for now and then she has options when she’s older.
I really like Brielle but I tend towards less usual names.
Clara/Claire are pretty, or Evelyn (but I agree with you, not Evie)
Good luck!
I like both Clara and Clare, and it’s nice that it’s on both of your lists. Clara Lucille would be gorgeous!
That said, I like several of your other options, too. Betsy is very cute, and Evelyn is lovely. I also like the suggestion for Lucille/Lucy as a first name, and think it would work well with Callie.
Best of luck!
Another thought: if I were to vote right now, I’d vote for Clare — love the name and think it’s great with Callie: Callie and Clare. (My only concern would be that if you think you may have more children, that might limit you to C-names later on.)
Regarding the comment about Betsy as the name of an adult woman: as much as I love the name on a young girl, concerns about whether or not *she* would like the name as an adult deterred me from naming one of my daughters Elizabeth “Betsy”, which was a strong contender. (I have a school friend – Elizabeth Ann called Betsy, who tried on other Elizabeth nicknames when she went to college, but it was too hard to change and so she stayed with Betsy.)
Another suggestion: how about Gemma instead of Emma?
And you could look at the SSA top names for the decades of the 1880s and 1890s, when Callie was most popular (ranked 146 in the 1880s; 182 in the 1890s), for other name ideas.
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/decades/names1880s.html
Callie and Sophie
Both names work for a little girl, teen, adult. Sophie is popular, but less so than several on your list — Emma, Ella, Evelyn. And when various spellings found in the Top 1000 of Callie and of Sophie are combined, the names rank fairly close: Callie ranks 118, Sophie, 82.
Also Sophie, the French form of Sophia, is excellent with Lucille, also a French name: Sophie Lucille.
I love Betsey!
Out of all your names, Clara goes best with Lucille in the middle but I think Clare/Clara are too close to Callie really. All the Cs could get confusing!
Ella/Emma too common.
I kind of agree with you about Brielle, I think it sounds quite made up and doesn’t go well with Callie.
I like Evelyn and I like it with Callie too. If you don’t like Evie there’s always just Eve or Lyn. But if you only call her Evelyn, so will most other people. And depending on how you pronounce it there might be less nickname issues. Eh-v-lyn or Eee-v-lyn.
I think Clara is nicest out of your list. Betsy is also cute. I do think Elle is a bit too popular these days, if that is something you would be concerned about.
Some ideas:
Molly Lucille? I lik how it sounds together, it’s similar to how Callie Christine rollls off your tongue.
Trixie
Ruby
Tess
Penelope – Callie and Penny?
Lilly
Lucy
Sophia
Grace – nn Gracie
Hattie
Piper
Leonie
I first heard the name Betsy on a teenager, and I love that it’s not quite “Betty” which says “old lady” to me, and yet not trendy at all. I know another teenager and a baby named this also. It works so well.
I love Betsy Clare
How about Corrine, nickname Corrie?
someone above mentioned Penny and now I like that. Penny and Callie. Sort of rhymey but not too much.
The only Betsey I’ve known was a peer in high school. She was the most demure, level-headed, and gracious girl. Everyone adored her.
Callie and Betsey sound charming together.
Best wishes to you all!
Re-reading my first comment, I can’t believe I never considered that Callie and Sally rhyme – I can’t recommend Sally for you now… What an oversight!
For that same reason, I would discourage Callie and Clara or Callie and Clare – while great names – too similar. But Callie and Clara doesn’t sound nearly as cheesy as Callie and Sally, and since Clara does give you and your husband common ground, it is not a bad idea if you don’t plan on having any more children or you are ok with repeating the Cs.
Brielle is too modern Callie.
When I first read this, my thought was that you could repeat the alliteration with the first and middle name, like you did with Callie Christine, but I’m stuck to come up with an L name of the same style and popularity as Callie. And of course, if you are not sure you are done having kids, you may feel stuck in a pattern.
At nymbler.com I typed in Callie for an inspiration and here are the L names I got:
Lelia – really seems more modern to me…
Lottie – perfect, but perhaps more nick-name-y than you want. I consider Callie sort of nick-name-y though – but IMO Callie stands on its own better than Lottie.
Here are some other cute nickname names of that time-period that I found from Nymbler:
Dollie or Dolly
Tess or Tessie
Essie
Winnie
Elsie
I’m not sure how well these stand on their own. Some nickname names stand on their own better than others. I feel Tess stands on its own better than the others, but be forewarned, Tessa is becoming popular. That is why I didn’t suggest Sadie or Sophie for you, even though style-wise both are great with Callie.
Or here is one of my personal favorites that I had forgotten about:
Effie
Some good points above. I agree that both Sophie and Sadie are great with Callie, and yes, Sophie and Sadie are fairly popular (ranking 65 and 111). But as I noted earlier, Callie too is somewhat popular, ranking 249 with just that spelling, but in the low 100s when spellings of the name are combined. The popularity of a name wouldn’t deter me if I loved the name and it fit well with my style and my other kids’ names. Swistle has documented that popular names today aren’t being given to anywhere near the number of babies/% of babies born in a given year as was the case 30 years ago.
I adore the name Sophie, and it works for a little girl, teen, adult, unlike many end-in-ie/y names that sound somewhat childish for an adult. I think Sophie is excellent with Callie, and if you like Sophie too, I hope you’ll consider it for Callie’s little sister.
I should have checked the stats. For some reason I thought Callie was less common than it is. Usually I try to find sibling names that match in style and popularity – therefore if the first sibling has a somewhat popular name, then the second sibling should also have a somewhat popular name.
I like style and popularity to match, although when all is said and done I am the one who said in a post last year that chances are siblings won’t put each others names on their business cards, and coordinating sibling names aren’t a requirement, just ideal.
Now that I know Callie is around the same popularity-wise, Sophie and Sadie are perfect sisters for Callie.
It seems the obvious choice to see Clara and Clare on both your lists. However I wonder if it’s a case of you like it with an A and he likes it with an E and you’ll just have to agree to disagree and find another name. Besides, Callie and Clare could be a little too similar, unless you like that kind of thing. Callie and Ella seem too similar too.
Names that remind me of Clare/a:
Lara
Sara
Cara
Mara
Tara
Mary / Maryanne
Maura
Flora
Gloria
Vera
Callie also sounds to me like it is short for something from a Greek legend like Calliope or Callisto. Perhaps another Greek legend name would work well as a sibling
Penelope / Penny
Maia
Danae / Dana
Helen
Cassandra
Ariadne
Daphne
Leda
Thalia
Persephone
Selene
I was going to say how about Lara Lucille to go with Callie Christine, but then I noticed your surname starts with L as well so probably not a good idea. My personal favourite is probably Daphne.
Good luck.
What about…
– Evelyn (nn. Eve)
– Everly
Clara and Claire are really cute.
Thanks so much for letting us know what you named your new baby girl and even including a photo. Clara Lucille is darling — and love the hat! Her name is perfect for her and goes well with her sister’s name too. Congratulations to you all!