Caroline writes:
My husband and I couldn’t be more opposite when it comes to baby naming… well, in lots of things actually but identifying our child is simply the most crucial issue at this moment. He offers names based on who he knows or what famous person shares the name (i.e. our in utero nickname for this child is “Pancho” named after a 1980’s race car driver!) regardless of the ridiculousness of the name. In fact, I think he likes the idea of naming the child after someone else and I tend to avoid that entirely. I want someone to say “what a great name” when they hear of our child’s arrival but not wince or scratch their heads wondering where in the heck it came from. And I do not want a name that has been used by someone we know (even if only an acquaintance) – it’s no fun.
Our different personalities and naming preferences aren’t the only consideration. This little one is due Feb. 28th and will be little sister or brother to my daughters Regan Olivia & Reece Elizabeth. The girls are from my prior marriage – and both names were/are perfect. Although more Regan’s have popped up, both names are relatively unique in our area and I loved them paired with a older, more traditional middle name.
So, the first issue is how to come up with a name we can both LOVE. Second issue is whether we stick with the R’s – which seems a bit weird to me because they won’t share last names, former marriage, etc. On the other hand maybe we should go with the theme so none of them associate themselves as being from a different family. Ugh – husband says I’m way overthinking it! It’s his first child so I want it to be something we share, not an R name he is forced into by default!
We do have a girl name and a boy name we both like… he seems sold, but I’ve not had my Ah-ha moment with the girl name. Our last name is Schmidt.
Weston Zachary – my idea, he came around to it and he is pretty set on it now. Middle name is a must as this is after my brother who passed away.
Carson/Carsyn Rose – pretty sure I threw it out there and he instantly liked. Rose is after his mother and we both agree this shall be the middle name of a girl. I’ve read your suggestions of using Rose for a first name, but I’m not keen on that mostly because I don’t want “Rosie” and the confusion will be too difficult as his mom is living and we see them often!
Names that have been eliminated for various reasons just to give you an idea of our tastes… Sheldon (yes, he seriously loves this despite the “sh, sh – iness” with our last name); Raylin (too close to Regan, but was always his favorite girl name). I like Charlotte (but again the sh-sh sound), Kendall (but know a family with a baby Kendall), Cameryn (for a girl, but this is my niece), Mason (simply too popular).
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!
And:
About a month ago I emailed you about Baby Girl or Boy Schmidt and the drastically different ideas my husband and I have about baby naming…
Since then we’ve made progress, but I need some opinions.
First, we love the name Weston for a boy. BUT, I’m struggling with the middle name. I lost a younger brother 10 years ago and always knew if/when I had a boy his middle name would be Zachary after my brother. Husband is of course on board with this, but I also know that he always anticipated a baby boy with his middle name (which is his father’s name… wait for it… Ivo – it’s a name that appears to be native to his hometown!!). I think we should use TWO middle names, he thinks I’m ridiculous and says he’s totally agreeable to Zachary. But, I just can’t shake the feeling that this is his only child and he might regret not having a “namesake” (even if it’s shared). So, is giving a poor child 4 names to spit out unreasonable, unfair or inhumane?
Issue number two… I told you that my daughters from my first marriage are “R’s” and I was unsure of whether to continue this trend. Let’s just say that if it’s a boy I’m totally ok with Weston (or a non-R name), but my girls have said “Mommy, it has to be an R if its a girl, so she’s just like us!” How can do anything else, right? Right. Except there is only 1 R name that I’ve come across that I like/love. Renna. Before you judge, the middle name will be Rose (regardless of first name) so you have to say it all to be sure it passes muster… Renna Rose. My fear? That I’m predisposing this sweet little angel to a future in pole dancing. My friends who have been quizzed say I’m overthinking it and that’s not at all where their minds go… but once you say it…
And is it to rhymey with Regan & Reece? I really think the R will bond them and in families with stepchildren I think this is really important.
I’m due Feb. 28th and I saw you were at/near these due dates…. please help. This will be the 3rd and last for us and I had no idea how difficult it would be to name this sweet one!!
Thank you!
I can give personal-experience feedback on the two middle names issue, because my kids have two middle names and so do I. And this is my feedback: it’s not as much hassle as I’d expected. On forms where it matters (applications and registrations, for example), I try to make it very clear: writing the middle names one on top of the other on the middle name line, or even making brackets with labels “middle names” and “surname.” I chose ahead of time which name I wanted as the default (for me it’s the second of my two middle names, but for the kids its the first) if a form only let me use one name/initial, so paperwork is consistent. The hassles have been things like occasionally needing to correct a form where the information has been entered as if the second middle name is the first of two last names, or where the first middle name has been entered as if it’s a second first name, but I think that’s happened maybe four times total in the twelve years since we named our first child. AND, it hardly ever comes up: middle names show up mostly on forms and never in introductions, so he’d be Weston Schmidt when he’s saying it or writing it on his homework. It sounds to me like your reasons for using two middle names outweighs the small hassle, so I’m voting yea on that one.
About the R names. That IS pretty cute and compelling, to have the girls wanting her to have an R name. Do you think they’d settle for an R middle name? Renna Rose seems fine to me (I will probably suddenly realize what you’re alluding to and then feel very silly!), but it’s too bad Renna has the same number of letters as the other two, in addition to all three starting with Re-: I don’t think they sound so much alike, but they look alike. Regan, Reese, Renna. Well, I wrote that out to illustrate the problem, but actually that’s kind of cute. I don’t know WHAT I think! Let’s see what everyone ELSE thinks!
Name update! Caroline writes:
After all the concern about baby girl names, we needn’t have worried… We welcomed Weston Zachary Ivo Schmidt to our family on Feb. 23, 2011. He is absolutely perfect and honoring both of our families with his two middle names worked out perfectly as well! Although my husband was concerned about having mouthful of names, as soon as he held Weston he proudly called him by all FOUR names without hesitation! I’ve attached a pic of our little guy… thanks for the advice!!
I love the name Renna and think it goes fine with Rose> I don’t think of… anything bad. Maybe I’m missing something.
I like renna – but how about Riley or Rachel or romy/Rosemary or ruby? Personally i think ruby or Riley is adorable with your older daughters’ names!!
I like Renna Rose! It’s really cute!
What about
Rheia (ray-ah)
Ramsey
Raydin
Ryann
I love Renna Rose – it doesn’t give me any bad associations. And I love that your girls want a baby girl to share their initial. That’s very sweet.
Love the other suggestions… Here are a couple more if you’re not sold on Renna…
Remy
Ryann
Rowan
Rada
Ramie
Reina
Congratulations!
I think I may be missing something regarding the name Renna Rose…? I think Renna Rose is cute, and good with Regan and Reece. You’re asking if they are rhymey, and my personal answer to this is that they are ‘matchy’, they all start with ‘Re’. Some people will like it, others won’t. Once your baby is here and named, no one will question your name choice or think about matchy or rhymey.
Regarding the two mn issue for Weston, I don’t see a problem for the reasons that Swistle states. (I actually know three grown-up Ivo’s; one Portuguese, one Swiss and one Bulgarian.)
Good luck!
I think Regen, Reece, and Renna is adorable. My only hesitation (and it’s a teeny tiny one) is that Regen and Reece are very androgynous while Renna is more feminine. IF that bothers you maybe consider Riley? Otherwise I think it’s an adorable sibling name.
Maybe I’m missing something with Renna Rose? Hmmm.
I like the idea of the first name being Rose. How convenient you have a namesake with an R. I think Rose Cameryn or Rose Carsyn sound lovely.
Or you could continue with the middle name vowel too. Rose Amelia? Rose Isabel? Rose Alissa? Rose Imogene?
OR…what about giving your husband his namesake with a girl? Rose Ivo? Or if you’re not a fan give it a slight change if that would be ok with him and she could be Rose Ivy?
I think Reagen Reece and Rose sound lovely together.
Oh, and for a boy I’d go the too middle names and perhaps make Ivo the main name/intial. Or hyphenate so it’s one long name?
I think Renna Rose sounds fine, especially since you won’t be constantly calling her that but rather just Renna.
For other “R” name suggestions:
Rylan/Rilyn/Rylin/Rilynn etc etc
Rebekah
Remiah
Those are the ones that came to mind right away.
(Oh and for the record and I so glad you won’t be using Carson for a girl – To me it’s a boy name!)
I like the suggestion of two middle names for either a boy or a girl. It would be nice to get to use Ivo or Ivy, maybe even Iva. I kinda like Iva (instead of Ivy) to reduce the botanical theme if you want to use it with Rose.
Renna Rose Iva Schmidt. nice.
I really like Renna Rose and I would definitely be persuaded to use an R because of the older girls’ request. I have no idea what exactly your reference is for the pole-dancing concern. Maybe you think it sounds like rent-a-rose? In which case, I’m with your friends that you’re over-thinking it. I do think it’s good to google a potential baby name to become aware of any unsavoury association. So, I did a little google image search (with safe-search turned off, yikes) and uhm, yeah, lots of ick for *renna Rose, but not in the top results. However, the sad state of the world is, this is true for almost any woman’s name. I tried some others (Rebecca Rose, Hailey Rose, Britney Rose, Jennifer Rose, and Barbara Rose) for comparison and they all have some explicit results but not so many as *renna Rose. It wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for me but I’d understand why you might want to move on to something else.
In which case, Riley, Romy or Rowan are good fits stylistically, (though I don’t love Romy Rose or Rowan Rose), or maybe:
Ramona
Ravenna
Rhonwen
I’d never heard of Ravenna but I found it on behindthename and it reminds me of Renna. I’d pronounce it raVENNa
I would like Raven for style but it’s too close to Regan, or maybe you don’t mind.
My favourites are
Renna Schmidt. Renna Rose Iva Schmidt. Regan, Reece, and Renna
or
Ramona Schmidt. Ramona Rose Iva Schmidt. Regan, Reece, and Renna.
Good luck!
Renna is lovely! I also like Riley or Ruby.
I think Riley goes very well with Regan and Reece.
Weston Ivo Zachary sounds great!
I think having two middle names for your son is fine. It shouldn’t be confusing. He can also use two initials. Weston Z.I. Schmidt. How distinguished does that look?
When I read Reena Rose, I don’t think pole-dancer. I don’t get it; it’s not like you are naming her sweet Gypsy Rose.
If you are not having the “Ah, Ha!” moment with an “R” name, I think you should look to other letters. It seems easy to me (although I don’t have kids, so I’m guessing here) to sell this to your daughers as “Your sister has a first name that has 5-letters just like you and a middle name that starts with an R! How cool is that?”
In that vein, I’m going to suggest a few 5-letter, unique, surname-leaning names for you:
– Sonia Rose
– Blair Rose
– Devon Rose
– Ellis Rose
– Haley Rose
– Piper Rose
– Tatum Rose
Oh, OK, one suggestion that starts with an R, like you haven’t scoured those lists:
– Raina. Raina Rose.
I think Renna is a bit close to Regan and Reese but it is nice. I also like Renee/Renae, Robyn, Rincy, Rowyn, Raeka and Raney
Robyn Rose?
I have friends with a daughter named Varenna (named after a small Italian village they visited and loved). They call her Renna almost exclusively. I love both names (formal and nickname), but maybe finding a name that could be shortened to Renna would ease ease any concerns you have regarding alliteration (with Rose as the middle name) and/or other worries, by giving her a formal name to use when she gets older? Varenna Rose Schmidt has a lovely ring to it :)
I think Riley Rose would be an excellent “match” with your older daughters’ names: begins with R, androgynous, and really sweet on a third (little) sister. Yes, Riley is somewhat popular, but if it happens to be a name you really like, I’d use it anyway. (Regan and Reece, while presently less popular, aren’t ‘unique’ names either.) I don’t love Renna (sounds like Brenna without the B or a name made up to copy Jenna) and agree with your concerns about Renna Rose. It doesn’t seem to have the ‘class’ that your other girls’ names have. On the other hand, I like the androgynous quality and “y” ending of Riley with Rose.
I like Riley, and also Rhiannon with Regan and Reese.
I think the two middles in Weston Ivo Zachary sound great.
Dude, Karen is a genius! You should totally use two middle names no matter and use Iva/Ivy for a girl and Ivo for a boy. I knew an Ivo, apropos of nothing – very nice guy. Also, The Renna Iva Rose, eliminates some of that pole dancer feeling. :)
I don’t love Renna with Reese and Regan but mostly because I don’t love that it starts with RE like the other two do…I don’t know. I’m torn!
I think REgan,REese and REnna might be too matchy. (Reminds me of the series of children’s books about Swedish triplets Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka – http://www.amazon.com/Flicka-Ricka-Dicka-Dotted-Dresses/dp/0807524948).
I think it’s alright NOT to use a first name beginning with R. Baby sister will have a mn beginning with R, and that can be the link to her older sisters’ names. I’m guessing your older girls will be fine with that if you promote it in a positive way. I think you may have to compromise too much to find a not overly popular, androgynous name beginning with R that you really like for the name itself, not just because it meets your criteria and there aren’t many names that do. Too, combining another name beginning with R with Rose as the mn, seems to be what makes the entire name sound like a “pole dancer”.
I like your idea of Carson/Carsyn Rose and would suggest spelling it as Carsen. I think that would be a good match with the full names of your older girls and give your third daughter a name equally as fine as theirs. Carsen Rose is pretty and has both an androgynous and Nordic feel to it.
What about Renae? I haven’t seen that tossed around, and it flows a bit better with Regan and Reece. All very distinct R names. I disagree with another poster that it’s repetitious on the “re” sounds- Regan I hear as “ray” (unless you do pronounce it “REE-gan”)m Reece is a “ree” sound, but reNAE has the emphasis on the second syllable, avoiding any repetition. Riley goes well with the slightly androgynous name theme you’ve got going on, Robin would also work, Ripley is unusual but popped up in a search. It’s kind of fun actually- Ripley Rose. Regan, Reece and Ripley.
I think if hubby likes Raylin he might also like Raelee/Raleigh or as previously suggested Riley.
I think he should have greater say in this child’s name than your daughters, so if he isn’t sold on an R name I would drop that criteria.
I agree with the suggestion of Ramona and was going to add that one myself!
What about Roise (pronounced Rocha) as it’s the Irish for Rose and goes lovely with Rocha Renna. I went for Rocha Riley for my little girl to go with her big brothers Ruidi (Rudy) and Ruarc (Rourke).
Good luck,
Michelle,
Ireland x
What a darling baby boy! It sounds like giving him both Zachary and Ivo as his middle names was a good decision. Very nice name! Congratulations!