Britney writes:
So, here’s my information.
Due Date: March 11th, 2011
Baby: Girl
Surname: Burch
“Rules”: My husband & I love names that are not very common (certainly not trendy!) but are also very easy to read or pronounce without getting wrong. We also aren’t interested in any names starting with the letter “B” since both of us have “B” names & we don’t want to continue the alliterations any further.My husband & I are stuck on what to name our little girl. We’ve picked & finalized a name for a boy that we LOVE and that is Hayes. Hayes Cameron to be specific. They are both Irish surnames from my husband’s side & we like that Hayes had meaning to us, plus it fits within our “rules” that we formulated. This is our first child, however, and since it’s a girl we don’t know for sure that we’ll be using Hayes in the future but I suspect we will.
Names we’ve liked but eliminated for a variety of reasons:
Layla – My husband’s favorite which I really liked until I found it’s become too popular. I don’t want any name in the Top 50 and Layla is still climbing at #45…
Kaylee – Another favorite of my husband’s. I’ve eliminated for much the same reason as Layla.
Chloe – I LOVE the sound of this & my husband liked it but once again, too popular.
Kylie – Same problem
McKenna – We both love it, but we had a friend name her child this recently so that’s pretty much out.
Vivienne – One of my favorites but my husband doesn’t like it. I think he feels it’s not “cute” enough but that’s just my take.Names we’re still considering:
Jocelyn – I picked this & I like it a lot, maybe nickname of “Jocee”. My husband is still deciding on this one.
Kingsley – I really like this & I haven’t run it past my husband yet.With all these names we’re pretty open to middle names. Grace has stuck out as a very pretty & appropriate middle name. I’m just throwing that out there in case you can use that. Middle names aren’t very important to me, I’m just as apt not to even write down a middle name. We only picked a middle name for our boy name because it’s my husband’s middle name & he wants to pass that along.
Thanks so much for any help you can provide! I honestly can’t believe I’m one of those people that doesn’t have a name. I thought for YEARS growing up that I’d name my little girl Kylie after my favorite singer Kylie Minogue but even that has become popular 15+ years after I fell in love with it. It’s getting harder & harder to be “original” without being weird. =)
One of the most common problems in baby naming is that most of us like the same names at the same time. And if your tastes in names are fashionable (which I just mentioned in another post shouldn’t be considered negative, any more than it’s considered negative to have fashionable tastes in clothing), it’s a struggle for me to understand why you’d choose a name you like less for no other reason than an arbitrary popularity-rank cut-off line. Other girls who wanted to name their daughters after Kylie Minogue are going right ahead and doing it (the name immediately started getting more popular the very year after Kylie Minogue started her career, not 15 years later), so why should you be the one to give up a name you love? Even combining it with the spelling Kiley, it’s a name given to only one quarter of 1% of baby girls, and it seems to be holding steady rather than rising. Is that really so popular you can’t use it?
I do get it, though: I have my own arbitrary naming preferences, as do we all—I just get frustrated at the thought of someone crossing off their favorite names when they don’t have to.
If you want something less common, I suggest Kinsley or Kinley or instead of Kingsley: the boy name Kingston and the word “King” both make the name Kingsley seem boyish to me.
If you like Chloe, I suggest Cleo: exact same sounds in a different order, yet Cleo is not even in the Top 1000 while Chloe is #9.
If you like Kylie and Kayla and Kaylee, maybe you’d like Kaia or Keely or Kira or Kyra or Kyla or Kalliopi or Karis or Karly.
If you like McKenna, maybe you’d like Kiana or McKay or McKinley or Macy.
I know a little girl named Keelin (not sure how it’s spelled- Kielen? Keylan?), and my cousin’s middle name is Kaylynn (her spelling is family names Kay and Lynn combined). Alternatives to Kaylie/Kylie?
Also, you don’t hear Layla much due to Lila and Lily being the more popular names, so it seems like it’s a much safer choice than, say, Vivienne, which fits in nicely with the “old people” name revival. That said, I know a Viva and a Fifi that are nicknames for Vivian/Vivienne- would either of those nicknames be cute enough for your husband?
I was going to suggest Cleo / Clio / Clea as a substitute for Chloe as well.
Do you like Zoe? Same sounds, plus it’s on a downward trend.
Since you have an affinity for Irish names, you might like Kiera.
Good luck!
Kylene, Makaela, Kiera, Cassie, Cailyn, Kinsley, Kendra
I like swistle’s suggestion of Kyra, Kaia, Kiana or Carys.
I really like Kailey. Kailey Sophia Burch.
For future sibsets: Hayes and Carys, Hayes and Kyra, Hayes and Layla, Hayes and Kiera all sound lovely!
Congrats and good luck!
I know a grown man named Kingsley so I would not use that. I do like the suggestion of Kinsley though.
Maybe Ainsley would work for you? I know a little girl named Kennedy, and that could work too. I know you love Hayes Cameron for a boy, but Cameron could work on a girl too and it could be a sweet homage to your husband.
At the end of the day though, I think you should just use Kylie. Even though I hear about it being used a lot, I don’t know anyone actually named Kylie. And you love it!
Good luck!
I know a woman named Hayes and I think it’s a fabulous girls name, too. Granted, I know a couple of little boys named Hayes/Hays so it’s probably used more often as a boy name. But you could pull it off for a girl if you really wanted to!
I love the suggestion of Kaia – that was on my list! If you like you could make it longer by choosing Makaia/Mikaia which has the same feeling to me as McKenna.
Kingsley makes me think of Kinley or Tenley, which are slightly more feminine.
Trista
Keanna
Keelin
Taven
My favourite was Kaia/Mikaia
And I think if you head-over-heels LOVE a popular name then you should go ahead and use it. (But if you don’t absolutely love it then go for something else!)
And Grace for a middle name is very pretty!
I see you’re considering the name Jocelyn.
For what it’s worth, that’s my name and I love it. It’s pretty steady in popularity (not too common) and I get compliments on it all the time.
I also like Swistle’s suggestion of Cleo.
What about Kyler or Kyla nn Kylie?
If McKenna is out, what about simply Kenna? Or Kendall would be cute too.
Another idea that combines the soft “l” sound and is very pretty is Melanie. It’s common enough to be spelled correctly, but never reached the point of oversaturation like Melissa did.
I like Jocelyn and I think Cleo, Keely and Kendall are good suggestions. How about Aine, Deirdre, Rhiannon or Siobhan? Those aren’t all Irish, but they’re Celtic.
I went to school with a Kenzi and a Kinsley- both girls.
Mallory
Kieran
I’m going to second/third/whatever number I am the name her what you love!
My word verification reminded me of Rayna..probably not close but…
Layla is in the top 50, but Lila is #168 making it far less common than Layla.
You have some great ideas from these comments so far.
What about
Kinnie
Krista
Kirstie
McKinley
Cara
I agree Kingsley sounds very much boy. We have a Kinley and have found it to be the best name for our daughter. We thought it sounded like a happy person, and that she is! We get lots of compliments and have only ‘heard of’ one other Kinley where we live. Kinsley or Kinsey is a nice alternative, too.
I’m expecting my 3rd now and do not know if the baby is a boy or girl. Hayes is on our short list for a boy :)
Anonymous: Layla is more popular than Lila?? Really? Huh. I’ve never met a Layla yet, but have known and heard of quite a few Lilas (upwards of 10, actually!) in the various US states in which I’ve lived. Maybe they’re nicknames? Guess I should have checked the actual STATS (although I really thought I saw Lila higher than Layla before) instead of assumed just based on how popular a name SEEMS because I hear it more! Sorry! :)
I love the suggestions of Kensie, Kensley and Kinley! I know two girls with Mc- names that actually drop the Mc- and just go by the last part (ex: McLorne to just Lorne). They say it’s just less confusing because with the full name, people think it’s their surname or something.
Love your list.
You have some of the same top contenders and criteria that I had on my list. Here are some of the others I loved, including my girls’ names;
Phoebe
Marlo
Daphne
Violet
I also love the suggestion of Ainsley, but it’s not as obvious of a spelling/pronunciation as some of the others on your list.
I think Mikayla would be perfect for you. (Or the more traditional spelling Michaela if you like.)
Its a great blend of Kaylee, Kylie, Layla and McKenna. Plus, its been declining in popularity the last 5 years to its current rank of 179.
Kendall?
Here are some names that are reminding me of your style:
Alexa
Marissa
Kira
Lilia
Ayla
Julianne
Riley
Caitlin
Avery
I immediately thought of Keely.
I just checked the stats and it ranks at 933 and has been going down the past 15 years.
Plus according to Behind the Name it is an Irish Surname.
i vote for kinley…love it!
Cute names are just that: cute on a little girl, but not always what a grown woman would prefer to be called. I think you could have both if you named your daughter Vivienne and called her Vivi — plus you’d have a name that is not even in the Top 1000 and yet is a known name, easily pronounced and spelled. (Vivian — English spelling – is in the Top 1000, but only at #164; I think Vivienne has a special appeal and charm and would use that spelling too.) Try “Vivi” with your husband and maybe he’ll see what a cute name it is.
Cute little names beginning with the K sound and ending with the ‘ee’ sound are very popular and often confused by others, especially Kaylee and Kylie. Below are all the spellings of Chloe, Kaylee and Kylie (from your list) — rank when spellings are combined; most popular spelling, followed by other spellings and the number of baby girls given each spelling in 2009:
9 – 15,466 Chloe 11,785 Khloe 3,418 Kloe 263
12 – 13,237 Kaylee 7,163 Kayleigh 1,433 Caylee 1,235 Kailey 990 Kaylie 923 Kaleigh 470 Kailee 451 Caleigh 287 Kayley 285
37 – 8,433 Kylie 4,339 Kylee 2,162 Kyleigh 1,047 Kiley 885
Keely has also been suggested, and that name is used far less than those above:
606 – 284 Keely 284
But I think a girl called Keely would often be mistakenly called Kylee or Kaylee.
In order to have a name that’s not a variation of a trendy theme, you would need to find a name that’s NOT similar to one of the above. I’ve read that little L-names are also becoming very popular, so you might want to be careful choosing names that sound close to Layla too. It seems that a name along the lines of Vivienne “Vivi” would best meet your preferences.
http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/2009xx.html
My name is Korie and I’m a girl. I’ve loved it and it fits what you’re looking for. K and an ie/y ending.
Also if you really like a V name with an ie/y ending. Our first born daughters name is Velzy. It’s a surname we used for her first name.
I like Lindley or Linley.
Maybe Gelsey (as in the ballerina Gelsey Kirkland) might appeal to you?
I think Jocelyn is really pretty and is one of my favorites.
I second the nickname Vivi, which is great for a girl and still gives a more adult option (Vivienne). I have a “cute” name and sometimes wonder if people take me seriously as an adult/in my career.
What about:
Caya
Calla
Jasmine
Leonie
Shae
Janae
Adeline
Clarissa
Clary
Carly
Catriona
Cleone
I love the suggestion of Cleo i think its a really pretty name and very different!
Cleo Grace sounds lovely!