Heidi writes:
So we are having a bit of a dilemma. Its the age old theme, our first two children have names starting with the same letter and now that we are expecting our third should we continue with this unintentional trend?
Let me explain:
My name is Hyacinthe, nn Heidi and my husbands is Joel the youngest of 5, all beginning with J. Our 3 year old daughter is Lela Grace ( Lee-lah) and our 1 year old son is Lennox Joel. From the moment I knew I was pregnant with my daughter, she was our Lela Grace. I never even considered other names, never opened a baby name book, never thought about the fact she could have been a boy.Then we found out we were pregnant and having a boy this time around and we can’t agree on any names whatsoever. I jokingly call him “Lennox Lewis” the entire pregnancy since I started feeling him move before I was even 3 months along and he never stopped kicking or punching. So the name we had picked out was Carter Joel ( we both felt meh about it but neither of us hated it) and then he was born and we looked at each other and said, he is definitely a Lennox, so it stuck and we have nicknamed him Knox.
And now we are expecting again and we can’t agree on any names at all. My husband really likes Lorelai Joy if we have another girl and I am leaning towards Beatrix Ruby, nn Trixie but we aren’t really sure about either. Boy names we have none…I told him I would name the boy Huckleberry Malachi if he doesn’t keep vetoing all my choices and not giving me any of his ideas! Joel prefers nontraditional names as he was always Joel M. through school and I obviously have a very unusual name!
Any suggestions? We are open to any name ideas that would sound good with Lela and Lennox.
Thanks!!!!
I’ll answer your more general question first. If you have two children whose names start with L, this is your Deciding Moment: there’s almost no pressure to use an L name after only two, but there’s significant pressure after three. If you DO plan to have more children, this would incline me toward helping you find non-L names now. I think I would avoid Lorelei in any case: Lela and Lorelei is so much L.
It’s hard to find names without knowing the surname, but the section of The Baby Name Wizard I’d turn to first is Exotic Traditionals: both Lorelei and Beatrix are in there. Your joking middle-name choice of Malachi would be a really good first name, I think: Lela, Lennox, and Malachi. I also like Aidric: Lela, Lennox, and Aidric. For girls I like Imogen and Averil. Isis from this section makes me think of Iris.
I think for boys I might then turn to the Last Names First section: Archer, Baxter, Darwin, Forrest, Miller, Patten, Redford, Tillman, Turner.
For girls I might try the Short and Sweet section: Calla would be nice because its L sound ties it in to the other names. Or Cleo or Esme.
Or for both, I might look around in the Why Not? section, which has Beatrix and Lorelei as well as Lennox, plus Archer, Calla, Cleo, Esme, Forrest, and Turner. I like Cecily, Coraline, Elodie, Penelope, Willa for girls; Clark, Keane, Malcolm, Ruben, Shepard, and Wilson. Ruben makes me think of another possibility: Rufus.
I think repeating L-names can be more of a tongue twister when said together than J-names, like your husband’s parents used. Too, it sounds like you’re not calling your son Lennox but mostly Knox. So I’d probably look for a name that fits with Lela and Knox (Lennox), but doesn’t begin with either L or the N-sound.
I like Miller, Carter, Reid and Archer for a boy and Cleo, Willa,Violet, Everly, or Chloe for a girl.
Love the names Lela and Lennox!
Best of Luck!
And no I don’t think you need to have an L name for this baby. You could look for a H or J name after you and your husband.
Holly or Jillian, Josie, Hattie, Julian, Hayden, Julia, Jonah.
Julia and Jonah flow well with Lela and Lennox.
I agree with Patricia- if you’re calling Lennox by Knox most of the time, then you don’t have an L sound for both kids, really. You could choose to do the same for this child- give her a formal L name that nicknames into a name you’ll call him/her predominately. If you want to keep up the L theme, that is (ex: Lysander into Andy). Or vice versa: choose a different formal name that nnicknames into an L (ex: Ophelia into Lia).
Esme and Elodie are beautiful choices, though, for girls. Swistle (or anyone else): how is Elodie pronounced? El-OH-dee or EL-uh-dee? I’d also suggest Amalia, Viola (pronounced “VY-lah” rather than “vee-OH-luh”), Elena or Eleanore (the nickname Nora is adorable), or Everly/Yvette (Evie is super cute with Lela and Knox).
For boys, I really like Clark and Archer for you. I’d like Shepard, but the suggestions of both Malcolm and Shepard just make me think Firefly. Would you consider Gunnar, Alaric (nicknames Al, Ari, Aric, Ric), Lachlan (if going for an L name), Bran, Anders, Rory, or Axel/Aksel?
Ashley- I pronounced Elodie like Melody without the M.
Ahh, ok. Thanks!
I would go with a L name. Perhaps one that can have a different letter nickname, like Lorelei does (Rory), Lenora (nn Nora).
Although with a girl, if you go with another short L name it will sound nice- Lela and Lois, Lela and Lucy.
I´m blanking on boy names, sorry!
If there was an L name you loved I would say go with it, but it sounds like you would be choosing something just to continue the pattern. When they grow up I think your child would rather hear how you LOVED their name then that you chose a name to go with their siblings. Especially because both your older children have a great story to go with their name.
I wonder if there are any names you like with a strong L sound in them? Boys could be Callum or Elliot for example. For a girl maybe Elodie or Elena as already suggested.
Let me just say that your kids have got some seriously wonderful names. GREAT job!
Some ideas for girls:
Dahlia (nn Lia)
Magnolia (nn Maggie or Lia)
Cordelia (nn DeeDee or Lia or Cordi or Cora)
Cecilia (nn Cecily or Lia or CeeCee)
Solace (nn Lacey)
Amaryllis (nn of Mary or Rilla)
Clarion (nn Rhee)
I do love the name Rhee with Lela and Knox. Lela, Knox, and Rhee.
As for another gentleman, the name that Knox reminds me of is Ford. It’s masculine, strong, one syllable, and will NEVER be a girl’s name.
Lela, Knox, and Ford.
Best wishes as you pick your little one’s moniker. It’s sure to be a winner!
(And as a little side note, you have the most rockin’ awesome name! It may go on OUR list.)
I had a response on this that for some reason did not post. I don’t think I can recreate it but the gist of it was that I like the idea of an internal L in the name to tie everything together while not limiting your current (or future) choices so much.
Here are some names Swistle and others have suggested that I like:
Malachi– not a bad idea really, even if it started as a joke.
Elliott
Julian
Malcolm
Averil
Calla
Cecilia
Chloe
Dahlia
Eleanor
Jillian
Violet
Chloe
But if you do go with L
Logan
Louis
Laurel
Lindsey
Louise
Lucy
Thanks for all the suggestions. We aren’t sure if this will be the last so I think avoiding the L names unless we really fall in love with one is a good idea!
I love Malcolm, and was thinking Malcolm Xavier would be great. My husband isn’t sure about this name and has also vetoed Reuben as it is my favorite sandwich. So far we do both like Malachi.
And to The Mrs, you and my hubby are on the same brainwave since last night he suggested using another unique spring flower name to honor my name and came up with Magnolia Rose, nn Nola Rose which I love! So I think this will be the winner if this bellybean is a girl! Lela, Knox and Nola Rose…love it!
I am also partial to Miller. Its my maiden name! Maybe as a middle name, but not with Malachi or Malcolm.
Thanks!
StephLove- I remembered reading that comment, so I went searching for it—it was on a Name Updates post by mistake! I’ll copy and paste it here, and delete it there.
Swistle’s comment that an L IN the name, not necessarily starting the name might tie them all together sparked some ideas for me.
First off, I agree with her that Malachi would be a nice name in this sibset. I like her suggestions of Malcolm and Wilson, too. And for girls I like her suggestions of Averil, Calla, Cleo and Cecily. I will throw in Caroline, Clara and Violet.
If you do go in the L direction, though, I’m really fond of Louis. (It’s my son’s middle name.) Logan is nice, too. And for a girl maybe Laurel, Lindsey, Louise or Lucy.
Thanks, Swistle. That was going above and beyond.
Agh! I was going to suggest Magnolia!! So glad that’s a name you love, and I think Nola sounds lovely with Lela and Knox.
For boys, love the idea of using Miller as a middle name. Have you thought of Callen, Callum, or Caleb as a first name?
How about Carlotta for your little girl?
Magnolia Rose, nn Nola Rose is lovely! Congrats!
If you go with Malcolm, I would advise against using a middle name starting with X- Malcolm X is such a well known person it would be awkward I think, unless you intend to reference him.