Laura writes:
Hello, we are pregnant with our first baby, a girl, due in May. This will be our only child and we really need your help in selecting a fabulous name! My name begins with L and my husband’s starts with J, our last name is Lange. We would prefer a 2 syllable name, since Lange is only one and because of the strong L in Lange, we do not like names ending in S, L or K-giving you a slange or klange sound. We also will not be giving the child a middle name (common in the UK-I don’t have one either) s the name needs to be a good stand-alone name.
As with most people lately, we would love an interesting name that is not in the top 50 list, but yet is simple to spell and is easily recognizable. We have been leaning towards more classic, older names, but also have some more modern options in there too-we are a little lost!Our favorites right now are Audrey and Elina. We have also considered Stella, Elsie, Evie and Olivia. We seem to like names starting with vowels, but are not limited to that.
I am British, and so a name popular in the UK, that is less common in the US is also a possibility. If we were having a boy our favorites were Callum, Cameron, Holden and Allistair.We are hopeful that you and your readers can help us with some great suggestions.
Thank you!
I like all your choices. In the U.S., both Olivia and Audrey are in the Top 50: Audrey is just BARELY there and may dip back out, but Olivia is Top 10. Evie is difficult to rank because it’s used as a nickname for other names (Genevieve, Eva), but I’ve been hearing it often on this blog which leads me to think (perhaps wrongly—lots of talk doesn’t always mean lots of birth certificate action) that it’s getting popular. Stella is climbing quickly and it’s hard to say where it will land.
Other suggestions:
Acacia
Bridget
Clarissa
Cora
Eliza
Elodie
Emmeline
Felicity
Fiona
Genevieve (Evie)
Georgia
Imogen
Josephine
Karenna
Livinia
Lydia
Nora
Ruby
Vivian
I think “Penelope Lange” sounds wonderful. Climbing steadily — but still only 253 on the US SS list.
What about Alivia? It is like Olivia, but not, and I have heard it a couple of times, so it isn’t super-strange, but it isn’t at all common… I don’t think.
I like Audrey and Susan’s suggestion of Penelope. Also, Adela and Letitia. Swistle’s excellent suggestion of Genevieve reminds me of Gwendolyn and Gwynevere, though I wonder if the shortened names of Gwen and Gwyn would sound funny with the last name, like onomatopoeia or something.
Penelope Lange IS very pretty! I like Audrey for you, as well as Olivia and Ev- variants like Evelyn or Evanna or Eva (Evie sounds too much like a nickname to be the ONLY given name, in my opinion). I find Elina and Stella to be a mouthful with your last name, probably because of the prominant L sound in both names. And I like Elsa, with Elsie as a nickname.
Have you considered a longer first name with a nickname (like Evelyn, nn Evie or Lynn, or Eleanor, nn Elle/Ellie, Nora or Rory)? Off Swistle’s list, Emmeline is such a pretty option with your last name, and gives nicknames like Emme/Emma and Lina.
If you don’t care for a name that could have a nickname, then what about Ivy or Iris? Both short, easily spelled, vowel-starting names that sound so pretty with Lange!
My favourite suggestion is Lavinia. Lavinia Lange has a nice distinguished ring to it. It’s recognizable, but rare.
Penelope is lovely. NN Poppy or Penny? Penny Lang reminds me of Penny Lane. SO maybe not. BUt Poppy Lang is cute!
Audrey is my favorite fom you list.
Amelia, Mira, Hannah, Sylvia or Devon.:)
Oooh, with no middle name, all I want to suggest are elaborate names, such as:
Anastasia
Eudora
Seraphina
Persephone
Alethea
That said, what about Imogen? I think “n” sounds of Imogen Lange are lovely.
Good luck!
Of all the names on your list I like Stella best and I don’t find Stella Lange runs together.
Swistle and the previous commenters have suggested so many lovely names. I like
Evelyn
Felicity
Gwendolyn
Lydia
Penelope
Sylvia
I’ll throw a couple more in the pot: Amelia & Gabrielle.
Ooh, Amelia! StephLove, that might be my favourite suggestion so far. Even the nicknames are adorable with Lange- Amy Lange, Mia Lange, Mellie/Millie Lange! I also like the suggestion of Poppy as a nn for Penelope. Poppy Lange is super cute!
I was going to suggest Iris (my own daughter’ name :) but I see that someone else beat me to it! Easy to spell and pronounce, familiar but not commonly used, and I love finding things with the flower on it (wall art, books, etc) to use for her. I think Elina looks like a beautiful name but I’m not sure how to pronounce it–is it Eh-LEE-na or Eh-LINE-a (or something else I hadn’t thought of)? I think both are pretty, just something to consider if it would bug you when people mispronounce.
I’m loving the suggestion of Imogen… especially for a UK-themed name… I also love when I read British chick-lit and see names like Arabella… and the celtic Siobhan (sheh-vawn). Siobhan Lange is beautiful, has a uniqueness to it — and yet, I truly believe it’s fairly recognizable (especially to readers of UK authors, hahaha).
Audrey Lange sounds very pretty, but also distinguished – I like this best of your shortlist. I wouldn’t be overly concerned about Audrey’s popularity. Our 3yo son’s name is just inside the top 50 and so far we haven’t come across another boy with the same name at daycare, playgroup, swimming lessons, etc… I’m sure it will happen eventually but is not a major problem.
Elina is also a lovely name. I am mindful of the fact that both the L and N are repeated in your surname, but the more I say the two together the less that bothers me and actually becomes a nice rhythm.
As you are open to other suggestions, I really like Eloise for you. It has the distinguished, old world feel of Audrey, is a vowel name and is familiar but not popular.
I like Audrey, and another variation of it that I’ve heard and like is Audra.
Bridget is a great suggestion, as it is not high in the rankings, but every time I hear it, it sounds fresh and sweet.
Some suggestions from the 2009 England-Wales’ Top 100 girls’ names that are nowhere near as popular in the US:
(England-Wales 2009 rank/ US 2009 rank or NR — below the US Top 1000 and not ranked)
Daisy 18/153
Phoebe 23/325
Imogen 32/NR
Maisie 34/NR
Matilda 46/764
Alice 50/258
Eleanor 56/218
Emilia 90/400
Esme 95/NR
Francesca 98/470
From your list:
Audrey 576/49
Elina 835/NR
Stella 403/126
Elsie 124/679
…or Elsa 283/691
Evie 10/723
Olivia – Number ONE/3
And a few more suggestions from the most popular names in the stylish London Telegraph birth announcements for 2007 (most recent stats I have) with their ranking among that group (then their 2009 England-Wales rank)/followed by their 2009 US rank
Beatrice 14 (129)/860
Flora 18 (407)/NR
Eliza 28 (119)/278
Georgina 43 (145)/NR
Greta Lange.
Geneva Lange.
Chelsea Lange. (Bit of UK homage)
Rosalind Lange.
Miriam Lange.
Deirdre Lange.
Cecilia Lange.
Those are my best suggestions.
And, if it isn’t too presumtuous, if you DID decide to give your lovely girl a middle name, perhaps her birth month would be a sweet touch… May.
All the best to you as you introduce your daughter to the rest of the world!
Georgia Lange would be very sweet, but is also a name that would grow up with your daughter.
I’m English and right now the names most commonly used round me are
Jessica,Amelia and Emily
Others are
Ferne
Elizabeth
Elspeth
Harriet
Catherine
Grace
Alaria
Not sure if any of them are any good, 10 week old baby has sucked up my brain power :s
Good luck with name choosing :)
I love both Freya and Theodora Lange…oh or Isadora, they all seem to be powerful in feel but still obviously feminine. With a 1 syllable last name, you can get away with longer names to balance it out (and all the cute nickname potentials!)