Alice writes:
I was one of those strange kids who cut pics of people out of catalogs and assembled them into families so that I could name them — I’ve always been obsessed with names! Of course, now that I acutally need to name my daughter, due this summer, I’m having such a hard time narrowing my ever evolving list down to just one.
Here’s the situation. My husband is Alex and I am Alice — already a bit of a family identity nightmare. This means that every name that falls into the Ellie/Alexa/Allegra/etc camp is out of the question for our daughter. In fact, I’m avoiding A names in general, though I could be convinced for the right one. Our very common last name starts with an F sound and rhymes with “ellipse”.
Second issue: He is British and I am mostly American. I say mostly because I grew up in the States, but my mother is Australian and my dad is British as well. Like me, my daughter will be a citizen of all three countries, and although we currently live in the UK, I could see us moving back to the US (where my parents still live) or even Australia at some point. For this reason, I’d really like a name that works well in all three places and has similar positive associations. Mostly this means no names that are too “American” (overly trendy, made up, or last name as first name, i.e. Madison or Naveah) or too “British” (stuffy or virtually unheard of in the US, i.e. Elspeth or Nicola). Don’t mean to offend — these are just the perceptions as I understand them.
Some other considerations:
– We gravitate toward vintage names, particularly those that are a bit quirky.
– We don’t want anything too popular or trendy in any country.
– We prefer names with interesting meanings.Names we like:
Maeve
(This is probably our favorite, because it’s a nice blend of classic and slightly quirky and I’ve loved it forever. My only reservation is that it blends with our last name a bit and ends up sounding like Mae F-ellipse instead of Maeve F-ellipse. I’d be interested to hear what people’s thoughts are on this.)Beatrix
(My husband likes this a lot, but I’m worried about the Trixie nickname — cute or whore-ish? Too British overall?)Cleo
Ivy
Vivien
Georgia/Georgina
Lydia (My husband loves this but I can’t get past chlamydia)
Clementine
Others we considered but have rejected: Annabel, Briony, Scarlett, Evangeline
For middle names, we’d like to use one of our family names, which are as follows:
Annabel, Vivien, Elizabeth, Kathryn, Ann, KellyI’d really appreciate any insight. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Name update! Alice writes:
I have been meaning to write this for ages but time gets away from us new moms! Anyway, I want to thank your readers for helping me with my naming dilemma.
Their responses assured me that my original choice was a sound one.
Maeve Kathryn was born in August. Her name suits her PERFECTLY, and she’s just amazing!
I can’t really speak to the international angle since I’m not familiar with British and Australian naming trends, but I see what you mean about the end of Maeve getting elided into the last name. However, if it’s really your favorite and you don’t mind correcting people every so often, I’d go for it. It’s a lovely name and I almost always advise going with your heart. I like Maeve Annabel, Maeve Vivien and Maeve Elizabeth.
I also like Beatrix, Ivy, Vivien, Lydia and Clementine for firsts, probably Ivy best. Ivy Ann is cute.
I think Maeve is really pretty. I’m saying it with what I assume is your actual last name and it sounds fine to me. A bit of a style contrast because Maeve feels so Irish but I don’t think that’s a huge deal. I like Maeve Kathryn best, I think, and I think you should just go with that :)
I love the name Clementine but I’m not sure that I think it’s really a name…I guess like Story and Lyric, it’s a name I like better in theory.
I LIKE the name Beatrix but like you I get stuck on Trixie. Totally unfair and maybe I would find the nn Trixie really cute on a real live little girl but it does feel very stripper-esque to me.
My other favorite from your list is Vivien, although I’d spell is Vivian. Vivian Kathryn is lovely. Vivian Ann is also nice.
It seems to me, from your list, that your style is *more* British than anything else, but not, as you said, British names no one’s ever heard of. On that note, I’d like to suggest Imogen. It’s just lovely & would be lovely with Elizabeth.
The only trouble I have with Maeve is I’m not quite sure how to say it! But if you love it, use it by all means.
I did notice Vivien on both your lists, so I think you may need to look more closely there. It is a lovely name.
As for Beatrix and it’s nughty nickname. you can always use another. Bix? Bixie? IDK, just a thought. Good luck!!
Ivy is a wonderful, classic, appealing name. Ivy Kathryn F-ellipse. I love the ‘v’ in there!
As far as Beatrix, why not just encourage the nickname of ‘Bea’ (Bee)? It’s darling and can easily transition from newborn to great-grandmother. Even ‘Bex’ is catchy if she ever wants something more trendy. That ‘x’ adds such spice, doesn’t it?
Maeve is a gorgeous name, but I agree with you that it does meld with your last name… maybe it could go in the middle name spot if you aren’t set on a family name going there.
There is another name that came to mind (if you are taking suggestions). It’s an ‘A’ name, and I know you were hoping to avoid those, but it seems so British/Australian/American to me:
Augusta.
Augusta Vivian F-ellipse.
All the best to you as you anticipate the arrival of your sweet daughter!
I know a preschool aged girl who goes by Trixie IRL, and has since she was born. For what it’s worth, it’s totally not stripper-ish on a real little girl, and is actually a darling nickname.
I love Beatrix and love how many nickname possibilities there are: Bea, Bebe, Bex, Trix, Trixie.
My favorite “British” name (I have no idea how popular it is) is Gemma. I think it’s so feminine but has a little bit of sassiness, too.
I really like Maeve, too. The first name runs together with the last name a bit, but not in a way that makes me want to discard the name.
If Maeve is your favorite, I say go with Maeve. I do see how it runs together with your surname, but the “V” ending of Maeve and the “F” beginning of your last name are just different enough that anyone who’s listening closely will most likely picking up on it. My name is Meredith and my married name begins with an S, so often times the “-th S” totally runs together and is difficult to say (I hear a lot of people calling me “Mereduh S____”, which is just too funny). The problem is less about my name and more about people’s crappy enunciation. It’s a bit bothersome, but not so much that I dwell on it, and I’ve never had a single person actually comment on it to me. For the record, I find Beatrix F-ellipse more difficult to get out than Maeve F-ellipse (though how adorable would a little Bea F-ellipse be?!).
I forgot to mention that I like Maeve Annabel and Maeve Kathryn!
How about Beatrice? Triss is an adorable nickname, and this way you escape the prospect of “Trixie.”
I love the name Maeve but it’s difficult for me to say with your last name.
If I named my daughter Beatrix, I’d call her Bee, which I consider one of the Best-Ever nicknames. However, if the occasional person called her Trix or Trixie, I think that would be sweet as well, not in any way “stripper” to my ears — just cute and sweet. Speaking as someone from the U.S., it doesn’t sound overly British to me, though I admit that Sounding British would always be a plus to me, certainly not a minus.
You have a wonderful list of names. I don’t think you can go wrong.
Beatrix is *fantastic*!
Have you thought about Penelope? So many cute nicknames (Penny, Nellie, Poppy) and I think it would travel well in those countries.
I definitely think Maeve blends “too well” with your last name. Have you considered Charlotte?
I can’t quite speak for Australia, but I’m from New Zealand and I’ve never met anyone called Maeve. I’m familiar with the name because of the author but I didn’t know how to pronounce it, in fact I would have pronounced it May-vee.
Beatrix, Ivy, Vivien, and Georgia or Georgina would work well down under. I’ve never met a Cleo, Lydia or Clementine. They seem like American names to me.
My favourite would be Georgia with any of the middle name combos.
Congratulations and good luck.
Why not make it Beatrice and totally avoid the possibility of Trixie? I think a shorter middle name would flow best. Beatrice Ann would be lovely, or how would you feel about Beatrice Kate instead of Kathryn?
I find Cleo and Clementine quite a style clash with the rest of the “classical” names on your list. Perhaps consider whether going with either of these would cause issues when naming a sibling in the future?
I love Maeve, but agree with the running-into-your-last-name problem. I’m not sure that this would be a deal breaker, but it seems like another name might be a better choice.
How about Mae or Maude?
My top choice from your list? Ivy. Love it, love it, love it!
I like your style! I think Maeve is lovely, and goes great with Vivien/Vivian or Kathryn. I also favor Ivy or Georgia. I’ve always liked both of those names, and I feel they are underappreciated and very elegant. I would not consider any of those 3 quirky, however. If you are going for quirky, I’d suggest something slightly less formal such as Clementine or the reader who suggested Augusta.
Best wishes!
Maeve Kathryn. Hands down!
Beatrice/Beatrix is lovely, I would have thought of Bea as a more obvious nickname than Trixie. Maeve is lovely also and I don’t see any problems with it running into your last name. I also really love Lydia and would never have thought of the rhyming association you mention. I’m Australian btw and I think any of your names work work well here!
Im glad you said that Fran as im not sure how to say Maeve either!! im Australian and never heard of it here! thats prob why i cant pronounce it!!
I love Beatrix its lovely and the nickname Bee is so cute!! I have never heard of a child with the name but its easily recognised but not common! I also love the suggestion of Penelope love the nn Penny!!
Can i suggest- Mya and Milla,
I thought of another name for you. Sylvia has the v sound that’s in so many of your names and sounds a bit like Lydia.
I do think that Maeve blends into your surname, but not enough to axe it. I think Beatrix is really wonderful with “F-ellipse”, and I would be prone to use Bea or Bebe rather than Trixie. Lydia also sounds lovely.
What about Maeven? I think that would fix the problem of it running into your last name.
Beatrix and Penelope would also sound great!!
Good luck and please remember to update us when your little one arrives.
Maeve makes me think of Blythe… it’s my current favourite girl name, and #1 for my future daugther.
Blythe F-ellipse.
I like it!
My favorites from your list are Beatrix, Georgia, and Lydia. I’ve decorated your nursery several times over in my head. Think of the cute bees jumping from flower to flower; the sunny Georgia O’Keeffe prints; or everything purple. :)
Enough. I think you have to eliminate Lydia, if you can’t get over this rhyme. I love that name, but it has never been the same for me since a friend of mine rudely told me she would call my future baby “Chlamydia Lydia.”
So. Beatrix is NOT too British. It is lovely. I would not worry about Trixie. I think Bea is such an adorable nn and certainly the one to which I’d default.
Beatrix Elizabeth is my favorite fn/mn combo.
Georgia. Gorgeous. Georgia Ann works the best I believe.
Good luck. You really can’t go wrong with your list.