Catherine writes:
Greetings from the UK. My case is a bit out of the ordinary and has a few more factors than the normal, so I hope you can help! DH and I have three children, Emmaline (called Emmie), Finnegan, and Clementine, and are expecting our fourth. And when I say “expecting,” I don’t have a set due date. We are in the process of adopting a nine-month-old beautiful baby girl from Bosnia. Hopefully, if all of our paperwork goes through, she’ll be in our arms by September.Anyway, here is where the dilemma strikes. Our little girl’s birth name is Dushanka. We want to keep the name in her name somehow, it will most likely be her middle. But we feel that no only is her name impossible to say in the region where we live, but also, our first three are all quite a bit older than the little one (6-10 years so), added to the fact that they are not adopted…. we want her to have a name similar to their’s so she will feel included.Names we like off the top of our headsOliviaMaisieKateHannahMatildaIsabelleChloeSophieI feel that while they are all quite English sounding and all that, they are all too plain and common, especially recently, to match with Emmaline, Finnegan, and Clementine. Their names all have three syllables and have a sort of “n” ending that ties them together. I’d love to find a fourth name of that stature that isn’t too rhyme-y with Emmaline and Clementine (as they are already quite rhyme-y). Not a big fan of nicknames (Emmie crowned herself— we’d always called her Emmaline) but if the shoe fits….Sorry this is QUITE a tall order, but we’d appreciate the help so very much!(And if there was a name that went well with Dushanka as a middle, all the better)Thanks so muchCatherine
P.S. Oh! Almost forgot, our surname is like “Hook,” but beginning with a C.
My first suggestion is Imogen. It has three syllables and a prominent N-sound—but without duplicating the -ine ending of the other two girls, and it partially rhymes with Finnegan the same way Emmaline and Clemetine partially rhyme. Imogen Dushanka Hook (IDC); Emmaline, Finnegan, Clementine, and Imogen.
My next suggestion is Adelaide. It lacks an N, but it has three syllables and an L sound like the other two girls. Adelaide Dushanka Hook (ADC); Emmaline, Finnegan, Clementine, and Adelaide.
Next is Josephine. It ends in the same -ine as the other two girls, but with a different vowel sound. Josephine Dushanka Hook (JDC); Emmaline, Finnegan, Clementine, and Josephine.
Next is Marigold. It doesn’t have an N, but it has three syllables and an L like the other two girls. Marigold Dushanka Hook (MDC); Emmaline, Finnegan, Clementine, and Marigold.
Lorelei. Similar in style, and three syllables plus an L, even though no N. Lorelei Dushanka Hook (LDC); Emmaline, Finnegan, Clementine, and Lorelei.
Annabel. Similar to Isabelle from your list, but more N; similar to Hannah from your list, but more syllables. Annabel Dushanka Hook (ADC); Emmaline, Finnegan, Clementine, and Annabel.
I LOVE Imogen or Josephine with the other 3 names.
My vote is for Josephine!
Oh, I love Imogen for this sibset (and as a name in general)! It even ends in a similar sound to Finnegan, so those two will “match” like Emmeline and Clementine do. Perfect.
I’m for Imogen or Josephine. It is too hot today for original thought, but if I have any ideas later, I will post again.
Just to throw out another option… what about Penelope?
I don’t think you’d go wrong with any name from your list. (I especially like Matilda. Mathilda Dushanka ‘Hook’ is lovely.) I also really like Swistle’s suggestion of Adelaide and Josephine.
I suggest:
Angeline
Eloise
Katherine
Marianne
Mirabelle
Vivien(ne)
Good luck!
Congrats on your new baby girl! I hope the paperwork goes through quickly!
As for the names, I really like Josephine too. Sweet and classic, but not overly trendy and I think it pairs so well with the beautiful names of your other children. And although it doesn’t have the “n” ending, I really like Marigold too! Pretty and a bit unexpected!
Good luck!
Imogen is my favorite. I also want to suggest Rosaline or Rosalind.
I love Josephine gor you, and one of my favorite names is Gillian. Emmaline, Finnegan Clementine and Gillian. Also, Gillian Dushanka [H}ook sounds really great.
I vote for Josephine!
Question for swistle… I have never heard of the name imogen. Is it popular in the part of the U.S. That you live? How do you pronounce it? You suggest it quite often and I have never heard of it outside of this blog.
Thanks!
MA in PA
MA in PA- I’ve never heard it on a real child but would LOVE to! I’ve seen it in a lot of novels; it’s one of my “Why isn’t this name more popular??” names. Here’s a pronunciation key that’ll say it for you, but it’s like IM-ah-jen or IM-oh-jin.
I love Josephine and Annabel!
Some other suggestions…
Briony
Genevieve
Miranda
Rosalyn
Susannah
Regarding Imogen: I’ve heard it a few times here in western Canada in the past few months. It’s a lovely name!
Congratulations on your new family member! What an exciting time.
Imogen is a wonderful name… My Only concern is that I feel like the way I say it it rhymes with finnegan… Imogen and finnegan. Adelaide is wonderful. I’m in Australia and Adelaide is a capital city here, so can’t use it. But it’s a great name and not easily nicknameable.
Love the suggestion above of Mirabelle too. Gorgeous!
All the best
RE: Imogen (MA in PA’s question). I’ve never met an Imogen, but I used to see the name often in British chick-lit novels. Also, when I was a young teen, it was the name of Julia Stiles’ character in a Freddie Prinze Jr. movie called “Down to You”. That was the only time I ever heard it outside of British novels.
I always think of it was a particularly British name, I do the same with “Gemma”!
Swistle, you had some EXCELLENT suggestions in this post. I love all of your ideas!
How about Gwendolyn? Gwendolyn Dushanka “Hook” sounds so sweet.
Congratulations to your growing family!! Adoptions are such a blessing.
Caroline Dushanka (H)ook seems to fit your list (but then Clementine would share a first inital… don’t know if that’s important to you).
Jemima Dushanka (H)ook still has three syllables in the first name and is undoubtably British.
Augusta Dushanka (H)ook has a calming, elegant sound to it.
Marjorie Dushanka (H)ook has some English sass.
And, finally, Sabrina Dushanka (H)ook feels as classic but fresh as Emmeline and Clementine.
Very excited for you all! Please let us know what you decide!
I was all set to recommend Evelyn, but it is pretty similar to Emmeline, so maybe not.
I’m confused. Is it Imo-GIN (like the drink) or Imo-GENE (like the pants?)
If its Imo-GENE I quite like it with the other kids names. If its GIN it seems perhaps too much with Finnegan. But Imogen is nice! And Josephine is great, too. Good luck!
Matilda stands out to me from your list. It fits very well with the other children’s classical names, though it is far more popular at the moment. Emmaline, Finnegan, Clementine and Matilda.
I tend to think with adopted children coming to a new culture it is actually a benefit to have a name that “fits in” well with their peers and Dushanka provides the distinctiveness that the other sibling’s names hold. Though with your daughter coming in the first year of her life she will not feel much of a cultural adjustment, the fact that Emmaline now prefers to go by the more mainstream Emmie shows that many children have a longing to fit in… While we as parents seem to gravitate to wanting them to stand out through the names we choose for them. (Myself included)
With regards to other readers questions about Imogen – it is a top 50 name in both the UK and Australia and more popular than Matilda in England.
Vanessa- I think Imogen is like Jen, and Imogene is like Jean.
Hi Catherine, and both good luck for and congratulations on the adoption, from another UK reader. I love your children’s names – let’s see if we can find something equally lovely for Dushanka’s first.
First off, I love Adelaide and Marigold from Swistle’s list. I adore Josephine, too, but I really think us Brits would automatically nickname it; would that bother you? Still, normally I don’t advocate theme-y names, but continuing with the -ine ending might be appropriate in this case, to help this name fit with the others.
Imogen and Annabel aren’t bad names, but I think they’re pretty popular here, and it sounds as though that’s something you want to avoid – they may just be hot in my area, though.
Other suggestions are Helena, Florence and Rosalind, or Rosamund. Or, you might like Isadora as an alternative to Isabelle (it has the same feminine feel as your other daughters’ names, in my opinion). Or how about Evadne (ev-AD-nee), a really pretty, unusual choice which gets you the -ee ending of Maisie, Chloe and Sophie.
Other lovely -ine names:
Adeline
Apolline
Jessamine
Seraphine
Valentine.
Lola x
As Bosnia is a Slavic country, I’d consider choosing a name that both fits with your family & her new siblings & a name that might be used in a Slavic country. I think Josephine fits this bill so well. In a Slavic country, such as Bosnia, it might be spelled Jozafin or Joseva etc but it is a name that might be used, whereas I can’t imagine a name like Imogen being used.
Another couple of things that make Josephine ideal in my mind — Jospehine means, “God will add” or “God increases” & isn’t that perfect for your family?! AND, it would mean you & all your daughters will have names ending in “ine”, also perfect, yes?
Some other things you may want to think about – words & names with the “dush” or “dusha” sound in Slavic languages often mean or refer to “soul”. You might consider finding a name with a meaning that compliments “soul” (e.g. light? spirit?) I believe Lucia means “light” (of course, you’ll have the “Lew-chee-a” or “Lew-sha” pronunciation thing to deal with!) Names like Adelaide, Adele, & Adela mean “sweet or noble” and that goes well with “soul” (noble soul – what a great name meaning!) Oh, & hey, you could name her Adeline & have the same “ine” ending!
Good luck in choosing the perfect name for your daugher! As a Swistle follower, I look forward to the update!
So many great suggestions to add to your already excellent list! Imogen, Josephine, and Rosalind have stood out to me. I’ll add Tamsin.
Maybe you could look up Bosnian names and see which ones work or almost work in English. (or English names that also work in Bosnian.) It’s tricky though, I’d double check with some Bosnians about associations/connotations, especially religiously and ethnically identifying names. A couple possibilities:
Ramona
Tamara
Marisa
Sabina
Selma
Oops. Just realized I suggested Katherine, when your name is Catherine.
Some nice ideas in the comments… good luck, again.
Josephine or Adeline
josephine and penelope both would work well … phillipa would also be good!
Madeline would seem to be a good fit with your style, and if you don’t like the rhyminess you could pronounce it Mada-lyn.
My best suggestion though is Bernadine. Has the same “ine” ending but doesn’t rhyme. Is uncommon but familiar, long and flowing, and three syllables.
Otherwise I’d probably go for something with an Eastern European flavour (apologies if these are more Russian and not Bosnian)
Annastasia
Alexandria
Saskia
Nadine
Good luck and congratulations
also how about Harriet and Henrietta
… some other ideas, Ainslie would be great, Francessa would work too