Kelly writes:
My 2nd daughter is due October 28th. My first daughter’s name is Ava Gabrielle Herrason. We chose Ava Gabrielle by putting my favorite name & my husband’s favorite name together. I just loved the name Ava, & Gabrielle is my husband’s cousin. Of course that is not really the best way to pick a name for a person. In the end, I am not sure how well “Ava Gabrielle” actually flows. I had a bit of regret about her name as I realized 1. what it means to have a Top 5 popular name (knew the name was popular, but wasn’t prepared for the disappointment when another cute little girl has my daughter’s name) and 2. that Ava Gabrielle doesn’t actually flow as well as I thought.
For our second daughter, I am pretty much set on the first name of Charlotte. I am hoping you agree that Charlotte goes well with Ava. I think it also goes well with our last name, Herrason (simply by the way it sounds & also because Charlotte & Herrason are both english names..). I really love that Charlotte is a classic, romantic sounding name. Another reason we like the name Charlotte is because we just moved to Louisiana from Asheville, North Carolina, which is about 2 hours outside of Charlotte. So, the name Charlotte is also special as that is where she was conceived (or the general area). I understand that Charlotte is becoming more popular, but no where near as popular as Ava. I have decided I will be ok with a top 100 name (although I probably would not again pick a top 5 name!)
As for a middle name, I have fallen in love with the name Charlotte Claire, but (as with Ava Gabrielle) mostly because Charlotte & Claire both ended up being finalist names for me. I am worried that I am possibly putting together two of my favorite names versus really picking the perfect middle name to go with Charlotte. Although, another reason I like Charlotte Claire, is that my husband & I may possibly call her CeCe/CC. I was pretty set on Charlotte Claire, but then last night I woke up worrying… Picking a name for a person is a stressful job! & I just want to do it right! So, I guess I am e-mailing you to see what you think of the middle name Claire with Charlotte. I Think it flows well, but is that just because I am in love with the name? Does it look ok to have the middle name start with the same letter as the first name?
Just to also let you know other considerations – I thought of Claire as a first name but realized there are a few too many Claires in my extended family & also, the name is Very popular in my area (almost to the point that it is boring..). I had a pretty long list with my first girl & kinda worked from there with this one. Another middle name I like is Anne as it is my middle name. But in the end, I just don’t love it as much as I love Claire. I also love Grace as a middle name… But I know a celebrity recently named her daughter Charlotte Grace & I would hate to completely take that name.
Also, -if I have a boy in the future, my top names are Grant, Jack & Bennett. That could change, But I do think Charlotte somewhat goes with those names. Also, I know it is important for the whole family to have names that sound “good” together… well my husband’s name is Jeff/Jeffrey, & I am Kelly. Perhaps Charlotte isn’t totally fitting with the more Irish Kelly, but I think it does work with Jeff/Jeffrey.
At this point, I am pretty set on Charlotte as the first name, but would consider suggestions. hmm but did I mention, I have been calling her Charlotte & have already started ordering things with the name Charlotte on them? :) I possibly just want some reassurance LOL! Even if you don’t end up posting my “story”, I would Love a response from you!! Also, my first daughter was 2 weeks early and I suspect this one may also be early, so any suggestions after mid-October will be useless.
It sounds to me as if you’re set on both parts of the name, and that this is just last-minute doubts. I think Charlotte Claire is great, and that Charlotte goes great with Ava and with Herrason.
Name update! Kelly writes:
Charlotte Claire arrived on October 19th at 11:18pm weighing 6lbs 8.2oz & measuring 19.25 inches. Her birth was amazingly beautiful & peaceful. We are so in love with our sweet baby girl Charlotte! I am So happy with the name we gave her. The name seems to fit her perfectly! We all mostly call her Charlotte, but we love the option to call her CC . Our family & friends love the name also! Thank you for posting about us. I loved reading all the positive feedback!
Ava Gabrielle is lovely, as is Charlotte Claire.
Charlotte Mae would also be nice but really you can’t go wrong with Charlotte Claire!
For the record, I think Ava Gabrielle flows well. When I saw the heading, I thought, “What a lovely name – so much more original than the ubiquitous Ava Rose and Ava Grace, with a great rhythm.” I also think Charlotte Claire flows well. I know of a lot of people who end up using finalist names in the middle name spot. I think it’s a nice practice, actually. Well-loved names aren’t doomed to the pile of “names that might have been.”
In the end, I firmly believe most people end up with the names they were meant to have. I also believe top 100 but outside the top 5 is a very reasonable popularity requirement. These names are popular enough that they are easy to bear and usually don’t raise too many eyebrows yet are not used to the point of overkill.
I think Charlotte Claire Harrison is a lovely name. I also think Ava Gabrielle flows just fine.
Ava Gabrielle is beautiful, and I think it goes perfectly with the equally lovely Charlotte Claire.
Ava Gabrielle Harrison is like a song.
And Charlotte Claire is beautiful. Stick with it.
I like the names of both of your girls – they both sound and look pretty. I like the alliteration of Charlotte Claire and love the nn CeCe/CC you have picked for her.
Before I read further into the post, the moment I read “Ava Gabrielle” I instantly felt like, “WOW! That’s a great name!”. I had the feeling I’d enjoy this post, as far as having similar naming style as you. I was very surprised when you wrote that you have some name regret. Please, don’t! She has such a gorgeous name.
I also love Charlotte Claire. I think the alliteration works well because the Ch- of Charlotte has a unique sound from the hard C- of Claire. It’s also a name that looks lovely with your last name. Great choice, totally stick with it!
I see nothing wrong with Ava Gabrielle! Charlotte Claire is a good match. But I have to say, I believe that
Charlotte will be top 5 in no time.
Ava Gabrielle sounds very nice, as does Charlotte Claire. Don’t doubt either name! They are great!
I agree: Ava Gabrielle is a beautiful name, and Charlotte Claire is equally lovely.
I wouldn’t worry about Charlotte eventually making it into the top 5. At #45 in 2010, Charlotte has a ways to go to the top 5. Charlotte may never get there, but if it does, your Charlotte will be ahead of the ‘pack’.
What’s most important is that you love the name Charlotte, and with that name already on some of her things, it sounds like that’s who your second daughter is!
Ava and Charlotte — just darling together!
Best wishes!
I love Charlotte and Ava together and I absolutely LOVE Charlotte Claire!! Congrats :)
I affirm your choice of Charlotte Claire Harrison!
I was searching up what my name means and I saw this pop up and I was thinking to myself Hey! She stole my name. Laughing to myself it is very popular but not with a longer name I happen to have a middle indent to clarify that you can call me Ava but it happens to be that they call me A or Gabby which I never accpected. Also I love the name Charlote Clair but I would recommend to have it flow with ur other daughters name unless you have a nickname for your first daughter so she doesn’t feel left out.
I also wanted to say that you don’t want to choose to much far off the cliff because that is a great way to make friends is by finding someone else with the same name and try not to get names that could make your child insecure