Taylor writes:
My husband and I are due to have our fourth child on November 10th and with only 25 days to go, we are entering panic mode. This baby, gender unknown, will have 3 siblings; Mackenzie Harper (7), Dylan Elliot (4) and Keira Rose (2). Baby naming has always caused me and my husband to clash, but this time it seems to be even worse with our differing name styles, most likely due to the fact that this will be our last child and the gender is unknown.
Names on my List:
BOYS:
Nolan- my top name at the moment, but this changes daily
Connor- not that big on the hard -C sound following KeiraGIRLS:
Delaney- my top (and only) girls name, husband cannot seem to get used to itHusband’s List:
BOYS:
Jacob- too popular, but he really wants a little “Jake” around the house
Gavin
Ethan
LeviGIRLS:
Riley- would it be okay to pair this with Dylan, also a unisex name?
Molly
AddisonMiddle name will most definitely either be Grace or Elisabeth
Please Help us!
ps. (my name is Taylor “Tay” Hainsworth and my husband is Brendan)
I think Delaney may be too close to Dylan: so many shared letters and sounds, and in fact I think of them as a Kylie/Kyle pairing. Laney or Lainey might work, and maybe your husband would prefer it because it’s more like Riley and Molly. It still shares letters with Dylan (the Laney spelling in particular makes my eyes want to unscramble one name to form the other), but it takes away the shared “dill” sound and that’s a big help. And it’s great with the sister names: Mackenzie, Keira, and Lainey.
If Jacob is too popular but your husband wants to use Jake, Jacoby (juh-KOH-bee) might be perfect. It gives you the nickname Coby, too, as another option.
The repeating endings of Dylan and Nolan might make it clearer that both are boys—or it might seem too matched, I can’t tell. Gavin seems almost perfect: the endings are similar but not exact.
Braden would work, too. Braden Hainsworth; Mackenzie, Dylan, Keira, and Braden.
Or a name like Eamon (AY-mon) would emphasize the Celtic roots of the sibling names. Eamon Hainsworth; Mackenzie, Dylan, Keira, and Eamon.
Ian, too, would be very handsome, and reminds me of Ethan and Levi. Ian Hainsworth.
Opinions will vary wildly, but mine is that in this sibling group I would assume a Riley was a boy. I wouldn’t assume it completely, so it isn’t as if it would be a huge shock to find a female Riley, but it’s so perfect as a brother name for Dylan. In fact, would you consider moving it to your boy name list? Girls Mackenzie and Keira, boys Dylan and Riley.
Riley and Molly make me think of Miley. Miley is all girl, and fits well in style with the sibling names.
Or Piper. It’s drifting more from the sound of Riley, but it shares the style. Piper Hainsworth is adorable.
Or I wonder if you’d like Ellery? I think that’s wonderful with your surname: Ellery Hainsworth.
And that plus Addison from your husband’s list makes me think of Emerson. Emerson Hainsworth; Mackenzie, Dylan, Keira, and Emerson.
I also think Delaney is too similar to Dylan. They look the same too. I wouldn’t go with Riley either given the sibling group.
Molly and Mackenzie make me think of Morgan. How about Morgan Elizabeth?
I agree that I would assume Riley was a boy.
To me, it seems your children have mostly unisex names, except maybe Keira, which as far as I know, has only ever been used on girls. I didn’t even realize Dylan could also be a girl’s name, actually, but I can picture Dylan on a girl. Regardless, the gender of each child is fairly easy to identify because the girls’ names are used a lot more or maybe even exclusively on girls and the boy’s name is used a lot more boys.
With that in mind, wouldn’t rock the boat and use Riley on a girl, but like the idea of considering Riley for a boy. For a girl, I really like Tatum for you. Tatum has a unisex feel, but started off as a girl’s name, and has just recently been used on a few boys. I would initially assume anyone named Tatum was a girl, just as I would assume anyone named Mackenzie or Addison was a girl, even though both names have been used to a lesser extent on boys in the past.
Dylan and Nolan match to the point that I don’t consider the pair stylistically ideal, but I feel Dylan and Nolan don’t match so much to cause confusion. Therefore, if Nolan is the only name that feels right, I think you can still use it without practical problems.
For a girl, maybe Peyton? It’s unisex, but most of the Peytons I know personally are girls. (2 for what it is worth.)
More girl names that you might like: Sydney, Laina, Ellie.
Boys: Emmett, Bennett, Nate (Nathan/Nathaniel), Arlo, Graham.
Good luck!
Also for a boy, Ronan!
And fin.
For a boy, Nolan seems the best fit from both of your lists. Another boy name that seems to fit your style is Jameson. If his middle name started with a ‘K’, you could still have the nickname of ‘Jake’. Dylan and Jameson Hainsworth sound like good brother names.
For a girl, Delaney sounds a LOT like Dylan. Sadly, I’m going to set this one aside. BUT Avalane might fit the bill (pronounced AVE-uh-layn). It shares sounds with Delaney and is similar to Addison.
Or there’s Reese, Sienna, or Posey.
Brianna is Irish like your other children… so are Dacey, Fiona, Moreen, Taisie, Teagin, and Shea.
Best wishes to you and your growing family! Curious to hear what you and your husband decide!
I like a lot of names on your lists: Nolan, Connor, Gavin, Riley (for a boy or girl) & Delaney. The sound repetitions people have cited in a few of them don’t bother me.
Eamon, Ian, Ronan & Fiona are great suggestions.
I know a baby Keira with older sisters Riana & Ailyn. Those might work for you.
I think you and your husband do share some similarities in name taste! Nolan and Gavin
Declan
Rowan
Ian
Tristan
Asher
Bennett
Jude
Beckett
Miles
Griffin
Dominic
Flynn
Kellan
Girls:
Teagan (pron. TEE-gan)–I love this with your kids’ names.
Elodie. I think Elodie has qualities that you’d both like.
Emmeline
Lucy
Ruby
Quinn
My favorites:
Mackenzie, Dylan, Keira, and Tristan
Mackenzie, Dlyan, Keira, and Teagan
I agree with Jacoby – sounds lovely against Dylan, and gives you Jake!
I also think Riley is great for a little girl, but maybe she could feminize the spelling to better match Mackenzie Harper and Kiera, which are both feminine and on-trend. Maybe Ryley or Ryleigh? I know that spelling changes are passe for some, but sometimes they just help a name work!
Your family group (including you and your husband) have the most beautiful names! I love the nickname Tay. Of the names on your list(s), I think the ones that go best are Jacob, Molly, and Connor. Even though Jacob is popular, I love the way it completes your family sounds. From other people’s suggestions here via comments, I especially like Ian, Griffin (Finn), Beckett, Rowan, Ruby and Fiona. I am not at all a fan of Addison, but that’s because it’s not my style and would add too many surnames to the mix, counting Dylan.
Just by your post, it doesn’t seem as if your other children had nicknames. With that assumption being made, I would go with just Jake if you both like that name. That way he is not the only child with a nickname. My husband is a “just Jake,” and he rarely has to explain to people that it is just Jake and not short for Jacob. Maybe also have your husband call out “tay” and then “jake” to
Make sure they dont sound the same being yelled across the house. Since it is crunchtime for you, I would not worry about this as much, but if it is between two names, a 2 syllable one would look best with the rest on a Christmas card. 3-2-3-2 syllables.
So funny, our boy names were Gavin & Nolan. Girl names Delaney & Ainsley. We had a boy & he is the perfect Gavin. We must have the same taste!
I know a family with a Keira and a Mackenzie – maybe you’ll like their son’s name, Kiefer.
Personally I think Delaney fits the best for a girl, and actually Riley fits best for a boy. I think perhaps you should think about moving it to your boys list, it goes perfectly with Dylan. Jacob I feel is the odd man out, #1 for boys with over 22,000 of them born last year, probably best to stay away – perhaps Jacoby is a superior alternative to get the nickname Jake.
To be fair on your husband, Riley is unisex, but so is Mackenzie, Harper, Addison and Delaney.
I think Delaney is too close to Dylan. What about Linnea instead?
I think Jacob and Dylan make great siblings (although it would remind me a bit of Jakob Dylan, the singer). Mackenzie and Keira are of similar sound/style so it would be nice to pair Dylan up as well.
First thought I had when I saw your list was “Rhys”. Mackenzie, Dylan, Keira, and Rhys. Or Roan/Ronan?
From your girls’ list I like Molly the most. Addison comes second and I wouldn’t go for Riley for reasons you mentioned already.
Would Ainsley or Rowan be an option?