R. writes:
Here is a list of stuff you might want to know:
– I am pregnant with twin girls
– They will be delivered by a c-section on the 2nd of April
– They don’t exactly have names yet
– We have a list of names we love, but cannot choose
– Our last name starts with a ‘H’ and ends with an ‘n’ (but that’s not important because all of the names we like sound okay with it!)What I mean by they don’t “exactly” have names yet is that we know that baby A will be called Emmie. I love it so much! Anyway, the problem with Emmie is it might be a bit too cutesy for an adult. I know that problem is easily solved by giving her a longer name and calling her Emmie. However there are not really any longer names I LOVE. We have considered the Swedish name Emelie (e-MEEL-ee, not Emily), and while I like it, I can’t imagine having a daughter Emelie, if that makes sense? Another name I like is Emerson, but I don’t know if a grown business woman would rather be called Emerson over Emmie anyway? It might be a bit ‘trendy’. We have looked at countless names with the nickname Emmie, but none really stand out. Should we just go with Emmie, or is Emmie too cutesy? Or should we use Emelie even though we would never call her that?
Okay, onto baby B! This is our list…we have cut it down A LOT:
– Ava
– Isla
– Leah
– Lila
– ScarlettHonestly when saying “Emmie and (insert each of the names on our list)”, Emmie and Leah gives me the most warm and fuzzy feeling (maybe it’s because they both have an ‘e’ sound in them, so they sound cute together). BUT Leah is my mum’s name. My mum is my biggest inspiration, and she is truly an amazing lady. I would love to name my daughter after her, but I worry that it could get confusing and I’m worried that Emmie would be jealous that she wasn’t named after anyone. Also when I think to myself ‘oh maybe Leah is the way to go’, I get sad because I want to use another name, LOL. The girls will most likely be our only babies, so I don’t even have the hope that I will be able to use the other names.
So, yeah…I don’t know what to do!
What are your thoughts? Could you perhaps do a poll for baby B?
Thanks!
Okay! I’ve put a poll over to the right! [Poll closed; see results below.]
My impulse after reading through just once is to suggest you name them Emma and Leah. I like the matching endings and matching number of letters/syllables. If I were a businesswoman, or even if I weren’t, I would prefer to have Emma to fall back on. I love the parts about really wanting to honor your mother and about getting the warmest feeling from that combination, and I think it’s unlikely Emmie would be jealous: (1) I usually suggest giving the honor name to the second-born twin so that they each have something special, and that’s what you’re already planning, and (2) I think the way you love the name Emmie so much is enough to provide balance.
Problems with this idea: (1) one of the things you like is the matching E sounds, and that’s gone in the formal names; (2) the nicknames (Emmie and Lee) are not as compatible as the full names; and (3) presumably you’ve already considered and rejected the name Emma.
My second suggestion is to name them Emme and Leah. Emmie and Emme are pronounced the same, but to me Emmie seems like a nickname while Emme looks professional/complete. Emme and Leah have the matching number of letters and the matching E sound, but not the matching endings. Problem with this idea: spelling/pronunciation issues with Emme.
My third suggestion is to use the name Leah to give you a long form of Emmie: something like Emmalia. Problems with this idea: (1) significantly diminishes the honor name; (2) spelling/pronunciation issues, especially being mistaken for a re-spelling of Amelia (I’m picturing it instead pronounced like Emma Leah); (3) even harder to come up with a twin name.
My fourth suggestion is to use Leah as a middle name for one girl, and use Lila as the middle name for the other. Then Emmie or Emme or Emma for the first name of Twin A, and perhaps Ava for Twin B. Emma Lila and Ava Leah. This lets you use four of the names you like. Problems with this idea: (1) it uses up four of the names you like, which could be a regret if you have more children to name later on; (2) no nickname for Ava.
My fifth suggestion is to leave Twin B’s name until after the twins are born. Take a look at her, and then pick from your list. From your list of five, I think the first four are best with Emmie. Emmie and Scarlett seems like too big a style difference: one super-sweet and one super-sassy. Charlotte is very similar in sound but more like Emmie in style: Emma and Charlotte, Emmie and Lottie.
Name update! R. writes:
Our healthy twin girls were born on the 2nd of April. We decided to name them Emma Lynlee Rose and Leah Adele Beth. Emmie and Leah :-)
Thank you for convincing me to use Leah!
The poll isn’t working on my computer for some reason, but I like Emme (spelled that way) and Lila. I like that the vowels are not repeated in those two, and I think they fit so perfectly together. I think Emmie and Leah with the same long “e” sound might get confusing when you’re yelling one of their names. You mostly hear the vowels when you yell, and that sound kind of similar in that way. Emme and Lila would never get mixed up, but they have the same number of letters.
Congratulations on the babes on the way! I love all the names you are considering, but have to agree with Swistle. My Given name is Emily. Most friends and family call me Em or Emmie. I really think you should consider naming baby girl A Emma and calling her Emmie.
I really love the Emma “Emmie” and Charlotte suggestion! They are both so classic and sound like sisters.
I like the idea of lengthening Emmie to Emmelia. (I’m pretty sure that’s a legit variant on Amelia – even if it isn’t, I’d believe you if you told me it was)
Of the twin B names, Emmelia would bring you down to Ava, or, I suppose, Scarlett, but Scarlett seems a bit of the odd one out in your preferences, and doesn’t go as well with the nn Emmie.
Emme was my first thought as well. It looks very professional, but still so sweet on a baby girl.
You haven’t mentioned middle names at all. Can you put Leah as a middle name and then maybe your MIL’s first name as the other middle name? I also wouldn’t be too worried if you decide to use Leah as the other first name, because one daughter is named for her grandmother, and the other is named her mother’s FAVORITE of all names. I can see how either might be jealous of the other, but in the end it balances out. Does that make any sense? Good luck!
I really like the spelling “Emme” for Emmie. I agree. It classes it up a bit when she is an adult but still cute sounding for a kid.
What about Emmaline/Emmeline? It could be shortened to Emmie, but leaves a longer option.
I like Emma and Leah. I think they are so pretty and complementary. You can call Emma (or Emme) exclusively Emmie, but she has the longer version to fall back on.
Have you considered Emilia (nn Emmie)? This is my first choice for my future daughter’s name :). Other names that I think go well in style with Emilia are:
Aletheia, pronounced Uh LAY thee ah(nn Allie) – Allie and Emmie is adorable
Clarisa (Emmie and Clara)
Anneleise (Annie and Emmie, or if you pronounce the long name with an “AH” sound, Ani and Emmie)
Louisa (Emmie and Lulu)
Elena/Alaina (Emmie and Leni/Laynie)
Bethany (Bethy and Emmie) – not quite as good a style match, but still cute.
I like Emme or Emma- seems more grown up. This may be from left field but I knew a little girl who went by M.E. I’m not sure her full name: Margaret maybe? Some people hate initial names but I think this one is cute and opens up so many more name possibilities. But then it might not go as well with having a twin and wanting names that go together.
My cousin is named Mary Elizabeth and we always call her Emmy (a sound mash-up of M.E.). I’m not sure why she goes by the initials, but Emmy suits her cheerful light-hearted personality and she’s happy to still list Mary on her resume. Maybe going with M.E. is another idea you could consider?
What about a version of suggestion #4, calling them Emme (or Emma) Lila and Leah Ava? That might help with your “oh, but I love all of these names” feeling when you think about using Leah, and I think they all sound beautiful together. I’d definitely agree with using either the Emme spelling or Emma as the full name rather than just Emmie.
I once read a book with twin girls who had the same first name but went by different variations of it. You could name them both Emelia/Emmelia/Emeleah/etc., and call one Emmie and one Leah (or Lia). It’s sort of cutesy but I think it’s sort of a neat idea to do with twins and a name that has many nicknames (In the book they were Margaret and went by Daisy and Garet).
That’s the sort of thing that people will either love or hate, so I know half the people who hear it think I’m insane and the other half are contemplating what name they would pick for their own twins to share.
When I read Emma and Leah or even Emmie/Emme and Leah, I THINK “Emily.” Emily-uh. I don’t like it, because I’m thinking of all the times you’ll say their names together and it will sound like one name.
“Emmie, Leah, come here!”
Emmie and Lottie = I almost died from perfection. I want to have twin girls just so I can use it. Also, I have a friend who named her daughter Lotte, not as a nickname but as her name. Love that with Emme!
Of the options you’ve given I like Emmie and Leah. It’s great: Emmie will ask about her name and you’ll say it was your favorite name ever. Leah will ask about hers and you’ll tell her she’s named after your favorite person ever. As for confusion, I don’t think there’s much confusion there. Boys especially are often named after their grandparents without much confusion.
Personally I like having a more formal name to fall back on. I’m a Catherine who goes almost exclusively by Katie. But, as a lawyer as well, it’s nice to be able to use Catherine. My favorite formal name for Emmie is Emma. It’s sweet but serious. Formal but not stuffy. And it’s style is closest to Emmie, I think.
Good luck with your babies. Please update us!!!
I like Emelie better than Emerson and I also think Emma or Emily would be good choices.
I voted for Ava, but it was a tough choice between that one and Leah. I’d try mix and matching from your whole list to get middles. Most of the names end in an a sound but I like that double a
Ava Leah
Ava Lila
Emma Isla
Emma Leah
Emma Lila
Okay I voted for Emmie and Leah before I read the comments. I love Leah and if the mom does too then it seemed like a no-brainer. But I totally agree with the poster that Emmie, Leah come to dinner sounds like Emily-uh. Therefore I think Lila is a better fit. I don’t think it matters if one twin goes by a nickname and the other doesn’t.
I really like the idea of giving both girls a more traditional, formal name with a cute nickname. I LOVE the Emma and Charlotte suggestion. So cute! Other suggestions.
Emma and Anna (Annie)
Emma and Grace (Gracie)
Emma and Adelaide/Addison (Addie)
Emma and Elizabeth (Lizzie, Libby)
Emma and Rose (Rosie)
Emma and Nora (Norie)
Emma and Olivia (Livie)
What about the French version of Naomi… I have always thought it sounded beautiful: Noemie. Emmy is an easy nickname with that.
I would use a formal name to fall back on. Emmie is just too cutesy in my opinion. A grown woman with a career or even a 16 year old..
I like the sound of Scarlett and Emmaline, nn Lettie and Emmie. Or Carly and Emmie. Emilia is cute too; would Emmanuelle be too far out for you?
Scarlett Leah and Emmaline Rose!
or Emmaline and Leanne or Annalise, Emmie and Leah.
I agree on Emmie needing a more formal name and I like both Emilie and Emmaline. I also love the idea of using a longer form like Avalon or Avalyn (similar to Evelyn) with nn Ava!
It really depends how you call the kids. I have two, and I call them like this: “Kids, come to dinner.” Or sometimes: “Nora and Max, come to dinner.”
I just love Emme and Lila. They’re perfect.
Use Emma as the full name for Twin A – it’s a lovely name and gives your daughter plenty of options as she grows up. If not Emma, maybe Emilia or Emily would work instead. You could even use Clementine or Clemency – Clemmie or Emmie are obvious and viable nicknames.
Most of our suggestions are very close to Emmie in sound – very vowel-heavy! – and I prefer more distinctive names for siblings. For that reason, I went with Scarlett although I really like the suggestion of Charlotte/Lottie.
I would go with Emme. It just looks more complete than Emmie. Or as someone mentioned above, Emmanuelle. Actress Emmy Rossum’s full name is Emmanuelle Grey. I also know an Emily who is sometimes called Emma. (And for more random movie trivia, Emma Stone’s first name is actually Emily.)
If you are going to go with Emmie as the full name for twin A, I would pick another nicknamey name for twin B, like Sally or Hallie or Molly. It would be weird if one twin had a nickname as full name and the other had a longer name but was called by a nickname.
If you go with Emerson for twin A, you might also consider a more androgynous name for twin B that shortens to a girlie name. For example, Hollis or Holland =Holly (Hollie) or Addison = Addie.
I like others suggestions of using the spelling Emme if you don’t want a longer name. With Emme, I like Lila best from your list. I like the suggestion of Leah as a middle name and perhaps you could give the other twin a middle name to honor another family member.
Good luck!
I think you should go with Emme (instead of Emmie) and Leah. There’s nothing wrong with them and you love them, perfect combo! They are both sweet, pretty names that match in style and length for twins but are different enough for sisters.
At first the Emily-uh thing bothered me, but if you enunciate properly or just say “Leah and Emme” you don’t even have to worry about it.
I agree that spelling it Emme works better. I was going to reference the plus-size model by that name but I see her real name is actually Melissa. Go figure.
I really like Emme and Ava. I like how they sound together, but I also like the parallel treatment with the vowels: Emme starts with one “e” sound (eh) and ends with a different one (ee). Ava starts with one “a” sound (ay) and ends with a different one (ah). They each have a distinctive vowel sound but treated similarly. There is something nice about that for twins. Lots of nice choices though. Good luck!
My name is Emily and family and close friends call me Emmy, while friends and almost everybody else falls to just Em in short order. I like that Emmy is an affectionate nickname and Em a casual one but have never felt comfortable introducing myself as either. That being said I know a 3 year old with the given name Emmy and a 15 year old with Emi. Both are suiting and Emi is a fabulous girl who embodies the name in every way and I’m confident it will suit her in later years as well.
After that mouthful, I guess I prefer going with Emma, but I don’t think you have to worry about the “cute” factor too much. When this generation of babies reaches their careers, there will be many unusual names and most probably won’t even be given a second thought.
I am not a big fan of the spelling Emme. I think Emma is good with the nickname Emmie. I also like Emmeline. Leah makes a great first or middle name to honor your mum.
Leah and Emma (If you go with these names you might want to get in the habit of saying them in this order to avoid the Emelia sound
or
Emmeline and Scarlett/Charlotte with Leah in the MN slot
Are you Scottish? English?
I see Isla is number 5 in Scotland! Compared to 2 hundred something in the US. Just kind of interesting.
Definitely in favor of using Emmeline as a formal name if you want to use Emmie as twin #1’s nickname.
From there I’d use Ava for twin #2- the other names on your list present too many L sounds for me with Emmeline. Emmeline and Ava? Works for me.
Also Avonlea might be a nice compromise for #2 as well- kinda combines Ava and Leah for me in a nice way- plus you can then use Lea or Leah maybe as a nickname. Emmeline and Avonlea also sound nice to my ear.
Good luck!
I have a friend named Emlyn we’ve always called Emmy. I think that’s a nice option! She went by Emmy all through school but now that she’s grown (and a doctor) she introduces herself with her full name.
The spelling ‘Emme’ is very chic.
I’m in the ‘Emme and Leah’ camp.
Easy nicknames could always be Em and Elle (as in ‘L’).
You’ve got some great material on your list, perfect for your sweet daughters!
Best wishes to you and your growing family!
I know twin four-year-olds named Emmy and Maya, so I went for the Emmy and Isla combo, as it sounded familiar to me! Emmy and Maya (the twins I know) are perfect together, both as names & as sisters!
I would likely name my daughter something formally — like Emma, Emily, or Emalyn — and then call her Emmy/Emme/Emmie.
I also love the name Leah. I don’t think you can go wrong with Emma/Emmie & Leah, Emma/Emmie & Isla, or Emma and Charlotte/Lottie.
Wow, thanks everyone!
Firstly, yes I realised that I didn’t mention middle names, whoops! Each girl will have two middle names, most likely in the combos ‘Lynlee Rose’ and ‘Adele Beth’. All four names are honouring (in most cases, more than one person). I did quite like the suggestion of Avalyn, as ‘Lyn’ is my MIL’s middle name. If we did use Avalyn, we would just have to rethink one of the middle names.
My hubby is saying that he really likes Emma (which is weird, because he wasn’t big on it when we were searching for names). So Emma is quite possibly going to be Emmie’s name. I much prefer the spelling Emmie to Emme, so we won’t be using it, though I can see why it looks more like a name.
After reading everything, I am feeling quite ‘good’ about using Leah. So the girls *might* be Emma Lynlee Rose and Leah Adele Beth. I have said ‘Emmie, Leah…’ quite a few times out loud and while I can see how it sounds a bit like ‘Emily-uh’, I don’t think of it like that.
I do love the name Charlotte and love both the nicknames Charlie and Lottie, but unfortunately my hubby doesn’t like it due to a negative association.
So just in case I have confused you all (lol), we are thinking baby A might be Emma ‘Emmie’ and baby B might be either Leah or Avalyn ‘Ava’. In saying this, we will keep the other names on the list and unless something just clicks, we will be choosing baby B’s name when we see her!
I will definitely update you all as soon as possible! :-)
Oh and to the person that asked, I am not Irish/Scottish…I’m Australian!
Another idea for Leah. Paisley is my #1 girl’s name and on the way to work this morning I was thinking about the name and Paisleah crossed my mind. Not sure if I love the spelling – but I love the sound and it has your honor name.
Maybe Paislea is a better spelling. Or Paislia.
I think Emmie is a bit too cutesy. I say go with Emma and call her Emmie.
I like Emma and Ava best.
I grew up with an Emmy. It fit her as a little girl perfectly and now works well as an adult. I prefer the Emmy spelling, and it may just be because I am used to it. But, I also think it cuts back on the “cuteness” of it and may be more appropriate for an adult.
Just wanted to chip in that I was a kid named a name no one has ever called me, and given a childish-sounding nickname, and, as I came into adulthood and fretted about going by my more professional full name, I couldn’t bring myself to do it because it had never been my name– it was just as if I was changing my name to something else.
Just something to keep in mind if you decide to call her Emelie, nicknamed Emmie, that Emmie will grow up feeling like Emmie and not Emelie and just feel strange when she is called by her other name. Not really something she can fall back on– she could just as easily go down and legally change her name to anything she wants.
I think Emma Lyn Rose and Ava Leah Beth would sound so wonderful together and would honor both grandmothers.
Avalyn is nice, although it sounds a bit trendy to me with the y in it. I prefer Avalon Lynley Rose & Emma Adele Beth.
Lynlea could also be a way to get both Lyn and Leah in a name.
I like Emme and Leah!
Can “Emilia” be shortened to Emme?
Emilia “Emme” Scarlett
Leah ___ (Leah Rose? Leah Jane?
One of my favorite names for a girl is Liza. Emme and Liza?
I know someone named Emeline, and I love it.
R., if you do opt for Emma Lynlee Rose and Leah Adele Beth, I think those are very pretty (and complementary) names. Beautiful choices! Best of luck.