Sara writes:
Okay so I keep thinking we’ll figure this out, unassisted, but we need help!!
We’re due with baby #2 right at the beginning of August. The gender is a surprise! Last name is pronounced “May-duh.”
We have a 17 month old girl Avery Hughes. Her middle name is my middle name, which is my mother’s maiden name. We both just loved the name Avery and it fits her to a tee.
If this child is a boy we think we have the name….
Carson Fisher (Fisher is another family name)For getting a feel for our taste other boy names we like include Levi, Corey, and Owen.
For a girl here are our top two picks, slightly ranked, though lots of disagreements between us exist!
Caroline (husband’s all time fave. I think I could like it, but then I feel we would never use Carson for a boy. And I hear it pronounced Carolyn all of the time. AND I’m a big nickname person and I dislike Carol. Can Callie be used as a nick name?)
Margaret (both of our dear grandma’s were Margarets. We don’t care for Maggie….so we’re way on the fence with this one.)
Others in the mix that cause disagreements one way or the other include: Blair, Katherine, Hannah, Paige
As for middle names we are thinking of using Grace, because we both like it.
For Margaret would an option be to name her “Margaret Elizabeth” and call her M.E. (as in Emmy?) We both kind of like that idea, but aren’t sure about how silly that is, sounds, and will be carried out.
Why was naming our first so easy!?!?!
Thanks a ton for your help!!
Avery is a unisex surname name, and so is the boy-name candidate Carson. Caroline and Margaret are both in another category—more of a timeless, traditional, British royalty category. So if we were talking about this over coffee, the first question I’d ask is if you’d like the sibling names to coordinate: some people like them to, and some people don’t mind either way. I think it matters more if there’s one single stand-out name than if there’s a happy jumble—so if you have a girl this time but might have a Carson later, I’d be more inclined to urge you to find a girl name in the Avery/Carson style category.
As I look, I’m finding that many names go TOO well with Avery. Ellery, for example, gets me singing “Avery and Ellery / Live together in perfect harmony.” And although I don’t want to be overly influenced by the idea of a possible Carson later on (you might not even be planning more children, or you might have all girls, or you might change your mind on the name by then), names like Teagan and Peyton seem to take sides with Carson instead of with Avery; it’s not of utmost importance, but it did motivate me to find a softer ending for a girl name. Names like Darcy and Callan and Carys would likely rule out Carson later, so I tried to avoid those too. And Brinley would be really great (especially if you had a Carson next: A, B, C), unless the initials bother you; they do bother me, so I ended up skipping over some possibly very good names from the B section (Bailey, Berkeley, Briony, Braelyn).
Finley is my first choice. It’s another unisex surname name, currently used more often for girls than for boys. Finley Mayduh; Avery and Finley. I like the idea of giving her a family middle name like her sister has, and I love the sound of Finley Margaret.
Another possibility is Hollis, a unisex name used more often for boys (47 girls and 86 boys in 2010, according to the Social Security Administration), but it strikes me as more feminine because of the nickname Holly. Hollis Mayduh; Avery and Hollis.
Or Shelby. Shelby Mayduh; Avery and Shelby.
Delaney Mayduh; Avery and Delaney.
Skylar Mayduh; Avery and Skylar.
Sydney Mayduh; Avery and Sydney.
Ryleigh Mayduh; Avery and Ryleigh.
Rory is probably too similar, but I do like it and it reminds me of Corey from your list. Rory Maydah; Avery and Rory.
Owen makes me think of Rowan. I love it with Avery, but might not use it now if I wanted to use Carson later. Rowan Mayduh; Avery and Rowan.
If Paige isn’t quite right, maybe Padgett. Padgett Mayduh; Avery and Padgett.
But I like Finley much more than any of these, and in fact I’m feeling like pressuring you to use it. Avery Hughes and Finley Margaret!
Speaking up as a Caroline to say that she would certainly be called Carolyn by a lot of people. You get used to it, but you can’t avoid it.
I like a lot of your names but I agree with swistle about the styles. If you want a similar style, my favorite is Riley (or a variation of) or Paige… and if you ever have a boy, choose a slightly more masculine name to avoid confusion. I love the name Avery by the way! :)
As a Caroline, too, I have to say that Carolyn is unavoidable. BUT, it does not make my life any harder by saying “it’s Caroline, not Carolyn”. Most people do say Caroline and after correcting someone once, they usually remember and it’s not a big deal. Plus, it’s a great name ;)
I have a good friend named Mary Elizabeth, who goes by M.E., pronounced Emmy. It works really, really well. Good luck with your choice!
A Margaret wouldn’t have to be Maggie, you could use Meg, Greta, Daisy-there are a lot of traditional nicknames for it. I think M.E would be fine though. I do think Margaret and Caroline sound a lot more feminine than Avery. If I heard of Avery & Margaret or Avery & Caroline of a sibset, I would probably assume Avery was a boy even though I know it’s being used for girls. What about just using the name Emmie or Emmy? You seem to like it and sounds like a little better fit for Avery. I also like Madison, Harper and Darcy for you.
I like most of your names. But I do agree with swistle. If you want the names to go together I would go with Finley or Rowan. Also I think Harper is a good name to go with Avery. Good Luck!
You both like Grace. Avery and Gracie sound great together to me. I think of Avery sounding plenty feminine. Grace Margaret Mayduh.
We named our daughter Cailyn (long ‘a’ sound) with the intention of calling her Callie (short ‘a’ sound). Callie hasn’t quite stuck – as it isn’t the most natural nick name – but I haven’t given up hope of using it!
That said, I think Callie could be used for Caroline, but it might take some effort and enforcing to make it happen. In that case, I would recommend using Callie from day one – which is something we didn’t do.
I agree that if you have a girl, Caroline or Margaret might make Avery sound like a boy’s name. They’re just such different styles. I think Paige or Blair fit the best, style-wise, but neither go with Grace as a middle name very well.
It’s up to you whether you care or not about matching styles. Any of the names you’ve picked are lovely. I really like the name Margaret with the nickname Greta.
For a boy’s name, I like Owen.
If you want a name that starts with M, instead of Margaret, what about Marisol or Marigny (Mare-ih-nee)? Mirrin or Mirren, and Morrow are also feminine sounding, yet fit well with Avery.
I like Swistle’s suggestion of Finley. I also really like Harper and Piper for you, but both are more popular. Tatum is also a possibility.
A name that starts with C and would work better with Avery than Caroline is Calla–even though it’s a classic name, because it’s 5 letters and more stream-lined it “reads” more modern. Even Coraline, because it is more of the moment, could fit with Avery.
I really like Finley Margaret. I was also going to suggest using Grace as a first name. Grace Margaret is very cute. I know siblings Avery and Harper. Harper Grace would be cute as well.
I think my favorite name with Avery would be Emerson. Emerson Grace or Emerson Margaret are both too cute. This would give you the nickname options of Emmie, Em, etc.
Caroline and Margaret make me think of Elizabeth, which has tons of cute nicknames. Libby, Lizzie, Bess, Ellie, etc.
Other unisex names:
Quinn–either Quinn Caroline, Quinn Margaret
Charlotte–it would give you the unisex nn Charlie
Arden–surname, maybe too close to Avery or it could be cute
Marlow/e–nn Marley, sounds like Margaret
I know a girl Carson and she ROCKS. Her parents gave her a very feminine middle name in case she didn’t like Carson when she grew up, but she loves being Carson. I think that Carson Grace for a girl would be perfect!
Caroline is a favorite of mine, but I’m not sure it fits stylistically with a unisex older sibling. Also, only one of you loves it. The two grandmothers makes a powerful case for Margaret that might override concerns about the names fitting together. As someone already pointed out it has a lot of nicknames besides Maggie (Daisy, Greta, Meg), or you could use it as a middle. The fact that you both like Grace is a point in its favor. Avery and Gracie share enough sounds to tie them together. My top choice of your current and discarded list would be Blair, though. I like Blair Margaret quite a bit. That would be my recommendation if whichever of you didn’t like it changes his or her mind.
My name suggestions may be more feminine than unisex but..
Devon Grace (avery and devon)
Liza Grace (avery and liza)
Ellis Grace (avery and ellis)
Callie Grace (avery and callie)
Emily Grace (avery and emily)
Hillary Grace (avery and hillary)
Alexandra Grace (Avery and alexandra or alex)
Kendall Grace (avery and kendall)
Whitley or Whitney Grace (avery and whitley/whitney)
Coleman Grace (avery and coleman)
You could use Carson for a girl, too — Carson Grace?
Jamie Grace? or Jayme Grace?
Names I like with Avery: Natalie, Macy, and swistle’s suggestion of Sydney. Also, Clara Margaret. I also like using Elizabeth as a first name and calling her Betsy. One Caroline that I knew was always called Lonnie growing up.
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Caroline has as nicknames Cady or Caddie (like Caddie Woodlawn).
Aside from Carson Cressley on tv, the only Carsons I know are girls in my 10 yo son’s grade in school (two of them!).
I think Swistle is right- Finley is perfect. :)
First I LOVE Carson Fisher! (My hubby won’t use Carson due to childhood friend but Fisher is still on our boy list!)
Second I agree with Swistle – Finley Margaret is PERFECT. Love it.
Third To throw another name in the mix Avery & Paisley is pretty cute too! Paisley Margaret.
I love Finley!
FWIW, I have a friend with kids named Carson and Caroline and I’ve never thought twice about it. Also, it wasn’t until my college roommate that I ever heard of Caroline being pronounced Carolyn- I always heard it like NINE growing up.