Baby Girl Ferreira, Sister to Nicolas Vi

Jennifer writes:

I really love your blog and have been following it since I was pregnant with my son.  My husband and I are expecting our second child, a girl, at the end of Oct. this year.  We’re having a difficult time coming up with a name.  My husband’s name Michael Ferreira and my name is Jennifer Dai-Ferreira.  We’ve decided on a Vietnamese middle name to pay tribute to my heritage.  The middle name will be “An” pronounced like the name “Ann”.  It means peace in Vietnamese.  We have a 3 year old son named Nicolas Vi Ferreira.  His middle name is also Vietnamese and means vitality or strength.  It was also the name of my great grandfather. 
My husband and I are considering the following names for our baby girl:
Madeleine
Penelope
Giselle
Sophie
My favourite is Giselle but I don’t think it works with the middle name ‘An’.  I’m considering adding another middle name before An but I’m afraid it may be too cumbersome.
As for the name Madeleine, I’m afraid it may sound too old fashion and I don’t like the nickname ‘Maddy’.  I would prefer ‘Leni’. 
I like the name Penelope but I’m not in love with it.
I also like the name Sophie but I’m not sure it’s a name that could carry her from childhood into adulthood.
Since both my name and my husband’s name are so common, we would like to give our daughter a less common name.  There were always at least two other Jennifer‘s in my class growning up.
Lastly, I want to give her a name that will withstand the test of time and will serve her well wherever her life and career takes her.
Any suggestions would be welcomed!

If it’s important to avoid common names, Madeleine and Sophie are both probably out. The Social Security Administration lists Sophie as the 51st most popular girl name in the United States—but Sofia is the 19th, and Sophia is number one. And adding up the various spellings of Madeleine, Madeline, Madalyn, Madelyn, Madilyn, etc., brings that right into the Top Ten.

Madeleine, furthermore, can feel like it’s in a group with the other Maddy/Addy names (Madison, Addison, Adelyn, etc.), which may make it feel even more common than Sophie/Sophia/Sofia: a classroom with only one Madeleine but also a Madison, and Addison, and an Adelyn may feel similar to a classroom with two or three Jennifers. This feeling could be significantly reduced if she goes by Leni—but I think that nickname might be a hard-sell for a public so accustomed to the Madeleine/Maddy combination, a bit like trying to get a Jennifer called anything but Jen or Jenny: possible, but challenging.

The good news about the names’ popularity means that Madeleine definitely doesn’t sound old-fashioned right now, and Sophie will definitely be considered a childhood-to-adulthood name (though you could also use Sophia and nickname her Sophie). And since the current #1 most popular girl name in the United States is only used about 1/3rd or 1/4th as much as the name Jennifer was in its #1-status prime, perhaps neither one is so common it needs to be ruled out.

Penelope is less common but is currently doing a bit of a race up in popularity; it’s hard to know where that will end up. Penelope An is adorable, however, and Penelope is currently only the 169th most popular girl name. For perspective, the Social Security Administration reports than in 2011 there were 28,980 baby girls named Sophia/Sofia, and another 4,690 named Sophie, but only 1,847 named Penelope.

I think your favorite is also great, and that Giselle An Ferreira works just fine. The name Giselle is slightly more common than the name Penelope (there were 2,030 new baby girls named Giselle in 2011), but it feels LESS common because it’s been doing less leaping-and-bounding up the charts. It has been rising, perhaps because of the currently popular -elle ending, but seems to have tapered off for now.

If you had a back-up choice for the middle name, Gillian/Jillian or Gianna would be similar options. Ooo, or Geneva or Genevieve or Georgia or Josephine or Annabel! Or Gemma or Noelle or Lena. And I always think of Fiona when I’m considering Sophia, but I’m not sure how well that goes with the surname.

15 thoughts on “Baby Girl Ferreira, Sister to Nicolas Vi

  1. Laura

    Your favorite, Giselle An, is perfect, and Swistle gave you some other great options. Here are a couple of other suggestions from my own favorite list:

    Helena (you can get the nickname Leni with this)
    Veronica
    Camilla
    Cordelia
    Vanessa
    Felicity

    Reply
  2. Kate

    Helen or Eleanor would also give you the nickname Leni, and they’re less popular than Madeleine. I particularly like Eleanor An.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    Giselle An is lovely, I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t go together.
    Swistle gave some great suggestions, I’ll add Charlotte, Elise, Juliette & Evelyn.

    Reply
  4. Lashley

    I like Giselle An as well and it really seems to fit the bill for you!

    Your list strikes me as feminine with a tilt towards the French. If not Giselle, what about –
    Gabrielle An
    Phoebe An
    Collette An
    Camille an

    Best!

    Reply
  5. Mimi Honeybeelion

    Kourtney Kardashian just named her daughter Penelope which is not a big deal in and of itself. However, she named her older son Mason and it climbed the charts to #2 last year. Penelope wasn’t in the top 1000 for nearly 25 years and has jumped 800 spots in a decade. I bet it will jump high this year and break into the top 100 for 2012.

    I love Giselle An.

    Other suggestions:

    Helena
    Eleanor
    Gabrielle
    Evangeline
    Valentina
    Milena
    Adrielle

    Reply
  6. AirLand

    Use Giselle An! It’s a very nice name. Those two names sound great together.

    I agree that Madeleine sounds too popular for what you’re looking for, but it is a lovely name despite that. But I’m not a fan of how it flows with An.

    Penelope is also nice, but I don’t like it as much for you as I do Giselle.

    Sophie is cute, but pretty overused.

    Reply
  7. StephLove

    I think Giselle and An sound fine together and if it’s your favorite and that’s the only thing holding you back, I’d use it. I also like Penelope An quite a bit and Madeleine An, though it is probably more popular than you’d like. Eleanor was a great suggestion.

    How about

    Alexandra
    Charlotte
    Josephine
    Samantha

    Reply
  8. Anonymous

    I think Madeleine is a little too popular, but adore the spelling and nickname Leni. I think you could definitely get away with that nickname. As her mother, people will follow your lead as to what to call her. I think Giselle An works perfectly. I personally am not a fan of Penelope. Agree that Sophie feels a little bit too “little girl” for an adult woman. I love the suggestions of Helena and Eleanor. What about Adelaine An? That would lend itself to the Leni or Laney nickname.

    Reply
  9. Christine B.

    Giselle An sound great :-)

    Oh and by the way, do you have any tips on what to consider when you’re naming boys and girls (I’m expecting TWINS!) and his parents are German and really have a hard time pronouncing English words?

    Reply
  10. Laura

    To Christine B – why not try names that are pronounced the same in English and in German:

    Alexander
    Albert
    Daniel
    David
    Eric
    Felix
    Philip
    Robert
    Sebastian
    Thomas
    Oscar

    Anna
    Christina
    Claudia
    Laura
    Martina
    Katrina
    Kirsten
    Stephanie
    Susanna
    Vanessa
    Sonja
    Melanie
    Monica
    Marina
    Victoria
    Sophie
    Matilda

    Reply

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