Kinsey writes:
Here we go. You’ve helped me twice before so I’m counting on you again! This is the biggest predicament we’ve been in though. I’m pregnant with our third child (gender will be a surprise) and we are absolutely clueless on girl options for our baby!! Neither of us like anything at all! We have a 3 yr old boy, Joseph Hank (goes by Hank), and a 14 month old girl, Stella Rose. Both kids have family names (Joseph and Rose) and we are thinking of one of the following family names for middle if baby is a girl: Leigh, Lauren, Clark
Some things to think about:
We like different, without being too weird.
I love the double L in Stella and think it would be neat to find another girl name with that, but definitely not a must.
Obviously we like old school names.
I like girly names, but still with spunk!Suggest away!
Thanks!
If the baby is a boy, it would be fun to find a name that parallels Hank’s: a name like Joseph, followed by a name like Hank. Something like William Gus.
Names like Joseph:
Andrew
Daniel
David
Matthew
Michael
Nicholas
Samuel
William
Names like Hank:
Abe
Dean
Gus
Ike
Mack
Mitch
Moe
Otto
Sully
A few sample combinations:
Andrew Dean
Daniel Mack
David Abe
Matthew Otto
Michael Sully
Nicholas Mitch
Samuel Abe
William Gus
Or, if you’d rather not call him by his middle name, I think I would choose a first name that ideally sounded like both Joseph and Hank: Samuel, for example, which goes well with Joseph, but then Sam goes well with Hank. Or Nicholas: Joseph/Nicholas, Hank/Nick.
If the baby is a girl, I suggest the name Harriet. It has a double R, and I think it’s great with Stella and Hank. More suggestions:
Alice
Bonnie
Charlotte (Lottie, Charlie)
Cordelia (Delia)
Frances (Frankie)
Georgia (Georgie)
Hazel
Henrietta
Ivy
Louisa
Louise
Lucille (Lucy)
Lydia
Mattea (Mattie)
Milly
Molly
Ruby
Matilda (Tilly)
Phoebe
Tess
Name update! Kinsey writes:
Baby #3 is a GIRL and we are thrilled! Branum Everleigh Powell was born today, March 27th, and we love her name! Branum (bran-um) is my maiden name and my parents only had daughters, so we thought even though it might take some people getting used to it, we love her unique name. My dad is thrilled for it to be carried on ;). And my sister’s middle name is Leigh so putting a spin on that for the middle seemed just perfect to us too! Thanks for all of your suggestions! Our other top choices were Millicent and Lucy, but we couldn’t pass up family…
Cheers!
Hank, Stella, and:
– Molly (love this suggestion from Swistle!)
– Lillian
– Miriam
– Elena or Magdalena (both get you a nn close to Layne, like you liked before)
– Selena (For some, this may be just a bit too cute next to Stella, but I love it. The Star and Moon meanings are so stinking cute.)
Hank, Stella, and:
– Everett (nn Rhett)
– Warren
– Aaron
– Edward (nn Ted)
Good luck. Great names!
I like the suggestion of Dean as a middle. It seems to go with almost everything, but I especially like Andrew Dean, Matthew Dean, Nicholas Dean and William Dean. It reminds me of Dane, which I think would also work with all those names.
I like Charlotte for the girl name. Maybe Charlotte Leigh or Charlotte Lauren?
I think Josephine might be too much even if “Joseph Hank” does go by Hank alone. I also noticed that “Michael Sully” is a combination of the main characters from the movie Monsters Inc (Mike and Sully) It was just a funny occurrence to note :)
I think I like Nicholas the best for a boy. I have always loved the name and if we weren’t friends with a Nicholas we’d use it ourselves (it just seems a bit odd, like naming a child after a colleague).
I suggested the names Penny and Polly….and I’m going to again! I especially like Penny because it combines the sounds of both Hank and Stella. Hank Stella and Penny! I think Polly is cute if you’re looking for a double L name.
Good luck!
You present quite the challenge!! And I am starting to get into Swistle’s discussion style so I am fighting not to leave a giant comment with my entire thoughts spelled out.
In short, I keep coming back to Millie/Milly for you!
Hank, Stella and Millie.
I like it. The only other thing that has stuck for me at all is Lela – similar spelling to Stella but pronunciation is different enough. Or you could spell it Layla, like Layne.
Hank, Stella, and Layla.
I also like that!! For boys, I think Swistle has some great options! I am sorta stuck on Mitch for some reason, and think Andrew Mitch or maybe William Mitch would be good. Or go with Mitchell. Mitchell William.
Here’s another one: Isabelle… or Annabelle (okay that was two.)
Jill- Good catch, thanks—yes, definitely Joseph and Josephine won’t work! I’m taking it off the list.
I like Caroline
Oh, I love William Gus. I’ll also suggest my grandfather’s name, James Mack. Joseph Hank & James Mack, Hank and Mack.
Swistle has a lot of really nice suggestions for a girl. I like Harriet, but did notice that Tori Spelling has a Hattie & Stella. It wouldn’t bother me, but some people might be bothered by this.
I’ll also suggest Violet, Sadie, Nora and Iris.
For a girl, Calla Lauren or Calla Leigh.
Millie or Callie or Polly are wonderful ideas! And Dean with Hank is perfect.
I love Mallory for you! Antique, literary, & lovely. Mallory Lauren or Mallory Clark. Mallory Clark is so retro & cool! Hank, Stella & Mallory.
You mentioned using Clark as a potential girl middle name. What about as a boy’s name. David Clark. Samuel Clark. Matthew Clark. If you like Clark well enough, you can go with Clark.
Hank, Stella and Clark.
I especially like the name Tess from swistle’s name list…
Hank, Stella and Tess (or Tessa if you want it even more matchy with Stella).
I like Harriet, Lydia, Louisa and the suggested Mallory. They are each three syllables, which give you a natural progression in rhythm (sort of a haiku effect). I really like Harriet and Mallory because they have a different ending than Stella. I would give another single syllable middle name to tie things together and to keep the syllables from piling up- maybe another nature name like Harriet Leigh or Mallory Brooke. (I actually like Mallory Wrenn, but I think Brooke fits the style I’m seeing a bit better, and I like that it adds some percussive elements to the very soft Mallory.)
If you like double-L names, I like Milly, Molly, Holly & Mallory. Romilly, Brielle, and Romilly are all on my list of favorites. Lauren is a beautiful name for a middle. I love the name Andrew for a boy, you could call him Drew. Best of luck!
That is to say, Romilly, Brielle and Marilla are all on my list of favorites!