Gail writes:
We have two boys already, Josiah and Tanner, whose middle names are Lewis and William, respectively, after hubby’s grandfather and my dad. We are due with a girl in April. Our first girl.
Our last name is Roberts.My first choice is Colby. I know it’s mostly a boy name, but I don’t like it on boys, I like it for a girl. And I don’t want it with an ie at the end either. The problem is finding a middle name that works. I assume it needs to be girly, since the first name is unisex (or maybe even masculine to some people). But Grace is already in the family (and over-used) so that’s out. Not much else seems to work.Some names I’m considering: Annareese (hubby’s mom {anna} + my mom {teressa}), Emerson, Rae (hubby’s middle name is Ray), Josette.If we don’t go with Colby (Sadie was my first choice previously, but it’s used by a close friend for her daughter, so I don’t want to use that), hubby likes Carleigh (his dad is Carl). I would also consider Scarlett or Colette for first names, but still have the same trouble with finding middle names.We usually use the middle name to name our child after someone, but this is possibly our last child, and we can’t, say, name it after his mom and leave my mom out, and vise versa. We could name the baby after his dad, but the only feminine version of Carl we like is Carleigh, which won’t work as a middle name for Colby, and between the two, I’d prefer Colby. I feel like I’ve been trying too hard. I want a name to just pop out at me and love it (like how it happened when I fell for Colby or Sadie as first names). As of now, everything seems like we have to force it to make it work.My husband tends to lean towards traditional names, and I’m usually the one for the unique. If we used Colby for the first name, I’d be more than fine with a traditional or simple middle name.Any suggestions???Thank you so much!
When you named your first son, you used the name of your husband’s grandfather as his middle name, without worrying that it would leave out your husband’s other grandfather and both of your own grandfathers, and without combining names to make sure they were all covered. When you named your second son, you used your dad’s name as his middle name, without worrying that it would leave out your husband’s dad, and without combining the two dads’ names to make sure you got both in (Carliam! Willarl!).
I don’t think there’s any reason why naming your possibly-last baby (especially since either of the first two babies could also have been the last) needs to make any difference to this pattern: go ahead and use one mother’s name, without worrying that it leaves out the other mother, and without mashing their names together. None of the other honorees have had to share.
Or, you could use both names: Colby Anna Teressa Roberts.
If you only want to use one middle name, and if you go with your first choice of first name, I suggest choosing your husband’s mother’s name—to balance things out, and also since your most recent child was given your father’s name and that way both sets of the children’s grandparents are represented. (Which makes a good explanation for the mothers, too.)
Or, use whichever mother’s name sounds better with the chosen first name. Colby Anna Roberts is nice if you don’t mind the initials CAR, and so is Colby Teressa Roberts. I also like Colette Teressa Roberts, and Scarlett Anna Roberts, and Carleigh with either Anna (CAR again, which is kind of neat in this case since it would also be the first three letters of her name) or Teressa.
Or, if you like the sound of Colby Grace, Colby Rae is almost the same sound, so that seems like a good choice. Or you could ditch the family names entirely, and use Colby Faith or Colby Jane or Colby Paige.
Other names similar to Colby and Sadie (not all are good with the surname, but I’m leaving those in anyway for anyone else consulting the post for ideas):
Ashby
Aubrey
Bailey
Brinley
Cadence
Callie
Casey
Chloe
Cleo
Daisy (same sounds as Sadie, rearranged)
Darcy
Emberly
Hadley
Hazel
Kiley
Lacey
Macy
Maisy
Nadia
Paige
Paisley
Peyton
Ruby
Sage
Shelby
Name update! Gail writes:
I can’t believe I’ve forgotten to update until now. Once my husband learned Colby was a unisex name (I had no idea he didn’t already know), he forbade it. We actually ended up with 2 front-runners: Lila Beth and Brinley Gail. She was born on March 22 and we brought Brinley Gail home from the NICU after some complications 8 days later. Brinley was unique enough for my taste without turning my husband off, and we used my name as the honor name we were looking for, so as not to feel guilty about using one grandmother over the other. Thanks for all your help! I hope Brinley does not end up in the top 10 in the next 20 years! :)
I had an intern named Colby once, girl, and she was lovely! I adore Colby Annareese. It’s fun and unique!
Just wanted to point out that the name Carl is inside Scarlett, and that I’ve heard people use Carly as a nn for Scarlett. I think Scarlett Roberts is a lovely name if you aren’t set entirely on Colby. With a son named Tanner, I would assume Colby was a boy as they are in the same vein of boy names. It’s also a cheese, and kids can be mean. I’m guessing you’ve already considered these factors but like the name enough to get past that. I have also heard a child named Talby and perhaps that name would be one you might like. It wasn’t a nn, it’s just Talby. Anyways, if you keep Colby, I do hope you’d consider Colby Scarlett or I liked Swistle’s Colby Anna Teressa. I think when you use a name that is off the beaten path, it is good to have something more common in the mix in case the child prefers to use something different professionally later, or to avoid teasing, etc. I changed my name from Julie to Claire just because I hated Julie, even though it’s an entirely normal name and my daughter Crimson (who I thought might hate me for that choice someday) absolutely loves her name and thinks her nn Nora is ridiculous. Never can tell!! Good luck!
Colby seems all boy to me, especially with a brother named Tanner. If you decide to use it anyway, I’d avoid Colby Rae since Rae/Ray is more unisex I don’t think it does much to specify that Colby is a girl.
Swistle’s suggestion of Daisy as a rearranged Sadie is inspired! I also really like Maisy for you. I’ll also suggest Lucy, Chelsea & Thandie for you.
As for the middle name, don’t smash them up, just pick the one you like the best with the first name.
I think Darby is in the same vein
I have to agree with the former poster that with Tanner in the sibset as a boy, I would assume Colby was a boy as well.
But of course that does not matter if you don’t mind the mistake getting made.
I like a lot of the suggestions already made! The Carl in Scarlett is cool. I like Shelby or Paisley for you, for names that are like Colby but a bit more feminine. If you do choose Colby, I think there are lots of middle name options, and I agree with Swistle you can choose a family name if you want. I personally like Colby Scarlett though!
Would you consider Sarah, nn Sadie, to satisfy your husband’s preference for a more traditional name and to use a name you love as well?
Sarah Anna-Teressa Roberts? I actually like all those ends in a names together but it might strike others as too repetitive. Or maybe Sarah Anna-Reese Roberts? It’s close to what you had, but using established names.
I think Anissa would be a wonderful way to honor both Anna and Teressa. Scarlett Anissa Roberts nn Carly is my fave. Colette Rae is my second choice since that also avoids the CAR initials.
I know a 1st grader named Selby (no H). I wonder if that might be similar to Colby and also have that tiny “edge” that using a more masculine name has. Shelby, for whatever reason, is a mom name to my ears, but Selby is not. Paisley, from Swistle’s list, jumps out to me too.
Otherwise, what about Colby Anna Grace Roberts?
There’s also Tansy, a legit plant name but stylistically similar to your other faves.
I love the name Colette.
Colette Rae Roberts
Colette Annareese Roberts
Colette Anna Roberts
What about Carla?
Carla Reese Roberts
Carla Rae Roberts
I do like the name Colby, though I might assume Colby and Tanner were both boys, as others have said. What about Renae for a middle?
Colby Renae [or Renee] Roberts
Colby Anna Roberts
Colby Teressa Roberts
Colby Annareese Roberts
Colby Josette Roberts [I really like this one]
The Cody makes me think of the name, Cote (like Cote de Pablo, NCIS. But that sounds very Spanish so maybe not your style.
Colby Joy
Colby June
I like Scarlett and Annareese too.
Gotta say I don’t love Colby on a girl with that sibset.
Firmly in camp Scarlett, but Swistle also had some great suggestions
I’m pretty open to unisex names, both my daughters have one. Though I do think they work better when the surname is itself gender neutral. Roberts is a very masculine surname for a daughter with a unisex name, making it seem even more that Colby would be a brother to Tanner and Josiah. So that puts me pretty much in the Scarlett/Colette camp…
Swistle’s suggestion of using both Anna and Teressa in the middle is great–they do this all the time in England. Either Scarlett Anna Teressa Roberts or Colette Anna Teressa Roberts would make amazing names and honor both your mothers. Annareese is an imaginative idea, too, and would work as either a first or a middle.
Colby is a great name. I like Scarlett for the middle name.
I love the idea of combining two relatives/grandparents of the baby name’s together to make one name (but only when it works, which it does in your case). I think Annareese is a lovely name when said aloud, spelled it is a bit of a puzzle. I think spelling it Ana-Rhys/Anna-Rhys/Ana-Reese/Anna-Reese, with the hyphen works lovely. Colby (I agree that with the y is better then with the ie) is a great name, I generally view it as a boys name that can go female (like Charlie), but not completely unisex (like Taylor).
I think in the middle slot you do not need to go for “girly” or super feminine, but you do need to go with a middle name is more than 50% girl. Emerson and Rae are a bit too boy in my opinion (with the first name Colby). Rae would be cut, but Colby Rae makes me think of Billy Ray…
Colby Josette is cute, but does not roll off the tongue like Colby Anna-Reese (which is the combination I would suggest).
I like Carleigh, but spelled Carly, or even Carlie if you prefer. I am not a fan of change ly or lie or leigh names.
If you like Colby and Carly, maybe you will like Allie, Emmy, Carrie, Billie, Charlie, Drew, Jamie, Joey (short for Jo-names), Lottie, Quinn.
I think Jamie Rae Roberts could work well. Josiah, Tanner and Jamie. I also like Billie, which could be short for Beatrice or Wilhelmina. Beatrice Emerson Roberts, Beatrice Anna-Reese Roberts, Billie Anna-Reese Roberts. I think Emmy or Charlie would also be good choices.
Scarlett and Colette are, however, very feminine names. If you like Scarlett and Colette, what about Juliette? Annabelle? If you go with Annabelle the middle could be Teressa, nicknamed Annie? or Belle? Annabella – Bella? Or you could go Teressa/Theresa “Tessa/Tess” Anna/Anne.
I think Colby Anna-Reese would be a great name. You get both mother’s in the mix, as well as Colby starting with the same initial as your husbands father. You could also do Carly Anna-Reese which gets everybody as well.
I like Colby Roberts. I don’t like the sound of Rae as a MN. Not with the LN Roberts.
I thought of names I like with Roberts.
Clara
Marley
Marla
Hailey
Halle (like Halle Berry)
Calle
Elsie Roberts is so sweet.
I love Swistle’s suggestion of Hadley!
I really like Colby Teressa Roberts. I know a little girl named Lillian Teressa and I think it is an adorable combination! If you wanted to honor both grandmothers, you might consider a Colby Anna-Teressa Roberts, but I think that Colby Teressa is fine by itself. I choose a unisex style name for my daughter with my mother’s name as the middle name. It felt more special to me to honor my mother and my mother-in-law never complained. Congrats!
I know a little girl named “Colby Louise,” and that seems perfect to me. The “Louise” makes the name all girl. Also, it’s fun to say.
Hi there,
I think I’d agree with those who would be hesitant to name a girl Colby when you already have a boy Tanner. I agree that it’s a cute and fun name, but I’d lean more towards the Scarlett idea.
I have an Annalise, so when I see “Annareese” I hear Annalise with an accent, probably because I’ve never heard it before. Just something to consider. Best of luck! : )
Hearing the name Colby makes me think ‘boy’, and I even knew a girl named Colby! (At one point, her mother introduced her at a home-owner association meeting, and one of the friendly neighbors said, “Ah, yes. Very nice name. Cheese, is it?” Neither her or her mother were pleased.)
On the other hand, if you like names like Sadie, do you like:
Lydia (Lyddie)
Delia (Dee or Leah)
Elizabeth (Lizzie)
Maybree
Penelope (Penny)
Natasha (Taisy)
Melinda (Lindy)
Naomi
Susannah (Suzie)
Marietta (Maisie)
Then there’s always the possibility of naming her Anna Teressa. Annie is a pretty cute nickname!
Congratulations and best wishes to you and your growing family!
I think Colby is lovely, i have a friend with a Colby Rose, so I am going to recommend Rose as a middle name. I have never thought of cheese or a boy for my friend’s daughter, but it might be because I think of her as Colby Rose. I wouldn’t worry for two seconds about someone thinking she’s a boy (I mean, it will be a girl, what the hell?) or cheese, I mean, those people who would mention that, in my experience, will say anything so you may as well pick a name that you love.
Oh my gosh, thank you all so much. I will keep this post saved and reread Swistle’s suggestions and those in the comments over and over every day until I decide :)
Gail