K. writes:
Ok, I have to come clean and confess that I visit the SSA.gov web site for popular baby names 3 to 5 times daily racking my brain on a name for our third child. Our little girl is due in May. Since this is our third and final, I just seem to be drawing a blank. I refuse to run names by my family/friends because it opens the door up for extremely vocal opinions. Just recently when my sister shared her top two names before the birth of her daughter, (Beatrice and Margaret) so many people let her know that they hated Beatrice. I do not want to open myself up to that.
My oldest daughter is Natalie Kathryn and her younger brother is Andrew John. I would like to use Marjorie as the middle name to honor my maternal grandmother but it is not a show stopper. Kathryn was the name of my paternal grandmother. I think it would be cute to have both girls be named after my grandmothers.
Our last name is Stoke, with a hard o. (Rhymes with Coke.) I would prefer not to have only one syllable in the first name, I think it might be too choppy. Also, we have alot of girl cousins in the family; so I need to avoid the names Olivia, Josephine, Amelia, Margaret, Lillian, and Valerie. I also would like to avoid the “top ten.”
So here is our preferred names:
Avery
Elsie / Elsa
Eliza
Cecilia
Charlotte
Eleanor (love Ellie or Nora as nick names)
Kristen
Nadine
NoelleI really like Nadine, I have no personal associations with that name. But I was wondering if it had a “southern” feel. Any opinions? I definately like that it is a less popular name.
I also like Noelle, but then I will have 2 daughters with christmas names (Natalie and Noelle). Is that cool or too weird?
My husbands favorite is Avery, but then I wont be able to use Marjorie as the middle name due to too many ee sounds. From a previous post I just read on this site, I think the name Avery Elizabeth is just beautiful. What about Evelyn Marjorie?
Any other names off my radar that I should consider? I typically like traditional names, I really dislike newer names like Kaylee, Brooklyn, Madison, Kayla. I have a strong feeling already that this child will spunky, I would like the name to reflect that! Help!
I don’t see how I can resist a name list that has my own name in it. I don’t think this has ever happened before.
I will say this: I have liked my name. I like the look of it and I like the sound of it, and I like the flexibility of it: I feel like a Kristen can be a teacher or a manager or a lawyer or a Target clerk. I don’t mind having to specify that it’s spelled with a K and an E. I don’t much mind the fairly regular confusions with Kristine, Kirsten, and Kiersten.
I do think of it as a Mom Name now, similar to Michelle and Melissa and Shannon and Nicole and Tracy and Amy and Kimberly and the other names of my peers. That doesn’t mean those names are not still usable now for new babies, but it’s like the girls my age named Barbara and Deborah: it’s a little unexpected to hear one generation’s name on another generation. Though certainly not all that unexpected, considering how many babies are named for their parents’ brothers and sisters.
I think of Nadine as not particularly southern but maybe a little dated, fitting with Pauline and Janine and Maxine and Francine. And yet it doesn’t sound DATED-dated to me, possibly because it wasn’t as common and because I don’t personally know anyone named Nadine: if I knew a couple of 50-year-old or 80-year-old Nadines I might feel otherwise. As it is, I think if I encountered a little girl named Nadine the name would feel fresh and interesting and appealing to me. A more current version would be Nadia. But I think both Nadine and Nadia seem very similar to Natalie; not so similar that you couldn’t possibly use them, but similar enough to take into consideration.
Natalie and Noelle seem like a sweet combination to me, and do somewhat bring Christmas to mind. I think that’s okay, though: it’s not even as themed as naming them Faith and Hope, or Rose and Lily; and it helps that there is another child in between. The name Natalie is common enough now (#14 in 2011) that it doesn’t feel like it’s only A Christmas Name, and Noelle fits beautifully with other -elle names such as Isabelle and Annabelle.
If you’re avoiding Top 10, I might take Avery and Charlotte and Evelyn off the list: Avery was #18 in 2011, and Charlotte was #27, and Evelyn was #24, all still rising steadily. I’d expect them all to be higher when the 2012 statistics come out in May.
I think from your list my favorites with Natalie and Andrew are Eliza and Charlotte and Evelyn. Next favorites are Elsa and Eleanor. Next Noelle and Nadine, which get their lower ranking not because they’re not a good fit but because each has a potential issue of being TOO good a fit; and Cecilia, which gets knocked down for having so many S sounds with Stoke. And last I’d put Avery and Kristen: Avery because I think it belongs to the modern style you don’t like, and Kristen because I worry about its mommishness.
Name update! K. writes:
It took some compromising (husband wanted Kristen or Lauren and I wanted Eliza or Nadine) but in the end we happily settled on the name Charlotte Grace. Thanks again for your help!
I think you hit the nail on the head with Kristen. However, I think it is sweet to tun into a little girl with the same name as a friend my age.
My daughter’s best friend (they’re both 9) is named Jennifer (nn Jenny). At first it felt strange to see a 3 year old called Jenny especially since I have so many personal friends named Jennifer. Now I really love it and I think it is great that both my daughter and I have friends with the same name. My son (age 6) also has a Jenny in his class this year. I was taken aback again but it always makes me smile to see her and say hi.
This summer we spent a week with a little girl named Elsa and it really grew on me. I know a girl named Claire Nadine and I love that. I think Abigail is a good sister name for Natalie.
If you like Kristen I say go for it! In fact, I often say that if you’re looking for a name that is familiar yet likely to be the only one in his/her class while at the same time unlikely to skyrocket in the next few years, you might consider a name from your (or your parents’) generation that is no longer popular. (FWIW, I have Amy and Melissa on the list of names I’d consider, as well as Nancy and Susan from a generation earlier.)
One case where I might hesitate would be if your own name is something “ahead of your generation” (since you just gave an initial I don’t know). I know someone who goes by Jen(ny) who had a daughter named Linda born in the mid-1990s; people frequently thought the mom was Linda and the daughter was Jenny! Not an absolute reason to take the name off the list, but it might be comparable to having a boy Bailey and a girl Dylan together in a sibset – people will often mix up their names (this time based on the genders they’re more common for).
Now I might avoid something like Brittany or Tiffany (names that were truly trendy in their times that you would be shocked to see used before that in your family tree, for example); something like Kristen (or any of the other names that I mentioned that’s on my list) which have a respectable history I think would be sweet and unexpected to see on a modern girl.
If you do go with Kristen something else I’d suggest is to make the middle name something more consistently popular or in style right now, in case she feels her name is too “old” for her.
I really like Eliza or Charlotte with Natalie and Andrew.
Kristen is a great name too.
I’d also like to suggest Michelle, Julie, Louise, Amanda, Nicola, Samantha and Fiona.
Good luck!
I knew a lovely woman named Nadine when I was an undergrad. She has left me with a great impression of the name – also, fwiw, she was DEFINITELY not Southern – from upstate NY, if I remember correctly.
My grandmother was Helen Marjorie and I always thought it was beautiful! In fact, I used Helen as my daughter’s middle name.
Overall, you have great choice in name. I think Noelle and Natalie would work fine. Kristen is great too!
I’d definitely take Avery off the list. In a sib set of Natalie, Andrew, and Avery I would always assume Avery is a boy!
Interesting thoughts about how the parents’ names affect the dated-ness of a baby name. I never thought of that, but totally makes sense. I always like hearing a name in the “wrong” generation IF it is a name I generally like of course!
For some reason, I am drawn to E names for you, like Swistle. I think a name that starts with a vowel that isn’t A would be a great fit.
Oooh I love Nadine. It was the name of a minor character in a Beverly Cleary book. She was a bookish little girl, so maybe not in line with your image of your future daughter as spunky, but I remember liking the name instantly when I came across it. Nadine is sweetly vintage to me. Natalie and Nadine match but aren’t too cutesy which I like. My sister and I loved having the same initial as kids, and with a brother name Andrew, also a name with a strong N sound, I would be hard pressed to find a better combination. I also like Noelle for similar reasons. As Swistle said, I would avoid Avery like the plague if you don’t want a top ten name because I hear it almost daily on newborns where I live. It’s sneaking up the charts fast!
I live in the UK and I think of Nadine Coyle of Girls Aloud when I hear the name, and then I think of Ireland. I think the name has been quite popular in Ireland for some time, so I don’t feel like it’s dated at all.
Elsa and Eleanor are my favorite from your list, however.
I think Eleanor goes the best with Majorie. I like the repetition of the or sound.
Natalie & Nora are very cute together, without being as matchy as it might be if Nora was the full name. It might be kind of tricky to say Nat-ellie & Ellie, but since you have another child in between and Eleanor would be the full name, you probably don’t need to worry about it.
My great-aunt was named Nadine, and she was from New England. I’ve always thought of it as very lovely name, but my Aunt Deeny was a lovely person so it’s hard to separate the two.
Noelle is so wonderful!! I love the subtle Christmas connection, and Noelle Marjorie is just lovely.
Otherwise, have you considered Florence? Floss, Wren, and Flora are all estabished nicknames… pretty cute ones, too! Florence Marjorie?
Best wishes to you and your growing family! Please let us know what you decide.
I have two sisters named Natalie and Kristan. I always thought they sounded well together. My mother used an a in her name because she had been considering Christa. I don’t think it caused any extra troubles for her considering she already had to spell it for others. Kristen also sounds very scandinavian to me.
Nadine is such a fantastic name! For me, it manages to hit “lovely” and “spunky” at once. I’ve no associations with the south – it seems French to me. In that way, and the N beginning, it fits with Natalie to me. I think it also sounds great with Andrew, as it had some similar sounds, while not too much the same. Nadine would be my choice for you!
Eleanor also goes really well with your children’s names, though it doesn’t seem as “fresh” to me. It fits into those “old lady names” (that I LOVE, don’t get me wrong) that in revival now – neither Natalie nor Nadine seem like that to me; they’re classic but sound so sweet and fresh.
I’ll admit, I think your entire list is great, except…eek, Avery. Avery seems be be climbing in popularity in a similar way to the Madison-type names in the recent past. It doesn’t seem as classic as both Natalie and Andrew.
From your list I like Eleanor best. Eleanor Marjorie Stokes is a very nice name. But I also like Elsa and Charlotte. Maybe Christina (or Kristina) instead of Kristen? I was going to suggest Ava instead of Avery so it would go better with Marjorie, but then I remembered, no top 10. I don’t think of Nadine as being associated with any particular part of the country. I can’t decide if I think it’s too close to Natalie or a cute pairing.
I missed Evelyn because it wasn’t on the list part of the post, but I like that one, too, almost as much as Eleanor.
Charlotte, Eleanor, and Noelle are my favourites. Avery doesn’t fit your family at all – too trendy and dated next to 2 popular classics.
I’m just going to suggest Aveline because it seems to incorporate some sounds you like – Avery, Evelyn, and Nadine.
From your list Noelle is absolutely my favorite! I think the very subtle Christmas theme is just so sweet. And I think having girls share an initial is also sweet.
I think Kristen is great. Natalie, Andrew and Kristen are also names of several young-ish actors at the moment so to me none of this rings frumpy or like a mom name to me.
Krissie/Kris is a cool nickname.
I can’t get over how great Eliza Stokes sounds – on its own and next to Natalie Stokes and Andrew Stokes. Also, I don’t think the nickname Elsa is a big stretch at all from Eliza, so you could sort of get two names you like by using one.
My name was most popular among my parents’ generation and for what it’s worth, I really hated it growing up. I felt kind of alienated by it as a kid/teen and while this may have been a figment of my imagination, I felt like adults treated me less like a kid because of it. Even now, people expect me to be in my 50s and are surprised to meet me and discover that I’m in my 20s. I’ve made my peace with it but it’s taken a long time.
Kristen seems the most compatible with Natalie and Andrew, but I am not fond of the repeating ‘st’ in KriSten and SToke. Would you like Lauren — also a modern classic like Natalie and similar in structure to Kristen?
Natalie, Andrew, and Lauren Stoke
I know a family with Noelle, Natalie and Nicole. I think those three names are great together. Outside of starting with N , Nadine doesn’t go with the contemporay sounding Natalie.
I think Lauren is a great suggestion.
Also, what about Erin, Hannah, Claire, Emily, Emma, Alison, Susanna, Amelia, Abigail or Sarah?
All the best!
Anon at 10:43, I had the same experience growing up, with a name that was #6 thirty years before I was born. I have grown to love my name because I was named after my grandmother, but I spent my teen years wanting to change it. And still people expect me to be a different generation if they learn my name before meeting me, which I firmly believe has led to some old lady haircuts.
So I am in the camp of only give your child a previous generation name if there is a truly compelling reason.
I do love Eliza and Eleanor, and the Natalie & Noelle is pleasing to me, instead of too Christmassy. And I don’t think of Nadine as too southern, but wonder if it might be too close to Natalie with the first syllable?
Good luck!