Sara writes:
Hello to you Swistle and your wonderful helpers!
We are very much hoping for some name wisdom, as we seem to be stuck. We are expecting our 2nd little girl in June and she will be joining big sister, Adelaide Fiona. (We were really close to naming her Fiona but having the last name, Ryder, Winona Ryder seemed too close. Now we wouldn’t change it for the world, Adelaide is just right for her)
Baby sister coming in June has two potential names and we are struggling to choose. The two names are Juliette & Nicolette. Obviously, only one can be used and we don’t know which. We love and adore Juliette, (especially this spelling but would people pronounce it JU-lee-ette or would they say as Juliet – Jul-jet) if pronounced right, but fear the popularity of the name and my husband is unsure of how irritating it will be for her to say: My name is Juliette with TE at the end.
We also love and adore Nicolette, as it is similar to Juliette but is much less popular. We think it has a very elegant touch to it. Both names are French as her first name will honor my French heritage as Adelaide honors husband’s German roots.
We want a French name but are also worrying about the length of the names. We don’t mind long names but Adelaide has Ada and Addie as occasional nicknames but we don’t see any we like for Nicolette or Juliette. Another thing someone pointed out was that Nicolette made her think of Nicorette. IS this an issue?
After writing all of this out, I worry we haven’t found the name for her at all. Had she been a boy her name would’ve been Dashiell or Lucian (we really wanted to use Mason, had it not been so popular).
Right now, as you see, we are struggling. We want to find her name fast. Should it be Nicolette or Juliette or a third? We hope you can help us out!
A couple of years ago at kindergarten drop-off, one of my twins had a Nicolette in class—AND this Nicolette had the kind of parent who says the child’s name with every single sentence. So I got a nice year-long exposure to the name and, if it helps, never thought of Nicorette. I’m not sure why, since they’re only one letter off from each other, but those two names are just completely separate in my mind. Even after I read your letter and put it into the spreadsheet, I’d forgotten the Nicorette thing by the time I came back to it.
Probably because of Nicollette Sheridan (who was born in the early 1960s), and because of the immense popularity of the name Nicole in my own generation, I feel like Nicolette is different in era/style from Adelaide, and Juliette feels like a better fit to me. But I think either one works.
I suspect either Nicolette or Juliette would develop its own nickname over time. Maybe it would be something not related to the name, or maybe her sister will call her Nini or Leelee, or maybe one of the nicknames you don’t like would turn out to fit her perfectly. (I’m trying to remember which Liz I know whose parents said they’d really wanted to avoid the nickname Liz—but then it turned out she was “SUCH a Liz!”) Or maybe you’ll find you like a nickname better if it can be combined with the middle name, or with a nickname of the middle name: for example, Nicolette Louise could be Lettie Lou.
Juliette does not seem very popular to me yet. According to the Social Security Administration, the name Juliet was #252 in 2011 and the name Juliette was #377; the name Adelaide was #407 but climbing at a much more rapid rate. I’d expect to see them at very compatible rankings when the 2012 data comes out next month.
I think you’re right that a Juliette would have to specify each time that her name was spelled with an -ette instead of an -et. But speaking as a Kristen who always has to specify that it’s with a K and an -en, I can say it hasn’t been something that’s seemed like a burden. So many people have to spell their names (is it Trisha or Tricia? Jen or Jenn? Isabelle or Isabel? Sophia or Sofia? Aiden or Aidan? Sarah or Sara? Lila or Lilah? Ann or Anne?), it feels like a normal thing to me.
Which of the two names do you LIKE better? I found I couldn’t tell from the letter; if I could tell, I would probably push you in that direction.
In the meantime, if it would be fun to consider more possibilities, I suggest Celeste. It’s probably my top favorite French name for girls right now. Celeste Ryder; Adelaide and Celeste.
Or wait, maybe Simone is my favorite. Simone Ryder; Adelaide and Simone.
Or maybe it’s Genevieve (unless Genevieve is only French if it’s pronounced like john-vee-ev, which I also like but it’s not the version I’m thinking of). Genevieve Ryder; Adelaide and Genevieve.
Or Noelle. Noelle Ryder; Adelaide and Noelle.
Or Estelle. Estelle Ryder; Adelaide and Estelle.
Or Lisette is pretty. Lisette Ryder; Adelaide and Lisette.
I see Eloise on a list of French names; I don’t think of it as smacking of Frenchness—but if it’s French enough, it’s probably my actual first choice. Eloise Ryder; Adelaide and Eloise.
Let’s have a poll, too, to see which of your two finalists everyone prefers! (This is my first time using this new kind of poll, so let’s hope for success but brace for failure.)
Nicolette is really tied to the show Big Love for me. It was the name of the polygamist main character’s second wife, played by Chloe Sevigny, which probably isn’t a big deal if you haven’t watched the show but something you might hear from people who followed it. She went by Nicki. So while I like the name, Chloe with her old-fashioned hairdo and long skirt is my main mental image. I think Juliette is the better stylistic match for Adelaide and I agree that everyone has to spell their name at some point so I wouldn’t shoot down a name you love on that alone. Some other -ette names: Georgette, Colette (it’s Nicolette without the Ni!), Evette, Josette, Anette, Myriette…umm. How about Adrienne? That’s one of my favourite French names, and if you don’t mind the girls sharing an initial I think it’s lovely.
I realise this post is 4 years old but jus to say my name is Nicolette and I love it!
I think Juliette is perfect. And the nickname Etta could be used for either name!
I think this might be one of those cases where the younger sibling’s name could put a spin on the older sibling’s name….Adelaide & Nicolette reads more classic Nashville to me than German & French. The Nicorette associate occurs to me as well, although I’m sure I’d get over it quickly with an actual little girl. Juliette probably does have the spelling issues you mentioned, but I don’t think they’d be a huge annoyance. My instinct would be to say it with a clear emphasis on the -ette with that spelling, but I can’t tell if that’s what you’re hoping for. I think Adelaide & Juliette go well together if you want a traditional feminine vibe. Colette might be a great option if you want something more obviously French than Nicolette or Juliette. I’d also suggest Mariette or Elodie.
If it is Frenchness you are after, I would go with Juliette. Nicolette, to me, feels like a French take on the Russian Nicola/Nicholas/Nicklause family of names. I do think that Colette feels much more French than Nicolette.
As far as the pronunciation goes- I wouldn’t concern myself with how others say it. Just enjoy saying it your favorite way and ignore others.
Sara, I’m so glad that you brought up the Nicorette association because I didn’t want to have to be the one to do it. It’s all I can think about when I think of the name Nicolette. I love the name Juliette and I do think that people will pronounce it Ju-lee-ett, not Jul-yet. But I also want to second Swistle’s suggestion of Genevieve.
I too thought “sounds like Nicorette” when I read your letter, sorry. Thus, my vote went to Juliette. It’s a lovely name.
And when I looked up both names on a French baby name website, that reinforced my preference for Juliette because Nicolette has never been used very much in France. According to a French baby name website, Nicolette was given to less than 3 baby girls in 2009 (last stats given), and even when Nicolette was at it’s most popular, in 1960, only 24 babies were given the name: http://www.aufeminin.com/w/prenom/p14745/nicolette.html
On the other hand, 2375 French baby girls were called Juliette in 2009, when the name ranked #23: http://www.youcantcallitit.com/2010/04/21/top-100-french-baby-names/
So that’s another reason to choose Juliette, a current French favorite that isn’t overly popular in the U.S.
I wouldn’t be concerned about the pronunciation of Juliette: I’ve never heard it said any way other than JOO-lee-et by English-speakers, and if someone happens to say it the other way, you can simply correct them. There is that possibility with just about any name. As for spelling, that too comes up fairly often with many names, and I would just say — and your daughter can say when she’s older– that her name is spelled the French way and then spell it out. (It’s no different than with the classic Catherine, Katherine, Kathryn, for example)
As for nicknames, I happen to love Julie and find it timeless. So French! But if you want something different, maybe you could call her “Liette” — very pretty and French-sounding (similar to Lisette) or Etta.
I think you’ve found a lovely French name in Juliette, and Adelaide and Juliette would be darling together!
I think the names you are considering are absolutely adorable and I love Adelaide Fiona. You didn’t mention anything about a middle name but I would definitely stick with Juliette but if you are in fact having 2nd thoughts, I think the one poster’s idea of Adrienne is lovely as well as Swistle’s idea of Genevieve or Eloise or even Elodie. I also LOVE Vivienne and it is also a long name but has the adorable nickname of Vivi. Addie & Vivi sounds cute
Eloise absolutely struck me in this post. It’s not really one of my favorites (maybe because of it’s similarity to Elise while being so different at the same time?), but Adelaide and Eloise had such a beautiful alliteration to me–musical, almost. Since the names will be said together a lot in the next several years, I like that idea. I also think it fits the somewhat-trendiness of Adelaide. Plus, I kind of like the two names starting with vowels–it feels like matching without actual matching.
If we’re choosing just between Juliette and Nicolette, I’d pick Juliette. I think it’s beautiful and classic and yet still modern (made so by shows like Lost and Nashville). And it sounds a little gentler than Nicolette–something about the C sound with the Ts has a harshness to me–that fits really well with Adelaide.
I complete agree about the musicality of Adelaide and Eloise!
A while back I read on some baby name blog that when using a name from another language, American parents might want to check that the name is currently being used in that country, lest they end up naming their daughter the equivalent of an out-of-favor name like Thelma in French. I’ve looked up the French language names that have been suggested above on the French baby name website Au Feminin and found many are no longer being used with any frequency in France, although some were hugely popular many years ago.
Using 2009 French baby name stats, here’s a quick look at those names:
Name — # French baby girls given that name in 2009 (when the name peaked)
Genevieve – less than 3 (peaked 1947 – 5046 baby girls given the name)
Adrienne – less than 3 (1910 – 1228)
Noelle – less than 3 (1949 – 1095)
Simone – less than 3 ( 1924 – 7367)
Georgette – less than 3 (1920 – 5209)
Colette – less than 3 (1937 – 6636)
Nicolette – less than 3 (1960 – 24)
Vivienne – 4 (1937 – 7)
Lisette – 10 (1953 – 132)
All of these names are still in frequent use in France:
Celeste – 345
Elodie – 353
Estelle – 362
Eloise – 1136 [#61 in 2006]
Juliette – 2375 [#23 in 2006]
Also, it was mentioned on the website with the 2006 list of top names in France that: “The foreign influences on the list — notably Italian and “American” — represent a France that wants to be part of the greater world.” Thus, the French are loving some of the same non-French names that are very popular here — Emma, Sarah, Eva, etc., just as French names appear on our top names lists.
A few more French names that Americans have a current interest in, but are well past their prime in France:
Name — # French baby girls given that name in 2009 (when the name peaked and # of babies given the name that year)
Cosette – less than 3 (1947 – 49 babies given the name in France)
Natalie – 4 (1966 – 78)
Nathalie – less than 3 (1966 – 31,421, a really big hit!)
Madeleine – less than 3 (1920 – 9972)
Josephine – 392 (1902 – 3295)
I personally love Juliette. We have a 2 year old named Juliet (we went back and forth with the spelling, preferring Juliette as the more obvious French-spelling, but went with the traditional Romeo and Juliet for ease of others) and we absolutely love her name. We get comments from everyone about what a lovely, beautiful name she has. Although we live in Canada, our baby name trends are very similar to the US, I have yet to meet someone who has/knows a Juliet so in terms of popularity I wouldn’t be that concerned. As for the pronunciation, it will be pronounced how you guys want it to be … others will follow.
I love the combination of Adelaide and Juliette. I have to agree with Swistle and say that Nicolette feels like its from a different era (especially as I grew up with MANY Nicoles) and feel that Juliette is a much better pick.
Adelaide and Genevieve would be my second pick. Although, one of my favourite names is Isadora. It definitely has a different yet similar feel to Adelaide, however, I’m not sure if potential nicknames could become too matchy-match. Adelaide and Isadora.
Good luck and keep us posted!!
What about Cosette?
I absolutely love the name Juliette, with the nn Jet or Jules, and think that it fits perfectly with Adelaide too.
Adelaide and Juliette
Addie and Jules
Ada and Jet
Lovely!
As for the pronunciation, I have only ever heard it as Joo-lee-et which I think reflects the Juliette spelling better. If you need to correct others, which most people have to do with their names anyway, I think it is only a small thing overall if you really love it.
The other name I really love, which has been suggested, is Georgette. Georgette with the nn Jet or Georgie is super cute too.
Adelaide and Georgette
Addie and Georgie
Ada and Jet
All the best!
Upon reading the title of this post, I immediately thought of Nicorette and smoking when reading the name Nicolette. Do you like Nicola? I personally much prefer Juliette over Nicolette.
I think I say Juliet and Juliette pretty much the same way. 3 syllables for each name. The -ette spelling is pretty. I have a name that always needs spelling for the ending. It is somewhat annoying but not a huge dealbreaker and I do like the less common spelling of my name.
I like the suggestions of Lisette and Cosette too.
I adore Juliette! I also love Swistle’s suggestion of Eloise, and for a couple of other French suggestions which are all names I love, how about Georgianne, Christianne, or Magalie? One of my close friends is Quebecois and her name is Magalie. Most of her English-speaking friends call her Maggie and she loves both versions of her name.
Whoa, my name is Sara-no-h and I have a 4 year old Juliette. Cool. She gets called Jules, Julie, Ette, Etta, Jet. No problems so far with the spelling. We get sooooo many compliments on her name and haven’t yet met a young Juliette. Love it, do it!
Amazing name coincidence between you and the original poster. I like your daughter’s nicknames — very cute! (My daughter Julianne is mostly called Julie, but also Jula and Jules.)
I too (unfortunately) immediately think of Nicorette when hearing Nicolette. :(
I do, however, think Juliette is quite sweet, and also love Swistle’s suggestions of Eloise.
Might I also add Josephine (with an accent or not) to your list? (A personal favourite.)
Both of your names seem to lend themselves to natural nicknames which might be picked up by family and friends. Maybe ask yourself if you’d rather have a Julie/Jules or a Nic/Nicki? Even if you don’t use a nickname, it may happen on it’s own.
Other than that, I like Juliette a lot more than Nicolette although whenever I hear it I think of Shakespeare- that may be something else to consider?
Love Juliette!
These are a different style, but I think they sound good with your daughter’s name.
Natalia, Vanessa, Yasmine, Kenzington, Havannah, Alivia
Adelaide & Natalia, Adelaide & Kenzington and Adelaide & Havannah are my favorite combinations.
You have beautiful taste, good luck & keep us updated :)
I also like the nickname Jules if you go with Juliette.
Eloise has been suggested, and there’s an interesting link in the etymology of that name and Adelaide. According to “Oxford Dictionary of First Names”, both Adelaide and Eloise have French-German roots:
Adelaide – Of Germanic origin (via French Adélaïde)
Eloise – French name of uncertain but probably Germanic origin
Thus the names are an excellent match.
But between Eloise and Juliette, I would still vote for Juliette.
Thank you, Swistle for posting my question and for all of you in helping us out! Nicolette actually went out the window pretty fast after second guessing myself in that post as well as all of your comments. We went through Swistle and the so-far-comments yesterday and absolutely loved quite a few of the names.
We are, especially after you guys (as well as my parents) calmed us down, pretty sure about Juliette as our daughter’s name. We feel like it is beautiful, elegant and just the right fit for her.
We like that people aren’t worrying about popularity but we are still struggling with the nicknames, I guess we’ll let it come naturally..
As far as spelling goes, we are sure about wanting Juliette to get the right pronunciation. I am, as you’ve noticed, a Sara-no-h and it never bothered me having to spell my name but bothered me when they still got it wrong after the correction. It is, however, more of a concern of my husband’s.
The middle name is still to be decided but it doesn’t necessarily have to be French, our older daughter’s middle name is Scottish with no relation to us, other than we loved the name.
So far we are thinking
Juliette Eva (My Mother is Eva)
Juliette Eleanor (Always loved this name but hubby won’t go for it as a first name, though he loves the nickname Ellie)
Juliette Hazel (A name we considered for Adelaide in the beginning of the pregnancy)
We actually quite love the sound of Adelaide & Juliette and have the name Valentina for a potentiel third girl and Dashiell/Lucian for a boy. So, many good things came from this help. Thank you and we will make sure to update, once our little princess arrives
Oh, Juliette Eva — so special for your mom. And for your daughter too.
As a Nana myself, with a granddaughter who shares my middle name, I’m always in favor of giving one’s mom that very special gift. ;-)
Juliette Eva sounds so pretty together, and I like the end-in-‘a’ middle name with her sister’s middle name:
Adelaide Fiona
Juliette Eva
Absolutely charming together!
Me again. I like Juliette Eva for your mom and with your last name and Juliette Hazel because it is fun. I did mean to mention that my four-year-old Juliette did pronounce her name Joo-wee-et when she first learned to say it, but that went away within a few months. My almost two-year-old skips the “julie” part all together and calls her Ette or Jet. I do not personally call her Julie, because although I like the word Julie, it doesn’t feel the same for me as Juliette. My husband calls her that though and its a special little nickname between them. I call her Jules almost constantly or yodel out “Juuuuulieeetttaaaaa” like the nurse in the Romeo+Juliet movie. I never mind spelling Sara for people, so I didn’t worry too much about a off-from-the-majority spelling. We made up a little sing-song for her to learn to spell her name when she started pre-school and the TE at the end has a little shout and clap. Her teachers were enchanted by this for some reason and have never spelled her name wrong. In fact, in this digital age, most people have “seen” her name before they have heard it. I can’t think of anyone who has spelled it wrong, except for an elderly aunt on birthday card. Also, though, a lot of people in public hear her name as Julia. Easy to fix, just FYI. She answers to that too though :)
For whatever reason, my husband started calling our Juliet “Jubey”. She is just two but that is our special nickname for her (no one else calls her that and I’m sure that we will stop once she gets older. We are planning on using Jules as a nickname for her when she is older, but Jet is cute and more modern/spunky. Right now, Juliet pronunces her name “Jee-yet” as she still can’t make out the full syllables and its actually pretty cute! Anyways good luck!! Also, Valentina is a beautiful third girl name to go with your list! Keep us posted!
Juliette Eva is gorgeous. We weren’t too concerned about the flow of our kids middle names as it was more important to us to use family names so ours is Juliet Gael Anna (both after each of our moms). Although they aren’t fabulous together they are to us and our family. :)
I also absolutely love the nickname Jules if you go with Juliette!
I voted for Juliette, but feel compelled to clarify that I have a negative Nicolette association which makes it hard for me to evaluate the name on its own.
Love Juliette! This name is also one Pf pur finalists. It’s fabulous and Juliette Eva is my favorite of your picks with Juliette Hazel being my second choice. My favorite nicknames for Juliette so far are Liette, Jette, Etta and Jules.
I love the suggestions Simone and Eloise. Both excellent with your daughter’s name.
I KNOW a Nicolette and she goes by “Nic” because of all the people who make jokes about Nicorette – she is 30 years old.
I lived in France for a couple of years, and was always drawn to the name Elodie (EL-oh-dee). I have a niece named Juliet and I think it is a lovely name!
I LOVE the name Juliette, in great preference to Nicolette. I think Juliette is softer and prettier, and also ties in beautifully with the name Adelaide.
However, I also love Swistle’s suggestion of Eloise. That is also beautiful and very complementary.
Another name idea is Florence. Adelaide and Florence seem to work well together. I know Florence is generally considered to be an old-fashioned name, though it’s starting to make a comeback – which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your perspective!
But ultimately, my favourite is Juliette, followed by Eloise, followed by Florence :) Good luck!
Sorry, I didn’t realise that you’d chosen a name, Sara – I didn’t read right through the comments!
Juliette Eva is beautiful and sounds perfect. In fact, the other day, I stumbled across somebody called Eva Juliet and thought that the combination was just so amazing. I’d like to use it myself, except for the fact that my surname begins with a ‘G’ (‘J’ sound) and therefore wouldn’t work :(
My First daughter is Adelaide and we are expecting a girl in june also! Have you heard the name Surette? I believe it is french, I put it on my list but my husband doesn’t like it. It reminds me of Nicolette and Juliette but different and you could also call her suri.