L. writes:
I love your blog and have spent countless hours reading the archives and
comments through each pregnancy. I always say that if all that were
involved with having a baby were picking the name, I would have 100 because
I love finding the perfect name so much. Now, I am driving myself crazy
trying to narrow down the choices for a girl name and desperately want your
expert opinion.My name is Lisa and my husband is Peter. I am pregnant with my third, due
this spring. We have a boy and a girl, so we decided to not find out the
gender for this baby since we feel like he or she will be icing on the cake
either way. My husband and I have very different tastes in names and both
times before, we have waited to meet the baby to decide on the name. We
named my son Timothy Michael and he goes by Timothy, Tim and Timmy. Michael
is my husband’s father’s name. He was born on Christmas morning at a
whopping 9 lbs, 9 oz so we decided he was our little Tiny Tim. My daughter
is Ellen Lucille. Ellen was my grandmother’s name, as well as my middle
name, my mom’s middle name and my aunt on the other side’s middle name. We
call her Ellie sometimes (even though it completely rhymes with our last
name). My husband picked Lucille just because he liked it, and we found
out later that it was the name of a close friend of my Grandmother who got
married in the same church on the same day as my grandparents! I
absolutely love both of their names. I have never met another kid with
their names but have also never had any trouble with people mispronouncing
or misspelling them.We have a very difficult last name, it’s pronounced Auto-muh-nelly (5
syllables and 11 letters!) but it starts with an O. We constantly have to
spell it and/or pronounce it for people, so it’s pretty important for me to
pick names for my kids that are easy to say and spell. I also prefer
shorter names (or at least shorter nicknames) since the last name is so
long. Other “rules” are that it be (1) a classic name (in existence since
at least the 1950s, preferably earlier), (2) not too popular (preferably
not the top 100, but we’re flexible if it’s popular because it’s been
around forever, like John or Mary), (3) lend itself to a good nickname, (4)
be good for a child AND an adult and (5) not be identified primarily with a
particular religion or ethnicity. Of course now I also want to make sure
that the name fits with the other two we have.For a boy, we really like the name Thomas, but can’t have a Tommy and a
Timmy. We also like the name James, but not the nickname Jamie (or Jimmy).
Our two frontrunners for boy names are Theodore (Teddy) and Henry. For a
middle name, I like the idea of using Robert after my father, but also am
tempted to use Thomas or James.For girls, we are kind of stuck. At first, we thought we were agreed on
either Madeline or Olivia, but I have since started doubting both. I don’t
think I like the nickname Maddie and I can’t really picture a grown-up
Madeline. Olivia is A LOT of syllables to stick in front of our last name
and it is one of the most popular names out there. Plus there isn’t really
a great nickname. We do think it’s a pretty name though.Other names we like but aren’t convinced are the one:
Caroline (i think this is a beautiful name, but don’t really like any
nicknames and worry about people mispronouncing it)
Charlotte (maybe too popular and no great nicknames)
Leah (I like this and think it’s short and sweet, but husband isn’t
convinced and it’s pretty popular)
Grace (too popular and don’t like “Gracie”)
Margaret, nn Maggie or Margot (I think I am trying to convince myself to
like it, but it still sounds kind of old-ladyish to me)
Katherine, nn Kate (I really like this, he’s not sure)
Julia (Don’t think he’d go for this, but I think it’s pretty)Names my husband has shot down / names we don’t like / names we can’t use:
Clara / Claire
Katelyn
Jocelyn
Celeste
Penelope
Evangeline nn Eva
Amelia
Naomi
Gabrielle
Alexandra
Andrea
Samantha
Josephine
Beatrice
Chloe
Anne / Annabelle
EvelynThere aren’t really any good family names that I’m aware of. Is there a
name that we’re just not thinking about and would be a perfect fit in our
family? Or do I just need to pick one of our maybes and let it grow on me?
I am hoping to go to the hospital with 2 or 3 names that I love so we can
pick the right one when we meet him or her.
Thank you!
and
I thought we had narrowed down our choices to one boy name and one girl
name, but about every other day, I find myself doubting the girl name. We
have about 7 more weeks to pick out a name, and feeling unsettled is
stressing me out! We could really use some expert advice.For a boy, we are 99% sure we’ll go with Theodore. The other name we’re
holding on to is Henry.For a girl, we had tentatively picked out Angeline Grace, with the nickname
Angie. While I think this is a pretty name, I just am not sure how well it
goes with my other two kids.The other name my husband liked that I dismissed as too popular was Amelia,
but I keep coming back to it. I think I like Emilia better because of the
nickname options, but does it seem like a made-up name? And is it too
similar to Ellie?I think I just want a fresh perspective because I’ve been mulling these
over for so many months that it seems impossible to get any clarity and
settle on one or two names.Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated!
To me, the name Angeline sounds much fancier than the names Timothy and Ellen. With sibling names, I especially compare siblings of the same sex: in this case, sisters named Ellen and Angeline seem set up to do a plot line with one sensible sister and one glamorous one.
Emilia doesn’t seem made up to me, but a 4-syllable first name with a 5-syllable last name (both heavy on L and M sounds) seems like it’s pushing the limit. I also think Ellie and Emmie are too close, and that Timmy and Emmie are too close.
Olivia and Madeline are both much more popular than you’d prefer: you’re hoping to avoid the Top 100, but Olivia is in the Top 10 and Madeline is there too when the spellings are added up. Madeline is also out if you’re looking for easy to spell and say: there are two common pronunciations and half a dozen common spellings. Olivia does have the cute nicknames Liv and Livvy, though, if you want them. And I think Madeline works great on a grown woman: I’m thinking of Madeleine Albright, Madeleine L’Engle, and Madeline Kahn, just for starters.
With Ellen and Timothy, though, I think I’d be looking for something different. The name Timothy is never really out but was especially stylish in the 1950s and 1960s; the name Ellen hit its high point in the 1940s and 1950s. I looked for the top names in 1955 and found these to consider:
Alice
Angela
Diana
Frances
Holly
Jane
Jill
Joan
Joanne
Joy
June
Laura
Louise
Mary
Robin
Rose
Ruth
Sarah
Susan
Suzanne
Some of these may be too similar in sound to Ellen, but it’s a little hard to tell: are Ellen and Alice too close? Ellen and Susan? And some might not work with the surname, but again it’s hard to tell: Diana Automuhnelly? Holly Automuhnelly?
My favorites from the list are:
Frances Automuhnelly; Timothy, Ellen, and Frances; Timmy, Ellie, and Frannie
Jane Automuhnelly; Timothy, Ellen, and Jane; Timmy, Ellie, and Janie
Laura Automuhnelly; Timothy, Ellen, and Laura; Timmy, Ellie, and Laurie
Ruth Automuhnelly; Timothy, Ellen, and Ruth; Timmy, Ellie, and Ruthie
Name update! L. writes:
Thank you for posting my question! We had a boy-thankfully-because I was just not excited about any of our potential girl names. I think that heading in to the hospital, we had narrowed our choices to Theodore or Henry for a boy. For a girl, we had Catherine and Grace and my husband insisted that Angeline was still a contender. When my husband said “it’s a boy!” I jumped at the chance to have a Teddy, and my husband passed down his middle name as our son’s middle. Theodore Joseph joined our family on May 10th and we all love our little Teddy Bear!
I agree with Swistle that Angeline and Ellen do have the glam & sensible thing going on. Would Adeline or Abiline work for you? Addie and Ellie? Alice could also be really nice and classic. Timothy, Ellen, and Alice.
Emilia is a bit long compared to Ellen and Emmie and Ellie do sound very similar. Would Edith work for you? Ellie and Edie? The different E sounds make it less matchy in my opinion.
I personally love Charlotte, and Lottie would be a cute vintage nickname. I also think Leah would work so well with your other kids’ names. Liana, nn Lia could be an option if you are not sold on Leah?
Some more ideas:
Iris, nn Irie or Rissie
Valerie, nn Vale
Florence, nn Lory, Ren or Florie
Lydia, nn Lydie
Viola, nn Vi, Vivi, Lola
Theodore and Henry are very nice!
I agree Angeline doesn’t quite fit with the sibling group. From Swistle’s suggestions I like June, Sarah (nn Sadie or Sally), or Rose for you, or how about Rosemary (Rosie)? Other ideas: Anna (Annie) or Josephine (Josie).
Ooh, I absolutely love the suggestion of Rose! Timothy, Ellen and Rose. Swoon! And Rosie is an adorable nickname. And it sounds fantastic with you’re last name. I think it’s perfect.
I’m not keen on Angeline and agree that it doesn’t match with the siblings. I’m not sure if this has been suggested but Jane might be nice.
Good luck and please update us!!
Woops! Your not you’re!
As soon as I read Angeline, I thought of Angela as an alternative. Then I saw Angela in swistle’s list! It’s so close to Angeline, but is a much better fit with Ellen and Timothy. It also has the nickname Angie, which would be adorable on a little girl – Ellie and Angie!
I also like Alice and Leah.
Swistle, thank you for posting my question! You described the problem perfectly when you said Angeline is fancy and Ellen is not. Shortly after I emailed you, I told my husband that Angeline was really frilly and it felt weird to use that type of name. Perhaps because I associate Ellen with my grandmother, I think of Ellen as a name from the late 19th century and early 20th century and I think I generally prefer names from that era to the names which were popular in the 40s and 50s. My favorite of your suggestions is Alice but we’ll see what my husband says. I really appreciate the input on these names!
For the record, Emilia is an extremely old name–we’re talking 4th Century. I think it’s beautiful.
I know an Emilia who goes by Emma. I know one whose name is pronounced like Amelia, and another one who says it Emma-Leah. (This is not a common name, they were all named after the same person.)
Other names you may like:
Anna
Cecily
Corinne / Cora
Georgia
Isadora
Hanna
Katherine, nn Kay
Lillian
Marian
Matilda
Meredith
Meryl
Sylvia
Vivian
Willa
I think Swistle, as usual, hit the nail on the head with her list! I know a pair of sisters named Alice and Frances and the names are just delightful on little girls! The only other name I could think of to add is Patricia, which is my mother’s name. It has the nicknames of Patty and Tricia/Trish, and I think it’s especially nice with Timothy and Ellen.
I know you said you’re 99% on Theodore, but I just want to put in a vote for Henry! I love Theodore as well, but for me “Timmy and Teddy” is too much.
I really like Angeline! I think it goes really well with Timothy (a bit of a french vibe) and Ellen and Angie or Ellie and Angie sound sweet together. I think of both Ellen and Angeline as regal rather than frilly and while they dont necessarily match in style, i think that they go together fine!
I really like Caroline from your list. I think it goes well with Ellen, I doubt people will mispronounce it all that often, and it’s not a name that people are going to automatically nickname like with Tim and Timothy. Since you seem to want a nickname, that’s a different issue…but maybe you could pick a middle name that gives you an initials based nickname, like C.C. or C.J., or wait for one of your older children to come up with a way to shorten her name and trust that you’ll think it’s cute when they do.
I think Alice would be lovely!
I know a couple with a young daughter named Carolyn, and it’s completely surprising and fresh. I think other names that go well with Timothy and Ellen are:
Cynthia
Sally
Janet
Kathleen
Mary
Marion
Dorothy
Lorna
Martha
Rosemary
Jill
Audrey
My great-grandmother was Emilia with the nn “Mili.” That could be a way to get away from the sisters sharing an initial.
I also really love Angela.
For what it’s worth: Every Caroline I have ever known has gone by Caroline, not Carrie or any other nickname. Too bad Claire is out.
How about NORA? Out of the top 100 for the last 10 years (but heading towards more popular than less).
Ellen, Timmy and Nora. Timmy Ellie and Noni (NO-nee, not NON-ee, a nickname for a Nora I know).
From Swistle’s list I like Robin, Holly, and Sarah. No nicknames, but very nice with the sib set.
Liked commenters suggestions of Audrey … and Meredith (hmmm, but might be a mouthful with last name).
Rita? Dawn? (From the 1950s list on SSA site)
Boy — can I put in a vote for James? Ellen, Timothy and James are three names in my immediate family, and we have never had a Timmy/Jimmy problem simply because James goes by James.
Love Nora(h) as a suggestion!
I like your kids’ names — simple and classic. And I love both of the boy’s names you’re considering as I have them in my family: son Teddy/Ted (Edward) and grandson Henry (also the youngest of three). I think Robert would work as a middle name with either Theodore or Henry, and it would be so nice to honor your dad that way, especially since Timothy has your husband’s dad’s name as as his middle name.
For a girl’s name to fit with Timothy and Ellen, I love Katherine from your list, but I’d spell it with a ‘C’: Catherine “Cate”. I also like Caroline (“Caro” as the nickname? I think that may be the most usual shortening in the UK) and Julia.
From Swistle’s suggestions – JANE! That’s my favorite with Timothy and Ellen. Sweet, classic Jane/Janie. I like it with your lengthy surname too.
Some others you might consider:
Elisabeth (giving this daughter a connection to her mother’s name too) with Beth, Betsy or Libby as the nn.
Miranda (Mira)
Sarah
All in all, though, I think I like Jane (Janie) best for you, possibly with Elisabeth as the middle name:
Jane Elisabeth
Timothy, Ellen and Jane
I just read through the other comments and want to put in another plug for James. We have two in our family – son James whom we did call Jamie when he was little, but he soon grew out of that at about age 9, insisted on being called “James” and has been “James” ever since (except to my husband who called him “Jay” when he was young and sometimes still does) and grandson James, 10, who is called only “James”. I don’t think you have to be concerned about your James being called “Jimmy”, but if you feel he needs a sometimes nn “Jay” could work. (Grandson James recently referred to himself as “Jay” in a story he wrote; I was surprised as we’ve never called him that.)
I like the suggestion of Alice too, but Ellie and Allie would be just as similar as Timmy and Jimmy! I know a 3-year-old Alice who is mostly called “Allie”.
What about Maude nn Maudie or Mae. I love this name!
Timothy, Ellen and Maude
I also like the suggestions of Rose and Jane. Katherine with the nn Kitty would be great too.
Other Suggestions:
Norah, Cora, Ruth, Flora, Mabel, Ivy, Eve, Constance (Connie!), Pearl and Edith (Edie is adorable).
I really like Henry, John (nn Johnny or Jack) and Samuel (nn Sam) for a boy.
All the best!
Oh, I just love the idea of Angela nickname Angie for you. It seems just about perfect and is a better fit than Angeline. Laura is also really nice, though I struggle with a nickname for this one. Lolly? Laurie? Sarah nicknamed Sally or Sadie would also be really nice.
Amelia is very nice and I think it works well with Timothy & Ellen. It is rising in popularity, but it’s been around forever and I think it feels more timeless-like a John or Mary kind of name.
I also thought of Theresa with the nickname Tess. Or if Theresa feels too religious to you, maybe just Tess or Tessa. Tessa & Ellen seem like a great pair, simple and classic.
In my experience, nick names will emerge on there own, so don’t sweat too much if there is no obvious nick name for some of the names you like. They just happen, and sometimes they have nothing to do with the name, but will make perfect sense to you and your family based on the babies personality, something cute they do etc. My kids both have nick names that have emerged as more of a cute add on to their name as opposed to altering the existing name.
Good luck!
Jane or Rose!! Love them both. Love Janie and Rosie as nicknames. Both are great with your other kids names.
I love Alice, Rose, or Jane for your family. Also, you said one of the problems with Caroline was that you didn’t like any of the nicknames, but I wonder if you’d consider the nickname Caddy/Caddie? Apparently it’s an older nickname for it, but I don’t hear it mentioned much anymore.
Oh! And if your husband isn’t sold on Katherine, would he consider Kathleen?
I think a one syllable name would be perfect for your family — not too frilly and short enough to balance out your last name. Here are a few:
Brooke Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Brooke
Jane Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Jane
Rose Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Rose
Paige Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Paige
Eve Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Eve
May Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and May
Hope Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Hope
Anne Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Anne
Gail Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Gail
Maeve Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Maeve
Shea Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Shea
Tess Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Tess
Wren Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Wren
Kay Automuhnelly — Timothy, Ellen, and Kay
I second the suggestion of Sally, but I’m not sure if the repeating -ly endings would bother you. I think having so many syllables between the two -ly endings works, though!
If Emilia/Amelia are too popular or not quite right, what about Delia? I personally love the name Celia as a stand alone name, too.
Other ideas:
Nina
Bridget or Brigid
Margaret nn Maisie
Maura
Hi! I just wanted to express my support for Jill. I feel like both Jill and Ellen share a spunky vibe, plus the double ll is a nice connection. But just as I typed out Jillian, I guess it could be too close to Ellen. Jill could stand on its own and Jilly is pretty cute. Good luck!
Louise! Oh, I love Louise from Swistle’s list. Even Louisa (though the “a” vowel sound at the end might run together with your last name too much?). Anyhow, “Ellen” sounds like such a strong, historical woman to me. As does Louise and Louisa. Others that have that seem to have that same feel …
-Margaret (love the Maisie suggestion up there.. very cute for the baby of the house! :)
-Gloria (again long. and maybe the fancy vs. practical issue Swistle mentioned?)
-Emily (popular, but classic. too close to Ellen?)
-Ada or Ada Mae … ah, double names make such great “icing on the cake” names for some reason!
-if not Annabelle, maybe Anna Brooke? Anna Kate (maybe even Anna Katherine, but nn Anna Kate?)? Anna Grace?
-Rebecca/Rebekah (totally random suggestion .. just seems to fit, though)
-Rosalind (nn Rosa? Rosie?)
-Winefred (nn Winny) …maybe that’s too long, though.
-If you like Theodore for a boy, how about Theodora for a girl (especially with the nn Teddy–very cute, albeit a bit trendy, but classic as well) … again, maybe too long.
-love the Teresa/Tess/Tessa/Tessie ideas!
-oh! Ruby! Classic, but fresh. Ellen and Ruby. Aw! No nicknames really though…
-Rachel?
-Ruth? nn Ruthie. So cute.
-Lucy? Even though Ellen’s middle name is Lucille, it could be a fun tie to her sister. Especially if you do something like …. Lucy Emilia and switch the initials? Hmm..
I was wondering if you would consider Maureen nn Mauri. I love the name Maude too. Also is this the spelling of your last name? you said it started with “O”?
Letter-writers often use alternate spellings for personal information, to keep search engines from finding the post.
I can’t resist casting a vote for Louise!
Congratulations on your baby boy and his fine name! As the mom of a Teddy too, I highly recommend that name. And Theodore Joseph goes so well with your older children’s names. Thanks for letting us know and for including the darling photo of your little Teddy Bear. Best wishes to you all!
Another Teddy mom here! It’s a great name! Classic and recognizable just like your Timothy and Ellen. I love those names too btw. Best wishes!