Christin writes:
We have a baby girl due June 29th. She is our third child and will probably be our last. We have two boys, William (Will), age 6 and Joshua (Josh), age 3. We are having a hard time naming our little girl and hope to get it finalized in the next couple of weeks. Choosing a girl name has been a lot harder than we thought. Our last name is Dockum so we are trying to figure out a name that goes well with that as well as with the names of our boys. My name is Christin and my husband’s name is Kent.
We are looking for a strong name but one that is not completely overused. Since our boys names are traditional, I am torn between sticking with a strong traditional name or kind of going out there a little bit…that’s why I like Whitley.
We have the middle name narrowed down to Jane (my middle name and also the names of both of my grandmothers) or Ann (my mom’s middle name). The first names and name combinations we are considering are as follows:
Lauren Jane
Abigail Jane
Whitley Ann
Ellie Jane
Lydia AnnThank you for any help you can give us!
I have two favorites from the list: Abigail and Lydia. I like the way both full forms go with William and Joshua, and I like that each has a nickname (Abby and Lyddie) to go with Will and Josh. I also like those two best with your surname. If you’d prefer all three names to have roughly the same level of popularity, I’d choose Abigail; if you want something a little less common, I’d choose Lydia.
(I hesitate just slightly about Lydia/Lyddie. Because we would not want to substitute a short-i sound for the O in your surname, and because Lydia/Lyddie has the short-i sound and the D-sound, I worry just a little about tongue tangling.)
But I also think it works to have even a significant style difference between boy names and girl names in a family. And in our family, we went Top 50 for boys but Going Out There A Bit for girls, and I’ve been happy with it (I’d worried I’d regret it)—though I don’t think I would have regretted sticking with Top 50, either. I’m not sure I like Whitley as much with your surname, though.
I think I would like Ellie better if it were Ella with the nickname of Ellie, to correspond with the boys’ names. But in both cases, the double-L seems like it might be too much with Will.
Let’s have a poll!
[yop_poll id=”8″]
I assume you’ve considered Whitney? To me, that’s a little more mainstream than Whitley, so it goes with your boys’ names a bit better. I think it’s a beautiful, underused name, and Whit is a cute nickname! From your choices, I voted from Abigail/Abby. Classic and pretty!
Ooo, and that makes me think of Winifred, with the nickname Winnie.
I’m of the opinion that names of siblings don’t have to match. They will only be living together for a brief period in life and even then it doesn’t really matter. So, what I’m trying to say is, go with the name you love the most and don’t worry about it being a different style. After a while, you won’t even think of it as different because the three names will seem like a unit, like it was meant to be.
How about Laurel?
Or Lorelei? Will, Josh & Lorelei. LOVE.
I am very enthusiastic about Lydia. It’s my daughter’s middle name, after my Grammy, whose name is Lydia Jane (she goes by Jane).
My favorites are also Abigail & Lydia, for the same reason as Swistle.
I also don’t care for Whitley much. It’s just not a name I’ve ever found attractive. Lauren is Ok, but I’m not really excited about it. Ellie sounds like a nickname to me. I’d much prefer Ellen/Ella/Eleanor/Elizabeth as the given name with Ellie as a nickname.
Some other ideas-Sylvia/Sylvie, Lucy, Audrey, Clara/Claire, Amelia, Sophia, Linnea, Bethany
I voted for Whitley. Abigail has become just too popular for me right now. as soon as i read your sons names, I thought of Cecilia, nickname CeCe. William, Joshua, and Cecilia Ann/Jane. Will, Josh, and CeCe.
I voted for Lydia but got to thinking I know of a Lauren whose nn was Lulu as a kid & that is super cute. Sylvie was on my short list at one time too.
I voted for Lauren, which seems to go more with what is in my mind the popular time period for Joshua especially (I think of the 80s- a lot of Joshuas, a lot of Laurens). I also think Lauren is the prettiest of the names you’ve listed, and I love pretty! ;)
I really like Whitley! I’ve actually never heard that name before.. but it definitely combines classic sounds with a fresh feel. It could totally work. Plus, it’s not hard for me to imagine a preppy Joshua or William, and something about Whitley makes me think “private school classiness” (in a good way, not a snobby way!). In that vein, I think it works really well as a sibset.
Even though I fully support Whitley, I did vote for Abigail because the 3 syllables followed by 2 syllables (first and last names, I mean, leaving out the middle, as the name would often be said) because the flow seems to work best with your particular last name (and even though I love the name Lydia, I agree with Swistle’s cautions…. not deal breakers, but enough for me to swing the direction of Abigail).
I voted for Lydia bc I love Liddy but Sylvie was on my short list for girls. Another thought is I grew up with a Lauren & her nn is LuLu which is super cute too.
I voted for Lydia because it’s not as common as the rest of your list and I do think you have the freedom to go a little less common/mainstream for a girl if you’d like to.
I think this is because I know a WhitNey or two and don’t know a Whitley, it sounds to me like a silly nickname for, or mispronunciation of, Whitney. But, this is coming from a woman named Lashley, so go figure.
I like the suggestions of Winifred and Cecilia. What about Mallory? It flows to me with your boys names – similar to each in a different way, familiar but not common. I’d probably avoid Mallory Anne (initials MAD), but Mallory Jane is so sweet!
The association with Jasmine Guy as Whitley in A Different World is a pretty strong one for me. While I liked the character, she’s the only Whitley in my head, so I wonder if other people would have the same reaction? The other thing is that “Whit” and “Will” are pretty close as nicknames, for good or for ill. I voted for Lydia. You could also use “Lyd” for a nickname that’s more tomboyish.
I voted for Abigail Jane as I think it fits perfectly with your boys’ names and has a cute nickname too.
William, Joshua and Abigail
Will, Josh and Abby. Too Cute!
Once again I’m going to suggest one of my favorite names. Helena pn Hel-n-ah! It also sounds fantastic with your boys’ names, is a lovely strong name, and has a great nickname too! Helena Jane!
William, Joshua and Helena
Will, Josh and Nellie
All the best!
Come to think of it, Ellie makes a good nn for Helena too!
William, Joshua and Helena
Will, Josh and Ellie
Too cool!
Beautiful set of names! I voted for Lydia based on what it sounded like you’re looking for – torn between traditional girls names and something that’s not overused. Based on SSA’s baby name data, Abigail was ranked #7 for girls in 2011, and Ellie’s (of various full name – Elle, Eleanor, Ella, Isabelle, Gabrielle) seem to be very popular right now.
I shy away from Whitley because it’s so unusual. (But I do like it! It just doesn’t seem to fit your overall naming tastes.) And I shy away from Lauren because it feels more like a “mom” name to me – a lot of people in their 20s right now have the name Lauren, but it’s recently fallen out of the top 50.
Love Lauren! It is an underused beauty. My favorite, by far, on your list. The nns lulu and lolly/lalee could work for her while she is little.
I also like the suggestion of Winnie. Winifred is a fine name, but I prefer the full name Gwendolyn nn Winnie. That is a winner, as well, to me.
Ellie is sweet as well, but there are many El names out there right now, so she might be one of many Ellies.
Good luck!
May I also suggest Aubrey or Audrey? They also seem to fit your style. I slightly prefer Aubrey of the two.
To add to my previous comment…the suggestion of Hannah, of even Halle.
I voted for Lydia! I quite like this name!! Abigail is nice but I think it’s overused, but Lydia is known, yet not too common. In fact, I just asked my husband, What do you think of Lydia?? (Now it’s on our list too!) ;-)
I also really like Whitney!
Definitely Lydia or Abigail with your sons’ names! Both are perfect, but I voted for Lydia because it’s a little more unusual.
As for the other names, Lauren is dated, Ellie is too informal, and Whitley is simply too different in style.
More ideas:
Elizabeth, nickname Ellie, Libby or Liddy;
Laura;
Eleanor, nickname Ellie;
Audrey;
Tabitha;
Eve;
Arabella, nickname Abby or Ellie.
I also prefer Abigail. Eleanor would be great as long forms of Ellie, as would Eliana or Elowen for something different. I also thought of Alice (maybe with Ali as a nickname) and Loreta.
William, Joshua and Eliana
William, Joshua and Elowen
William, Joshua and Alice
William, Joshua and Loreta
I think Whitley is too close to William. I like Lauren and Lydia most out of your list.
What about Annabelle Jane, Leah Jane or Lael Joann?
With what you have here, I would personally edge toward Whitley Jane. My mn is also Ann and to be honest it always felt much more like a place marker than a name. It’s my mother’s, grandmother’s, and sister’s middle name but I vetoed it for my own daughter, as did my sister with hers. Jane sounds wonderful! Bonus: Whitley Jane would include the first letters of both her big brothers’ names!
So which name did you end up picking? Our baby is Lydia Abigail, born in August.