Rebecca writes:
Naming our first daughter was extremely difficult and due to an early delivery we enlisted your help but didn’t get decide on a name until she was already born in the hospital. https://www.swistle.com/babynames/2010/06/30/baby-girl-marasco/. Our older daughter is now 3 years old and we love her name (Malia Aiko Marasco) and get compliments on it all the time. We are facing the impossible task of naming another girl and have been so imtimdated by it that we have left it to the last minute. Our next (and last) baby is due in September but it looks like she will be early as well.
My name is Rebecca Marasco and my husband is of Japanese and Italian descent and his name is Marc. We are open to another Hawaiian or Japanese name, but it’s not required. We don’t have any family names we are conscidering this time but an “E” name would be nice to honor my grandmother. We are almost out of time and don’t have any names we love and can’t find any names we like more than Malia.
Our top contender (Seneca) was actually the runner up for our older daughter. It was a name I liked all along, but my husband didn’t care for it the first time. Now it’s his favorite too as he said it just took 3 years to warm up to it. I can’t help but feel that if it wasn’t good enough for Malia it isn’t good enough for the new baby. I was thinking of Seneca Meadow Marasco but I worry it sounds too much like a place.
The only other name I liked was Aria (husband doesn’t like Ariana) as I also like the nick name Ari. I do worry that it is getting too popular and is a little too similar to Malia. I also like Everly and or middle names like Echo, Nova or Meadow.
My husband likes the name Hazel, but that’s just too old fashioned to me. He also like Lucia (which I found too close to Malia) as well as Leila and Aria.
We would like a name that pronouces easily, isn’tt too similar to her sister’s name, isn’t too popular but still sounds familiar. Besides Seneca being a boy’s name, we are generally not interested in boy’s names turned into girl’s names.
Thank you so much for your help and we look forward to your advice and the great advice from your readers,
Every single name except the name Malia could by definition be put in a category titled “Wasn’t Good Enough for Malia,” so I’d suggest starting by re-naming that category. Another good category title could be “Wasn’t the Right Name for Malia”: her name was MALIA, not Seneca. Perhaps the name Seneca is exactly right for this baby, and that’s why it wasn’t right for your first baby. If you both love it and nothing else seems right, I think you’ve got your name.
We had something similar happen at our house. When we were expecting our firstborn, I had a name high on my list but Paul didn’t like it. When we were expecting our second baby, I had the name on my list again—and Paul chose it as his favorite, and we used it even though I felt a little weird about using a name he’d previously completely rejected. And it worked out even better than I’d hoped: the actual name is a name that seems happy and easy-going to us, and our secondborn’s temperament matches the way we see the name—but our firstborn’s doesn’t. For us, our image of the name would have been a misfit on our firstborn, but it was perfect on our secondborn.
Seneca Meadow does sound a little place-like to me, but not overly. Do you tend to use first-and-middles in your family—that is, do people call your first daughter Malia Aiko? If so, then I’d probably look for another middle name. If not, and if Meadow is your favorite middle name, I think I’d be more on the side of choosing what you like: middle names tend to disappear into Paperwork Only after the birth announcements go out.
If Meadow continues not to sit right with you, I’d suggest looking at the names that didn’t work as first names (Hazel, Lucia, Leila, Aria). Seneca Aria is my favorite: it lets you use that name without worrying about its popularity or its similarity to Malia, and Seneca Aria is nicely parallel to Malia Aiko.
Name update! Rebecca writes:
thank you again for choosing our question for your website and thank you for running it in time for us to have a little while to digest all of the information before our daughter’s early arrival. We still didn’t have a name until after she was born but we are very happy to introduce Seneca Alani Marasco. Your advice made it easier to realize that her name has always been Seneca and feeling good about that. Your reader’s comments did give us pause about not wanting to offend people, but as we had a connection to Seneca Lake after a fair about of research on it’s Greek roots, wide spread use for naming and places in multiple states, the company, institutions as well as a name that was bestowed upon a tribe– we felt comfortable with it’s general use. The most exciting find on your reader’s comments (besides some kind words about The Seneca Falls Convention) was bringing up the name Alani again for my consideration. My husband brought it up before and I dismissed it– but seeing it in the comments made us add it to the list. We thought it was a beautiful name that worked nicely with Seneca (as it was short and feminine) as well as matching her sister as it’s Hawaiian and an A name like Aiko. Thank you very much to you and your readers.
I think you have lots of sweet options here, but one thing I wanted to mention: If your family’s Japanese heritage is important, and your first child has the Japanese mn Aiko, it seems like a really nice thing to me to give your second child a Japanese mn, too! Seneca Keiko Marasco? Seneca Ryoko Marasco?
Oh I *LOVE* the name Seneca! Malia and Seneca sounds perfect for sisters IMO. I agree with all Swistle has to say about the middle names, if you love Meadow go with it but if it just doesn’t feel right and you keep having doubts then trying the other combinations and see what fits best. I normally don’t like putting a vowel end to a vowel beginning, like Seneca Aria, but honestly that sounds really nice and is similar to Malia Aiko in the vowel end/vowel beginning sense.
We used a name the second time around that wasn’t the winner the first time. Before our second was born, it did feel like we were using leftovers and I didn’t want that. We searched and searched for another name but I noticed when I was thinking about things to buy for him or the nursery, I used his name in my head (I should buy this for [name] or I’ll go put that in [name]’s room). And after he was born, it felt more like his name versus leftovers and now that he’s 4 months old, it really is his name and I’m very happy with it. I think if you can’t find another name you both like better, you’ll be happy with Seneca.
I agree that thinking about names as “not good enough for the firstborn” is probably not productive. It makes you rule out anything you considered the first time around even if you still like them. Seneca with a Japanese middle would be a nice parallel. Or if you want to go in the E direction, how about Esme Seneca? Or how about a Japanese name that starts with E: Eiko, Emi, Emiko, Eri. Eri is similar to Ari, which you like as a nickname.
I really like Seneca but it is so “boy” to me because of the philosopher. It is a very cool name though. If you don’t end up using it as a first name, it could be a great middle name – Aria Seneca (I looooove the name Aria and don’t think it is too popular, plus on paper it looks similar to Malia, but the pronunciations are different)
I also like the idea of finding an Italian name to honor that part of her heritage, so what about:
Emilia
Eliana
Fina
Giulia
Zarah
Gia Seneca (love this)
Just wanted to point out that Seneca is a male character in ‘The Hunger Games’, and that is what I (and I am assuming many others) immediately thought of. However he is only in the first book/film so it may not be a big as an association once the other films are released.
If you like the nickname Ari, what about Arielle, Ariella or Ariadne?
I really like the sound of Seneca Everly.
I do like this as well. Plus, if the mn was Everly, then that gives you your “E” name to honour your grandmother.
I love Nova. Have you considered Noa? Or, along the lines Everly, would Evanie be a contender? If Hazel doesn’t grab you, how about Mabel, Hollis, Haven, Sadie, Sora?
Hmm..the only other name besides Seneca you mention that both you and your husband like is Aria. You dismiss it because you think it is too close to Malia. I don’t think that is the case at all! I assume Malia is pronounced muh-LEE-ah, and Aria is AR-ee-ah or AIR-ee-ah. They have the same two letter ending, yes, but they don’t rhyme and they don’t really share sounds. Forgive me if I’m wrong and you actually pronounce Malia MAL-ee-uh, then this whole point is moot. But actually no, even if you do pronounce Malia with the stress on the first syllable– they still aren’t that similar.
My choice would be Aria Everly Marasco, or Aria Seneca Marasco. Aria Meadow Marasco is also just gorgeous. I think Aria has much more complementary feel to Malia than Seneca does, and is just a bit easier/nicer of a name (no offense!).
Also a word about Seneca– everyone feels differently about this, of course, but I’m uncomfortable with the cultural appropriation aspect of taking the name of a people/ethnic group and using it as a girl’s name. (Especially if you are not of descent from that tribe.) I know it is also the name of an ancient Roman philosopher, but he was male and it was a male name in Rome. I think the first thing most people think of in America (or at least in the Northeast) when they hear Seneca, and would think especially if they heard Seneca on a girl, is the tribe.
Aria is completely neutral in comparison, and I think neutrality/lack of any whiff of controversy is a very good place to begin with a name! (And the reason I have crossed off several names from my list that I have loved for their sound…like Jemima. Sigh.)
Plus Aria is prettier (to my ear) with your surname and with a sister called Malia.
Good luck!!!
I’m in CA, and I thought of it as a place name rather than after the tribe or the philosopher…but I guess that’s just a sign of the layers of intricacy that this issue brings up.
My first daughter has a Vietnamese middle name and we chose nature names for our younger twins. I think they go well together.
my biggest concern with Seneca is that it reads very boy to me, while Malia reads very girl. I would assume brother/sister & not 2 sisters. If this doesn’t bother you, I don’t see any reason not to use it, just because you passed on the name for your first child.
In addition to Swistle’s suggestion of not thinking of names as “not good enough for Malia” I also think you should stop looking for names ” we like more than Malia.” Malia is already associated with your daughter & that association is going to make it impossible for you to like any name more than hers. I’d even go so far as to suggest you won’t find a name you like even as much as Malia, because you’ve had 3 years to fall in love with the person as well as the name.
For names that start with E and would make a good sister for Malia, I actually like Echo. Have you considered it as a first instead of middle? I also like Esme, Eden, Elana & Eve/Eva.
FWIW, I love Aria and I don’t think it is too close to Malia. They both have 3 syllables & both end in A-but otherwise they have completely different sounds.
I like the idea of keeping a Japanese middle name or a Hawaiian one, since Malia’s is Hawaiian and Japanese and you have the Italian last name.
I don’t dislike Seneca, but I wouldn’t use it myself unless I came from that culture… Additionally, I wouldn’t use it with Meadow for the same reason you had concerns.
From the names you listed Aria Hazel Marasco or Hazel Aria Marasco are my favorite.
Other names you might like (Japanese and Hawaiian):
Emiko
Alani
Kailani
Leilani
Mei
Noa
Sakura
Good luck!
I know Erica is a bit more dated than your other choices, but I think it could sound fresh and surprising on a baby, and it seems to combine some of the sounds you like with the E initial. Erica Everly Marasco, nickname Eri or Ricky. Malia & Erica. I like it!
I don’t usually go in for Erica, but in this case I agree, it’s really nice. Plus it is also a name in Japanese.
Really love Alani! I’d also like to suggest Keona..
I think it would be sweet for both girls to have a Japanese middle name connection.
Love Emiko! Yuki is cute too!
Alani Emiko
Keona Emiko
All the best!
Alani Emiko is SO pretty! :)
I think Meadow would be lovely as a first name — Malia and Meadow is just darling!
As an enrolled tribal member (of a different tribe), I agree with some of the above commenters about not using Seneca. It’s completely insensitive at best. I’d compare it to people naming their children Cohen. Just don’t do it.
Yes, good comparison.
What about Serena? Or Sienna? Instead of Aria, how about Ariel? Aurora? Instead of Lucia, how about Leilani?
Hmmm… I wouldn’t choose Ariel. That kidnapper, Ariel Castro, ruined that name for me. Sorry to be a spoil-sport about an otherwise lovely name. :(
Seneca is beautiful. That’s it. I have no counter-points or objections.
You and your husband both love it; it wasn’t the right fit for your first daughter, but it seems like a winner for your new one.
For clarification, the Hunger Games character is Cinna (like Cinnamon). There are zoos, streets, parks, lakes, trails, counties, companies, and a Native American tribe all currently named Seneca. It’s familiar without being popular, elegant without being complicated.
Gorgeous pick! All the best to you and your growing family. Please let us know when she arrives!
There is also a character named Seneca – http://thehungergames.wikia.com/wiki/Seneca_Crane – and upon reading that he wasn’t actually mentioned in the first book and only briefly in the second, so it’s not a huge deal but just thought it was worth mentioning! :-)
I think if people of the Seneca tribe say they have a problem with people using the name, then that trumps everything else. Like Cohen, some people may not see the problem, but it is for those for whom the name has added significance.
I think Aria Everly is a great name.
Further suggestions:
Luna
Ivy
Melody
Sienna
Lea/Liya/Lia
Isla
Juliet
I think Sienna Wren would go well with Malia Aiko.
I might be too late, but I remember your first post and your daughter has a wonderful name!
Seneca is strongly feminine to me because of the Seneca Falls Convention, and I love the idea of using it as a name. It embodies strength, intelligence, and independence – the exact qualities I’d want to instill in my daughter if I ever have one. Bonuses: It sounds beautiful when you say it and it you don’t hear it often.
I’m also half-Japanese, so I’m totally biased toward giving your daughter a Japanese middle name. Akiko could mean autumn child or bright child depending on the kanji. I also like Hana/Hanae/Hanako because of their root meaning – flower.
Also, I didn’t love my husbands #1 favorite name, but I’ve come around to it and it’ll be a strong contender if we have another baby. I totally get your reservations about using a runner-up name … but I agree with Swistle – if you both love it now, go for it!