Amanda writes:
I am 13 weeks pregnant! I have been reading your site forever and I am obsessed with baby names. OBSESSED!
First the basics. I’m Amanda and my husband is Lucas, goes by Luke. Our last name is longgggg and Dutch.. Sounds like Van Weer-in-jen or Van Weer-gen depending on which family member you talk to. We usually say Van Weer-in-jen…. nothing really goes with it, so it’s not a huge concern. We have a great variety of names we could use from both sides of our family for middle and first.
We decided years ago that a boy would be Arie after DHs grandfather. His name was Arie but when he came to Canada, he changed it to Harry. We just love Arie and love that its unique and a family name. He was also an amazing man that is missed. I know Ari is the more common spelling, but that isn’t the Dutch way and isn’t how his grandfathers name was spelled, so we want to do Arie. I’m a touch worried that it’s too feminine, and if it was totally up to me, I’d probably use the name Arlo with the nick name Arie, or name a girl Aria. BUT DH is set on Arie and I do really love it too!
Boy middle name options:
John (after my dad, two of our best friends, my grandpa, my brothers middle, husbands uncle.. lots of family significance!)
Andrew (my brothers name)
Taylor (my maiden name)
Bayne (my grans middle name, which was her moms maiden name… we kind of want this for a second boy one day!)Girl contenders are as follows for a first name:
Ruby (DHs Grandmothers middle name) I like it, but a bit too popular.. do you think it will keep climbing?
Theo (my grandmothers first name) I absolutely LOVE this name but worry because it’s becoming more and more popular as a boys name and short form for Theodore. My grandmas full name is Theophila, but I don’t think I could give a child that big name with our last name that ALWAYS requires being spelled out and is so long. When I hear the name Theo, I always picture female, but I don’t think most do. What do you think?
Rowan – just a name we found that we like. I am worried about masculine sounding girl names paired with Arie. Someone once told me that if I had an Arie and a Theo they would assume that Theo was the boy and Arie was the girl.Girl middle name options:
Anne (my moms name)
Jane (my middle, my grandmas middle, my aunts first)
Brooke (my sisters name.. leaning towards this!)
Taylor (my maiden name)Now the questions:
If we know for sure if we ever have a boy he will be Arie, should we give family names to all other kids? Or is it okay for just one to have a family name?
What do you think of these names? ANY girl suggestions? Are there any Dutch names that would work well?
I’d probably use the Arie spelling, too. I would be prepared for it to routinely require clarification—just as someone would have to do for a name like Cameron or Jordan.
I would not, however, then use Theo for a girl. I think of Theo the way I think of Jacob or Sebastian: it isn’t that I’d guess the child was more likely a boy, but instead that I’d assume it without giving it any thought. Current usage in the United States supports that impression; here are the 2012 numbers from the Social Security Administration’s database:
Theo, F: –
Theo, M: 282
Theodora, F: 67
Theodora, M: –
Theodore, F: –
Theodore, M: 1,912
Which of course is not to say it couldn’t still be used for a girl (26 new baby girls were named Jacob in 2012, and 13 new baby girls were named Sebastian), but I wouldn’t do it if I had another child with a unisex name such as Arie.
I think of Thea as the female equivalent of Theo. I also saw Theona (given to just 5 new baby girls in 2012) in the SSA database; that seems like an interesting possibility.
And I do think you could name her Theophila and call her Theo: if I see Arie and Theophila together, I lose the girl/boy feeling I get if I see Arie and Theo. I like too how that would parallel your decision about Arie: in both cases you’d be using the name because it was the honoree’s actual name, without changing it for convenience.
Another option would be to use Arie for a girl, and Theo for a boy.
Another option would be to use Arie as the middle name.
I generally prefer to pair ambiguous first names with unambiguous middle names, so my favorites from your middle-name list would be Arie John and Arie Andrew.
Ruby seems to be leveling off, popularity-wise:
(screenshot from SSA.gov)
My main issue with it is that I’d prefer not to repeat the ending of Arie.
Rowan is an interesting candidate, since it’s a second unisex name. Here are the 2012 numbers:
Rowan, F: 678
Rowan, M: 1,138
Rowen, F: 97
Rowen, M: 234
We can compare those to the 2012 numbers for Arie:
Ari, F: 176
Ari, M: 631
Arie, F: 80
Arie, M: 66
Rowan and Rowen are both used more often for boys than for girls, but not at a level that lets us forget it’s unisex. Ari/Arie is more interesting, because Ari is used quite a bit more often for boys, while Arie is used slightly more often for girls; that name, too, is unisex in the U.S.
Of the girl name options, I don’t have a clear front-runner. I think I would keep looking. Would you want to consider Taylor for a first name? It’s unisex-used-more-for-girls right now:
Taylor, F: 4,825
Taylor, M: 878
I think my favorite Dutch female name is Willemina. It’s a lot with your surname, however.
Nameberry has a Dutch girl name list (I love that it has a “show all” button; it drives me nuts when a site makes me click through a dozen pages with five names per page). Lots of good possibilities, nice and simple with a longer surname: Britt, Fay, Gwen, Isa, Jade, Lara, Tess. However, none of those shout out “DUTCH!” to me: they’re names that are popular in The Netherlands right now, but not necessarily what would sound Netherlandy to us in the United States.
The Baby Name Bible has lists of Irish names, Italian names, Ancient Roman names, Russian names, French names, African names, Spanish names, and Armenian names—but no Dutch names. The Best Baby Names in the World from Around the World has no Dutch name section, either. The Baby Name Wizard has a section of Dutch names, but unfortunately combined with German names—and I’m not good at separating them out except by looking them up one by one in The Baby Name Bible (which mentions nationality). I particularly like Elsa with your surname and with Arie, but it’s German rather than Dutch. That reminds me, though, that I saw Ilsa on the Nameberry list—I accidentally skipped right over it thinking it was Isla. Ilsa Van Weer-in-jen; Arie and Ilsa. I like that very much. Perhaps you can find more lists of Dutch baby names, and see if any appeal to you.
I do think it’s absolutely fine to have only one child with a family name. It’s pleasing when it works out that all the kids have good honor names, but it reminds me of choosing groomsmen/bridesmaids: it’s pleasingly symmetrical if there happen to be the same number of each, but it’s better to give the honor to the people you really want to honor, rather than forcing it just so things match. Use honor names as long as you still have people you want to honor whose names you want to use. Plenty of people have only one honor name they want to use; it’s especially common if the honor name is for a first-born son, because that’s a familiar tradition in the United States.
Name update! Amanda writes:
Update!! He is here and is named Arie Bayne Van Weer-in-jen. We went back and forth on the middle name.. I was leaning toward Andrew with my second favourite being Bayne. My husband was leaning towards Bayne with his second favourite as John. So Bayne it was!
We’ve had some pronunciation issues with Arie, some people think it’s pronounced like “Air-eee” upon reading it, and some people have assumed he is a girl when I say his name. Both of these issues are ones we thought would happy, so we are okay with it. We are happy with his name and glad we used it and honoured both sides of the family! Picture attached of Arie who is now 7 weeks old.
PS: Funny to note: the week before Arie was born I had two co-workers get granddaughters who were named Aria and Arianna… and my dad just had one of his employees name a daughter Aria. Seem like the “Ari…” trend is picking up.
Thanks for your help,
Amanda
I think most of those “girls” with names like Jacob and Sebastian are due to SSA errors (as well as, going both ways, the other obvious-gender names that are on the wrong side). They’re not as prevalent on the contemporary lists, but before about 1990 or so (when apparently they started to use a computerized system) they were often common enough to push a clearly-gendered name into the opposite one’s Top 1,000 (with the more common names the errors accumulated enough).
I think because you both like it and you have a family connection, there is no reason not to use Arie. I do not think its too feminine and I think that it is rare enough that most people will not have met a boy or a girl Arie/ Ari, and your boy will make the name “boy” for everyone around him.. if that makes sense. Just like Theo is girl to you because you have only ever known a girl Theo. So lets go to Theo for a girl… for this one, I think it does lean more boy and I would go with Thea or Theodora, I love Theophila! Theona is quite a nice suggestion too. I would go with one of these and use Ruby as a middle name. Thea Ruby and Theona Ruby are my faves. You have a great family list of names to draw from! good luck
I honestly wouldn’t waste a second worrying that people will think Arie is a girl’s name. It’s a name that most people aren’t familiar with and won’t know which gender to expect until they meet the child, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
For Theo, I wonder if a solution might be to put Theophila in the middle spot. For example, I think Jane Theophila Van Weer-in-jen sounds great, and since Jane is already your aunt’s name it would be an excuse to use Theo as a family nickname.
Or there’s also Anthea if you’re looking for another Thea variant. Theona is pretty great though. Or maybe Theonie?
I love Arie! The sound reads totally masculine to me no matter what the spelling. In introductions no one will know whether there is an e there or not. I think of it like the name Ira. There are girls being named Ira nowadays, but it’s not a name I find gender ambiguous in the least due to its long history of use as a male name.
As for Theo….I wish I could endorse it like Arie but I do know several Theodores who go by Theo. I feel as though it doesn’t stand alone as a girl name very well. Thea solves the problem and is close enough to the original nickname to keep the honor intact. There is also the name Althea if you want something similar but distinct from Theophila. I frankly love Theophila! Your daughter could go by Theo or Phil (I love Phil on a girl after reading Anne of the Island as a teenager. Anne’s friend Phil was a Philippa I believe). I don’t think Theophila Van Weer-in-jen is too much name, especially if she goes by a nickname almost exclusively. But that’s just my two cents.
I LOVE Arie and am so glad you’re using it. Arie John is a great choice; it honors so many men in your family and the middle name helps to clarify that he’s a boy, just in case that’s a concern. (Personally, if I read Arie-with-a-Dutch-last-name, I would assume boy.)
I agree with Swistle about Theo reading all boy, and I see Rowan that way too. Ruby is adorable though.
One of my very favorite Dutch names is Anneke. Would you like that?
I lean toward using Arie and Theophilia without alteration, because they are honor names. I like John , Andrew, or Taylor for middles, since you are thinking of saving Bayne for a future son. I think any of the female middles would work with Theophilia or you could flip any of them to put Theophilia in the middle spot if it seems like too long a first name with your surname.
If you do change Theophilia, though, my favorite option is Thea. It’s nice and short with your last name.
I agree with Swistle on Theo. It’s firmly and only a boy’s name to my ear, although I understand how your association would be to a girl b/c of the family significance.
Where I am from, Rowan is almost exclusively used for girls. I have heard of/met 4 Rowans over the years and they have all been little girls. Sometimes it is important to look at what your community is like with naming, as opposed to the country as a whole. Everywhere is different and influenced by different things. Also, Arie sounds like a boy to me!
Good luck!
I quite like the suggestion of Arie for a girl & Theo for a boy, but I admit to holding a particular love for cross-gender namesakes.
I’m saying Arie like Arlo, as opposed to Harry (some people may not hear a difference) which makes me associate Arie with names like Arlo or Arley, which are boy names so I think it works. It also helps that you have a Dutch surname, making the explanation that Arie is a Dutch family name a lot easier I think.
Theo on the other hand, I would not use as for a girl. I’d probably opt for Thea instead. I think this would lovely for Theophila but could also work for Dorothy/Dorothea or Theodora if you just don’t care for Theophila as the given name.
My preference is to give all the kids a family name if it is reasonable to do so. However, my youngest doesn’t have a family name because there just weren’t any good ones left. I just couldn’t see myself calling my baby something like Claude, Earl or Roosevelt. So, do it if you can, but don’t worry too much if it just doesn’t work out.
I like Anneke as another Dutch option for a girl.
Generally, when looking for names from another country, I would make the effort to do a google search in that language.. “nederlandse voornamen” or “nederlandse namenlijst” gets me e.g. To this site:
http://www.naamkunde.net/?page_id=293&vt_list_all=true
You can search the top 10,000 Dutch babynames there, divided up by meisjes (girls) or jongens (boys).
There is a race car driver named Arie and that is only time I have heard it. Works one for a male.
I don’t think you have to use a girl namesake name. Just use something you like.
Oh, Arie is great and all-boy to me. I think it is a really nice choice. I’m glad you’re on board for it as it seems it will also make your husband really happy!
Since the boy choice is 100% coming from your husband, though, I hope he gives you a lot of sway in picking a female name. Ruby is adorable, but I dislike it with Arie…I think the two endings are too similar and the style doesn’t jive quite right.
I 100% agree with Swistle that Theo would be an odd and confusing choice for a girl paired with Arie. I would definitely think the genders were switched if I saw an Arie & Theo pair.
For the same reasons of gender ambiguity, I’d avoid Taylor and Rowan for girls. I really like Rowan but I would think “boy” when paired with Arie. Taylor would make me think Arie was also a female name. I also think Taylor is a bit past its peak. It was extremely popular in the 1990s (top 10!), has declined greatly in popularity ever since, and it’s not always so great to have a name that makes people think you were born a decade or more before you actually were. Just something to consider.
I really like Theophila! And Theo or Thea would be adorable nicknames for her. Theophila actually seems sort of Dutch to me…and it is so distinctive. It goes with Arie in its own way, too. If you like the name enough, I might encourage you to just stop there.
Other ideas…Dorothea, nickname Thea or Theo
Theodora
Just plain Thea
As far as Dutch names go…I know several Dutch people and some of their names are far out! Very short, one syllable names we never hear stateside.
Some that I notice scrolling through their FB friends pages (these are mostly 20 something Dutch people):
Iris
Leonie (works with Arie despite the similar endings)
Mandolin
Carolin
Anouk (very cute w/ Arie I think)
Lina
Silvia
Sissel
Cleo (very cute w/Arie and good with surname)
Anneke/Annika
Marta
Roselin
Katrien/Katrin
Marnix
Margriet
Marjolein (pretty out there, but I love it)
Tessa
Rozalie
Petra
Coco
Tamar
Maike (pronounced MY-ka)
Willeke (pronounce WILL-a-ka)
Milou
Greta
Whew. That was going through the friends list of just one of my Dutch friends. I skipped the really difficult super Dutch names, like Jiske and Guusje and the like…even though some of those are very cool.
A few of the above ones I like with Arie and your surname. Cleo Taylor Van Weer-in-jen is wonderful. So wonderful I feel like stopping right now and not suggesting anything else because I think that one is so good. Cleo Brooke also works beautifully. But I also like Petra Jane, Petra Anne, Petra Brooke or Petra Taylor Van Weer-in-jen. Tessa, Marta, Anouk, Willa, Greta, and Iris are also beautiful with your last name and with Arie. Tessa reminds me of Theo a bit. Greta Brooke Van Weer-in-jen is wonderful.
I also want to say that I like your surname……I think it sounds distinguished, and many shorter names (especially Dutch-ish ones) really do go with it. Willa van Weer-in-jen is very pleasing to my ear. Cleo, Petra, and Tessa, too. Tess Jane Van Weer-in-jen. Tessa Brooke Van Weeran Weer-in-jen is wonderful. So wonderful I feel like stopping right now and not suggesting anything else because I think that one is so good. Cleo Brooke also works beautifully. But I also like Petra Jane, Petra Anne, Petra Brooke or Petra Taylor Van Weer-in-jen. Tessa, Marta, Anouk, Willa, and Iris are also beautiful with your last name and with Arie. Tessa reminds me of Theo a bit.
It’s not quite as classical, but Willow Van Weer-in-jen is very lyrical. Willow and Arie are cute, though perhaps Arie seems more feminine next to it.
I also thought of Margo or Margot. I prefer Margo and think it is great with Arie and with Van Weer-in-jen.
Also thought of Clara/Klara, Clarissa, Lore/Laura, Emma, Katia, Kira, Flora, Fleur, Violet, and Eva.
Do any of these appeal?
Best of luck!
How strange, my comment doubled within itself. Ahhh! I don’t know how that happened.
The basic gist of my comment was to suggest Cleo, Greta, Petra, Tessa, Willa, and Margo as possibilities. All are lovely with Brooke or any of your other middle name choices, and also sound pleasing with Arie and your surname.
I can fix it!
Swistle, you fixed it! You’re brilliant! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Also just thank you in general for this blog… I check it all the time and enjoy it so much. I know I’m not alone in feeling grateful it exists. Thank you again!
Not sure I could’ve put it any better so I am completely agreeing with Kaela… I think on everything!! I love Petra. Think that is my favourite. Petra Taylor Van Weer-in-jen. or Petra Brooke Van Weer-in-jen. I also love Greta. Eee… so many lovely names to choose from. I also love Theona. I would pick one of the above three, and place middle name as you see fit.
As for boy names, I am also in agree to keep with Arie if you both love it. By pairing it with John, Arie John, there is 100% no question that it is a boy, would avoid unisex middle name such as Taylor.
Oh wow, thank you Kelsey :) I agree with you totally regarding Theona and Arie John, too!
Beatrix! I just thought of Beatrix, or Beatrice. Goes great with your surname, especially in nickname form as Bea or Trixie.
Or Beatrix Brooke, nickname Bibi, would be cute.
It seems to me that if all family members always had namesakes, we’d have very few names! (Okay, I know there could be slight alternations leading to new names ..but still). I don’t think it’s bad to carry on the family with one child and have something new in the family tree for future generations to use. Or, of course, pairing a new name with a family middle name or vice versa. The tie-in is lovely if you like the name or the person is especially meaningful to you … but, as Swistle said, if not, don’t force it and keep looking! Your children and grandchildren and great grandchildren may love the new options for family names ;)
Thank you so much Swistle for posting this! And thanks for all the comments so far. I am so so glad that Arie seems masculine to most! It will be pronounced like R-E not like Harry without the H, if that makes sense!
Going to re-read through all these suggestions. Arie is in, Theo is out.. but I do like Theona!
Can I ask how you would pronounce Theophila? I went to school with a greek boy named Theophilus and he pronounced it Theo-FILLus whereas in church we say thee-O-fill-us.
I don’t mind thee-O-fill-a but I’m not a fan of theo-phil-a for a girl.
I do know a baby girl Thea which I think is beautiful. It is a very longstanding tradition to feminise namesake names so I think you are on safe ground if you want to modify Theo a little.
I live in an area with many, many people with Dutch ancestry. I too have a crazy long Dutch surname and found I just pretty much ignored it when naming my children; it is what it is. I know two Arie’s, both boys and it never occurred to me that it might sound anything but masculine. Go for it! Some of the common “Dutch” girls names people tend to use around here have been mentioned above: Anneke, Janna (yah-nuh), Linde, Anneliese, Lena. I love Arie and Lena!
I love Arie and think it is great for a boy and is a great honor name. And I really like Theophila, I don’t think it is too much with your last name and I am frankly a little envious that you have such great names in your family! :). Although I do agree that Theo reads boy, and I don’t think that using Thea would diminish the honor. (And I knew a little girl named Thea and loved it on her). You could also use Pippa as a nickname.
I love the family significance behind Arie, and I would not change the spelling – as it has a story and family significance. I think Arie John is a good combo, though I think Aire Jonathan has a better flow to it, but maybe not with the surname? And does Jonathan loose the family connections?
I am ABSOLUTLEY in love with the idea of two brothers named Arie and Bayne “Bay”. Arie and Bay. I am smiling just thinking about it. Arie John Van Weer-in-jen and Bayne Taylor Van Weer-in-jen. Beyond amazing.
For girls. I like Ruby, but paired with Arie and (possibly) Bayne, it seems too common. I LOVE Theo. Now, ordinarily I would be vehemently against Theo as a girl name, as I almost always dislike boy names on girls (with no formal, more obviously girl name as the first – like Theophilia, nicknamed Theo). However, I think the family significance, once again, trumps. Theo is special because of its significance related to grandma Theo, which for me makes it amazing. Also, I think Arie, Bay, and Theo is adorable. (Though you will have a slight problem with, who is the girl? My first guess would probably be Bay, then Arie, then Theo. Also Theo as a girl does not go with your other girl names).
Suggestion. If you decide to go with Aria (named after ancestor Arie), then you could do Theo for a boy (named after ancestor Theo).
Second suggestion, would naming a girl Thea loose the connection for you?
If you did go with Theo for a girl, not Thea or Theophilia, I would say use Anne or Jane for the middle, then maybe Brooke, but not Taylor which may make the name TOO unisex – and leaning towards boy.
I think perhaps you should also reconsider Theophilia, nicknamed Theo. I think it is a lovely name. Theophilia Anne Van Weer-in-jen or Theophilia Brooke Van Weer-in-jen are lovely.
For your questions:
I do not think that just because you name a son Arie, a family name, that you need to name all other children family names. That is like saying if you name a child Arie, a name starting with A, then your next child must also have an A name. I would not commit to any sort of pattern, but in my opinion if you have all family names that would be wonderful! Why not make use of such great family names?
Girl suggestions:
I looked for Dutch girl names that are similar to the simple style of Theo and Arie, but still have a bit of girlyness, which will prevent the “Is Arie the girl or boy?” thing.
Agnes
Amelia
Anika, Anita, Anke, Annabel (nickname could be Anne – family name!)
Annelien, Anneliese, Annemarie
Antonia
Henrietta (may be another way to honor Arie/Harry?)
Isabelle “Isa”
Jacoba
Lotte
I love the following combos:
Anges and Theo
Arie and Jacoba
Arie and Antonia
Arie and Lysanne “Anne”
Arie, Bayne “Bay”, Theophilia “Theo”, and Isabella “Isa”
I’m loving all of these Dutch name suggestions! Ilsa, Willeke, Janna (Yahna), and Marta are my favorites! I wish I had a legitimate reason to use a Dutch name for my future baby! How fun. Good luck on your decision. I like Arie for a boy, btw.
The thing about Theo on a girl for me is that Theo seems like such a “hot” name right now which makes it that much harder of a sell for use on a girl. I’d look up the rising numbers on names like Leo, Milo and Theo/Theodore along with less common ends with O names like and Hugo Arlo and Nico (Nicholas)
While I think Arie is fabulous and wonderfully neutral, next to Theo it does become more feminine and make Theo seem even more masculine. There are very few girl names that end in O.
Since it sounds like you might be hoping for a family of two children, I wonder if it’s too much to consider what you’d name a pair of sisters? I think Arie and Bayne are a fabulous pair.
Noa is very popular for girls in holland. My husband is Dutch and grew up there, we named our son Noah and then realized to his Dutch family living in holland they see that as a girl name (Noa) so we explain ‘Noah like in the bible’ and they say ‘oh Noach’ my husbands name is Anne which is male in the Netherlands but here he has chosen to mostly go by Andy. It is still Anne legally though and always has to be explained. cashiers always think he is using my credit card. I guess it depends how close your Dutch connections are but I would say avoid names that are male in one country and female in the other as it is confusing. That being said I think Arie is male in both countries and a great name.
I wonder if Theona would constantly be mistaken for Fiona. Or perhaps Fiona would be a good choice.
I think Arie John & Theo Ruby are both fantastic names, but I am a fan of “boyish” names (Noa, Max, Riley, Kyle) on girls. Arie, to me, is clearly a boy’s name in multiple cultures. Congrats!
I sympathize with your long Dutch name issue! We are a Van Str_ _ _m and it’s a little unwieldly to work with. Part of me wants to go all out with a super Dutch/German name–we’re really more German than Dutch; my side especially is totally German–and part of me wants to tone down the intensity. Also, I’m drawn to longer names, like 8-9 letters, 4 syllables! But wonder if that’s mean to the child.
But, on to you: I really, really want you to have an Arie John and a Theona Ruby!
Since you are pronouncing it “R-E”, I think Arie leans masculine. All I think of is Ari Shapiro–isn’t he a political spokesman or NPR reporter or something? A name I frequently heard on the radio in recent years, anyway. I bet others are only familiar with the name “R-E” through that same association, too, which could tilt it masculine for most people. The Arie spelling is a tad more feminine because of that -ie, and because it looks closer to Aria, which is definitely feminine. BUT, you have good reason to do it and, since it’s so short, the difference between Ari and Arie is not so bad, IMO. I think it’s wonderful that it’s such an important family name to you and DH and it’s worth a little bit of explaining/spelling explanations. Since it’s a short, simple name, people should only need 1 explanation to get it down. John is a perfect mn because it’s distinctly male, has so much significance for your families, and, to my ear, flows better with Arie than any of the other options.
Theona is a *brilliant* suggestion. I had never heard it before, and yet it doesn’t sound like a “made-up name” to me, you know? Perhaps because it’s so close to Leona, a bit more of a recognized name, though still unusual. I have a 5 yr old relative whose mn is Leona (a family honor name) and I think it’s lovely. A tad old-fashioned, but in a lovely, classy way and not common enough to immediately strike you as “old lady name.” Theona still lets you use Theo as nn, but is itself very usable in its full form for daily life, and is distinctly feminine. Bonus is that it’s shorter than a lot of the female Theo___, Thea___ alternatives, which helps it fit nicely with Arie and with the long last name.
I do also love Dorothea, Theodora if they’re not too long for you. If Arie wasn’t in the picture, I also love the idea of just using Theophila itself and nn Theo, because it’s such a beautiful, unique name with significance and history. With Arie, I agree that you would be inviting confusion about “who is the girl and who is the boy?” because, in daily life, many people would just hear “Theo and Arie.” I guess you could have that with Theona, too, if you’re usually saying “Arie and Theo,” but I’m also guessing you’d use Theona in full more often than Theophila in daily life?
I also agree just Theo is especially out because it is rising in popularity for boys right now. I know a few under-5-yrs Theos myself. We’ve considered it because there’s some family significance.
I would be tempted to use Ruby because it’s adorable and it’s a legit family name for you. But not with a brother Arie. Ruby is so much more popular, the rhyming ending, the styles seem incompatible, the fact that both kids would be after DH’s side and not yours…but, I do really like Theona Ruby! And then you’re getting a tribute to grandmas on both sides! But Theona Anne, Theona Jane, Theona Brooke are all lovely, too.
This comment is far too long, but I’m infatuated with an Arie John and Theona Ruby Van W____ sibset and had to pull for it. (I’m even thinking I should add Theona to my list…)
No chance you’re having twins, hm? :)
Ah, yes, Ari (“R-E”) Shapiro is a NPR political correspondent… and apparently pretty dang attractive, too. http://www.npr.org/people/2101154/ari-shapiro
Just one note on Bayne – in Dutch this (the same pronunciation, different spelling) means leg – so I’d advice against using that name. Arie & Thea (or Phila) sound cute together.
My boyfriend is Dutch and I’m not. He feels pretty strongly about his eventual kids having Dutch names that are pronounceable in North America, so I’ve been keeping a list of names I like that might be potential baby names! I love Arie and am immediately adding it to my boy name list :)
My favourite other Dutch names for boys are Sander and Coen. It’s a short list!
My favourite girl Dutch names are Maryse, Maike, Marieke, Linde, Liese/Annaliese, Eline/Elise, and Anja.
In case it appeals, my boyfriend’s family have the following names (they’re a little more Dutch than I could handle): Jurjen (pronounced Yurien), Bart, Rients, Petr, Casper, Henk, Jeroen, Wilma, Anneke, Marjolijn, Anja.
I think Anja, Anneke (or Annika), and Casper are all workable?
I love Marjolijn. I wish it was less of a complete unknown here in the states! Spelled Marjolein it’s not quite as foreign looking…it’s the Dutch word for the herb/flower marjoram, which is nice, too.
It’s pretty eh! That’s his sister’s name, and she actually hasn’t run into too much difficulty with it (she grew up in Canada) because of its similarity to Marilyn when spoken aloud. People “get it” very quickly as a Dutch version of that name.
I named my daughter Ari 11 years ago. We weren’t sure if she’d be a boy or girl, so we had the name picked out for either gender. We haven’t run into trouble or confusion other than the occasional person who isn’t sure how to spell it or pronounce it (some people pronounce it “Air-ee”). Still, no big deal. We get a lot of compliments saying her name is beautiful. I love Ari/Arie for a boy. I think it’s the cutest thing. I may even like it more for a boy than for a girl. Anyhow, I just wanted to encourage you to consider Ari/Arie for a girl or a boy. No regrets here, and believe me I am fickle as hell.
I agree with other posters that Arie is great! Regarding, Theo… I would go with Dorothea, Theodora, Thea or Alethea… I think Thea is such a pleasant sound. I’m not as keen on Theona as it might get confused with Fiona when spoken, which might prove irritating. I notice a Dutch speaker has commented that the Dutch translation of the sound ‘Bayne’ might be problematic. For me, I immediately think of the word ‘bane’, which has very negative connotations (i.e. ‘he was the bane of my life’) – so would also avoid for that reason. However, I think would be fine as a middle name, where it would be read far more than spoken – I think the spelling would distract from the phonetic interpretations. Good luck in your quest for the right name for your little one!
I have a 3-year-old boy named Ari and we love his name. We have run into a few Aria’s and one girl named Ari. The only thing is, like the other poster said, sometimes people pronounce it as if it rhymes with Harry, especially when we visit Canada. You have great names to choose from!
Just thought of this, what about Othelia or Ophelia? These names has many similar sounds and uses the same letters as Theophila. If you used Othelia, you could still get Theo or Thea as a nn?