Jen writes:
We are struggling with naming our soon to arrive baby girl.
This will be our 3rd & final baby. We have a daughter Addison & a son Hudson.
We can’t agree on any names ending with “son” and are open to any suggestions.
Our last name is Palmer so any names beginning with P are out.
With a matching ending, my first goal would be to find something with a very different beginning. Since Addi- and Hud- both feature a strong D sound, I would look for something without a D.
Probably I will not be suggesting anything you haven’t already ruled out, but sometimes names feel different when other people discuss them. My first choice for you would be Emerson, if it weren’t for Emerson, Lake & Palmer. I’m not even familiar with the band (I had to look them up online to make sure they were a real thing), and yet their name sprang to my mind as soon as I paired Emerson with the surname Palmer. I’m not sure how much of an issue this is: I don’t know what percentage of other people would think of the band—and if people DO make the association, does it matter? is it negative? Either way, with a different surname, Emerson would be my first choice: Addison, Hudson, and Emerson. I like how compatible Addison and Emerson are, both in popularity and in how often they’re used for girls versus boys.
But because of the surname, I’d be inclined more toward Ellison. I like that she’d have a doubled letter like her sister’s, and Addie/Addy/Addi and Ellie/Elly/Elli are great nicknames. And as with the name Addison, the name Ellison is currently used in the U.S. much more often for girls. Ellison Palmer; Addison, Hudson, and Ellison.
If you want the sound but don’t care about the spelling, I’d suggest Gracen/Gracyn. Grayson/Greyson look masculine to me, but Gracen reminds me of Grace and so it seems feminine. Gracen Palmer; Addison, Hudson, and Gracen. But in this sibling group, it hits my ear as Grayson, a brother.
Macen/Mayson/Maeson is similar for me: I can see it as a girl name when it’s spelled in a feminine way, but when I hear it in the sibling group it sounds like a brother. And while Addison is currently used predominately for girls in the United States, Grayson and Mason are currently far more popular for boys.
Or again, same thing with Jenson (which is probably too much like your name anyway): that spelling is only used for boys in the U.S. right now. Even spelling it Jensen or Jennsyn, I worry that with the other two names (one used sometimes for boys but very popular for girls, one used occasionally for girls but very popular for boys), it doesn’t work to use a name for a girl that’s used much more often for boys.
Ellison is my first choice, followed by Emerson. None of the other options feel like good contenders to me. Can anyone come up with more options?
I also think it would be fine to choose a name that didn’t end in -son. It can feel as if it’s very excluding to have one child’s name stand out from the others, but I think it’s okay when it’s only two sharing something in common (if you were expecting a fourth child after an Addison, Hudson, and Ellison, I’d be much, much more inclined to stick to the -son names). And you can significantly lessen the effect by finding a name that ties the names together in different ways: the strong D sound, an S sound, an A initial and three syllables like her sister’s, another surname name, an -n ending. I would consider names I might otherwise find a little too similar, in order to get that tie-in.
Even just explaining “We didn’t match the first two names on purpose—we just chose our favorite name each time” can go a long way to demonstrate a lack of intention to exclude. Or, “We tried to find a name that would match your siblings’ names, but we just didn’t like any of those names very much—so instead we chose you a name we loved.”
Hmm…tough one! I have heard Ryerson on a girl in the past, and while it’s not my style it was actually really adorable on this particular kid. They called her Rye. I’ve also heard Carson on a girl, while it is a “BOY” name it seems like one of those with some flexibility. I think that with a feminine middle it could be really cute, with the optional nickname Cari.
What about Ellery instead of Ellison?
Other names that kind of fit your style:
Avery
Riley
Scout
Brenna
Sydney (Sydney Palmer sounds good)
Peyton
Leighton
Morgan
Rowan
I love Rowan too.
This is a fun post for me, since my last name is Palmer. And it just so happens our dog is named Sydney, so evidently we thought Sydney Palmer sounded good, too! :)
What about Tamsin or Tamsyn? It’s very similar to a -son name, while being unambiguously feminine enough to not seem like another brother next to Hudson.
You might also be able to find something with a blended s…Ashton or Anniston, for example.
Or I think any number of -lyn names would work well too, keeping the ending similar although not quite as matchy as -son.
A -lyn name with a strong S sound might be a good compromise too, like Aislyn or Gracelyn.
My first thought is to go with a name that ends with “n” and forget the son part, maybe choosing some strong first syllables so it stands up to all the D’s in the other two.
London, Reagan, Peyton, or even Madelyn are top 100 (to match the popular Addison) and I think fit your style and this rule.
Jordan, Britton, Avalon, Auden, Carrington, Madigan, are less common and would all fit in nicely
Another name that comes to mind is Sloane. Just seems to fit.
My favorite for you from the above is Carrington. Addison, Hudson, and Carington. I like that Addie and Carie are available as nn if the girls want, very versatile and a nice sibset.
I want to second this suggestion of dropping the “-son” ending requirement and making it just a “-en/in/yn/on” ending. I was going to suggest it myself to expand the name options. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Carrington as a suggestion! I was also thinking something like Linden might be really nice.
I’d drop the requirement for a -son name and go with an ends-in-n name. That gives you a lot more possibilities. I liked the suggestions of Tamsin and Sloane.
Agreed. It would be better to give the baby a name you LOVE instead of finding the one -son name you can tolerate just so the siblings match each other. In my opinion, it’s a little too cutesy to have a family of -sons anyway. But a name that ends in -n would fit nicely with her siblings.
I agree with this as well.
I also just wanted to say how much I love the name Sloane! I said to my husband recently how much I love Sloane and how sad I am we could never use it. He asked “Why not?” And I said…..”Sloane Grade.” As if that’s all the explanation you need. It just doesn’t work I’m afraid, because it’s too choppy…..
It’s funny when commenters are thinking along the same train of thought. Before reading the comments I was going to PUSH for the highly underused, yet beautiful Tamsin, then Linden and Carrington.
I agree withe the other posters. I’d drop the ”son”, but maybe still go with an ”n” ending. For instance, I like Evelyn a lot with your names. And I also like Emery with your names…better than Emerson, in fact.
I love Evelyn, too.
I wouldn’t drop the -son. You’ve already set a theme (for both genders!) and I would hate for the third child to be the odd one out. Besides, it’s a pretty versatile suffix.
Some cool ideas (all credit to “British Baby Names”!)
Avison (Ava, Avie, Avis)
Babson
Bellson (Bell)
Bethson
Clarson
Dyson
Ebbatson (Ebba)
Elinson (Elin)
Emson (Emmy)
Evason (Evie)
Everson
Ibbeson (Ibby)
Kitson (Kitty)
Letson (Letty)
Magson (Maggie)
Malkinson
Mallinson
Maryson
Maudson (Maud, Maudy)
Meggison (Meg)
Milson (Milly)
Mollison (Molly)
Tillison (Tilly)
Thomason
I would avoid the “son” ending too but pick a name that had a similar feel and sound. To me, not only does the “n” ending stand out but also the middle “s” sound. That’s why I think Jocelyn would be a perfect fit with your other children’s names.
Addison, Hudson and Jocelyn. Addie/Josie are adorable sister names too!
If you want to stick with the “surname” names though I think Carrigan nn Carrie is super cute.
Other surnames, that don’t end in “n” but I think go well with Addison and Hudson are Kennedy and Bellamy. I know they also so start with an “H” but Hadley and Henley are great too.
Hope I haven’t confused you even more. There are just so many great names out there!
Good luck!
What about Allison?
I’ve had two friends name their daughters Allison/ Allie in the last year, and it’s starting to grow on me a lot. I like that it’s more well-known as a first name, just like Addison and Hudson are, and yet it started out as a surname. And while the spelling is similar to Addison, the sound is completely different.
I also really like Emerson, or you could spell it Emmerson.
Crimson, maybe?
I like Swistle’s suggestions: Gracen and Ellison.
My favorite is Peyton. Though Peyton doesn’t end with “son”, it has a similar sound and goes well with Addison and Hudson. Peyton, Addison and Hudson.
I would drop the n ending altogether and look at other ways to tie the name with siblings. The middle d.s also tie your children’s names together. So what about:
Ending in n – Eden, Jordan, Sheridan
Not ending in n – Cadence, Meredith, Audrey, Adelaide,
Another way to tie your children’s names together would be a strong -d- sound. Swistle said to avoid this if you are using a -son ending, but if you aren’t I think it is a nice link. Delaney or Darcy? Addison, Hudson and Delaney. Addison, Hudson and Darcy. Or even something more feminine like Della.
I like the suggestions of Rowan and Sloane, too, to use the -n sound to tie the names together.
Allison.
Or what about STARTING with son? Sonia? Sondra? Sonnet?
Addison, Hudson, and…
– Brooklyn
– Harriet – Two names that start with H; two names that have similar nicknames (Addie and Hattie)
– Carys
– Hadley
– Marin
– Devin, Devan, Deven, Devon, Devyn (potential spelling issues)
I would personally stick with the -son at the end. If you don’t, I would strongly consider finding a name with the hard “D” like Addison and Hudson.
What about Maison? I know that Mason is typically a boy name, but Maison spelling looks more feminine to me and with nn Maisey…. SO CUTE! Addy and Maisey. :)
Otherwise, I love Swistle’s suggestion of Ellison and I also like Emmerson.
I agree with those above about focusing on names with a similar sound.
Love the suggestion of Carrington nn Carrie
Other thoughts:
Arlington nn Arli (Addie & Arli!)
Cameron (LOVE for your sibset..unisex feel…Addison, Hudson & Cameron
Fallon
Kensington
Remington
Ooo, I like how this makes the -on ending seem like the match.
Very clever!
A unisex name I keep hearing these days is Collins. It shares a rhythm with Hudson and a unisex feel with Addison. For me, that’s enough to tie the siblings together.
Other possibilities, keeping to the unisex or androgynous theme, and/or sharing the “d” sound, but mostly without the -son:
Hadley
Sydney
Morgan
Evelyn (do you called Addison “Addie”? Addie and Evie would be a cute pair)
Skylar
London (I’m not a big fan of place names, but London and Hudson tie together thematically)
Aspen (maybe too close to Addison, but again, the place name tie)
Autumn
Jensen or Jenson (Jenny is beginning to sound cute and fresh again)
Carson (I know two female Carson’s in their 20s. One goes by Carsie.)
If you really want to stick with the -son theme, my favorite is Carson. Otherwise, I think Evelyn/Evie would be cute and Evelyn Palmer a very nice and distinctive name.
On second thought, I think Skylar and Palmer are too rhyme-y together. Scratch that one!
If all else fails, Erin works just fine. Haha!
I knew a girl named Kerrison, that might work for you.
Or how about Tennyson? I have only heard it on boys, but I think it could work for a girl.
Good luck!
Being French, I feel like I just HAVE to suggest our end-with-on feminine names, which are a category of their own here. The most obvious one are Marion and Manon, but we also have… Louison and Suzon/Suson, vintage nicknames for Louise and Suzanne. These are pretty bold names in English (especially in the US where people are way less familiar with French baby-naming habits), and I suppose there might be some pronunciation issues – you could say LouiZON and SuZON, which we would be pretty out there but rather pretty, or LOUIson and SUson, which kind of sound like Louisanne and Susan, so you could get a “legitimate” respelled name that matches your end-with-son criterium.
I like Ellison, Kayson, Pierson (I know you said no P names but think this could work) and Emerson and Dotson (Dottie!).
I love Ellison nickname Ellie.
I would avoid Carson, because Carson Palmer is a quarterback in the NFL.
What name did you end up picking?
I’m in the same boat.
I have an Addison and a Braydon and due in 4 days and I have no idea on what to name baby girl.
I want an ON ending but am stuck