A. writes:
My husband and I are getting ready to have our second, and final child, due late November. We have one little girl named Charlotte who we call Lottie. We are expecting a second girl and are having a hard time finding a name we love.
We have a couple names we like, but have some reservations. We live in the US and have a short, one syllable last name that rhymes with Best.
First name we like is Eve (nickname Evie). Does it sound flat/off to have a 1 syllable first name with a one syllable last name?
Second name we like is Elizabeth (nickname Libby). I’m worried about the nicknames Lottie and Libby sounding too cutesy and matchy. I understand when they grow up they may want to be Charlotte and Elizabeth, just worried about them not feeling like they have their own name when they are younger. Is this even relevant??
Other names we have considered are Emily, Elise, Claire and Audrey. We tend to like more classic names. Any help?
I wonder if you’d like the name Genevieve? That would give you a first name longer than one syllable, but still give you the nicknames Eve and Evie.
But one-syllable first names sometimes work great with one-syllable surnames: it depends completely on the names in question. The examples we often use around here are Brad Pitt and Sean Penn: both sound great. If you love Eve, and if it doesn’t sound clearly flat/off to you with your surname, my guess is that it works just fine or better than fine.
Lottie and Libby are definitely cute together, but nowhere near close enough that I can imagine someone feeling as if she didn’t have her own name. They have the same starting letter and ending sound, but the inner vowel and consonant sounds are completely different. And neither of them would be stuck with it: if it bothers either of them at any time, they can switch to a different nickname (Charlie, Ellie, etc.) or to their full names.
If you like Elise and Elizabeth, I wonder if you’d like Eliza?
Or Eloise?
I love Evelyn with Charlotte. Lottie and Evvie, or Lottie and Lynnie.
Or Eleanor. Charlotte and Eleanor; Lottie and Nora, or Lottie and Ellie.
Clarissa lengthens Claire. Charlotte and Clarissa; Lottie and Clare.
Instead of Emily, maybe Emeline? Charlotte and Emeline; Lottie and Emmie.
Charlotte and Annabel; Lottie and Annie.
Charlotte and Josephine; Lottie and Josie. That’s my favorite.
What about Eva? You’d still be able to easily use the nickname Evie.
What about Margaret? So many good nicknames! Maggie, Greta, Peggy, Daisy, Margie.
Lottie and Maggie
Lottie and Greta
Lottie and Peggy
Lottie and Daisy
Lottie and Margie
I was going to suggest Margaret too! Or my favorites, Cecily/Cecelia, nn CeCe
I like all the names on your list so I may not be much help narrowing down. As for Eve Best and Lottie and Libby, neither bothers me. From Swistle’s and commenters’ suggestions I like Genevieve, Josephine, and Margaret best. And my own suggestion is another one syllable name: Grace. Lottie & Gracie.
Josephine! Josie! Love love love!
I love. love, love the sound of Eliza with -est.
I think Lottie and Libby are fine sister nicknames! The fact Elizabeth has SO MANY nickname options means if she hates the similarity and decides she wants to be something else (Beth, Betty, Betsy, Liz, etc), then she can, but really I don’t think that will be an issue, especially since its your last planned child.
I also think Eve would be fine with many “rhymes with best” names. I think Eve Best, Pest, Kest, Nest, all sound fine. I might be more skeptical if the last initial is a “soft” letter like Rest, Lest, Est, Sest etc.
The other suggestions people give are good too, but I would like either of your top options!
May I just say, I’m delighted to hear of a Charlotte that goes by Lottie rather than Charlie?? Kudos. I’m actually drawn to the shortness of Eve Best. It has the same feel as the iconic Mae West. And I like the variation you get when you choose a longer name with a shorter nickname and then a shorter name with a longer diminutive. Otherwise I think Genevieve, nicknamed Evie is the best of both worlds!
I like the point that Eve -est is reminiscent of Mae West. I like Eve for you and I don’t think it needs a longer version, especially if you’re very fond of it on its own.
If your last name is very similar to (W)est, I’d be cautious about the Margaret/Maisie combo. That might be a little too close to Mae West.
Eve is pretty and I think it would work with your last names. But it doesn’t balance well with Charlotte. Also Eve is not very versatile she can only be Eve or Evie. Evelyn or Genevieve would be my preference if I was going to call a child Eve.
I love Elizabeth with Charlotte and see no problem with the nns Lottie and Libby.
I like Evangeline, nn Eve or Evie. I am also completely charmed by the use of the nn Libby for Elizabeth. You don’t hear it as much anymore and it’s so pretty.
I do think Lottie and Libby are too cutesy. And I’m not sure about Eve with “Best.”
I like:
Genevieve
Audrey
Eliza
What about:
Carissa
Carina
Clara
Ava
Eva
Angeline
Angelina
Evelyn
Ruby
Lillian
I love the name Charlotte! I also love Lilia.
Charlotte and Lilia
Lottie and Lily
I almost hate to share my top favorite girls’ name (especially since I’ll be most likely using it this May and I don’t want the popularity to soar before that!), but it’s so perfect with Charlotte… I vote for Margaret with the nickname Maisie. Maisie and Lottie are adorable sister names. I’m sure whatever you choose will be perfect because you have fabulous taste in names! Good luck!
This gets my vote, as well. Lottie and Maisie–near perfection.
I personally love Eve or Evie and think that there is something pleasant about two short syllable names together. Lottie and Evie. SO CUTE! I think the only last name that wouldn’t sound great with Evie would be Lest; I’m not sure why but I’m finding it difficult to say the two together, otherwise I think all the other -EST last names work?
My other favourite name that was already mentioned was Genevieve. Still can get Evie as a nn, so it you were wanting a longer name I think this would be a perfect option.
My other favourites:
Margaret – my favourite nn – Margo. Lottie and Margo. Super cute too! but could also go with Maggie or Greta.
Geneva
Juliet
Vienne or Vivienne
Isadora
Elizabeth
Good luck!
Charlotte nn Lottie is gorgeous! I think Elizabeth nn Libby is great and it doesn’t sound too cutesy with Lottie to me. Charlotte and Elizabeth are just so good together aren’t they?!!
Eve is a pretty name but seems too short with Charlotte. I agree that Evelyn or Genevieve nn Evie would match better. I think Evangeline nn Evie is lovely. Really like the suggestion of Eliza nn Ellie too!
Other suggestions:
Amelia nn Amy
Emilia nn Millie
Alexandra nn Lexi
Beatrix nn Trixie
Beatrice nn Triss
Caroline nn Carrie
Susanna nn Susie or Zanna
Absolutely love Charlotte and Susanna together!
All the best!
Oh…. What about Margot? Charlotte and Margot sound great together and are both of French origin.
Charlotte nn Lottie and Margot nn Maggie or Meg perhaps?
There’s also Isabelle nn Izzy or Belle/Bella or Sarah nn Sadie.
Good luck!
My first thought was Evelyn nn Evie but I also love Margaret nn Maisie. Lottie & Evie, Lottie & Maisie.
I love LIbby, but may be a bit biased as it is my mothers name :)
Most women in my family have longer traditional names, with a shorter nickname.
Elizabeth – LIbby
Margaret – Marnie
Victoria – Tory
Caroline – Rory
What about “Rose” names? I don’t think just Rose would work with your last name, but Rosemary and Rosalie could become Rosie and — Lottie and Rosie!!
Evelyn immediately came to my mind, but the Evie nickname for Evelyn is pronounced with a short e and I gather that you would prefer the long e sound. So, I would second Swistle’s suggestion of Genevieve.
I like Libby, too, and I don’t think it’s matches too closely – the names sound very nice together.
Other suggestions: Julia, Lillian, Susannah, Carolyn, Eleanor
Go with Eve! It’s your favourite and it’s such a lovely, underused name.
I think Eve “Best” / Evie “Best” is lovely and works great with Charlotte/Lottie. I don’t think having a short first name + short first name matters at all. Se also: Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, John Locke, Al Gore…
Evie works for many other names, too:
* Genevieve
* Vivienne
* Neve
* Maeve
– I like how these take the nickname from the end of the name, like Charlotte/Lottie
* Eva
* Evangeline
* Eveline
– other names like Everild, Evadne and Evanthe sound too unusual next to Charlotte
Another option is using the initials EV and call her Evie.
Elizabeth Victoria, Emily Violet, Elise Vivienne…
I’m going to take a guess that your surname is probably one of the two most common rhymes-with-best options– that it either starts with a “W” or a “Gu”.
If either is indeed the, I think Eve “Best” is a fantastic name. Go for it!
If your surname is more uncommon– if it starts with a softer sound like L or H or N– I would reconsider. Maybe I’d go with Evangeline in that case. I think Evangeline and Charlotte are gorgeous together.
I like Eve Elizabeth together as well. The alliteration is very pleasing to me. Eve Elizabeth “Best” would be my first choice, followed by Evangeline Elizabeth “Best” or Eve Emily “Best”.
Good luck! Keep us posted!
That should have read “If either is indeed the case…” !
I personally love Eve! It’s a gorgeous name. I also will second the suggestion of Geneva, nicknamed Eve or Eva. And then, Genevieve is my absolute favorite. I’m a little jealous because I would love to use this name, but we have friends with a Genevieve. : )
I also think Lottie and Libby are too close and cutesy. . .however, they would hopefully outgrow those nicknames at some point.
I like Vivienne/Vivi. Or Olivia/Livy. Charlotte is on my favorites list (my girls are Kate Eleanor and Elizabeth Anne). I love Eleanor/Nora. I feel like Ellie is cute but overdone. Genevieve is lovely too! It’s less common which I like and has some great nicknames. What about Clara or Margaret/Maggie?
I know a family with and Evelyn (nn Evie pronounced eh-vie instead of EE-vie) and a Charlotte (no nn really) but it is such a cute and lovely set.
I love Lottie and Libby, and don’t think they sound too twee together. Lottie and Evie are sweet, if you wanted Genevieve or Evangeline or Evelyn (Charlotte and Evelyn sound really nice together, I think).
I know of someone with a Lottie and a Kitty – what about Katherine, or one of its variants, with Kitty as the nn?