I just finished reading the book Fin & Lady which, as you might have guessed, has a character in it named Lady. My conclusion after reading the book was that the name wouldn’t work for a variety of reasons (turns a name into a title; too lightweight; some people will say it’s a “dog’s name”), but that I was nevertheless finding it tremendously appealing. I wondered if there might be a name that was similar to Lady without sharing its issues.
I started by searching the Social Security data base for names with a “dy” sound at the end:
Addy
Brady
Brandy
Cady
Candy
Cassidy
Cindy
Cody
Goldy
Heidi
Jody
Judy
Kennedy
Lindy
Maddy
Mandy
Melody
Mindy
Sandy
Trudy
Wendy
This list failed to please. For one thing, so many of those names are currently out of fashion. For another thing, none of them feel like they capture the sound of Lady. Melody and Lindy came closest for me.
Perhaps it would be better to look at the first syllable.
Lacey
Laken
Lane
Laney
Layla
Layna
Leia
Leighton
None of those quite do it, either. Lacey came closest for me.
I wondered if we could find similar noun names—but names like Princess and Duchess feel too silly, and names like Elle or Colleen (“she” and “girl,” respectively) ought to be good equivalents but don’t capture the nouny feel I’m looking for.
I think my favorite would be to use the name Adelaide with the nickname Lady/Laidey. But Melody is growing on me by the minute.
Can you think of any other ideas?
Sadie pops to mind. Very similar feel, pretty popular right now too I believe.
On the TV show Scrubs there is a character named Lady, but I am not sure that is an argument for usability since it is used to be funny.
Within the past couple weeks I was thinking of a name that could have Lady for a nickname, if I could only remember what it was…
Oh and I just thought of Gladys/Glady too. Out of fashion at the moment but I think it should come back in :)
I like the suggestion of Sadie. I wonder if part of the appeal of Lady isn’t the regal feel, since it can be used as a title. I agree Duchess & Princess are too much, but something like Sarah (means lady or princess in Hebrew) with Sadie as a nickname could work. Gives you the regal meaning plus the sound of Lady.
I’ll also suggest Leia.
Ladybird?
Swooning over Adelaide, Lady/Laidey
Ladybird! Love!
Melainie (like Milady with an n sound).
I think Laidy is a great nickname for Adelaide if pronounced AdeLAID instead of AdeLIED.
Loving the Adelaide nn Lady.
My name is Rayne pronounced rain, but I sometimes get called what sounds like Rain – ee, which is a noun name that sounds very similar to Lady. I know little girls named both Lacey and Lainey, so I think it’s a current sound.
What about Maybe? I’ve mentioned this before in the comments- it’s the name of one of the characters on Arrested Development. It sounds pleasing and has a lot of “name like” sounds (i.e. sounds like the name May/Mae, ends in ‘y” sound etc.).
Basically, it has the same vibe as Lady.
What about Lottie? For some reason the two sound alike to me!
I love Laney/Lanie/Lainie but have always felt it needed a stronger full name to go with it, and I’ve never found anything I love as much as I love the nickname. (Elaine feels a bit dated, and I don’t love Alaina. Maybe Delaney?) But I think Laney could be a great alternative to Lady!
Oh this is tricky, and it bothers me that I can’t quite pinpoint a name that encompasses everything about Lady! Lettie, Leta, or Edie have a similar sound but don’t seem as substantial somehow. Maybe Aleydis or Aleida? Those seem to come closer to the mark…Aleydis, nickname Lady or Leydi would be my favourite. When I hear Aleydis I feel as though it might be a medieval name (I think it is, don’t quote me) and the term Lady makes me think of knights and fair maidens who drop handkerchiefs. So yes. Aleydis! That is my contribution.
Liddie, short for Lydia?
Maida?
Lady is Kate Hudson’s character’s name in Almost Famous.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm
Lanie? (as a nn for something, I know a Laney whose full name is Marlena)
Heidi?
Maile?
Liddy?
Delia?
Lyla?
Delaney?
Lydia?
Daisy?
Penny Lane’s real name is where my mind immediately went as well.
A blogger I read has a daughter named Leighton–they call her Leity, which I assume is pronounced Lay-tee, since they also call her Leity-Bug.
We had Adelaide/Laidy on the list for our daughter and friend of mine rang while we were both pregnant and asked if I minded if they used it and we didn’t. I was surprised she wanted exclusive rights to the name considering we live 500 miles apart, but I agreed because I didn’t like Addy as a nickname and I wasn’t sure if Laidy would work. I liked Ada but we have an adult friend Aidan who sometimes gets Aids (!).
She used it and now gets Laidy and it’s so, so sweet on her, and I don’t think of Lady (for us it was a horse’s name!) I wish I hadn’t agreed!
I recently came across Finlay and fell in love with it. I’m seriously considering that for our next baby girl because it has the ‘lay’ sound I love so much but the nn Fin is adorable!
I am LOVING Adelaide-nn-Laid(e)y – so sweet. And it made me think – I have a friend whose surname is Laidley and I think it could probably work as a given name.
I also thought of Sadie, which I think is adorable. I also know a little girl with the middle name Birdie, which is just too cute on her.
I can’t explain it, but the name Dahlia seems related to me. Maybe because it is a noun, and kind of sweet and pretty? Zinnia falls in the same category for me, and I dearly love both names.
I agree that Lacey or Adelaide nn Lady seem the closest to me. (Or maybe anything nn Lady, since Lady Bird was originally named Claudia).
Some other ideas:
Names like Missy, Sissy, Birdie and Dolly that were historically used generically for pretty little girls, and sometimes stuck as grown up names as well. Most of them aren’t as regal as Lady…but in reality British royalty aren’t the ones naming their daughters Lady either. If you were really going for regal, you’d be picking Henrietta. It seems like what you actually like is the femininity, the old fashinoned feel, and the familiarity of a nickname name.
Bridie as a nickname for Bridget or Brigid. Brides are almost as elegant as Ladies, although this does have a particularly Irish feel to it to me.
Swan, or some other animal name with an elegant association to it.
Bridie, Birdie, and Dolly all seem on point to me.
Dovie?
It’s so fun for me to see all the love for Adelaide as a name since that’s the name of the city I live in, named after Queen Adelaide. Apparently there is a yearly dinner for everyone named Adelaide who lives here.
I think the appealing thing about the name Lady is the fact that it is a title. How about Queenie?
I had a great grandmother with the name Matey. Different feel, but it rhymes and is also a title! She was named after her father, Mate. I actually love the sound of Matey and the family tie, getting over Ahoy Thar’ would be rough though!
Oops! She spelled it Matie, not Matey.
I went to college with a girl named Ladi’Sasha. Everyone calls her Ladi (pronounced Lady). I’ve seen Leidy as well.
My favorite suggestions are Sarah nn Sadie, and Adelaide nn Laidey.
My first thought was Sadie too, for the rhyme. I also thought of Glory, because it matches the fanciness level.
I was also going to say Queenie. I think it’s usable, being old-fashioned (back in style) and sounding like Quinn (modern sound). It gives me the same feeling of noun-ishness as Lady, and of course is a royal title.
How about Adia? I always liked the name Adia (from the Sarah McLaughlin song) but it was so outside my comfort zone when naming children. Definitely an outlier name compared to everything else we liked. If we’d had another girl I was considering Adelaide with a nickname like Aidey or Adia.
It’s definitely not going to hit all the same notes as Lady, so I wouldn’t really propose it as a substitute, but… I have for several years loved the name Linnet (pronounced with stress on the first syllable). It’s both a noun name (the linnet is a bird) and a name with medieval roots (it’s the Anglicized form of the Welsh Eiluned).
Adelaide is one of my top 5 favourite names and I have considered many times that the nickname would be Lady/ Laidey but it is the one thing that stops it from being a top 3 name for me, I’m just not sure about the nickname lady.
It sounds a little pretentious and like swistle not sure that I like it turning a name into a title.
Daisy is in my top three and I also love Sadie and Maisy so for me it is a sound that I find pleasing. I’ve always thought that Sadie could be a long stretch nn for Adelaide.
I know a baby Eliza who I affectionately call Lady Liza, it just popped out one day and the nn has stuck, and it is very cute and sweet but then she always has Eliza too.
I also have a soft spot for the slightly dated Melody. I don’t think I would ever use it but it is on the list, a very sweet name that is lively and fun to say
Queenie was name that was used in the UK. I think it sounds really sweet.
Ooh!!! My step-mother’s aunt was named Frances nn Faygie (from faygelah, “little bird” in Yiddish).
First names that came to mind for me were
Sadie
Zadie (as in Zadie Smith)
though I think the -ie ending gives a spunkier vibe than you get from Lady.
then Veda, the girl’s name in My Girl. I don’t know if Veda is the correct spelling for the girl name, but it is the correct spelling for the Hindu scriptures (the Vedas). Giving it a noun quality.
When I googled how to spell Veda (it’s Vada according to imdb), the search led me to Vita – “life” and Lauda – “praise” which are both noun-y.
For me, Mary has a very similar feel to Lady. But it doesn’t share sounds, which is what you said you’re looking for.
We actually call my mother-in-law “Lady.” I am surprised that some people see it as a flippant kind of “Hey Lady= Hey Woman!” name instead of an endearing or honorable term like Duchess. But nonetheless, we like it and she does too and now our son calls her Lady instead of Grandma and I think it’s cute :)
What about Lila?
I just had an epiphany this morning about the name Dale. I have a great-uncle with that name (and a brother Glen, which just struck me as being pastoral this morning) but I also knew an older lady named Dale growing up. It’s almost an anagram of Lady with the same long name, and it’s a vintage name that isn’t being used right now at all.