Christine writes:
Please help! My husband and I are expecting our second daughter in March and having a tough time deciding on a name!
My husbands name is Stephen Paul (he is a junior) and I am Christine Agafia (middle name from Russian GG). Our last name is Carsons with a P.
My daughters name is Sydney Paige, her initials SPP are the same as my husbands, which he thinks is really cool. Sydney was named the moment we found out she was a girl! I had loved the name for a long time after working with someone who I respected and admired! Also love her name for the nicknames, SPP, Syd, Syd vicous (my husbands music reference).
Which brings us to baby girl # 2. We cannot decide on anything! She will be the final addition to our family so we are good with doing another S name or not.
Here is our very short list:Scarlett Posey -Posey is family name from my husbands side and also spells SPP
Charlotte James – James from my father however have concerns that Charlotte is too popular
Shay
Katherine “Kate” – have loved this name for a long time however had a friend name her daughter this recently, I feel its out but husband disagrees
Caroline – also loved name however cousin just named her daughter this a few weeks ago and this name is definitely out!So our list is basically Scarlett, Charlotte and Shay. I’m leaning towards Scarlett but fear that the name is too dramatic and that Charlotte is too popular. We are also looking for a good nickname name, which is another reason I struggle with Scarlett.
Thank you very much for time and consideration in help with naming our daughter!
I would be inclined to give your second daughter the same initials as yours, especially since: (1) your first daughter has her father’s initials; (2) your first daughter uses her initials as one of her nicknames; (3) both girls have their father’s surname; (4) there’s a C-name already high on your list. Charlotte Avril, Charlotte Amelia, Charlotte Anne, etc. I might lean toward a less frilly middle name, to better coordinate with the name Sydney Page: Charlotte Avery, Charlotte Alex, Charlotte Aubrey, etc.
The name Charlotte is popular, yes, but it’s not out of hand: it was given to .39% of U.S. baby girls in 2012, which is fewer than 1 girl out of 250. Statistically, that means approximately one girl named Charlotte for every twenty classrooms (assuming twenty-five kids in a class, approximately half girls)—though of course names can vary considerably from one region to another, so that one school will not have a single Charlotte in the whole building and another school will have twenty times the national average and a Charlotte in each classroom. The name Charlotte also has great nickname flexibility if she wants/needs it: Charlie, Lottie, Cap or Cappy from her initials. And I like that Sydney and Charlotte could both be considered place names.
I also think Sydney and Scarlett are well-coordinated. Looking at your nickname list for Sydney, I suspect you would find that nicknames came naturally for a Scarlett as well. Lettie would be my favorite nickname for Scarlett: I like the contrast between the extreme sass of Scarlett and the pioneer sweetness of Lettie. Or a Scarlett could certainly be nicknamed Red or Rosie, or O’Hara. I might also look for a middle name that would increase your nickname options. For example, Scarlett Louise would give you Lettie Lou. Or any middle name other than P would give you the option to call her by her initials. Or if you named her Scarlett Posey, you could add Posey and Posey-pie to the list of nicknames. And so on.
Sydney and Shay seem well-coordinated as well, though they look very similar to me when I see them typed next to each other like that. And you’re looking for a good nickname name, and the name Shay doesn’t meet that preference—though there are always nicknames like Shay-shay, Shayla, Shaylina, Shay-bay, and so on. The middle-name strategy would work here, too: For example, Shay Katherine could be called Shay Kate or Shay Kay or S.K. or SKP or Skip (from the initials).
Name update! Christine writes:
Thank you so much for all of the excellent suggestions! My husband and I loved and appreciated all of the input and considered all of the options….
Charlotte .James Carsons (with a P) was born on March 24, 2014
As soon as I read your letter, the name Sailor popped into my head. I think Sydney and Sailor sound adorable together and neither one is over the top girly/frilly, but still sound feminine.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Our daughters are Sydney and Saylor! Looking for baby #3’s name!
If you like Scarlett, what about Violet? It’s a different color name, and lots of fun. The traditional nn is Vi, but I like Violy (I say it to rhyme with Miley, etc.)
I think Charlotte is very sweet. The nn Charly (pronounced sharly) has pretty much stolen my heart.
I agree with Swistle’s suggestion to give her your initials. How about Catherine/Cate instead of Katherine? I knew a girl named Catesby which I think goes well with Sydney. I do like Charlotte, too, and wouldn’t worry about it being popular because Sydney is also very popular.
You could pass down Agafia as a middle, or go with a more common A name.
Catherine Anne
Catesby Anne
Cate Amelia
Charlotte Agafia
So many great options!
Good luck!
I think Catesby would be a darling nickname for Catherine! Catherine Agafia is lovely, if a bit more frilly than Sydney Paige. All the other A- middle name suggestions sound good with Catherine too.
As for Scarlett nicknames, there’s also Scout, or you could get Scamp from middle and last initials if you use an A- middle name. As lovely as Scarlett Posey is, I wouldn’t use it if that would cause confusion with your other daughter going by her initials. Giving one child her day’s initials and one child your initials would be so cool! Great balance and meaning without being too in-your-face about it.
I agree, I love the idea of giving this daughter your initials! Charlotte is great and I will second the idea of Catherine-with-a-C, though I think I’d be tempted to use the nickname Cat instead of Cate. Syd & Cat seem like a spunky set of sisters!
Other C names that might appeal-Constance (Connie, Con), Corinne (Cory, Cor), Cordelia (Cordy, Cory, Delia), Clementine also seems fun-very spunky and you could use the nickname Clem. Syd & Clem.
I do also like Scarlett. My first thought was the nickname Rhett, to match the boyish Syd. I can’t decide if it’s too much of a stretch or not. I think I’d pair with something other than Posey though-it sounds too much like a floral description to me. “Over here is the scarlett posey and there is the indigo posey.” In addition, Scarlett Posey strikes me as very heavy on the honor names for your husband’s family. Husband’s initials, middle name from husband’s side, surname from husband. Is there something from your family you’d like to use? It also occurred to me that if you give this daughter the SPP initials, you wouldn’t be able to use them as a nickname anymore.
I immediately thought that a name beginning with “C” like your name would be a great choice. I like Charlotte, but would probably look first for a name that begins with the hard “C” sound of Christine. Caroline would have been perfect, but so would Catherine “Cate”. Using Catherine with a ‘C’ would differentiate from your friend’s daughter, although I agree with your husband that your friend naming her daughter Katherine doesn’t rule out the name for you since you’ve always loved the name Kate. I would also like to suggest Catrina, with the nn Cate. (Catrina is a variant of the Scottish and Irish form of Catriona, a variant of Catherine.) Catalina is another form of Catherine that could get you to “Cate”.
If you want to match Sydney closer in style, then you might consider Camryn.
Best wishes!
Hm. I like your name choices.
Caroline is out as you’ve said.
I’m not crazy about Katherine – overly common, doesn’t seem to fit with the family.
Charlotte is gaining in popularity & I don’t get the feeling that your super crazy about it anyhow.
I’m left with Scarlett & Shay.
Personally, I like Shay. It’s not very common but I love it, so whenever it’s on someone’s list I always want them to use it. In HS there was a girl named Shay & we would often/affectionately call her Shay-Shay. I love it!
I also like that it pairs well with Sydney in that they are both unisex but used more often for girls & I enjoy the similar spellings.
Sydney Paige is 2, 1 syllable so I think it would be neat to do the opposite with Shay – Shay Posey would work if you like that.
Other suggestions:
Shay Paisley
Shay Paityn
Shay Piper
Stephen, Christine, Sydney, Catherine
Stephen, Christine, Sydney Camryn
It seems that a name beginning with hard “C” would match best with the family, whereas having three family members with names beginning with “S” fits less well when looking at the entire family.
(We have a similar situation in my extended family: “M” name dad; “C” mom, “M” baby girl — mom is thinking a “C” name for their hoped for 2nd/last baby would be her preference.)
If you go in the S direction, I prefer Shay with Sidney. I also really like the idea of giving her your initials instead.
Could Shay be a nickname for Charlotte? So if Charlotte turned out to be too popular in your area you could call her Shay but have the longer name to fall back on later if she wanted?
i do like the idea of her sharing your initials too.
I totally agree that this wee one should have your initials. I like the name Charlotte as well, and if y’all like it, I say go for it regardless of popularity; it has a lot of great nickname options, like Char, Charlie, Lottie. However, other C names that you might like:
Clementine (I think this is an awesome suggestion as well)
Claire
Corinne
Campbell
Caleigh or Callan (and call her Cal… Syd and Cal?)
Casey
Colby
Callie is traditionally a nickname for Caroline, if you’re exclusively calling her Callie or Cal, that might make it different enough from your cousin’s kiddo to put Caroline back on the list. Carly is another option.
How about Chloe? It would be a cute family thing for this one to share your initials! Sydney and Chloe seen to go together well to me. Good luck!
I find the repeating “ar” sounds with both Scarlett “Carsons” and Charlotte Carsons a little bit off-putting – just wanted to mention that in case you’ve been saying the first-middle-last names all together and hadn’t said just the first and last out loud.
I LOVE Agafia! I’ve never seen it (anyone know if it was anglicized to Agatha?) but I think it’s gorgeous and interesting. Would you consider using it for a middle name? I also like the idea of your second daughter sharing your initials since your first daughter shares your husband’s initials, so with that and Sydney Paige in mind (and trying to avoid the repeating “ar” sounds):
Chloe Agafia ‘Carsons’ (love this)
Claire Agafia ‘Carsons’
Carina Agafia ‘Carsons’ (also has an “ar” but it’s less prominent than in Charlotte and Scarlett)
Cassidy Agafia ‘Carsons’
Cameron Agafia ‘Carsons’
I know Caroline is out but just wanted to mention Carolina (I tend to pronounce it ending with “LEE-na”), which provides tons of possible nicknames (Carrie, Cara, Callie, Calla, Lina).
To me, Shay sounds like a nickname for something else. If I wanted to get to the nickname Shay I’d use Shayla, Shana, Shara, Shailene, Shaylin or (maybe a stretch) Chantal.
I also like the idea of using your initials. I have a friend named Chae (pronounced Shay) This could work as a nickname for Charlotte or Chae on it’s own is pretty as well.
I love Calla’s suggestion of Cameron above this. Sydney and Cameron seem like a wonderful sibling pair – Syd and Cam. I agree with keeping an “A” middle name – Agafia, Amelia, Abigail, Alexandra, Augusta…
I immediately thought of The name Skyler nn Sky as a sister for Sydney. They go so well together!
Sydney and Skyler. Skyler Posey is cute!
I agree though that it would be nice if this baby shared your initials. Catherine is lovely with the nn Cat. Kit-Cat or Kitty-Cat are other great nicknames too. And do you really want to miss this opportunity to pass on your awesomely unique middle name?
Other suggestions:
Cara
Carina
Charla
Chelsea
Chloe
Claudia
Colby
Cora
Corinne
Courtney
Clover
Coco
Cadence nn Cady (love this!)
Hope there’s no repeats! Carly is a good nn for Scarlett too and gives you both the ‘S’ and ‘C’ options. You could use the nn Cat for Scarlett too!
All the best!
LOVE so many of the C suggestions, it would be hard for me to pick! Colby, Claire, Carly, Cassidy, Cameron, Charlotte. (I’m biased as all of these were on our list!) And great A middle names: Abigail, Amelia, Anne. I agree with Calla that Scarlett/Charlotte ‘Carsons’ isn’t an ideal repetition to my ear. I love the idea of daughter #2 sharing your initials, and CAP is a cute potential nickname.
I too love the idea of your second kiddo matching your initials. So much so that I want to pressure you to do it! And your middle name is amazing, and would be awesome to pass on.
Charlotte is a great name, but if you need some other “C” suggestions: (And I may repeat above)
Cassidy is so similar in style to Sydney, and would be a great match. Cass and Syd.
What about Caitlin to get to Cate?
Camden, called Cam?
Celia or Cecilia gives you the “s” sound with a “C” spelling.
Good luck!
Love the suggestion of the S sound with a C spelling!
Celia, Cecilia or Cecily with the nn ‘Cee-Cee’ are adorable!
What about Celeste?
Would also like to throw in Constance, Colette, Sophie and Sylvie!
I would avoid giving your second daughter the same initials as your first daughter especially if one of the older girls nicknames is her initials. It takes away something unique and special from the older one and may make the younger one feel that she can’t use her initials.
If you want to use an S name, I would go with a middle name from your side of the family. Scarlett Christine or Shay Christine would be lovely. ( unfortunately use of your middle name would result in the initials SAP.)
If the use of Posey is important, have you considered it as a first name? Posey Agafia is sweet. Sydney and Posey.
However, like several others I like the idea of going with your initials – there is such a nice symmetry to it. Charlotte Ava sounds lovely. I also like the suggestion of Catherine or you could switch it up to Cathleen. Cathleen Aubrey with a nickname of Cat, Cate, or CAP would work well.
I have a nice named Corina and ahead loves her name so that is another option.
That should say niece.
Charlotte is so great, and using your initials is perfect. Also love that they are both place names, and Syd and Charley are great matching nicknames. I really really want you to use Charlotte now! Charlotte Amelia, Charlotte Avery, Charlotte Ashley, Charlotte Adair….
Catherine called Cat is also really nice. Catherine Anne, Catherine Allison, Catherine Abigail, Catherine Agatha.
Cassidy is also really nice. Sydney and Cassidy, Syd and Cass.
I just love the cl sounds popping up! Chloe, Claire, Cleo, Clover, Clementine. Also made me think of Calista.
Good luck!
I got briefly jazzed about Cassidy for you, but after turning that name over in my mind for half a day, I think it’s too similar to Sidney, actually. It’s very close–they both end with the same sound, and though it might be cool for her to have the “sid” part of her sister’s name within hers. But I’m not sure. (I’m someone who’s regretted naming my daughters names that in retrospect, seem too similar).
I’m torn because though I like all your names, I find Charlotte, (C)Katherine, & Caroline too stylistically different than Sidney. A whole different genre of name, although one that does blend quite well with Christine & Stephen. I’m lukewarm on the symmetry of balancing your initials & your husband’s via your daughters, but then I’m someone generally fond of asymmetry…..
That leaves Scarlett & Shay. I’m sensitive to the repetitive ar-ar sounds in Scarlett & ()arsons, but maybe that’s something with which you’re OK.
My favorite might just be Shay Agafia. Especially with a somewhat common surname, this hits all the right notes. It would be unexpected and amazing at once. And, as with Sidney, somewhat unisex yet with a whole other vibe. And just as your first daughter shares initials with Stephen, Agafia would create a tie for this new one to you & your birth family. (I guess we’re back to symmetry here).
I like the idea of this daughter sharing your initials. I love Charlotte, but if you are worried about popularity, Swistle has posted before about how even top 10 names are not as common as you might imagine: http://swistlebabynames.blogspot.com/2008/05/even-top-10-is-not-necessarily-kiss-of.html.
But if Charlotte is not quite right, and you love Kate but can’t use it, my suggestion would be Sydney and Claire. Maybe Claire Alexandra or Claire Amelia?
I also like the idea of giving her a C name. I wouldn’t be too quick to throw out Caroline. How often do you really see this cousin that named her daughter that? My mom’s cousin named her daughter my name before I was born, but my mom went ahead and still used Heidi. It’s been a total non-issue. The one family reunion that I was around my second cousin, we both thought it was fun that we shared a name.
I think Charlotte goes great with Sydney!!
I do also like the idea of giving her your initials so she has that little extra special connection to you, as Sydney has with her dad.
Some “C” names (some are duplicating other great suggestions from previous commenters)
Carys
Cate
Chloe
Clair
I quite like Scarlett. A few more to add to your list:
Cassidy
Callaby
Chelsea
Morgan
Hadley
Sage
Rowan
Reagan
I also like the idea of matching your initials for this baby. Since you like Charlotte and Scarlett, I wanted to suggest Colette. It has plenty of nicknames.
My 2 cents? I like Charlotte James. Or even Scarlette James. With such feminine first names, the masculine ‘James’ as a middle name sounds hip and preppy and cute, in my opinion. The idea of passing along your initials is also cute, but I wouldn’t kill myself trying to make it work, especially if you just don’t have an ‘A’ contender that you love.
Oh, I think the name Skye would be perfect! I notice another poster suggested Skyler- I think both are a great match for Sydney, but slightly prefer Skye. For nicknames you could use Skylark, Blue, Skita or Cloudy.
Speaking of Cloudy, I knew a Claudia, pronounced cloud-i-a – perhaps that appeals? Or Claude – a unisex name, and from memory name of a French queen or consort or similar.
Or what about *ahem* Stella : )
If Shay is too close (when written) to Sydney, do you like the spelling Shea?
My first thought was Savannah (could have the nickname Savie or Anna). I love the idea of using Charlotte with your middle name. I like the nick name Lottie. Skyler was also a sweet suggestion. What about Carolyn instead of Caroline? I love Carolyn with the nick name Carrie or Care or Lyn. Catherine with the nickname Cat would also be sweet. I think it would be special to share initials with a parent. I share a middle name with my mom and think that is a special connection.