Hi Swistle!
We are expecting baby #2, and could use a little help with a name. We will not find out gender, which makes it twice as hard! We are fairly set on middle names, as we will probably pass along my husband’s middle name to a boy (Alan) and my middle name to a girl (Marie), to continue a tradition. We skipped this tradition with my first son’s middle name (Dane), as we honored my elderly grandfather instead.We would prefer to stay away from overly common names, in fact, Eli is even a little too common for our liking. Yet, we are hoping to stay away from names that are hard to pronounce or spell, or sound made-up. We also don’t want another “El-” name, although I LOVE the name Eliza. It was actually our “girl” name for our son. Lastly, I don’t want a name that ends in an “O,” given our surname. I love Milo and Leo, but crossed them off because I feel like it just runs into our last name, or sounds stutter-y.
Some boy names we like, but may be too common for us include: Noah, Henry, Landon
Some girl names we like, but may be too common for us include: Evelyn, Nora, LaylaA few boy names currently in the running: Toby, Jasper, Sawyer, Adrian, Soren, Chase, Cody, Wyatt, Isaiah.
Toby may be the front runner at this point. I like Jasper…unique and masculine, but I’m a little afraid of the “Twilight” connection…still too strong? I love Sawyer, but I worry a little about pronunciation “Saw-yer vs Soy-yer.” Personally, I’d probably say Soy-yer, even though the other may be phonetically correct, because Saw-yer is hard for me to pronounce. The others are “eh” names…but could grow on me.Our current list of girl names include: Taya, Raina, Vianne, Corinna, Mattea, Linnea.
People seem to have an easier time with girl names, but we are the opposite. Taya may be our front-runner, but I worry about pronunciation (I like TAY-uh) and spelling. It would also be a great nn for Mattea, but spelling is an issue (Tea?). Honestly, I’m not sold on any of these names the way I was with Eliza. I loved the connection with My Fair Lady…classic, spunky and sweet. Along these lines, I like Annie for a nn (Vianne?), but my husband doesn’t seem to love it.We also hope to have a third (or fourth!?) child, and don’t want to create a “rule” so to speak. For example, if we go with “Eli & Adrian,” (Eli Manning, Adrian Peterson), will people think we are football-crazy? Or, If we go with “Eli & Isaiah,” if we name a third child something non-biblical, will it stand out?
Lastly, I’m not sure we want an extremely long name, next to our “short & sweet” Eli. I’m thinking 6-7 letters, max, unless we have a great nn.
I would be THRILLED if you are able to feature this, as I would LOVE any input you might have.
Thanks so much for your time! I PROMISE to update you when baby comes :)
~L
One of the things I find most interesting about baby names is how the second child’s name “spins” the first child’s name. If a family has a child named Noah, for example, and then they name their second child Liam, it’s a totally different effect than if they name the second child Moses. So I do think you’re sensible to consider the effect of the second child’s name. I wouldn’t have noticed the Eli and Adrian tie-in, but Eli and Isaiah does start a biblical theme for me.
As with other themes, though, I don’t really consider it a theme until the third child matches. If a family has a Noah and a Natalie, I notice the matching N but don’t blink if they name the third child a name not starting with N (in fact, I feel relief that they didn’t feel pressured into it); if, however, they have Noah, Natalie, and Nathan, I feel like they’re all but committed to the N theme at that point—particularly if they plan only one more child.
Since you’re planning 3-4 children, I think the easiest way to avoid a theme is to avoid it for the first two: Eli and Isaiah won’t seem as themed if you have a Sawyer in between. But if Isaiah is your top favorite, or Adrian is, I say go ahead and do it: if people do see a connection, it still doesn’t seem like a large issue. Maybe someone would say “Oh, Eli and Adrian—are you football fans?” and then you’d say “Oh, no, it’s a coincidence—we just liked the names.”
For me, the Twilight problem has all but disappeared. I still wouldn’t name siblings Edward and Bella, but names such as Jasper and Emmett and Alice feel available—and I’d use the names Edward and Bella individually without worrying that anyone would think it was because of Twilight. I looked in my archives, and parents were asking about or worrying about Twilight associations regularly until mid-2013, when it stopped; the concern peaked in 2010. This indicates to me that the associations are disappearing from people’s minds. And Jasper is my favorite from your list. Jasper Owens; Eli and Jasper.
If you don’t mind hearing Sawyer pronounced both ways by other people, then I don’t think pronunciation has to be an issue. I get concerned about it mostly when parents say they hate one pronunciation, or that one pronunciation drives them crazy; in that situation, it doesn’t seem worth the inevitable stress and irritation. And the difference in pronunciation between Soy-yer and Saw-yer is subtle to my ear and local accent.
If you like Mattea and Taya, it does seem like a natural solution is to use the latter as a nickname for the former. I don’t see any reason you can’t use the spelling Taya: it’s common for nicknames to be spelled differently than the starting name. For example, it’s fine to use Abby for Abigail, instead of using Abi; it’s fine to use Bree for Brianna/Gabriella/Aubrey, instead of Bri/Brey; it’s fine to use Zac for Isaac, instead of Saac; it’s fine to use Joe for Joseph, instead of Jo; it’s fine to use Jake for Jacob, instead of Jac.
My first guess upon seeing Taya was TIE-yah (I think because I know one Maya and one Amaya, both of whom use the long-I pronunciation), but I immediately knew it could also be TAY-ya and would say it that way if reading from a class list (“TIE-yah, TAY-yah?”), and I would quickly learn to say TAY-ya. Téa Leoni helps a little with the pronunciation of the Tea spelling, and you could spell it her way with the accent over the E—though that does seem a little odd when the full name doesn’t have the accent. Well, I also think this is an area where you could let things evolve naturally if you don’t have negative feelings about any of the options: name her Mattea, and call her Taya/Tea/Téa, and see how the spelling shakes out over time. Personalized stuff can have “Mattea” on it, avoiding the issue for most situations.
When I see Corinna and Nora, I think of Cora. Cora Owens; Eli and Cora.
I’m sorry about the name Eliza, because it’s one of my top favorites—but I see what you mean about Eli and Eliza. I was trying to think of a name that seemed similar to me, and Fiona is the only one I can think of—but I don’t like it at all with Owens. Perhaps something like Penelope/Penny/Nell/Pip? I know you’d rather avoid a long name, but I think it works quite well when the boys and girls in a family have different types of names. A few more possibilities:
Cecily
Felicity
Genevieve
Georgia
Hazel
Josephine
Lydia
Philippa
Winifred
Name update!
Hi Swistle,
I am writing with a name update for our sweet new baby girl. I wrote to you awhile back and sadly, we miscarried shortly after you printed that letter. You and your readers were very helpful, however, and we tossed several of your suggested names around as we were naming this little lady. At the end of the day, we settled on a name that rose to the top of our list over the last several months. We love that it is classic, not super popular (yet?), and has a spunky nickname. So far, it fits her perfectly.Introducing Vivian “Vivi” Marie! We are over the moon in love!
Thanks again,
Lindsey, Nathan, and proud big brother Eli Dane
I think you’re overthinking a lot of this. I don’t see any type of issue with using Sawyer or Taya with one specific pronunciation. My daughter’s name has three accepted pronunciations and has been called by all three in one day before. You tell people how you are pronouncing it and they will remember eventually.
It’s too bad Eliza is so similar to Eli :(
I don’t think the football player first names or twilight character’s first names is an issue to be concerned about.
Just to play devil’s advocate (because I think it’s great that you don’t get annoyed at people for mispronouncing a name – that would put a lot of burden on the person who didn’t know which way to say the name before meeting your child), I have a name with a few “other pronunciations”… and my children will have names like James and Annie.
I think each parent needs to think about “would this annoy me or potentially annoy my child”? when picking names that may be misread. Some people care, some people don’t, but it’s something to consider.
My suggestion for a name that is a lot like Eliza but nothing like Eli is Louisa. You get the fun z sound at the end, you get the same spunky, sweet, traditional feel….and it sounds great with both your last name and top middle name contender.
Yes, excellent! Louisa is a perfect compromise.
I also thought of Lucia, Lucy, or Lucienne.
I second the suggestions of Louisa and Lucia and Lucienne. SO SWEET and spunky! They match perfectly with Eli.
I love Adrian and Henry (which I don’t think is too popular if you love it). The football association with Adrian did not occur to me. Cora is an excellent suggestion. Do you like Nola or Josephine (which has lots of spunky nicknames )? Sawyer is a unisex name for me, leaning a little more towards girls. Would you like Emerson (which is unisex as well) for a boy?
My – fairly random – suggestion is Dax. Eli and Dax just seem to fit well together imo. 3 letters, Dax is also less common than Eli. Dax Alan works great in my mind as well.
If you were ok with another E name (as long as it wasn’t El), I would suggest Eve. Eli and Eve are a cute pair.
I like Raina from your list. Taya + Raina makes me think of Raya? Hth!
Just have to comment to say that my oldest daughter’s (13) name is Mataya and has gone by Taya (TAY-a) most of her life. Spelling her name the way we did we’ve had no one have a hard time pronouncing it. When I see Mattea I STILL don’t know if the “ttea” is pronounced “TEA-a” or “TAY-a”, so the phonetic spelling seemed like the best option for us.
As a Mattea who personally pronounces the “ttea” as “TEA-a”, but who has had it assumed to be
pronounced “TAY-a” about 80% of the time, I would say you are pretty safe going with either spelling if the “TAY-a” is your desired pronunciation.
Relatedly, the remaining 20% is by no means all “TEA-a”, but about 15% really wacky pronunciations, and 5% “TEA-a”.
It’s a great name either way! Good luck!
I’ve seen the name Vera twice now for a girl and I really like it! Yesterday I asked my husband on his thoughts for the name and he didn’t like it but I sure do. I know of a sibling set named Eli and Eden Claire.
Vera Marie Owens; Eli and Vera
Eden Marie Owens; Eli and Eden
For a boy, what about Otto? I know Otto Owens is a lot of “o’s” but I like it!!
Otto Alan Owens; Eli and Otto
I think Jasper, Sawyer, Isaiah, and Adrian should all work for you. I don’t think the association/pronunciation issues are likely to be problems.
I like the idea of using Taya as a nn for Mattea. It’s a two-fer for you. I think my favorite on your list, though, is Linnea. Corinna is nice, too.
My son Jasper was born in 2013. Jasper was my favorite boys name before I was even pregnant. Although I had read the Twilight series several years ago, I didn’t even think of the connection until I watched the last movie a few weeks before he was born. I had a momentary doubt, but we named him Jasper anyway. I only received one comment about his name being a character from the Twilight series, and it was from my Dad of all people! I just said, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that”. No other friends or acquaintances have mentioned it, although my parents will occasionally point out other Jaspers in books or movies. If anything, I think the books have made it familiar enough for people to know the name, but not so familiar that it’s an instant association. Anyway, I love his name, and I’m glad I didn’t let the Twilight association spoil it.
With Sawyer, the main issue with which I’d want to be aware is that in the past 5 years, Sawyer has more often been used for girls than for boys.
I think Adrian is a great match with Eli, though it is a bit longer & doesn’t have an obvious nickname. I don’t think you need to worry about the football connection. Toby and Cody both strike me as great names for little boys but a tad childish for grown men. I’d suggest going with Tobin, but I don’t love the way it sounds with Owen. Strictly speaking, I think both Toby & Cody have too much “O” sound to really complement the surname Owen. Soren also falls in this category, along with having pronunciation problems of its own. (google pronunciation for this name). Wyatt, Jasper, and Chase all work equally well. I’d probably favor either Jasper or Chase because they provide such different sounds from Eli, while still coordinating nicely.
For a daughter, I love Swistle’s suggestions of Hazel and Cora the best. Some of her other suggestions (to me) fall into the category of tricky to spell or pronounce, and a bit too complex to intuitively complement Eli. Many of your own suggested girls’ names will also present spelling challenges for some. (Raina/Rayna, Vianne/Vieann) I’d suggest either Lucy or Jane as great alternatives, but both of these sound a bit too simple with the middle name Marie, so I’d want to use a different family honor name in the middle. I, too, love Tea and wish it didn’t come laden with spelling issues, but I think Swistle’s right on here: plenty of names have nicknames with different spellings. My favorite of your girl names are Mattea and Linnea.
Good luck!
Here are the Social Security Administration’s 2013 numbers: 3,142 new baby boys named Sawyer, 683 new baby girls named Sawyer.
oops!
Still, though, more girls each year.
I have to say I was surprised by this. I can’t say I’ve met many boy Sawyer’s rather a handful of girl Sawyer’s in the last few years.
Huh! I love the name Sawyer for a girl, but have yet to meet any … yet we seem to have TONS of boy Sawyers in our area. I can think of a couple under the age of 3.
I agree with Swistle that the name you choose for a second child may put a spin on the first child’s name.
Toby, Chase, Cody, and Wyatt with Eli makes me think you are choosing cowboy names.
Isaiah with Eli makes me think you are choosing Biblical names.
Jasper and Sawyer work well with Eli so if you love either one, you should go with it.
For a daughter, have you considered Liza? Liza Marie is lovely and Eli and Liza work well together. I also like the suggestion of Louisa.
My 20 year old niece is named Corina and she has always liked her name and it’s level of uniqueness.
Watch out for the Lisa Marie Presley association :)
I think Twilight is pretty much over and Jasper is safe from uber-association with that series. Eli and Jasper are great for brothers, and Jasper Owens is a name I’d want for myself if I were male.
I also like Toby but Toby Owens is too sing-songy for my tastes.
As far as the Eliza conundrum goes– I love someone’s suggestion of Louisa for a compromise. Wow! It’s great with Eli, great with the middle name, great with Owens– and it is familiar and classical while still being extremely uncommon. It’s not even in the top 1,000!
Along the Eliza/Louisa line, I thought of Lucy as well. I really like the sound of Lucy Owens. It has great flow.
Other names that have the same feel as Eliza:
Ruby
Maisie
Clara
Nell (Helen, Helena)
Lenore/Lenora
Nora
Jane
Clarissa
Naomi
Scarlett
Good luck and please, please come back to let us know what you picked!
For what it is worth, I mentioned to my friends that I really liked the name Jasper, but I was wary of the Twilight connection. The three girlfriends I was with didn’t think there was a strong enough connection at all.
I think Eli and Isaiah go really well. Isaiah is a strong Bible name, but I think Eli is enough mainstream that people wouldn’t immediately draw attention to the Bible name usage. Isaiah and Ezekiel would do that, but not Isaiah and Eli. In my opinion.
If you like Isaiah, Josiah and Jonah are two names to consider.
Are you Scandinavian? I notice a few of your picks have those roots. Maybe you would like Anders? Anders and Eli? Or if you like Soren, maybe Ronan?
For girls, I like the suggestion of Liza. Or again, if you like Scandinavian names…Ingrid? Marin?
Since you like Milo but can’t use it because of the O, maybe you’d also like Miles? Or perhaps something like Mila for a girl?
I would not in a million years catch the Eli & Adrian connection. Some people might, but it’s not going to be as common as the Biblical association you’d have with Eli & Isaiah.
I do like Toby for you. Tobias with the nickname Toby is also nice. I think Twilight is over, so if you love Jasper, go ahead & use it. Like Swistle, I would avoid Bella & Edward together & Reneesmee (which is pretty awful anyway). But I think enough time has passed to make the other names fair game.
I would assume Taya would rhyme with Maya (Tie-ah). Tea seems more logical, some people might guess tee-but you would have actress Teo Leoni to use as a reference. I really like the idea of Mattea with Tea as the nickname. I think spelling issues are less of a problem with a nickname. She’d always have the option of using the full Mattea on written documents, but using Tea verbally.
If part of the appeal of Eliza is My Fair Lady, what about just using Audrey? Other names that feel similar to Eliza are Margo, Lucy, Clara, & Lena.
Honestly , Eliza feels very different from your other girl names. To me, Eliza is very English, while your other names all have more of an international flair. For more of that feel, I would suggest Talya, Mira, Anya, Leonore & Lucia.
Audrey is a nice suggestion no one else mentioned yet. But, maybe it is too popular for the letter writer? Especially when Aubrey/Aubree is taken into consideration.
Audrey made me think of Adelaide, Amelia (also popular), and then Amity.
Amity made me think of Verity.
I also thought of Matilda and Jessamine…
I like Sawyer for a girl (slightly less for a boy) as well as Vienna, Tala, Isolde, and Zola. They have some if the sounds you seem to tend towards. I also like Harriet, Heidi, and Scarlet.
For boys I like Axel, Nolan, Piers, Thomas, Knox, Harrison, and Ryland.
Those are some additional suggestions but I love most of the names on your lists. Especially Jasper.
Zane or Zeke for a boy.
Ayla or Calla for a girl.
I also really like the suggestion of Louisa. Eli and Lou sound amazing together. I also like the suggestion of Dax but I would use Daxton so that you aren’t set in a three letter name theme either.
A few suggestions:
Violet
Miriam
Rose
Mercy
Adele
Magnolia
Ivy
Eva
Verity
Juliet
Matilda
Miles
August
Walker
Blaise
Titus
Blaise
Simon
Slate
Rhett
Since you don’t seem to LOVE any of your girl options, you could consider using the names you already decided on (your middle names) and name your daughter Alana Marie Owens. Alana is classic, spunky, and sweet and has a similar feel to the name Eliza. It also sounds great with your son’s name – Eli and Alana.
I love Adrian and Henry with Eli.
Or
Eli and Jett
Eli and Nolan
Eli and Flynn
Eli and Drew
Eli and Rupert
Eli and Gilbert
Taya is beautiful. I also love Linnea from your list and the Swistle’s idea, Cora.
Some other suggestions:
Eli and Ada
Eli and Brynn
Eli and Carys
Eli and Romy
Eli and Nina
Eli and Noelle
Eli and Maren
Eli and Camille
Eli and Bianca
Eli and Colette
Eli and Ottilie
I STRONGLY prefer the spelling Tea. Taya is more confusing for me; I immediately think “Tada!” which makes pronounce the name with a short A. Although the SSA would not have information on how people spell nicknames, I did look up both as given names. Taya has been ranked in the Top 1000, nine times in the last 50 years (usually in the 900s). Tea has been ranked in the Top 1000 two times in the last 50 years (both times in the 700s). This is inconclusive. Bummer. Go with the traditional spelling of Tea, though. Bonus that it has the same amount of letters as Eli.
From your boys list, I like Adrian the best. I also suggest Edward with a nickname of Teddy. Edward Owens has a ring to it.
For a Broadway inspired name for a little girl, like Eliza or Annie, I suggest Adelaide. Adelaide is in Guys and Dolls. I know that this breaks your 7 letters max rule. You could use the nickname Addy, but I like Del better for you. Or Adele.
Good luck!
What about Caspar/Casper if you’re worried about Jasper? They come from the same name (as does Gaspar). And there is the friendly ghost thing, but I think spelling it “Caspar” removes that somewhat. Plus, it isn’t a negative association and he’s not as recently in people’s minds these days I don’t think? Just a thought! Can’t wait to hear what you choose!
“Cas” is a pretty cool nickname that would parallel well with Eli, too :)
For girls, Corinna, Mattea, and Linnea are lovely and have a familiar, yet international spin. They are all fabulous, but Linnea is my favorite. Eli is a very versatile name, so it matches fine with any of these if you care. (Personally, I wouldn’t worry about mixing “categories” too much.) There could be some pronunciation issues with Mattea, but only you can decide how much those would be a problem. The full name and its nicknames really are wonderful. Same with Corinna.
For a boy, I don’t think you could do better than Jasper!
Just wanted to say that I’m a big football fan, and didn’t think twice about Eli and Adrian. I think it would be different if you were considering Eli and Peyton, for example.
Hi Swistle and all!
I wanted to check in to let you know how very much I appreciate all of your suggestions! Sadly, we lost our July baby shortly after I wrote the letter. I am now almost 12 weeks pregnant again, and everything is looking good. So, I am just now getting back into the baby-naming mood, and I’ll keep you in the loop!
A few quick thoughts :
I like Louisa, but our cat’s name is Luey. Hmm…
We are mostly Scandinavian, although not tied to only Scandinavian-sounding names.
Glad you all like Jasper! Not too trendy??
Thanks again! Still taking suggestions. Many of them are just lovely!
~L
I’m so sorry for your loss. Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl! Her name is gorgeous!