Hi Swistle,
We are expecting a sweet baby girl in early-November. We are in a naming conundrum! We have two daughters already, Isabelle Claire and Caroline Lurah. It should be worth noting that Lurah is a family name from my husbands side – the other names are just ones that we liked. Naming 3 girls is just as complicated as I expected!
My husband insists that he essentially named the other two girls, so he has been pretty hands off with naming this one. As you can imagine, this makes me very anxious to pick the “right” name with minimal input from him. Ultimately, he can veto a name he absolutely does not like, we haven’t had many of those – but there are a number of names I know that he is not a fan of). I will add that I want the names to somewhat flow together, or be of the same genre. Basically I’ve just picked from names that we’ve had on our girl list along the way; adding just a few.
Names that I like, along with the rationale why they aren’t -the one-:
— Madeline (this is currently our first pick, however I have a first cousin with this name, while we live in different states and she will be 17 yrs older than this baby, I can’t completely convince myself that using this name is ideal. I have discussed the name with her mom and they are over the moon if I were to use it. Our family is not huge, I have about 10 first cousins total – but I get the feeling that my other family members think it is a little weird to use it.)
— Mary Kathryn (husband really dislikes hyphenated names; I don’t like Mary as a stand alone name.)
— Kathryn (husband has a second-cousin named this and he is not interested in repeating this name.)
— Palmer (not sure that it flows with the other 2 daughters names since it is more of a unisex/ or surname. considered pairing it with a feminine middle name like Kate – but husband thought that a nickname wasn’t ideal as a name-name).
— Brooke (ideally we would have gone with Brooke; we would have been done and done. We’ve had this name as a runner up for daughter #2. However, about 2 years ago my husbands mom got remarried and her new last name is Brooke and her husband goes by Brooke).
– -Georgia (hands down, my all time favorite girl name. Would have used it for the first 2 girls IF the husband was on board. This may be his least favorite name, but he has mentioned he wouldn’t veto it this time around. With that said, my only conflict about using it is that I would then have two daughters nearly-named after states as Caroline could easily be thought of as Carolina.)I love the idea of using family names, but unfortunately we don’t have any that we like or even convince ourselves to use as a first name.
Please! Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Desiree Heintz
First: do you agree that your husband named the first two girls, and do you agree that this means you should have/get to do the work of naming the third on your own? I think I would start with that. My feeling is that unless that was the deal (“I’ll handle it this time but then you do it next time, okay?” or “How about I get my choice this time, but then you get your choice next time?”), both parents are still responsible for the work of naming. (Unless of course you would LIKE it to be up to you this time.) Perhaps this can be given an amiable spin: he did such a good job with the first two girls’ names, you would really like him to work with you on the third; this is a special parental responsibility and you would like to do it as a team; etc.
It depends in part on what the circumstances were surrounding the choice of the first two girls’ names. Did he get his way on names you weren’t initially crazy about, so he’s graciously backing down to give you a fair chance? (In which case, I’d steer you directly to the name Georgia.) Did you both put in equal work on the names, but the final choices happened to be ones he originally added to the list so he considers them “his”? Or did he in fact do much more work on it, researching and list-making and bringing name suggestions to the discussion and so forth, while you did in fact do much less? (If needed, you could bring out the “Okay! And with the first two I did ALL the BUILDING of the baby in my OWN BODY! So THIS time I’ll choose the name and YOU be pregnant!” But perhaps you are a less argumentative/resentful pregnant woman than I was.)
Let’s go through your list so far. Madeline sounds great to me: very compatible with Isabelle and Caroline. I like that all three have three syllables, and all three have an L sound. I wouldn’t be concerned about the cousin with the same name: the actual input you’ve received is of the thrilled variety, and the only negative input is what you feel others might think: this is not only unconfirmed but also possibly irrelevant (i.e., if they DO think it’s a little odd, is that enough of a reason not to use a name, or is that something you think they’ll dwell on for about 30 seconds after hearing the birth announcement and then never think about or care about ever again?). It’s extremely common for names to be used multiple times within a family, and you say you’d like to use a family name. My only hesitation is the matching -line endings of Caroline and Madeline: if they’re pronounced the same, it seems too matched; if they’re pronounced differently, it seems confusing. This would not be enough for me to rule it out, but it would be a mark against it.
Mary Kathryn and Kathryn both sound like they’ve been vetoed.
If I had veto power, I would veto Palmer. It’s such a clashingly different style from the first two girls’ names. Perhaps as a middle name if you love it.
Brooke sounds as if it’s out of the running.
Georgia is interesting to me. It’s your favorite. Your husband’s position is that he chose the first two girls’ names, and it is your job to choose the third girl’s name, and he will not veto this one. I would be torn here, if I were you: Do you keep looking for a name you both love, or do you say, “Great! You want me to choose? This is what I choose!” It is your hands-down, all-time-favorite girl name and your husband is saying go ahead, so I think if I were you I would go ahead. As a middle name, perhaps, if you decide not to use it as the first.
I think it’s possible a few people would notice and point out that Caroline could be turned (with pronunciation, spelling, emphasis, and syllable changes) into Carolina, which would indeed be the name of a state if we also added “North” or “South” to it—but I don’t think of it as a glaringly obvious issue, or as a negative one. Certainly not enough of an issue to rule out using your favorite name. At worst, it’s a little bit cute/interesting.
More possibilities to consider:
Adelaide; Isabelle, Caroline, and Adelaide
Amelia; Isabelle, Caroline, and Amelia
Anneliese/Annalise; Isabelle, Caroline, and Annalise
Audrey; Isabelle, Caroline, and Audrey
Eleanor; Isabelle, Caroline, and Eleanor
Evelyn; Isabelle, Caroline, and Evelyn
Genevieve; Isabelle, Caroline, and Genevieve
Josephine; Isabelle, Caroline, and Josephine
Lillian; Isabelle, Caroline, and Lillian
Mallory; Isabelle, Caroline, and Mallory
Margaret; Isabelle, Caroline, and Margaret
Meredith; Isabelle, Caroline, and Meredith
Miranda; Isabelle, Caroline, and Miranda
Natalie; Isabelle, Caroline, and Natalie
Sabrina; Isabelle, Caroline, and Sabrina
Vivian; Isabelle, Caroline, and Vivian
My own initial preference was for Madeline. I like how it sounds with sister names. But I am always drawn to “my favorite name ever” stories, so that edges me toward Georgia. I guess the choice between those two depends on dynamic with your husband, in the ways Swistle outlined.
Matilda is also a great name for people who like Madeline but don’t want to use Madeline. (Although I would lean towards Madeline because your cousin would be thrilled and I bet your daughter would be thrilled to have a special connection to an older cousin. Maybe Maddie & Mattie would be enough to maintain that too though?)
I think my husband and I might have a similar situation to you and your husband, but with the roles reversed. If we were to have a third child, and I were brave enough to let him choose the name, I would probably be assuming that he would choose one of the names he had liked more than me the first two times. I used to be completely set against them, but now my associations with them are more strongly about him liking them than my own initial reaction to them…so while I wouldn’t want to use one of them if it wasn’t his choice, I might be a little sad if he chose something else. If that makes any sense? Which is all to say, I think Georgia might be perfect. Georgia Madeline maybe?
I love Matilda for you, too! Similar sounds to Madeline, but less popular and unused in your larger family. I think Madeline is starting to fall in popularity a little bit, so she’d probably be like the Jennifers that were named at the end of that trend in the 80s?
With Matilda, you also get three syllables like her sisters and a strong L sound, but in a completely different configuration! Isabelle, Caroline and Matilda
Is Palmer a family name or just one that you like? I think it could be a good middle name, especially with your Caroline’s unique middle name – Matilda Palmer Heintz
Georgia is also adorable and your favourite, but as others have suggested, Georgina would be a sweet way to make it a bit more girly vintage like your other girls – Isabelle, Caroline and Georgina. Also pretty with Palmer!
Brooke would be another lovely middle name, but it sounds like the family connection isn’t one you want to make. Maybe something else that’s single syllable and from nature like Lark or Wren?
I also love Swistle’s suggestions of Natalie and Eleanor – so beautiful!
Good luck to you!!
My favorite name from your list is Madeline (pronounced with -line as the ending, not -lyn). It’s classic and pretty, just like the names of your other daughters. It’s a timeless name. I think Julia also goes with the names of your daughters.
I completely disagree that Madeline will probably be like the Jennifers of the 1980s, as Madeline is not nearly as popular as Jennifer ever was. In my opinion, that would be more likely to happen to a name like Emily, which was the #1 name for over 10 years. There are lots of articles and blogs out there that are specifically about the popularity of Jennifer, and no other female name comes close to what happened with Jennifer.
I really like the name Matilda in general– it’s been on my own list of favorites for years– but not in this context. Mainly because Matilda falls into the fusty/cute or homely/cute category to me (like Mabel, Hattie, Edith), whereas Isabelle and Caroline are both classically “pretty” names. They immediately read as girly and beautiful, and Matilda is more challenging. I also think Matilda Heintz is a bit heavy/Germanic– Heintz reinforces the strength of Matilda in a way that maybe pushes it too much in a Teutonic direction.
I adore the name Palmer and loved that it was on your list. Georgia Palmer is adorable!!
I only have four first cousins (my dad is an only child) and I share a name with one of them who is five years younger than me. I saw her about once a month until I left for college.
On her other side, she has 11 first cousins, including ANOTHER Katherine who is younger than me but older than my cousin AND that Katherine lived locally and I also saw her 4-5 times a year while growing up so she sort of felt like my cousin too. So when my cousin was born, her parents looked around at about 6 local young cousins and chose a name that was already in use TWICE.
On our side of the family, this is NOT a family name.
And…it was never ever a problem. In fact, we had a K/Catherine club and I like them very much and typing this I think about how I haven’t seen my non cousin for quite some time and what a shame that is.
My cousin and her cousin are both middle children and you might thing that all this name sharing would make them feel less special, but I promise you that it does not. It helps that Katherine is such an awesome name. Maybe we’d all feel different with something a little more time stamped.
So just one opinion. I’d keep Madeline on your list, but continue to consider other names.
I think you should go with Georgia, but have you considered Georgina? It gives a three syllable name to fit with the sibling set, but allows you to use Georgia as a nickname. Isabelle, Caroline and Georgina.
I love this suggestion! Also Georgiana, which I love even more. Great idea!
I like Madeline the best with your other girls, and I like that you’ve gotten all positive responses — my only suggestion would be to change the spelling (and perhaps the pronunciation, if you’d intended to say mad-e-LINE) to Madeleine. That way there’s no rhyming with Caroline (unless you say “lyn” on the end? But I don’t think you do, based on your Georgia/Carolina concern?), no matching name-ends, and no matching with your cousin (though still retaining enough of a similarity that they can still be thrilled at the connection).
I was thinking, about Brooke, that it being your mom-in-law’s new surname, that maybe that’s a good thing? Because now it’s a family name. (You didn’t mention, though, whether the remarriage is a positive for you and especially your husband or not — if not, never mind!) With that in mind, Madeleine Brooke seems an amazing choice, and would get my hearty vote.
I like Georgia a lot, and that you love it is an important consideration, so it would get my second vote. To me, the ideal would be Madeleine for this baby, and Georgia for the next girl, which I think would distance Caroline and Georgia enough, but of course … you can’t guarantee another baby (even if you want one, which you didn’t mention) or another girl. If you went with Georgia, I do like the ideas of Georgia Madeline, Georgia Brooke, Georgia Palmer, or even Georgia Kate (since you mentioned it as a possible double-barrel with Palmer).
My last suggestion would be Mary Kate. You like Mary Kathryn, but your husband doesn’t want to use Kathryn, and you thought of using Kate with Palmer. Mary Kate is a name in its own right, and I quite like it as a sister to Isabelle and Caroline.
Good luck!
Madeleine is a great idea!
I don’t see a problem with using Madeline because of your cousin. People will only think it’s weird for about 30 seconds (if they even think that much about it). My bigger concern is, is it Mad-uh-lynn and Care-uh-line? Or Mad-uh-lynn and Care-uh-lynn. If you use the Lynn pronunciation for Caroline, I would rule Madeline out for being too similar. If you use the Line pronunciation for Caroline, I have some minor concerns still because the spellings are the same. However, that could be fixed by simply switching to Madelyn.
Please don’t use Palmer. I would assume Palmer was a boy, especially with such traditionally feminine names for the sisters. I also think of the old “Rosy Palms” joke when I hear Palmer, which I think could be really difficult for a girl to carry, particularly during those awkward middle school/high school years.
Use Georgia!! He’s giving you your chance and you love the name. I say go for it! I’m the type of person who notices things like that, and I didn’t notice the Carolina and Georgia thing until you pointed it out (and even then I had to think about it for a minute). If you just can’t get past it, perhaps if the name was one or two steps removed from the state of Georgia, the way Caroline isn’t exactly North or South Carolina. In that case, I’ll suggest Georgiana.
I thought of Josephine for you right away, and I see Swistle has also suggested it. If your husband doesn’t want to do Kathryn because of his 2nd cousin, I wonder if a “kate” variant might work for you. Caitlin, Kathleen, Katerina, etc. I’ll also add Victoria, Hannah, Sophia, Violet & Juliet to the list of suggestions.
Yes, Juliet! Classically beautiful, great with Isabelle & Caroline. (Or Juliette).
Oh Juliette does go so very nicely. Great idea.
I think Madeline and Caroline are too close if you pronounce both with the “line” ending. If you pronounce one with the “lyn” ending, i think they are find together but confusing because that syllable is spelled the same but pronounced different.
I like Georgia best from your list.
or instead of Mary Kathryn what about Mary Kate? I think that sounds great with Caroline and Isabelle!
I love the idea of using an “L” name. Your first 2 daughters share the “C”, with Caroline’s name matching the C from Isabelle’s middle name Claire. You could continue the trend with the third daughter sharing the L from Lurah. I like Swistle’s suggestion of Lillian. Maybe also Lana, Lara, Lisette, Livia? I love Lilah, but that might sound too close to Caroline…or it could flow perfectly, I can’t decide! :)
Hmmm, all of your names have some kind of issue attached– from the potentially less than ideal for one person (Georgia) to the conflicted to the point of unusable (Brooke).
I think Kathryn, Mary Kathryn, Palmer (too much of a style clash), and Brooke should be ruled out right away, hard as it is to let go of some of them if you really like them.
Madeline would be too close to Caroline for me (they read as twin names), but everyone is different in that regard. Someone else suggested Madeleine, which I think is a great compromise. It would also be a slight differentiation from the cousin, though I don’t think shared cousin names are problematic at all (in fact, through most of European/American history they have been the default!).
You should return to your husband with Georgia and gauge his honest feelings about it. If he’s still lukewarm, I think you should let go of it. The state thing isn’t something that would have occurred to me. But it doesn’t seem right to me to pick a name one’s partner dislikes, unless there’s some kind of honor going on.
I do think you should look at Baby Name Wizard, or the SSA baby name popularity lists, or something along those lines, and make up some fresh lists of names. Maybe your husband would be willing to spend an hour or two on this task as well.
I also think, in keeping with your older daughters’ name styles, you should pick something more on the feminine/pretty side. It also helps balance out the heaviness of Heintz.
Some of my own suggestions:
Evangeline. Not quite right if you aren’t Christian, maybe (though I know a Jewish Evangeline who was named after the Longfellow poem). But it has the adorable nickname Evie.
Juliette/Juliet/Julia
Marina
Amelia/Emilia
Clara/Clarissa
Rosalie/Rosalind
Vivian/Vivienne
Susannah
Penelope
Phoebe
Cecilia/Cecily
Justine
Annabel
I like so many of these with your surname and with your older girls’ names; I think my favorites, though, are Emilia Heintz, Annabel Heintz, or (if you don’t mind repeating an initial) Clarissa Heintz.
I also think Palmer works as a middle name for any of these.
Good luck! And please, please update us– it seems like people haven’t been so good at that recently. It means a lot!
Annabel fits with feminine/vintage feel of the other names, but maybe too close to Isabelle?
Ah, true! I don’t know why my brain didn’t compute that one! Good catch.
I like Beatrice and Meredith
I think Georgia is stunning with your other girls. It sounds to me like your husband is giving you permission to use Georgia, and you should jump on it. I didn’t notice the state reference until you pointed it out, and it seemed like a tenuous association even after you mentioned it, and not worth worrying about. FWIW, Georgia is a family name in my family and has been used in at least 3 generations, and it has remained fresh and loved by all who wear it, whatever their ages. On the other hand, Madeline seems a little too … expected? It’s a lovely name, but the -line ending can be confusing, at least in my area of the US, and there are so many Maddys from 1-25 (although many are Madison) that it has started to feel a little over-played and maybe on it’s way down again. The cousin connection is definitely fun, so I don’t think it’s a bad choice, but Georgia really stands out as a perfect addition to this sibset. And while Georgina and Georgiana are pretty, I think they have very different vibes from Isabelle and Caroline, unlike the less-frilly Georgia. I also don’t think you need to have 3 syllables or an “l” in this child’s name – unless the name you love above all else happens to fit this mold.
I think that the only real issue with any of your names are whether your husband likes them or not.
My first cousin named her daughter the name as one of our other first cousins. There was about a 10 sec thought that went through my head about it being the same, and then I realized that they don’t live in the same state and there were 15+ years between them… It hasn’t been an issue at all. So I say, if you love Madeline then go for it!! There is also Madelyn or Madeleine as well.
I personally LOVE Georgia. No issues at all as I don’t think there really is an association between that and Caroline. Love it. Georgia Madeline. Soo cute. I was about to suggest Georgiana but see someone beat me to it! Georgette is another cute name.
What about Emmeline? I pronounce it with Same ending as Caroline. Love this name.
Adeline. Or Evelyn. Or Evaline.
I love swistles suggestion of Genevieve and Vivienne. I love the thought of being able to use Evie or vienne as shortened names.
What about Juliet/Juliette? We have a Juliet and absolutely love her name. We receive soooo many compliments on her name.
What about Rosalie or Rosalind orRosetta? Or Brigette or Violet?
I would personally cross off Palmer and Brooke. If you really like Palmer that could be a middle name?
Good luck and keep us posted!!!
Oops meant to say that for Emmeline I’ve also seen many pronounce it as emm-a-leen. So that offers you a different sound than Caroline.
My favourites from your list are Madeline (I’d feel free to use it, if your cousin with the same name is happy with the idea) and Georgia. And I was ALSO going to suggest Matilda but I see half the comment thread beat me to it!! I love either Brooke or Palmer as middle names, but I agree that either of them seems a bit off in the first name position – Brooke due to family associations and Palmer because it will sound like a boy in the sibling group. I also thought Swistle’s suggestion of Audrey would be great here.
A few other names that I think would go well with the sibling set:
Elise/Elisa
Camille/Camilla
Antonia
Ariane/Ariana
Bryony
Johanna
Lydia
Susannah
Sophie
Olivia
Abigail
I think I’m with the majority in liking Madeline & Georgia the best.
I agree that Mary Kathryn & Kathryn are vetoed (I would also avoid the suggestion of Mary Kate because Mary Kate Olsen isn’t an association I would want with my child).
I think Brooke doesn’t quite go stylistically & I find it weird she would have the same name as her … step..grandfather.
Palmer definitely does not jive & all I think of is Arnold Palmer.
I was going to suggest Georgiana as somone else did.
I would suggest Charlotte, Genevieve, or Jacqueline as well.
Good luck!
Just as food for thought as a spin off of Georgia, what about Augusta or Savannah? Both classically beautiful, and three syllables!
Love Savannah for this sister!
I happened to be browsing through the Pottery Barn Kids catalog (just to, you know, window shop $50 halloween costumes :)) and I COULD NOT HELP BUT NOTICE that almost every name on your list plus your existing daughters’ names are in the catalog on those adorable chairs and stockings and things.
This seems really serendipitous to me. I myself joke that I choose MY baby names from the IKEA catalog, so if you’re not adverse here are some of the others in the PB catalog that might work. Some have already been mentioned…
Sophie
Chloe
Amelia
Kylie
Hannah
Grace
Hadley
I agree with the idea of using Georgina. It takes her a step further away from statehood, and she has three syllables to coordinate with her sisters. Georgina Madeline is lovely and fitting with Isabelle and Caroline.
I also agree that using Madeline as a first name becomes awkward with Caroline.
Other ideas:
Luciana
Sylvia
Georgiana
Seraphina
Amelia
Cordelia
Best wishes as you work out the right title for your new princess!
I agree with others that Palmer is too much of a style clash (though could work as a middle name), and Madeline is too similar to Caroline. Madeleine/Madelyn could work.
I do like Georgia a lot.
I’d suggest:
Julia or Juliet
Marissa or Larissa
Olivia
Vienna
Anna
Annika (though also skews very Germanic)
Elise
Nicola
From others’ suggestions, I like:
Matilda
Victoria
Violet
Marina
Rosalie
Lydia
Sophia
I must admit that I don’t like Madeline with a sister named Caroline. It justs seems too rhymy to me. Also Palmer and Brooke seem like a totally mismatched style with your other daughters names. I think Georgia is a lovely name and don’t see the problem with Caroline and Georgia as there is not a state named Caroline). I do like the suggestions of Georgina, Augusta, and Savannah. Isabelle, Caroline, and Georgia. Isabelle, Caroline, and Augusta. Isabelle, Caroline, and Savannah.
If Kathryn is out what a Catherine? Isabelle, Caroline, and Catherine.
I also love the suggestion of Josephine. Isabelle, Caroline, and Josephine.
Definitely Georgia! I bet your husband would love the name once it belongs to your precious daughter. :)
Reading sister names Isabelle and Caroline, I immediately thought, “Georgian names”. (The Georgian era spanned almost all of the 18th century, and a little of the 19th, and was named for the reigns of four consecutive King Georges of Great Britain.) Britishbabynames.com has a list of Georgian names, including Isabel and Caroline, which might give you some other ideas, confirm your choice of Georgia, or encourage you to use Georgiana: http://www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2013/01/gorgeously-georgian.html .
You may also find this profile of Georgina and Georgiana of interest: http://www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2012/12/georgina.html
As others have suggested, Georgiana — or Georgina — would be an excellent sister name with Isabelle and Caroline. Georgiana (“jor-JYAH-nə”) — or Georgina — each have three syllables and are beautiful, classic names associated with the same time period as Isabelle and Caroline. Jane Austen chose the name Georgiana for the beloved younger sister of Darcy in “Pride and Prejudice”.
Isabelle, Caroline and Georgiana (“Georgia”) would be perfect together!
Isabelle and Caroline are lovely names. Love Georgia too!
I think the ending of Madeline is too similar to Caroline. This all depends on how you pronounce it of course!
Other suggestions:
Alexandra
Annelise
Helena
Eloise
Louisa
Philippa
Adelaide
Amelie
Emily
Evelyn
Eliza
Alexa
Lucia
Claudia
Julia
Lydia
Sorry if there are any repeats and I hope this helps you out!
Good luck!
I’m really tempted to tell you to use Georgia because I love it (Georgia Kathryn/Katherine/Catherine!!) but only you can decide to what degree your husband doesn’t like it. If your husband ends up on board with it, I don’t think you should worry about the states connection. Didn’t even cross my mind when I read the names together.
If you give up Georgia, then what about Rosemary? It incorporates Mary and goes really well with Isabelle and Caroline. Plus, it has the darling nickname of Rosie or the “serious” Rose!
I love Georgia! I wish I could use it, but it sounds funny with the last name she would have. Bummer. I hope you get to use it!