Hello!
My husband and I are having a difficult time deciding on a girl name. With our son, we couldn’t decide on a middle name until we had to sign the birth certificate at the hospital! Our last name is Jordan. Our son’s name is Matthew Mason (Matthew after my father and Mason because we liked it). Our baby girl is due in June. We don’t want anything too popular/trendy (we didn’t like that with Matthew, but it was important to me to name him after my father). We also don’t want anything too strange or unique. Here are the names we like so far (in the order that I like them):
Willa
Mirabelle or Mirabel (nickname Mira)
Mia
ReeseTo throw a kink in things, my husband wants the middle name to start with the same letter as the first name (to match our son); however, I cannot find a good middle name to sound good with Willa.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Eva Marie
I think the alliteration idea is a fun one, but considering the two of you already have a lot of trouble settling on a name, it seems like it adds an unnecessary additional level of difficulty to the situation. Would your husband be willing to make that an “if it works out, great; if not, fine” preference? I’d also be influenced by whether you were planning to have more children after this one.
Willa is my favorite from your list, too. If the alliteration is important, I like Willa Waverly. If the letter without the sound would be enough, I like Willa Wren. Or do you have any W surnames in your family trees, or do you admire any authors/poets/actors/artists/etc. with W surnames? I’m thinking of something like Willa Whitman or Willa Wilder or Willa Wharton or Willa Winslow.
Mia has been in the Top 10 since 2009, so I wonder if it might be too popular for your tastes. Its usage may be even higher than that, since it is sometimes used as a nickname for Amelia and other names.
We’ve had so many letters from parents who used the same initial for the first two children and then felt stuck, it makes me feel a little skittish about Mirabel(le) and Mia—especially if the middle names will also both start with M. If you’re not planning more than two, or if you would like to continue with M names for everyone, or if you don’t think two double-M names in a row is enough to make you feel stuck, then I do very much like Mirabel. I think it fits nicely with Isabel and Annabel, while being less familiar; and Mira is a nice easy nickname, similar to Mia but less common.
Reese stands out to me among the others because of its different style: Willa, Mirabel, and Mia are all very feminine and used exclusively for girls, while Reese/Rhys/Reece is unisex. Because on your list you have three of one style and one of another, my guess is that Reese is an outlier for you—but that’s not necessarily true, and if you’re stopping after two children it doesn’t particularly matter. It matters only if it IS an outlier, AND you’re planning more children, AND you’d like sibling names to coordinate, AND you have more girls.
Because you have Willa, Mira, and Mia on your list, I wonder if you’d like Willemina/Wilhelmina (I prefer the former spelling from my own family tree; the latter spelling may be more familiar). It gives you the nicknames Willa and also Mina.
Another option, I think, is to fully embrace the alliteration idea, to the extent of using it as a starting point: there may be more names to add to your list if you go deliberately searching for double names instead of single. It might also work to look for names that coordinate with your son’s in other ways: the same 2/2 syllable pattern, or the same honor/like pattern.
Can I vote for Willa Wren? I think it is a lovely name, a nice mix of vintage and modern.
Since the alliteration in your son’s name is kind of hidden when you hear only the first and last name, maybe you could do something similar and alliterate the middle with the last name instead of the first, i.e. Willa Jean Jordan. W is a tough one. I also worry you may run out of M names if you go down that path. Mirabelle Marie is pretty, though. I also like Reese Rebecca.
I think Willa Waverly sounds nice, and I think if you’re going to go this route I prefer a middle name of at least three syllables, with an obvious W sound–Willa Wren doesn’t quite work for me on the second front, but it would definitely be a sweet name! I also really like Wesley/Westley when used on girls–Willa Westley Jordan.
Personally, I think of M as an awesome letter to get “stuck with,” since there are so many beautiful possibilities for both genders in basically every style. You could even get away with using Mirabelle or Mia and then saving the other one for later, as long as you didn’t use the nickname Mira for Mirabelle! I think one of those gets my vote.
If you like Mia, what about Amelia for a first name? You could use Mia as a nickname to cut down on the alliteration a little bit. Amelia Anne, Amelia Alice, Amelia Agnes are really pretty combinations.
I like the sound of Willa Whitley or Willa Whitney with Matthew Mason.
I also like the previous poster’s suggestion of using initials WJJ so they both have alliteration, but doesn’t force you to choose from such a small pool of names.
Oooh, I like Willa Wren a lot. That’s a name I’d want for myself. I like how well it flows with Jordan, too. And Willa is rare and distinctive enough to bring out the less common feeling in Matthew. Matthew is just not as popular or trendy as it was a generation ago, but it’s a classic so nor does it feel stale. Willa really brings out that solid and unexpected side of Matthew. They complement each other well– Willa ends up feeling more classic, Matthew more fresh.
Hmm… I know the baby is due in June, but I like Willa Winter as well. Do you have any special attachment to Winter as a season (or a word)? Engagement, marriage, any kind of anniversary?
Another option is Willa Winifred… Winifred is still quite fusty, but it has a great meaning (“peaceful friend”).
I also like Willa Wynne a lot… Diana Wynne Jones was a great children’s author, now deceased, who wrote Howl’s Moving Castle (among other books). She was Welsh and Wynne is a Welsh name meaning beautiful. It’s a very simple name but I think Willa Wynne J0rdan would be beautiful.
So, to round it up, plus a few more W options:
Winter
Winifred
Wynne
Wren
Wallis/Wallace
Walker
Wade
Wayland
Wyatt
Worth
Woodland
Worth has a sort of virtue name appeal. I also like the offbeat-ness of Woodland. The latter would work really well if you like hiking or anything like that.
As far as your other names go– Mia is super popular across all ethnic groups and also shows up as a nickname often for Amelia, Maria, and other M-names. To me, it makes Matthew feel trendier too. Mirabelle is cute but Mira is rising rapidly in popular, as is Mila. And I would avoid repeating initials, especially if you are considering a third child. Reese is stylistically very different from your other options.
Honestly, I love Willa so much in your context that it is hard to feel enthusiastic about any of the others you mentioned. I think you should go for it! And while choosing a W- middle name to go with it is challenging, it’s also fun, and there are more options than you’d think.
I’m really looking forward to finding out what you pick. Please remember to update us! Good luck!
Thanks! We don’t have any connection with winter, but i do really like Wynne
I do love Willa with Matthew.
I like Willa Waverly as well as Willa Whitney.
I also like Reece with Matthew. I particularly like Reece Rebecca and Reece Rosalie.
I’m biased because Wren is my daughter’s middle name so of course, I love Willa Wren…however, I don’t know if it flows well with your last name. Wren and Jord@n have that same abrupt “n” sound.
This is a little “out there” but what about Wild/Wilde as a middle name? Willa Wilde sounds like an awesome, butt-kicking cowgirl!
Other W’s to consider: Wednesday, Wendy, Winsome, Wisteria, Willow
Also from your list, I love Mira, but prefer the Mirah spelling. Another thought I had was to use one of your names as the middle. Something like Willa Marie, Mirabel Eve. I like the idea of the “matching initials” but in practice, it seems cumbersome.
I do like wren for the middle name, but just asked hubby and he doesn’t like it bc of how it sounds with our last name (like you pointed out). Thanks!
I really want to find the perfect W middle name for you, because I really like Willa and I like the alliteration…but I think Willa is hard to work with. Matthew Mason is nice because you switch from a short A to a long A, and because Matthew is so unmistakably a name that it works almost anywhere. There are very few middle name candidates that start with W and a long i (Wyatt? Wilder? Winona?) and the majority of W names would either repeat the short i or be very similar with a short e…which doesn’t sound great to me.
I’m finding that I don’t mind the repeating vowel sounds as much if I use Willemina or Wilmetta instead of Willa though. (Willemina Whitney, Wilmetta Wynne). Would you maybe go for a longer form?
Winona is on my short list. I know it’s unusual, but sit with it for a minute! I also like that it means first born daughter :) Willa Winona.
You could also do Winter, which is very pretty. Willa Winter.
I think Willa Winona sounds amazing with Jordan.
I agree. Willa Winona is lovely.
Our son is a WW, and with #2 due soon, we think it’d be neat to try to keep the double initial theme- there are some possibilities with EE right now, but negotiations are still in effect.
Our middle ‘W’ is Wellesley, but I could see Wren or Wynne being great names to pair here with Willa.
Good luck!
I couldn’t help thinking of Willy Wonka, but I did see the musical recently.
I realise it doesn’t satisfy the wish for alliteration, but I do like the flow of Willa Gwen/Gwyneth/Gwendolyn.
Good luck!
I went through my list of possible middle names list and the only W name I had on my list was Winter.
Other suggestions from a baby book
Willa West
Willa Wynette Jordan (I like this! #1 fave)
Willa Wisper
Willa Whitney (I also like this! #2 fave)
Willa Wynne
The double alteration appeals to me because it reminds me of Emily Elizabeth from the Clifford books. I’m seconding Willa Winona and Willa Waverly. I also think Willa Wells Jordan sounds very distinguished.
I also like the idea of doing the double alliteration with your surname. Willa Jane Jordan and Willa Jude Jordan are my favourites.
What if you had the double alliteration on the END of her name? Willa June Jordan sounds cool in its own right. OR what if her first and last names were the alliteration? June Willa Jordan (June Jordan to most of the world).
If you like Mirabelle, do you like Miren? Her nickname could be Miri. Or even Wren! Adorable!
Miren Marie Jordan would honor you with you sharing matching middle names.
June’s birthstone is pearl. Pearl Paisley Jordan is feminine and just a touch sassy all at once.
Best wishes as you welcome your daughter!
I like the name Miren, I’ve never heard it before. It might be too unique for hubby. I love the name Paisley but hubby vetoed that one early on. Thanks for your suggestions
This is probably much too daring, but I saw a birth announcement recently with the middle name ‘Lionheart’ … Which made me think of Willa Wildheart. That would be pretty awesome!
Wildheart would definitely be too unique for my husband. Thanks for the suggestion
Also, I don’t think Wendy has been suggested yet. The name was coined by the author of Peter Pan, which is quite lovely.
To me, this is the most important sentence in Swistle’s analysis: “I think the alliteration idea is a fun one, but considering the two of you already have a lot of trouble settling on a name, it seems like it adds an unnecessary additional level of difficulty to the situation.” Eva Marie, please keep in mind most of us who post on this site simply LOVE LOVE LOVE the challenge your query provides, but enjoying a name challenge & providing solutions still might not result in a name that moves your soul.
I, too, really like Willa Winona, Waverly, & Wren, and if Willa Wendy didn’t sound a bit silly, I might even encourage that one. And no one has yet mentioned that, typographically, W is the inverse of M, which is also pretty cool and perhaps worth considering……But along side that, there’s the first association with the initials WW that many will have (world war) isn’t one I’d want in my own initials.
So if one of our suggestions really moves you, that’s one story. But in an overall sense, many of our responses so far feel unduly intellectual bordering on gamey to me, which isn’t at all how you arrived at Matthew Mason. Instead of over-working to find some kind of alliterative solution, I’d go for the magical “thump thump” when you imagine your daughter’s name–remembering that most people will never know her middle one. (Love all the names your considering, even Reese).
Thanks for your reply. Very good points.
I love Swistle’s suggestion of Wilhelmina. It gives you the great nickname options of both Willa and Mina. Matt and Mina. Too cute.
I’d scrap the alliteration plan, if it was me. For Wilhelmina, I’d be tempted to use a middle name with M, to get some of the same effect. Wilhelmina Moxie appeals for some unknown reason. Or Wilhelmina Mae. I also like Wilhelmina Reese. My favorite is Wilhelmina Marie, because I like the idea of you and her sharing middle names.
So these aren’t a sibset obviously, but my daughter has a Mia, Reese and Kira (instead of Mira) in her preschool class, so just for fun and in case these names spark anything for you there is also a Leah, Grace, Selma, Hanna, Taylor, Abbigail, Reagan, and Melina in her class.
Willa Wren is just so great! I think Willow Wren would be sweet too.
Matthew and Willa
Matthew and Willow
Love both!
Mirabelle Marie or Mia Mirabella would be my next picks! What about adding Mariella, Madeleine or Myra to the mix? Myra is cute!
I quite like the alliteration idea with your surname too.
Willa Jasmine Jordan (love this!)
Willa Juliet Jordan
Other suggestions:
Nella Nicolette
Reese Rebecca
Willa Wylie
Good luck!
Sad that you don’t like Wren with your last name … Will Wren is so beautiful, I agree as well!
Do you like Teresa/Theresa/Therese at all? I love Reese as a nickname for Teresa ..and I like that it’s a style match with Matthew. And maybe T would be easier to find middle names to match? Hm. Teresa Taylor. Teresa Taryn. Teresa Tracy. Teresa Teagan. Teresa Tatum. Teresa Tamsin. Teresa Torey. I also love the nickname Tessa for Teresa, but that’s beside the point!