Hello!
My husband and I are considering having a 7th (and final!) Baby. Naming this child will be tough!! We have found it increasing difficult to name children after already using our favorite names on our older children. The problem we face is that we seem to have developed a pattern and we are not sure if we can continue with this next child. My question is, should we abandon the pattern? Or settle for a name solely on the reason that it fits the pattern? Here’s the stats: Our last name is Blackhouse but the color White. My first initial is K, My husband’s is C. Our children are: Ella, Faith, Gavin, Hayden, Isaiah, and Jude. The type A part of me wants this baby to have a D name so we would have all of the letters between mine and my husbands name, but we have scoured D name lists to no avail. I do like Delilah, but don’t appreciate the biblical connection to Samson and Delilah. Any suggestions?? Im hoping you have some fabulous D name that I have yet to think of and will save the day!
This letter caught my eye because we had a similar situation: when I was pregnant with my final child, my dad noticed that we had so far used letters only between my initial and Paul’s. It was very tempting to keep this going, especially because I didn’t know it was our final child, so even though there were three initials still available, MAYBE we’d use them all! As it turned out, we didn’t try to go with that, and yet we did use one of those three initials (and the runner-up name was another of those three initials). I’ve wondered, if I were to suddenly be expecting twins, if I’d try for those remaining two initials!
I think we wouldn’t, but I might start there just for fun, or might use that to help decide between finalists. The reason is that although it IS kind of fun, it’s almost completely unnoticeable. I think I would have a harder time resisting it if we’d used the initials in order, but we didn’t, and that makes it even LESS noticeable.
So in your case, I think that would be my opinion about what you should do too. (“Do what Swistle did”—is that really what I’m saying my advice is? Apparently so.) I think it’s a great idea to look for a D name, because that’s fun and the idea appeals to you. Maybe use it as one of the ways to decide between finalists. But I wouldn’t advise choosing a name you like less just to get the fun initials thing. If you’ve already looked through all the D names and haven’t found anything you like, it sounds to me as if that idea isn’t going to work out; I’m not likely to find one you’ve missed. The only one that comes to mind (and you’ll have already seen it in the D section) is Dahlia/Dalia: it’s similar to Delilah, but no awkward biblical story. I’ve gotten very fond of the name because of the P.D. Wodehouse books about Jeeves: Aunt Dahlia is a regular character, and one of my favorites.
Or Delia.
For a boy, a couple of my favorite D names are Declan and Daniel and Dean and Darian and Davis—but again, nothing that you haven’t already seen in the name book.
Or maybe things will look different once/if there is an actual baby on the way. My non-pregnant name lists tend to be different than my pregnant name lists, I think because I find it hard to focus realistically when the situation is still hypothetical. We used some names I never even considered before I was pregnant, even though I’d made many name lists before and between. Perhaps you’ll go through the D section again and suddenly latch on to a name that never caught your eye in previous perusals.
If this were my situation, I’d try first to fall in love with a D name, just because it pleases me immensely when things are all neat and tidy and alphabetical. But obviously these are children and not DVDs, so the most important consideration is finding a name that your (future) child will be able to wear well. Plus your older kids will probably start leaving the nest fairly soon after the youngest is born, which will further dilute the initial thing.
I do want to say that I associate Delilah more with the syndicated radio show of the same name than with the Bible story. It’s a show where people call in to dedicate “lite rock” songs to loved ones, and the host (Delilah) has the most soothing voice ever. So that’s a more positive association. I also know a woman in her 20’s named Delia, so that’s a good alternative. (Or Della, maybe?)
Just wanted to suggest some more D names from my student roster: Delaney, Demi, Diana, Danielle
Ooh okay, I’ll offer my two very favorite boy D names: Dominic, and Damien with the nickname Denny. I also really like Dashiell/Dash, Deacon, Dermot, Donovan, Drew.
For girls I love Daisy, Danica, Daniela, and Daria.
I agree it’s a fun place to start but I wouldn’t force it if it doesn’t work. How about Daphne or Deirdre for a girl or Dane for a boy?
I knew a family once in which the parents’ initials were B & E and their kids were Austin, Carter, & Devin. I always wondered if they did it on purpose. There’s another good one– Devin for a boy, Devon for a girl.
My advice: put the issue aside until there is a baby! :) We had the hardest time coming up with a girl’s name. And, when I finally got pregnant with a girl – 4 years after we started talking about girls names – all the ones that were on our list just didn’t fit the personality of the little being in my belly. And one of the names we played around with, but I was resisting because it was too “harsh”, turned out to be just the right kind of “spunky” for our little girl the moment we met her.
What about a K name if no Ds suit you? I know it would duplicate your initial and not complete the span between the parents, but it would still preserve the alphabet run in the kid generation.
Did you list your children’s names in birth order? If so, and if I were you, I would be facing the wild temptation to give this child a K name and satisfy a different sort of pattern. Generally speaking, you’ll probably be listing the children’s names as a sibling set than you will as a family set with your husband’s and your names as bookends, right?
“These are our children: Ella, Faith, Gavin, Hayden, Isaiah, Jude, and [Kellan]”
as opposed to
“We’re the [Black]houses: dad C[harlie]; the children Ella, Faith, Gavin, Hayden, Isaiah, Jude, and Delia; and mom K[aren].”
The second example isn’t nearly as natural, and introducing the kids requires you to either rearrange the birth order or lose the alphabetical ring. I vote for the first option: leave your names out of it and make this a K baby!
If the names you listed aren’t in birth order, on the other hand, I like the suggestions of Declan, Dean, and Dane as matches for your style. A few others:
Dara
Dora
Dylan
I agree with this response; I’d go for a K name if I were you.
But if you’re still interested in D names, here are my favorites:
Daphne
Dorothy
Dixie
Daisy
Delia
Dalia/Dahlia
(Was writing out my reply as Beep posted a more succinct version of the same!)
I think people have made some great suggestions for D names, so I want to offer advice of a different kind. I am extremely type-A (read neurotic) about patterns and numbers, and certain things matter a great deal to me until I’m in the thick of the situation that they apply (my anniversary is a choppy looking sequence of numbers, agh! The balance of honor names we want to use isn’t neat and tidy, noooo!) And honestly, once the opportunity to change anything passes, these fixations go right out the window. So if you’re crushed over the lack of usable D names, or you find a name you love that isn’t and feel pressured to pass it up, just remember that in the grand scheme of things it really will be ok if you’re last child winds up looking like a Violet, or Zebulon ;) (though if you’re anything like me, you’ll fixate on it until the time comes. Consider this permission from one type-A to another to let it slide).
Most of the D names I was going to suggest are already covered, but I thought you might like Deborah. To me, it sounds similar to Delilah, except with a Biblical story any girl would be proud to be associated with. Do you know that you are having a girl, or do you need boy name suggestions as well?
Others have suggested looking at K names. You could also look at Z names, as this is your last child.
Deborah
Kira
Zoe
I love that Daphne is getting some attention! I think it is so gorgeous and due for some love in an era of Zoe and Chloe.
Dalia/Dahlia and Delia are great suggestions! I agree with you, Delilah from the Bible just isn’t a great association and furthermore there’s that ubiquitous radio host…
Other thoughts:
Diana (so underused right now!)
Dorothy (also underused but coming back into style, and SO adorable)
Dinah (biblical but way better than Delilah)
Daria
Daisy (adorable)
Daphne
Delphine
I love all of these with your surname.. But maybe Daisy, Daphne, and Dinah go best with your other kids’ names. That’s subjective though.
Good luck and please do update us!
Also, for boys I thought of Declan and Desmond.
Also this is sort of a non-sequitur, but why hasn’t Dinah been revived along with Clara, Hazel, Elsa, Clementine, and all those other vintage “country” sort of sounding names? It’s really puzzling to me. It’s been stable at 45-55 a year for the past decade…
Dinah is featured here: http://appellationmountain.net/name-of-the-day-dinah/
I didn’t originally realize that she is a Biblical name, but then when I did read about her in the Bible “she’s kidnapped and raped, prompting her brothers to go on a killing spree.”
Abby’s post also mentioned that “Dinah was once used as a generic name for a house slave.”
And in the comments someone mentioned a downside of the Railroad song too.
I do like the sound of the name though.
Hmm, all those things make sense. Thanks for the link, I don’t think I’d Abby’s write up. I still think it’s cute and I’d love to meet a young Dinah.
I love Daphne. Love it!
I also thought of Delia right away for you, which apparently so did everyone else.
What about Dia (dee-a)? Or Deidra and you could use Dia or Dee for short?
Davinia?
I guess for me it kinda depends on why you chose the other names. For instance, did you look for an F name after having chosen an E name? Did you look for a G name because you had chosen E and F? Or did the names just happen to fall into that pattern?
I thought of Davinia/Davina too but then saw they have a Gavin… I think they rule each other out :-/ Though maybe I have pronunciation wrong…
The Davina I know is Da-vee-na. I think it’s quite pretty!
Darius for a boy and Desiree for girl.
I also think it would make more sense to go for a k name to follow the alphabet when naming kids in order.
Ella, Faith, Gavin, Hayden, Isaiah, and Jude, AND…
Devaney
Destry
Darcy
Dresden
Deverix
Dove
Dagny
Deacon
Desideria
Deidamia
Docile
Donnina
Dorothea
Delacey
Decima
Damaris
Dymphna
Davis
Diodato
Domenico
Deveroux
Dante
Darling
Donetello
Drake
Dundee
Dax
Dugan
Davies
And, of course, Daphne is absolutely gorgeous. Plenty of the options above won’t work for your family, but they might spark something for you! I myself like to always have a boy name and a girl name in my back pocket before any child is expected… somehow, it makes me feel ready for anyone!
Best wishes to you!
Oh, and I forgot Desmond! Cool pick!
I went to graduate school with a Deirdre that went by Dae. I always that that was a cool name.
‘D’ names:
Deacon, Damon, Dylan and Dale
Danica, Deanna, Darcey and Dana
‘K’ names (just in case):
Keegan, Killian, Kian and Kyle
Kayla, Keira, Kylie and Kate
All the best!
I’ve been crushing on Daphne for years but I think Dinah would be awesome with this sibset.
Deon, Dylan, David, Desmond, Dominic I could also see working in this sibset.
K for the other end of the sibling pattern is a great idea too.
I wrote in a little over two years ago with a similar (but smaller!) situation. Spouse is K, I’m N, first daughter was L, and I realized I could name new child M and complete a pattern or break it. I dithered and stressed and debated. In the end, we went for the M. While the name we chose for M wasn’t my very favorite name, I’m still pleased as punch that we “completed” the set. It makes me and my family feel whole.
(But I’m a person that finds patterns important–I take photos of my car at 10,000 miles, etc).
What finally decided me was that I would be wistful about not using some other names, but I would actually regret passing up the pattern. So if you think you’d regret passing up the pattern, then use it!
Oh, and my favorite name that we didn’t use in favor of the pattern? Dorothy. :)
My favourite d’s are Dominic, David, dinah and dominique.
I would be tempted to go L though to go past your K.
I wrecked the pattern (3 j names) for one child and I don’t regret it. No one ever mentions it.
I imagine you’ve listed the children’s names in alphabetical order just to emphasise the pattern, rather than their birth order.
My favourite D names are Danielle and Daphne for a girl, or Dylan and Dion for a boy.
If however the birth order is also the alphabetical order then I’d prefer to look for a K or L name to complete the set.
Here’s a thought – you like the sound of Delilah but not the connotation. How about just using Lilah. Ella, Faith, Gavin, Hayden, Isaiah, Jude, and Lilah.
If anybody ever noticed the pattern and commented on it, you could always use the excuse you were saving the D initial for a potential eighth baby/tenth family member as D / Dec is Latin for 10 and Dixie is French for 10. Or you could say the D is reserved for Daddy ;-)
I like that idea. Dad, Ella, Faith, Gavin Hayden, Isaiah, Jude, K* or L*, and Mom.
I really like Dane and Dylan.
Did anyone say Dax, Dexter, Dathan, or Darby?
I knew a Dorinda a few years younger than me in school, which was weird, since it was also the name of my great, great, great-grandmother, and it’s not a name I’ve ever heard. I’ve always thought it was quite pretty. If you’re still looking for D’s that is.
My daughters’ names just happen to start with L and J. I know I will feel very tempted if we ever have another child to find a K name, or at least an I or an M so they are in the same *section* of the alphabet. But I agree with Swistle that it’s not worth passing up a name you like much better to stick to the pattern. I will say that going only a few letters off (A or B or L or M for example) might feel less like breaking the pattern than going with something much later in the alphabet. It *is* breaking the pattern, obviously, but it might not feel like an outlier, if that’s the concern.
I have cousins and a niece who are Ella, Emma, and Owen. I admit I thought we should name our baby Enya if we had a girl, so we’d have a bunch of alphabet names in the family, but we had a son.
His middle name is Desmond, btw, which I love
I know an adorable 6-year old Daphne and her nickname within the family is Daffodil. So cute!
I love Delphine and Delia. Declan, Davis and David are all great choices. Although if you ned them in order I second considering K names.
Delia/Declan
But! Go for a K name!
Also… I haven’t read all the comments, but in case it hasn’t been suggested, how about Dominic? And I do like the K idea, as well.
I would be in luck in your case because with your sibset, I really like Drew or Declan for a boy and Dana or Dora for a girl. But if you have listed the kids in birth order, I agree a K name completes a more noticeable pattern. In that case, I like Kent or Kyle for a boy and Kara for a girl.
All that said, only you and your husband can decide if completing a pattern is more important than picking the name you love most.
I would be tempted to complete the pattern too. There have been some great suggestions! Here are a few more (sorry for any repeats): Danica, Dorothea, Dominique, Diana, Deanna, Darcy, Delta, Dylan, Dean, Dmitry, Declan, Dayne. Best of luck!
I would go for a “k” name. Maybe Keeley? Or Kenna?