Good Morning! My husband and I are in the process of starting our family soon and love talking baby names, but are struggling to set on a name! (Plus, we are the TWO most indecisive people I know…) To start, our last name is H!ll. A few things…
1. We don’t want a first name that can be nicknamed, and 2. we want the middle name (or first!) to be an honor name.
At this point, we think we will keep our family small with only one or two little babes :)We have some boy names we LOVE but can’t decide. The following are our favorite combos:
-Jack Anderson (Anderson is an honor name)
-Judd Anderson OR Judd August (Our wedding month)
-Beau Anderson
-Hank AndersonAnd as far as girl names… ugh. So many to choose! We love classic, older names. We were both raised in the midwest, but now live in the south and have fallen in love with older, southern sounding names.
Some names we love:
-Hattie or Haddie
-Grace
-Annie
-Caroline
-Vivienne
-RamseySome girl names I love, but he isn’t crazy about:
-Daphne
-Seraphina ( I know, I know… this one could be nicknamed ;)
-PhoebeHonor names we like but don’t know what to do with:
-Toni
-Ann
-Rose
-Olivia
-August
-Anderson
-EdwardThanks so much! I love your blog :)
I am going to stay fairly general, since it’s early days. It can be so much easier to make a decision when there is a baby growing and a due date impending, and it helps considerably that you both love to discuss names. (I’m so envious of that last part. Paul was more the “Ug, do we HAVE to talk about baby names?? You’re only 8 months pregnant!” type.)
My first note is to make sure you’re trying your name candidates without the middle name, since that’s the way they’ll mostly be said and used. If you are saying aloud, “Beau Anderson H!ll,” that’s a very different sound than “Beau H!ll.”
My second note is that your surname is little tricky. First names ending in a hard C/K sound tend to make H!ll into Kill, and I noticed that a lot of combinations brought associations to mind. Jack H!ll, for example, makes me think of Jack and Jill going up the hill. Annie H!ll makes me think of Annie Hall. Hank H!ll makes me think of Hank H!ll from King of the Hill, even though I haven’t watched that show since the late ’90s. Are any of these Giant Serious Concerns? No, and a couple of those references get more dated by the day—but they’re the sorts of things I like to take into account when making a decision, rather than getting surprised by them as I start announcing the baby’s name.
My third note is to watch for style outliers. For example, looking over your list of girl names, Ramsey is a stand-out. If you have one child, or if you prefer sibling names not to coordinate, this isn’t an issue; if, however, sisters named Ramsey and Vivienne strike you as startling, it’s good to have thought of that ahead of time.
You’ve got some great honor names to work with. My suggestion there is to work first on the first name: add any honor names you might want to use as first names to the list, and narrow that list down. Once you’re down to your finalist first names, start bringing in the middle names. If, for example, you have your girl-name list down to Caroline or Hattie, then start pairing them up with honor middle names: Caroline Olivia H!ll, Hattie Anderson H!ll, Caroline August H!ll, Hattie Rose H!ll, etc. If, on the other hand, you decided on Annie or Rose or Anderson as a first name, you could then look for non-honor names for the middle names: perhaps names that weren’t quite right as first names but you still want to use them.
My husband has a short, intuitive surname like you (the name we intend to use as the primary surname for our kids) and a problem I run into is liking shorter names that sound very abrupt without the middle name (which Swistle already hinted at but I thought I’d elaborate on). I find a lot of the choices you have for boys lovely in their entirety, but a little choppy in “everyday” use. Beau H!ll is harder for me to say than Jack or Hank, but both Jack and Hank H!ll have that prominent “kill” sound when said quickly. Jack H!ll also reminds me of “jackal” (not necessarily an issue, but it was my primary association). For those reasons, I think Judd H!ll is my preference, if I’m being extremely picky.
Girls names seem much simpler to me. With the exception of Annie and Ramsay (I agree that Ramsay is a style outlier and Annie H!ill brings to mind Annie Hall), any of the choices you have would be wonderful. Hattie Olivia and Vivienne Rose would have to be my favorites though (I have no issue with the alliteration in Hattie H!ll, I find it spunky and memorable).
Best of luck!
Sorry, but jack- no. Jack and jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water…
I like Jack Hill (I don’t think the connection to the nursery rhyme is a big deal) and Judd Hill. Hank Hill seems like a bit of an issue with the King of the Hill association, but I didn’t think of it until Swistle brought it up.
If you’re adamantly against nicknames, I might be careful about Annie. I can see people who would never dream of shortening Caroline to Carrie without asking deciding to call an Annie Ann. People turning Grace into Gracie seems pretty likely too, although to me that would be a plus. (Hattie/Haddie on the other hand seems pretty safe.)
The first thing I noticed is that you don’t want any first names that can be nicked. You point out that Seraphina is an exception to this, but so are Caroline, Annie & Vivienne. Perhaps this isn’t as big of a concern for you? Or maybe it’s more of a concern for boy names, but less so for girls?
FWIW, I would personally stay away from something like Hattie or Haddie on the birth certificate. It would be super cute on a little girl, but as an adult she doesn’t have much to fall back on. Annie is better in this regard because it could still be shortened to Ann if she ever needed something more serious/adult sounding (like on a resume).
Annie seems like it could work as a namesake for Anderson. Or perhaps you would like something like Roseanne for either first or middle? It has the southern feel you like and could be an honor name for both Anderson & Ann, as well as Rose. Or perhaps you’d like a double barrel style first name for girls?
Daphne + Phoebe + Caroline makes me think of Chloe. Chloe leads me to Claire & Clara, perhaps you’d like those?
Instead of Toni, maybe you’d like something along the lines of Antonia for a middle? August could become Augusta or perhaps even Summer? Edward could become Edith, Edie or Eda. In fact, I could see Edie working well for you as a first name too.
For boy names, I would avoid Jack Hill because of the Jack Kill thing (makes me think of Jack the Ripper) and I would also avoid Hank Hill because of the cartoon character. Jack + Hank make me think of Jake. It still sounds a bit like Jake Kill, but at at least the Jack the Ripper association is diminished for me. Judd + Jack make me think of Jude, which I really like for you. I’m not sure about Beau Hill. I want to like it, but it does sound a bit like the name of a subdivision or local landmark or something. August makes me wonder if perhaps you would like Gus as a first name? Gus Hill.
I agree with this comment regarding the nicknames. You mention not liking them, but to me it looks like many of the names you like are what I would consider nicknames. I’m always strongly in favor of a more “formal” name on the birth certificate (like Harriet or Henrietta for Hattie).
I really like the sound of Judd Hill and, for many of the reasons stated above, feel that it’s the best ‘fit’ with your surname compared with your other choices.
Jack, Judd, Beau and Hank all have a very ‘cowboy’ feel to them and I wonder if you would like similar names such as Wyatt, Zane, Boone or Brady. Particularly like Zane or Brady Hill. Brady Anderson is very handsome!
As for your girl choices I think that Caroline is a great name, and limits the chance of a nickname or the nickname feel, compared to your other picks. Carrie is more of a stand alone name now, if you prefer that, or even Cara. Cara Hill is nice! I love the suggestions of Chloe and Edie too! Edie Rose is adorable!
The name Ramsay is all boy to me, so I just can’t imagine it on a girl at all, and is so different to your other names. Have you considered Ramsay/Ramsey for a boy? I really like the sound of Ramsay Anderson Hill!
Hope this helps and good luck!
I see this a lot on name boards – people deciding between several first-middle combos. I think it is not the best way to go about naming a real kid.
In my mind first name first. You should love the name by itself or at least have it be pleasing to both parents. You will use this name thousands of times a week so it is most important.
If there are multiple first name options then worry about first name-last name harmony. I used to think this was a requirement when I was just a name nerd, now that i have wrangled with my spouse over naming two kids I put first name-last name flow as a nice to have not a need to have. The first name-last name will be used daily (school, work, making appointments).
Only then should you worry about a middle name. The first-middle-last name will be used on birth announcements, graduation, weddings and maybe resumes. Even if you use the first-middle all the time as a family this is going to be 10-20% of all usage over a lifetime.
I think the letter writer got a bit distracted by first middle combos, forgetting first last harmony first. Lots of great names to chose from, I just am not sure Hank, Beau, or Jack are quite right with the last name.
Phew I’m glad I got that off my chest.
Boys:
Jude-similar to Judd
Jason/Jace- would get rid of the Jack Hill, Jack Kill problem
Ethan
Girls:
Callie
Lauren/Laura
Lena
Anna(off of one of your potential middle names list, Ann)
Just figured I throw some names out there, hopefully I didn’t repeat what anyone else has already said!
Lauren Hill sounds just like Lauryn Hill. Wouldn’t bother me, but something to consider.
I have to come down hard against Hank H!ll. As cute as the name Hank is, to me that combination is one or two notches below naming your baby Homer Simpson. But then I have watched that show on Netflix much more recently than the late 90’s. I really like your multi-syllabic girl choices, and I think that might be a good inspiration for longer boy names. Those seem to flow better with your last name.
I have a good friend with your last name, and I was trying to figure out what I like about his name (Br@ndon), and why it works better for me. I think it’s mostly the syllables – H!ll has such a soft sound, I want two syllables to anchor it. I also like the more sibilant sound at the end of his name. There’s a nice clear break between the names, so you dont get them blending together. (Aside from the pop reference, I hear “ankle” when I say Hank Hill.
Huh. BH is a great guy, but I never realized that I liked his name so much. But I guess I do. Would Ethan or Aidan be equivalent? L’s at the end work, too – Lionel Hill sounds great. But now I’m just playing with sounds.
From the boy list, I actually like the middles best– Anderson and August. Would you consider using either of those as a first name? Anderson Edward is a great name.
Here are some first-middle combos from your first string girl list.
Grace Olivia
Caroline Ann (or Anna– I think this sounds better but if it’s an honor name you might not want to change it)
Caroline Rose
Vivienne Rose
I prefer Harriet and Ann to Hattie and Annie. Maybe Harriet Ann would work. Also, maybe some of the names you like but he didn’t care for as much could be used as middle names. Grace Daphne? Caroline Phoebe? Good luck.
My favorite out of your list is Judd Anderson Hill for a boy and Vivienne Augusta Hill for a girl.
Suggestions include Adler Hill and Thayer Hill for boys name and picking a family name for middle.
Girl idea is Jocelyn Rose Hill
I’m generally not a fan of alliterative names. That being said, I think Henry and Harriet sound better with your last name than Hank and Hattie. I love Jude for you. I noticed that you like girls’ names with the ph/f sound. Would you like Fiona, Josephine, Delphine, Persephone, Stephanie, or Sophie/Sophia?
For such a simple last name, it is quite tricky.
For girls, if you want no nicknames, I think Grace is your best option. Grace Hill sounds so classy. I also love the name Antonia for you. It honors both Ann and Toni and has the vintage/southern vibe you like. It could work as a first or a middle. If you like Daphne and Phoebe, what about Anthea? Or Fiona?
For boys, Beau is my favorite of your options. What about Jude instead of Judd? A few other suggestions: Dane, Zane, Miles, Cody, Brody, Hugo, Ross, Paul, Ian
What about Laurel? Laurel Anderson (I feel like Anderson could go either way boy/girl…especially with a strong feminine name). Laurel Rose. Laurel Ann (short for Anderson). I also LOVE your suggestion of Ramsey…absolutely love it!
I like Beau Anderson the best of your boy suggestions!
I also am a fan of Anderson as a girl’s first name. But I know you’re anti-nickname. Annie/Andi would be adorable nicknames. :) I know several women/girls named Annie…Annie is all anyone calls them, so no issues with nicknames there.