Hi there Swistle!
I’m a huge fan of your blog and I find myself in a situation where your help and guidance would be amazing!
I’m due with my second child in May 2016, very early on to have a name issue but I’ll explain. My first child is Isabella Pamela, our last name is Gaulton. To most of my family and myself her name is perfect. So when I announced I was pregnant again to them all the response I got from nearly everyone was “congrats! So happy for you! You’ll never find another name as perfect as ‘Isabella'”. Now nothing I see seems to measure up.
Pamela is a honor name in my family and similarly this child (gender will be a surprise) will have an honour middle name as well. It will be Arlene for a girl or Ryan for a boy.
My husband and I love ultra feminine names for girls and masculine names for boys, also our last name is slightly harsh sounding so flow is a concern of ours
Please help us come up with something. I feel panicked whenever I think of picking a name because we want this baby to have a name that is as beloved as our daughter’s is.
Thank you for your time!
Therese
One reason the name Isabella may seem incomparable is that it is now connected to your much-loved little girl. No other name will measure up, until it too is connected to a much-loved child. I suggest abandoning the quest to find a name you like as much as the name Isabella, and switching the focus to finding the name you love best of all the remaining, not-Isabella names.
If possible (and I know it may not be possible), see if you can disregard the concept of whether everyone else will think the name is as good as Isabella’s. It is odd that so many people responded as they did to the news of your pregnancy. Either your circle is unusually interested in baby names (and has an unhelpful way of expressing it), or it is possible that stress is making it feel as the percentage was larger than it was.
In any event, people generally care less about other people’s children’s names than they may seem to. If, for example, the worst happens and you choose a name that others feel really isn’t as good as the name Isabella, no one will lose sleep over it. Even I (and I think it is clear I care quite a bit about baby names, and do think they’re important) don’t DEEP-DOWN care what other people name their children. I have a brief reaction to the name, appreciative or not, and then I don’t give it much thought after that. Maybe a wince from time to time at a particularly disliked one, or a fresh surge of appreciation for a particularly liked one, but not much more than that. And it sounds as if your circle is already prepared to be disappointed in the name, which could take off some of the pressure.
The way you spelled the word “honour” makes me wonder if you are in the United States or not. In the U.S., the name Isabella has been in the Top 10 for baby girls for more than a decade now, and was the #1 most popular name for girls in 2009 and 2010. If you live in an area where the name is much less common, this advice will be useless; but what I’d suggest is looking for similarly popular names. The upside of a popular name is that it is POPULAR: many people love it. If your primary concern is finding another name that many people will love, then the popular names are the way to go. For a U.S. baby, I’d be suggesting names such as:
Amelia
Arianna
Madeleine
Olivia
Sophia
Victoria
I’d consider the name Olivia nearly perfect: similarly popular, same number of syllables, very feminine. Olivia Gaulton; Olivia Arlene Gaulton; Isabella and Olivia.
Less common but still in the style I’d suggest:
Adelaide
Anastasia
Annalise
Aubrianna
Carolina
Clarissa
Emmeline
Evelina
Francesca
Genevieve
Josephine
Julianna
Lilianna
Natalia
Sabrina
I skipped many -ella names (including Elianna, which I’m still wavering on), because of not wanting to duplicate the ending of Isabella, and this made me feel even more inclined toward names ending with -anna: it’s similarly feminine, but different enough for a sister name. I was uncertain about Lilianna: too many shared sounds, or not? I’m not sure. It passed my “Would I raise my eyebrows if I heard of siblings with these names?” test (“No”), so I kept it in. Maybe I should have kept Elianna, too, I don’t know.
With the middle initial A and the surname initial G, I’d keep alert to initials that may spell things. For example, if you’re not open to a different middle name, I’d say Victoria and Francesca are right out. I would also avoid GAG, HAG, NAG, RAG, and SAG. I feel less strongly about BAG, JAG, LAG, MAG, TAG, and WAG, but would still want to consider the issue before settling on a final choice.
I don’t feel as if I have enough information about your boy-name style to make a good list. If you like masculine, popular names, I might suggest names such as Jacob and William. If you like longer names for boys as well as for girls, I might suggest Benjamin, Jonathan, Alexander. If you like gentleman names, I might suggest Everett and Theodore and Oliver.
Name update:
Good Morning!
I wrote you asking for help with naming a sibling for my daughter Isabella Pamela. You gave me so many wonderful suggestions, as did the lovely commenters of your blog. My husband and I decided to name a girl Olivia Arlene…then we had a beautiful baby boy!
Anderson Ryan came into the world June 5th,2016 weighing in at 10lbs 13oz and just over 22 inches long.
Thank you so much for your help and I continue to read your blog- it’s bad for baby fever ☺️
Proud mommy,
Therese
Swistle, you’re not in the US????? I can’t believe I missed this detail for so long!
To the writer–I second everything Swistle has said here. The pressure to choose a name other people react to as positively as they did Isabella’s is nonexistent, and it really does seem unlikely that many people both said and meant that it concerns them that you won’t be able to.
With the emphasis on the first syllable of your last name, I like 3- or 4-syllable names with emphasis on the second syllable, like Swistle’s suggestion of Amelia. Or what about:
Aurora
Bianca
Daniella
Fiona
Georgina
Etc?
No, I am in the United States. I was wondering if the letter-writer might not be, because of her spelling of the word “honour”.
Oh–in the letter I’m reading, it is spelled “honor.” You must have edited it for publishing! Now I understand.
To those not in the US: I didn’t mean to make it sound like being in the US is the normal state of being, and that it would be so shocking for Swistle not to be! I just had never noticed any cues (via spelling, cultural references, or otherwise) that challenged my assumption that she was in the US.
Oh wait–now I see. Mixed spellings. Mystery solved (further).
I like Alexandra for you, and I was going to suggest Oliver for a boy even before I saw Swistle’s suggestion!
Claire Arlene
I like the suggestion of Olivia. More popular girl names that seem to go:
Ava Arlene Gaulton (if you don’t mind the repeated initial– I don’t), Charlotte Arlene Gaulton, Emma Arlene Gaulton
I liked the suggestions of Alexander, Jacob, and William, too. How about James Ryan Gaulton?
I like this advice. It doesn’t seem that popularity factored into the naming of your first daughter, so I think Olivia and Sofia are the two obvious choices. These are the names I think of when I think of Isabella and I would expect these names to be sisters.
My husband is against popular names or I would have used Olivia. I think it is quite frankly a perfect name. It’s cute yet it grows up nicely, it is internationally know, and there are similar nickname options. Olivia is a classy name like Isabella, they both start and end with vowels, and they are both classics. I’d seriously consider it. Sophia/ Sofia would be my second suggestion and it is also a really great name.
I also like the suggestion above of Alexandra.
For some reason I’m feeling longer, more romantic names over popularity for you like Penelope, Juliette or Seraphina. I like Gabriella but it is pretty close in sound to Isabella. For boys, I’m thinking longer but ultra masculine names like Anthony or Nathaniel.
Simonetta Arlene would be stunning.
Juliette Arlene
Bettina Arlene
Clementine Arlene
Florentina Arlene… Has the initial issue
When I think of “masculine” names, I think of Bruce. Probably not the same thing on your mind!
I know two sets of sisters named Olivia and Isabella so I do think those names go well together. I love Sophia with Isabella but it doesn’t work with Arlene and the initials SAG are not desirable.
I do like Amelia Arlene (G) aulton, Allesandra Arlene (G)aulton, Vivianna Arlene (G)aulton, and Esmerelda Arlene (G)aulton.
For a son, I think a longer maculine name would work best. I particularly like Nicholas Ryan (G) aulton, Timothy Ryan (G) aulton, Zachary Ryan (G)aulton, and Theodore Ryan (G)aulton.
Vivianna is a beautiful name, but I am thinking VAG would not be desirable initials for a little girl either.
Olivia. Hands down.
Agreed. If she is looking for the perfect sister name for Isabella, it is Olivia. That feels almost like an objective fact.
My first thought was Juliet Arlene.
Isabella & Juliet – so sweet!
Alexander Ryan for a boy…
Also thought Juliet for you, we have a Juliette and I get raves about it all the time. She is six now and it still thrills me to say her name. For boys I suggest Elliot or Oliver.
I love the suggestions of Alessandra, Olivia, Seraphina, Sophia, Juliette, and Liliana for you. Some other ideas are: Angelina, Adelina, Elena, Elise, Evangeline, Carina, Cassandra, and Linnea. James and Alexander are great suggestions for a boy. I also like Mason, Nathan, and Ethan for you. Though I like Jacob, I would hesitate to use it with Isabella, as that still reminds me of Twilight. Best of luck!
Cassandra Arlene (G)aulton is absolutely stunning! Isabella and Cassandra…Izzy and Cassie.
I love swistle’s suggestion of Adalaide, Isabella & Adalaide are lovely together.
I also suggest Angeline, Bridgett, Gabriel, Rosalie, Acacia or Theadora
If baby is a boy, my friend has twins William & Isabella, William is a great match with Isabella, I also like the suggestions of Theodore and Alexander! Mitchell & Lawson are two of my favourite strong boys names atm
Congrats and good luck
I echo the commenters who are trying to match Isabella’s long, flowing femininity rather than its popularity levels–Juliet/Juliette and Alexandra are my favorite among the suggestions already given. A few new ideas: Larissa, Miranda, Emilia.
Olivia and Sophia are just soooo perfect with Isabella.
Emilia, with the Italian spelling, would be my next choice. Isabella and Emilia!
Alessandra is really quite lovely and I know an Alessandra with the nickname Lessie.
What about Ariana, Susanna, Nicola, Helena, Julia, Katerina, Adriana, Christina or Larissa?
Love the suggestion of Nicholas for a boy! What about Christopher?
Good luck!
Claudia, Juliana or Angelica?
Love Isabella and Claudia together!
Oh…. Lucia!
Isabella and Lucia!
I’ll stop now….. I promise!
Also love the suggestion of Ava for you!
With Isabella I like…
Octavia Arlene Gaulton
Madeline (mad-a-LINE) Arlene Gaulton
there are some other great suggestions already too especially Alessandra, Juliette and Natalia (and Francesca but I dont like the initials).
For a boy…. Gregory Ryan Gaulton, Frederick Ryan Gaulton, Vincent Ryan Gaulton, Sebastian Ryan Gaulton, Lucas Ryan Gaulton or Enzo Ryan Gaulton.
I really like Vincent with Isabella!
I love Georgianna and George for you. To avoid the initials GAG, how about Georgianna Ryan?
I like Angelina Arlene and Isabella Pamela
Isabella and Angelina. They flow so nicely together and both are pretty names on their own. I also think finding a longer name that is pretty would be the way to go. I also like the suggestion of Juliette.
For a boy I like Alexander and William. They both sounds good with Isabella. I find that boy and girl names can be different tho. If you want to have a slightly less matchy name with a boy I actually prefer that. I also thought of Sebastian. I’m also liking Henry Ryan.
I think if you are 100% sure about Arlene, it would be good to focus on another vowel-letter first name to avoid word-ish initials. I agree not all of them are bad (CAG, TAG, KAG, ZAG, are neutral…) but so many others are quite terrible…G, F, V, H, L, N, S, R, B, J, W…
Swistle’s advice is brilliant–I think popular names are the way to go to meet all of your requirements.
My favorite suggestion is Olivia, followed by Madeleine or Amelia. I think all three of these are lovely with your surname, and with the middle name and Isabella.
I also love the suggestion of Alessandra or Alexandra.
Amalia also jumps out at me as a less common possibility.
Or Emilia.
Oriana, Octavia, Eloise, Eva, Eleanora, Elinor, Mirabelle, and Esme are also lovely.
I guess Mirabelle conflicts with Isabella–not sure what I was thinking there–my mind was going for Mira; Miranda would also work!
Second the vote for Miranda! Or what about Philippa?
Your initial problem could be solved by using Ryan for a daughter, if you end up falling in love with an inconvenient first name!
Yes, Olivia does seem pretty perfect. It feels on par with Sophia and Isabella in terms of popularity (all three very common in my neck of the woods, aka Midwestern US of A) and style.
However, I also love Lydia with Isabella. Lydia Arlene. Very pretty. I’ve been hearing it more, but it certainly doesn’t feel overused. Sophia would be my other choice. Someone else mentioned the undesirability of SAG, but it doesn’t bother me much. VAG is much worse. ;)
Good luck!
Olivia, Sophia and Ava are all super common sibling names for Isabella. I wonder if even though they seem perfect to most of us they might not to you because they are the obvious choices. I like some of the less obvious choices.
Assuming the middle initial is set, I like Abigail, Camilla, Claudia, Jessamine, Julia/Julianna, Karina, Lily, Scarlett, Tabitha, Taylor, Theresa, Ursula, Zoe. If it’s not, i love Genevieve for you.
My favorite option for you is Margaret with the initials MAG you can call her Maggie or Mags – it’s a different kind of perfect. Another way to go is to use Aria as a first name to honor Arlene and choose another honor name as the middle.
For boys, I like the following options with big sis Isabella and your last name: William, Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Aidan, Christopher, Henry, Caleb, Jack, Connor, Blake, Cooper, Wesley, Grant, Fredrick.
If the middle name is set, I love Abigail, Emma, and Katerina; If the middle name might be changed, I love Flora, Genevieve, and Henrietta (Hattie)
So many good suggestions here, I wanted to throw out Calista also. I have an acquaintance who named her first daughter that and I just always think it’s so lovely. C is a neutral initial with the other names too. Isabella and Calista. Calista Arlene. Very pretty!
Many good boy names here too, I like Timothy or Elliott especially.
I met identical twins Isabella and Gabriella at the park. Those names struck me as too close (as I have two students with those names who both go by Bella). But obviously they were not too close for some parents, so I thought I’d suggest it. I think they would appeal to the same people.
Hands down, Juliana! I absolutely love Juliana! Juliana Arlene is beautiful (and the initials JAG are not bad at all). And I LOVE LOVE LOVE it paired with Isabella.
For boy names, I like:
Bennett Ryan
Elliott Ryan
Brock Ryan
Jonathan Ryan
Bryce Ryan
Jacob Ryan
James Ryan
Carter Ryan
Marguerite Arlene is pretty.
Isabella and Marguerite. Love!