Hi Swistle!
I’ve heard of binge watching TV shows, but I don’t think I’ve ever spent hours binge reading blog archives until I stumbled upon your site. As someone who is slightly obsessed with baby names, I was instantly hooked. I have two questions and I won’t be upset if you chose to only answer one portion, but I hope you answer both!
First. Hubby is a second (II). James II to be precise. From the beginning, he told me that he didn’t want a James the third. However, now he has thrown me a total curve ball and is dead set on a Third. Normally, I wouldn’t mind. I actually think it’s kind of adorable. I even love the nicknames for a third (Trip or Trey), and am more in love with the idea of calling my baby JJ or even Jay as he gets older. Many options. Adorable. Here’s my only problem. Everything I have ever read has led me to believe that hubby’s mom did it wrong. He should have been James Jr., not James II because he is named after his father. I’m sure she just didn’t know any better. (And it’s never come up in our personal lives apart from my stealth internet research). BUT a part of me feels like continuing this name is perpetuating the improper usage of the name suffix. Like maybe it looks like I didn’t know what I was doing when I named my son the Third because his dad should have been Jr. but wasn’t. Is this pretentious? Maybe. Am I overanalyzing this? Would this concern you or your readers? Am I wrong? (I would LOVE to be wrong but my understanding is that Jr. and II only maybe become interchangeable when the Sr. dies?) I read your post about nicknames for the fourth (IV), which was very helpful in educating me, but I’m still not sure. Granted, I know that the whole Americanization of the lineage names has departed from the original royal usage purpose, so any modern use of Sr., Jr., III., etc. is probably not technically correct. But I’m still spinning my wheels on this one! Help!
Question number two: Stone is a family name that has an incredible amount of meaning to me. It is the last name of my grandparents who are both still living and are like second parents to me. Obviously it was my mother’s maiden name. And now it is both mine and my brother’s middle name. We don’t share the same surname so this was our mother’s loving way of linking us. My grandparents had three girls- my mom and her two sisters. They are all married with children who took their father’s surname. The Stone surname has ended for our family which is crushing to me. We are the Stone Family. (Not to be confused with The Family Stone! Ha). Anyway my point is, my aunts, uncles and cousins all identify as the Stone Family despite having a different name. I will take future hubby’s surname and keep Stone as my middle. It is woven into my very being.
I LOVE the name Stone as a first name. Love it. I used to love it as a boy’s name and it looks like about 150 or so boys have been named Stone each year for the past few years. But someone said to me in passing once, “Oh Stone would be a pretty girl’s name.” And, Swistle, that rocked my world! It took a couple years of careful pondering but now I am sold. (Hubby is not so sold, but I think I can get him there). I just know my future little girl’s name is Stone. To me it feels so sweet and smooth for a little girl, rather than rigid or tough or even cold when I think about it for a boy. I picture a gemstone, smoothed until it shines. I can see her with ribbons in her hair playing with her friends at school. I can see her as a sassy teenager and I can see her as a mature, strong adult. Your post on Atlas also helped with this, so I’m not so much asking whether you or your readers could see this as a name. It is a name. Although, from what I can tell, less than 10 girls per year have been named Stone in recent years, but I love that also. I love that it is unique but not made up. It is fun but not overly cutesy. Full disclosure- I am Emily. I have been desperate for a unique name my entire life, but obviously never got it. I am giddy over how unique a girl named Stone would be.
Here’s where I need your help.
A. The middle name. With Stone as a first name (somewhat masculine, one syllable, word name), I am stumped as to a middle name. Surname is @llcorn. Just like if you said I ate all the corn at dinner. My thoughts have been that the middle name needs to be a pretty traditional feminine name. Like Stone Margaret or Stone Eleanor. I don’t think either of those are it, but just for illustration. Stone Rosemary or Stone Willow won’t work because I don’t want her to whole name to be objects. I am drawn to middle names with vowel sounds since Stone is so consonant-heavy. Like Stone Elizabeth or Stone Isabelle. Alice and Ellen are family names that I love, but Stone Alice or Stone Ellen sound too short and choppy to me. Hubby’s fave family name is Pauline nn. Polly but I’m not a big fan of that name and don’t even think it would work here.
I just know that you have the key to all my problems!
B. The sibling names. I love classic names. I love the names of my generation’s grandparents. Ruby, Sophia, Henry, Charlotte, etc. Other than my potential James III, boy names I love are George, Michael, and August (though I LOVE August for a girl too. Maybe I have a thing for traditionally masculine names for girls?) August is a family name for me too so it’s pretty high on my list, but I don’t see as much of a problem coming up with middle names for either gender. My point is, the rest of my children will not be named Slade or Onyx or Kynleigh. Those names are beautiful, but the classic names are my style.
So, thinking back to question one, or to any future children, will Stone work with my little JJ? To me, Stone is almost as traditional as these other names because it has been such a hallmark of my family for as long as I can remember. Other people probably see it as trendy, but I don’t.
Also, I am a big proponent of use it or lose it when it comes to names, so if I only had boys, I would still go with Stone. But for purposes of this question, I am only considering the possibility that my Stone is a girl. So to recap, names for future children that are high on my list (I hope to have three):
James III (JJ)
Stone (girl)
August (boy or girl)
Alice
George
Hopefully this gives you an idea of my style. Does Stone work with these options? Am I crazy? Will my little Stone wake up one day and wish I had named her something common like Emily?
Thanks for all your help and for providing such fun reading material!
I have good news about the suffix situation. From what you’ve told me, it does sound as if your husband’s parents should have used Jr. instead of II: in current U.S. usage, Jr. is used when a child is given the exact same full name as a parent, and II is used when a child is given the exact same full name as a non-parent. But! Sr. and Jr. are the only non-numerical suffixes in the line-up: after that, it goes III, IV, V no matter what. That is, let’s say your husband had been named for his grandfather or uncle, and so he was indeed supposed to be a II: in that case, his son would be a III. Or let’s say your husband had been named with the Jr. suffix: in that case too, his son would be a III. Either way, III is correct and no one will think you did it wrong. If I encountered a family where the dad was a II and the son was a III, I would assume the dad was named for his grandfather or uncle—and that’s if I gave it any thought at all.
Now, a middle name for Stone. For middle name challenges, I like to start by figuring out what sort of syllables/rhythm situation I’m looking for. I said “Stone _____ @llcorn” again and again, changing the hm-hm-hm sounds in the middle until they seemed good to me. My favorite was the “four-syllable name with the accent on the second syllable” category which, luckily for my current self, my past self set up a whole post for. Here are some of my favorites:
Stone Amelia @llcorn (SAA)
Stone Elizabeth @llcorn (SEA)
Stone Honoria @llcorn (SHA)
Stone Olivia @llcorn (SOA)
Stone Victoria @llcorn (SVA)
These weren’t strong preferences: almost all the names on that list sounded good to me with Stone.
But I also think there are a lot of other names that work with Stone and aren’t in that 4-syllable/2nd-syllable mold:
Stone Bianca @llcorn (SBA)
Stone Celeste @llcorn (SCA)
Stone Josephine @llcorn (SJA)
Stone Louise @llcorn (SLA)
Stone Mariah @llcorn (SMA)
Stone Yvette @llcorn (SYA)
And so on.
With my own babies, when I’d narrowed down to a first name but was having trouble choosing the middle name, what I liked to do was take a baby name book and just go through it fast (in sessions, if it was a long name book), sort of skimming while saying the name combinations very rapidly, pausing only to write down any that seemed like they’d work. So for example, if I started at the beginning of The Baby Name Wizard, I would be saying under my breath: “Stone Aaliyah, Stone Abby, Stone Abigail, Stone Ada, Stone Adair, Stone Addison, Stone Adela…” Tastes will vary tremendously, of course, but in my own case I would have paused at Stone Abigail. I would then say “Stone Abigail @llcorn” and see if I liked THAT. And if I did, I’d add that to the list. Then I’d go right back to the skimming: “Stone Adelaide, Stone Adele, Stone Adeline…”
I think it is very smart of you to be thinking ahead to sibling names. I think particularly if you name a FIRST daughter Stone, it will not be too difficult: it may attract interest and questions (especially if you have a sister pairing of Stone and Alice), but “It’s a family name” is in my experience the best ever eyebrows-lowering explanation. If you happen to run into a Swistle type, she will have an almost bottomless interest in any further details you feel like sharing—but most people will drop it right there.
If you have only boys, I think JJ and Stone work very nicely together, especially with their similar levels of family honor; they’d be excellent for twin boys. JJ, Stone, and August works particularly nicely for brothers, I think, but I also like JJ, Stone, and George. I think you’re okay here.
As to your last question, a girl named Stone may indeed one day wish you’d named her Emily, just as an Emily may wish to have a name like Stone. There is no way to predict it ahead of time when we’re making a decision for someone else, someone we haven’t even met yet, so all we can do is make what seems to us to be the best decision, and then be flexible and understanding if the child later disagrees. I would not want the name Stone for myself, but it doesn’t have the meaning for me that it does for you, and that can make all the difference: if she grows up with a significant chunk of her family tree thinking she has the best name in the universe, she’s going to feel differently about it than if the name did not have a family connection. If you have tried the Starbucks test (i.e., ordering your coffee and giving “Stone” as your name to get a feeling for how the name will be perceived); and if you are on-board with the other issues that are a package deal with this particular name (being mistaken for Sloane, being mistaken for a boy’s name, the startle factor of being so unusual, the verb usage of stone/stoning, the association with stoners and being stoned, etc.); and if you have a wonderful naming story to go along with the name (which you do); and if you have made sure you are picturing the name on a wide variety of people and not just on a particular type (I like to go to a mall for this, and picture the name on every woman or girl who passes by); then I think the only other thing I’d do is something you’re already doing, which is to select something more common/traditional/feminine as the middle name. A child may grow up to dislike ANY first name, but with the ones where it feels more like a gamble for whatever reason, I like to increase flexibility by giving a middle name I wouldn’t mind if the child ended up using as a first name.
I’d also like to bring up the idea of using Stone as the surname for the children, especially as you say it’s the end of the line for that branch of your family tree. I realize this is a long shot, especially with a husband who wants a III, but I think it’s good to keep in mind that this sort of thing is an option.
Name update:
My amazing little boy Stone Jameson @llcorn was born July 2018. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that we decided to go with Stone. I now concede that it worked out best that we used our favorite name for a boy, although I’m just stubborn enough that I would have probably used it for a girl. My grandfather passed away 8 months after Stone was born, and his name became all the more an honor name to the patriarch of our family. It has meant so much to my family in a difficult time.
The first thing I thought of was Stone Cecilia, which fits tidily into Swistle’s 4-emphasize-second category. Stone Cecilia @llcorn. Stone Elizabeth is also lovely.
I think Stone Pauline sounds quite nice, and Stone Paulina even sweeter.
Normally, I’m not a huge fan of unusual word-names. That is, I love Rosemary but not Story, for a general indicator. But Stone being your maiden name absolutely has me on board — especially because you are all the Stone family. It’s a beautiful option.
Swistle did a fabulous job as per usual on the II vs Jr. conversation!
As far as Stone…I am sorry…..but no. I just can’t get on board. Here’s why. James III, Alice, and Stone. I would think “Stone Cold Steve Austin?” because that’s my generation…. even if it weren’t, I would absolutely think boy. Clearly and without a doubt.
Stone for a boy is better; I think it’s still a mismatch in a sense with multiple sons, but then again, Stone sounds like an old school guy and James III does as well, so that could match. Stone for a girl just sounds so harsh and masculine. So that’s one way to still use it. Then your daughter could be Alice Stone, and your son Stone XYZ.
Stone and James III sound absolutely like two small boys. I think while you have the BEST intentions and I am ALL about the family surname, we have to think about if our children will truly appreciate it….I think I’d feel better if your last name had a natural sounding girl’s nickname, like Cameron could be Cam or Cammie or Miller could be Millie.
I just discovered the name Pilar for a girl, and am having a very similar feeling to Stone as I did to that; passable for a boy, totally off for a girl.
I like Swistle’s idea of giving all of the kids your surname. Or at least giving all kids the same middle name (and with James III why not give him a second middle name) of Stone.
Pilar is a funny example to use. It’s such a classically feminine name in Spanish, I think this mostly just proves that all of this depends on your perspective.
I like the suggestion of Stone Cecilia above. I do think using Stone for a girl probably means giving up using classically feminine names as firsts for future daughters. Before you fully commit, you might want to think about whether there’s another surname name (or maybe place name? I suspect you wouldn’t like another nature-noun name) that could be similarly meaningful to either you or your husband, if you ever end up with two girls. Stone & August probably works ok.
Yes I agree!
But isn’t Pilar an established girl’s name?
I’ve only known one Pilar, and she was female.
But otherwise, I feel the same way about Stone. It does make a wonderful middle name, and to me, that’s what middle names are for…family names, names we love but aren’t great as first names, names we don’t love but feel like we should use, etc. Plus it passes on the tradition of it being YOUR middle name.
As a girl, I would hate this for my name. But you love it, it’s your choice, and your daughter could always use her middle name if she wants.
I am not sure how to even put into words how I feel about this. It is coming across to me that the mother loves something so much that she wants to give it to her child. That’s nice, however, the reason behind it is not because it is a beautiful name, but because the mom feels that for some reason of another the name is part of her identity. But the child will probably not feel the same way about it. And I cannot imagine this family taking it well if she decides she wants to go by her middle name or change her name later on because they see it as an honor.I also see some undesirable nn’s later on: Stoner, stone cold fox, leave no stone unturned, etc.
YES!
Ditto to all of this. I love that you love the name and I can feel how important it is to you, but I just can’t get behind Stone as a first name. I think it is absolutely wonderful in the middle name spot and using it as a double name (Alice Stone, Ellie Stone, etc) is incredibly awesome.
I love Stone for a middle name. Or even a second middle name, so it would feel more surnamey. I tried to think of good middle names with Stone for the first name, and it started sounding like a command: “Stone Alice” (directing someone to throw stones at Alice).
Hmm. I love the family history of Stone but am really unsure about it as a first name for a girl. I think for me it falls into the “could actually make life more difficult for your child” camp. As well as the potential nickname issues mentioned by another commenter, it is so unusual both in itself and in style that I think your future daughter would be dealing with double-takes and “Stone? Really? As in rock?” a LOT.
I do think it would be a great middle or surname for a girl. You mention that you and your brother have different last names – have you considered giving any sons your husband’s surname, and any daughters the surname Stone?
I love family names, and I like Stone! It’s very similar to Sloane. It feels a bit like Reese. I think there’s been discussion on this blog of the name Miller for a girl, which I also like (with a family connection. I personally don’t care for last names as first names if no family connection). There’s just no getting around the startle factor that we have for names we’ve haven’t already heard — I remember hearing about Reese Witherspoon for the first time, and being like, what??? And now I really like the name Reese. Somebody has to (gets to!) go first. Be a trailblazer. I have an unusual family last name as my first name, and it’s always been really special to me. I love unusual names. If you get cold feet, you could name a daughter FirstName Stone, and call her Stone. If she hates it, transitioning to her actual first name would be easy. I think Stone works well for a girl or a boy. If your first child is a boy and you use James III, then I’d definitely use Stone on my second child, regardless of gender.
I’m on the fence about Stone. Your love for it and the meaning behind it are certainly compelling and I think it could easily work as a name for a boy or a girl. It fits in the category or less common nature name like River or Fox for me. My stumbling block is that I find the contrast with the other favorite names that might be used down the road a bit jarring. But not everyone feels the need for sibling names to match.
I kind of like the compromise of using it for a middle and calling her that with the option of switching back to a more conventional name if the child desires. Alice Stone @llcorn or Georgia Stone @allcorn perhaps?
Swistle gave some excellent advice. I think another thing to try is to imagine that somebody else did the exact same thing, with a different last name. So I named my daughter Chrome, it’s my maiden name etc etc. Would any of that matter, or would you just raise your eyebrows at Chrome? I do think Stone makes a great middle name though, and I also think you could easily call her by first and middle. This is my daughter, Anna Stone, we call her both names. Mary Stone. Ruby Stone. One last thing, I can’t tell if you are currently pregnant or not, but sometimes your preference change completely when their is an actual little human being waving at you from the ultrasound screen. Good luck!
My last name causes people to make comments. I get a comment from nearly everyone who learns my last name – receptionists, friends’ parents, coworkers, etc. Everyone thinks they’re the first one to sing that song in my face or make that pun. I hate it. This would be even worse with a *first* name that has so much “clever” material associated with it. You love Stone because it has meaning to you personally, but don’t forget about the obnoxiousness of people who don’t stop to think before opening their mouths.
On the Jr. vs. II issue, I don’t think you can assume that your mother-in-law “just didn’t know any better.” My husband is the II and not Jr., although he is named after his dad, because his parents didn’t want him to be saddled with the nickname “Junior.” And Swistle is correct that regardless of whether your husband is Jr. or the II, his son would be the III.
Have you thought about using Stone as a hypenated first name? Example: Rose-Stone or Stone-Elise.
I neither love nor hate Stone as a first name for a girl, but I’ll leave my personal opinion out of it because you said that’s NOT your question. But I guess as the comments above show, you’re likely to get a bunch of negative feedback if you use this name so just be ready for that I guess. (I also think it’s quite likely that the negativity is due to the shock factor. The name is very similar to Sloane, which used to be super uncommon but is now quite stylish / cool for girls, if not common. People will get used to it, is what I’m saying.)
I agree with others that having a sibset of James III (JJ), Alice, and Stone is a little jarring. I do think that pairing Stone as a girl’s first name with a much more feminine and common middle name is a good idea to soften it. Stone Annabelle or Stone Elisa or something like that seem like an excellent idea. I noticed that some of your other favourite girls names are August, Alice and Ellen. I know you were thinking of Alice as a first name for a second daughter, but to get more sibling coordination, I would suggest a name like August Ellen for a second daughter. In my mind, that matches much better with a sister with a name like Stone Isabelle.
Alternately, I do think Stone makes a FABULOUS girl’s middle name. A sibset of James III, Alice Stone, and Ellen August is just so lovely to me!!
First – I would not want the first name Stone. Just my opinion, but there are too many possible negative connotations/connections. Stoning of women, being on drugs, a stone cold killer.
How many children you would like to have? If it is more than one/two, then there could be an opportunity cost to using Stone in the first name spot. If you use Stone in the first name spot, would you be less inclined to use it in the middle name spot for subsequent children? Since this is a family name and you feel like you are all the Stone family, I’d like to see all of the kids connected. JJ III would be a third, so clearly that is just a separate category. If you have a JJ III, then a first name Stone, what would happen to child number three? If it was me, I would be more inclined to use Stone as a middle name (or as a second middle name) for all children except JJ III.
Since James in now being used by some girls, would you consider making a daughter James III? If so, two daughters – James and Stone — could fix the issue of sibling coordination.
I agree with previous comments that while the name Stone has a lot of meaning to you, will it for your daughter? By the time she is 5 or so, will the famil still be connected and referring to themselves as the Stone Family? (Actually, that brings up another point–if they do refer to themselves as the Stone Family, does that make it a little strange for one person to be called the name of the family?)
I also like the suggestion of a double name with Stone: Mary Stone, Anna-Stone, etc.
Or you could give all of your kids the middle name Stone, and they could share it, like you and your brother do.
I see others have already commented about Stone as a first name. While it is phonetically similar to Sloan, the strong associations (for me) with (1) being a stoner and (2) the stoning of women, etc., just seems like an awful lot to be saddled with in the first name slot.
Agreed that if you do go this route, a feminine middle name is a great idea.
What about Stone as the middle name, and calling her stone? My son goes by his middle name.
I know you’re set on Stone for a girl, so I won’t repeat what others have said before me. But may I say that I think Stone makes a fabulous middle name? As in, I love it so much for a middle name I wish I had thought of it?! (And, of course, I wish I had the lovely family ties to go along with it).
I really like the idea of giving all your future children Stone as a middle name. Especially since you want three children; Stone and James III would have such strong family names and then a third would just have a name. But Alice Stone, James Stone, and August Stone gives every child a bit of an honour name (thought admittedly, James gets a double dose). Plus, the names sound so nice together. Alice Stone is my favourite; I love the undeniably sweet-sounding first name with the unexpected, strong souding middle.
You can always have fun with nicknames and incorporate “Stone” into your every day usage. Ally Stone, Jay Stone, and Gus Stone/A Stone and Jay Stone, etc..
Best of luck!
Have you considered something with stone in the name?
Annistone Hollistone Caristone
Oh that’s a good idea! Or using Ruby or Garnet or another word that means or is connected to Stone.
Hey guys! Emily, the originator of the question here. This is so much fun! Thanks Swistle for responding to my question so wonderfully! I’m so glad you were able to put my mind at ease about James III. But the most helpful part has been thinking of names that go with Sloane, which is obviously a much more common name than Stone! That never occurred to me before.
And even though I tried my very very best to swear up and down that I am completely sold on Stone for a first name, I’m probably more like only 75% sold. (Sorry!) Though I thought I really wouldn’t want to hear negative feedback, it’s been really helpful to hear how some people have such a strong negative reaction to the name. The stoner connotations really don’t bother me, I even got that a little in middle school and always thought it was kind of funny. But you guys have pointed out some other associations that give me pause.
I really like the double name suggestions that were given. That’s certainly something to think about. Something else that piqued my interest– I have always LOVED Alice James but felt like I would have to scrap it if I had a James III. Alice Stone gives me similar warm fuzzy feelings. Maybe I could even play around with calling her Stone. (But now that I type it out, I’m thinking it looks familiar. Famous person? Will research…)
Anyway, this is such a fun community! I look forward to any more suggestions you guys might have. And I will certainly return with an update when a decision is made! :)
So refreshing that you’re willing to hear out the naysayers, even though we’ve gone afield of your original question! I wasn’t going to pile on till you chimed in so good-naturedly.
Love your reasons for being so excited about the name Stone. To me, Stone is a SUPER cool boy’s name–any chance you could recapture any of the love you originally felt for it as a hypothetical future son? Much easier to blend into a sibling set, etc.–and while I see your point about the name creating feelings of rigidity, I also think it’s got a feeling of smoothness, suavity, self-assuredness, as well. (A friend of mine is getting INTENSE pressure from her mom to name a hypothetical future son Stone, so there are people out there who love this name!)
On a girl, I still see the coolness factor, but all the connotations piled together are just too much. Personally, I’d be most worried about the question of, What if my daughter ever were to develop a weight problem? It could be VERY bad for her to be named Stone if she were ever a little heavyset. (Bad for a boy, too, but less so, I think, considering how far we still need to go in gender equality in body politics.)
As a woman, I think I’d love to be named a stone name, even a gender-neutral or heavily male one–Jewel, Jasper, Opal, etc.–but I just took Stone to the Starbucks test (see what an invested community this is???) and had a hard time with it. I felt myself hoping that the barista assumed it was my last name. And since your experience was of loving the name as a surname, I think that might mean something!
Another vote for the middle names of ALL your children being Stone! It’s a fabulous middle name, even without the family meaning, which just adds to the charm. Reading the suggestions for hyphenated Stone first names made me immediately think of Gemstone and Cherrystone and Moonstone… very hippie type names which are fine if that’s what you are looking for but a bit at odds with siblings Alice and George. I personally think Stone is hard (haha) for a girl to carry. So many options for smart a$$ remarks and nicknames (Tombstone, Rolling Stone, Brimstone, Grindstone and on and on) that I would not want to have to deflect all my livelong life. But that’s just my 2¢…. your baby, your name to choose!
Yes with Swistle about the while Jr/Sr/II/III issue. To be honest, even though I am a NameNerd, I doubt I would think twice about it.
I have to admit I am torn on Stone. It’s NMS in general, and I really don’t care for it on a girl (I’ve known a few and they were all boys, so it reads as very masculine to me). However, I love the sentiment involved! Based on that alone, I would encourage you to use it regardless of the baby’s gender.
I agree with liking the cadence of a 3 or 4 syllable middle name such as Amelia or Isabella. Longer girl names can also lean towards the frilly side, and I like the juxtaposition between first & middle. I also think a more traditional feminine middle would be helpful. It would help signal gender to anyone who might read her full name. And, if you decide to go with more traditional names for subsequent children, she would have a fall back in case she wanted her name to fit in with her siblings’ names. There is a long standing Southern tradition of giving girls their mother’s maiden name + feminine middle name and then using one or sometimes both as the actual call name. Depending on where you live, something like Stone Amelia “All-the-corn” would fit right in.
As for your other names, August is strongly masculine for me. I really can’t get on board with it for a girl, especially when there is such a lovely feminine option like Augusta available. I also think if you have a girl named Stone first, using August on a subsequent girl would set you up for potential confusion (people assuming 2 boys) and it also strikes me Very Strongly as an intentional theme of using Masculine Word Names on girls. 3 girls named Stone, August & Alice really makes Alice seem like an odd choice. I’d expect sisters named Stone & August to have a younger sister with a name like Ash, Heath or Forrest.
Alice & George are both lovely. I think they would work very well with a Jr and potential older brother named August. I also think if I came across a family consisting of a Jr, Stone (g), Alice & George, the Jr + Very Traditional would help to signal that Stone must be a family name.
IMHO Stone is best used as the middle name. Stones is a slang term for testicles, in addition to the other negative associations others have listed. Also, Stone and the last name both end with the N sound – Stone @llcorn sounds very sing-songy.
Best wishes.
I love Stone as a girl first name, all I hear is nature when I think of it, not drugs or death as others have mentioned. I had a boring name growing up (and still do!) while my younger sister had a cool unusual name that I was insanely jealous of. She loves her name and was never jealous of mine! I think it’s how you grow up, if you only have positive association with it, that is what your daughter will take from it. I named my daughter an unusual surname nature name with family meaning. People often comment on how unusual it is, I’ve never let them get anything negative out as I gush about the family ties and significance behind it so that stops them in their tracks. Honestly though not very many people are so rude as to outright negatively comment on a child’s name right in front of you or the child. I think people are more likely to negatively comment on a hypothetical child’s name rather than a real one.
The other thing – with middle names – you never get to say them enough – so your joy in saying Stone will happen much less frequently if it is her middle name rather than her first name. I love Stone! It makes you happy and will make your daughter happy!
I think Stone as a first name is fine. Not my style but I like it better than some other noun names that are out there.
For the middle name I can’t help thinking that something common like Stone Charlotte or Stone Margaret sound like either descriptions or instructions.
However I think something like Stone Elise works beautifully. I think because the names kind of blend together it sounds less like a word, if you know what I mean.
Good luck
I agree with Swistle.that regardless of the improper use of the II instead of Jr by your in-laws, your so n would be a III either way.
I don’t think Stone is any worse than many noun or even some real names. If one leaps to the stoner connection, I expect Molly and Mary Jane would bring drugs to mind as well. The family name connection and story behind the name may insulate your daughter from any teasing she is likely to get. (Hopefully name diversity will limit the amount of name-based teasing for the current generation and beyond. In a class with Royal, Prince, Clover, Truth, Grey, etc, how strange will Stone seem?)
All of that said, I would not want my first name to be Stone. I would prefer it as a middle name. Your daughter may feel completely different but giving her the option of a lovely middle name to go by if she wants to is wise.
I never comment, but we have pretty similar name styles, your post was calling out to me!
You need to use Stone as the middle!!! It sounds gorgeous as a middle with some of your classic firsts. I personally love Eleanor Stone (and you would share initials!). Both of my kids “go” by their middles, and it has never been a problem. Also, it would be easier to use her actual first name if issues come up in school or professionally, and she could always use Stone as a nickname. Furthermore, I think people are more receptive to quirky middles.
Go with Stone. I have an unusual first name that I have had to spell every time I met someone. I was always the pause in the calling of the roll on the first day of school. These were minor irritants next to the fact that I was named after my maternal grandfather and it was unique. I know all the jokes and just have fun with it. If the significance of the name is emphasized, I think your daughter will be proud to be Stone.
I went back and forth on mentioning this, but other folks are listing connotations, and it may be helpful info, so. Within the queer community–or, no, within old-timey butch/femme lesbian culture–“stone” has a fairly specific meaning–specifically, someone who does not want to be touched intimately when in intimate situations and is generally on the dominant side–that you may not want to connect your kiddo with. There is a pretty famous book called “Stone Butch Blues” that is wonderful and lovely–and was huge and formative for many–but is the one and only thing that I could think of while reading “Stone Abby, Stone Olivia,” etc.–and I guarantee you I’m not the only one! ;-) I think that a name being connected with queer history and culture is a positive and lovely thing, but this one seems to ascribe a certain identity/desire that I wouldn’t want to be labeled with at the very start of life. I’m glad you found Swistle and I wish you the best of luck!
Also, one more chime-in that the person who mentioned Pilar picked the wrong example, as this is a very established “girl name” from a culture other than the poster’s!
Also, this comment applies only to “Stone” as a first name, esp. a first name with a middle or hyphenated second (because then it sounds like a descriptor). When used as a middle, last, or (maybe?) the second part of a hyphenated name, it 100% rings in the ear as just a surname name. :-)
Glad I’m not the only queer person who reads Swistle!
I also have to say that I can’t get behind Stone as a first name. The fact that it’s not generally used as a name but is a common noun with so many connotations (stone butch, stoner, testicles, stoning women, heavy, etc) unfortunately would make life hard for the kid, I think. Why don’t you use it as a middle name? Or use a “gemstone” name as others have suggested?
Ruby @llcorn sounds pretty great, and Ruby and Alice would make good sister names. Stone and Alice as sisters seems very off to me.
Other gem names:
Garnet
Gemma
Jade
Opal
Pearl
Coral, Coralie, or Coraline
Diamond
Amethyst
Crystal
Esmeralda
Amber
Jewel
Jasper
Sapphire or Sapphira
Ivory
Mica
Topaz
Silver
You could also go with a name that means “stone” or “rock”…did some googling and found these:
Alana or Lana
Beryl
Harlow or Harley
Sela/Selah
Chantal/Chantel
Callan/Kallan
Petra
Rochelle
Bijou
Giada
Margaret also means “Pearl” so that could be a nice connection!
Then you have the derivatives of Margaret: Maggie, Meg, Megan, Peggy, Margot, Mairead, Majorie, Jori, Greta, Marguerite, Margarita, Rita, Maarit…
Also, chiming in once more!, how set is your husband on having an exact III? (I agree w above that’s it’s a III by the way). My brother was the 5th in a line of William Miller*. But they all had different middle names. William Henry Miller, William Newsome Miller, William Dixon Miller, etc. We grew up with three William Millers in the same town (brother, dad, granddad) and granddad lived to 97. There were many years of confusion regarding the names and it was quite helpful to differentiate the people by their middle name. (Or as I did at age 6: “Do you mean the ooooold Mr Miller or the Dad Mr Miller or the kid?”).
Anyway, having a different middle name (or two middle names!) in Internet world might make it easier for your son and husband to have separate identities. So you could use Stone for all your kids!
Stone Augusta.
This was mentioned once… I will bring it up again. If your family goes by Stone Family, won’t it be weird to have someone’s first name be stone? My Maiden name is usable as a boys first name, but if I used it it would just be weird, because so many people in my family, including myself, would respond if it was called out… Like it since it is part of everyone’s identities it can’t be one persons main identity.
You had me totally sold conceptually on Stone for a first name for a girl, but for me the issue that would give me pause is that once paired with a middle name it does sound like a command: “[Go] Stone Isabelle.” I am a million percent on board with putting Stone in the middle spot and CALLING her Stone, though! I know a ton of people go exclusively by their middle names so I think it’s a great way of getting a more “out there” name – or even a preferred name that doesn’t work as well in the 1st slot – in as the primary name while still giving your daughter lots of options later in life if Stone ends up being not as fitting for her personally / not how she wants to be known professionally / etc. (Sorry for piling on when I know that wasn’t your question in the first place!)
My husband is a II, rather than being a Junior. His mother’s brother is a junior and was called “Junie” as a boy, my MIL strongly disliked the nickname and wanted to avoid that possibility for her son . The technical incorrectness has never caused any problems or confusion for my husband.
I feel so, so strongly in favor of you using Stone as a first name that I almost literally leaped to my computer to type this.
My first name was originally a surname, then a boy’s name, then a girl’s name, and while plenty of people unconnected to my family are given my name, for me, it’s a family name. It’s my mother’s middle name, and her mother’s middle name and her father’s middle name, and his mother’s middle name, and backwards past that becomes a surname. It’s a really important name in my family and it’s so, so important to me that my first name connects me to my mother and my mother’s family and my mother’s family history. My middle and surname both come from my father, who I’m not close with, but I love telling people about my first name and I love researching my first name and I love seeing my first name written on paper. I can’t imagine having that kind of special relationship to my name if it were a middle name. My mother and grandmother had so much joy in giving me my name and that joy has transferred to me.
I get the use-it-as-a-middle-name argument, but I think this loses the specialness of your choice. For most people, middle names are so decorative, rarely used, more rarely said, and it sounds like you would get such joy out of saying your daughter’s name, and as much as, yes, I think it would be weird to name a girl Stone out of nowhere, I think that joy and specialness and love can transfer to her own opinion of her name.
I’m also the last person in my family tree with my name, and will give it to a daughter or a son (probably as a middle name), regardless of fashion.
And…I second Stone Augusta!