Hi Swistle!
I’m due with our second baby in February and we have basically nothing for a name. We are not finding out the sex, so we need to come up with two names. I have great confidence in your very-similar-to-mine taste and suggestions!
The boy’s name we had picked out last time isn’t on the list any more for a couple of reasons, so we’re starting from absolute scratch.
My daughter’s name is Eleanor Margaret [my last as second middle] [husband’s last as last name]. My last name rhymes with Lackey and his last name is a verb starting with B which also eliminates “C. Montgomery” as an option for a name, if you catch my drift. We haven’t actually discussed last names this time around but it was a painful conversation last time and I haven’t decided if that’s the hill I want to die on yet.
If it’s a girl, I’d like to use Elizabeth as the first middle name. We’re not settled on a middle name if it’s a boy, but I’d like to use a family name. Thomas is an option there, but a lot of the first names I like for boys also end in S and I feel like with a last name that also ends in S, that’s too many s-sounds.
Names I like a lot but am waffling on or can’t use:
Lucy (LOVE this name but it was my childhood cat’s name, can’t decide if that’s too weird, have obsessively read previous letters on your site with this issue and still haven’t reached a conclusion)
Nicholas (unconvinced about the multiple S ending issue)
Caroline (this has been a recent one that’s hanging around when I think about names)
Amelia (too popular?)
Louisa (not sure about that S in the middle with the s-ending last name, since they’re both z-ish sort of Ss.)
James (husband’s name is Jamie)
Benjamin (love this name but don’t love it with his last name)I like a million names that start with E (Evan, Emmett, Elliot, Evelyn, Eloise, you get the idea) but I much prefer the idea of separate initials for the kids. Many names that I like my husband rejects as “Too British” (despite the fact that I AM BRITISH) so I feel like I’m somewhat limited in my preferred options. He likes pretty classic, easy to pronounce names. No noun names, since that would make a sentence with his last name!
I had Eleanor’s name picked out for like ten years before we had her and I feel bad this kid isn’t going to get such a carefully chosen name! I also kind of regret using up Margaret (my mother’s name) on Eleanor’s middle name, because I really like Maggie as a nickname.
Help!
Sarah
Let’s start with girl names. With Eleanor, my favorite from the Waffle list is Louisa. The mid/ending repeating Z-sound is right up my alley: for me it’s a point in the name’s favor. Eleanor Margaret and Louisa Elizabeth makes me heart-eyed. I don’t even feel motivated to search for more options; I feel motivated to start pressuring you to use my choice. But fine, let’s find some more options:
Claudia Elizabeth; Eleanor and Claudia
Cordelia Elizabeth; Eleanor and Cordelia
Genevieve Elizabeth; Eleanor and Genevieve
Lydia Elizabeth; Eleanor and Lydia
Millicent Elizabeth; Eleanor and Millicent
Rosemary Elizabeth; Eleanor and Rosemary
Sylvia Elizabeth; Eleanor and Sylvia
Winifred Elizabeth; Eleanor and Winifred
I think Caroline is a very good option, too.
But…Louisa! Louisa.
For boys, hmm. I love Evan and Emmett and Elliot from the Prefer Not to Duplicate Initials list (and would add Everett), and I love Nicholas and James and Benjamin from the Waffle list. The s-ending of Nicholas doesn’t bother me with the surname, because the surname is more of a Z-sound; but I too find it non-ideal if the middle name is Thomas. Still, I’d go ahead and use it if it’s your favorite: I LIKE middle names to sound nice with the other names, but it’s one of the first preferences I let go of if there’s a conflict. I have a little more trouble with James B____s: both one-syllable names, and then both ending in the Z-sound. More possibilities:
Albert Thomas; Eleanor and Albert
Calvin Thomas; Eleanor and Calvin
Charles Thomas; Eleanor and Charles
Franklin Thomas; Eleanor and Franklin (too Roosevelt, I suppose, but I still dig it)
Frederick Thomas; Eleanor and Frederick
Henry Thomas; Eleanor and Henry
Louis Thomas; Eleanor and Louis
Nathaniel Thomas; Eleanor and Nathaniel
Paul Thomas; Eleanor and Paul
Simon Thomas; Eleanor and Simon
Wesley Thomas; Eleanor and Wesley
Charles has an ending-Z sound too, but I left it on the list because it bothers me less when the names differ in number of syllables. Also because when I thought “Eleanor and Charles,” my heart started banging harder.
If the middle name doesn’t have to be Thomas, I recommend the surprisingly fresh and underused John. Maybe something like John Everett or John Elliot.
Name update:
A super-delayed update!
I tried really hard to convince my husband about Louisa, but he was absolutely convinced that it would be perpetually confused for Louise and couldn’t be swayed, and I don’t like Louise nearly as much. We ended up with a favourite girl’s name each (his was Amelia, mine was Lucy) and a compromise name that we both liked fairly well (Caroline), and had decided to abandon our separate-initials preference if it was a boy and go with Elliot, despite my months-long campaign for Theodore and my preference for Nicholas.
I was never really 100% sold on Elliot, so I was relieved (and delighted!) when it turned out to be a second girl! Almost instantly when she was born my husband said she was definitely not an Amelia, we quickly determined that she wasn’t a Caroline either, and so Lucy Elizabeth (my last) (his last) she is, born on Galentine’s Day (February 13). I’m delighted, and after a couple of comments here and there everyone’s totally over the cat thing. Eleanor and Lucy feel like a great sister set (Eleanor has trouble with Ls so she calls her “Yucy”), and my husband is thrilled to never have to discuss baby names ever again. I honestly expected to have two boys since we had such a hard time with boys names, so having two girls with names I absolutely love is a complete joy! (On top of all the other reasons I’m happy to have a pair of sisters.)
A huge thank you to everyone in the comments, and apologies for the lateness of this update!
I admit I would squeal if I met siblings named Eleanor and Louisa. A friend has repeatedly gushed about small children she sees at the library called Eleanor and Harriet.
FWIW, I’d hesitate to use my own pets’ names, but it wouldn’t seem odd to me if anyone else did it. Actually, maybe I wouldn’t hesitate. I named our tomcat Roses (I was four) and I’d gladly name a kid Rose, Rosalind, etc. And we had a horse named Mary Rose, but I tried to get my husband to agree to Mary Iris.
So if not quite Lucy, perhaps Lucia? Eleanor and Lucia… *swoon*. Lucille is also quite under-used.
I also think Lydia is an excellent choice. Lydia Elizabeth sounds perfectly lovely, and a very nice match to Eleanor Margaret.
It seems our tastes are similar, so I’ll list a few I get excited about:
Anne
Catherine
Clara
Iris
Theodora (one of my Very Favorites, along with Eleanor and Margaret, so.)
Cecily
Cecilia
Beatrice
Constance
Corinne
Elise (same initials)
Flora
Honora
Irene
Isadora
Jane
Marian
Matilda
Violet
Peter
Edmund
Alban
Alden
Basil
Benedict (same problems as Benjamin though)
Clement
Colin
Duncan
Malcolm
Cyprian
David
Gideon
Martin
Theodore
I suppose Iris and Basil are noun names, even though Iris B*rns and Basil B*rns read pretty name-y to me.
Oliver came to mind belatedly, as did Samuel.
My husband is waffling on Louisa and I’m SO MAD AT HIM ABOUT IT. He’s coming around on Caroline, though, so we might end up with that since we both like it. Your list is SO GREAT and he doesn’t like 90% of it.
Don’t you just want to hand them a bottle of maple syrup sometimes and tell them waffling is for breakfast foods?
HUSBANDS.
I haven an Eleanor Maria, her older brother is Julian David.
The only other name my husband and I could agree on for Eleanor and that was a possibility was Catherine. Others I liked for a girl that were vetoed or didn’t work with the last name:
Iris (My favorite. I really am pushing someone to use it)
Simone
Sonia
Louise (Louisa didn’t work with our last name, but oh, you should use it!)
Margo (maybe not since you used the middle name Margaret last time)
Also for a minute she was a possible Caroline, which I still kind of love.
I also didn’t want to duplicate Julian’s initial so Jane was out. I love Jane. Jane Elizabeth?
For boys, before we figured out Eleanor’s sex, we had:
Gabriel
Elliot
Simon
Good luck!
OH also,
Beatrice and Dorothy. No one uses Dorothy, but I kind of love it. I have a cousin named Viviana, which took Vivian out of the running for us, but I like it for you.
Genevieve
Irene
Celeste
Stella
Rosalind
I was pushing Valentine for a minute. I still quite like it but maybe not with your husband’s last name, which I haven’t the brain power to figure out right now.
Dorothy is my MIL and ALSO my SMIL and that is a complicated situation so it’s off the table. I really like Gabriel but it’s my nephew’s name! WHY ARE NAMES SO HARD?
I like Rosalind a lot! I wonder if my husband would like it?
JOHN!!!!! “I recommend the surprisingly fresh and underused John.” Thank you Swistle. I love Eleanor and John.
My brother’s name is John and we so seldom meet another. It’s great- a classic for a reason!
Just realized that I replied to my mom’s comment. Haha! But seriously, even if we are clearly biased, John is a great one.
From your list my favorites girl names are: Caroline and Louisa.
Here are some more suggestions:
– Annabel / Eleanor and Annabel
– Juliet / Eleanor and Juliet
– Camille / Eleanor and Camille
– Bryony / Eleanor and Bryony
– Rosalie / Eleanor and Rosalie
– Ada / Eleanor and Ada
– Meredith / Eleanor and Meredith
– Ruby / Eleanor and Ruby
– Oliver / Eleanor and Oliver
– Felix / Eleanor and Felix
– Milo / Eleanor and Milo
– Adam / Eleanor and Adam
– Benedict / Eleanor and Benedict
– Benson / Eleanor and Benson
– Finn / Eleanor and Finn
– Gilbert / Eleanor and Gilbert
OOH these are good lists! Annabelle and Milo are already taken by a niece and nephew. I really like Ruby! I was surprised to learn my husband kind of likes Felix so that’s not entirely off the table.
Pearl is lovely too, since you like Ruby. :) Oh and the meaning of Margaret is Pearl, so that would honor your mother too.
Am I dense? I don’t understand the C. Montgomery / catching my drift thing at all!
I’m lost there, too.
Me, too.
It’s the character from the Simpsons, just google C. Montgomery :)
It’s a reference to a character on The Simpsons.
I like the whole list and I think they all coordinate well with Eleanor, so it’s hard for me to throw my support to any particular option, but I have a couple thoughts. If you do decide to revisit the last name question, would using James give you some leverage, or does the idea that you’d need leverage for this just make you more upset? I found your wording about Caroline (it’s hanging around in your mind) promising. Also, you listed no negatives for it, unlike many of the other names. I very much like Amelia, Lucy, Benjamin, and Nicholas as well.
I have yet to find ANYTHING that gives me any leverage on the last name – he’s a freaking brick wall on this issue despite being generally very easygoing.
Caroline has continued to linger and my EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE BUT I HAVE NO SUGGESTIONS husband likes it too, so it’s definitely near the top of the list.
Carrying a baby inside your body for 9 months and having it need to get out (one way or another) when it weighs as much as a bowling ball isn’t leverage enough for him? ;)
I hope that if you give in on this you get some sort of awesome concession from him. Like that he handles all vomit from both of your children for the rest of their lives.
In fairness he DOES actually handle all vomit if he’s home when the vomit occurs.
I vote Louisa with the z sounding s.
You have many good choices–I feel like you can’t go wrong.
I like Louisa, especially given the double z sound. But if you go for the double B initials, as others have suggested, I love Beatrice! You could have BB (BeeBee, Bebe) or Beezus as nicknames. Harriet is also nice.
For boys, I like the same BB thing in Benjamin as well as the n sound echoed but not rhymed in the last name. I also like some other N-endng choices like Julian, Christian, Evan, Owen, Ian, John, Jonathan, even Crispin. But I think the not-quite rhyming s/z sounds in Nicholas and the too-rhyming James are less pleasing with the last name.
I think I need to push back on Louisa with my husband – he didn’t actively hate it like he does with most suggestions.
I like a lot of those n-ending names – that’s a good option to pursue!
Another vote for Louisa Elizabeth! I lean towards including your last as a second middle, again, to break up the 3 s/z sounds (although, in general I’m a fan of the repeating sound on different syllables!).
Louisa is STUNNING. And now I will just shout my baby names at you, because I feel like we have similar tastes.
For boys:
Robert, Leland, Felix, Jasper, Arlo, Forrest, Simon, Everett, Isaac, Duncan
Girls:
Iris, Alice, Lilah, Magnolia (gets you Maggie!), Beatrix/Beatrice, June, Jane, Vivienne/Vivian, Cora, Paloma, Mary, Mae, Kathryn/Catherine/etc, Ivy, Eve.
I love Lucy, and don’t think it’s weird that it’s your cat’s name. I think James may be too similar to Jamie, plus don’t love it with baby’s last name. Are you planning more children? If no, I find the initial thing to be less problematic.
NEWP we are DONEZO after this one.
Argh I’m so mad he doesn’t like Louisa. IT’S A VERY NICE NAME, SIR.
I have a cat named Lucy too! Don’t think it’s necessarily a reason not to choose it for your child. Lucy B*rns was a suffragist, which might be a pro or a con for you.
Oooh that is a PRO, thanks!
I feel like you have my EXACT naming style so I am going to recommend two of my favorites for girls: Josephine and Gwendolyn. Also I have recently made the acquaintance of a baby Josephine and it has only increased my love of the name.
I second John as the boy option. It is the only boy name I keep coming back to with none of the shine wearing off.
Of course, Louisa Elizabeth B___s is absolutely perfect so these are just alternates.
I have really been coming around on Josephine lately, especially with Josie as a nickname! I still don’t like it as much as Louisa ARGH MY HUSBAND.
I am a little angry that I didn’t think of Josephine. It’s so perfect. I’d put it up there with Louisa.
I love so many of these suggestions! I would also strongly encourage Louisa or Caroline for a girl.
Boys- I like the alliteration with B. B., but that’s an individual taste thing. My only caution would be to check the popularity of Benjamin and Nicholas locally. They’re great names, but I hear “Ben” and “Nick” SO MUCH in my area on kids of all ages – to the point that I’m pretty tired of them. (5 out 6 boys on the playground one day were named Ben…). If that’s doesn’t matter to you, then go for it! Similar kinds of names which repeat much less often in my neck of the woods:
Thomas (would also be lovely as a first name)
Peter
Solomon
Conor/Connor
John (I love this too!)
Andrew
Nathaniel
Wyatt
Edward
Hugh/Hugo
Joseph
Harry
Good luck! Whatever you choose will be perfect for your family.
My best friend has a Thomas (and he’s Eleanor’s bestie) or I’d totally use it for a first name. I think I am too well-known a Harry Potter fanatic to get away with that! (We got married the day HBP came out and I went and bought it in my wedding dress.)
Ooh, I LOVE the combination of Eleanor and Thomas. Hearing them together makes me like each name more!
If you love Maggie, I don’t see why you can’t use it as a nickname for the next girl. You could name her something like Magnolia or Magdalena and call her Maggie. Those names are so different from Margaret, and most people won’t know her sister’s middle name, that I don’t think it matters.
For boys, I wonder if you’d like Atticus or George?
Good luck!
I agree! My first thought was Magnolia —> Maggie. That would totally work.
I feel strongly that since most of these comments focus on girl names that you are going to have a boy. Ha. We have similar taste so I will throw out all my own daughter’s names for you: Harriet (love this name with Eleanor), Emeline (but you don’t want another E, so maybe Adeline if Caroline doesn’t quite do it for you–I LOVE Caroline), Miriam, Clover, Annabel (oh, just noticed Annabel is out).
Other names I love, love, love: Josephine, Iris, Gertrude (don’t laugh–there are those of us who love it and especially love the nn Tru). Louisa isn’t a particular favorite of mine. If I were you, I’d probably go with Margaret as the first name and Eleanor as the middle so I got the first name I wanted.
Boys: I’m on team Calvin. That is a great suggestion. Also, Owen or Eli or Oskar. I love vowel names though.
My hubby was the exact same way. He drove me nuts and I had to name 8 children with the man!
Oh I’m absolutely sure we’ll have a boy because I am SO BAD AT NAMING THEM. I could name a whole football team of girls!
What about using Margaret? You said you loved it and wished you hadn’t used it up as a middle name for your first child. So… who says you still can’t use it? I think it is actually a neat way to tie the girls together!! If someone asks about it… say that – “We just loved the name so much, we wanted both the girls to be able to use it. We loved the nn Maggie, so decided to use it as a first name this go around”. Most people don’t know your children’s middle names, so it would likely come up quite infrequently. I’m actually amazed that someone hasn’t suggested this yet. Like really really surprised. Eleanor and Margaret. Really amazing. Maggie is super sweet. This is actually my favourite pairing.
LOUISA… I agree. Eleanor and Louisa. But I do also really like Caroline off your list as well.
What about Rosalind. Or Rosamund? Eleanor and Rosalind. Oh… really love this.
Or Vivian. Eleanor and Vivian. Oh I really like this one too.
Juliet / Juliette. Eleanor and Juliet.
I do also like Beatrice. Eleanor and Beatrice. I think alliteration B-B names can be ok, especially if the names have different syllables. I also like them better on girls then boys.
For Boys:
You could totally be flexible and use a name that has a different feel than the girls.
Jack. Eleanor and Jack. That’s pretty cute.
I REALLY like Frederick. Eleanor and Frederick.
What about Louis (Lou-ie)? Eleanor and Louis?
Other names:
Felix
Oswald – I can’t resist a Oz or Ozzy – super cute
Hugh or Hugo
Charles
George – this is the top of our list if we were to have another boy
Walter
Franklin
I was going to suggest Theodore but think the spelling and sounds are a bit to close to Eleanore.
Good luck and keep us posted!!!!
Girl: Catherine, Colleen, or Lydia.
Boy: Henry
But you have many good contenders. :) congrats and good luck!
Use Lucy. You said you had Eleanor’s name picked out for 10 years? Well, clearly you’ve had Lucy as a love for much longer. Unless you regularly refer to cat-Lucy. I had to ditch a fave because the name was so clearly tied to a much loved inlaws’ dog, to the point where it would at some point be awkward.
I also ‘wasted’ what would have been the perfect sister name on my daughter’s middle. The only situation we would have felt comfortable with was reversing the sister name, so in your case DD2 is Margaret Eleanor. But. If this is your last child, enjoy using all the names!
I do love Louisa and Caroline, both were on my list. I feel like Caroline ‘matches’ buttoned-down Eleanor more, but Louisa is such a great name that the world needs more of.
Finally, the last name thing. We have a doozy too. 10 months after my second daughter is born, and looking back, that was probably the easiest ‘rule’ we could have broken. How often do we announce our two names aloud? I look around me now and see so many of my friends are clearly not name nerds – like 50% chose names for their kids that kinda ‘clash’ with their surname. And it’s really not a huge deal.
FWIW your surname seems fine with all your options to my ear.
Since he doesn’t like Louisa would he like Louise or Lewis? Do you?
My hubby and I rarely argue but have always joked that if anything would lead to divorce it would be baby names. Have you tried some options to take the emotion out? Friends have had success with swipe left or right style apps rather than conversations??? I used written lists and didn”t watch him as he decimated them in seconds… Good luck.
Eleanor and Eve or Ethan?
We totally did one of those swipe baby name apps but all the names were TERRIBLE. I need one where you can pre-load the style of names so I can eliminate ones like “Axl.”
This is a comment that needs it’s own question! Do you mean that you don’t want to have to wade through a heap of names that aren’t ever going to be your style OR do you mean that your hubby kept swiping the wrong names? If the first sympathy – I’m a name book snob, if the second can you bring yourself to have another look and see if there is anything there that you can work with? For eg Axl maybe you love Alexander (or Alistair?) and he can live with it if he gets to nickname Axl.
Embracing the big fat compromise was the only way that our daughter managed to get named. In the end I said he could choose any name he wanted as long as it was Biblical (at least this knocked out all of the Jennifer/Tiffany/Kimberley 80’s awesomeness he was suggesting). It wasn’t quite that dramatic in the end … we did both choose the name but, yeah at that point I just wanted it to be at least my style! Anyhow – I feel for you! It will all work out in the end and eventually your child will come to own their name (even if it is Axl…. which is kinda cool in its own way).
Oh ha no we just swiped on like 500 terrible names that we both hated (like Axl) and then he lost interest in swiping after liking about 3 names. I need to be able to pre-load the names *I* like and then let him swipe on them.
Caroline is a great option. I love Eleanor and Caroline together. I am less of a fan of Louisa with Eleanor.. I am not sure why since so many people do love it. I prefer Lucille with the nickname Lucy to just using Lucy with Eleanor. Other girls name options that I like with your last name and as a sister name to Eleanor:
Josephine (great suggestion above)
Mary (you could go with Mary Grace and call her Maggie)
Alice
Meredith
Genevieve
Vivienne
Now onto the possibility of a son. I do like Benjamin with your last name but I think it would get shortened to Ben which seems choppy with your last name. I think Nicholas is the perfect “not to British” boys name but it doesn’t work well with Thomas or your last name. I find James B(xxx)s a tongue twister. However, if you do want to name a son after his father, Jameson flows nicely with Thomas and your last name.
I do like classic boys names with Eleanor but I would mostly avoid one syllable names as they can be choppy with a one syllable last name though some work like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
Jonathan
Matthew
Daniel
Andrew
Robert (I like the literary connection with this one)
Theodore
Oh, the -s ending thing doesn’t bother me at all with your surname, and I’m someone who has an ear that’s sensitive to that. The no-word-name thing is more troublesome, because my mind went immediately to Rose, Iris, etc. and I agree none of those work.
I agree with everyone before me that Louisa and Josephine are winners for a girl. I hope your husband can come on board with one of them!
I also *love* the suggestion from the comments about Cecily, and as well as Wyatt. Did you know Wyatt’s been around since the Middle Ages in England and France? Ever since I learned that, a dashing knight/troubador image has replaced “cowboy” in my mind.
Other thoughts:
-totally fine to use Lucy. What about Lucille, Lucinda, or Lucienne as a full name to get some distance?
-Benjamin is good, it has a really memorable quality with the full name. But Ben B—-s is…I don’t think that works. It sounds too much like a sentence for some reason.
-James B—–s IS hard to say for a moment, but it’s also dashing. James Benjamin B—-s has a great sound.
Ideas– Girls:
Camilla
Frances
Felicity
Alexandra
Maud (doubt your husband would go for this, but it’s cute)
Matilda
Adelaide
Marjorie/Margery
Boys:
Arthur (I’m surprised no one’s suggested this!)
Alfred
Conrad
Roland
Geoffrey
Ansel/Anselm
Tristan
Adrian
Lucian
Alistair
Good luck!
I think my favorite, soundwise, of all the boys’ names I listed with your surname is Alistair. Alistair B—s. So nice!
I REALLY like Alistair and it was one of the ones that my husband rejected as “too British.” The conclusion you may be reaching from my replies: my husband is the worst.
I didn’t read through the comments yet, but just wanted to say that I LIKE the repeating “s” endings!
What about James Benjamin? That was our last baby’s designated name, but ended up being a Jane Caroline instead.
We have a lot of similar names as you- Kate Eleanor, Elizabeth Anne, and big brother William Scott. I love William and although its the most popular of our names, we have met the fewest of them (I know 10 x as many Jackson’s and Kaden’s!)
I love seeing a list of classic names. For those of us in the “interesting” last name camp, they are just unbeatable. Plus, I love the feeling I get of finding one of my kids’ names in history or classic literature (I’m looking at you, Eleanor of Acquitaine, although I did factor her in when I chose the name, it feels extra special whenever I see her again).
I think Louisa is beautiful too. And Amelia.
I’m late to this one so most of my ideas have been stated but just to give second votes on things:
Girls
Love Caroline. Perfect match to Eleanor.
Not as big of a Louisa fan with last name.
My first thought for other names was Josephine too. Other ideas: Beatrice, Madeline, Felicity, Vivian and Lorelei.
Boys
I’m really feeling Patrick. Patrick Thomas sounds great and great with last names. Also like Peter. Or Louis since you like Louisa? Or Simon?
So excited to hear on this one! Love the classic but quirky style!
I’m on the Jameson Thomas B****s bandwagon but I think you could pair almost any classic name with Thomas and be fine
William Thomas
Michael Thomas
Oliver Thomas
Richard Thomas- I have a Rick(y) and he has never been in school with another (7th grade this year) but it is a name everyone knows.
I don’t have much on girls names but I’m a fan of Elizabeth. It’s another name that could be paired with any other classic name and sound great.
I have an aunt named Eleanor Ann. She’s the eleventh of my grandmother’s twelve children. There are six other sisters, named: (in birth order because…well, just because)
Judy Diana (she was called Diane)
Janet Katherine
Dorothea Evelyn (called Evelyn)
Frances Lanell (called Nell)
Carol Delores (called Lorry)
Debra Darlene
Their brothers were:
Clinton Grice (called Grice)
Charles Kelly
James Keith (called Keith)
Ronald Wayne (called Ronnie)
Rodney Paul
My grandmother was born in 1925, she started having children in 1945. Just thought it might be interesting to see the names of an Eleanor’s siblings from the first time it was a more common name.
The classic simplicity of Lucy made me think of Mary and Jane. But I think Mary is closer to Lucy and goes great with he surname. Also great paired with Eleanor. I also thought of Gabriella, which gives you the nn Gabby (a similar feel).
We have a Jane Caroline. I love it, feels fresh and timeless both. Mary and Lucy were also on the list for her.
I have two girls, a Lucy and a Mary! I loved Jane, but it is my aunt’s name and family politics couldn’t honor her and not my mom.
I love Gabriella but my nephew is Gabriel called Gabey so I think that’s a no-go!
I have a Lucy, and my husband’s dog was Lucy (she is deceased) and his cousin’s current dog is Lucy and the human-named-Lucy takes easy precedence. So my experience has been positive with humans sharing names with pets.
What about Mary called Molly? Or Polly?
Abigail
Alice
Caroline is also fantastic. I know one nicknamed Cara and I love it.
Good luck with your husband and names! Perhaps you could suggest that if he chooses the last name, you get to pick the first, and then you each pick a middle.
I’m sorry I don’t have help, but just the title of this one made me happy! I have an Eleanor and a Margaret. You used excellent names the first go round and I’m sure you’ll find a fantastic one this time, too.
Can’t wait to see an update on this one! I love the suggestions of Mary and John and surprisingly, Oswald!
First of all: I cannot believe the names Alexander, Hamilton, and Theodosia are not on your lists! How is this possible?!? In addition to being a lovely homage, those are great names that go well with the last names & Eleanor. DO IT. ;)
I’ll chime in with others & ask if your husband would prefer Louise to Louisa. I actually prefer Louise and have some minor regrets about not naming one of my girls Louise (nn Lou).
It would not bother me to reuse Margaret as a first name, but I don’t tend to use first & middle with my kids, even when they’re in trouble. Eleanor & Margaret are just lovely together. I also love Vivian, Cordelia (or just Delia), and Lydia for you & wouldn’t hesitate to use Lucy.
What about Nico instead of Nicholas, to avoid the S issue? Eleanor & Nico.
I’m also partial to Henry, since that’s my son’s name. It pairs well with Eleanor and is not nearly as popular as I feared it would be.
Good luck!
Haaaaa my husband vetoed any names from Hamilton.
He DOES in fact prefer Louise to Louisa but he doesn’t particularly like it.
To my COMPLETE SHOCK he just said he kind of likes Lydia! “I’d have some time for that!” This is unexpected! I shall report back.
i love Lydia. Feels underused and so beautiful.
Could you do Louisa nn Lucy? That seems like everyone wins!
OH WAIT your husband doesn’t like it ignore me!
Okay, I confess that I didn’t read all the comments …. but I think if you aren’t certain about Lucy and can get the hubs to come around to Louisa, it wouldn’t be TOO much of a stretch to have a Louisa with the nickname Lucy? I wonder if that would make you feel better about the childhood pet issue?