Dear Swistle,
I need your help in naming our first two children. My name is Sarah and my husband’s is Timothy. We are from Singapore ( i havent seen anyone who has written to you from Singapore yet!! ) and we’ve recently found out the babies are boy girl twins but need some help in finding the perfect names for these two babies! Our last name is Kim with an L. The babies’ estimated due date is in mid May. We particularly need help in finding a girl’s name!!We love traditional, classic, biblical, and timeless names with a positive meaning and connection to it. We really dont favour made-up, modern, unusual names that sound made up. In Singapore, most parents dont take into consideration ‘ popular / over used ‘ names ( in the charts from the US, UK, Western countries, etc ) because the top names from the Western countries are quite different from the top names in Singapore.
We have a few rules :
– no names that carry negative meanings / history / connections
– no names ( for both boys and girls ) that start with B, P, Q, U, V, X and Z.
– no names that sound too kiddish / names that seem strange on a teenager, adult, grandmother / grandfather
– no names that are too long, preferably under 6, 7 letters
– ** no too modern names / names that sound too made upSo far, our top contenders for boys are ( in no particular order ) :
– Noah
– Evan ( love this name )
– Ewan ( like this name too, but worried of possible name calling because of first 2 letters, ew etc )
– Nathan
– Aden / Aaden ( we love these 2 spellings, cant decide on either yet but we dislike other spellings like ‘ aiden ‘ also, a very popular name for boys, in singapore )
– William
– Shane
– Matthew
– Liam ( love this name, a little worried about it though; in singapore, people tend to mispronounce such names when speaking singlish, because of this culture / local language, i forsee him being made fun of / being called ‘ Leeyyaam ‘ ( in one syllable ) which can sound pretty awful )So far, the top contenders for girl names are :
– Laura ( really love love this name )
– Hannah ( quite a popular name for girls here )
– Anna ( * love it as anna, no annabelle, annalise etc )
– Emma ( same with anna, we really dislike emmaline etc )
– Lauren ( we dont like this name as much as the rest of the names on this list, but we dont dislike it either. We’d much prefer Laura to Lauren, mostly because Lauren is too modern and dosent sound as classic and timeless as Laura )
– Tessa ( we like this name, but it sounds a little too modern to us. We’ve considered Theresa, but it just sounds too old and outdated )
– Olivia ( really starting to love the name and can actually picture our daughter being named this )Names not totally sold on but still in the running include :
– Leah ( has a bad meaning to it – ‘ weak ‘ but we really like the soft, gentle sound of it )
– Alexis ( does it sound too boy- like or violent? )
– Isaac ( dont love it as much as the rest of the boy names but like the strong and decisive sound to it )
– Oliver ( really like the classic and originality behind it but it dosent really fit for us so far )
– Laurent ( boy ) – does it sound too made up?
– Aven ( love the sound, pronounced ‘ ay-venn ‘ not totally sold on because it sounds made up )Middle name contenders :
– Gabriel
– Gilen
– Faith
– Joshua
– Theo
– Ashton ( not sure about this one )
– Asher
– Ian / Iann
( as you might tell we are having trouble coming up with a suitable middle name for our daughter )Names we that were in the list but veoted because of reasons :
– August
– Finn ( too rhym-y with surname )I apologise for the super long post but Swistle we really need your help!! We are very open and more than happy to hear your suggestions and your reader’s suggestions too!
Just an important note, we dont have the same tradition in the western countries where you use family members’ / grandparents names as a way to honour them, but it is not like that, here in Singapore.
Thank you for your help, Swistle and Readers, we appreciate it and cant wait to hear your suggestions!!Sincerely,
Sarah and Timothy
Here are some of the pairings I like:
Evan and Laura
Nathan and Laura
William and Hannah
William and Olivia
Matthew and Emma
Isaac and Hannah
Oliver and Emma
Laura and William
Hannah and Evan
Hannah and Matthew
Anna and Matthew
Anna and William
I have William in that list a lot, because it’s one of my own favorites and because I like it with a lot of your girl-name choices. I’m concerned, though, about how it sounds with the surname. I’m even more concerned about Liam with the surname; combined with your comments about pronunciation issues, I left Liam out of the running entirely.
For middle names, here are my favorite boy-name combinations:
Noah Gabriel (NGL)
Evan Gabriel (EGL)
Evan Joshua (EJL)
Nathan Gabriel (NGL)
Nathan Joshua (NJL)
Nathan Asher (NAL)
Aden Gabriel (ADL)
Aden Joshua (AJL)
William Joshua (WJL)
Matthew Gabriel (MGL)
The only middle name option so far for girls is Faith, which I think sounds fine with any of the girl names. I also like combinations such as:
Laura Jane (LJL)
Laura Naomi (LNL)
Hannah Jane (HJL)
Anna Grace (AGL)
Anna Ruth (ARL)
Emma Jean (EJL)
Lauren Elizabeth (LEL)
Tessa Mae (TML)
Olivia Joy (OJL)
Based on your comments on the names, I think my top choices are:
Evan Joshua and Laura Jane
Evan Joshua and Olivia Joy
Name update:
Hi Swistle!
Its Sarah and Timothy sending our regards from Singapore! We’re back to give you an update on our twin babies and of course, their names!
We proudly welcomed our healthy twins yesterday morning, 12th May. After countless sleepless nights and grueling discussions we finally decided that Tessa, Emma and Anna were not good middle names because they felt too sing-songy with the first name Laura, though we do really love those names.
Shane, Joshua and Matthew were too, middle names we really wanted our boy to own, because they held a special significance to us. It was particularly agonizing deciding between Shane and Evan as first name,Well, all that agony was worth it, because we’re finally proud to welcome Laura Olivia and Evan Shane into our new family!!
Here’s to you for your helpful insights and of course, not forgetting the readers who gave great suggestions, it all meant so much to us! We are absolutely satisfied and at peace with Laura and Evans’ names!
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Sarah and Timothy
I’m going to suggest Audrey as a girl name because it is one of those names that stands the test of time.
Audrey Faith Kim
Laurel (versus Lauren)- Laurel is a beautiful name but it might not work due to the last name.
Esther is a beautiful biblical name Esther Faith Kim
Abigail
Chloe
Rachel
Congrats on your twins, Sarah and Timothy!!
Not sure but am I inferring that your last name is Liam minus one letter? I feel like Liam L** could be super cool but also definitely A Thing that will be brought up jokily for his whole life, and I’m against saddling people with name things if avoidable. Just my two cents.
I like all of your other options, as well as the suggestions from Swistle and the poster above! In response to some of your comments:
— I also find Laura to be more classic than Lauren. But both are lovely!
— I do not think Alexis sounds violent at all; it’s great and equally male/female to me (but I live in a US city with a large Latino population; other places it probably skews female, though I have no idea about Singapore).
— I do not think Laurent sounds made-up. Fwiw, I would guess “Lore-AHN(t)” as the pronunciation; I don’t know what you’re going for.
— I think Theresa/Teresa is great and should make a come-back! I like it better than Tess/Tessa, myself.
— Honestly I think any spelling of Aden is going to be a repeated hassle. But maybe it’s one worth taking on, if you love the name!
— Aven is an outlier to me and, yeah, does sound “made up,” but it’s very cool!
— Ewan is a little hard to pronounce, to me, but I don’t really see the “ew” factor as troublesome.
— I LOVE Leah and the “meaning” is not what it seems if you read up on her; I’m not religious but the biblical Leah was a trooper. Such a sparkly name, suitable for anyone.
Suggestions:
Diana
Dinah
Rachel
Lydia
Mary
John
Jacob
James
Henry
Gideon
For middles, I’d just choose a name you love but didn’t use as the first! Keep us posted, please!
Congrats!
If you like Gabriel for a boy, maybe Gabrielle for a girl? It’s a French based form that is also an English variant. (A school friend had this name, and pronounced Gabriella without the 4th syllable.) Alexis doesn’t sound at all boyish to me, strong but not violent. Might work well in the middle slot.
Evan Joshua and Laura Gabrielle
Evan Matthew and Laura Faith
Laura Alexis and Matthew Joshua
Tessa Faith and Matthew Gabriel
Tessa Gabrielle and Nathan Joshua
Laura Catherine and Evan Joseph
Laura symbolises victory and Catherine means pure or clear ‘pure victory’ Evan means ‘gift (from God)’ and Joseph means ‘the lord will add’ which I think is cool for twins – it could be stretched to symbolise the Lord adding another gift. Together I would combine them and say the Lord will add a gift of victory. It is a bit poetic and not a literal interpretation but in my culture that is allowed for names YMMV.
If you don’t like that can I suggest my favourite biblical girls name Naomi which means pleasant.
LAURA. Big fan of the Little House on the Prairie books. Love that name! I like all the boy names, but agree William and Liam are maybe not quite the right fit with the last name.
I like your choices! My favorites for you, in order:
Anna Faith and Evan Joshua
Emma Faith or Emma Grace and Matthew Gabriel or Matthew Joshua
Olivia Faith and Nathan Joshua
My favorite of the Laura-family names is Laurel, which I find fresh and uncommon but not weird or made-up sounding. For me, Laurel also has a nice connection to the root meaning of the name that is more accessible than Laura/Lauren’s. I like the association to a plant that is beautiful but not as lightweight and delicate in connotation as some common girl plant names (e.g. Poppy, Daisy, Marigold), and additionally I like the connotation of victory and honor from laurel wreaths and the link to the word laureate. So if I were choosing between Laura and Lauren, I’d pick Laurel! That said, I think you should think carefully about how any of the three would go with your last name. Laura !im and Laurel !im might actually be confused for each other, and it’s a lot of L. For me this wouldn’t be a deal breaker, but for some it might. I don’t like Lauren !im even though the sound is less ambiguous because for me the almost-rhyme of the n-ending followed by the m-ending doesn’t sound good together.
For me, many of the boy names you’re considering also have that same n-ending problem. I would also rule out William and Liam based on the sounds of your last name. Off your list, I’d pick Noah or Matthew or Theo(dore) or Laurent (as first names). I love repeated sounds in names that aren’t rhyming (maybe you do too, given your lists?). On this basis I like Laurent and Matthew the best (although, if nicknames are a possibility, I think Matt !im is slightly choppy sounding because of the two very short syllables). I don’t think Laurent sounds made-up; it’s an old French name (and not surprising you like it since you love love love Laura with the same root). I don’t imagine this would be common in your circles, but as someone who has done a lot of work with Deaf people in the US, it makes me think immediately of Laurent Clerc. If Laurent possibly sounds made up though, what about the English version Lawrence/Laurence? For some additional repeated-sound names, what about Miles or Milo for boys, or Amelia, Malia, Malaika, Emily, or Molly for girls?
Laurel Faith and Matthew Joshua, Laurel and Matthew
Laurel Faith and Miles Theodore, Laurel and Miles
Emily Faith and Laurent Gabriel, Emily and Laurent
Amelia Faith and Lawrence Gabriel, Amelia and Lawrence
One more thought on pronunciation issues: I know that many Singaporeans grow up speaking English and have more of a Commonwealth-type accent, but for mother-tongue Chinese and Thai speakers (don’t know about Malay) L and R sounds can be ambiguous. I grew up in Bangkok, and in my primarily American-English-speaking family we used to have a joke that all the fake designer clothes you could buy for cheap in Thai markets in the 80s were actually made by “Laff Roren” because we once saw this phoneticization of a Thai-accent pronunciation of Ralph Lauren on a label. Depending on what circles your kids will move in and whether they also will have Chinese names, I might consider avoiding L/R sounds even though it seems from your lists that you really like them (and I do too). I have a bunch of Thai relatives by marriage and we considered this when naming our kids, though we ultimately did end up using names we expected would be hard for the Thai speakers to pronounce (and sure enough, they are).
Noah Gabriel and Emma Faith!
How about Michael Gabriel? Michael is a very strong name… I’m a girl and my name is Michael but it is typically a classic male name. For a girl I love Olivia Anne!
I think you should definitely go with a Laura/Lauren/Laurent in one of the twins’ names. It seems like that is a clear favorite for you. I strongly prefer Laura.
I kind of like the rhythm of Anna Laura, and Anna is so classy.
I also like Laura Olivia. I think that name looks so pretty.
My favorite boy names from your list are Evan and Nathan. They are strong, solid, and complete names.
I like the combination of Laura Olivia and Nathan Gabriel.
I love Evan Theo and Anna Faith . They also work well with your last name. My second choices would be Nathan Asher and Laura. Faith.
I think your last name is challenging! To me the best first names with your last name are 2-3 syllables, that don’t have a natural one syllable nickname and don’t end in an l or m.
You have great girl choices. Hannah, Laura, Anna and Leah are lovely. Emma and Olivia are a little tongue twisty but not unusable.
Evan is handsome as is Noah. I think your other boys names are nice, but I don’t love them with Kim with and L. What about Ethan, Issac, Micah, Simon? Adam?
Hannah and Noah
Hannah and Micah
Laura and Evan
Laura and Adam
Leah and Ethan
Leah and Noah
Congrats on your twins! Olivia Lauren and Nathan Asher would be my picks.
Also just throwing this out there…I have a William and we call him Liam about 75% of the time. So if you love Liam, you could always go with William as his formal name. It’d sound better with your last name.
I’ve heard the name Aven used on a few people (also Aevan) … and I LOVE the sound of it. I like that it’s vaguely bird-like (probably because of avian and raven). However, I don’t like that it’s referred to as a negative place in the Bible–the Valley of Aven. I think Beth-Aven was associated with vanity somewhere in the Bible? Every time I read a passage that mentions Aven, I go though the same thought process: “Oh! That would be such a great name! Oh. It’s used as a place you don’t want to be like. Bummer.”
Also, there is the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (AVEN). I’m glad such a network exists, but I’m not sure I’d want my child to share a name with it? Then again maybe they don’t even have a branch in Singapore so it would be a non-issue!
Anyway, I know it’s not one of your top contenders, but since it’s a name I’ve admired for a while and thought a lot about with my own mixed feelings, thought I’d chime in :)
You love the names Laura and Evan without any reservations, and they sound great together. I would go with that! For the middle names, i’m liking 3 syllables to contrast with 2-syllable first names and your single-syllable last name. Evan Gabriel and Laura Olivia? Evan Joshua and Laura Sophia?