Hi Swistle,
I have loved reading your blog over the years and continually refer back to your archives. I am writing because we are expecting our 3rd and final child in October and we are having a harder time deciding on a name this time around.
Our last name is Pollack, spelled differently. We have two children, Charles (Charlie) Joseph and Hazel Lillian. Since we already have a boy and a girl, we are keeping this third child’s gender a surprise. However, that means we have to come up with TWO names, not just one. Yikes! Charlie is named after a grandfather on each side and the middle name Lillian is a family name as well. Ideally, we’d like the name to have 2 syllables so it fits in with Charlie and Hazel and our “name family.” We tend to like more traditional names that are not super popular.
If the child is a boy, we’d like to use the middle name Israel (my maiden name). As far as boy contenders, this is where we are having the hardest time and are feeling somewhat stuck. I have always loved the name Simon and think it fits so well with our other two, but my husband is not a fan of it. (He can’t exactly pinpoint why, but I think it might be because he does a lot of business in the UK and has run across his fair share of Simons, since the name seems to be more popular there). Other names we have considered include:
Nolan–This is a decent contender that we both like but I’m not sure it’s the one yet. Maybe it’s that it begins and ends with the letter “N” but I don’t find it as inviting a name as Charlie and Hazel, if that makes sense. It sounds a little harder to me.
Grayson–Again, another one we are both okay with but not quite sure it’s right. It sounds a little trendier than we’re used to.
We like the Henry/Theodore/James/Noah type names, but they are all too popular where we are from.
As far as girls, if this baby is a girl, her middle name will be Bernice (after BOTH of my grandmothers)! There are a few names we both really like but we keep running into questions about pronunciation.
Isla–This is our front runner and my favorite. However, my husband’s family is all Spanish-speaking and he worries the pronunciation will be so confusing since Isla would literally be pronounced “Ees-la in Spanish.
Laurel–Another name we really love although I hesitate that it sounds too close to Hazel with the -el ending.
Jolie–We love the idea of this name, but again it comes down to pronunciation. Is it JO-lee like Josie or Jo-LEE like the actress? Will we forever be correcting people? If I think about it too much it makes my head spin!
Would love to hear your expert advice or any thoughts that you have. We love both of our kids’ names so much, I feel like the pressure is on for this third baby! Thanks again!
Rachel
Simon seems great to me. Grayson seems like the wrong style with Charlie and Hazel. I’m about to suggest a bunch of names that may very well fall into the Henry/Theodore/James category, but that’s seems like the very category we should be looking at: vintage revival and/or timeless. I’m ignoring the preference for two syllables for now: especially for girl names, I think it unnecessarily rules out too many good candidates. And I don’t know anything about Spanish pronunciation, so I’m leaving that aside as well. You may start to wonder why I am even answering the question if I’m not able/willing to follow the guidelines, and to that I say la la la I do what I want.
Elliot/Emmett/Everett. I think of these names as their own little group, and I think all of them would be great in this sibling group. Charlie, Hazel, and Elliot. Charlie, Hazel, and Emmett. Charlie, Hazel, and Everett. My favorite is Emmett: I think it has the friendly sound of Charlie.
Miles. Charles and Hazel both have a Z-sound; adding another might appeal, or might seem like too much, especially since it repeats the ending of Charles. Milo might be better, and it has a friendlier sound. Charlie, Hazel, and Milo.
Ian. Charlie, Hazel, and Ian. This would make a cute monogram of the surname-in-the-middle variety: IPI.
Malcolm. I like how this name has a formal/friendly sound: dressed up like Charles, but approachable like Charlie. Charlie, Hazel, and Malcolm. I find it a little difficult to say with the surname, but not too difficult.
Jasper. Charlie, Hazel, and Jasper. I was wondering why that name sounded like it clicked together with the surname in a familiar way, and I think it’s because of the artist Jackson Pollock.
Nicholas. This name is familiar enough that I find my eyes sometimes skim right past it in the name book. But I met a little baby Nicholas recently and was charmed by the name all over again. Charlie, Hazel, and Nicholas. I don’t like the initials NIP, though.
Sam. I would probably use the long form Samuel. Sam feels to me like an absolutely natural brother name for Charlie. Charlie, Hazel, and Sam. Again, I’m not crazy about the initials, but SIP is better than NIP.
George. I love this name so much. Charlie, Hazel, and George. I think that’s darling. It makes me want to squeeze all of them.
Wesley. Charles, Hazel, and Wesley; Charlie, Hazel, and Wes. This is one of my favorite combinations.
Leo. Perfect with Charlie, but maybe too informal with Charles. Charlie, Hazel, and Leo. Initials spell LIP.
Louis. One of my own favorites. Charlie, Hazel, and Louis. LIP initials again.
Oliver. This seems like such a good fit. Charles, Hazel, and Oliver.
You wouldn’t want to use Albert, would you? I’m ready to hear it again, and am trying to talk others into making that happen. It helps that when I was a child there was an extremely kind and gentle college-aged swimming teacher named Albert/Al. He was such a contrast to the other college-aged male swimming teachers, who were loud and show-offy and flirty; Al was warm and patient and nice, and a good teacher. Charles, Hazel, and Albert; Charlie, Hazel, and Al (or Bertie).
Edmund. Charles, Hazel, and Edmund; Charlie, Hazel, and Eddie/Teddy.
Now, for the girl names. You two know your husband’s family: are they good with learning English pronunciations of things? Will they be able/willing to learn it, even though it is different than what they’d expect it to be? If so, then I think you should use Isla if you want to, despite the pronunciation issue. If instead they would never really be able/willing to learn it, or if they would give you a hard time about it, that might be too much hassle and I might suggest going with something else.
Would Iris be any easier? It’s botanical like Hazel, which might make it too matchy for your tastes, but I think it’s a better style fit with Hazel. Charles, Hazel, and Iris.
Laurel feels very matched with Hazel—not only both botanical, but also the matched endings. I also have a little trouble saying Laurel Pollack.
Part of the package deal of the name Jolie is going to be correcting pronunciation. Would that drive you crazy, or would you be fine with that? I pronounce it jo-LEE, like Angelina Jolie and like the French word. But I wouldn’t be surprised to find a JO-lee, like Joely Fisher. Well, I’d be a little surprised. But in any case, the style of Jolie seems so different from the style of Charlie and Hazel, and it bothers me a little that there’d be too -lie endings, and I don’t quite like it with the surname: the repeating -ol- sound, I think.
I would probably head more in the direction of vintage revival and/or timeless again. When I looked for boy names, I was looking for something to match the friendliness of Charlie; for girl names, I’m looking for something to match the substance and sass of Hazel.
Eloise. This gives you Z-sounds in all three names. Charles, Hazel, and Eloise.
Eliza. This too gives you Z-sounds in all three names. Charles, Hazel, and Eliza.
Louise. This too gives you Z-sounds in all three names, while also meeting the 2-syllable preference. Charles, Hazel, and Louise.
Georgia. Charlie, Hazel, and Georgia.
Alice. Charlie, Hazel, and Alice.
Lydia. Charles, Hazel, and Lydia.
Matilda. Charlie, Hazel, and Matilda.
Minerva. Charlie, Hazel, and Minerva.
Ruby. Charlie, Hazel, and Ruby.
Winifred. Charles, Hazel, and Winifred.
Name update:
Hi Swistle,
Just wanted to send you a baby update. Everyone swore up and down we were having a boy so when our girl, Lilah Bernice, arrived a few weeks ago, we were all surprised!! Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful comments and your readers thoughts as well. Reading through everyone’s ideas really helped us narrow down our list and we settled on her name rather quickly. Her brother and sister lovingly refer to her as “Little Lilah”. Thanks again!
xRachel
Would it be that much trouble to teach your inlaws to say Isla the way you want? If it’s your frontrunner, it seems a small task that wouldn’t take too much effort. Is Lila too popular where you are? How about Rose nickname Rosie or is that too matchy with Hazel? June nickname Juno? Penelope (I like the alliteration!) nickname Penny or Polly or Poppy or Nella?
It’s unfortunate about Simon, but associations and exposure are everything. Your list all seems very trendy compared to Charles. Graham instead of Grayson? Could you do a classic with a less common nickname? Like Hank for Henry? I love William too, such a strong classic and Will/Wills would be awesome in your set. Patrick nickname Pax? Joseph nickname Joss or Joey?
Ok, I have to chime in here. My dad’s sisters were named Hazel, Mildred, Beatrice, & Louise. They were all born between 1902 & 1909 and I feel like they all work together. I understand Beatrice won’t work since the middle name will be Bernice but I felt like I had to share this morning. Thank you for indulging me. (His name, btw, was Richard.)
Simon is extremely popular in the UK, but as the mother of a Simon (age 3), and I have basically never met another child Simon. I don’t know if that helps, because if your partner isn’t down then it is a no go.
If you have two grandmothers Bernice- if the child ends up being a boy what about Bernard or Bertram?
Have you considered Abraham, Gabriel, Silas, Isaiah, or Saul (all names on my list when I had Simon)?
For a girl, I can’t help but urge Miriam, Wren, and Sonia although none, except perhaps Miriam, feel like your style.
I LOVE all Swistle’s suggestions.
For boys, I like Malcolm, Nicholas and Samuel. I really like the suggestion of middle name Bernard to honour your grandmas Bernice.
Actually, Bernard is a lovely, friendly first name as well (both my FIL and father are Bernard). Bernard Israel Pollack is so handsome. Charles, Hazel and Bernard.
For girls, Lydia Bernice sounds best to me.
You’ve got a great set of names to consider! Best wishes.
I second Swistle’s George – it’s what immediately came to mind when I read this. George Israel Pollack is super.
What about Sophie for a girl? Sophie Bernice. It shares sounds with Jolie but lacks the pronunciation questions. Sisters Hazel and Sophie sound adorable!
I love Emmett and Milo from Swistle’s list of boy suggestions! Either one of those names has such a feeling of gentility in that list. William is also lovely.
If you need further reasons to knock Grayson off the list, here are two: (1) If you’re leaning toward Israel as a middle name, it’s probably best to avoid G names altogether for the initials. (2) Grayson Pollack evokes Jackson Pollock for me–not a bad association artistically, but lots of sadness in that life story. Most importantly, though, it does feel a lot trendier than your other two (it’s a BIG trend among my friends right now–though mostly as a middle name).
If Isla is your favorite name for a girl, I second the above suggestions that you use it! Your husband concern makes sense, since “isla” is an actual Spanish word, but the pronunciation issue seems easy to solve just by modeling it for them. And also, doesn’t this technically apply to the pronunciations of ALL names, not just ones that happen to double as Spanish words? For example, Hazel might be pronounced more like ah-seyl among Spanish-speakers unfamiliar with the English word; very few names would be pronounced similarly in English and in Spanish.
Isla is also a name that works great alongside sister Hazel–both sweet vintage revivals. I have a great-aunt Ila who turned 100 this year, as well as a few relatives named Hazel in her generation!
Samuel nn Sam and Ruby are great suggestions I really love.
What abou Joseph, nn Joe? Charlie and Joe
Also Cora for a girl. Cora and Hazel
How about Mabel for a girl? My favorite sibling set I ever came across (after my own kids, I suppose), was Hazel, Mabel and Emmett. Perfection. I think Charlie, Hazel and Mabel is adorable. Is Truman too “out there” for a boy name?
Swistle made a lot of good suggestions, so I’ll keep it short. How about James or Timothy for a boy or Clementine, Dinah, Lily, Margaret, Rosemary, Ruth, or Zinnia for a girl? That last one might be a bit out there for you but I like Hazel and Zinnia as sisters, both botanical and with the z sound.
There are already a lot of great suggestions from Swistle and other readers so I’m just going to throw out a few others not already mentioned. Sorry for my thoughts just thrown out here without organization.
For a girl: Arelys (I sponsor a child through Compassion International Ministries and she’s a 4.5 year old girl that lives in Ecuador). We loved her name which is partially why we chose to sponsor this particular little girl but just the other day, here in the U.S. I heard the same name on a 1 year old little girl and I fell in love with the name all over again! It’s one of those unique names but doesn’t sound made up and would fit well with your sib-set!
Charlie/Charles, Hazel and Arelys Bernice Pollack!
I do know a couple of Hazel’s and one has a sister named Claire and the other has a brother named Houston.
As far as your own suggestion of Jolie- I feel like this is becoming a trendy name and I question it’s pronunciation- I would say it like Jo-LEE and I don’t feel it fits with your current naming style. I also feel the same about Isla, while I know how to pronounce it, it has become more popular and I don’t feel it fits with current style.
Alot of my friends have children with names similar to your style so I’m going to throw out some of those:
Truett (I really like this with Charlie and Hazel for a boy)
Millie
Evelyn (nicknamed Evie)
Mauve
Lucy!!!
Gretchen
Eden
Rachel
Scarlett
Julia
Chloe
Thatcher
Abbott
Otto
Darcy
I like the above suggestion of Bernard for a boy in honor of Bernice. You could do Bernie if you want a less formal nickname. I also like Simon but think Greyson is way too trendy for you.
If you like Laurel but it’s too similar to Hazel, what about Laura or Lauren? Ohter suggestions: Leonora (possible nn Nora), Eleanor (also could be Nora), Marian, Juliet, Edith, Cora.
I was coming to suggest Laura! You don’t hear Laura these days! Such a classy name: Charlie, Hazel, and Laura
Simon doesn’t really “go” to me? But I think I’m just weird. Of all Swistle’s suggestions, I like Ian the best. Since you like Nolan, but not the hard “n,” would you consider Noel/Nole? We discussed that name on another post not long ago. I love the names Wade or Owen as well.
I really like Isla and would go with that if there is any way to make that work with the family.
If it just won’t work, I find Lila to be a great suggestion – hits all the same notes, but perhaps that L in front would make all the difference for your husband’s family? Isla Bernice. Lila Bernice.
I agree that if you want something that matches the style of Charlie and Hazel, you should stick with more timeless/vintage revival names. You like them, so who cares if they are popular? I do think names like Jolie and Greyson would seem off in the sibling set.
I like Sam/ Samuel with Charlie/Charles. Traditional and fairly serious given with friendly approachable nickname. Other names I think of as being in the same category include Nicholas/Nick, William/Wil, Nathaniel/Nate, Theodore/Theo/Teddy, Benjamin/Ben, James/Jamie. if you want something a bit more surprising, I’d proabbaly look at names like Benedict/Ben, George/Geordie, Everett/Rhett, Solomon/Sol, Sebastian/Baz.
Hazel is sassy/spunky but still serious sounding if they makes sense. Like, I could see a spunky little tomboy Hazel who grows up to be Supreme Court justice or something. Friendly, but does not take crap from anybody. Similiar names for me include Margaret, Frances, Helen, Vivian, Amelia. If you wanted to go towards more unexpected, I’d look at names like Florence, Miriam or Josephine (perhaps Jolie would work as a nickname). Isla is more light and airy, but still retains the same spunky feel. If you wanted something closer to Isla but without the pronunciation issues, maybe Paige, Fiona, Ruby, Stella.
My grandmother spelled her name Illa (same pronunciation as Isla), if that’s helpful, though the double L might be a Y sound in the mind of a Spanish speaker!
Have you thought of Susannah? It has the Z sound you like (to echo our host) and it feels very inviting to me.
Simon Israel sounds great to me!
I know a teenager called Izrael nn Iz or Izzy.
Would you consider using that as a 1st name-
Charlie, Hazel and Israel.
Personally I struggle with initials that ‘spell’ something so would steer away from using a 2nd name that starts with a vowel. .
I like Ivy with your sibset. Charlie, Hazel and Ivy. Ivy Bernice!
Perhaps Morris or Lewis/Louis for a boy? Mary or Rosa for a girl?
Great names and suggestions- I loved and seconded Nora until… Cora. CORA!!! So great.
Or… Greta? First thought I had while reading. Or if it can’t be Isla, maybe Ida?
Boys- I really like Sam for you. Never met a Sam who isnt adorable. Or maybe Thomas/Tommy? Edward/nn Eddie Ned or Teddy?
I love all of these suggestions!! Especially Leo and Sam. I want to add Max and West to the boy list, and Grace and ivy and Gwen to the girl list.
My first thought for a boy was Arthur.
For a girl, maybe Ida is similar to Isla without the pronunciation issues?
Whoops …didn’t notice the same Ida suggestion above…
My top picks for you would be Samuel nn “Sam” for a boy and Alice for a girl. Another lady name suggestion- Juniper nn “June” or just June on it’s own? Classic and underused!
Love all of Swistle’s suggestions and Cora, Rose, Lucy, Stella, and Ivy and Timothy, Edward, and Arthur from other posters. I also agree with others that Grayson, Nolan, and Jolie all feel very trendy- which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but do not feel like a good fit with Charles and Hazel. In terms of popularity, Isla is very popular where we are (Australia) and is also number 5 combined spellings in 2015 in UK (http://www.britishbabynames.com/blog/combined-spellings-2015-girls.html)
It is just outside top 100 in US. Again, I do NOT think popularity is a bad thing, especially when considering a classic name, but it’s hard to know what you mean by “not too popular”- for example, Nolan is #65 in US.
I love the name Nolan but I think I would want something more classic with Charles, and Hazel. The two names that jump to mind as classic and more rarely used today are David (Davy) and Mary. Charlie, Hazel, and Davy. Charlie, Hazel, and Mary.
With your sibset, I also really like:
Albert (Bertie)
Wallace (Wally)
Thomas (Tommy)
Louis (Louie)
or
Cora
Violet
Clara
Anna
I love the idea of Lila instead of Isla – so great with sibs and elimates the issues with family. Also love Cora. For a boy, I like Oscar and Arthur.
Boy’s name: Caswell, nn Cas (pronounced Caz). For a girl’s name I like Swistle’s Georgia suggestion.
The commenter who said Morris. YES!!! Morris is perfect here and you can use Moss as a nn. SO DARLING!!
How about Lila? Or Cosette?
Israel would be nice as a first name for a boy!
Thank you so much everyone! There are so many great suggestions and thoughts. It is so nice to have some new ideas and go back to the drawing board a little bit.
What about Bernice as a first name?
Seconding Laura or Lauren
What about Alexander?
Charlie, Hazel and Xander/Alex
Susanna was a great suggestion! Susanna nn Susie, Annie or Zanna. Marnie, Tessa, Alba, Flora or Elsie perhaps?
Love Swistle’s suggestion of Albert. The nickname Albie is adorable!
Tobias nn Toby, Archer nn Archie, Isaac, Theodore/Edward nn Teddy, Jonathan nn Jonah/Jonny or Oliver nn Ollie.
Good luck!