Hi Swistle,
We are so excited to be expecting a baby girl this coming January, but I thought that naming a girl would come much easier than it has been! I would love your help and insight on our list, and maybe some new, fresh suggestions we haven’t thought of yet.
Our surname is McNeely, and our son’s name is Abel Willis McNeely (the middle name, Willis, is my maiden name that we wanted to honor.) We want this baby’s middle name to be Kathryn, which is a bit more traditional than I am usually drawn to but is the name of my late mother-in-law who passed recently.)
I tend to like shorter, less traditional names. Some of the names that I’ve been drawn to have been a bit quirky, but my husband tends to veto them. He likes more popular names like Olivia, but I’m not necessarily wanting to name her something that is on the “Top 10” list at the moment. Some names on the vetoed list:
Luna
Lola
Sunday
Harlow
MaeveNames that we are still considering:
Evie
Reese
Sloane
Darby
Sadie
Faye
LivWe also really like more traditionally “boy” names for a girl. My husband likes Charlie, but I feel like that might be too popular. I like Drew or Perry.
Something else to consider: Abel is such a traditional biblical name that we would be open to naming her something biblical as well, but it certainly isn’t a must.
I feel like we have a good list, but I’m just not sure the right name is on there yet! We would love your help!
Thanks so much,
Erin McNeely
So much depends on whether or not you think you might have more children after this one. If you are only naming one girl, any of the names on your list work well with Abel: each gives a different spin to the sibling set, but nothing clashes. (I did notice that Faye McNeely makes the word “fame” when I say it aloud.) I’d recommend my usual techniques for narrowing down a list: having each parent rank the names in order and getting rid of any that are toward the bottom of both lists; trying out each name for a day; going to the mall and picturing each name on an assortment of strangers of various ages; waiting to see if any name rises naturally to the top with time; playing little games where you fool yourself into thinking a name has been chosen/eliminated and seeing what your reaction is; and so on.
If, however, you’re planning more children, I think the first step is to consider how much sibling-name coordination matters to you. Some people don’t care about that at all and can happily have two daughters named Isabella and Blake; some people care about it to the point of matching initials and letters and syllables as well as style; and most of us fall somewhere in between.
If you are planning to have more children AND you like sibling names to coordinate, then I’d like to see if we can get a firmer grip on your preferred style. Reese, Sloane, and Darby are in one style category: they’d make good sister names for each other. Sadie and Faye are in a different style category: they’d make good sister names for each other, but wouldn’t work as well with the names in the first group. Evie and Liv feel to me like a third group, though they’d work well with names in the second group; when I tried to come up with names in their style category below, there was so much overlap with the Sadie/Faye group that I gave up and made it one list. The main difference is that Evie and Liv feel more current/popular right now than Sadie/Faye, because of all the Evelyns and Olivias and Avas.
If you picture your little future flock of ducklings, what names feel most like the names of Your Family? Imagine the kids around the dinner table, or listening to a book, or fighting like mad cats. Do they seem like an Abel, a Reese, and a Darby? Or do they seem more like an Abel, a Sadie, and a Faye? Or do they seem more like an Abel, an Evie, and a Liv? Which group feels like your real actual kids?
I’m looking through the Biblical section of The Baby Name Wizard, and I see a lot of names that go well with Abel (Esther, Miriam, Ruth, Claudia, Lydia), but not very many that seem to fit your style. Let’s see if we can find more options for the other categories.
To go with Reese/Sloane/Darby:
Beckett
Britt
Callister
Crosby
Ellery
Ellis
Emory
Holland
Hollis
Keaton
Lane
Perrin
Quinn
Rowan
Shea
Sterling
Waverly (repeats ending of surname)
Winslow
To go with Sadie/Faye/Evie/Liv:
Annie
Bessie
Cora
Daisy
Edie
Flora
Ginny
Hattie
Hazel (repeats ending of Abel)
Ida
Josie
June
Pearl
Polly (repeats ending of surname)
Tess
Willa
I love Darby for your daughter. I think it fits well with Abel; maybe it’s because they both have a B, but not in a way that pigeonholes you into “only names with a B” if you have more children. And I think Darby Kathryn flows wonderfully.
Rose. It’s simple, it’s Biblical, it’s beautiful and sweet.
Rose Kathryn McNeely.
Abel and Rose.
Sloane Kathryn McNeely is beautiful!
What about Olive?
I love Sadie and Faye. Great choices! And Abel Willis is a great name. I feel like we have similar naming styles.
How about Fern? I love this name – classic, literary, uncommon but recognizable, cute with Abel.
Fern Kathryn McNeely. Abel and Fern.
Other ideas: Alice, Ivy, Lila, Lucy, Ruby, Tessa.
I also like previous suggestions Rose and Willa
I recently came across the name Dree, I think it’s really beautiful, it might be your style.
Your list also made me think of Sage, It’s unique but also familiar. Sage Kathryn is lovely.
Because you say you like “less traditional names” I’m guessing you chose Abel because it’s uncommon rather than because it’s a name with a long history. That makes me lean more toward the Reese/Sloane/Darby type names for you. I agree with another commenter that Sage would be a good choice for you. Or how about Blythe or Greer?
However, if I’m wrong, and you want to go more in the Faye direction, how about Frances (nn Francie or Frankie) or Ruth? Those seem to go well with Abel to me.
If any of the rejected names resurface, I really like Maeve.
Olive or Olivia nickname Liv.
My attention was drawn to Darby so I will also suggest Darcy!
As far as biblical names, what about Cherith? Similar to Faye is Faith!
I think my favorite is going to be my suggestion of Adria! Adria Kathryn
Other suggestions:
Josslyn
Malone
Ansley or Ainsley
Cacia
Devany
Alaine
Celeste
Adria
I also came to suggest Darcy after seeing Darby. I’ve known a Darby and a Darcy (both fairly rare and unique) and I loved both their names!
I was also going to suggest Darcy..pretty and yet not common or super ”princessy”
Darby immediately makes me think of Darby and Joan (old tv program) and i also think itcould be misheard/spelt as Derby a lot.h
I’d argue against names like Lane, Faye, or Hazel because their dominant sound is the same as in Cain. I love Darby or Darcy for you.
I love Faye. Great choice! I also like Willa for you. I really, really, really like Winna for you.
Abel and Winna.
What about Zinnia? You’d have A to Z, then: Abel and Zinnia.
For Biblical names, Sadie is biblical for me: the diminutive of Sarah. Or what about Lea, Noa or Delilah?
My name is Ann Kathryn and I’ve always gone by Annie… just saying, that’s a classic, feminine, kinda spunky choice! ;) Was happy to see that Swistle included it. I think the spunky, nicknamey vibe of Swistle’s second list nails it (for me, at least), and I would add Nora, Nell, Molly, and Della.
Phoebe is the first biblical name that came to mind. Abel and Phoebe. Other options Norah, Livya and Sylvie.
Dinah! Dinah Kathryn McNeely.
Abel & Dinah.
She’s biblical, under-the-radar, easily recognizable, and gives you lots of nickname options (DeeDee, Denny, Deeny, Princess Do, Deeka, etc.). She’s also the kitten from Alice in Wonderland!
She has a beautifully tailored sound and appearance as well.
Next option:
Rhoda.
Rhoda Kathryn McNeely. Abel & Rhoda.
She’s biblical, trim, feminine but not girly, familiar but not over-used, and floral. She comes with the nicknames of Rhodes, Rhee, Rhodie, DeeDee, etc.
Best wishes! Please let us know what you decide!
i wanted to add one of ny favorite never to be used names Wren.
Florence gives you Flo, Lola (I know it’s vetoed but you could sneak it back in), Flossie and Wren-a diverse nickname pool that could bridge many styles if you needed it to.
Of your choices, I like Darby best. My thought for you was Naomi.
Sela is an unusual Biblical name that goes well with Abel. Along the lines of boys names for girls, Ezra may be a nice Biblical option for you.
Of the names on your lists, Sloane is my favorite with your last name and with Abel.
However, along the lines of Perri and Drew, I like Jude, Lane, Mattie, and Shane.
I like Faye best and also thought of Freya and Willow for you. Freya Kathryn McNeely/Freya and Abel is super great.
You have a lot of great choices! I want to add Brynn and Sydney.
In the “names like Charlie” category I would add Georgie, Frankie, Billie and Freddie.
Luna and Sadie both fall into pet name category for me (nothing to stop them being used for people, just that they remind me of pets I’ve known). Other similar names: Skye, Minnie, Bonnie, Betsy, Jessie, Lily. Also Max which also fits the “boy name” category, yet is spunky for a girl.
I wonder if you would like Luca for a girl? It’s boyish, similar sounding to Luna, and similar to Biblical name Luke.
I’m wondering if you would be open to putting Kathryn in the first name spot. I think Kit as a full-time nickname is sweet and cool and possibly in line with your style. Or if you moved some of your cool vetoed choices to the middle spot, would your husband be more amenable? I’m particularly drawn to Sunday (I’ve loved this name ever since I heard it as the middle of an artist who uses her full name). Kathryn Sunday.
I also love the suggestions of Dinah and Ezra. I like Darby a lot too, especially love saying it with Abel. Abel and Darby. Fun! I had a student named Darby last year and he never had any problems getting mixed up with Derby/Darcy etc.0
I like Darby and Sloane with Abel.
I would like to suggest Livy. Livy was a Roman historian that I learned about in my college Latin class. I’ve often thought it would be a fun name for a girl (although the original Livy was a man).
Or my other favorite, Scout.
The suggestion of Kit for Kathryn seems like it would work beautifully as well.
In addition to Biblical names, I’d also suggest looking at more modern Hebrew names to “go with” Abel. Many will have a more unusual/international feel for most Americans (assuming you are in the U.S.) which might appeal to your more adventurous naming style. At the same time, the names tend to be quite simple and streamlined, which is consistent with your other names. Talia, Aviva, and Lior are a few examples that come to mind.
Overall, I think the Sadie/Faye/Evie/Liv group of names is a better match for Abel.
I really like Reese and Faye from your list, they’re both different styles I know, but they’re both great names and I particularly like the sound/look of Reese McNeely. Faye has always been one of my favorite names!
Evie McNeely is a bit “sing-songy” for me, although I do like the name Evie. Eve may be better in this case but Abel and Eve together may sound too biblical!
Wren is a fantastic suggestion! Abel and Wren. Love! Tess is also a good one. Tess McNeely!
You could always go biblical with a shorter nickname, such as Teresa nn Reese or Tess.
Still loving Reese for you though!
All the best!
What about Blair?
Blair McNeely sounds great!
Abel and Blair!
How about Shiloh? It’s biblical, gender ambiguous, and unusual without being unheard of. Also sounds great with your surname!
Liv made me think of Livia, which is its own name and feels distinct from Olivia.
Vashti also came to mind (biblical but offbeat).
Not biblical, but your style also made me think of Juno.
I immediately thought of mom’s name, Ruth. Four letters like Abel, biblical like Abel. Less common than Abel but still familiar. I like the repeating ‘T’ sounds in Ruth Kathryn.
It might lock you into old fashion names or four letters. And it would be an outiler to Sloane, Liv and more modern names.
Ruth and Abel.
The name Monica came to me right away- She could be a sister to Sloan as well as Sadie. biblical, feminine, easy to say spell, unusual and I love the soft alliteration of Monica McNeely. Monica Kathryn McNeely. Abel and Monica. You could call her Mo for fun.
Willa! Willa! Willa! I love how it ties in your maiden name again.
Cleo Katheryn
Short, non-traditional. Reads a little “boyish.”
Thank you so much Swistle and everyone else for your comments and suggestions!! This is INCREDIBLY helpful and I appreciate it so much! I love all of the ideas… I’ll send an update once we have a name chosen for sure!