Hello!
I’m a lifelong name nerd and I recently discovered your website. I’m expecting a baby girl in March and hoping you can help me nail down her name. The name is 100% my decision. I am hoping to have two children, last name is Leigh (pronounced Lee). I like somewhat unusual but distinctly feminine names.
Additional: honor names are Elizabeth/Betty and Patricia. If I someday have another daughter, I would use both. (Patricia only as a middle.)
I have many names I love that do not work with my last name: Ivy, Pearl, Marilla, Vivian (LOVE how this sounds, but I think Vivien Leigh was too well-known), Opal, Ophelia, Orla. Anything ending in an “A” or “L” sound seems to run together or create an adverb; “S” can be problematic, too.
Current contenders:
Betty: I love this, and I also love that it honors my grandmother. I would want Betty to be the name, not Betty as a nickname for Elizabeth. (I don’t want my child to have a “formal” name and a “real” name—just one name.) I have some residual concern about people assuming her full name is Elizabeth, but I think I can deal with that. I am leaning strongly towards a little baby Betty, but the middle name is a stumper for me. I think BEL is a great monogram, so I’m thinking an ‘E’, but Betty E_____ Leigh? Betty Elise? Elaine? Thoughts? The monogram is not a deal breaker and it does not have to have a special meaning for me since that box is already checked; I would just like the flow to work nicely.
Lillian: I think Lillian Leigh (Lillian Elizabeth or Lillian Patricia) is beautiful with a great flow (although perhaps too much ‘L’?), but it’s now in the top 50 and I’m afraid there will be other Lillians running around in her circle. If I have two daughters, I think there’s a disconnect with Lillian being formal and Betty being a shorter, more casual name, so choosing one now is taking the other off the table (assuming there’s a second girl in my future).
I’m leaning towards Betty but would love middle name help, and I don’t have any idea what I would name a second girl that ‘goes’ with it? _____ Patricia Leigh? Thoughts on boy name possibilities? Any help would be most appreciated!
Hm, let’s see. For middle names starting with E, I like:
Betty Eileen Leigh
Betty Eleanor Leigh
Betty Ellison Leigh
Betty Eloise Leigh
Betty Emmaline Leigh
Betty Emerald Leigh
Betty Emerson Leigh
Betty Evelyn Leigh
Any E surnames in the family tree? Those might be nice, too.
Lillian Leigh does have a whole lot of L, and I think it might be a fight to keep it from being shorted to Lily. Lillian was #28 in the U.S. in 2016 (Social Security Administration), and both Lily and Lillian have been in the Top 50 for more than a decade, so if popularity is a concern I do think you may be disappointed at how often you encounter it.
I suggest Lydia instead. Lydia Leigh has a lot of the sound and rhythm of Lillian Leigh, but eliminates one L-sound and some of the popularity (it was #80 in 2016).
Or do you like Gillian? Gillian Lee.
As a suggestion out of left field, I like Georgia. Georgia Elizabeth Leigh.
For a future sister for Betty, I like Daisy. Betty _____ Leigh and Daisy Patricia Leigh.
Name update:
Hi Swistle,
Thank you so much for taking my question back in December! Betty Roseanne Leigh joined us on March 19, 2018. I wound up going in a different direction completely with the middle name, but I loved reading everyone’s feedback.
Technically, the argument can be made that Lillian *is* a nickname—it began as a diminutive of Elizabeth in the middle ages. A nice background on it: http://www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2017/11/name-of-the-week-lilian.html Of course, it doesn’t really read as a nickname anymore. :) But I think Betty and Lillian make for a fine pair of sisters!
I’m also fond of rhythm of Lillian Lee, and though Swistle’s right that it’d be hard to avoid the Lily nickname coming up, I think it’s not impossible.
Since you like the Lillian/Vivian rhythm, do you like Marion? (Or Marian?) I think Betty and Marion are also really sweet as a pair.
Some second girl ideas, assuming Betty E___ Lee is this daughter:
Marion Patricia Lee
Frankie Patricia Lee
Lillian Patricia Lee
Ruby Patricia Lee
Matilda Patricia Lee
Sadie Patricia Lee
We have a little neighbor named Lillian and we never call her Lily, they seem like different names to me.
I liked the suggestions of Lydia and Gillian, with Elizabeth as a middle for either.
For future sister names for a Betty, I’d look at former nicknames that have moved into stand alone names .
Names like Molly, Nancy, Sally, Lucy. I’d also look at short/sweet names that were most popular around the time Betty peaked; Joan, Jane, June, Alice, Anne, Ruth, Martha, Helen, Edith. I think something like Molly Patricia or Helen Patricia would be lovely.
E middles that work with Betty; Elaine, Estelle, Esther, Evangeline, Esme.
As a fellow pronounced-Lee-last-name-r (who also named a baby girl recently) I just wanted to say I sympathize with the difficulty of pairing so many beautiful girl names with Lee!
I also love Lillian Leigh, I think because of the cadence – it’s the same as Vivian (and also the same cadence as the name we went with, Juliette) – so clearly I have an affinity for the rhythm ONE-two-three Lee :) Lydia and Gillian both hit the same cadence too. Anyway! My point was supposed to be that I think these days it’s easier to un-encourage nicknames (like Lillian –> Lily) if that’s your preferred name, at least until the child is old enough to get a vote.
(Also, to Swistle: for some reason I’ve been unable to comment on any of your blogs from Chrome for the past 2-ish weeks! I get a very nondescript 404 error, “This page isn’t working. If the problem continues, contact the site owner. HTTP ERROR 405” but clearly was able to post just now, this time from IE. Just an FYI!)
I like Betty as a full name. I do think i would avoid a name beginning with a long e sound (like Elise) because it runs together with long e ending sound of Betty. There are still plenty of E names to choose from. I particularly like;
Betty Eleanor L(ee)
Betty Emerson L(ee)
Betty Esmeralda L(ee)
I really like the following names as sisters to Betty with the middle name Patricia;
Mary Patricia L(ee)
Jane Patricia L(ee)
Maude Patricia L(ee)
Joyce Patricia L(ee)
Clare Patricia L(ee)
Josie Patricia L(ee)
The name that popped into my head immediately was Ernestine!
Betty Ernestine
Or Elliot? Betty Elliot?
I seem to be leaning towards 3 syllables, but 1 would work well (no idea what 1-syllable E-name would work!). Then again, I also like the flow of Betty Elise, so… Looking forward to reading what you go with.
I adore Betty and had to chime in with a second vote for Estelle as a great “E” middle name. I have an infant Estelle and I think the name is beginning to sound fresh again. Loving it paired with Betty!
Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but when monogramming don’t you put the last initial in the middle? So initials BEL would be monogram BLE. In case that makes a difference to your E middle initial preference I’m going to give some non E middle name suggestions.
Betty Corinne
Betty Francesca
Betty Vera
Betty Pauline
Betty Gabrielle
Betty Allison
Betty Dorothy
Didn’t realize Leigh was such a hard name to match but it totally is!! Good luck.
I was coming to suggest Esther or Estelle for baby Betty
Ahhh Betty feels sweet and original, and honestly its on uncommon now that I don’t think many folks will assume she’s Elizabeth called Betty.
Out of the “E” middle name ideas, I like Betty Elena Leigh. And I like Swistle’s suggestion of Emerald, which feels like a good style match. But I also like Betty Winifred and Betty Grace. But please go with Betty, because its seriously so perfect.
For a sister, I would consider the beautifully-paired and nickname-proof June or Mabel. I think either would work without Patricia as a middle name.
Congratulations and good luck!
I love Betty and Betty Patricia Leigh seems like the obvious choice. I do think Daisy would make a great sibling name.
I also quite like Lydia and Jillian (prefer this spelling/pronunciation).
If your second was a boy would the middle name be Patrick? If not, I’d use both honor names now: Betty Patricia. So pretty!
Sisters: Betty and Molly, Betty and Lucy, Betty and Edie.
My friend named her daughter Vivian Lee Lastname. She had no idea Vivian Leigh was an actress and swore I was the only one who mentioned it. I think Gone With The Wind will loose it’s classic status, as confederate statues fall, and our kids won’t know who Vivian Leigh was. I actually think sharing your name with someone famous can be a plus: anonymity on the internet (google will bring up the actress not your daughter). All this to say Vivian Elizabeth Leigh is wonderful and you should use it. You will have more sister options later!
+1 !!
Betty is such a sweet name!
Another diminutive of Elizabeth that is cute is Birdie. Birdie Leigh is adorable!
For a sister name what about Maggie, Sadie, Elsie or Edie? They all sound great with Patricia, I especially like Sadie Patricia.
Tessa is another name that came to mind, maybe not with Patricia though. Tessa Leigh! Or Mary! Betty and Mary are great sister names!
I like the suggestion of Evelyn as a middle name for Betty. What about Emilia? Or Emilia for a sister name with the nickname Millie or Matilda with the nickname Tilly. Maybe too much ‘L’ again, but you could always use the nn Mattie for Matilda. Betty and Mattie!
I’d like to suggest Alfie, Charlie, Freddie, Archie or Harry for a boy.
All the best!
Betty has a friendly, less-formal feel to it, so I wouldn’t pair it with anything too flowery. How about Ellen, Ann, or Anne? For a sister I’d also favor a more simple name. I like Jean, Jane, Jeanette, June, Molly, Millie, and Ruth very well. Or how about Tricia or Patsy as first names to honor Patricia? If second baby is a boy, Patrick is also nice!
Betty Leigh is my favorite choice! So unexpected! I would pair Betty with a long middle since the first name and surname are short:
Betty Endellion
Betty Evangeline
Betty Evangelina
Betty Evaline /a
Betty Eugenie /a
Betty Elinor
Betty Elenora
Betty Emmanuelle
Betty Alessandra
Betty Marigold/ Marisol
Betty Louisa
Betty Tallulah
Betty Magnolia
Betty’s sister:
Anouk (a nickname for Anne) – Anouk Leigh; Anouk Patricia; Betty & Anouk
Vera – Vera Leigh; Vera Patricia; Betty & Vera
Florence – Florence Leigh; Florence Patricia; Betty & Florence
Frida – Frida Leigh; Frida Patricia; Betty & Frida
Maisie (a nickname for Margaret) – Maisie Leigh; Maisie Patricia; Betty & Maisie
Theresa – Theresa Leigh; Theresa Patricia (Patrice?); Betty & Theresa
I have nothing useful to add except that my daughter is Gillian Elise :)
I suggest Betsy, for what it’s worth. Also Emilin or Ellis for middle name options!
Miriam has a similar sound to Lillian without the popularity- and it’s so nice with Lee.
Also, I thought of Margot as a sister for Betty!
Coming back to add Betty Evelyn is my favorite middle name pair!
You also mentioned boys’ names in your question, I imagine in thinking of future siblings—missed that the first time. Honestly I think Betty or Lillian could go with *most* boys’ names, except extremely modern/trendy word or surname-names. Example: I think Betty and, say, Jayden, would be jarring, or Betty and Ryder, or Betty and Rowan. Also some of the more newly popular Biblical names feel like a mismatch—I would be surprised by a Betty and Ezra pair, or even Betty and Noah feel a bit off.
Some less common boy names that do feel like they fit with Betty (and Lillian/Vivian):
Arthur
Calvin
Warren
Oscar
Everett
Julian (if you forgo Lillian or other -ian girl names)
Otto (maybe too sing-song-y with Lee)
Roscoe
Lewis
Jasper
Cyrus
Walter
Raymond
I am so in love with the name Vivian Leigh! It’s so charming, classy, and elegant! I also don’t think Vivien Leigh is an issue, if anything it’s a cool association. Vivien Leigh was born Vivian Mary Hartley, so evidently she/someone also loved the sound of Vivien Leigh! And other kids of your daughters generation will most likely not know who Vivien Leigh is. (Heck, I don’t think most people in my generation know, I’m in by 20s)
Vivian Elizabeth Leigh
Definitely Vivian over Betty. I did not know who Vivian leigh was until I read this thread of comments. I would suggest Vivian Patricia Leigh, nickname “VP”
I love Betty, Betsy, Birdie, lots of good nicknames for Elizabeth! And it sounds great with Leigh.
Also love Georgia so much! Georgia Elizabeth Leigh.
Other ideas:
Francesca Elizabeth Leigh (Frankie)
Patricia Rose Leigh (Trixie)
Piper Elizabeth Leigh
I would like to suggest Bettina (nn Betty). I think it goes well with potential sister names like Lillian. It also eliminates the popularity issue and flows well with your surname. Bettina Leigh. Also, the sibset Bettina Elizabeth and Lillian Patricia just makes me swoon! Congrats!
For whatever it’s worth, my name is Elizabeth Patricia, and I’ve always gone by a nickname— but the nickname changed in 8th grade. I *love* having a name that let me try out different nicknames and choose one that fits me. I’d like to vote in favor of naming her Elizabeth and calling her Betty :-)
I was offline for the holidays; I am SO excited to see my query posted! Thank you for all of the brilliant suggestions. I still have a couple of months before I have to commit name to birth certificate, but this is lots of fun to noodle over and I promise to send a picture and update when she arrives!
Am I wrong for liking Betty Elizabeth Leigh? I mean you would certainly never have anyone thinking Betty was a nickname in that case. I also don’t immediately go to Betty as a nn for Elizabeth in my own mind. I have a great aunt Betty – short for Beatrice – and my cousin Bethany goes by Bettie.
Oh do name her Betty! It’s my mother’s name and she was born in 1929. I’m ashamed to say that while growing up, in the 60s, I didn’t like the name at all as it sounded old fashioned. Just about two weeks ago, I was lying in bed thinking, “I love the name Betty!” It’s a real name, it’s fresh, adorable for a girl and perfect for a woman.
My mom did occasionally have people want to formalize her name to Elizabeth but that was only on documents or in writing. For instance, when she and my dad had wills done, my attorney uncle (father’s brother) referred to her as Elizabeth. It was an easy fix. I think that happens with names less now as there are so many unique and unusual names that most people just don’t assume.
She does have the nickname “Bett” but only her parents, sister and my dad used it. The rest of the world calls her Betty!