Hello Swistle!
I’m hoping you’ll be able to help us make a decision about our name. I feel like we were pretty sure but now are feeling hesitant.
Our last name is a combination of Mc and the big white fluffy things in the sky. We have a four year old son Isaiah Jude and a three year old daughter Brielle Kaelyn. We are expecting baby number 3 in March.
We usually pick names that have a significant meaning which adds another layer to choosing names.
I tend to like a bit more unique names while my husband likes slightly more common. The girls name we have been talking about since we found out about this pregnancy is Elleanna Joy.
My concern is with its similarity to Brielle. The sound is different because it ends differently but obviously they are similar…
The other names I have considered are:
Olive, Liliana, Sienna, Bridget, Keira
My husbands other votes are for:
Hailey, Brooke or Paige
Any suggestions that are like these? Thoughts about having a Brielle and Elleanna?
Looking forward to your help!
I definitely see the repeated -elle- segment, and I can see why it might not be ideal, but I also don’t see it as a deal-breaker. The main concern for me would be potential nickname overlap: right now Brielle could go by Bri or by Elle or Ellie or Ella; if she were to have a sister named Elleanna, that would likely cut off those Ell- options for her.
I think it depends on how much you love the name. Is this your joint top choice and you’d both be heartbroken to give it up? Then use it, and the twinned “elle” will be a feature, not a bug.
But if it kind of bugs you, or if you are planning to have more children and you’re worried about feeling as if you have to keep going with -elle- names, then there’s still plenty of time to look around for other options. If you look and you don’t find anything you like as much, then you can rest easier in the decision.
I do think Liliana is a nice compromise: it’s very similar to Elleanna, but completely eliminates the repeating -elle- and the nickname issue: Brielle can have Bri/Bree and Elle/Ellie/Ella; Liliana can have Lil, Lily, and Annie/Anna.
Emmeline would be another possibility: it eliminates the -elle and gives nicknames Em, Emmie, Emma.
Or Vivianna? Lucianna? Arianna? Adrianna? Avianna? Evianna? Audrianna? Aubrianna? Anneliese? So many good -anna- names.
Or Corinna or Karenna?
Oh, or I wonder if we could find a good way to spell Hailey + Anna, to take a name from your husband’s list and make it more like a name from your list? I’m not finding anything that looks quite right. Haileanna, Haleyanna, Haylianna?
Or I know an Evelina (ehv-ah-LEE-na) and I think that’s so pretty.
For something more like your husband’s list, I’d suggest Delaney. It has that -elle- sound in there, but with a D- to keep Elle/Ellie from seeming like natural nicknames.
Or Linley? It has the style of names like Brooke and Paige, but a little more length and femininity to go with Brielle. Or Kinley would be nice.
I agree with Swistle. I think it depends on the nicknames….
What about Helena (hel-aye-nuh)? It kind of combines Hayley and the Nuh sound.
My first thought was that they are not that similar. And then I said them out loud and realized that I, personally, would struggle not to say Brielleana. But if this is not something you would struggle with when listing your children or calling for them to come clean their room/eat dinner etc, then I don’t see a problem with it. I love your option of Keira.
I also like Swistle’s suggestion of Evelina. I wonder if Hadley would work? Or maybe Helena, Lorelai, Adelaide, Rowan, Piper, Vivian.
Good luck! Looking forward to an update.
I don’t think they are too similar necessarily but I can’t figure out how to say Elleanna. Elle-Anna? Elleeeana? You could change the spelling to Eliana and that would make it more different to Brielle and also clearer how to say it.
Spelling it Eliana, Iliana, or Aliana would help separate the names a lot, I think. I agree with the earlier comment about pronunciation—I’m not quite sure how Elleanna is said, and now I’m thinking it could be read as closer to “Alana” or “Elanna” or even “Elena”? Any of which would be easier with a sister called Brielle.
Oh, Iliana – so close to Eliana, but the I makes it totally different than Brielle!
I also prefer the Eliana spelling – the Elleanna spelling draws attention to the similarity.
I’m joining others in that I’m confused as to how you’re pronouncing Elleanna.
I’m going to suggest Stella.
I’ve had Brielle on my baby name list for a long time and it’s a name my husband isn’t interested in so I’ll share a few other names that are on my list that might go well with your current names:
Celeste
Alera
Jillian/Jilliana
Avalee
Camille
Ooh Camille! So pretty! And sounds great with Mc-puffy white things.
For me it’s an issue because they share a pretty obvious nickname. Even if you call them Brie & Anna, it doesn’t mean that one or both of them won’t end up having friends try to shorten to Elle or Ellie.
To be honest, I’m also not quite sure what to do with Elleanna. It is a mash up of Elle+Anna? Is it supposed to sound like Elena (ah-lay-nah)? Or is is supposed to sound like Ellie+Anna? Confusion over how to say is another strike against it for me.
Liliana seems really similar to Elleanna, without the obvious “elle” and potential for confusion, so this would be my top pick from your list.
I would probably avoid both Brooke & Bridget because of the shared Br start with Brielle. Olive seems like a style departure & is perhaps a bit to fusty next to Brielle (though I like it on its own). Sienna, Hailey, Paige & Keira are pretty much tied after Liliana for me. They are all solid choices, but I knocked them down because they lack similarity to your top pick.
I don’t think it’s too similar, but I agree there are other spellings that would reduce the visual similarity, which also clarifying pronunciation. Eliana is my preference. I noticed you present the rest of the list split between your favorites and your husband’s. Does that mean Elleanna is your only shared favorite? If so, it might be worth keeping.
How about Cecilia? or Mattea? or Angelica?
I do think Brielle and Elleanna are too similar, especially since you will probably often call out to them them in age order: “Brielle! Elleanna! Time to go!” The ell-ell seems too much to me. I love the previous suggestion of Celeste, especially with your last name. Also, I want to add Diana to your list of -Anna names.
I think that they are too similar. I also have the same pronunciation questions as others mentioned above, which makes me want to cross Elleanna off the list altogether.
I think Lilianna and Emmeline are great alternatives to Elleanna. Or Arianna is a great option as well.
I know sisters, 15months apart, Elianna (Ellie-anna) and Lilianna (Lily-anna) -> rhyming names. They generally go by Ellie and Lily, but it baffles me that they have those rhyming names – both full and nick. Yet, the parents seem happy with the decision.
My daughter has an Elianna (Ellie Anna) in her class as well as a Brielle. Brielle is sometimes Brie nut never Elle. However Elianna is often Elle and that is why I think Brielle and Elleanna might be too close. if you call Brie and Elle they might just think it is Brielle.
Arianna? Paige sounds really fresh to me.
I looked at Elleanna and assumed a pronunciation of “Ellie-Arna” which i love but is too close to Brielle for me. Elena or Elaina would work though
Here’s another vote for Keira! It matches the style of Brielle and sounds wonderful with your surname. I also like Brooke from your husband’s list. Regarding Elleanna, I would strike it from the list for the aforementioned reasons. Also, Elleanna seems much too frilly next to Brielle.
I agree on the pronunciation, from looking at it I would be unsure if it’s pronounced like Alanna but with an E sound or El-lee-Anna or Elle-Anna.
How about Keeley? Combination of Keira and Hailey? Feminine but not overly frilly, similar style to Brielle. Or Kinsley or Kiley?
Or Lainey! I feel like that would be beautiful and fitting!
I’m guessing a pronunciation of ‘alley-an-uh’ which is ok with Brielle if you don’t nickname. My only hesitation is that it is tricky to say out loud with your surname. That may be my accent though.
I know someone with your last name called Anastasia nn Ana which is cute.
Just popping in to say your Husband’s list is identical to my husband’s list…. Brooke and Paige were always his top two girl names every time we were expecting. (We had boys anyway).
I wouldn’t do such matchy names. My older sister and I both have “Anne” names (like Julianne and Marianne) and I was constantly called the wrong name or a mashup. When she got engaged people who had known us our whole lives came up to me asking to see my ring! I resorted to a nickname without the Anne which has helped, but avoiding this situation would be easiest.
I like Celeste and Diana a lot.
I like Swistle’s suggestion of Evelina and Viviana a lot. Overall, I think you can find a name that you both love that doesn’t sound so similar to Brielle but still retains some of the qualities of Eliana/Elleanna. I also like Liliana from the list. You seem to like slightly longer names than your husband. He seems to like shorter, tailored names.
Celia Joy
Delphina/Delphine/Delfina Joy
Marina Joy
Daphne Joy
Serena Joy
Liana Joy
Milena / Melina Joy
Laila / Lila Joy
Diana Joy * (Seconding other’s suggestions of this)
Leah Joy
Lenora Joy
Ariel Joy
Elodie Joy
Mila Joy
Sylvia/Sylvie Joy
Vienna Joy
Valentina Joy
Adelina Joy
Ooooh, I love Valentina.
I really really wanted to name my daughter Valentine, but it was vetoed. My husband liked Valentina but it was too singsongy with her four syllable last name ending in the sound “eeda”.
Valentine sounds a little better with Brielle, I think. But really both are so lovely!
I agree with all of the reasons not to go with Elleana. I saw it as a 4-syllable name, and thought of another that is similar and might work: Evangeline.
Elleanna is to similar to Brielle for my taste. It seems to take something away from both girls the chance to choose from more than one nickname family. I have a sister who is just a couple years older than I am and we struggled a lot as children to establish our own unique identities. Having very similar names would have been a challenge.
With Brielle, I like Sienna and Hailey the best from your lists.
I also really like the suggestions of Delaney, and Viviana.
I think Eliana and Brielle are great together. If you want more ideas, how about: Maliah (ma-lee-ah), Anaiah (ah-nai-ah), Alana, Cassia, Arianna.
I think there may be a bit of confusion with the “Elle” part of both names at some point. Why not drop the first part of Elleanna and have Leanna? Brielle and Leanna are nice together!
I really like the look of Brielle and Sienna together. Sierra, Larissa and Alyssa also have the same feel to me.
Paige and Keira are both great choices. Erica or Holly too perhaps?
Aubrey, Paisley, Peyton, Estella, Auden, Kailey, Kelsey, Ashlyn or Cassidy? I quite like Brielle and Paisley/Peyton together!
Good luck!
You could always have another French name with Brielle.
Camille was a great suggestion!
Genevieve, Isabeau, Delphine, Colette, Adelie, Fleur, Georgette, Juliette, Lucille, Margot, Sabine.
Brielle and Fleur are gorgeous sister names! Isaiah, Brielle and Fleur. Love!
I wouldn’t use Elleanna because of pronunciation issues and the chance of having overlap in nicknames.
What about Lena? I also like the suggestion of Leanna or Liana, but I think Lena (pronounced “Lee-nah”) might appeal more to your husband who seems anti-frills. Isaiah, Brielle, Lena.
Good luck!
I hardly ever disagree with Swistle. This name combo is a clear deal breaker for me.