Having first girl after two boys. Boys names are Ford & Hudson, I like that they both sound preppy. I am very girly and like girly sounding pretty names. I am stuck between Charlotte and Everly, both sound so pretty to me just not sure what sounds better with the boys names? Husband and I are split down the middle, worry that Charlotte will get a nickname because its long and not a fan of that, really just love the full name Charlotte but and I being unrealistic it will eventually be shortened? Loved the name Everly since the moment I heard it, also love that it’s not as long and not as popular as Charlotte as it’s no fun being 1 of 3 in a class.
Thoughts, honest opinion, baby is due in a month May 2018!
Thank you!!!!!
For sibling-name compatibility in both style and popularity, I vote for Everly. It fits well with your preference for preppy and with your preference for pretty. Right now Charlotte is in the Top Ten and Everly is just outside the Top 100—though rising rather rapidly, considering how recently it entered the Top 1000:
(image from ssa.gov)
But it’s very common for parents to choose a different style for the boys in the family than for the girls in the family, so I don’t think Charlotte is at all jarring with the brother names, and in fact I very much like the sound of it; those three names together give me a pleasing Early American feel. I do think the name Charlotte lends itself well to nicknames—but it’s only two syllables long, and we are living in an age when it’s common for kids to be William and Abigail rather than Billy and Abby, so until she’s of the age to choose for herself if she wants a nickname, I think you won’t have much trouble getting her called by her full name. She may, however, decide she wants to be called Charlie or Lottie, so if you hate the nicknames then that’s another point in favor of Everly. On the other hand, Everly is three syllables to Charlotte’s two, and the nickname Evvie is a possibility.
Well, both names seem good to me in their own ways, so I am not much help! Let’s see what the commenters think.
I have a friend who had a Ford and Hudson and her one little girl is named Navy. I don’t know if that’s girly enough for you but it’s definitely preppy sounding to me and unique!
One of my daughters is Charlotte and my niece is Everly so I love both. You can’t go wrong!
*has, Ford and Hudson are very much still alive. Whoops!
Throwing out a random name for ya: do you like the name Savannah? I’m not sure if it falls under the category of “preppy,” but I quite think it’s a pretty name. Hudson, Ford, and Savannah.
From the two that you mentioned in the letter, I really like Charlotte. It’s got that “old-time America” feel that I get from Ford and Hudson. I don’t quite get that same vibe with Everly, although Everly is a lovely name. Everly could also lend itself to a tip of the tongue nickname; Ev or Eve or Evie, so I think you might run into that hurdle with that name as well.
I vote for Everly because of Charlotte’s popularity. However, I don’t know how the math works out since some spell it Everleigh, so they may be closer in popularity that the SSA rankings suggest! Also, you have to account for regional differences. Do you know a lot of baby Charlottes?
Definitely Everly out of the two choices, with your boy names. I feel like Everly is perfect with Ford & Hudson, but Charlotte is a sister to Freddy and Henry. I’m wondering if you’d like Emerie or Scarlet as alternatives?
Everly is such a pretty name and goes so well with Ford and Hudson.
Other suggestions:
Avery
Ainsley
Waverley
Presley
Avalon
Amelie
Elodie
What about Adelaide?
Good luck!
Miranda?
Ford, Hudson and Miranda! Love!
Lydia would be nice too!
Ford, Hudson and Lydia.
😀
Just to weigh in on nicknames – I know a Charlotte who only goes by that without a problem. In my own experiance, people may ask occasionally but if you specify the full name that’s what they will use.
I love Charlotte for your sib-set. Everly is a beautiful name but it gives me more of a hippie vibe, while Charlotte seems very girly and preppy to me. I personally don’t think people will shorten Charlotte if you are introducing her that way. It’s not as easy to jump from Charlotte to Charlie as it is for say, Megan to Meg or Robert to Rob.
Use both. Charlotte Everly!
Both are lovely names, but I think you should use Charlotte as the first name. Here are my thoughts why:
-You like girly/pretty—Charlotte is 100% that, and yet it also works on for a grown woman in any professional field. Everly does too, but it’s more of a wildcard name: unisex, trendier, not classic feeling like the boys’ names.
-I have known a handful of Charlottes, none of whom ever went by a nickname.
-Popularity is not what is once was. There were 13,030 Charlottes born in 2016, and it was #10 on the SSA’s list. Looking at 1986’s list, the closest comparable name by the numbers was Emily and it clocked in at #24. The other two names around Charlotte’s 2016 level back in 1986 were Michelle and Crystal. Thinking back on my own schooling years, there were 2-3 Emilys in my class of 250, and no girls named Michelle or Crystal.
-Going by percentages, 0.68% of girls were named Charlotte in 2016, or roughly 1 in 150 girls.
-Though Charlotte might be more popular by the numbers right now, it is a timeless name with a long history, whereas Everly, as Swistle pointed out, has made sudden skyrocketing gains after never being used previously as a standard first name for either sex. This may make Everly more trendy/dated-feeling in the future.
-I think Charlotte makes a stronger sibling set with Ford and Hudson than Everly. With Everly in that group, I wouldn’t be 100% sure it wasn’t three brothers. Charlotte also makes Ford and Hudson more enduring and historical feeling, whereas Everly pulls them in a more contemporary direction.
Good luck! Very excited to hear what you choose!
Oh, someone made a good point about Everly also being spelled Everleigh. This pushes the number of girls born in 2016 with both spellings up to 3,411, solidly in the top 100.
Out of curiosity, I poked around the SSA list a bit more, looking for Ev- names. It turns out it is a very popular sound! Evelyn, which shares so many sounds with Everly, is on par with Charlotte. There were 10,060 Evelyns and another 843 Evelynns. This might make Everly feel less unusual taken all together, say if there are also 1-2 Evelyns in her class year. There were also more than 3,500 Evas and another 1300 Evangelines, as well as 700 plain Eves. Plus Ava (similar sounds) is #3 and has been in the top 10 for a decade. All together, that’s nearly 20,000 girls born in 2016 with names that start with Ev-. (Adding Ava pushes it to 36,000+.)
Bottom line: Ev- names in general are very stylish and in vogue right now, which may make Everly sound more common than it actually is.
Except for Scarlett and Charlie, there aren’t many other names in style right now that sound like Charlotte.
This is exactly what I was coming to say. This is an extremely popular sound these days, and particularly in my region of the United States, along with El- and Brook- names. In my group of friends and acquaintances, there are THREE Everlys and one Everlee and one girl whose middle name is Everleigh.
That makes it way more “popular”, in my opinion, than a stand-alone name in the top 10. I vote Charlotte.
But you can’t ever tell. Out of all my girls’ acquaintances (8 and 11), I know of exactly 1 Liam. I know 3 Hudson’s, and they were all born in the same year. I know 2 Charlottes and zero Everlys of any spelling. So you just never know-go with the name you like.
Having said all that, I prefer Everly myself.
I think it’s actually not surprising that you don’t know any Everlys if your girls are 8 and 11 years old (born roughly in 2007 and 2010, I’m guessing). As Swistle showed in the screenshot from the SSA website, Everly wasn’t even in the top 1,000 names until 2012. In 6 years, it has skyrocketed from 903 to 107 in the rankings. Plus Everleigh, Everlee, etc were also rare before the past 5-8 years. The vast majority of girls named Everly are under 5 right now. Whereas Charlotte and Hudson have had a more even rise to popularity.
My maiden name is Ford so I’m jealous that you have a boy and named him Ford! With that being said, my cousin named his son Hudson and sister is named Stella so I vote Stella!
Picking between your two-I vote for Everly. I feel it’s less popular than Charlotte and you can call her Eve/Evie (EE-vee) OR (Ev-ee) so I feel it leans toward more nicknames!
Someone else suggested Ainsley and that’s another name I would have suggested for you.
On a different note- I LOVE Navy- I would encourage someone else to use it although it’s a little too out there for my liking but it would fit your sib-set well!
Navy makes me think of Pearl!
My vote is for Charlotte – and yes, why not Charlotte Everly!
Though Charlotte is higher on the SSA list, I agree that Everly is more likely to feel dated in 30 years and does sound popular because of the Ev- sound.
I wouldn’t worry too much about your baby’s name getting shortened. I have five daughters: Miriam, Emeline, Harriet, Clover, and Annabel. Nobody shortens any of the names because we don’t. I thought that Emeline might get Emmy, of which I am not a fan, and so we almost didn’t use the name. However, I have “trained” her to tell people that her name is Emeline and nobody has ever called her anything besides Emeline. We don’t really do nicknames at our house, with our girls or boys, except Clover gets Clovey sometimes, which is surprising and doesn’t bother me much. Go with what you like–I really think people call kids by what their parents call them.
I meant that *we* call Clover by Clovey sometimes in our house. Nobody else has ever done so.
I agree that Everly fits the style o f Hudson & Ford better. Even though it is 3 syllables to Charlotte’s two, it seems shorter to me. I think the rhythm of it is faster when I say it.
I think both Everly & Charlotte have the potential for nicknames (Ev, Evvie, Lee/Charlie, Lottie, Lotta), but I wouldn’t worry about it too much about it. Most of the kids I know don’t use default nicknames the way they used to. If nicknames really bother you, my guess is Charlotte is more prone to be shortened because the nicknames do seem a little more intuitive.
What about Charla? Same feel as Charlotte, shorter, so it doesn’t seem to call out for a nickname.
Ford, Hudson, and Charla.
(I just realized as I was typing that it COULD be mispronounced with a Ch rather than Sh sound. Like Charley. So Sharla?? Maybe not…)
You’re worried about Charlotte’s leading to a nickname because it’s “long,” but technically it’s the SYLLABLIC length that tends to make names nickname-prone, not the number of letters! The Charlottes I know (who range from 90-infant) all go by “Charlotte,” no nicknames. I think there is very, very little danger of Charlotte’s being nicknamed if you don’t want her to be.
Everly seems far likelier to lead to nicknaming, since it has three syllables and can get tangled up in some mouths (I know a little Averly who goes by Avie for this reason)–it also seems significantly more likely to get time-stamped, given its recent big leaps. It does feel like a closer style match for Ford and Hudson, but like Swistle said, I think it’s okay to backburner that consideration since you love Charlotte so much!
I really love the name Charlotte! I am a teacher and have known half a dozen Charlottes over the years. I still love the name and continue to enjoy hearing it. None of the Charlottes I know use a nickname. To me, it sound preppy and classic and goes nicely with your sons’ names.
Everly doesn’t strike me as especially girly but it does strike me as a lovely sister name to Ford and Hudson.
Ford and Hudson are very American History names to this former history major, and an Abigail, Savannah, or Virginia would also be appropriate.
I agree that Everly is more prone to casual nicknames. As an intuitive and spontaneous nicknamer, when I see the name Everly, I’m already thinking “Evv” in my head. I might not say it unless we are good friends or the child is very small, but it’s there and it wants to come out. Charlotte I’m less inclined to automatically shorten or nickname. I think it’s because there are so many nickname options that are very different from each other that a Charlotte may go by.
The two names lend themselves to different kinds of nicknames as well. An Everly may be called Evv casually, but she probably won’t introduce herself that way or write it on her homework. A Charlotte nn Charlie or Lottie is more likely to introduce herself that way or write it on her class assignments.
Sort of like, when I was growing up, we sometimes called an Emilys attention by saying “Hey Emm!”, but when being introduced, all the Emily’s I knew used their full name. On the other hand, many of the Katrinas went by Katie or Kate, while others routinely used their full name, either way, that’s how they introduced themselves and what they were known by.
I’d vote for Everly Charlotte. :)
I recently lost a good friend named Charlotte. She was an amazing, loving, giving person and the idea of a new little Charlotte to take her place is amazing to me. I don’t remember anyone ever calling her anything but Charlotte. I do know a young Charlie who I suspect is a Charlotte, but I tend to go with the name someone gives when they introduce themselves. I am a Christi who has never gone by Chris. My family sometimes calls me Chrissy or Chris (only my mom) but I know for a fact my dad hated my being called Chris which is why it never spread any further than my mom. Once your daughter is older she may decide to use a nickname but until then you should just be able to introduce her as Charlotte and very few people will call her anything else.
My vote is for Charlotte. I’m sitting next to a Charlotte in her 20’s right this minute, never used a nickname. I know old lady Charlottes and middle-aged Charlottes and one or two little-girl Charlottes. It’s a name that remains solid throughout a life-time.
We have a Charlotte so I am obviously biased, but we never have an issue with nicknames. I call her Lottie-love as a pet name occasionally, but no one else has ever tried a nickname for her. She is a year and a half, and we’ve run into other Charlottes maybe twice? three times? in her life, all different ages. Everly is further down on the SS list, but almost every one you run into would be your daughter’s age or close to it. I do think it’s a lovely name as well, though. I love the names Hudson and Ford, too, and think they work great with either name.
I know one Every (seven years old) and MANY Charlottes of all ages.
All that aside, Everly seems more current than Charlotte… which feels like a better fit with your sons.
Both of my in-laws are retired teachers, and my husband is a public servant, so I really sympathize with your plight! Naming our six has been HARD.
If you’re still interested in other suggestions, how do you like Estelle?
Hudson, Ford, and Estelle
Or perhaps Carys…
Hudson, Ford, and Carys
Maybe Daphne?
Hudson, Ford, and Daphne
Then there’s Maren.
Hudson, Ford, and Maren
Lyrically French Elodie might suit…
Hudson, Ford, and Elodie
Finally, how do you fancy Esme?
Hudson, Ford, and Esme
Best wishes and congratulations! Excited to hear what you crown your newest addition!
Congrats on your baby girl!
Ford and Hudson, as others have mentioned, do have that classic feel. They are also both classic car company names. Maybe you could love a preppy, girly name that also happens to be a car-related name.
Some ideas:
Acadia, Aspen, Avalon, Elise, Lea, Frances, Sable, Shelby, Sienna, Savana, Stella, Victoria.
[Ideas came from: https://www.zeroto60times.com/2013/10/top-125-car-related-baby-names/ and the second post in that series, linked at the bottom of it.]
If you’re sticking with just the two on your list, I vote Charlotte. It’s classic, so feminine, and shorter than Everly when spoken. (Length isn’t concerning to me, but it was mentioned in the letter.)
If you’re open to the subtle car theme, I vote
Aspen (preppiest-sounding, to me),
Avalon (similar sounds to Everly), or
Shelby (so underused! – be aware, it was originally a boy name. But so were Meredith, Vivian, Lindsey…)
Ford, Hudson, Aspen
Ford, Hudson, Avalon
Ford, Hudson, Shelby
Oh my goodness, I just read through all of the above comments and can not thank you enough for taking the time out to comment and respond to my question about a sister for Ford & Hudson!
I would say at the moment we are leaning more towards Charlotte, that’s not to say once we meet her we may change our mind but for the moment Charlotte Everly.
I love what one of you said above that Charlotte elevates the three names as a whole and that even though Charlotte is more popular at the moment popularity is different than it used to be 20 years ago.
I will be sure to keep you posted as she is almost here!!!!
THANK YOU ALL!!!!!