Hi Swistle!
I am a mom to three boys (Adam Charles, August John and Emmett Benjamin) and am due with our one and only baby girl in January. A surprise baby on all accounts, especially gender. You would think that we would have a whole list of names to choose from, but unfortunately we cannot agree on anything and I feel like it is hampering my ability to settle down and connect with this baby. All of my girl names from past lists sound tired to me now. We are looking for some fresh names for a fresh season of our lives. Our last name sounds like “Door-Dee”. If this were a little boy baby, I probably pick something more traditional (like our first-born’s Adam) to circle the wagons and bring the names back to classic. I always felt Emmett was an out there pick for us, but I do love it.
Our boys names are fairly traditional, old fashioned, and I love that style. But I am willing to venture to something new for the little girl. Our current top picks are: Marin, Blythe, and Sarah. I would love a name that is short, sweet, classic, but yet unique and stylish. Does such a name exist?
My worries with Marin are the spelling and pronunciation issues. I think I can get over those and stick to what I like about the name and the spelling I prefer. I just have a feeling that this name is lacking something. It feels slightly dull, and that worries me for being my top pick!! How does one become truly excited about a name?
The name Blythe is so lovely, but I am worried that it is too old fashioned sounding, even for us. In my mind I picture a young, creative, hipster….but I have a feeling that is not what others might think. I love that the name feels like a free spirit. Is it too much of a muddle in the mouth, and do these names flow well with my boys names?
The name Sarah leaves me feeling content, however my husband frowns that it is too popular of a name, as he knows so many. It gives me peace of mind to use a name that is classic sounding, but on the other hand I feel that we might be missing our one and only opportunity to have a more unique and special name for our daughter. Sarah seems to be an awkward middle name choice with any of our other first name choices.
Other first name contenders are Grace, Laura and Meryl. Grace and Laura are beautiful, but have been on my name list for seven years and are starting to look a little worn out. I like the idea of the name Meryl, but feel it is out of step with our boys names and sounds heavy to me. My husband loves the name Mae, but I just cannot wrap my head around having an August and a “Mae”. Perhaps as a middle name? I also love the name June, but again, two children with month names might be overdoing it! I think Elise could be a possible middle name for Marin (but it sounds so close to Alicia (a name on our no list)) that I cannot use it as a first name contender.
Here are our other desperate names that we picked in order to say we have a list:Daisy (A D name with our last name sounds funny)
Claire (trendy)
Gwen
Heidi
Hilde
Hope
Mary
Paige
Sydney
Aubrey
WillowI feel like we are directionless and need an intervention. My husband tends to pick trendy names like Ella or Emma and I frown at each suggestion. I love the name Meredith, but that is also the name of my dear friend, and I would feel awkward using it.
Other names that will not work for us include (mostly family names): Emily, Elizabeth, Beth, Hannah, Alice, Margaret, Marjorie, Annie, Rose, Lily, Eve, Mallory, Leah, Abigail or Alaina.
My boys middle names are all an honor name for a grandfather or their father. It would be nice to continue the middle name honor tradition, but my options feel much more limited (Ida, Myrtle, Beatrice, Josephine, Witt) and I am inclined to skip the honoring for the middle name. Which leaves the field wide open and very challenging for both the first and middle name and leaves me feeling lost.
We could sure use some help getting ourselves organized and in love with this name. I feel it would help me connect with this little baby girl who has turned my life upside down already. Can you help us find our perfect name? :)
Thank you so much!!
The name that came to mind as I read your letter was Clara, and then I saw Claire on your list. Clara Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Clara. Short, sweet, classic, stylish. Rhymes with Sarah, but less common overall.
I see you have Claire marked as trendy, and so I think we should talk for a moment about the difference between trendy and popular. It can be a very fuzzy line, or more like a Venn diagram with one circle for popular overlapping another circle of trendy. In fact, I’m not even sure I can quite define it, but I can say where a particular name falls for me, and for me Claire can certainly be popular but would never be trendy. Well, I shouldn’t say never: I can see getting to a name where there are a ton of Claire-like names all in style at the same time, and then I might admit it was a trendy sound. But right now, it is just barely in the Top 50 (#49 in 2017 according to the Social Security Administration), and I would not call it trendy. The name Clara was #96 in 2017.
I would like to strongly encourage you to use an honor middle name for your daughter as you did with all of your sons. There can be a perception in our culture that boy names are important and that male names are important to hand down, but that girl names are less important and that female names are less important to hand down. Even if that doesn’t reflect the way you feel about it, I would want to avoid the appearance of it. And I think those are fabulous honor names to choose from, especially Beatrice and Josephine; let’s see what works with various first-name suggestions. I love Clara Josephine.
I wonder if you would like the name Claudia? It’s a name I would have liked to use except that Paul once had a girlfriend with that name. It’s established but interesting, and I’ve never met one in person. I like the way it repeats the D sound in your surname. Claudia Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Claudia. I like Claudia Josephine best, but I also like Claudia Beatrice and Claudia Witt.
Or Celeste. Celeste Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Celeste. Celeste Josephine, Celeste Witt.
Or Camille. (I seem to be stuck in the C section.) Camille Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Camille. Short, sweet, unusual. I like Camille Josephine; I’m finding Josephine a very flexible middle name.
Jane gives you some of the sound of June, without the months thing being an issue. And I think it’s such a great name. Jane Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Jane.
Or Jean is sounding fresh to me again. Jean Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Jean.
Lynn is a name I’d like to see come back into more regular usage. I suspect it got overused as a middle name so then everyone felt as if they’d heard the name a million times—and yet I know very few Lynns in real life, and no children named Lynn. Lynn Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Lynn. Lynn Beatrice, Lynn Josephine.
Or Laine is similar but a more contemporary sound. Laine Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Laine. Laine Beatrice, Laine Josephine.
Or Brynn. Brynn Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Brynn.
Kay is similar to May/Mae but avoids the months issue. And I think it’s charming with your surname. Kay Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Kay.
Pearl would be pretty and unusual, while still being familiar and classic. Pearl Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Pearl. Pearl Josephine.
I love the name Ivy. Ivy Door-dee; Adam, August, Emmett, and Ivy. I like to say those names together. Ivy Josephine gives me huge heart-eyes. I want you to use this name. I will try not to lean on it too hard.
Pearl Josephine. PJ.
This is adorable. Love PJ as the baby sister of 3 brothers.
Do you like Iris?
Or perhaps Lily?
Since you favor both Marin and Meredith, how about queenly Marina? Or even Marie?
There’s always Regina since we’re discussing royalty.
Elizabeth… was she on your can’t-use list? She’s the epitome of classic!
Faith has as much history as Grace or Hope.
If I had the family option of using middle name Beatrice, she’d be a sure thing! So elegant!
Congrats and best wishes!
Ah, I see both Lily and Elizabeth are no-go…hmmm… how about balanced Anna?
Then there’s Joy as well! No spelling issues there.
The boys all have names that start with a vowel. Hence, Ivy Josephine ticks that box as well.
I LOVE Ivy Josephine with your boys names. I also really adore Pearl, it seems so spunky yet classic. Since you like Meredith but feel like you can’t use it, maybe you could use Edith with the nickname Edie, which seems classy but also fun with the nickname. I like that you’d have two ‘A’ names and two ‘E’ names for your kids. Based on your list, I also thought of Tilda or Matilda, which seem like strong and fun choices but familiar.
I’m circling back to the grandmas middle names; Why not try Bea vs Beatrice? Claire or Clara Bea is adorable & straddles the modern/classic worlds.
I love (just gonna monkey wrench this in here) ;
Arden (depending on middle name; Arden Grace Dor-Dee? Arden Hope?
Willow is getting Verrrrry trendy but I love it all the same. It does also whisper of a wee thin slip of a girl (so it’s great on my always 100% height/20% weight niece but might be tough if one is a sturdy type?)
Heidi is beyond cute, I’ve always loved it. Heidi Willow Door-Dee?
Such a delightful dilemma!
Congratulations on your baby girl! Once she is here it will be worth all the adjustments, but I vividly remember the upheaval of a surprise pregnancy. I can’t imagine life without our third but was pretty terrified for most of that pregnancy.
I love the name Josephine for a first name- nickname Josie. So cute! Also love Bee or Trixie nicknames for Beatrice. I think they both fit your style and criteria really well and I agree with swistle about including an honor name.
Also love Wren. Wren Josephine
Violet
Lark
Frances
Millie
Susannah
Molly
Louise, call her Lulu
You’ve got great names to choose from in your list, the post, and the comments already…I will add one more data point, since I HAVE an August (nn Gus) – our daughter is Mabel, which is similar in style to many of the names on your list, and would also give your husband the nn Mae option with much less of the “two of these kids have month names” feeling.
Mary nicknamed Mae might also work.
I love the suggestion of Mabel! Or Maisie or Margot would work too.
I was coming here to suggest Mabel nickname Mae!
Did you ever watch “Mad About You?”.They had a baby girl, couldn’t figure out a name, and one of the grandmas was sharing how she remembered things when she was a new mom. One of them was Mothers Always Bring Extra Love. And so the daughter named her baby Mabel.
I agree so much with swistle on giving your daughter middle name honor names too, and all your options are fantastic (I especially love Beatrice and Josephine.
I’ll give a plug for Mary—I have a preschoooler Mary and honestly it is so fun and fresh to say her name and people are so surprised and charmed by it. And if you wanted a longer version, you could have Mary Bea, Mary Jo, Mary Witt… (I am swooning at Mary Bea!)
Mabel is also great from the above commenter.
Congrats!
Love many of Swistle’s suggestions, esp Claudia, Ivy, Camille, Kay and Clara. Also love the suggestion of Regina.
Wanted to suggest Faye. My youngest is Faye and I get so many compliments. Or Katherine, nn Kit?
A few others that came to mind:
Margot
Marlo
Blair
Lydia
Sybil
Lauren
Shay, Shae
Britton
Iris
Vivian
Elodie or Evangeline (I like the balance of two A names and two E names)
Traditional, old fashioned and fresh: Vera
Vera Beatrice is my favorite combo. (You just can’t pass on an honor name when among your options are Josephine and Beatrice).
But Clara Josephine is hard to pass up. I only think I know of a single Clara in my life, and she’s a spouse of a friend. So I technically don’t even know her. It feels just perfect.
I also think Eloise would be pretty.
Adam, August, Emmett and Eloise.
I love Vera Door-dee!
I think this namer really likes the “Air” sound, as judging by her preference for names like Marin, Sarah, Claire, Mary and Meredith. So I thought I’d offer a few options along that vein.
Have you ever considered a double barreled name? Something like Sarah Josephine that goes by Sarah Jo. it makes the name more distinctive and she can drop it professionally as she ages and wants to go by just Sarah. This works particularly well with the name Mary. I love the name Mary and I know of one little girl named Mary so it would be quite distinctive in her age group. That little Mary goes by Mary Grace which is lovely. Mary Claire would get you the “air” sound twice, is distinctive and avoids the popularity issue with Claire in the first name spot. Mary Mae is super cute as well and avoids the two months issue.
Other names with the “air” sound. Maris (which avoids the pronunciation issues with Marin), Rosemary, Marion, Caroline, or Harriet.
Nice catch! “Air” sound! Carrie, Kara, Clarissa, Hera, Sara, Sarai, Tara, Taryn. I can see how that sound has remained so popular! My honest fave? Sarah. Sarah Beatrice or Sarah Josephine would be awesome, allow the Sarah Jo nickname.
I second the double-barreled Mary names! I especially love Mary Claire — unusual these days, I think, but beautiful.
I was surprised to hear you say Sarah was too popular because I didn’t think it was in this generation, so I looked it up. It’s at #62 now, which isn’t too bad, but it was in the top 10 as recently as 2002. The only kid Sarah I know is 11 or 12 years old. I know tons of adult Sarahs and Saras, though, including my own 40-something sister.
I agree with everyone saying Beatrice and Josephine are excellent (and versatile) middle names. They have a satisfying rhythm for the middle slot and sound good with a lot of firsts. Here are some pairings with names I like from your list.
Aubrey Beatrice
Blythe Beatrice
Claire Josephine
Grace Beatrice (if you like the endings sounding somewhat similar)
Grace Josephine (if you don’t)
Marin Beatrice
Marin Josephine
Paige Josephine
I know several little girls with names that you seem to like. I know a Willow and a Clare but I only know one of each. Someone suggested Shay and I wanted to second it. I have a Shayleigh who goes by Shay and she is the only Shay we know although occasionally we get a server or meet someone named Shay. The name is short cute and spunky. I love Shayleigh Witt, or Shay Josephine. I agree with Swistle on the honor name front. You felt it was important to give your son’s honor names which to me makes it important that your daughter also have one. In my family only my brothers and I have honor names. (I think Mom wasn’t super fond of either of my grandmother’s names but by girl number 3 she had run out of excuses so they put the two together and gave me both) I don’t know that it bothers my sisters but I know that being the only one who has always gone by my full name bothers me just a bit so I think if I had been the only one without an honor name that would have bugged me) Both of mine have two middle honor names. Is there a middle name or a maiden name for one of the grandmothers (or your maiden name) that you would prefer? Good luck with your Princess.
I have a six year old Blythe and it’s a lovely and wearable name 😊. It is hard for younger siblings to say, but that’s a short-lived problem. Her occasional nickname is B, but she loves her name and would rather be called Blythe. It’s a great name!
I suggest Laurel!
Another name for you to consider is one of my favorites, Laurel, which came to mind when seeing Laura and Meryl on your first name contender list. The nature connection makes it feel a bit free-spirited, but also classic and fresh. It could work with any of the honor middle names other than Myrtle. Laurel Josephine?
Swistle suggested Jane, which is exactly what I was thinking throughout the whole letter. It’s similar to June, but a bit more “tailored” in feeling. Something about it is so much greater than the sum of those four letters, if that makes sense.
However, I also love the idea of another E initial, to give the family some symmetry (and so that all the names begin with vowel sounds). What about:
– Ellery
– Esme
– Evelyn (too close to Eve, too “Adam and Eve”y with your first son’s name?)
Lastly–while I love Swistle’s suggestion of Clara, I will say that Emmett + Clara gives me immediate thoughts of Back to the Future III.
Evangeline, Elanor, Rosalie, Juliette, Bianca… I love Bianca with your boys’ names!
But can you reconsider Grace or Laura (maybe Laurel?) for this girl? You might regret not using those long-time favorites after all.
A few old fashioned names that feel fresh to me now:
Beryl
Monica
Mary
Edith
Josephine, nicknamed Josie or Posie is also wonderful and I’ve always loved Beatrice.
The spelling Maren is much more common, which could help your concerns about the name. Unless you are naming her after the Marin Headlands, I’d use the e.
Edith is also somewhat close to Meredith!
I don’t know why but Hazel popped into my head while reading this. (Says someone who is also partial to Heidi)
I like the sound of Hazel with the boys’ names, but to me Hazel and August together is a bit too close to Hazel and Augustus from The Fault in Our Stars. It might not be a problem for anyone else, though…
I am envious of your honour names! I like Sarah Josephine. I also wanted to add for consideration: Ruth (my youngest’s name) and Ellen (to me it sounds fresh again, I love the parallel of two A Names and two E Names for your family).
Willow reminded me of Willa and I really like it with your sibset and last name:
Willa Door-dee
Adam, August, Emmett & Willa
Willa Josephine
Miranda and Cassandra also sound great with Door-dee.
What about Tessa? Or Tamara?
Or Idalia instead of Ida?
Some other names that also may work well:
Annabel
Adeline
Aurora
Briony
Brenna
Cecilia
Daniella
Elena
Gloria
Ingrid
Juliet
Julianne
Keira
Lila
Livia
Margo
Naomi
Nina
Nadia
I love Sarah! Very classic and but I don’t know any little ones named that. Sadie or Sally for short? Or Sarah Mae?
I also had Susannah and Celeste on my girls list, and I like Claudia as well.
Jeannie is the name of a dear friend and I have grown really fond of it.
And I think your middle name options are all excellent!
I love Eloise Witt.
I think these names have mostly been suggested by now, but I love:
Clara Josephine (my favorite for you!)
Nell Josephine (or Ellen or Eleanor nn Nell)
Hazel Josephine
Sarah Josephine nn Sally (or you could go straight to Sally Josephine)
Molly Josephine or Mary Beatrice nn Molly or Molly Bea
Edith Josephine
Lydia Josephine
Susannah Beatrice
Hannah Josephine
Nora Josephine
Miranda Josephine
Edith! Pick Edith!!!
Adam, August, Emmett and Edith.
It balances out your 2-syllable vowel names, checks all your boxes, and has the D sound to share with Adam. I love it.
Edith Josephine Door-Dee!
Sarah is very, very much a mom name at this point. Given your boys’ names, Clara seems fresher. Josephine Sarah works better, I think. I say this as the mother of a Julie. I love the name, it fits my girl much better than a Juliette or Julianne would, but it’s a mom name, full stop, and truthfully, sometimes, I get a bit twingey over that.
OTOH, I think Laura works, if that’s closer to Sarah for you. You’re still going to run into moms with the name, but It feels less common to me. Stilll has that great classic feel. Laura Josephine sounds great.
How about Miriam or Marina?
We like a lot of the same names, I love Mary and Josephine best. I also had the following on my list:
Wynn
Naomi
Frances
Jane
Eve
Catherine (Cate)
Mary Clare
Lucy
I know a Frances and she is gorgeous!
A rare disagreement with swistle but I dont like the rhyminess of ivy dordee. Personal preference.
If you want to keep the vowel thing going I like the suggestion of Edith.
Maybe Eve?
Fave is Clara though.
Iris!! Seconding that one
For what it’s worth, I absolutely love the name Blythe and I think it’s definitely one of those traditional names that also has a young, fresh vibe. I would use it myself in a heartbeat if my husband didn’t hate it.
And my daughter has the middle name Josephine so I’m clearly biased on that score. I also love Beatrice!
Blythe Josephine
Clara Josephine
Clara Beatrice
And I’m going to throw out my daughter’s full name because a) I love it, ha! and b) I think it might be right up your street? She’s Margot Josephine.
I love Blythe too! I would have wanted to use it for one of my daughters if another wasn’t already named Bliss. What about Blythe Beatrice, and then if you liked you could sometimes call her BeeBee?
To me Bkythe is sweetly oldfashioned and dignified, but also cheerful and fresh. I think it’s of the vintage revival category, so it wouldn’t sound out of date.
One more suggestion…Opal.
I am agreeing with folks about balancing out the two A names with two E names, so giving Emmett a baby sister with a matching initial
Dittoing Edith, Eleanor, Evelyn
Adding Esther and Ella, Erin,
Any of them paired with Beatrice (EB just like her big brother) or with Josephine would be lovely.
Heading away from E names, I am also fond of Swistle’s suggestion of Ivy. And a commenter’s suggestion of Mabel nn Mae is awesome.
Frances nn Faye?
Sylvia
Ruth
When I saw Marin and Blythe I immediately thought of Sloane and Blair. They aren’t really old names, but have that same feeling. More older names with some spunk are Alice, Thea, Sylvie.
My favorite, Iris, has been suggested. But Iris Josephine or Iris Beatrice! *swoon*
What about Maeve? or underused Faye?
Short, sweet and classic are some of my favorites but I like the three syllable names with DoorDee (if I’m pronouncing it correctly). Like Josephine Doordee? Love it.
Evelyn
Eleanor
Imogen
Elena
Louisa
Sylvia
Lydia?
I kind of like having another E name, so you have 2 As and 2 Es.
Ruth! It circles back so well with Adam, it is unusual but timeless and familiar, it’s beautiful and has so much life about it.
I think if you want non trendy classic, Sarah and Laura are great. They go with Adam like you were hoping for. I think Grace would work great too. I really think your old favorites won’t dissapoint and you’ll be happier in the long run than choosing something fun and flashy for the moment.
Just wanted to add to the chorus of support for Claudia, Clara, and Edith. Instead of Laura, would you consider Lorna?
Gosh I love so many of the names on your list. Meredith was my for sure favorite name for our surprise baby but couldn’t get my husband on board. Since our lists overlapped so much I thought I would throw out a few that were on my list.
Julia
Cora
Holly
Marianne
Samantha
Jane
I love the name Gwen! I think it’s very underused and it hits all the things you’re looking for in a name. It sounds smart, edgy, and elegant all at once.
Daisy Door-dee sounds goofy and that makes it unusable to me. Heidi, Sydney, and Aubrey also have a singsongy sound that bothers me. Hilde also has kind of an awkward flow.
I like Marin as well, but you’re right that there are multiple ways to spell it (Maren, Maryn) without one as the standard spelling. What about Marina, Mariana, Mara?
I know so, so, so many Sarah’s – mostly millenials but ranging from teens to 50-somethings. It’s a name that just feels really overused to me at this point.
Claudia, Pearl, Iris are great choices as well.
What about Eva? That would give you two A initials and two E’s, without having “Adam and Eve.”