Hi there,
We are expecting our daughter in June 2019. We would like a few options so we can finalize a name only once we meet her. Her brother’s name is Benjamin last name sounds like “rustling.” We love classic names. We didn’t find out with our son and had a few names picked for each sex. Oliver was our frontrunner but when he was born we knew it wasn’t a fit and went with Benjamin instead. I don’t want to choose a name with her and have to make a change if it doesn’t seem right.
Our favorite girls name is Jane and we had Charlotte, a family name, as a second option. Due to some family stories and the popularity, I think I like Charlotte in the middle name spot now. I like the idea of a name sounding timeless in a way that no one will hear the name and know the approximate year they were born. I seem to be stuck with the same girls names that I hear a lot of in my circle (ie Kate, Caroline) and am trying to find something fresh and maybe unexpected while keeping it non-trendy. Thank you!
It wouldn’t be quite accurate to say we are all in the same boat on the sea of name trends: there can be significant differences from community to community. But it wouldn’t be quite inaccurate, either. The names that sound fresh to to one set of parents are very likely sounding fresh to many, many other sets of parents as well—which means the freshness doesn’t last long and is a good part of the reason we can guess approximately how old a Kristen is versus approximately how old a Mackenzie is. Adding to the issue, first-time parents might not have had much contact with children, and so might use a name thinking it’s a surprising choice when it’s already much more popular than they’d prefer.
And whole TYPES of names come in at once, so that you can have a classroom with a Kylie, a Kyle, a Kayla, a Kyler, a Tyler, and a Kyra, or a soccer team with half a dozen Maddys and Addys.
Well. I think the first step is to come to terms with it as something nearly unavoidable. We are products of our time and culture, and we lean toward the same names. The upside is that our children’s names will sound good and right to their peers. Some people have names that continue to sound surprising, and I rarely envy them: I would not have wanted to be named, say, Hortense, in order to avoid the Kristen/Jennifer/Melissa/Michelle/Amy pocket of my age group; nor would I have wanted to be one of the very first Mackenzies, startling everyone now by how unexpectedly old I am.
I do think you’ve got a winning option with the name Jane. It has that fresh feel to it despite being a nice old name; it hasn’t been in the Top 100 since 1965, but it hasn’t gone completely away in the meantime. It could be that the fresh sound we’re hearing is also being heard by many other parents: I see the name is slowly climbing the ranks again, from the 400s to the 200s in the last dozen years. But it’s a slow climb, and probably encouraged by the return of names such as Emma and Charlotte.
A similar choice is Rose. It’s getting a lot of use as a middle name, but is still surprising as a first name—and the middle-name usage means it’s familiar and well-liked. I don’t think it works well with the surname, but it’s the sort of direction I’m looking in.
I suggest Margaret. It sounds similar to Charlotte and fits well with the Carolines, and there are so many good nicknames (Greta, Daisy, Maisie, Margo, Meg, Maggie).
I would love to hear more of the name Cordelia. So many parents say they’re using Charlotte because of Charlotte’s Web, I’m surprised more of us aren’t pulling Cordelia from Anne of Green Gables. And great nicknames: Cora, Corrie, Delia.
Josephine may be on its way to join Charlotte in popularity, but it’s too soon to say: it’s climbed from the 200s to the 100s in the last decade, but I’ll be interested to see where it is when the Social Security Administration releases the new statistics in May. I love it with Benjamin.
We had the name Elizabeth at the top of our list for several pregnancies, which is one reason I use it as my daughter’s pseudonym, and it has worn well as a pseudonym: I continue to like using it. We should be tripping over Elizabeths left and right: it’s been in the Top 20 since 1964, and my ear is now primed to hear it because I now associate it with one of my kids. And yet at least in our area, it’s not as common as it ought to be. I know of two Elizabeths and one Beth in my children’s schools.
I get some gentle teasing on this blog for how often I suggest Eliza, but I’m going to go right ahead and do it anyway: less common than Elizabeth but with that good timeless sound. Why isn’t it more common? It’s lovely and fresh! Eliza Charlotte!
And basically whenever I suggest Eliza I go on to suggest Eloise: the sounds are so similar, one nearly always brings the other to my mind. And then I remember Louise and Louisa, names that continue to sound fresh to me.
I am enormously charmed by the names Sally and Polly. I am eager to hear them come back.
More options:
Anna
Cecily
Clara
Claudia
Cora
Georgia
Harriet
Henrietta
June
Lydia
Minerva
Sabrina
Simone
Winifred
Name update:
We just loved so many of these names from your list and readers suggestions… Unfortunately during my pregnancy, we lost 3 grandparents, Joan, Jeanne and Edward Joseph. It felt right deciding without having met her yet. Jane, Joan and Jeanne all stem from the same name meaning: “God is gracious” and Edward Joseph lends well to one of our favorites that you suggested as a first name option, Josephine. So, our little Jane Josephine will be named for her 3 new guardians she won’t meet in this lifetime but who will hopefully watch over her.
And our darling Ben can now kiss my belly before he leaves for school and say, “I love you Jane!”
Erin
Elise.
Ben and Ellie.
Elise is lovely but said aloud with the surname all I hear is “A Leaf’s Rustling” or “Leaves Rustling.”
I think Cecilia hits the sweet spot you’re looking for in terms of timelessness and style. It’s currently 168 on the SSA popularity charts, which is less than 1 in a 1000 girls. Since 1900, it has always been in the 200-400 range in the SSA charts. Unusually stable and familiar without ever becoming very common. It also feels like a sister name to Charlotte, and to Benjamin too, and it sounds nice with your surname.
I also think Alice fits your criteria.
Anna! It’s my 2 year old’s name and we get compliments on it all the time. I know women of all ages with the name and it’s not terribly popular either.
I also think Rose is a great suggestion.
Good luck!
I do think Jane is a great option for you. I also love most of Swistle’s suggestions, esp June and Lydia. With Margaret, my faves are Meg or Maisie. And I think Greta or Margot work fine as a standalone and would be stunning. Love Elizabeth…my fave is Betsy. Libby would also be lovely.
A few additional suggestions:
Daphne
Jocelyn
Edie
Helen
Nell
Phoebe
I love June, but the birthday is expected in June and that seems like a disqualifier to me.
PS* If you used Charlotte as the first name, Lottie would be a great way for it to stand apart on a daily basis.
I love Lotte or Lottie! I have to say though that this plays into Swistle’s point about names appealing to a generation at a time. I think Lottie is now the go to nickname for Charlotte and has been for some time (in the UK/Australia certainly).
In the US I hear Charlie for Charlotte much more often than Lottie. Charlie is also in the top 200 on its own for girls, and it’s higher if you count all the spelling variants– Charlee, Charli, and Charley all rank as well in the top 600.
Sylvia!
Or Sylvie?
I like Jane Charlotte for you and you didn’t say there was a reason you couldn’t use it, so I’m assuming you’re just exploring other options. I think Rosemary is pretty and underused. Lucy would be nice with Benjamin, too. Perversely, I want to suggest Emma, the #1 girl name in 2017, because I think it sounds nice with Benjamin and the surname, but I realize that may be a no-go.
It’s name that comes to mind for me with Benjamin is Lily. I also like Victoria and because I think Rose and Jane work better as middle names because they are one syllable, I suggest Rosalie. Good luck!
I love Jane Charlotte so much, so I hope she comes out seeming like one!
Names that don’t feel tied to any generation / non-trendy but recognizable and fresh (yes very subjective):
Mary (in fact, would you like Mary Jane?)
Nina
Sarah
Elaine
Hannah
Diana
I love Swistle’s suggestion of Josephine – that feels just right here.
Jane is such a great name and it makes a really nice pair with Benjamin!
Jane Elizabeth Rustling is probably my favorite – it sounds perfect. Or maybe Jane Gabrielle? Jane Alexandra? Jane Annabel? Jane Margaret? Plenty of good options for a middle name.
But if not Jane, I would also add Alice, Annabel, Ivy, Susannah, Juliet, Lila, Eleanor, Eve, Emily or Abigail as possibilities. And reader’s suggestion of Victoria is wonderful too!
I love the name Mary. It feels unexpected but is timeless. I saw a movie with an eight year old girl named Mary in it recently and I noted the name. Malorie also seems like it could fit
Jane Charlotte is such a good choice.
In addition to many good options already suggested, I’ll add Julia, Marianne, Cassandra, and Eleanor.
Rose was my first thought, but I agree that it is not ideal with the surname. I also love the suggestions of Lydia and Susannah for you. Other ideas:
Claire
Ellen
Mae/May
Julia
Juliana
Celia
Audrey
Wow. Swistle suggested almost every name I thought of for you. The handful she missed; Amelia, Helen, Claire and Clara.
I’ll also throw out my all-time favorite girl name (only boys for me), though I suspect it may lean a bit too fusty for you-Agatha.
Swistle don’t feel bad about suggesting Eliza, it is a beautiful name! I think everyone has their go to name that they always recommend. I won’t name them but I also read naming blogs that frequently suggest ‘Wren’, ‘Cordelia’, ‘Hugo’ respectively and another that always suggests Marian names. Frequent commenters do the same thing – including me! My go to name is Naomi, I always think the right answer is Naomi (goes great with Benjamin BTW :).
For the OP:
Mary
Clare
Frances
When I read Swistle’s comment, the bit about Anne of Green Gables made me also think of Diana, which is a beautiful timeless name that I think could be very fresh on a new baby.
Emily or Abigail are my favs for you.
It might be a little less classic, but if you are not turned off by alliteration, how about Ramona? Though of course, you completely can’t go wrong with Jane.
There are only amazing suggestions! You just can’t go wrong really. I love Jane, and Josephine. Emily is definitely a name that you would have no idea when she was born. I feel like Catherine is also a name like that, but you mentioned that you know some Kate’s so maybe that’s off the table. Maybe Felicity.
I think Jane is great! And I love the sound of Eliza Rustling. Or Alexis! Julia! Sydney! Leora, Hannah, Sarah/Sadie, Leila/Lila, Lucia/Lucy, Alaina, Melina?
I think Jane is wonderful!
Here are some others,
Gwendolyn ( nn Winnie )
Frances
Beatrice
Louise
Lydia
Anneliese ( nn Annie )
Love Eliza, my great grandmother was Eliza and it was on my daughter’s list, but she had all boys.
So many great choices! Thank you all! I definitely think we can round out a top 5 from all these suggestions. Funnily enough, our son said Margaret and rose are his two name picks before I even wrote in. Someone suggested Rosalie and that is my brand new niece’s name. I’m so thrilled with all these. I’ll have to come back and update on the names we end up choosing.
If you like Eliza, but don’t think it works with your last name, I agree with Swistle that Eloise is nice, and I’m fond of Elodie as well.
I love Jane. My daughter is Annie (nickname for Ann) and I also like Claire for you.
I had the exact same criteria for naming my children; when you hear their name/see it written, you cannot guess their age. My daughters are Rose and May. I think Jane is absolutely perfect. Other names that I think meet this criteria:
Mary
Alice
Sarah
Emma
Anne
Margaret
Claire
Iris
Margot
Eve
Lucy
Florence
Fiona
Elizabeth
Adele
Grace
Camilla
Louise
Best of luck! Can’t wait to hear what you choose.
I’m so sorry for the losses of your beloved family members, but glad that you are able to memorialize them so beautifully.
Absolutely wonderful name choice. <3
Gorgeous name, and what a lovely way for the grandparents to be remembered.