Dear Swistle,
Ten years ago you helped us consider names for our first born, Emilia Corinne.
Our last name is Hw@ng (pronounced H-wahhhng, soft A).
Emilia went on to have a brother, Mateo, followed by another brother Noah.
We find ourselves attempting to name a baby girl due in September.
I love names with vowels and flowy/romantic names.
I couldn’t be more pleased with Emilia as a name, for example, and comically have found myself drifting towards varieties of this name before having to slap myself awake that I have already used that name.
The list is not complete, but we have:
Audrey (classic, beautiful, sophisticated)
Eloise (nn Ellie which I find darling) — though I worry that it is hard for people to pronounce and figure out at least at first.
Hannah (nice alliteration with our last name but worry it might be too close to Noah and want her to have her own name)
Olivia (if this name weren’t so popular this would be my choice but I worry she will have other Olivias in her class)
Lucia (loo-see-uh variety of pronunciation); this was my initial gut reaction but I have heard that this name leaves a lot of ambiguity for pronunciation and I would hate to have a confusing name)I am very open to other suggestions that might work well with the siblings! We were on a Latino name kick with Emilia and Mateo, deviated a bit for Noah, so doesn’t have to be a Spanish name.
So grateful for your help!
Many thanks,
Erica
I am trying to decide whether or not to push you toward using Olivia. In its favor:
1. You say it would be your choice if it weren’t for the popularity, and I am not keen on ruling out favorite names just because of popularity.
2. It’s very similar to the name Emilia in style and sound.
Against it:
1. She might very well have another Olivia in class some years, and I would not want to feel your reproachful eyes cast in my direction at those times.
2. It may be TOO similar to the name Emilia.
According to the Social Security Administration, the name Olivia is almost exactly as popular as the name Noah. In 2017, Noah was the second most popular boy name in the United States, and Olivia was the second most popular girl name. That year there were 18,326 new baby boys named Noah and 18,632 new baby girls named Olivia. And so if you used the name Noah despite the popularity, it seems as if you shouldn’t have to sacrifice the name Olivia. But perhaps it’s your experience with the name Noah that is leading you to want something less popular this time.
The name Lydia has a somewhat similar sound and I like it with the other kids’ names. Emilia, Mateo, Noah, and Lydia.
Liviana is pretty, too.
And I’ll suggest Silvia again: it repeats several of the sounds of Olivia, but it’s used much less often. Emilia, Mateo, Noah, and Silvia.
I love the name Eloise and I don’t think of it as a challenging name, but perhaps people who have more experience with the name in action could weigh in on that.
The name Lucia does have more than one pronunciation and that might make it a little confusing—but it’s not a very difficult name even so; and I notice you’ve loved that name for at least a decade now, and that counts for something too. And I think it’s very nice with Emilia. And loo-SEE-ah would be my first guess, if I were guessing. When the name Lucy came back into fashion, there was a scramble to find long-forms, and Lucia was one that came up often; I think this has caused the loo-SEE-ah pronunciation to pull ahead in my mind.
Or would you like the name Cecily? Emilia, Mateo, Noah, and Cecily.
Or Linnea (lin-NAY-ah). Emilia, Mateo, Noah, and Linnea.
Or Clarissa. Emilia, Mateo, Noah, and Clarissa.
Name update:
Hello:
A few months ago I wrote in about our fourth child due in September. She arrived healthy and well. In the hospital I had planned to see her face and decide between Clara and Sophia. However she didn’t look like those names at all. Oddly enough I felt she needed a 3 letter name. Intentionally or unintentionally we have dropped syllables over time. We have Emilia, Mateo, Noah and now we have little Lua. I joke that it is part of our gradual parenting simplification process.
Lua means moon in Portuguese. It is also a name of a wonderful historic figure of the Baha’i Faith, Lua Getsinger. She was an early Baha’i and there are many stories of her sacrifice and devotion to those in need, so it feels to be an inspiring name.
The name suits her perfectly.
Three weeks after she was born I suffered a carotid dissection and small stroke. I have recovered well but could have been much worse. Thus, her birth will forever be linked to virtues of resilience and gratitude. I am doing well and so grateful to be here and have her in my arms.
Many thanks and much love,
Erica
i was about to suggest Vera, and then realized the potential problem…
Why not Vera?
My guess is because of Vera Wang (Chinese fashion designer)
Isabella, Francesca, Gabriella, Valentina, Karenna, Magdalena, Katarina, Ravenna, Elliana. I love the flouncy feminine names so much!
But I love Eloise, too. Maybe Louisa or Elise as alternatives? I like any of these. I think you have great choices and can’t wait for your update!
Forgot to say I love Olivia, too. I really don’t think you can go wrong with any of the choices you already like. But it’s great fun to talk about all of the pretty possibilities!
Congrats on the new baby! If I were you, I think I might want to go non-Latin to balance the style change with Noah.
I don’t think there’s much to worry about with Eloise–I think the vast majority of the people I know are familiar with the name, either because of the book or because it’s come back into fashion and is showing up in preschools. And it’s darling!
However, I also think Olivia is a solid choice, and that even though it reverts to the Latin feel of the first two names, it also shares its long-O sound and current popularity with Noah. It’s a plus that she’ll have a surname that’s unusual in the US.
What about Miranda? Strong and lovely and lots of cute nickname options
I think Lucia is perfection! My name is challenging upon first meeting but after that people know the pronunciation and I wouldn’t change it.
My preference — of all your FANTASTIC choices — is for Eloise. To me, the books/movies make it very clear and familiar. If I were to have a baby girl today, I would name her Eloise I love it so much.
HOWEVER, and I believe I have shared this with Swistle before, I know someone who grew up thinking “Eloise” was pronounce “Ell-OYZ.” So I guess it is POSSIBLE that someone might not immediately know how to pronounce it. Possible but unlikely. (I bring it up mostly because it is such an outside-the-realm-of-my-experience pronunciation, not anything I would expect to see repeated. Although maybe there are tons of people in the world who think it’s Ell-OYZ! Maybe it’s a perfectly acceptable secondary pronunciation! Who knows! The world is a rich tapestry!)
Congratulations on your baby girl!
Lydia popped into my mind as another option for you!
My daughter is Livia (nickname Livi or Liv). We didn’t specifically name her that to be different from the more-popular Olivia, but it gives a little different flavor. Also, I think there is only one Olivia in my daughter’s whole school, so just because it’s popular nationwide doesn’t mean there will be lots of other kids with the same name, if you decide to go with Olivia. I will say there seems to have been a trend around the time my daughter was born (2010) of flowy soft names with Ls, because she’s friends with several Lilas, a Dalilah, and a Lea.
Julia or Juliet, Claudia, Paloma, Ophelia, Portia, Cordelia, Bianca, Viola, Aurora, and Helena were some that came to mind.
Emilia makes me think Shakespeare characters so I started there (and the previous suggestion of Miranda fits nicely) but there are lots of good options for you!
A data point of Lucia. My son has a Lucia in his class. When I saw the list I assumed “Loo-chee-uh”. This, despite the fact that our state capital has a major suburb of “St Loo-sha” which is the only time I’ve actually used the name out loud. The little girl turned out to use “Loo-see-uh” and since meeting her (5 years ago) I automatically assume that pronounciation when I read the name.
So, all to say that I think the name is still beautiful and still usable despite a small hiccup and that once your daughter is using one sound she won’t have to keep repeating herself to people for ever. This is unlike names that have slight variations of sound that people seem to use concurrently (Sah-ra/Sair-uh/Ree-becca/Ruhbecca etc).
Interesting. No disagreeement with your actual point, but wanted to note, as a US born/raised Rebecca whose name does get misspelled frequently (leading to my general naming philosophy of “you’re going to find yourself spelling/repeating Beth or Sally too, might as well name her Aurelia”) I’ve only ever heard my name pronounced one way (ruh-BEH-kuh, more or less) by English speakers except for my older relatives who occasionally when I was growing up would go full intrusive-R and call me “ruh-BECK-er”. Maybe it’s a regional thing?
If you love Lucia but aren’t into the Loo-sha pronunciation, you can go with Luciana. Or maybe Luisa?
A few more options:
Beatrice
Adrianna
Lillian (though it may be a bit too close in sound to Emilia…)
Alice
Diana
Elinor/Eleanor
Amanda
Hazel
Imogen
Iris
Rosalie/Rosalind
Susannah
Veronica
Vivian
P.S. I’m pretty sure that most people would know how to pronounce Eloise correctly (I’m not even a native English – or French – speaker, and I don’t find it complicated at all) so if you love the name you should use it – it’s really lovely and it makes a great match with Emilia, Mateo & Noah. But Audrey is also wonderful, as is other commenters’ suggestion of Miranda.
I was going to suggest Liliana! Same idea as Lillian…
Lots of great suggestions. I especially like:
Audrey
Lydia
Miranda
Cassandra
Claudia
Victoria
Louisa
Matilda
Phoebe
Juliana
I love your kids’ names! You have some great options.
So Lucia – the only one I have known went with the Loo-chee-a pronunciation. Her nickname of choice was Looch. But she was Italian not Spanish. Point being. It has two pronunciations because it comes from two cultures. Think Eva — either Eh-va or Ee-va depending on whether you are latinate or anglo. You may get the other pronunciation, but it can be corrected and your preferred version used. This really isn’t a problem unless you are going to find the repetition frustrating. And it is so darn sweet.
As for other options, what about Carolina? Emilia, Mateo, Noah and Carolina? Gets you the big o sound you seem drawn to (think Noah, Mateo, Olivia, Eloise) while still pairing with Emilia nicely. Or for that matter Georgia/Georgina? Or Adelina? Or Lilliana?
So fun! Congratulations!
Just wanted to weigh in on a couple of your concerns. I do think that Olivia is very popular but, at least where I am it doesn’t seem to be any more popular than Amelia (which is how I assume you pronounce Emilia). So if that doesn’t bother you then I think you would be fine with using Olivia, especially if you love it. I do think Olivia and Emilia are a bit too similar for my taste, though. I feel like you’d get tongue twisted a lot!
Concerning Lucia, I have known two in real life, one that pronounces it as you would like to and one that pronounces it Loo-sha. I think the pronunciation you like tends to be the default, though. My daughter’s name is Louisa, which people occasionally misread and pronounce as Lucia. But she is four now and I continue to love her name so if you like Lucia and Eloise you might consider it as well.
I don’t think many people struggle with Eloise these days. I think it has grown enough in popularity that most people know how to say it.
Perhaps Annalisa or Annabella?
Evelina? Ivy?
But I think Olivia is perfect, and I love Eloise.
Maybe Ophelia? Close to Olivia in sound but less popular. Or maybe Arabella.
Thank you for all these wondrous suggestions!!! So much to ponder. Will update when we have this little girl!!
We have Amaya, not sure if it feels too similar to Emilia? Otherwise what about Sophia?
I have a Lucia, pronounced Loo-see-a. In my experience, about one third of the time people who read her name pronounce it one of the other ways. It’s a quick correction, and hasn’t been a problem, and it’s not something people have ever needed to be reminded of. I imagine it would be similar, actually, to telling people Emilia is spelled with an E. It is going to come up, but not be a big hassle.
When reading yesterday your children’s lovely names, Anneliese popped into my head. The spelling variations might make it less appealing for you but pronunciation should be easier.
I love Eloise. I don’t think you will have much trouble with people pronouncing it incorrectly.
I also think you might like Violet.
Portia
Lavina
Haven
Allana
Malorie
Hello Swistle readers: I’m the mom who submitted the question a few months ago. 34 weeks today and still a bit unsure as usual.
I decided on a middle name, I think. Evelyn, to honor my mom who is a very dear person. (Third child was named Frederick for a middle name after my dad, so I think this will be a nice gesture).
In very recent days I am leaning towards:
Clara Evelyn Hw@ng — I think the pronunciation of Claire-uh is easier to say in the USA though admittedly a break from Spanish pronunciation which would be Clah-ruh…. I think Claire-uh is a beautiful name. Simple, classy, not overly used.
Prior to my Clara obsession I was deeply entrenched in Sophia and Sophie – — despite their popularity I feel that Sophia / Sophie blend so well with siblings Emilia, Mateo, and Noah.
Sophia Evelyn Hw@ng
Prior to the name shift, I had been rather settled on
Lucia Evelyn Hw@ng
However not sure. Any thoughts or insights for a undecided mother?
Very kindly,
Erica
Thinking of you and baby Lua. I hope your recuperation goes smoothly.
Lua is such a beautiful name!