Hi Swistle!
My husband and I are expecting our second baby in August and are having a terrible time coming up with a name. We have a little girl, Rae, who is 1. We knew he/she was going to either be Rae/Ray as that is my grandfather and we both love that name. We don’t know boy or girl this time so are needing to have both ready.
For a little boy, my husband loves the name Fred. My maiden name is Fredrick, so of course my family is in love with it. I am yet to be convinced.. I’m just not sure I can imagine snuggling a sweet little Fred. I don’t really know what I like, but am drawn to the more classic names such as Michael and Phillip.
Girl names we don’t have much. We are tossing around Helen or Vivian but haven’t found one yet that sounds like the “one”. I, again, like the more classic names.
Any advice for this baby that is going to be here before we know it?!?
Thanks,
A struggling Momma
Here are some things I love:
1. Family names.
2. Maiden names used as first names.
3. The name Fredrick/Frederick/Fred/Freddie.
So I am 100% on board with naming a boy Fredrick. I think there are a lot of names that seem like they’d be odd on a baby, but that’s why so many babies get silly nicknames such as Peanut and Sunshine and Lovebug: babies are ridiculous, and too cute and small for anything serious. But babies grow, and soon the baby that seemed too tiny and squooshy to be named Margaret seems absolutely right as a woman named Margaret. If you gave the baby a name that seemed just right for a baby, you’d likely find the baby outgrew it alarmingly early.
I don’t think you must continue to use family names just because you used a family name for your first, but it does make it more appealing to search out more family names. Do you have any other relatives you’d like to honor in this way?
I further think that because Rae is an honor name, it’s less important to coordinate the style of the sibling names—but I still do like the idea of coordinating where possible. Rae is an interesting challenge because the particular style doesn’t immediately spring to mind. It seems to me it goes well with a fairly wide swath of names. I don’t know if these would work with the surname, but these are the sorts of names I’d be looking at:
Alice
Anne
Bonnie
Claire
Delia
Eve
Flora
Georgia
Gwen
Iris
Ivy
Jane
Jean
Jill
Joan
Joy
Lucy
Lydia
Lynn
Marlo
Molly
Opal
Polly
Sally
Sylvie
Tess
Or would you want to do another “We use this name either way, boy or girl” name? Casey, Avery, Teagan, Lee/Leigh, Bailey, Charlie?
Name update:
Thanks Swistle and everyone for your help! My sweet Fred was born last week and is happy and healthy :)
My vote is for Frederick/Frederica either way! NN Flicka for a girl <3
Or Winifred for a girl if it were close enough to feel like it honored your family. If Freda or Freddie for a girl didn’t feel right, I love Rae with Winnie!
Yes! This! I know a Frederica nicknamed Ricki but Flicka is so cool.
Rae and Flicka!
I ADORE this suggestion!
Maybe Fredrick/Frederick isn’t as popular as Michael and Phillip, but it feels very classic to me in the sense that it’s been widely used for at least the past century, and was at its most popular two or three generations ago. Names like Finn and Freya are trending right now, so I bet Fredrick/Fred will feel less dated in the near future! Plus, how great to get to honor your side of the family with both kids’ first names. :)
(Although if your grandfather’s name was Ray Fredrick, I might pause at loading up the honor on that one person, vs. spreading it around to multiple members of the family.)
Proud parent of a Fredrick/Fred/Freddy /Fritz/Freds here, seven years out. I can tell you that people will love you if you name your kid Fred, and you will love it too, with occasional moments of “omigosh in a million years I never thought I would grow up to have a son named FRED.” It is a versatile and charming name, and sweet too with its meaning of Peaceful Ruler, and strong with its associations of Fredericks in European Royalty and Frederick Douglass. Have no regrets. Enjoy your Fredlet!
I love Phillip, so that would be my choice.
But Fred sounds lovely, maybe with the nickname Eddie while he’s a baby?
Or Benjamin, David, Martin, Zachary, Oliver…
Maybe Marion or Hazel for a girl. Or even Alma.
I like:
Rae and Alma
Rae and Fred
Rae and Ben
Rae and Zach
Rae and Ollie
If you want another gender neutral name, Rae and Quinn sounds great!
You could use Eric/Erica. I note that your ‘Fredrick’ is minus the middle ‘e’, so not a perfect solution, but a thought?
I think Rae and Erica works nicely, and Rae and Eric … though I do think Fred is very cute.
I vote for Fred/Frederick/etc. I love it and Freddie is absolutely perfect for a wee baby until they grow into the larger Fred/etc.
I would also be tempted to do something like Winifred for a girl, perhaps with Winnie as a nickname?
Frederick is on my “sad I can’t use” list so I vote Fredrick all the way. It’s such a cute name that grows so well and has so many fun nicknames.
I like Helen from your list. Vivian almost feels a little too fussy next to the straight forward and bright Rae. I think Jane, Lily, Anna, Lucy, and Kate would also work. I think it is just now fading from popularity, but I can’t help but think Taylor sounds like a sister for Rae if you decide you want something a little more unisex (I don’t get the impression that you do, but just in case).
Freddie and Rae are so cute. If you go with Helen, Rae and Nell or Nellie is sweet as well.
I would use Fredrick as the middle for a boy if you don’t end up using it as a first name. I also think it’d work great as a middle for a girl as well. Either way, I like the idea of all your children having a name with some special significance.
For a girl, loving the suggestions of Nell, Bonnie, Tess and Winnie. Or Wynn.
For a boy, if not Fred/Freddie, I’d go with something like Samuel/Sam. Or West. Or Wyatt, Cole, Seth, Peter/Pete, Nolan, Joel, Dean or Deacon.
The name Samantha nickname Sam goes well with Rae. I also like Freida.
I think that Fredrick/Frederick would be really nice. If you don’t like Fred as a nickname, what about just Rick? (I also really like other commenter’s idea of Eddie as possible nn!)
As for girls names, I find myself leaning towards more unisex names – if you use a very girly name (let’s say Daisy), people may assume that Rae is a boy in that combo (although it may not bother you at all). Few more options for Rae’s sister:
Drew
Zoe
Luca
Wendell (nn Wendy!)
Campbell
Parker
Ezra
Eden
Halley
Rome
Evan
Jensen
Neve
Max
Aya
Willa
Hana
Jess
Sage
Sadie
Ruth
Gemma
Margo
Ada
Calla/Cally
Oh, one more idea: Rory. Rory and Rae would make a perfect sisters set!
(If you prefer more feminine name, Rory could be a cute nn for Aurora.)
Would calling him Freddie at first make it seem like more of a baby-friendly name? He could grow into Frederick. But if you’re just not feeling it, Phillip seems like a solid choice. Or how about Patrick?
For a girl I want something short and sweet to go with Rae– like Anne, June, or Rose (if you don’t mind the repeated initial– I think it would be cute).
One of our boy runner-up names was Frederick nn Fritz. FRITZ!!! Honestly it only got eliminated b/c our last name starts with K and I couldn’t give my son the initials F.K.
Team Frederick all the way. Also LOVE the idea of Winifred for a girl if that’s the honor name you want to use. I also like Vivian from your short list (Rae and Viv is sweet).
Fritz is a great nickname!
I knew a Frederick who went by Erick once…would that be more in line with the “classic” names you like like Michael and Phillip?
But I mostly just went to the comments to make sure someone had suggested Winifred for a girl & to say how great I think the name Rae is.
Fredrick seems to hit the jackpot honestly. It’s another honour name, it’s classic enough to fit your taste, and flexible enough to work with nicknames. And, personally, even the non-traditional spelling of Fredrick makes it work better with Rae (Rae and Fred / Rae and Freddie sound lovely to me).
Rae isn’t exactly traditional (even though it’s an honor name), so I don’t think it would be ideal with something too traditional and formal like Frederica (which I love), Helen, Vivian, Michael, Philip. Something like Freya, Nell, Vita, Milo, or Felix would fit Rae better — still traditional, but shorter and more modern and informal, just like Rae.
Other suggestions: Clio, Isla, Skye, Liv, Ada, Ruby, or Eve; Max, Leo, Remy, Jude, Blaise, Ian, or Axel.
I love Freddie so much on a girl or boy! I want you to love it too!
I love the idea of picking a name that works with only the slightest alterations on a boy or a girl, so I need to suggest Riley. Rae and Riley. Remy, Rory, Reece/Reese/Rhys, Ryan. (Still sounds more like a boy name to me, but I think it’s trending neutral)
I’d also expose one syllable names as a connector to Rae.
Love Rae and Freddie! My nephew is Freddie and I’m about to name my child Rae in 5 weeks! What did you use for a middle name with Rae? Having a hard time coming up with one that flows. Thanks!
Ours is Rae Elizabeth- another family name from my husband’s side :)
Thanks Swistle and everyone for your help! My sweet Fred was born last week and is happy and healthy :)
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CONGRATULATIONS!!! We have a 1 year old Fred in our family too! He is Fred Thomas. I’m guessing your’s is Fredrick. Lovely & under-used!