Hello Swistle and readers!
I wrote to you eight years ago requesting help for choosing a middle name for our daughter. She is now a spunky 7.5 year old and Annabelle Jane suits her perfectly. We had planned to call her Annie, but for some reason it never stuck and she is, definitively, Annabelle. She loves her name and so do we!
I had to chuckle at my sweet 26yo first time mom self when rereading my old request, because I had so many other names picked out. Flash forward several years of infertility later, and I am finally pregnant with our miracle second baby thanks to IVF. I’m currently 33 weeks and we don’t know the sex of this baby. Our naming tastes have changed and evolved a bit over the years, so we’ve scrapped the other names we had chosen and have new ones for this baby. If it’s a boy he’ll be Theodore Jon (nickname Teddy/Theo which we love, Jon is my late father’s name). A girl was going to be Elizabeth Rose (possible nickname Libby).
My MIL brought my husband’s old baby book to us as a sentimental gift this past weekend, and as I was looking through it I saw something I’d somehow in 18 years of being together never noticed- her middle name is Elizabeth. My husband hadn’t made the connection either. Let’s just say that while we’re on decent terms, neither of us want to name the baby after her or have her think we did (and explaining specifically that the name isn’t for her seems rather awkward and rude!).
So I’m back to square one with a girl name. Some other names I’d tossed around this time around were Josephine, Eleanor, Margaret, Vivian, Evelyn, Penelope, and Amelia, and Matilda. My husband loves (and I like) Adelaide, but we think it might be too close to Annabelle. I tend to lean toward toward the antique/classic/vintage names, and my husband tends to favor more modern names like Mackenzie (although really he has few ideas of what he likes and lots of “I don’t like that but I don’t know why).
I’d love some suggestions! We have several possible middle names and would like to stick to a one syllable middle, so mostly I just need a new first name! We are Jennifer and Kyle from the 80s, and so would prefer something a little less popular! Our last name is Hirchert, pronounced HER-kit.
Jennifer Hirchert
I am a little happy the name Elizabeth got bumped: I hope I don’t have to assure anyone how dearly I love the name Elizabeth, but WITH ANNABELLE, I prefer some of the other names on your list. The name Annabelle has a whimsy/charm I’d like to see repeated in a sibling name, and I think the strengths of the name Elizabeth lie elsewhere. Particularly since you’re looking for something a little less common, and the name Elizabeth has been out of the Top 25 only one time (1948, when it dipped to #26) since searchable Social Security Administration online records begin in 1900—and it has spent a LOT of those years in the Top 10.
The names that first catch my eye from your list are Josephine, Penelope, and Matilda: they all have that touch of whimsy I’m looking for. I think you might find Eleanor, Evelyn, and Amelia more common than you’d like: Evelyn and Amelia are both currently in the Top 10, and Eleanor is making a beeline for it. Though this is where I ought to say that Penelope too is getting increasingly popular, and is currently a little more popular than Eleanor (Eleanor was #32 in 2018; Penelope was #26). I continue to stand behind Penelope anyway for three reasons: (1) I personally know fewer Penelopes than Eleanors so it FEELS less common to me, which I realize is irrelevant and subjective; (2) the name Penelope was high on our list if Henry had been a girl, which I realize is irrelevant; (3) Penelope has the type of whimsy I’m looking for, while Eleanor does not.
I would say that Eleanor is type-of-whimsy-ADJACENT, however: Annabelle and Eleanor pleases me considerably more than Annabelle and Elizabeth. Hm, I am talking myself into Eleanor now. I find I very much like to say “Annabelle and Eleanor.” Vivian is similar to Eleanor for me: it is not quite the whimsy I am looking for but it is adjacent to it. Annabelle and Vivian is a combination I’d put in the same appealing category as Annabelle and Eleanor: something about the dignity of Eleanor/Vivian gives me a little rush paired with the more whimsical Annabelle, but I don’t get that when I pair Annabelle with Elizabeth/Margaret. I think it’s that Eleanor/Vivian are more recent revivals and still have that little smack of surprise for me. Though so does Margaret, so I’m not sure exactly what the difference is.
Would Eliza be far enough removed from Elizabeth to avoid seeming like a tribute? It’s the same first five letters but has a very different sound/style. If your mother-in-law’s FIRST name were Elizabeth it might still seem like a tribute—but since it’s her middle name, and since Elizabeth is such a common name, it seems like it might be safe. Annabelle and Eliza. I love that.
More possibilities:
Beatrix
Cecily
Clarissa
Cordelia
Emmeline
Felicity
Fiona
Genevieve
Ivy
Louise
Lydia
Marigold
Meredith
Polly
Sabrina
Violet
Winifred
Have you considered making Libby short for Liberty? Or Lilabet? (Can’t decide if Lilabet and Annabelle are too similar or not).
You could also get Lyddie from Lydia, or Tibby from Tabitha, or Tillie from Matilda, which all feel like the same vibe to me.
What about Adeline or Adalyn for an Adelaide variation?
I like Penelope a lot, but wonder if you would call her that or go with Pen/Penny?
Consider Genevieve and Delilah.
Ooooh. Helena.
While I see Swistle has already included it on her list of suggestions, I want to make a special plug for our daughter’s name because we seem to have very similar naming styles. Emmeline! I love all of the names you’ve listed and considered many of them when naming our daughter. We were very close to naming her Elizabeth but decided we wanted something a bit less common. If we were to have a second girl now, she would most likely be Annabelle. I love that they both have a traditional feel with a slight whimsical twist. I also enjoy the similarities they share with rhythm and number of syllables but without sharing sounds. I think they pair beautifully:)
I love Swistle’s suggestion of Emmeline! At the school I work there are sisters named Annabelle and Fiona and I always thought it was such a cute pair. What about Juliette? I like that it has a classic element like Anna- and the double letter like your eldest daughter.
Annabelle sounds like a slightly sassy children’s book heroine to me. Similar in feel to me is the name Eloise. Eloise has so many nicknames too, Ellie, Lo, Lola, Lou, which might increase the appeal for your husband?
I love the suggestion of Eloise!
Eloise is great! I wonder if you’d like Imogen nn Immy or Gen?
Oh Annabelle and Imogen are so cute together! I’m in the UK where Imogen is pretty popular but I believe it’s much rarer in the US, right?
My suggestions:
Ada
Adele
Alice
Aurelia
Aurora
Ava
Eloise
Emilia
Julia
Lily
Lorelei
Lyla
Lorelei!!!!!
I think Eloise is spot-on. Or consider:
Lucille
Cassidy
Emerie
Bianca
Gemma
I think that a lot of people are drawn to and suggesting names beginning with El- because they mirror the ending -elle of Annabelle. Personally, I love the suggestion of Emmeline. Visually, the two names feel balanced and they sound great together without repeating syllables.
I was coming to say that I actually find Annabelle and Eleanor (and other El names) awkward to say/hear together because 9f the shared sound.
Yes! I totally agree, and if she chooses to go by Ellie or El, Annabelle & Ellie are even more similar!
I like Evelyn or Evadne, Juliet or Josette.
I love the suggestion of Beatrix, and would add Beatrice too. My first thought was Genevieve. Which I then wondered if the Gen- sound would be too close to your Jen, but then also thought that might be a nice tribute or connection to you. I also wanted to add Phoebe and Celeste and Lucy. Congrats!
I went back and read your last letter, you had considered Philippa & Emmeline for girls back then. Have you considered those this time around? They are great names and go well with Annabelle
I love Aurora (maybe nn Rory?) for you guys. I feel like it’s just the right level of whimsy. :)
Also, I wanted to follow-up on what Swistle said about Eliza. We named my daughter a long formal name with an unusual nickname that came from the long name. My mother’s name is a variant of the long formal name. They do not share a name. But my mother tried to make that out to be that we named our daughter after her. I love my mom but I wasn’t interested in naming a child after anyone and I hadn’t considered the connection before. I would probably stay away from Eliza if it’s important to you that she not get the wrong idea.
What about Lisbeth instead of Elizabeth?
Lisbeth Rose Hirchert, Lisbeth (Libby) & Annabelle
Some other possibilities:
Alix
Ariadne
Elinor
Adrianna
Tessa Rose
Lena
Daphne
Georgina/Georgiana
Rosalie
Marianne
Isolde
Marilla
Tallulah
Alexandria
Irene
Blanche
Cecilia
Jeannette
Evangeline
Stella
Barbara (or is it still too soon for its revival?)
One more idea: Georgette.
It’s pretty rare (out of top 1000 since 1978), would make a really nice pair with Annabelle, and gives you plenty of cool nickname options (she could go by Georgie, Gigi, Getty or even George – since your husband apparently likes more tomboyish names [Mackenzie]).
Oh, I forgot to add that it would also sound nice with Rose as a middle name:
Annabelle Jane & Georgette Rose <3
P.S. Sorry for that multiple-level comment, i just couldn't help myself :)
I love Annabelle, and the combo Annabelle Jane, and all of your ideas! I also do love Annabelle & Elizabeth as a sibset, because Elizabeth is a lovely name, but, yes, I too would like something more whimsical with ANnabelle, Elizabeth feels a little bit disappointing next to her. I think Josephine is the most whimsical out of your ideas, and I also love Annabelle & Evelyn, Annabelle & Eleanor and Annabelle & Penelope, but I guess the popularity couldbe indeed a bit of a downside to you. I don’t think Annabelle & Adelaide are too close at all, but they do share a lot of similarities so I understand why you may feel this way. How about Adeline? Adelia? I wouldn’t give up on Adelaide too soon. Or maybe even Delia? Also as a nickname of Cordelia, if not on its own? I like Swistle’s idea of using Eliza instead of Elizabeth, or maybe Elise. Speaking of Adeline, how do you feel about Aveline as an alternative? Since Aveline means hazel, I’m thinking that you could like Hazel, as it is so much like Eleanor and Penelope, though I have no idea about popularity in the US at the moment, but guess it could be rising, too. Swistle suggested Emmeline, so it looks like -eline names seem to flow well with Annabelle and you might like them. My first thought was Felicity, also Lucille, but that could be too matchy and soft with ANnabelle. My other ideas: Gwendolyn (could be nicknamed to Winnie), Fiona (nn Fee or Fifi), Seraphina, Cornelia, Stella, Helene/Helena/Elena, Luna, Amaryllis, Delilah, Lilianna (could be Libby perhaps), Odette, Jacqueline, Saskia, (Ev)Angeline, Celeste, Florence, Louisa, Madeline, Rosalind/Rosalie, Madeline, Clarissa…
I don’t know if I’m going to be any help since I like your whole list and I like the names with Annabelle. I might like Amelia best of them, but I don’t think you’d be going wrong with any of them.
I agree that Annabelle has a touch of whimsy that some of the names (including Elizabeth) are missing. I personally like Matilda the best.
From Swistles list my favorites are Cordelia, Felicity and Genevieve.
I wonder about other less common mash up names? Marigold would count. But beyond that I’m struggling with finding something that doesn’t feel too ordinary. Hmmm. Maybe Rosemary? I also thought about Elizabeth adjacent names. Which led me to Isabelle which isn’t surprising enough and would be out anyway because of the repeat Belle. But perhaps Isadora?
Other more random ideas are Imogen, Lorelei, Francesca, Cassandra, Ophelia,
If you love Theodore for a boy, could you love Theodora or Dorothea for a girl? I like the gift meaning after infertility, and I think Teddy, Dot, Thea, Dollie etc are adorable nicknames. Annabelle Jane and Theodora Rose are lovely together! Annabelle Jane and Dorothea Rose…yes!
Wanted to suggest Margot…Annabelle and Margot 😍
Oh, please, Meredith!
Although Annabelle & Ivy feels so fun to say together as a sibset.
Clara? Annabelle and Clara.
I feel like Annabelle and Eleanor is too close (Belle and Elle) unless you are going for matchy.
I feel like the Mattie, Maddie, Addie set are running their course a little (such as Matilda) so that leaves Penelope and Josephine for my vote :). Or Alexandra if you don’t mind matching initials. Or Georgina. Caroline?
You have mentioned some gorgeous names – you can’t go wrong at this point. What about Margaret? Margaret Rose. Annabelle and Margaret. Meg or Maisie is pretty whimsical? Margaret nn Daisy :). Or please, Margaret May (Maggie-May for cuteness!).
Marguerite! Margaret but with some mid-century sass.
I love Matilda! From swistle’s list, I like Felicity and Winifred the best. And I LOVE the suggestion of Eloise (although Lucy and Dorothy/Dorothea are pretty great too). I also like Coraline (which gives me some fall vibes!), Elowen, Flora.
Jennifer, I almost could’ve written this email myself! Swistle helped me name my daughter Amelia 8 years ago, and we also had to wait, and wait, and wait, and just had a miracle IVF baby girl named Sylvia (who she also helped us name)! And we didn’t find out the baby’s sex the second time either! I love all your name choices, Eleanor and Olympia were our other picks for Sylvia, but I also liked Harriet, Greta, Henrietta.
I hope you enjoy the age gap as much as I find I do, it was a wonderful silver lining to the wait between babies. Congratulations on your miracle!!!
Annabelle & Juliette?
Shhh. don’t tell anyone, but I think I was named after only one of the aunts I share a name with and my parents just let the other think I was named for her. One was my dad’s aunt and the other mom’s kid sister. At least my middle name is uncontroversial, there is only one aunt with that name!
All your options are lovely! Throwing Jessamine into the mix for the flowing-while-whimsical factor.
I love Caroline (long i sound) for you. I know sweet sisters named Caroline and Annabelle and I like the shared N, L, and A sounds.