Hello Swistle,
I need help with a name for my third daughter. My first born is Brielle and my second born is Savannah. There nicknames are Bri and Savi. We will be expecting our little angel in May. My husband likes the name Brooke and Paige.. I am torn, as I dont know if its ok to have two B names and leave the middle child with an S name. I dont want her to feel different.
I would love any suggestions you can recommend.
Thank you,
Candace Filla
I am not worried about one child feeling left out or different because she has an S-name and her sisters have B-names: this seems like the kind of thing we worry about during the pregnancy and then it never ends up being an issue—or it ends up being the opposite issue, and her sisters are jealous that SHE has her own initial. (This is how I would have felt: mad to have to share, not mad to be left out.)
(If it DID ever come up, you could play the Same/Different Game: “Yes, Bri and Brooke start with Br-, and you start with S-. You and Brielle and Brooke all have double letters in your names, but you all have a different number of syllables: Brooke’s name is one, Brielle’s is two, and yours is three. You and Bri both have nicknames ending in -i….” And so on. You can include your name and your husband’s name to make the game more fun, and to widen the pool of people who don’t share an initial.)
I do worry a little about how similar the names Bri and Brooke sound: starting with the same letter-blend is more matchy than starting with the same initial. And I worry a little that Brielle and Savannah are highly feminine names, while Brooke and Paige are preppy, low-frill names. And I worry a little that Brielle and Savannah both have nicknames, while Brooke does not.
Popularity is another factor: Savannah was in style alongside Brooke and Paige a couple of decades ago, when the name Brielle was rare; but while Savannah has been holding onto its Top 50 ranking, Brooke and Paige have been diving into the 200s. Meanwhile, the name Brielle is rising, hitting the Top 100 for the first time in 2018. I think Savannah and Brooke and Savannah and Paige could work well as sister name pairings because of their earlier shared popularity, but that then Brielle feels like the odd name out. But if we look for other recently-gaining-popularity choices to go with Brielle, then the name Savannah could feel like the odd name out—especially if the little dip it took in popularity in 2018 turns out to have been the beginning of a decline. The good news: this is all looking very promising for playing Same/Different, since we’re finding ways to make EVERY name seem like the different one!
Finally, would the child’s surname be Filla, and is that pronounced like the way someone who dropped their R’s might say the word “filler”? I would probably avoid noun names that can sound like little jokes: Brooke Filla sounds like a riddle for a rainstorm, Paige Filla like a riddle for a writer.
I was going to make a list of more options to consider, but we don’t have much to go on: we have two names your husband likes, plus two names the two of you agreed on for previous children. I think what I would suggest is starting over: BOTH of you make lists, and see which names you like best with your first two daughters’ names. My own inclination would be to find another name with a nickname, but that would only be a preference.
I like Brooke and Paige but think I’d be tempted to find a name today a) doesn’t start with S or B and b) is a bit more similar stylistically.
I think these would work well:
Juliet (Jules)
Delaney (Laney)
Aurora (Rory)
Annelise (Annie)
Gwendolyn (Gwen)
Caroline (Cari, Carly, Callie)
I agree with Swistle’s analysis. If I was expecting a sister for your sweet girls, I’d start with their long feminine/snappy nickname pattern and select something like… Julianne (Lia), Amalia (Mali/Molly), or even Charlotte (Arlo? Lottie?).
My first thought for you was Everly (nn Ever or Evie).
I could be waaaaay off track here but I feel like your style is name made frilly. So Brie is good but Brielle is better, Julie is good but Juliette is more frilly. Does that make sense?? Brooke and Paige are very much low-frill.
Juliette
Rosalie
Isabella
Georgianna
These all have a pared down nickname option.
If your husband is hard to budge from his choices, I might consider using Brooklyn with the nickname, Brooke. This gives her a longer name with a nickname like her sisters. It connects her to Brielle by the beginning sounds and Savannah as a place name.
I guess you could do the same with Paige using a name like Padgett as the full name.
Good one! I like the suggestion of Brooklyn to bridge the gap!
Brielle (Bri), Savannah (Savi) and
-Cassidy (Cas)
-Madison (Mandy),
– Amelia (Mia)
I guess I’m an outlier, but I think Brooke and Paige fit quite well stylistically with Savannah and Brielle. Yes, they’re shorter, but I think that’s ok. I would vote for Paige because the matching Br- of Brooke and Brielle would seem confusing to me.
I like Paige and Brooke, and I love the idea of Brooklyn getting you to Brooke, so now you have two place names and two Br names.
May I offer up Georgette as an option? Another double letter, nn GiGi or Georgie or Ettie.
Playing off of Paige, what about Paisley?
To be frank, not knowing the age of your daughters, I would probably assume that Brooke & Brielle may be twins, while Savannah is either their older or younger sister. It’s not a big deal, but Savannah indeed kind of feels like an odd one out among those 3 names.
Considering the fact that you apparently like short nicknames that end with an “I”, I would suggest a few possibilities that seem like a nice match with both Savannah and Brielle (as well as your surname):
Adeline Filla (Adi)
Adrienne Filla (Adi)
Ariadne Filla (Ari)
Bianca Filla (Bi)
Campbell Filla (Cammi)
Cecilia Filla (Ceci)
Emmeline Filla (Emi)
Evangeline Filla (Evi)
Ingrid Filla (Indi)
Juniper Filla (Juni)
Lydia Filla (Lyddi)
Marigold Filla (Mari)
Matilda Filla (Matti/Tilli)
Madeleine Filla (Madi)
Natalie Filla (Tilli)
Tabitha Filla (Tibbi)
Victoria Filla (Vicki/Tori)
Vivienne (Vi/Vivi)
And I also really like the idea of Georgette nn Gigi mentioned above.
Similar to Adeline, Adelaide! Adelaide was my first thought.
LOVE Brooklyn to get to a nn of Brooke. Genius how it makes them all match and give the Br-/place name tie.
I also liked the suggestion of Georgia nn Gigi. Brielle, Savannah and Georgia. Bri, Savi and Gigi.
Last one for me would be Emilia, nn either Emi or Em or Emme. Brielle, Savannah and Emilia. Bri, Savi and Emi.
I’m actually surprised, I quite like both! My preference would also be Paige because of the double Br- thing with Brooke, but I like them both and would not hesitate to use either one if you really love the name.
A few more ideas:
Isla
Willow
Elise
Iris
Ivy
Jillian
Jocelyn
Jaclyn
I probably wouldn’t go with Georgia (although I love the name) as Savannah and Georgia together remind me of the city and seems a little like a joke.
So I agree with Swistle that the names are names that were popular in the 90’s as well so I went to 1999’s list and found –
Hailey
Kelsey
Cassidy
Kyra
Camryn
Jordan
Delaney
Whitney
Callie
Macy
Ashton
Reagan
Harley
Devin
Brynn
Carson
Chandler
Drew
Keely
Kenzie
Piper
Marley
Your daughters have beautiful names! I think Brooke is too similar to Brielle and Paige does not really fit in style. I would recommend some other options if you are open to consider other names:
– Elliana – Brielle, Savannah and Elliana
– Chloe – Brielle, Savannah and Chloe
– Lily – Brielle, Savannah and Lily
– Madeline – Brielle, Savannah and Madeline
– Vivienne – Brielle, Savannah and Vivienne (my favorite)
Good luck
Thank you so much for your input. I too agree with Swistle analysis. My husband isn’t dead set on those names just names he has always liked, even since our first. I like a lot of suggestions here and am liking the idea of sticking with a more feminine frilly name.
Thank you all for your help.
So many great suggestions here! I also love Natalie for you.