Baby Girl Shoals-with-a-B, Sister to Wilder

[My workplace has closed, leaving me with time on my hands and nowhere to go to use that time. It seemed to me it might be pleasant right now to distract ourselves with naming babies.]

Dear Swistle,

I’m a long-time reader and excited to be writing you! Our family is me, my husband, our toddler son Wilder, and a baby girl coming in the spring. Our last name sounds like Shoals with a B. We chose Wilder’s name because it’s uncommon but not totally out there (at least here in the PNW) and it has a literary feel as well as appealing to our family’s love of the outdoors. It suits him well and we’re perfectly happy with it.

For this baby, the front runners we both like are:

Maren Elizabeth
Maren Lucille
Vivienne Brook (nn Vivi)
Brook Lucille

My husband would like to incorporate the names of his grandmothers—Lillian and Lucille—which I’m open to, but I don’t like the obvious nicknames Lily or Lucy. I’d be open to Lou as a first name or Lilou as a middle name. Wilder’s middle name is an honor name from my husband’s side. I’ve thought and thought about an honor name from my side, and while it would be so nice, the only one I like enough is my own middle name, Elizabeth.

I like the names Allie and Margot too, but my husband doesn’t love those.

As for other must-haves: It must sound nice as a full name (I can get pretty caught up in wanting a name with great cadence) and go well enough with big brother’s name. This might be our last baby, but we’re not sure.

What do you think? I’d love to hear if one of these front runners is your favorite or if you or your readers have any new ideas!

Thanks for any ideas!
Meg

 

With Wilder, my favorite is Maren. Vivienne feels spirited but dressy to me, in contrast to the outdoorsy Wilder; and Brook, while I see and appreciate the nature reference, doesn’t feel as fresh and contemporary as Wilder.

If Wilder’s middle name is an honor name from your husband’s side, and especially if the children also have their father’s family’s surname, then my favorite middle name is Elizabeth after you.

Other names to consider:

Azalea
Bianca
Claudia
Dahlia
Daisy
Delia
Eliza
Eloise
Fiona
Flora
Greta
Hazel
Imogen
Isla
Ivy
Juniper (repeated ending with Wilder)
Liberty
Lorelei
Melody
Minerva
Mirren
Penelope
Romilly
Rosalie
Rosemary
Ruby
Sally
Verity

(Prairie might be too on-the-nose with Wilder, but I admit I am tempted to suggest it. So Ingalls! The name Eliza is a subtler connection, since Eliza Wilder was the name of Almanzo Wilder’s sister.)

 

 

 

Name update:

Thank you for all the fun name ideas! Our beautiful Maren Elizabeth was born on May 8, nearly two weeks later than her due date. We’re so happy with her name! And it has come to mean a lot to me that we share a middle name. I hope it makes her feel special, too.

Attached is a photo of our little “Sea Star” :)

9 thoughts on “Baby Girl Shoals-with-a-B, Sister to Wilder

  1. Rebecca

    If you go with Maren, there is always the option to spell it with an I – Marin. This could be a subtle connection to your son using the I instead of the E – Wilder and Marin, vs. Wilder and Maren. I find spelling it with the I makes it look slightly more feminine, not sure why. Whether that’s important or not is up to you! Best of luck.

    Reply
  2. alex b

    Some thoughts:

    I wouldn’t do Sally Shoals-with-a-B (if I’m understanding that the B is the first letter). Cabaret’s a big act to follow. :)

    Allie reminds me of Eliana, which gets in the reference to Lillian, a lil nod to Elizabeth, and your preference for cadence! Wilder and Eliana– that’s a really cool set of kiddos.

    Or “Ilana,” which means “tree” in Hebrew. Wilder and Ilana. Love.

    Or Cadence. Pretty!! Wilder and Cadence.

    Reply
  3. Kendall

    I love Maren and I think it goes so well with Wilder. With the honor names, since you are interested in honoring two ladies who start with the same letter and this may be a last baby, would you consider a honor initial instead? Use L to represent both ladies?

    Maren Laurel.

    Seems to fit the nature vibe while accommodating the honor names.

    I also adore Iva (which I pronounce ee-va in the European way; Eva is pronounced like Evan.) It comes from Ivos or Ivo for yew tree. Yew trees are evergreen and some of the most hardy and resilient. A broken branch can take root where it falls and sprout again. In the modern world, that seems a pretty awesome namesake for a little girl. Iva Elizabeth. Wilder and Iva.

    Congrats!

    Reply
  4. The Mrs.

    Living in the PNW, I’m a big fan of Prairie. Like, please, oh, PLEASE, use Prairie.
    Wilder and Prairie? All the heart eyes.

    If she’s not an option for you, how about royal Marina? She’s super PNW, too. AND goes well with Wilder.
    Wilder and Marina.

    From your list, Maren is lovely.
    Lilou is a clever combo of grandmother names! Taking the smoosh one step further: Liloubeth…so that your middle name is also included.

    Did the grandmothers have any flowers that were special to them? Perhaps in their wedding boquets? Those might make for a nature name in the middle.

    No matter what, if you give her an honor middle name, she’ll feel super special.

    Congrats and best wishes!

    Reply
  5. JMV

    Maren Elizabeth is my favorite from your list.

    When you mentioned literary reference and outdoorsy, I thought of Fern from Charlotte’s Web. Fern Elizabeth.

    Reply
  6. Jacquelyn

    I love your little one’s name: Maren Elizabeth! And it is so special that you share a middle name. Congratulations!

    Reply
    1. Fiona

      Congratulations!! What a great name. I also share a name with my daughter and it is so, so special.

      Reply
  7. Meg

    Thanks for the ideas and encouragement, everyone! We’re going to keep a couple of these ideas in mind should we ever have a third!

    Reply

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