Hi Swistle!
We are expecting our 3rd and final baby this fall, and I’m a little stumped on names. Originally, I was going to wait until we found out the sex to write you, but now we are thinking we will wait to find out until he/she is born. And in that case, I’ve got to get some things narrowed down. It took me almost 4 days to decide on my firstborn’s name and I don’t want to go through that again.
Our two sons are William David B@rringt0n IV and Edward Mac____ (my Scottish maiden name) B@rringt0n. They go by their first names, no nicknames. I’m not opposed to nicknames, but my husband is. In fact, that was why I couldn’t decide if I wanted to do the 4th for my eldest, because my husband wanted him to be strictly William, which is his name as well. It’s actually a non issue now, I just use ‘big’ and ‘little’ when referencing them to others. I should also note that my husband didn’t want to name his son after himself, but was touched that I really wanted to. So, he’s not a total name tyrant! Ha! Edward is a family name on my mother’s side.Family names are a top priority, if I/we like them. I’m not opposed to leaving the family tree for a first name that thrills. William is obviously after his dad’s side, Edward is after both my parents’ sides, but I’m not adding any additional pressure to pick a side now. As long as we like it….It’s hard enough without more rules.
Stylistically, I would say we lean towards classic/old names, and I personally like them better if they aren’t top 10 or 20. Or maybe 50-100? William IS popular, but a) it’s always been pretty popular and is a favorite of mine and b) it’s after his dad/grandfather, etc.
Edward’s name tickles me the most of the two. It’s a family name, it’s old, classic, but not trendy. And is usually a middle name instead of a first…at least where I live. I love encountering a child with a name like his and being pleasantly surprised. Familiar but fresh. I was nervous about how it would be received at first, but now I feel much more confident and am glad we stuck with our first choice for him.Which leads me to my pickle for a boy’s name:
Do I continue in the vein of Edward? Or swing back towards William with more common greats like Henry, James or Charles? My husband loves all 3. I do too but I REALLY get a kick out of Alfred. So here are our current boy contenders:
James Warren (after both our fathers)
Charles Warren (old family name plus my father’s name)
Henry Bates (Bates is my MIL family name)
Alfred Bates ( Alfred I just love, Bates see^)**Albert is my great grandfather’s name, which my husband and sisters prefer if I go that route. I’m on the fence.
Other family names I like that my husband is so-so about:
Walton nn Walt
George
John
ThomasSome notes on these: we would probably opt to not have nicknames again, since the big brothers don’t. I like sibling sets to flow nicely. That being said, I much prefer Charlie to Charles. My husband says he wants to exclusively call him Charles. He loves it SO much.
Girl names:
My main issue with girl names is that THE name of the daughter of my dreams is no longer available. Hattie Elizabeth was my beloved great grandmother, and Elisabeth is also the name of my grandmother, my aunt, as well as my sister’s middle name. My husband also really likes it. I love it with our last name….it made and still makes my heart skip a beat! Alas, my sister in law named her 3rd daughter Harriet with the nickname Hattie last year. My husband says we should still use it, but I’m not sure that wouldn’t ruffle feathers, and I just don’t think it should be on the table now. All the cousins on his side are really close in age, and these two would be the very closest in age, so at the very least it would be confusing when we are all together. And now, I just don’t have a ton of names that make my heart sing like that. My husband is struggling to find any others that he really likes, and he also doesn’t like to think much about names until the end. I LOVE to muse about names and also don’t want to wait and narrow down a list while I’m in the hospital again.Our Current contenders are:
Jane Elisabeth ( both names after my dear Grandmother)
Jane Kathryn or Catherine (Kathryn is my middle name but I’ve never loved the “y” and think the other spelling might look better with the full name?)
Jane Clemmons (Clemmons is a family name I think sounds nice with Jane)
Anna Belinda, call her Annabel (my hubby approves of this “real” name nickname. Belinda is my mother’s name…still a bit too old fashioned for me but I adore my mom and this on her final grandchild would be a such a gift)
Jane Jacquelyn (middle name after my other sister and aunt- but i can’t tell if I love it or hate it together?!?)Girl Names I like that were vetoed or can’t be used:
Hattie
Eleanor
Eloise
Clementine
Frances
Margaret
Sally (as nn for Sara, which is my name)
Hazel (becoming too popular?)
Iris
….just to name a few!Girl Names my husband Actually likes more than “that’s not bad”:
Hattie
Sara (after me, and I refuse! I like my name but not enough for a namesake)I’d love to hear your thoughts on these so I can weed some of them out. And my other main silly concern is: is Jane too plain? I love that it’s not too long, is traditional and classic, but not too popular. But I’m not sure it makes my heart sing. Same with Annabel. I’m struggling to get over the special-ness of Hattie (to me) and really need to open my heart to some other good options. Hoping some praise of any of these names’ virtues might sway me!
Thanks so much!
ALBERT OR ALFRED. I love them I love them I love them. I couldn’t even read the rest of the letter before zooming down to write my vote for ALBERT OR ALFRED. Alfred leads by a nose for my own personal preferences, but I like the way Albert honors a grandfather and gives a new name-ending in the sibling group, so I might lean toward Albert. Hm, as soon as I wrote that, I started leaning more toward Alfred again, and I have a very slight preference for avoiding the repeating B-sound in Albert B@rringt0n (which is purely subjective, and others would lean TOWARD the repeating B-sound). I don’t know, they’re both wonderful!
And actually I love ALL the contenders. James Warren oh my. Henry Bates my goodness. And I love John and George. The only one that gives me pause is Charles, and the only reason for the pause is that you love the nickname Charlie and your husband is inflexible on this.
As an aside, I think your husband should brace for the idea that the kids may themselves choose to go by nicknames later on. This is no longer the age of automatic nicknames (as it was when I was a little kid and one of my friends had to CONTINUALLY STRUGGLE to be called Elizabeth instead of Liz or Beth, and she was considered Quite Odd for doing so)—but many people still do choose to use their own available nicknames. Perhaps your husband has already fully settled with that idea and is only opposed to LEADING with nicknames. But I wanted to mention it because I would advise against using any name where he really hates the nickname: that is, not just dislikes the idea of having any nickname at all on principle, but actively dislikes the actual sound of the particular nickname.
And I think there’s room for a good concession here, if you love names like Albert and Alfred but your husband’s love of the name Charles ends up winning the day: it seems reasonable that you would get to call him Charlie if you want to, while your husband calls him Charles. Or perhaps the concession could be that you choose a name from your preferred list, but with your husband’s preference not to use a nickname for it.
On to girl names. I want to know more about the name Hattie. You say your sister-in-law has used the name as a nickname for Harriet, and since the context includes the cousins on your husband’s side, I am guessing she is your husband’s sister. If I am correct, and since your husband is the one who thinks it’s no big deal to re-use the name, he can be the one in charge of asking his sister about it. But ONLY IF you would want to use the name if it’s fine with his sister, and it sounds like you don’t want to. I am a fan of multiple people in a family sharing a name, but I have found with time that I am much more keen on it if I am the first one to use the name and the name-sharers come afterward!
And you have so many other great names on your list. Jane Clemmons! Anna Belinda! Jane Elisabeth! Jane Kathryn/Catherine! I had only a few moments of heart pain over the loss of Hattie Elizabeth before I was fully comforted by the richness of the remaining candidates. (I don’t find Jane to be plain at ALL.)
And from the veto list: naming her Sara after yourself and calling her Sally!! SWOON. I am charmed too by the way your husband was not keen to have a namesake but you really wanted him to have one, and now you are not keen to have a namesake but he wants you to have one. I wonder if you would like the idea any better if the first name as well as the middle were spelled differently? Sarah Catherine, called Sally? What a delightful name, and so delightful and refreshing to have even a partial maternal namesake.
I can’t decide what I’d want to do about the Jane Catherine/Kathryn issue. On one hand, I strongly prefer honor name spellings to stay the same, and so if it were me, I would likely choose Jane Kathryn. On the other hand, this is your own middle name so it makes sense for you to choose what feels like the honor to you, and I like the story of you telling her that you wanted to share a middle name but you gave her the spelling you’d always preferred. Maybe Jane Katherine would be nice, and a little closer to your own spelling, and then you’d share a middle initial? But if your top favorite spelling is Catherine, I think that’s lovely. And kind of fun to imagine her then maybe doing the same for HER daughter, picking her OWN favorite spelling of Catherine/Katherine/Kathryn! I love when a naming tradition feels optional/flexible.
Perhaps this spoils the honor name—but Hattie can also be a nickname for Henrietta. And it seems like less of a big deal to me if two people share a nickname but for different given names, especially since you could call her Henrietta at family events to avoid the confusion issue. And I love the name Henrietta, and you have Henry on your boy-name list. Henrietta B@rringt0n, nicknamed Hattie. I know your husband doesn’t generally like nicknames, but this would solve a lot of issues. And it doesn’t sit quite right with me to think of using the lighter-weight nickname-name Hattie as a given name for a girl, after using William and Edward with a no-nickname policy for the boys—as if boys can’t even use the diminutive forms of their strong traditional given names, but the diminutive alone is enough for a girl. It does help that Hattie is a beloved honor name, but it still doesn’t sit quite right.
Re-reading your letter, I see you were hoping I would help narrow things down. And all I have done is rave about the options and add a couple more. Well. Well. Not very helpful.
I think when you have a list of great options like this, the method I would use for narrowing it down is the Heart Sing method you’re already using. And what makes MY heart sing is not going to be relevant here. But perhaps hearing reactions to the names will help you find your own preferences: that is, if you see commenters leaning toward one name and you find you WANTED people to vote for that option, so that must be one of your own top choices; or, alternatively, you might see commenters leaning toward one name and it makes you realize you were hoping they would vote for a different name, showing you that that other name was the name you preferred.
So I will tell you the ones that make my heart sing (unfortunately for narrowing purposes it is most of them), and commenters can do the same, and we will see if it helps.
For boys: Alfred Bates, Albert Warren (I took the liberty of choosing the middle for Albert), James Warren. Plus John and George from the veto list. John B@rringt0n! George B@rringt0n! I’m not sure what I’d choose for middles, but I lean toward your father’s name Warren, to balance out the honors a bit and because I love that name: John Warren B@rringt0n, George Warren B@rringt0n. Or Clemmons? John Clemmons B@rringt0n, George Clemmons B@rringt0n.
(Wait. You wouldn’t want to use Warren as the first name, would you? Warren B@rringt0n? Warren Charles B@rringt0n?)
For girls: Anna Belinda (I think I would call her Anna or Anna Belinda rather than Annabel), Jane Clemmons, Jane Kathryn/Catherine/Katherine. And of course the namesake/Sally option from the veto list.
Name Update:
Hi Swistle!
Thank you so much for posting my name conundrum for our 3rd child, sibling to William and Edward. I loved reading your response and all of the wonderful comments.
Our daughter Jane Elisabeth B@rringt0n was born 11.12.20 and we are all smitten.Even with all the helpful comments, we still went to the hospital without a top contender, and when she was born, all I wanted to name her was Hattie. We had asked my sister in law if we could share the nickname for her daughter Harriet, and she politely asked if we would look elsewhere. Which we tried hard to do, but when she was born I was certain all over again that Hattie Elisabeth was her name. Then at 24 hours old, our sweet girl became ill with pneumonia and respiratory distress. I’m so happy to report she is finally home and doing just fine, but when she was rushed to the NICU, I knew she needed a name and one that was completely pure of any conflict, so miraculously we suddenly wholeheartedly agreed on Jane Elisabeth. That is my grandmother’s full name. (Hattie Elisabeth, the first choice, was after my great grandmother, another special strong woman, and middle was after my Gram) I had a twinge of remorse over Jane Clemmons because I do love it so much, but I am thrilled with the honor name for this special, strong girl. We currently call her Jane, Sweet Baby Jane, Janie, and Janie Jinglebell (my 4 year old started calling her Sally Jane Jinglebell months ago!)
Thank you again for all your help!
Sara
Swistle didn’t talk about this girl name on your list at all, but I immediately internally screamed “switch the order” and it’s wonderful: Jacquelyn Jane B—-.
All your boy names, to me, are winners for a set of siblings.
Congrats on baby #3!
Heh, no! That makes me like the name less… I love Jane Jacquelyn but Jacquelyn Jane doesn’t make me giddy. I also don’t love “Jacquelyn b— because it sounds sort of sing-songy to me, and for some reason with Jane in front it doesn’t.
But also this is why names are so great.. we all prefer different things and that’s okay :)
Warren for a first name! Uncommon; traditional; no obvious nicknames; honors someone’s father.
I also love Jane. Or maybe Janis (my preferred spelling) or Janine?
I agree with Swistle that both Alfred and Albert are wonderful with your boys’ names. I am partial to Alfred but both would be a great addition to the family. Both Charles and Charlie (boy and girl) are very popular where I live and I think the name is growing in popularity, that would be my concern with that name. I also think everyone would call him Charlie, while people would be more likely to use the full form of Alfred and Albert.
For girls, I LOVE LOVE the idea of using Anna Belinda for your mom and agree with Swistle about calling her Anna or Anna Belinda rather than Annabel, which doesn’t seem to fit as well with William and Edward, to my ear at least. I also really love using Kathryn, spelled as is or Sally as the first name. I don’t think enough girls are named after their moms/grandmas so I strongly favor all of these names. That said, your other girl options are wonderful, particularly Frances and Jane.
My opinion may be in the minority but I think Hattie is off the table, as sad as that may be. It seems like the cousins would be too close in age for it to be a non-issue.
My vote would be for Albert or Alfred for boy! Only thing I wanted to point out, is that Alfred Bates did make me think of Alfred Hitchcock and Psycho (Bates Motel). I don’t know that this would be a deal breaker because it’s not even a real person’s name, but I’d want to be aware of that before choosing. Alfred James or Alfred Warren are also lovely.
For a girl, I think if you did choose to go with Hattie Elisabeth, that it could be easily explained as a namesake name and likely wouldn’t be a big deal. But I also love Anna Belinda is the option of naming after you! Especially love Sally Kathryn as a twist of your name or Sally as a nickname!!
*and instead of is
I couldn’t figure out the exact tie-in, but I thought of Hitchcock & “Psycho” too. (I was like, Is that the guy’s name in Psycho, or…?) A vote for Warren as a first name, here!
I strongly agree with Swistle’s point about boys being unable to get diminutive names, but a given diminutive for a girl rubs me a bit. I think little Harriet & Henrietta (Hattie 1 & Hattie 2) is pretty cute.
Love your naming style & you have a TON of great names in your family tree. Jealous!
“Alfred Bates” made me think BUTLER! Alfred is the butler in Batman, and Bates is the valet in Downton Abbey. Together, the association is really strong. I love Alfred alone, though! After you pointed it out, I also see the Hitchcock connection…
Because it is my name and spelling, my eyes were drawn to Jane Jacquelyn but I feel it flows better switched: Jacquelyn Jane B@rrington.
I like Swistle’s suggestion of Henrietta “Hattie” Elizabeth. I also like to idea of her name honoring you since your oldest honors yoir husband. It is a nice balance but you can change the spelling a little if it makea you happy. Jane Katherine… Sarai “Sally”.
As for boys, I prefer Alfred over Albert. I know your husband dislikes nicknames but your sons may still decide to go by Will, Ed, and Al/Fred when they are older. Either short form of Alfred is a nice option.
I love:
Albert Bates
Anna Belinda
William, Edward and Albert
William, Edward, and Annabel
My second choices (distant seconds) for you would be:
Henry Bates
Jane Clemmons
William, Edward, and Henry
William, Edward, and Jane
I have an Edward and an Albert and in my unbiased opinion they’re both great names and go brilliantly together 😉 We would probably have gone with Alfred except that my Edward is a Teddy (at least for now) and we didn’t want a Teddy and a Freddie, but Albert suits him beautifully. We call him Bert.
I agree that feeling like Hattie is off the table is enough of a reason to take Hattie off the table. I love all your other girl name options, especially Jane and Anna Belinda. And Sarah nn Sally is GLORIOUS.
I’m all-in on Alfred Bates and Anna Belinda. Love!
Jane Clemmons! Jane Clemmons! Jane Clemmons!
Jane Clemmons B@rringt0n
Jane B@rringt0n
William, Edward, and Jane
I think I’d be very inclined to call her by first and middle together because it’s so much fun to say!
I have four daughters and have trouble focusing on boys’ names, but James Warren jumped out at me. Hmmm…I’m realizing that I’m drawn to the two names that are similar:
Jane Clemmons
James Warren
Those are definitely my favorites, but you have several appealing options.
Agree that you should strike Charles from the boy list just because of the nickname-or-not question. The remaining options are so charming, though I confess that I do prefer Albert to Alfred.
Favorites from the girl contenders: Jane Elisabeth and Anna Belinda nn Annabel.
If you absolutely can’t get Hattie out of your head, I second the suggestion that your husband ask his sister vs. assuming that no feathers would be ruffled. I think close-in-age cousins both named Hattie would be no big deal (and very sweet) if they were both named for the same beloved relative, but since this is not the case, it’s a little trickier.
I love James and Henry.
I like a double name, so you could do Anna Jane Clemmons. Anna Jane could be the first name and a Clemmons the second name. I think William, Edward and Anna Jane flow really well together. Same with William, Edward and James/Henry.
Or…. Sara Jane Clemmons? Call her Sara Jane.
Gorgeous names. You can’t go wrong here a Thing all.
Sara Jane! Yes! Heart eyes!
I think I am the only one, but I think (for me, personally) Alfred and Edward are too similar. I can’t figure out what it is – maybe it the combination : end with “d”, “r” sound in the middle, short-vowel sound start, and even the syllables are divided the same (2 letters/4 letters).
I LOVE Albert, though! I will throw out the other “bert” names I adore, too – Gilbert (swoon!!) and Robert.
You have sooo many good names, so I’m using Swistle’s method of heart singing. For boys James Warren or Warren James and Alfred Bates, although Alfred Bates gave me the Hitchcock vibe others mentioned. I would scratch Charles because of the nn situation.
For girls Jane Katherine, Anna Belinda, without the Annabelle nn and I feel Sara Jane sounds lovely! I agree with you that Hattie should be of the table, with the great names you have I feel is an unnecessary discussion. Good luck!
Oh, you do have so many lovely names to pick from. I do like Alfred, but would personally probably use Albert. I like it just a bit better and I think it should get bonus points for the family connection. I love the idea of something like Albert Charles or Albert Warren or Albert Thomas. I will also throw in a vote for George. Full disclosure-I have a George, so am probably biased, but it is an awesome name!
For girls, my first thought was Henrietta instead of Harriet. I agree with Swistle that just Hattie feels a bit too diminutive next to your sons’ Full Names Only. But Henrietta is lovely and I think it makes a fantastic honor name for a Hattie. I also thought of perhaps using Hattie/Harriet/Henrietta as a middle name? Jane Hattie, Sara Harriet, etc.
The other thought that occurred to me was to wonder if you’ve considered cross-gender namesakes? Charlotte instead of Charles, Georgia instead of George, Henry or Harry instead of Hattie/Harriet, etc. Maybe switching things up a bit will help you find something that really sings.
Of your girl names, I really like the idea of using Sara in some way. Would you perhaps consider Catherine Sara? You like Catherine and it seems like your husband would be just as pleased to use Sara for you as you were to do a Jr for him. Jane is also lovely and I do not consider it to be too plain. My favorite from your list is Jane Elisabeth-though my absolute favorite would be Jane Harriet-swoon!
I love Annabel for Anna Belinda, and it would make your mum so happy, that would always make me happy to think of the gift I have her. Love the suggestion of Warren as a first name – so awesome!
Coming back to say that I did not use my mom’s first or middle for any of my many daughters. I named one after her beloved grandmother and gave another the name of her mother (but the honor was shared with a very dear great aunt of mine). My mom died in her 60s and I do have some regret that I din’t name any of them directly after her. If you’re close with your mother AND it makes your heart sing, naming a daughter after your mom could be very rewarding. More than one of my girls has mentioned potentially naming a daughter after her Gramma, though, so there might be a chance with the next generation if it doesn’t feel right now:) I’m still swooning over Jane Clemmons and vote for that one, if your situation leans girl…
Is Hattie Elizabeth off the table if her name is “Hattie Elizabeth” as a double first or always called first middle. I love it together.
For boys I’d strike Charles, but love Warren
Oh I’m swooning over all of these amazing choices and it’s making me want another baby to name!
Albert, George, William, and Edward were all on our short list of names we were considering for our son. We ended up going with James (no nickname) because it had the strongest family connection. It is more common than some of the other choices but surprisingly we’ve only come across one other James his age and we love it. My top picks for you are Albert, James and George but I don’t think you can go wrong!
As for girls, I think Jane is lovely and not too plain at all. Anna Belinda is also very sweet. I am tempted to nudge you ever so slightly toward Sarah because I love when girls honor their mother, and Sally would be precious if your husband is willing to consider a nickname. We considered Sarah Elisabeth and Sarah Catherine for our daughter as well. Good luck!
You LOVE Alfred. Your husband LOVES Charles. I think you should name a boy Alfred Charles.
For girls, your clear favourite is Hattie Elizabeth. I think you should use it if it doesn’t bother your SIL or you. Otherwise I think you should use Henrietta as others have suggested and a different middle name. I LOVE Henrietta Jane nn Hattie or Hettie or Hattie/Hettie Jane. (I think Jane is so classic and elegant.)
I would love to see Warren in the fn spot if you’d consider it. Normally, I want all kid names in a sibset you start with a different initial, but in this case I think the pros trump that one minor con. I’d pair Warren with another family name. Warren Bates? Warren Albert? Warren James? If Warren isn’t a first name possibility, I sure hope you’ll use it in the middle name spot.
For a girl, how about Jane Belinda? Or Sally Belinda? Otherwise, I like Jane Elisabeth or Jane Clemmons best from your list.
As much as I mourn with you about Hattie, I’d def not use it since she’ll have a close in age cousin with that name.
So many good girl possibilities! I am loving the “s” in Elisabeth as well as the middle name Jane.
Anna Elisabeth
Annabel Elisabeth
Annabel Jane
Elisabeth Jane
Eliza Jane
Elisabeth Clemmons
I love the name Jane. Classic but not common, and it lends itself to so many moods: stately, creative, persistent, adorable. Jane Austen!
There’s also a recent Caldecott-winnung children’s book, turned into a musical, about Jane Goodall, called “Me…Jane.”
I love Clemmons as the middle. To me that is almost like done deal
Jane Clemmons
Sarah Clemmons
Elisabeth Clemmons
Katherine Clemmons – I love the full name of Katherine without the nickname
Anna Clemmons
Boys. I really like Thomas. But love the Bates as a middle name
Thomas Bates and Henry Bates are my favorite.
Ooh, I love Anna Belinda. Lovely, classic, and unexpected! I also like all of your Jane options, especially with the brother names. Albert is my favorite for a boy, not sure why.
For boys I like Warren and Henry best for being fairly nickname proof (tho if you haven’t had any problems with William being Will or Edward being Eddie, this May be less of a concern. I like Alfred and Albert a lot too, probably with the edge to Alfred, but I like Albert better with your other boys’ names.
For girls, I like Jane best from your list and think it goes fine with Jacquelyn.
I also agree that giving the girl a nickname name while insisting the boys have no diminutives at all is a bit, I don’t know, patriarchal? Unfair?
Jane and Anna are all good, classic names that fit your style, with or with out a nickname.
But maybe your girl style is different from your boys? Maybe that’s why you like Hattie and Sally, you want something that feels lighter and more girly? Nothing wrong with that! Boy and girls styles can be different while still being (whatever the opposite of the boys have no diminutives and the girl only has a diminutive).
I’d put Hazel back on the list if the only concern is that it might be too popular; at number 42, it represents only 0.26% of girls born. That means 2-3 out of every 1000 is Hazel. She might know another Hazel, but they are unlikely to be in the same class or need to go by last initials. For reference, it is about twice as popular as Edward and roughly a third as popular as William.
How about Helen, Margot, Josephine, Rose, Meredith, Winifred, Louise/Louisa, Victoria
Or putting Elizabeth in the first position?
I prefer Alfred to Albert, mostly because I would want to avoid being very specifically “British monarchy;” this would also take Charles and James off the table for me for the first name spot. While I’m partial to Alfred Warren, I wonder if Alfred Charles would give both you and your husband the happiness about the name that you’re looking for?
For a girl, I would agree that I couldn’t use Hattie after it had been used by my child’s first cousin in the first name spot. That said, I LOVE Anna Belinda and think Annabel works great with Edward and William. Really I love all of your girl name options: I spent my whole life wishing I was Jane instead of Jean so I’m pretty partial to that name. I also love the idea of Sally Belinda, and I would find it irresistible not to call her Sally Bea. But all the options are great, truly.
I really like Warren as a first name too. And I love that all the boys would have ws in their name to link them – but that is a personal preference. Plus Edward and Warren share so many of the same sounds, making Edward not seem like the outlier with the others. William, Edward and Warren.
And I also like the suggestion of Henrietta instead of a nn first name of Hattie. It completes the sibset better but preserves the nn of Hattie (or Etta). If you love Hattie, have the conversation with the cousin. Worst case, you walk away like you are planning to do now. Best case she loves the idea of sharing because it is a family name after all so it is already shared. Maybe this is a more the merrier thing for her? And you could come up with a plan on how to distinguish them at family get-togethers.
The Jayhawks have a song called “In the eyes of Sarahjane” that has sold me on the combo “Sara Jane” – look it up and listen!
I agree that we need all the details about the Hatties in question…
Great grandma Hattie Elisabeth was Hattie only right?
Cousin Hattie _____
Also which side of the family is this child on? Is this child related to your Hattie? In which case it could be a fantastic bonding experience to share or slightly modify the name.
For a girl: Anna Belinda nn Annabel is lovely!
Or you can keep the honor by turning your great-grandmother’s name into Elizabeth Hattie. Elizabeth feels as classic as Edward and William.
And Sara Kathryn also makes perfect sense: it mirrors the first boy’s name by honoring mom with the first girl, and it’s also very classic, just like the brothers’ names.
For a boy: Edward and William are timeless names, not associated with any particular time period.
James and Henry feel more timeless than Alfred or Albert (which feel more vintage, if that makes sense?) So I think James Warren and Henry Bates should be the top contenders.
Oh! This is a VERY good point re: Alfred/Albert…they do feel a tad more vintage here in the US, don’t they. I was worried Edward would be an outlier if we went with Henry but perhaps not. Thanks so much for your feedback! Love your name!
You or your husband might want to ask your SIL about the name Hattie just to test the waters. My SIL named her daughter Margaret nn Maggie and my mother’s name is Margery and for the longest time I wanted to name my future daughter Margery nn Maggie but I took it off the table because of what I assumed would be my SIL’s frustration at having same name cousins. Fast forward to our actual daughter who we named something else entirely. I told my SIL that I considered Maggie but dropped it because she had already used it and she was genuinely upset! She LOVED the idea of our “two little Maggies” so you just never know. If Hattie makes your heart sing, it’s worth asking.
What about Elisabeth in first name position? Or, Harriet without the nickname Hattie? That said, my personal favorite of your whole name list Is Jane.
I think you can’t go wrong with the boy choices on your list but want to ask if you’d considered Walter?
This is tough because you have so many good options. I considered suggesting your husband’s favorite (Charles Warren) for a boy and your favorite for a girl, but you don’t seem to have as clear a favorite. Anna Belinda jumps out because you said it would be “such a gift” to your mom. Or some kind of namesake for you would be nice (as your husband has one) either using Sara or Kathryn/Catherine.
I also wanted to pick a name from the second string list to use as a middle because the day before I read this post, I’d just been thinking what a nice name Jane Eleanor would be. Jane Elisabeth is very nice, too.
Oh! Jane Eleanor is beautiful, and I’d not thought of it! And Eleanor is from my husband’s side so it would be a nice way to honor both families. Thank you so much!
I had a student named Anna Beatrice who goes by Anna Bea (pronounces Anna-B) so Annabel or Anna Bel works to me.
And nth-ing that Alfred & Edward are a bit too close to birth be used.
I love Albert as part of your brother set (more than Alfred, personally), with any of the suggested middle names.
I also think Jane is amazing, again with any middle name option on your list. It’s one of my very favorites, and a perfect fit with your boys’ names.
Anna Belinda is also great, but to me, Annabel is a different name entirely, and I feel like people who knew your daughter as Annabel would, upon hearing her full name, think she was Annabel Linda, which has a whole different effect in my opinion. But ultimately you have a great list of names and I don’t think you can really go wrong!
I would strike Charles from the boys list because of the disagreement over nn, but I love the idea of pivoting it to Charlotte for a girl – and I ADORE Charlotte Clemmons. It’s elegant, traditional but not stuffy and would also work well with Elisabeth, Jane or Sara (I am a Sarah! In the past I never thought I’d want an honor name, but I increasingly like it as a middle.).
From your other boys’ potentials list, I love Albert but the nickname Albie immediately comes to mind – same with Alfred / Alfie. Warren is my top choice and I think Bates is an absolutely fantastic middle.
Lastly, my great-grandmother was a Henrietta who went by the full name, and I know several very young girls with the name who strictly go by “Etta”. Two cousins with the same name is, imo, tough. But two complimentary nicknames is a lovely option. Good luck!
Anna Belinda and Annabel are lovely I like them so much!
These are all fantastic options! I especially love the idea of naming a daughter after someone special – your beloved great-grandmother, your mother, you. I don’t think I can top all the other suggestions but I can definitely put in a vote for sharing a name with your daughter (particularly your first as her middle or your middle as her first). I do, and it is so, so special to me. My husband was especially keen on it as well and I think that makes it even more special. Good luck!
Aww, beautiful little Jane! I LOVE the name Jane, and Jane Elisabeth is just gorgeous — the name and the baby. So happy she’s home now.