Here is the game we are playing:
We are going to pretend that we are naming a baby and that the name MUST start with a certain letter, and so we will need one name starting with that letter for a boy and one name starting with that letter for a girl, or else one name that would work for either, EVEN IF we don’t like any of the names that start with that letter enough to Actually In Real Life choose them. It is just a game where we place artificial restrictions on reality in order to create the kind of tension that makes games fun—like when you have to choose what foods you’d eat if you could only eat three foods for the rest of your life: the fun is in thinking it over AS IF it were a real forced decision, while KNOWING it is not. There is a baby! It MUST be given a name with a particular letter! That is the game.
After that basic concept, we can decide our own sub-rules, based on what makes the game fun and not stressful. Some examples:
• I’m not planning to play that the name has to fit with the names of my other children or with the surname, though this would be an option for anyone who would LIKE to play it that way; I think I will have more fun if I pretend it is a stand-alone baby and that the surname is not an issue, though I may change my mind as we go. (And if I narrow it down to a few options and can’t decide, I might use siblings/surname as a tie-breaker.)
• It is also fine to narrow it down to a few finalists without getting to The One Name.
• The boy name and girl name don’t have to work TOGETHER: we are only naming ONE baby, so you’d only use one or the other. But you MAY play that the names have to work together, if that’s more fun.
• It is fine to wave aside issues such as a friend who already used that name, a famous person with the name, etc., if that makes it more fun and less stressful to choose. This is just pretend, so you can pretend that those things aren’t issues if you want to. (Or you can let the issues stand as they are in real life, if THAT is more fun.)
• We can also all make our own decisions about whether the names have to be ones we think we’d ACTUALLY USE in that hypothetical scenario, or just our FAVORITE names starting with that letter, regardless of whether we think the names are practical; I am not sure which way I will play it, and I likely won’t be consistent.
• If you already have a child with a name starting with the letter we’re working on, you get to pick again from all the names that remain; you don’t have to choose your child’s name as your favorite just because it WAS your favorite: this is a FRESH baby, and you wouldn’t give it the same name as your existing child. (If you would normally prefer not to repeat an initial within a sibling group, you can just pretend that’s NOT a preference for the sake of the game.)
• You can do as much or as little explanation as you like in your comment: you can just list the names you chose, or you can explain your process/preferences/reasoning/runners-up, or whatever is most fun.
Today’s letter is L. I had Liana on my list for Elizabeth (I have a dear cousin/friend with the same name), and I still like it. I also had Liesl on my list, and I still like it. I love Linnea and Louise. I think Lois is underused, and I am looking forward to it coming back into style. I like Lydia and Lane. I think Leigh and Lynn are the kind of name the eye skips past in the baby name book (partly because of overuse as middle names), but that as first names they would be fresh and pleasing. And I have a soft spot for names such as Lilac and Lavender. Okay, I am imagining a baby in my arms. What will I name her? I pick Leigh, partly for the fun of it and partly in partial honor of my cousin/friend Liana. Or wait: Louise. It’s too hard to choose.
For a boy, I had Leo on my list when we were naming Henry, and I still like it but I think it still wouldn’t make it to the finalists. I like Lincoln and Lachlan and Lawson. But I pick Louis, hands down, definitely favorite.
Now you! If you want to! Only if it’s fun and not stressful! Feel free to adjust the game-play to be fun and not stressful!
Lewis (in honor of John Lewis), and Lois
My fave L girls are Lark, Linden, Lilac, Lucinda and Laurel !! So difficult to pick just one, but I will choose Laurel !! Just gorgeous !! I love the nature vibe, plus I love the movie, The Chalk Garden, with Deborah Kerr and Hayley Mills. Hayley’s character was named Laurel.❤️
My fave L names for boys are Lucien, Loyal, Linus and Laszlo. I have an Uncle Laszlo, great guy, but I think I’ll choose Linus, partly because of Humphrey Bogart’s character in the movie, Sabrina !! 💙
Linnea for a girl (my daughter’s name!) and Linus for a boy. My friend has a Linus and I love that name.
Boy: Luke
Girl: Lucy
Like many others I loved Lily for years (that was my imaginary friend) and also Lila but wouldn’t use either because of popularity. Lucia is beautiful but Loo-sha or Loo-sea-uh? I REALLY love Liddy but I was concerned it would get misheard a lot as Lily. (One baby class ruined Lydia and Ada for me, they were constantly misspoken as Olivia and Ava.) Libby is also awesome, but same issue. Lise and Lilou are sweet French names but might be harder in NA. I have a niece Lucy and we used Louise as a middle for one of my kids. I know a little Leonie and a Lucille, which I love. I think I’ll go with Liddy in this dream world. Or Linnea.
Leo was on my list but it’s gotten so popular and we know a few in our circle. Love Linus but yet again can’t do an s-ending. I think I’ll choose Leroy!
Liddy & Leroy
I say Loo-sha
It’s my sister’s middle name and we pronounce it the Italian way: loo-CHEE-ah
Leona for a girl – it was The Name had my 2nd been a girl
Boys are harder as I was really trying to use a L name for my son and I didn’t love any of them. Considered Lawrence (English version of my dad’s name) and Lewis. I think I’ll go with Lewis.
Luiza has been on my potential baby name list for ages, since I am Polish and live in Poland. I suppose it would be easily usable in an English-speaking country as well, though I don’t mind Louisa either and could use either very happily.
I had more of a problem for a boy, it seems like I like many L names for boys but I can imagine few on my own baby. In the end, I think I’ll pick Lucius. I love the name but somehow I’m not convinced I’d be happy using it. My second thought is Llywelyn which I’d be happy to use but you do have to live in Wales for it to be pronounced right, I don’t want him to end up as LouEllen, and here in Poland people would be totally clueless unless they did Celtic studies.
Hmm, I’m having trouble deciding between Leo or Leopold with Leo as a nickname for a boy. On one hand, I do prefer names that lend themselves to providing options, which Leopold does. On the other hand, while I do really like Leopold, I love Leo more and do think it’s formal enough on its own. (Not a fan of nickname-y names as formal names.) I think the final choice would depend on possible sibling names…
For a girl, I love Lorelei, Luna, Lydia, and Lillian. If I had to choose right this second, I guess I would go with Lorelei, but that could change tomorrow!
I’ve been waiting for this letter! I love Laura and Lane/Laine and Lennox and Lachlan and Lauren and Leah and Logan and London and Lucy and Landon and Leo and Liam and Lincoln and Luke. I love so many L names and only one of two of my actual children has an L name and it’s only her nickname. (It’s such a bummer having to include the husband’s opinion.) If I had to name a boy now, it definitely would be Lachlan. A girl is much harder but probably Laine.
As a child, I knew a VERY GLAMOROUS LADY named Leslie and because I thought she was so fabulous, I have always loved that name. It would be contender along with another childhood face: Louise. I don’t know, though – my mom’s name is Lori, which I actually kind of love but think it seems really dated still, especially that spelling. I also love Lila, Lucille, Lindley (my childhood nickname)
Okay, I’m going with Louise for a girl.
And for a boy, I like Landry, Laurence, Laird, and Lennox. Also Loudon. I think Lennox would be my pick.
One of my mom’s uncles was named Leslie. I liked him, though i must say “glamorous” isn’t likely to be applied to _that_ farmer-boy. It is a solid name; I like it too.
I have two favorite female family names that begin with L: Luella (which I might have used for a daughter if I’d had one) and LePrele (which I would probably never use but I kind of adore).
For male names, I like Leo a lot, but find it’s too popular for my taste now. I would probably choose Leroy (I also love Levon, but I feel that name really belongs to Mr. Helm❤️)
Named my cat Levon after him :)
For girls, I love Louisa and Lucia (loo-SEE-uh), but my favorite is Lillian. It’s what we would probably have named our younger son if he hadn’t been a boy.
For boys, I like Leonard nicknamed Leo, but we ended up naming our dog Leo. I think I’ll go with Leland, although it’s one of those names I like more in theory – I never like how it sounds when I pronounce it.
Lillian and Leland.
It’s funny that both of my choices have a double L, which I always have a hard time pronouncing – I always trip over the names when I say them in real life. Luckily this is just imaginary. :)
I have a Lydia, and it fits her perfectly, but if it was just me naming about baby without input from the spouse I would have named her Lavinia. I adore Liv as well.
For boys I would choose Levon, because of the song :)
Lavinia is so cool!
Lara made it into the top 3 for my daughter… and I really like the Dr Zhivago associations, but it’s a bit of an outlier for my naming style.
I also really like Linnea, and I have *such* a soft spot for Linnet although I’d never be brave enough to use it IRL and I’d worry people would think it was Lynette. So maybe I’ll stick with Lara!
For a boy it’s easy: Laurence, Laurie for short. Although I do love Laurie for a girl too. Tricky one today!
If my daughter’s twin had survived long enough to actually have a name, they’d have had Lewis or Lucinda as one of their names. Both honor names from my side, though I must admit, DH wanted Lucinda even more than I did. It’s my middle name as well as my dad’s sister’s
Lucinda Lewis
Leah Liam
Lena
Lucinda and Linus. I know a little Liesl and it wears beautifully. Cute, but also sophisticated. It’s a close second for me.
I have an 8-month old Lydia Louise, nicknamed Liddy Lou!
For a new baby, named without my husband’s input, I pick Lillian, an old favourite.
For a boy, I pick Luke. I love the connections to both the New Testament and Star Wars.
Oh that is amazing!!! Swooning for real! Liddy Lou 😍
Thank you so much! The whole family adores using this nickname. And she shares the middle name Louise with my mother.
I have an almost 8 month old Sylvie who I almost exclusively call Sylvie Lou! I feel like it rolls off the tongue so easily, like Liddy Lou!
Except my daughter’s middle name is actually Elise… I just started calling her Sylvie Lou Who when she was born, which became Sylvie Lou… and sometimes Sylvia Louise when I’m feeling formal hahaha
My 3 year old is extremely confused.
For a girl I would pick Louisa (since this is my daughter’s name!). We call her Lou or Lou Lou.
If we didn’t have a Louisa, I would definitely pick Lewis for a boy!
Leticia and Leo!
My favorite L names are Laine, Lia, Linnea, & Leonie. For this challenge I am going to pick Laine.
I don’t have any L names on my boy list, but I do like Leo and Luke. Since I have a nephew named Luke, I’ll pick Leo.
I had so much trouble finding a girl’s name I liked so I’m surprised to see Lucia on here, surprisingly popular!
For boys I’m going with Leif first then Luca (for the boy I had a crush on when I was 12 lol).
Almost certainly Louisa, for Louisa May Alcott, but i like Lucinda as well, nn Lucy, and I like Lydia too but it doesn’t go quite as well as a sibling set.
For a boy, my favorite is Levar, for Levar Burton, but it’s miles out of my normal style. Much more likely would be Lewis, for John Lewis, or even Luke.
Lydia or Leo.
For a girl, I do like Lila, Linnea, and Lousie but would probably go with Lauren. It just like the crispness of the name.
For boys, I like Lucas, Leo, and Linus. I would probably go with Lucas.
Louis is my son’s middle name. It’s probably my favorite but I’m playing this as if adding a new child to the family and I wouldn’t re-use it like that. I used to like Logan quite a lot, especially when we lived in DC, near Logan Circle, but it’s faded for me. Maybe Linus?
I like Lindsey for a girl. It would be after my mom, whose name is Linda.
I love L names! For girls my favorite is definitely Laura (my daughter’s name) but I also like Lena, Lindsay, Lorraine, Lilly and Leyna, but they were not used because either they do not fit with my sibset, my husband doesn’t like or I just can’t see my kid with this name.
As for boys I love Liam, although it’s too popular for my liking now, as well as Lucas/Luke, Logan and Leo.
For a girl I love Laura and Lucia (Lu-chee-a) but also think Lorraine is lovely and wish I heard it more. For a boy, Lewis.
I already have a Lucia (lu-CHEE-a) nn Lulu, and Elena (eh-LEE-na) nn Lena (LEE-na), so we clearly love L names. For this game, not worrying about sibling name style or my partner’s opinions, I would go with Linnea or Laurel for a girl and Lorenzo for a boy.
Lena Louise and Levi. Hmm. Wait. I like Magdalena with a nn Lena better. Maybe Lavinia or Lorna. I also love Linden.
Lavinia Louise and Levi Linden.
I have always loved the name Liora (or Leora)—it’s beautiful, elegant, and very rare without being outré.
Luna and Lydia would be runners-up.
For a boy, probably Lucas, with strong competition from Leo and Lucien!
I’m saving Lea Louise or Lea Eloise (pronounced Lay-uh) for a future girl. I love Levi for a future boy.
L is so fun!
My girl names are all over the map, but sticking with what I might actually use: Lois (Lo), Lark, Laurel. I have a soft spot for Lenny and Lettie though.
I’m drawing a blank for boys, but I have always loved Leaf.
Lois and Leaf for me!
Lucian
Laurel
I was almost Liberty Lavender. To honor my mom, who doesn’t like her own name, we let her choose a middle for one of our daughters, so we have a Brynn Lavender.
We also have a Heidi and I’ve always wanted a Liesl to go with her, but Husband always vetoed. Laurel and Lydia round out my favorite L girl names.
For boys, I like Lachlan, Lincoln, and Linus.
Final picks: Linus and Liesl
My name is Heidi but I was almost a Liesl!
Lydia was almost the name of one of my daughters and I do still like. BUT I have to go with Leia, a name I’ve loved for forever, but was never brave enough to use to due to it being so strongly associated with Star Wars. The boy’s name required more thought but I think I’ll go with Lance.
L: Leia and Lance
M: Magnolia and Miles
N: Naomi and Nathaniel
O: Ophelia and Owen
P: Pippa and Peter
Q: Quinn and Quill
R: Rosalie and Roan
S: Susanna and Simon
T: Tessa and Thaddeus
U: Umbria and Urban
V: Vera and Valerian
W: Wren and West
X: Xymeria and Xavier
Y: Ysabel and Yarrow
Z: Zelie and Zebulon
Hmm. L names are tricky because they alliterate with my last name. I avoided them so far becuause of that, but if I did have another boy I would say to hell with it and use my favorite boy name…Luke!
And for a girl I have lots of other faves before I’d go with an L name, but I’ve come to really appreciate Louisa now and the idea of a “Lulu” to go with my Rosemary “Roro” would be really really tempting.
Runners up include Leonard (nn Leo), Leia (couldn’t use if I had a Luke lol) Laura (it’s kinda mom-name now but I still like it)
Laurel and Louisa are just so good. I have loved both for so long, but for the sake of Alcott and my sibset, Louisa wins the tie. And I guess Luke?
L: Louisa and Luke
M: Mae and Matthias
N: Nicola or Nicholas
O: Octavia and Oliver
P: Paulina or Paul
Q: Quartz and Quentin
R: Rosa and Raphael
S: Sylvie and Samuel
T: Theodora and Timothy
U: Una and Ulysses
V: Vera and Valerian
W: Willa and Walter
X: Xenia and Xavier
Y: Yvaine and Yves
Z: Zinnia and Zachary
Girl: Lydia
Boy: Logan
For a girl my favourite would have to be Lila. Although it is becoming super popular in my area. For a boy it’s a bit harder I really like both Leo and Lincoln, however I think I would probably go for Lenny.
I love Liora, Lior, and Laurence but wouldn’t use any for family reasons. So I guess maybe Lila and Luca?
I used to know a pair of twins named LIla and Lucas- it’s a great pairing!
Linnea and Leo.
L is a letter I enjoy. I have always liked Leah, and Louisa, and Lydia. My acupuncturist’s middle name is Lenore and boy is that an under-used name. I briefly roomed with someone in college named Lois and at the time she had a weird old lady name (she was named after her grandmother) but now I feel quite differently about it!
As sort of a side issue I have a bit of speech impediment with Ls, I say them with the back of my tongue (like if you picture someone saying L words with a Russian accent) so very L-heavy words are difficult for me SAY. I have trouble saying my own sister’s name (Laura). It is for this specific reason, and not popularity, that I exclude Lily, which I say warbled in the back of my throat like some kind of swamp bird. I like it when other people say it. I’ve always loved the name Lucy! Okay I’m getting distracted. I would pick Leah if I had a different surname, but I don’t, so I pick Louisa.
One of my all time favorite boy names is Levi, but it goes VERY POORLY with my last name. If I was playing this game without last names I would pick Levi, but that’s not how I’ve been playing so far so it feels weird to switch the rules now. I also love Louis, and Lawrence is under appreciated, but another TRUE FAVORITE name of mine is Leland. It’s not PERFECT with my surname, but I CHOOSE it. This might be the first letter where I’ve felt more passionate about the boy name than the girl.
L: Leland and Louisa
M: Matthew & Margot
N: Neil & Nadine (strong second place Naomi)
O: Oscar & Opal
P: Patrick & Paloma (close seconds are Peter & Pearl)
Q: Quinn (for either, because I already have a Quentin)
R: Robert & Ruth (special shout out to Ramona)
S: Sawyer & Sylvie
T: Toby & Tabitha
U: Uriel & Una
V: Vincent & Veronica
W: Walter & Winonah (honorable mention to Warren)
X: Xavier & Xia
Y: Yusef & Yolanda
Z: Zachary & Zelda (but upon reflection I think maybe Zinnia)
We’ve been watching a show where the main character is a girl named Lyra and I have fallen in love with the name. It doesn’t jump out to me when seeing it written, but hearing it over and over out loud, I think it is just beautiful. Laurel has also been one of my longtime favorites.
For boys I think I would have to choose Liam or Leo. Liam would probably be too popular for me to use on a real baby (we know multiple) but I think it is great for an imaginary male L baby.
Final choice:
Lyra and Liam
Lyra is my choice, too. I considered Lilly, but I don’t think I want a namesake.
For a boy, I think I like Larch.
Larch!!! Love it!
Girl: Liadan
Honorable mentions: Lenore, Lennox
Boy: Logan
Girl: Leta, Lydia, Lara, honorable mention to Leah
Boy: Liev. This was a strong contender when I was pregnant with my older son. Husband vetoed it. I love it.
Louisa (runner ups – Lydia, Liliana, Lucy)
Leo (runner ups – Louis, Lucas)
For a girl, I’ve always loved Lydia nn Lyddie, or Louisa. For a boy, Luke. I also like Lincoln, though it is a real statement choice.
I really love the nickname Lou on a girl, so I’d probably go with Louise/Louisa. I’ve always liked Lucy and Lillian and Laura, too.
For a boy, I love Llewellyn or Llewyn, both probably for a middle name, though. Other than that, I do like Lewis and Leo.
Hmmm…probably Louisa and Leo!
M: Matilda, Malcolm
N: Naomi, Nathan
O: Olwen, Owen
P: Pippa, Patrick
Q: Quinn, Quincy
R: Rose, Roscoe
S: Susanna, Seamus
T: Tess, Thaddeus
U: Uma, Ulysses
V: Violet, Valentine
W: Willa, Walter
X: Xanthe, Xavier
Y: Yvette, Yeats
Z: Zadie, Zev
For a girl, I love the nickname Linnie – like Kevin’s older sister in Home Alone :). So I’d pick a name that would lead to that nickname. I used to love Linnea, but awhile back I saw the name Linley on this site and love that even more. My girl pick is Linley nn Linnie. Buuut I also love Louisa! It’s a close second.
For a boy I like Leland. I grew up in Michigan and up north there’s a beautiful town on Lake Michigan called Leland. Plus my dad’s middle name is Lee so it could kinda be an honor name
Lillia was my favourite girls name for a full decade. NOT Lily or Lila or Lillian – Lillia, like Lily-ah. I love love it and think it’s so beautiful. I do love Lila, too, although I like it best spelled Lilah. I like Liora and Leonora too!
I don’t have any boys names beginning with L on my lists but I like Leo, Lewis, Linus – do we think that’s usable yet? – and Luca/Lucas.
Final choice – Lillia and Lucas
I really love the name Leo, and it would legit be on my shortlist if I were currently pregnant with a baby boy! Middle name Francis — Leo Francis is very appealing to me. I also quite like Lawrence.
For a girl, I like a lot of L names but don’t LOVE any of them: Laura, Lena, Layla (but maybe just because of the song), Lucy, Leigh, Lily, Lisa. For purposes of the game, I’ll go with Laura.
My great-grandmother was Louisa but pronounced “Loo-EYES-uh”. I love that pronunciation, but I goes way beyond my personal comfort with name confusion. I do like Louise or Lois is cute again. Liesl has been a favorite since the first time I watch The Sound of Music. But I’m going to go for Laurel this time.
For a boy, I like the classic Lee a lot and Lane. My favorite is Liam, but it popularity turned me off of actually using it IRL.
L: (f)Laurel – (m)Liam
M: (f)Miriam – (m)Miles
N:(f)Naomi – (m)Nigel or Neil
O:(f)Olivia – (m)Orion
P:(f)Penelope(Poppy) – (m)Porter
PH:(f)Phoebe – (m)Phillip
Q:(f or m)Quimby
R:(f)Ruth – (m)Russell or Rhett
S:(f)Simone or Sierra – (m)Seth
T:(f)Tessa/Tess – (m)Tucker
U:(f)Ula – (m)Umberton
V:(f)Viola or Vivian – (m)Vaughn
W:(f)Wynn – (m)Webb or Whit
X:(f)Xanthe – (m)Xavier
Y:(f)Yara – (m)York
Z:(f)Zella – (m)Zeke
G – Layla
B – Luke
TL:DR Lena, Luca
My husband’s family has put a moratorium on the letter L because of a series of bad luck that left the great grandfather, and the two uncles/ cousins that were named after the great grandfather all dead before 50. Now no one in the family is allowed to use an L name. People were a little dubious about our marriage because I was an L name. Because of this, I have never even really considered L names for real children, and kind of have a block about them because of superstition.
For girls: I like the name Leonora, Layla, Lila and Lena. My own name makes me hesitate on a bunch of really pretty names Lorelei, Lara because I think they would get muffled with my own. I think I would choose Lena, but Lila is very pretty and a close second.
For boys: I am very hesitantly offering Luca and Lyle. I probably choose Luca.
Glad to see the Lois shoutout. My newborn is June Lois after a 92 year old friend. It’s due for a comeback!
Lea/Leo!
Lilah (spelled ONLY like that) and Levi!
Oh, all the gorgeous “L” names, especially for girls!
Even for a boy, I think I can only narrow this down to four names that I would choose from after meeting the child. I would first eliminate the too-popular Liam and Lucas/Luke as well as Leith for being only one syllable and Lincoln for being my son’s first middle name (used as a middle because of its popularity). Then, I would probably also eliminate Lysander for being too tragic and likely Langston unless I thought Lane could work as a nickname. That would leave Ludovic, nicknamed Ludo, Laszlo, Leander/Leandro nicknamed Anders, and Leocadio/Leokadio nicknamed Leo or Cade. Laszlo might win out in the end because Leocadia/Leokadia might win for a girl and because my father’s nickname Lew starts with the same sound as Ludovic.
How to narrow down a girl’s name? Almost impossible without help. Lena is out because it rhymes with my name, but Leda/Lida might work, especially as short forms for Lydia/Lidia. But is Lydia too popular? I love so many similar-sounding “L” names, but might eliminate them all for that reason: Leah, Lila, Leia, Leila, maybe even the lovely Lyra. Lucinda might be my top pick if it weren’t the perfect smoosh name of my parents, Lewis and Linda. And they are divorced, so a smoosh name would be odd, not to mention that I wouldn’t particularly want to honor either of them with a name. It would be too bad because an aunt has always called me Lucy (nothing to do with my actual name). Some names I love that wouldn’t feel right for my child would be Lola, Lavinia, Leilani, Lumi, Larisa called Lara, Lorna, Lorelei, Laureline, and Lily. But I might choose Lilia or Liliana, Linnaea, or Liana or else consider them as middles. I think in addition to Leocadia/Leokadia, the names I would most want to use in the first spot are Loredana and Leonora, nicknamed Lea, Nora, or Leora, or possibly Leora on its own. Yup, definitely need a partner or an actual child to help me make a decision.
Lila & Leon
Laird and Lorena
Girl – Layson NN Lacey
Or
Liv ( inset love heart eyes )
Boy – Lawson
A unisex name I enjoy is Lander. For girls: Leah, Laurel, Laine, Leigh, Lena. For boys, Ladd is about all I can come up with!
Lidian and Leland
Lidian & Leland
Marenna & Merritt
Natalie & Nolan
Olwen & Oleander
Persephone & Phineas
Quinn & Quinlan
Reese & Ronan
Sela & Scott
Teagan & Tate
Ursuline & Uriah
Viridian & Vale
Waveny & Wells
Xanthia & Xavier
Yvaine & Yeats
Zara & Zander
So many good L girl names! Laney, Lark, Lavendar, Laurel, Lena, Lilliana… I love them all. I suppose if I had to choose one, it would be Laurel. I’ve loved that name since I was a child.
For a boy… I love Logan but I have a nephew Logan. I also like Liam but it seems way too popular. Maybe Larson? Lowell? I think I would go with Lowell. Do NOT ask me why. I just kind of like it.
M: Millicent (nn Millie) & Miller (my maiden name and I am still salty I didn’t use it for my last son)
N: Nina & Noah (Nina is a family name)
O: Ophelia (nn Phee) & Oliver (nn Ollie)
P: Piper & Porter (runners up: Poppy & Payton)
Q: Quinn (either boy or girl)
R: Ruby & Rafe (runners up: Riley & Remy)
S: Seraphina (nn Phee) & Sawyer (runners up: Sutton & Sebastian)
T: Tallulah (nn Lulu) & Tyler (runner up: Talia)
U: Urla & Ulric
V: Vashti & Varden (runner up: Violet)
W: Willow & Winter (runners up: Wren & Willa)
X: Xiomara, Xavier
Y: Yara, Yates
Z: Zola, Zachary
My favorite girl name (which was vetoed by my Grandmother) is Lula. Also love Louise (daughter’s middle name) and Larkin (a daycare friend).
Boys names I generally get fewer butterflies for, but I like: Lewis, Livingston, Lawson and Linus. If i lived in the right place, i might use Levi.
Top choices are Lula and Lewis.
Lots of good options for a girl. I pick Laurel. It was on the list for my second if he would have been a girl, but it likely wouldn’t have made the top spot.
My son is named Louis! (Honor name for a grandparent, both my husband and I are from St. Louis though we don’t live there now). So happy to see all the love for it (and Lewis) on this post. It isn’t common at all in our area, but I just saw another child in our daycare with that name – a new baby. I think it might be making a comeback!
I had quite a few L names on my list for my recent pregnancy. My middle name that I share with my mother is Lee, and my dad’s nickname for me is Lou so I considered variations of both as a nod to my family. My favorite choices for a girl were Lia and Louise/Louisa. Leah doesn’t turn my head, but the change in spelling makes the name seem so feminine and romantic. I also love the name Lilou, but it’s a little too sweet for my taste so I considered it more as a nickname. Leonie, as my older daughter has a name with a lion meaning, made the list too. My number one choice was Lia Louise with the nickname Lilou.
As cool as the Leo names are and as much as I’d like to name a kid after the Peanuts’ Linus, I like Louie nn Lou.
F: Lia Louise nn Lilou
M: Louie nn Lou
L is not a strong letter for me, with a double l in the middle of our last name, some sound a little sing songy, but I have a few outliers I truly like. For girls, some top choices would be Lacey, Lenora, Lorraine, Lorna, or Louisa. I love Lacey, but am not convinced it’d be spelled correctly, readily, so it give some pause for real life applications. Lenora is close to the ever popular Nora. Lorraine not quiet fresh enough (yet). I was always hesitant on Lorna with the Lorna Doone cookies, but not an insurmountable hurdle. Then the character Lorna from Orange is the New Black tainted it further. A little Louisa/Lou Lou is so precious. I choose Louisa.
For boys, I like a lot less. Some good popular choices like Liam and Lucas, but just not my style. I like Lachlan, but that’d be an outlier. The ones that feel most right are Landon, Lee, or Logan. I choose Logan.
L – (f) Louisa, (m) Logan
M – (f) Mallory, (m) Marshall
N – (f) Nadine, (m) Neil
O – (f) Odette, (m) Oliver
P – (f) Pia, (m) Parson
Q – (f) Quincy, (m) Quaid
R – (f) Ramona, (m) Roger
S – (f) Susanna, (m) Sullivan
T – (f) Thora, (m) Tatum
U – (f) Uma, (m) Umber
V – (f) Virginia, (m) Vaughn
W – (f) Whitney, (m) Wade
X – (f) Xaida, (m) Xander
Y – (f) Yardley, (m) York
Z – (f) Zoe, (m) Zachary
I’m late to the game this time but still want to play!
I already have an L-named daughter (Louisa, which I LOVE, obviously) so in real life I would never choose another L name because I avoid repeated initials. But if I had to…
I like the sound of Layla but stylistically it doesn’t fit my more traditional sibling set. I also like Leah but it doesn’t work at all with my last name. Plus Leah and Louisa are too much alike. I really like the sound and style of Lavinia but the character from Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus is just so tragic, I don’t think I could name a child with her in mind. I think I’d go with Laine and call her Lainey. It’s a little clunky with my last name, but I like it best for overalls combo of sound, style, and sibling coordination.
For boys I like Lemuel and Lyle. Both are old-fashioned but uncommon. I think I give the edge to Lyle. I met a little Lyle in real life recently and it was pretty charming on an actual toddler.
I already used my very favorite L name for a girl (Livia), but if I had to name another I would probably go with Louise (or Louisa, if I did not actually have another child with an “a” ending). It’s my middle, was my great-grandmother’s middle, and while I don’t LOVE it, it lends itself to some cute nicknames (there is an older woman at our church named Lou who is a total kick, which has really cast the name in a new light). I like many other L names – Lila, Lily, Lavinia, Lucy, Lydia – but they all seem to have become popular in our area, and I now associate them with specific children. While I think Louise is also coming back around, I haven’t encountered one in the wild, yet.
For boys, I’ve always liked Luke, but there’ a Luke in my daughter’s class who is … a bit much, so another association problem. Lewis is nice, and I like Lincoln and Liam, but I think Linus would fit in best with our naming style.
Linus and Louise.
Lucy, Lucy, Lucy. I also like Lily, Lila (Lilah too), Layla, Lena, Laurel, Linnea, Leonora. Loads of lovely L girl names. For boys, I choose Liam. I wouldn’t use it in real life — claimed by a family member, and it’s just more popular than I’d prefer — but I like it very much.
Swistle,
I have to ask. When you say you’d pick Louis are you pronouncing it like “Louie” or “Lewis”. I love Louis pronounced Louie (I’m Canadian). We are having baby 3.0 and my Opa went by Louie but spelling is all over the place for th see names.
Sounds-like-Lewis!
For girls, I like Lily, Lila, Lydia, Louisa/Luisa, Lena, Lark.
For boys, Leo, Leander, Lionel, and Lawrence (honor name for my grandpa).
I pick Lawrence and Lark.