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 J. I already have two J names on my girl list: Jane and Josephine. I also like Jillian/Jill, Jean, Joan, Jocelyn, Joy. I would choose Josephine.
I already have J names on my boy list, too: John, Joel, James, Jonathan. I would choose Joel.
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!
Jonah
Jael
Julian
Johanna
I have many J names that I love! For girls Julissa, Juliette both with Jules as a nn! As middle names I would use June and Jolie, this is an alternate spelling of my nn. And Joliet, also as a middle name, since it’s pronounced as my name with a complete different spelling.
For boys I like James, Jonathan and Joel.
Choosing just one of each it would be Juliette and James.
Julia, Juliana, Jane, or Josephine. Probably would go with Jane for Austen, but I love the sound of Julia.
My son is named Jordan (nicknamed Jordi, which is also a common name in Catalan, though there it means George). So I’ve used my favorite J name for boys. I also like
Girls: Jane (Janie!!) or Jocelyn (Joss!)
Boys: Jacob or James (nn Jamie but my name is Amy and I would never actually do that IRL)
My in-laws have a J pattern going except for my hubby’s name. My firstborn has a J-sound (G spelling) so I’ve always considered that a subtle nod. But because she already has that sound, we didn’t want to use Jane for our second. Although I love it so much, to me it’s anything but plain! For this game, I’ll choose Juno though, which I find so spunky and I like that it doesn’t repeat the -a or -y endings in my real sibset, plus it rocks with my imaginary alphabet-sibset.
For boys, it’s harder. I love Joseph nn Joss (Joe or Joey too close to MIL) but -s endings run into the surname so I just can’t. Class awesome James also doesn’t work. Plus I’m pretty firmly name them what you’ll call them. If I wasn’t I’d totally choose Jeremiah (Remy! Jem!) or Julian (Jude.) I am choosing Joel. It’s kinda Dad name, but I do love it.
G: Juno
B: Joel
I pick John and Joanna…both of which I adore but won’t ever use for various reasons. So lovely.
Girl would be Jacinda after Jacinda Ardern.
Boy would be Jack.
Juniper and Julian
Going with two easy, simple names – Justin and Julia :)
Joseph and Josephine . . . but obviously not as siblings!
Juliet. My youngest was almost Juliet.
Julian. Not if I also had a Juliet, obvs.
J names are among my favorites. My son is Jacob – almost exclusively called Jake. They are lots of family members with J names as well – Joseph, Jack, Jay, and Jenna (different families and generations).
Jared used to be a favorite of mine until Kushner came along.
Many of the J names seem a bit dated – kind of Dad/Mom names – Jason, Justin, Jennifer, Jessica. Other feel more 90’s Jackson, Jenna.
Anyway I really like Jonas, Jethro and Jasper for boys and would probably go with Jonas.
For girls, I like Juliet and Juniper and would probably go with Juliet.
Jonas
Juliet
Jonah for a boy if I was starting with a clean slate, Jonathan or Jeremiah if adding to my current family (as Jonah is too close to Noah).
I chose June already and, alas, the kid’s not using that name now. So, if starting an imaginary family now, June again, if adding a new child to the two I have… I don’t know. I am so stuck on June it’s hard to imagine another J name. Julia, maybe, but I’m unenthused. Josephine perhaps?
Strike Jonathan and Jeremiah. I forgot all about Joshua. That was actually on my short list with my youngest and I still like it a lot.
Boy: Joshua
Girl: Juliana
Josephine nickname Josie for a girl.
In make-believe world, Javier nickname Javi for a boy. Swoon. (Can’t use IRL because we’re not Hispanic.)
In real life, Justin for a boy, after my brother who passed away. I’d use it even if it wasn’t my style, but it’s a bonus that it’s also a great name.
Boy: Jude or Jonathan
Girl: June or Judith
There is something about that “J-u” combo that makes my heart pitter patter. However, my husband and I are both J-names, from families chock full of J-names (bc the 80s, amirite) and so I was pretty firm on not even considering a J name.
One of my favourite names of all time but out of the running for me because a family member used it is, Jasper. I love it for either sex! But I’ll make it my boy pick. I also love June, and like Joan and Joni, and like when girl’s names are shortened to Jo (like from Jolene) but am very afraid of the JoJo possibility. My husband LOVES James, Jack, and Jim, but I don’t think they will ever be the top of my list.
Boy: Jasper
Girl: Joan
In real life, I don’t know that I’d choose a J name, despite liking a lot of them, because my three nephews are James, Jack, and Joseph! My brother and his wife insist that they weren’t deliberately going for J’s, just choosing their favorite name each time, but I’m skeptical. :)
Putting that issue aside, I’d probably go with John for a boy, since there are many Johns in my family tree. I like both Johnny and Jack as nicknames (though probably wouldn’t go with Jack because of the aforementioned nephew).
For a girl, I’d pick Juliet. I’d hesitate a little, because I’m sure she’d get sick of the “Romeo and Juliet” jokes, but I don’t think I’d ultimately be able to resist. It’s just such a lovely name! I also would love to use my mom’s name, Joy, but I prefer it as a middle name.
These are literally my sons’ names. Except my Jack is actually John. It is a very common combo historically. We actually did not plan J theme and went back and forth for a long time whether to do it with number 3 boy, in the end our favourite name and the honour name connection won out. We put up with quite a few eye rolls about it but I love their names and they can go anywhere in life with them.
The names have merged a bit though as they’ve gotten older and gone to high school. James started using Jimmy and Joseph Joe, Jack became Johnny. Jimmy, Joey and Johnny is to close for comfort. I call them James, Joseph and Jack at home. If anything it is a fun thing between them.
You know, I wasn’t thinking in terms of honor names, but Joseph (my youngest nephew) is a family name, so perhaps that was the deciding factor for my brother and sister-in-law as well! I do really love all three names.
I have 3 kids with J middle names. Even with the kids being 20, 15 and 12, they’re still my favorite j names. Josiah and Jasper for boys, Jacoba (ja-Co-ba) for the girl. I also love Jane.
But I would pick Jacoba and Jasper for first names if I was starting over.
J is far and away one of my favorite boy name letters. Julian! Jonas/Jonah! I love Jesse, John, James, Jerome, Joshua…the old testament did a good job with the letter J in my opinion. And our one remaining boy name (we had 3 we agreed on, and have had two boys) is Jasper, so that is my realistic “what would I name a baby” pick. But if I didn’t have a pesky husband, I would probably choose Jesse. I’m not sure what direction I wish to go in for this round of this game. I’ll go for realism, I suppose, with Jasper! I love that it’s a gem name for boys (rare), and I like with our other children’s names and with our surname.
Girls are trickier, because my far and away favorite girl J name is Jane, a name would consider in real life were it not for my niece June. For this round I will go the opposite way for girls and choose the name I would NOT choose in real life, because that’s what’s bringing me joy at this exact second (I also quite like Josephine).
J: Jasper and Jane
K: Kieran and Kathryn
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)
Ha, I wrote the same thing about Old Testament J names before seeing your comment! But I had totally different names. :-)
My son is Jesse. I have to say that these threads are so affirming when someone, in this imaginary game, choses one of my real-life names. :)
For girls, I’d go with Josephine, nn Josie. I also like Juniper.
Boys are a but harder. I like Jonas, Jack, Jacob, but I think I’ll go with Jasper.
I love J names that are soft French Js. So Jacinthe or Jeanette. I’ll actually choose Jeanette.
I love Joaquin for a boy, or a double like Jean-Réné.
June for a girl and Jude for a boy, though I definitely wouldn’t use them together…
J: June and Jude
K: Kestrel and Kellan
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
Oooh. I like Judah, Jesse, and Julian, and Jane and Josephine and Julia and June. Our last name is a bit like Jones so that rules out June and Jane and Jesse, for me. So…Joanna I suppose, an honor name.
J: Julian and Joanna
K: Kestrel
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
Oh, I forgot about Judith. Judith wins.
Love Josiah, Japheth, or Jedidiah (Jeb) for a boy. Somehow there are just a lot of good old-testament J names. Josiah seems the most familiar and easy to deal with in modern times, but for this exercise, Baby Jeb it is.
Josephine is also my favorite J name for a girl!
For boys I choose a name that was on our shortlist for baby#1 – John Elliot (double-named), with a nickname of Jett (our last name starts with T).
For a girl, there are so many I like! Juliet! Josie! June! Jane! But I’m going to go with one of my favorite naming theme – using mother’s maiden name + a feminine/frilly middle as a double-name. In this case – Jones Elise.
I find it funny that both my J choices ended up being double names, when most of my other names are shorter, usually 1 syllable.
J: (f) Jones Elise – (m) John Elliott (Jett)
K: (f)Kathryn – (m)Kirk
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
Jude
I like Jacquetta a lot but can’t really imagine using it.
J is one of my favorite letters for boys and girls! I’m torn between Jamie and Jane for a girl–I’d probably go with Jane, and use the nickname Janie as a nice compromise.
For a boy, probably Josiah.
I love the letter J!
I think I would go with Josephine and John (nicknamed Jack). With maybe Julia and Jude as a backup. And Jessica and Joel as a very close second backup.
I have more J names I like than any other letter and quite a few great family names to choose from. I have a great grandmother named Juliette, an aunt named Judith and a great aunt named Joan. I’ve considered both in many name combinations, and Joan is a big crush name for me now. I’ve also had Johana on lists, and anything that would get me the nickname Joey for a girl.
For boys, I’ve always had a weak spot for Jesse, but it’s a little too cool to go with my kiddos names in reality (I’ve got an old Jewish man vive for boys). I also like Jethro nn Jet.
G: Julietta
B: Jesse
TLDR: James, Joanna
I, like most of you, love the boys name options for J. For whatever reason, and despite irritating real world boys, I have always loved the name James. It never occurred to me to actually use it, we basically only used honor names for our two boys (something that makes me feel very happy), but if we were actually using our favorites it would have been a heavy favorite on my side. There are some other very awesome J names– Josiah is a real contender based on my actual naming strategy and family, as is Jacob.
For girls, I feel much less invested. My mom’s name is Jill, and so I would never use Jill because my mom is, thankfully, very much alive. I like Julia some. Juniper appeals to me in a spunky sort of way, but also feels very much like not my own kid kind of name. I have always really liked the name Joanna, although that also feels a little out of character. Still I think that is what I go with.
Boy: Jensen
Girl: Jillian
My son is named Jacob and we mostly call him Jake, but his other nicknames include Jakey, Cubby, and JD. Sometimes I feel like we weren’t very original choosing Jacob, but it’s a good solid name my husband and I agreed easily on! If I had to name another son with a J name, I’d choose Judah nickname Jude.
For a girl, the name Johannah has been on my list for years. Mainly because I LOVE the nickname Hannie!
Why are there so many good J names?
Girl: Jessa or Juniper
Boy: Jesse or Jasper
Jocelyn for a girl. It was on the list for my first but I got tangled up about the pronunciation (2 vs 3 syllables)
Julian for a boy, which was also on the list for my first. It was unusable for my second because my first is Vivian.
I have a new baby June and it has been a big hit!
“J” is another letter with several pronunciations in different languages, and I feel a little like I’m cheating if I choose anything that doesn’t sound like the English letter.
There are some names I love that would seem like other people’s children including Jethro, Jedidiah (Jed), Japheth, Jonah, Jonas, Judd, Jameson, Jacob (Jake), Jacoby, Jasper, and Jonathan (Jonty or Jack) for a boy and Judith, Juniper, Jovie, and Joely for a girl.
I also love Josie and Jodie, but not being into either nicknamey names or the full form Josephine for my own child, that would leave me considering and probably vetoing Jodelle and Josette. I’ve loved Jill/Jillian since I was a child, but it’s the name of my cousin, and since our families aren’t close, it would seem weird to choose it when it wasn’t an honor name.
There are a number of “j” names I like that wouldn’t work in a sibset if I had to name both a boy and a girl. Jordan with Jordana; Juliet, Julia, and Juliana with Julian and Julius; Johanna and probably Joan, Jane, Jayna, June, Juno, and Junia with Jonathan; Jessamine with Jesse; Joscelyn (Joss) with the medieval male name Joceran. So if I am pretending to get both, then my final choice for a girl would have to depend on what I chose for a boy and vice versa.
I think I might choose Joceran (Joss) for a boy over Joscelyn (Joss) for a girl. That leaves my final girl pick as Junia. But I also might go for Jericho (Jerry) as the boy name. It was on my list for my son, but I was the only one feeling it and let it go. I love Jerry but am not ready for Gerald (which isn’t even a “j” name), and Jeremy and even Jeremiah would bore me a little after all the men I know named Jeremy. So this is another one that would cause me to wait to meet the child to choose between Joceran (Joss) and Jericho (Jerry).
My daughter is Josephine (Josie).
Jane
Jonah
Girl: June
I also like Judith, Jillian, Jocelyn Juliet and Julia.
Boy: Jude
I also like James, Joel and Joseph
Boy: Jacoby
Honorable mentions: Jasper, Joseph, James
Write-in votes: Joscelin, Jorah
Life-time achievement award: Jared
Girl: July
Honorable mentions: Josephine (Josie), Jolie
The only two J names on my current list are June and Julian – so I choose those!
Jessamine and Jonathan.
My whole family was J names. I’m actually pretty fortunate that I was not named Julie (for my mom) even though I was one of three Jodi(e)s in my small (75 person) high school class. I would have been one of three Julies too. I was early for the Jennifer explosion but am glad I avoided that too.
That said I never got to use any boys names and I loved the name Joshua growing up and always wanted to use it. However when I was pregnant I had a student worker named Joshua and he was let’s me nice and say— struggling mightily with some big personal issues. He ended up being banned from the campus. My husband vetoed Joshua. My second choice was James. My husband hated the nicknames.
I love Josephine and Johanne (pronounced Yo-Hanna) equally but would probably pick Johanne which is a family name. For a male name, I love both John and James, nicknamed Johnny and Jamie. I also love Joseph nicknamed Josey, which is what I think I’d pick. Johanne and Josey!
There are so many good J names! Even though my generation was saturated with J names (Jennifer, Jessica, Jason, Justin, James, Jacob, etc) I still feel like there are a lot of more unusual options out there, like Jericho and Jory.
I’ve also always loved the Ju- names: Julia, Julian, Juliet, Jude, Juno.
I also like that Jay/Jae works as a nickname for just about any J name, and it was my grandpa’s middle name.
Other J names I like:
Jasper (but my mom just named a cat Jasper, so that’s out)
Jonah or Jonas
Janae
Jacoby
Javier/Javi (but this would be cultural appropriation for me)
Jamila (see above)
Jasmine
Journey
Justice
I’m going with Julia and Julian! Obviously not together.
J: Julia, Julian
K: Katrina, Kade
M: Mirah, Matteo
N: Nadia, Nathaniel
O: Ocean
P: Patrick, Pearl
Q: Quill, Quiara
R: Ramona, Raphael, River
S: Simone, Sylvan, Sage
T: Talia, Theodore
U: Uma, Uriah
V: Vanessa, Vaughn
W: Wednesday, Wade
X: Xiomara, Xavier
Y: Yvonne, Yonatan, Yael
Z: Zora, Zayn
I have always loved James – it’s my brother’s name, and I think it’s classy, friendly, and warm. I’m also a big fan of Jack. I’ll add in Jasper and Jude into the mix.
I have an inexplicable attraction to Johanna. I like it with the “h.” I like it in full and the go-to nickname of “Jo.” I have always had warm-heart feelings towards Josephine, Jane, Juno, and Jovie.
There was an Olympian (maybe the Calgary Winter Games?) whose name was Joanie but pronounced “Jo-annie.” I really dug that.
So, for me:
Johanna
James
Jillian or Jane, Jonah or Jack.
Definitely John after my father and brother.
And Judith because it came into my head the second I tried to think of a girl’s J name. It’s so regal and lovely.
Judith and John
Favorites: Josie and Jonah (not as siblings though!)
Runner ups: June and Jordan (boy)
This almost feels like cheating— two names I love, for two people I respect, admire, and adore[d].
Jesse (after my grandfather)
Janet (after my mother)
I also like Jude and June, but that is really neither here nor there.
Girl: Juno or Julia.
Boy: Jude or Jack.
Jamie (boy or girl)!
J is an easy one for me because two of my runner-up names are J names: Julian for a boy and Joanna for a girl. My husband and I ultimately decided against both of them for our actual children each time I was pregnant, not for any real reason, only because they never felt “quite right” for the babies we ended up having. If we were to have a fourth I’d put both names in the running again, though.
Joshua or Julian for a boy. I’d probably go with Joshua, because Juliet/Juliette is my favorite for a girl, although it’s tough to decide on which spelling I would pick. I guess if I couldn’t decide, my second pick would be Jasmine.
James and Jacqueline.
Clear hands down Joseph and Josephine. I used one and my only regret is that it ruled out the other!
I love John, June, James, Julie, Jemima, Jed, Jonah, Josiah, Judah
Not usable for me Jericho, Jocasta, Jove, January, Jarvis,
For girls I love Josephine, Jane (Janie), and Julia. Two of them together especially tickles be, because then you get the nickname J.J. I do love Josephine but not so much the nickname Josie, but I do really like Joey. Of the three I’d probably pick either Jan/Janie and Josephine/Joey. For boys, I kind of like Jasper, Jonathan, nickname Jack, and Jacob, nickname Jake. Of the three I like Jack the best, but am not sure what it would be short for: Jonathan or Jackson, but I really like just Jack by itself. So final pick: Jack and Jane/Janie
All four of my boys have J middle names. It didn’t start out as the plan. The first is (Alexander) Jordan, just because I loved it. Then next, (Tyler) John, because my grandfather passed away while I was pregnant and his name was John. After that, it seemed we had a trend going. So we had (Dylan) Jacob and (Zachary) James. I would choose any of the first 3 as J names for boys if I were starting over. I also like Jason, Jasper, and Jensen. I guess I’m saying I really like J names for boys!
If we had had a girl her middle name would have been Jane (after the naming convention started). For girl names, I like Jenna, Jane, and Jillian. But honestly, none of them really sing.
If I HAD to choose, and it seems I do, I would pick Jacob and Jane. I would NOT be doing the J middle names thing.
J: Jane & Jacob
K: Keira & Keegan
L: Laurel & Lowell
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
The Duggars have already played this round! After putting the ixnay on ALLLL those names, I’ll go with Jocasta and Julian.
I think I’d go with my daughter’s middle name, Josephine, for a girl (obviously in hypothetical-land here!) and Julian, nn Jules, for a boy.
John for my late grandpa, and Josephine for Josephine Tey, Jo March, and also my grandpa’s middle name was Joseph.
I already have a Josephine, my very favorite girl J name. But I also like Joanna, which I would use in the absence of a Josephine (since Jo can be a nickname for both, I wouldn’t use both in the same family). If I were adding a J name to my existing family, I would go with Jane or Julia.
For boys, I used to love the name Jacob, but I’ve encountered a few too many to avoid unwanted associations. I’ve always loved James, but don’t like Jimmy or Jim as nicknames (and I am not a person who will give a child a name if I don’t like the nicknames that could result because I am very nickname-prone). So I will pick Julian.
So, in a perfect vacuum, Joanna and Julian.
1sts: Joanna and Jonathan.
Both family names, and Jonathan (my father’s name) was on the shortlist for my son. Joanna is a very kind great-aunt of mine. Bless her, she’s still alive, and in her mid 80s.
Also rans
Girls: Juliana
Boys: Jesse, Joram (a character in a book I like very much), James nn Jaime,
Jessamine & Jeremiah
Funny there are so many J names I like, and yet I don’t really have any on “the list”. For girls, I love Julie and Julia, either with a nickname Jules. Joanna called Jo or Joey is darling. Really like Jenna and Jemma, though I prefer Jemma with a G. My middle name is Joy and I think that’s such a happy (no pun intended!) name. For boys, Jack was my favorite name, but my sister named her son Jackson so that’d be off the table, but still love Jack. I also really like Jonathan, James, and Joel. Jameson is also nice. I’ve never met a mean Jeremy! Jude and Julian are both great. I even like Julian for either gender. Final choices Joy and Julian.
J – (f) Joy, (m) Julian
K – (f) Kendra, (m) Keith
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
Johanna, nn Josie; John
Joseph and Joan (or Jane).
Jasmine or Jessamine/Jess (my daughter’s middle is another form of this name) and Jonas.
Juniper & Jude