Hi Swistle,
My name is Lucy, my husband is Seth, and we are expecting our third and last child next month. Our last name is Marlowe. Everyone has my husband’s maiden name, which is very unusual so I won’t list it here but it starts with a B. We have three year old identical twins, Astrid Kate and Ingrid Rose (we call them Griddy and Triddy sometimes, just to amuse ourselves). We LOVE their names and find them very satisfying in every way-to say, to write, to nickname, to sing, to yell…we want our third daughter to have a name that delights us just as much. We know we are going to give this baby the middle name Jane, to go with Rose and Kate. But we are stymied on the first name. We have a list, but we arent in love with any of them. Here they are:
Penelope
Charlotte
Phoebe
Elodie
Josephine
HeidiDo you have any suggestions for us? What seems to work best? other names we should consider?
Thank you!
Lucy and Seth, Astrid and Ingrid
Before I got to your list, I was thinking Heidi would be a great match. I’ve always loved the name Heidi, but I never got a chance to use it. I think Heidi Jane is precious!!
Good luck, and let us know what you use!!
What about Imogen. It allows the twins to have -grid are their thing but also somehow sounds nice with them too…? Or another Scandinavian name? Alma, Karin, Wilma? Alice is very popular in Sweden at the moment and I love how this sounds with Marlowe…!
In your position I would want to use a name with a similar Scandinavian feel to it. Some ideas I think would go nicely:
Greta
Freya
Brigid
Elin
Maren
Ooh, would you consider the name Brigitta/Bergita, like the little girl in The Sound of Music? I love it for you! And she could be Briddy to go with the other nicknames! Not sure if it would be harmonious with the B name you mentioned but Astrid, Ingrid, and Brigitta sound so good together. Brigitta Jane!
I love the suggestion of Brigid or Brigitta!
What about Enid or Sigrid or Winnifrid?
Astrid reminds me Agnes and Agatha and Edith. Ingrid makes me think of Iris and Irene and Greta and Elsa.
Phoebe makes me think of Theia. Which makes me think of Freija/Freya.
I love Elka with sisters Astrid and Ingrid.
Freya
Greta
Willa
Adelie
Isla
There are Astrids and Ingrids in my family tree. My Norwegian great-grandmother’s name was Leva. Leva Jane sounds good to my ear.
Whether sibsets “go” or “match” is totally a personal preference, but some of the names on your list gave me whiplash next to Astrid and Ingrid. I also lean toward another Scandinavian name or more tailored name, but the style differences may not bother you at all, so ultimately go with what makes you feel happy to say with the twins’ names.
I like Heidi from your list and I love the suggestion of Greta. With Astrid and Ingrid, I thought of:
Elsa/Ilsa
Svea
Agatha
Beatrice/Beatrix
Ada
Matilda
Margot
Rosalind
Ottilie
Prudence
Florence
Thea
Winifred (Freddie to go with Griddy and Triddy)
Good luck!
Heidi Heidi Heidi! The two adult Heidis I know have huge huge hearts and are just so lovely. It’s also the best match of your list with the sisters. Lean into it! Those three names will all stand apart in a beautiful way.
My first thought was Lotta for you (possibly because of a character in a book by Astrid Lindgren) – then I saw you had Charlotte on your list, so Lotta could work as a lovely short form!
Heidi works very well with Astrid and Ingrid too.
Other ideas if you want to keep a Scandinavian feel going:
Linnea Jane
Annika Jane
I was coming to suggest Linnea – I think it would be perfect.
Annika is lovely too, but I don’t know if you’d like the repeated A’s in the sib-set?
Linnea Jane Marlowe! Lovely :)
Just realized you said you don’t love any of your list. So in case the Heidi love coming through isn’t persuasive, here are a few suggestions.
Elin (I pronounce this EE-lynn)
Maren
Beatrix
What I love about Astrid and Ingrid is they feel tailored. (Penelope and Elodie feel too frilly by comparison, for example.)
Marta! I love it in general, but especially with that sibset.
Astrid and Ingrid feel fresh and tailored but traditional (we didn’t just start using them or create them in the 2000s) and the only one from your list that feels similarly fresh and tailored is Phoebe. I’ll suggest..
Margot
Matilda
Daphne
Fiona?
Elka for the win!
I like the idea of using another Scandinavian name and like several of those suggested. Jane is the perfect middle name with Kate and Rose!
But I’m still puzzling over your mention of your husband’s maiden name: “Our last name is Marlowe. Everyone has my husband’s maiden name, which is very unusual so I won’t list it here but it starts with a B”. Could you explain that? Do you mean your Husband’s mother’s maiden name? And is B…. like a second middle name — kind of a dual surname –for all of your girls?
Astrid Kate B….. Marlow and Ingrid Rose B…. Marlow ?
Love your twins’ names!
I think she meant that her husband changed his surname to Marlowe (Lucy’s birth surname) and everyone in the family has B-name (Seth’s birth surname) as second middle name [and Marlowe as surname].
Second thoughts: It might be special to choose a name that for this little girl that links to her older twin sisters’ names — like the coordinating middle name Jane — and yet doesn’t sound like she’s the “third twin”.
From your list, Phoebe Jane seems perfect!
Astrid Kate & Ingrid Rose and Phoebe Jane
Astrid Ingrid and Elsa sound lovely to me! Elsa Jane ❤️
I think it would be fine to depart from Scandinavian names for the first non-twin!
A few ideas for consideration:
* Tabitha (Tabby Jane!)
* Hilda
* Thora
* Daphne
* Willa
* Thisbe
* Dolores
I’m a sucker for Scandi names as part of my heritage and seriously considered both of your twins’ names for my own kids. I agree that going Scandi is not necessary again though! Can’t resist sharing another starts with a vowel choice: Oona, another string D choice like Heidi: Hilda/Hilde, and another adorable nickname idea: Sunniva (Sunnie + Griddie + Triddie), and
Whoa “string” should be “strong” and leave off the last and
Sigrun (Siggy)
Birgit (Birgie)
Thora
Dagny
Frida
Esther
Astrid Kate, Ingrid Rose and Sigrun Jane. Griddy, Triddy & Siggy. <3
My comment is mostly repetitive of previous posters.
Brigid, Sigrid, and Winifred most closely match Astrid and Ingrid in style and ending sound.
Of those three, I like Winifred the best: Winifred Jane; Astrid, Ingrid, and Winifred; Griddy, Triddy, and Winnie or even Freddie/Freddy.
I also like Elke, Hilde and Marta.
I’ve never had twins, but I think it would be helpful if your youngest daughter has a name that is somewhat similar to her older sisters’ names. I imagine that it might be hard to be the little sister to identical girl twins. considering the close bonds that most twins have. A similar style/sound name could be a good way to make the youngest sister feel she’s not an outlier.
Edie, in a previous comment, mentioned Annika and my immediate reaction was “perfect!” Astrid, Ingrid and Annika. Annika Jane Marlowe is lovely.
Saskia?
Helena. Helena Jane M. Astrid, Ingrid, Helena.
Lenora. Lenora Jane M. Astrid, Ingrid, Lenora. Or Leonore
Estelle. Estelle Jane M. Astrid, Ingrid, Estelle.
You kind of have a Swedish Princess thing going. I like it.
Saskia
Annika
Josefina
Linnea
Livia
Sunniva
Agree with the Brigitta suggestion. There’s also Birdie as a nickname for that one.
I feel like Saskia would be equally perfect. Astrid, Ingrid & Saskia.
I find Heidi to be too… cutesy for a grown up, but I do love Élodie, Josephine and like Penelope, Charlotte. They all feel like quite a different style to your others though.
Coming back to add Frida to the list.
I feel like it has similar sounds to Astrid & Ingrid without being matchy matchy.
Astrid, Ingrid & Frida.
Astrid and Ingrid sound similar, so it’s tough to think of a third name that “goes” with them. The only other name I can think of that ends in “id” is Brigid.
Here are some other ideas:
Luisa (lew-ees-ah)
Lucia (lew-see-ah)
Britta
Margo
Marilyn
Freya
Marit (mahr-it)
Solveig (soul-vay)
Genevieve
Linnea
Eleanor
Annika (Ah-nik-ah)
Greta
Anna (Ah-na) or (ann-a)
I like the idea of continuing a six -letter name that starts with a vowel. Because of that, I like Elodie from your list best. I also like:
– Odette (nn Dotty is my fav)
– Ursula
– Yvette (nn Evie)
– Esther (Essie)
I’m hoping you’ll reconsider “Elodie”, because it made my heart sing when I saw it in your list.
From your list I like Heidi best with the sunset.
I also like others suggestions of Greta. I’ll add the following:
Beatrice Jane
Cordelia Jane
Cora Jane
Love Cora Jane!!!
What about Sabina or Sabine? Sabina Jane sounds great!
Astrid, Ingrid, and Sabina
Astrid, Ingrid, and Sabine
Or Anna :-)
Astrid, Ingrid, and Anna
I love the idea of sticking with Scandinavian names – Agnes would be SO cute. Astrid, Ingrid, Agnes. All 3 names are similar but I *think* not tripping up levels of similar? Although of course that’s totally subjective.
Other Scandi names I love:
Britta
Linnea (Linnea Jane!) adorable
Vera
I feel like I’d stick with a Scandi/Germanic style name. My knowledge of them is quite dated so maybe these aren’t helpful but is thought Elke or Hilde. Greta or Lotte are lovely too.
I know two little Heidi and Heidi Jane is lovely.
Do you mean that Marlowe is your name and your husband’s bachelor name started with B or is B his mother’s name and M his father’s? If so I’d look for a name from your side to level it all out.
Coming back to suggest Adelaide – it isn’t strictly correct but you could easily nn her Heidi as it isn’t too far from Adelheid. :)
How about Gretchen?
The repeating “d” sound is very pleasing in Heidi, and the “b” in Phoebe is almost as wonderful.
I find Saskia, mentioned before, a fun option too.
You could use Heidi as a nickname for Adelheid, if you don’t mind repeating an initial. Then they’d all have a nickname.
I also like Penelope Jane (Penny or Nell), Charlotte Jane (Charlie, Lottie, or CJ), Phoebe Jane (Birdie), or Josephine Jane (Josie, Posie, or JJ).
I read through all of the comments, and I really do like Elke, as many have suggested. As others, I think a third vowel-started name would help to tie the names together.
Astrid, Ingrid and Sigrid?
Astrid and Ingrid feel very “royal Scandinavian” but used internationally, so names I think fit that style are, Dagmar, Thyra, Hedwig, Ulrika, Elsa…
Other suggestions
Freya
Liv
Thora
Hedda
Saga
Edith!
Just wanted to add a vote for Phoebe– you mentioned enjoying singing their names, and Phoebe has the same sing-song rhythm for me as the sisters.
I also thought of Isla, because it matches the vowel theme. Or maybe Esme, so she gets her own initial. Ooh, Esme!
Also a vote for the suggestion of Freya, which has always been one of my favorites, and has 2 syllables just like your girls.
I like how your two children have names that match slightly.
Arden and Anneliese/Annalise come to kind as names that have a similar matching style and could have fun nicknames.
Good luck!
Freya. Your daughter should be Freya Jane.
You’re Welcome!
LOL just kidding, kinda. I love all of the names on your list, especially Penelope and Josephine and Heidi. Also to consider:
Miriam Jane Marlowe
Elanor Jane Marlowe
Vivian Jane Marlowe
You have so many great choices! You can’t go wrong!
Britta (also love an earlier suggestion of Brigitta!)
Hilla (the person I know with this name uses it as a nickname for Hildegard, but I think it works on its own. Hilda is cute too!)
Liva/Liv
Annelise
Maren
Greta
Lina/Lena
Willa
Lilla
Elsa/Elise/Elisa
Clara/Klara
I see where some earlier commenters are coming from when they say to break from the Scandi vibe for the non-twin, but your older daughters’ names have such a powerful Viking Warrior Princess feel that I think to go for something obviously French (like Elodie) or Greek (like Penelope) will clash. So I recommend at least sticking within the Germanic language family. Good luck — you have many great names to choose from!
Everyone has already suggested most of the names I thought of, plus some great ones that didn’t occur to me. So I will throw in an oddball: Alwilda, a legendary Scandinavian princess-turned-pirate. Variants include Awilda, Alfhild, Alvilde, etc.
I love all these, also wanted to suggest Tova.