Hi Swistle!
Baby Girl arrived unexpectedly yesterday, three weeks before her due date. She is a little fighter, and we are so excited to give her the perfect name. However, we haven’t been able to find one and could really use your help. We have chosen a middle name, Roxie, because our little one is so tough and strong. We are leaving the hospital soon and the clock is ticking to find the perfect name. I’m scared we’ll pick something one of us doesn’t like and end up with something we regret.
Please Help!
Alexis and Jenny Power-with-a-B
Hi Swistle!
My wife and I are expecting our third child in June, and could really use your help finding the perfect name. We are not finding out the sex, so we need two names, one boy and one girl, ready to go. For background, I’m Alexis, my wife is Jenny, and the baby’s surname will be Power-with-a-B, which they will share with their two older siblings. Their names are Mischa Rose and Angus Roy, who my wife carried. We picked the names for their uniqueness and how versatile they are. They mostly go just by their first names, but if we ‘need’ a nickname, we use Mimi and Gus.
Now, I’m a name nerd, obsessed with them since junior high. My wife on the other hand is pretty relaxed about the whole thing and seems pretty uninterested, though I’m fairly certain when the baby comes she will have much more of an opinion, making my current self appointed job to find a name even harder. Luckily, she tossed out a few names early on which I will include in the lists below.
Girls:
India – I like it, Jenny is lukewarm
Ottilie – I’m not a fan of the nickname Mischa came up with – Otter
Delia – I love EVERYTHING about this name, but she is meh
Cleo – One of the few Jenny really likes, but I am unenthused
Tallulah – I like it, but it also feels kind of long. She is lukewarm
Elowen – feels kind of modern for my taste, she likes
Raleigh – has a family connection, but as a name it sounds made up to me
Sally – I used to think it was dull and dated, but I feel like it’s ready for a revival
Leilani – Jenny has family connections to Hawaii so she likes it, but I am not a fanBoys:
Truett – sounds too Southern farm-ish to me, but she likes
Macklin – I love, but she is lukewarm
Corrin – unsure of the spelling, but Jenny really likes it. I am meh.
Atlas – She likes, I am on the fence, it’s way too popular for me
Kobe/Coby – Jenny is a basketball fan, and I am meh, but prefer Coby
Pierre – I’m not sure when this came up, but I love it! It’s so unique
Alistair – I think this is very handsome but Jenny is unenthused
Calder – She loves this one, but I am unsure
Lachlan – I love how this sounds with Angus but she is on the fence
Phineas – I really like this one, but she is less sureWe are having the hardest time agreeing on anything, as we each only seem to feel lukewarm about a name the other is very passionate about. For middle names, we want something similar to my maiden name Roy. (We took my wife’s surname for a variety of reasons, so we both agreed middle names will honor my family). Angus has just Roy, and Mischa has Rose. For a boy we have tossed around Rory, Rowan, Rob and Ron. For a girl, we are a bit more lost but like Roanne and maybe every Rory? I kind of want something just as feminine as Rose, but my wife likes names that are a bit more unisex.
Mischa has decided she will have a little sister and her name will be Ottilie (Ottie/Otter). But she also said if it HAS to be a boy, she wants him to be Locky (Lachlan). I’m not sure what Angus thinks, he seems to be disinterested in naming, while it’s all Mischa talks about. I really want to like Ottilie as much as my daughter does, but neither my wife nor I think Ottilie is either of our top names. Should we take Mischa’s opinion into consideration?
Jenny has really been attached to Cleo for a girl, but I am feeling unenthused, while I love Delia, which she doesn’t like quite as much. My top choices after that are India, Sally, and Ottilie. Hers are opposing: Elowen, Raleigh and Leilani. Obviously, we are quite opposite sides here. I am meh on Cleo and maybe Elowen. I also like Raleigh, but again it feels sort of made up to me as a name. Of mine, she is ok with India and maybe Delia, but feels Sally is dated and Tallulah is a bit too long for us.
For boys, we also seem to disagree on favorites too. I LOVE Lachlan, as well as Phineas, Pierre, Macklin, and Alistair. Her favorite is Corrin, but she also likes Truett, Calder, Kobe/Coby and Atlas. Of those, Atlas is too popular for my taste, and Kobe/Coby is too basketball related. I am meh on both Truett and Calder ( I think the -er ending sounds weird with our surname, which she agrees with), but like Corrin slightly more. Of mine, she likes Macklin, but worries people may call him Linnie (I worry about this too, should we take it into account?), and kind of (her words) Lachlan and Phineas (Finn!). She thinks Pierre and Alistair sound too pretentious. Thoughts?
Clearly, we are at a bit of stalemate, unable to find a name we both LOVE. Any more suggestions for how to narrow down our list, and find a name we both feel as passionately as we do about Angus and Mischa’s names. Honestly, I have no idea how we agreed on them, and I’m hoping whatever miracle occurred last time will happen now, too. Because I feel like this won’t happen, we turn to you Swistle, and your incredible readers for some help. Oh and I promise to send a name update as soon as he or she is born. :)
Thanks so much!
Alexis, Jenny, Angus and Mischa Power-with-a-B
Name update:
Hi Swistle!
Name update here! After days of deliberation and lots of discussion we decided on the name Delia Roxanne Power-with-a-B for our daughter. She completes our family in ways we didn’t think possible, and her name is the perfect blend of unique and retro. Though my wife was not completely on board in the beginning, she quickly came around to the name. We love both the sound and the style of it, and Mischa and Angus both love their little sister. We think Mimi, Gus and Deli (dee-lee) go splendidly together, and we couldn’t be happier.
Thanks so much to your incredible readers Swistle!
Alexis, Jenny, MIscha, Angus and Delia Power-with-a-BP.S. Jenny and I purchased a doll named Ottilie, nickname Otter, for Mischa and Delia. Mischa loves it, and Deli seems to really like snuggling with it. Thank you so much to the commenter who suggested this!
Congratulations!
I wonder whether Lelia might prove a happy compromise between your Delia and your wife’s Leilani? Lelia Roxie, with possible nicknames Lee and Lia.
Other thoughts vaguely inspired by names on your existing lists:
Esme
Matilda
Quilla
Juno
Nessa
Ottilie nn Otter is precious, especially coming from an older sister. Buut the parent’s preference does come first. Maybe the two or even three of you (include your daughter) can each make a list of NEW names- somewhere between 5 or 10, and see if that takes you anywhere, and if there are similar names or matches.
I want to advocate for letting Otter be a nickname regardless of what name you choose. It is a very sweet story, and nicknames do not always have to be tied to the given name IRL. Maybe because of the heavy Os Cleo Roxie nn Otter feels natural to me.
SALLY. I love Sally. It is so unexpected but nice to the ear.
I also had a preemie and love the fighter names. Marlo has a Cleo feel and feels strong. Zelda? Also a personal fav.
Could you find common ground around a name that Sally can be a nickname for? Sarika might be my choice, to go with the Slavicness of Mischa. But you could also go with Sarina or something more modern.
Similarly, does Tillie as a nickname make you like Ottillie more? Does thinking of Cleo as a classic nickname similar to Sally make you like it more?
Salome and Isala as possible names for nickname Sally.
I visited NZ for a while and a lot of your names remind me of the naming style there so I’d like to suggest a name I heard there as an option. Elodie. A lot of similar sounds to Raleigh/Delia, uncommon and fun to say.
I also love, love, love Sally and think it’s due for a comeback, but I think you might need to start afresh if you can’t get your spouse onboard.
I know an Ottilie, I find it charming and she goes by Tillie as a nickname which feels more your style. However as a second child… I think the naming story is less special when the older children have names picked specially for them by both parents and the youngest child’s naming gets outsourced to a sibling, particularly if the parents don’t love the name, so I think that option needs to be removed. Maybe buy her a special stuffy she can name Ottilie. My littlest sister was born when I was 12 and was given the name I campaigned hard against, and I promise it hasn’t hurt our bond, she’s one of my best friends.
Good luck picking, and report back when you do!
You phrased that so well. My siblings were named by my parents and my name was ‘outsourced’ to my sister. My siblings’ names are steeped in meaning and I got the name a second-grader liked the best. The calculus there might change if it was a name you and your wife adored, but you don’t.
Anyway… congratulations on your new little one! Sally is one of my favorites but not if you don’t both love it. Saskia could perhaps go by Sally? I love the Juno suggestion. Cleo reminds me of Claudia, another strong choice. Ottilie brings me to Tillie which brings me to Matilda. It means “battle-mighty” and the Roald Dahl character is awesome… that’s if you don’t mind a little alliteration in the set. Malia is a pretty Hawaiian name if you want to go that route. Does Dahlia over Delia do anything for you? Delia reminds me of Bedelia which comes from Bridget – that’s a hardy-yet-attractive choice, as is Brigid or Brigitta. Zola? Zara? Zelie? A zippy Z name seems right in your set.
I love Matilda Roxie “Power”!
If Cleo is a no-go, what about Chloe? Same sounds, different order. Cleo and Delia also make me think of Claudia, which sounds great to me with the full name — Claudia Roxie “Power” — and with siblings Mischa and Angus.
Looking at the names on your girl and boy lists — Delia, Cleo, Leilani, Corrin, Coby, Calder — maybe Cordelia is a nice melding of some of the sounds and visuals of those names.
Nicknames could be Cora, Coral, Corrie/Corey, Cordie (not my favorite, but who knows?), Delia, Della, Dee.
Or maybe Cordella instead of Cordelia?
Fiona is another name that I think goes well with big sibs Mischa and Angus.
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter!
I like Ottilie and Sally, and also wanted to suggest Saskia (love it, and I feel like it goes really well with the siblings names). Congratulations!!
Roxie is gorgeous and it fits so nicely in your pattern. Just so spunky and fun!
I love Ottilie but it feels a little frilly next to Mischa and Angus. How about Celia, for Delia and Cleo? I just love Celia and wish it got more use. Or wait, wait – Chloe?? Or is there a Lia/Leah/Lilah/Lillia compromise between Delia and Leilani? Or Delilah?
For Elowen, consider Arden or Arwen, although then you do repeat an initial. Or Eden, even, especially as its unisex.
Which leads me to: as Mischa is a unisex name, I’ve been thinking about other unisex names that might work for you:
Billie
Parker
Nico (know a little girl called Nico and I LOVE IT)
River – too many Rs with Roxie?
Frankie
Taylor
Eden – let’s put it again here, haha!
OK, I’m given myself some serious limitations for the next suggestions. I’d just really love a two syllable name with a different ending sound AND a different initial to go with Mischa and Angus – especially a different initial as they share the Ro middle names. Here are some I love that have that good sibset feeling to me!
Juno Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Juno
Harlow Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Harlow
Iris Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Iris
Esme Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Esme
Bridget Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Bridget
Hazel Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Hazel
and a couple from the unisex list above:
Nico Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Nico
Eden Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Eden
Is an e ending with Roxie too many eee sounds? If not:
Billie Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Billie
Frankie Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Frankie
Ivy Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Ivy
Phoebe Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Phoebe
Chloe Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Chloe
Poppy Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Poppy
Darcy Roxie – Mischa, Angus and Darcy (I really love Darcy in your name set but not sure about Darcy Roxie! Too much like a punk singer, if that’s possible??)
Hope that helps! I love your existing names and know you’re going to pick a wonderful third. Congratulations to you all!
Congrats on your early bird!
I think if you’re at a stalemate, you need to throw out all the names and try to find a new name that aligns with aspects you love of each of your favourites. Nice to find something that doesn’t repeat an ending too… each of your faves has a strong EE sound.. something that goes with Roxie in the middle… apparently three syllable is too much, although you both have three syllables names on your list (I do like Elodie, Lelia, Marlo and Juno above!)
How about:
Heidi
Sabine
Vera
Yvaine
Zadie
Lucille
Good luck! I love the Mischa wants to call her sister Otter.
Leonie means “Lion” and seems like a nice pairing between Cleo and Delia. It also sounds nice with siblings and the middle name. Angus, Mischa and Leonie. Leonie Roxie Power.
I second the suggestion of Leonie. Cleonie is also a name with a strong history of use, and might tip Cleo into nickname for a classic name like Ottillie territory. I also found Cleodora, which I think has a very nice cadence to it.
Wow, I love Cleodora! That’s totally new to me
Congrats on the baby! My son, age 3, is also an Angus.
My plan for a girl was Elizabeth nn Betty! Maybe that would work?
I also love Sally and Sadie!
I just scanned your girl list and, discouragingly, there’s not a single name you both like. The best is one likes it and the other is lukewarm. So, since you’ve agreed on Roxie, maybe you could flip the pattern, put the Ro name first and she could be Roxanne, nn Roxie, with one of the names on the list as the middle. I’m favoring you, since the surname is hers. Roxanne Delia? Roxanne Tallulah?
Or, since you never said she didn’t like Sally, maybe Sarah Roxie, nn Sally?
Instead of India – Indigo! I met an adult Indigo a few weeks ago and was blown away by the name. Or does the nickname Indie improve India at all for your wife? You could call Indigo India as a special nickname as well.
Mischa reminds me of Sasha which makes me think of Saskia.
Noticing a lot of long e and O sounds on your lists.
Eloise
Fiona
Lilo or Lilou
Shiloh
Viola
Zoya
Congrats on your little one!
I really like Elowen Roxie from your list. I also like the suggestions of Chloe Roxie and Elodie Roxie. To me Sally Roxie sounds too frilly.
Congrats!!
As another person commented, if you both liked Roxie, how about making Roxanne, nickname Roxie, the first name? It would break the pattern but could be worth it.
As for the rest of the names on the list, it seems to me like none of them are working for you both and you might just want to start fresh with a new list.
Some ideas for consideration:
Eula
Tilda
Petra
Odette
Zoe
Ramona
Pauline/Polly
Would you reconsider Elowen? It’s more of an established name than you think — in Cornish it means “elm,” which I think would be a beautiful, somewhat stoic name for your little fighter! Potential nicknames Elie, Elo, Loie, or Winnie even. Mimi, Gus, and Winnie is superb.
Or, what about Elodie? It combines the sounds of Elowen and Delia and Ottilie. Nickname could be Delie.
Another potential for the nickname Sally: Susanna or Susannah.
I also like the suggestion of Saskia and Celia — both sound wonderful with Mischa.
Some other suggestions: Aria (repeats an initial), Odette, Thalia, Estelle, Cleome, Coralie, Eulalie, Rosalie.
Lyra Roxie
Thea Roxie
Viola Roxie
Leona Roxie
Greta Roxie
Eileen Roxie
Congratulations! I love your middle name choice. I think my favourites from your list, considering the full name, are Delia and Cleo. As other commenters have said, though, I would be inclined to start fresh, since you haven’t found much common ground.
That said, Sally as a nickname would be great if you can find an option you both like! Good suggestions in other comments, or maybe Marcela or Selma/Salma? Zelda, Sabine or Lucille might work too.
To me, Mischa is strongly Russian/Slavic sounding, and Angus is strongly Scottish. I would go with a name from a different culture for the new baby, so it doesn’t feel like two match and one is the odd one out.
Based on your boys list, what about:
Perrine (feminine form of Pierre) – cute nickname Perrie. Also makes me think of Peridot
Cora, Coral, or Corinne for Corrin
Based on your girls list:
Delta – shares the “Del” with Delia and brings in the T from Ottilie and Tallulah
Odele or Odelia – share sounds with Ottilie and Delia
Leila – maybe you’d prefer this to Leilani?
I lean towards two syllables, to match Angus and Mischa. From the previous suggestions, I especially like:
Eula
Nico (I also know a female Nico and it really works)
Juno
Zara
Leona/Leonie, Matilda, and Saskia are such good options they might convince me on that third syllable though!
Zora, Zara, or Thora?
Congrats!
I really love Delilah Roxie for you. Or maybe Leila or Elaine?
Haven’t read the comments so sorry if I double up. Cleo + Delia = Claudia :)
Roy means king so what about a flip to Regina, which means Queen? Traditional nickname for Regina is Queenie. It’s a great, strong sounding name with a lot of history.
My vote is Claudia Regina B…..
I love the name Elowen/Elowyn, so I’m biased.
Other thoughts:
Thora
Athena
Liadan
Maeve
Fianna
Clancy
First, whatever you choose will be fine. You will have a little girl named X and both of you will love that name best (or at least as well as all of your other kids’ names) because it is your baby’s names. Let go of your worry that it will be wrong, because there really isn’t a wrong here.
I agree with the commenters above that Cordelia might be a good compromise (although I am sure you already came up with that).
Here some other options that might work with your sib group
Sonia/ Sonya
Simona
Mariam or Miriam
Olympia (you could do Ollie, or Pia for this if you need a nickname)
Frances (this could be Frankie on the nickname)
I am sorry to comment twice, but I just reread the original piece, and it feels like you wife really likes greek myth names, could you go with that?
Persephone
Iris
Helen
Selena or Serena
Luna
Aurora
Phoebe
Any of these work?
Roxy as first name? Or Roxie? Roxanne? I love it. Spunky like Sally and due for a revival.
I kind of love Otter as a nickname and want you to find a different name you like that works with it! I don’t think it has to be a perfect match, but how about
Olive Roxy [B]ower
Opal Roxy [B]ower
Oksana Roxy [B]ower (I think Oksana and Mischa go well together as Eastern European names)
Could she be Orla nn Orca if you like that better than Otter?
I also feel like with Leilani plus India/Delia you can come up with something. Lia? Leah (pronounced LEE-uh or LAY-uh)? Layla? Lily? Lila(h)? Liliana? Lana? Lena? Lorelai?
A few other ideas: Zora, Paloma, Vera, Noa
coming back to add Petra, Lydia, and Nina as suggestions!
What about Lorelei? Similar to Leilani but stylistically more like India or Delia. It’s one of my favorite names and would have been my last kids name if he wasn’t a boy.
Lorelei Roxy Power
Please update us!
These seem like strong girl names to me, based on meaning or famous namesakes:
Matilda (battle strength)
Louisa (famous warrior)
Zelda (woman warrior)
Audrey (noble strength)
Sophie/Sophia (wisdom)
Amelia (for Amelia Earhart)
Ruth (Ruth Bader Ginsburg)
Elizabeth (Elizabeth Cady Stanton)
Hannah (Hannah Senesh, WWII paratrooper)
Clara (Clara Barton, of the Red Cross)
Helen (Helen Keller)
Juliette (Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts)
Ruby (Ruby Bridges)
I vote Raleigh Rose or Raleigh Joy maybe Raleigh Rogue. I love the way the unexpectedness of Raleigh matches the equally unexpected Mischa and Angus. None of the others on the list match in their level of unusual. This is what I would choose if you asked me specifically to name your child.
That said, I personally considered Ottilie nicked Lottie so I also love that.
Or Roxie as a first name. Mischa, Angus and Roxie is even edgier than Mischa, Angus and Raleigh.
Roxie Raleigh, Roxie Ruth
Tallulah is my favorite from your list! I know an 8-year-old with this name and it doesn’t feel too long. Her family calls her Lu sometimes. Mischa, Angus and Tallulah. Mimi, Gus and Lu. I like it!
Congrats on your newest edition! I love the name and think it compliments Angus and Mischa perfectly. The doll named Ottilie was also a splendid idea!