Dear Swistle,
I’ve started and deleted an email to you so many times, hoping inspiration would strike, but I think we’re really stuck! We are expecting our daughter Corinne in mid-September, and we cannot decide on a middle name:
– To give you an idea of style, we chose Corinne for several reasons. It’s always been on my list because it’s uncommon but not unusual; relatively easy to say and spell; and I don’t know any. It also happens to be my husband’s great grandmother’s name. Her family called her Coco.
– Her last name is Kitten, but with an “a” instead of the “i”.
– Corinne is our first and likely only child. She has all girl cousins: Caroline Rose, Nora Kate, Audrey Joanne, Eden Abigail, Samantha and Brooklyn (family middle names we would not use.)
– We are cognizant of initials, so middle names like Olivia would not work.
– Names we have considered: Elena, Cecilia, Celeste, Elise or Elisa; family names Adele, May (or Maye) or Vivian, (but I don’t like the triple “n” sound – Corinne Vivian Kitten seems to be a bit much to me); Josephine, Genevieve.
– My husband’s grandmother recently passed away, and we would love to honor her but haven’t come up with anything. Her name was Doris, which we don’t care for; her maiden name was Quicksilver. In the Jewish naming tradition, we would love to use one of those initials, but haven’t found anything we love.Can you help us find something that flows? Thank you!
– Monica and Dave
From your list, my favorites are Corinne Josephine Kitten and Corinne Genevieve Kitten. With a first name and a last name that both have two syllables, both begin in a hard-C/K sound, and both end in an -n sound, I find I want variety in the middle: more syllables, different sounds. Although I find I also like ANOTHER two-syllable name there: Corinne Elise, Corinne Adele—and I like the idea of a family name, so Corinne Adele Kitten stands out, and joins the favorites.
Quicksilver is a delightful family name. Is there any chance you’d like to use that as-is? Corinne Quicksilver Kitten. I am so envious of people with good family surnames to use as middles. The only thing that bothers me about it is that then the child has three honor names from her father’s side of the family, and none from her mother’s. Perhaps your own family’s surname as the middle? Or another surname from your side of the family?
Or your first name? Corinne Monica Kitten. I love that. I know I just said a couple paragraphs ago that I wanted new sounds in the middle—but repeating that hard-C/K sound and the N-sound but in the MIDDLE of the middle name is very pleasing to my ear. The whole name sort of SNAPS. This is probably my first choice, though I am still tempted by Corinne Quicksilver Kitten.
For more ideas starting with Q or D, I recommend looking through the comments on Our Favorite Baby Names Starting with Q and Our Favorite Baby Names Starting with D. Q names are scarce, but there are tons of good D names. Putting some of my own favorites with Corinne: Corinne Delaney Kitten, Corinne Dahlia Kitten, Corinne Darcy Kitten, Corinne Delphine Kitten.
Part of what may be tripping us up, I think, is the second-syllable emphasis of Corinne. I can’t decide if I like to REPEAT that emphasis (Corinne Elise, Corinne Adele, Corinne Celeste, Corinne Joelle, Corinne Simone, Corinne Louise) or go against it (Corinne Josephine, Corinne Genevieve, Corinne Eleanor, Corinne Henrietta), or something in between (Corinne Elizabeth, Corinne Veronica, Corinne Penelope, Corinne Francesca, Corinne Matilda, Corinne Emilia, Corinne Petunia). I think I lean somewhat toward the in-between ones: names with three or four syllables, but with the emphasis on the second syllable. Here’s a post we did on four-syllable names with second-syllable emphasis, but I think I like the sound of three-syllable-with-second-syllable-emphasis even better:
Corinne Bettina Kitten
Corinne Bianca Kitten
Corinne Diantha Kitten
Corinne Eliza Kitten
Corinne Fiona Kitten
Corinne Francesca Kitten
Corinne Georgina Kitten
Corinne Gianna Kitten
Corinne Louisa Kitten
Corinne Lucinda Kitten
Corinne Matilda Kitten
Corinne Mackenzie Kitten
Corinne Marina Kitten
Corinne Melinda Kitten
Corinne Minerva Kitten
Corinne Miranda Kitten
Corinne Naomi Kitten
Corinne Regina Kitten
Corinne Rosella Kitten
Corinne Sabrina Kitten
Corinne Sophia Kitten
Corinne Susannah Kitten
Corinne Theresa Kitten
And some names just DECLINE TO FLOW, and that’s okay! We say the entire name at graduations, and that’s about it. So it is also okay to choose something that doesn’t necessarily flow, but makes you happy in another way: a good honor name, a name you wish you could have used as a first name but couldn’t, etc.
Name update:
I’m glad I wrote in when I did, as our sweet girl made an early appearance at 29 weeks weighing 2.5 lbs. She is thriving in the NICU thus far, and we can’t wait to bring her home.
This did, however, lead to an “oh crap! we need a middle name!” moment in the hospital. I fought for Quicksilver but lost that battle. We read through the list of suggestions and the one that got the best “oooh, I like that!” response was: Lucille! It’s the name of the restaurant where we had our first date, it gives nice initials, and it’s a little whimsical. Thank you all for your thoughts! Picture to follow when she’s free of all the medical gear.
Quicksilver is AMAZING! Corinne Quicksilver Kitten? Yes, please! Or if you didn’t find a Q name, maybe just Silver?
I like Corinne Josephine off of your list and Corinne Francesca off of Swistle’s.
I knew a lady named Silver. It was surprising at first, but worked well. It would be a great middle name. Or perhaps less daring, Sylvie or Sylvia? I quite like the flow of Corinne Sylvia.
Aww, you guys beat me to the punch! I was going to suggest Corinne Sylvia Kitten or Corinne Sylvie Kitten, too!
Good evening – I’m named after my mother’s 2 best friends that were both Corinne. My middle name is Anne :)
Does Dolores improve Doris to your ear? Hearing it on Westworld put it on my radar as useable. I like the flow of Corinne Dolores ‘Kitten’? Also love the idea of using Quicksilver! Or…
Corrine Cassidy
Corrine Eliana
Corrine Aurelia
I like Corinne Celeste and Corinne Sophia, from these lists.
A few more ideas:
Corinne Juliette
Corinne Luella
Corinne Mirabelle
Corinne Lucy
Corinne Joy
Corinne Petra
Corinne Lilah
Another vote for Corinne Quicksilver, I think is an awesome list if not, from your list I love Corinne Elisa and from Swistle suggestions I really like Corinne Dahlia. I saw another commenter suggest Corinne Juliette, which I was coming to suggest.
Some ideas:
Corinne Daniella
Corinne Denisse
Corinne Harriet
Corinne Joyce
Corinne Marietta
Corinne Mariana
Monica for the middle name! It’s perfect!
I went the other way and thought a single syllable middle sounded best to my ear.
Corrine Doe or Zoe like Rachel Zoe pronounces it.
Corrine June (or Jane?)
Corrine May (or lean into the sounds and go with Corrine Kay)
Corrine Pearl
For grandma. Quicksilver is mercury – what about Corrine Mercury? Quick in that sense means alive so you could also use a name that means life – Zoe, Eve or Liv? I love all of those options but how far you can stretch and still be an honour name is very subjective.
My daughter has a friend Corrine and it is just so beautiful and wears really well. It’s a great name.
If it were me, and I didn’t care about a name from my own family, I would use Quicksilver — so amazing! But if there were reasons why you wouldn’t, I was also thinking about Quicksilver being mercury and about Mercury, the Roman messenger god, having the Greek equivalent Hermes. If you were into honor names with sort of serpentine connections, the feminine versions Hermione and Herminia/Erminia are both four syllables with stress on the second syllable, which I agree is lovely.
In case you don’t make it all the way through the list of everyone’s favorite names starting with “D,” one of my favorites was another four-syllable Greek name with stress on the second syllable — Demetria. And I was commenting in that post on trying to find an honor name for a Doris and thinking that I might want to use Theodora, which also contains the root “dor-,”, meaning “gift.” It’s also four syllables but with stress on the third. I don’t like it quite as much as the other pattern, and it doesn’t begin with “D,” but I think it still sounds nice and definitely has a connection to Doris.
I don’t know if you’ve thought of Corinna (Koreena) at all, but it’s a slight variation of Corinne that gives a different number of syllables and a different ending sound than your last name.
Corinne/Corinna Quinn Kitten
Corinne/Corinna Quicksilver Kitten
Corinne/Corinna Dory Kitten
Corinne/Corinna Dora Kitten
Corinne/Corinna Dorit Kitten
Corinne/Corinna Daria Kitten
Corinne Felicity
Corinne Luella
Corinne Daisy
Corinne Dolly
Corinne Lydia
Corinne Evelina
Sylvia! Monica!!! Both excellent and lovely.
Corinne C-middle gives you nickname option of “CC” which is a spin on and hint of grandma’s Coco.
Corinne Celeste
Corinne Claudia
Corinne Charlotte
Corinne Celine
Corinne Capri
Corinne Cleo
Your might like:
Corinne Adeline
Corinne Anneliese — Annelies was Anne Frank’s given first name.
Corinne Argenta — Argenta means “silvery.”
Corinne Avery
Corinne Danielle
Corinne Dorothea
Corinne Isabella/Isabelle
Corinne Theodora
Maybe a Hebrew name starting with D, like Devorah or Dalia? I think Devorah means bee, which could be a fun nursery theme or nickname.
I gave both my children middle names that I didn’t love in order to honor beloved family members, and over time the special meaning has totally overcome my initial hesitations about the names. I love being able to tell my children stories about their great-grandparents, and I can see them feel pride in these relatives they never had a chance to meet. Totally worth giving up “flow”, in my opinion, especially since middle names so often fade into the background.
I also love just Silver. Quicksilver is really cool but I could see that being a lot of name; Silver is still very cool but feels more wearable.
Given the reference to Jewish naming traditions, Monica would likely not be a viable middle name contender as we do not typically name after living relatives.
I am, however, enamored with Quicksilver as a middle name!
I really like the flow of Corinne Elise or Corinne Adele or something similar like Corrine Simone, Corinne Lucille, Corrine Odette, Corrine Nadine etc
What about Corrine Sterling as a nod to Quicksilver? Or Corrine Sylvia? Maybe too much of a reach but just an idea.
I like the flow of the four-syllable names best, by a large margin. I wonder what Doris’s Hebrew names were and whether you can do a meaning-connection instead of a sound connection? (e.g., my daughter Cora’s name means “maiden,” so her Hebrew name is Alma (“maiden” in Biblical Hebrew) rather than Keren or Karmel or something else that’s more sound-alike to Cora.)
Lots of great suggestions here! To my ear, a 3-syllable middle name with emphasis on the 1st syllable sounds great with Corinne “Kitten”: Corinne Sylvia, Corinne Alison, Corinne Isobel, etc. I see Elena and Elise on your list, which makes me think of Eleanor and Evelyn and Eloise (I kind of adore Corinne Eloise “Kitten”!). and For “D” names, I like the above suggestion of Dolores, and I also thought of Delia.
Quicksilver! It’s the coolest middle name ever. Fun initials, sweet family connection, plus fantastic nickname for her teammates or friends.
I like Josephine and Genevieve from your list of candidates. Quicksilver really does seem like an excellent choice, though. For D names, how about Deborah?
I like:
Corinne Delilah
Corinne Delaney
Corinne Amelia
Corinne Penelope
Corinne Matilda
Corinne Luella
Congratulations!
Agree with all the comments about Quicksilver being a great middle name, and liking the idea of Dahlia/Dalia or Delia as a D-name for Doris. Corinne is a terrific name, and lots of names go well with it.
What would you think as Aviva as a middle, as a nod to Vivian but without the n at the end? Corinne Aviva Kitten has a nice rhythm.
Oh my goodness I’m so thrilled with the responses! I am surprised so many people like Quicksilver – I hadn’t really given it serious consideration, but I think we will take another look. I also thought the Monica suggestion quite funny! I love my name, but it definitely pegs me as an 80s baby so I never considered it as current day name “fresh.” A few other thoughts:
– It’s not important to me at all to have my side of the family represented – both my sister’s kids have family names from “our” side. I did, however, like Theresa quite a bit. It’s my mom’s middle name (well, baptismal name) and I didn’t even think of it!
– Other surnames from my side – my last name is Bens0n, and there is also Ballantyne, Cotter, Houston (pronounced like the street in New York) and Adams. Houston is 100% off the table.
– My husband’s family describes themselves as Jew-“ish” so I am not sure Doris has a Hebrew name, but I will ask. They do use the first initial naming tradition, but not exclusively – Dave’s grandfather is a junior, which I understand is very unusual!
Thank you all again for the sweet comments and ideas. I will definitely update when she arrives!
Just commenting to say that I’m Abigail Eden born in the late 80’s long before either name was very popular and I love that you have an Eden Abigail in your family!!
I’m not here to suggest anything new, exactly – I’m just hyping up my favourites from other suggestions!
I love the Corinna idea – so nice with the surname. I think it helps distinguish the C/K sounds, too. I also love the Theadora for Doris! Quicksilver is too good to let go. And Devorah for Doris is great in here. I love it if it means Bee!
Corinna Theadora Kitten
Corinna Quicksilver Kitten
Corinna Silver Kitten
Corinna Devorah Kitten
Is Corinna Theadora Quicksilver Katten too much?? That would get my vote!
Can I gently say not an A middle name alone, please? CAK has some unfortunate meanings and none of them are nice for your sweet girl.
Can I scream “Use Quicksilver” loud enough for you to hear it, because DAMN. Like, DAMN. How often do badass family names just waltz their way onto a list like that? Even Mercury would be amazing. Corinne Mercury K_tten, that’s a delightful flow. Please please please, let us know how you choose!
I’m glad I wrote in when I did, as our sweet girl made an early appearance at 29 weeks weighing 2.5 lbs. She is thriving in the NICU thus far, and we can’t wait to bring her home.
This did, however, lead to an “oh crap! we need a middle name!” moment in the hospital. I fought for Quicksilver but lost that battle. We read through the list of suggestions and the one that got the best “oooh, I like that!” response was: Lucille! It’s the name of the restaurant where we had our first date, it gives nice initials, and it’s a little whimsical. Thank you all for your thoughts! Picture to follow when she’s free of all the medical gear.
Aw that was my suggestion (and also my middle name as well!) You picked such a lovely name for her; congratulations and I hope Corinne gets to come home soon!