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 fan

Boys:
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 sure

We 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-B

P.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!