Hi Swistle,
Returning poster here! I wrote to you back in 2019 when we were expecting Edie, who is now almost three. Since then we have welcomed our current youngest, Ethan Samuel, and are now just a few weeks away from the expected arrival of our seventh, a little baby girl due in mid-September. And I would love your and your readers’ help in naming her!
Our boys are Eli Michael, Ezra Matthew, Eben Jacob and Ethan Samuel. All go by their given first names, no nicknames, 100% of the time. Our girls are Emmeline Kaye and Edith Annabel, who only go by Emme (pronounced like the Emmy award) and Edie, respectively. All middle names are family names.
This will be our last child and I am still loving the name Eulalie. My husband would prefer Elizabeth or Esther (nicknames Essie). I am a hard no on Elizabeth (too many nicknames I actively dislike), and meh on Esther. Last time, we almost named our girl Eulalie, but husband wanted a “stronger” name in the end. Not sure if this will come up again as we’ve put off figuring out the name until after she is here. (With Ethan, we kept going back and forth between Ethan and Ezekiel for most of the pregnancy and for a day or two after he was born). But I still like to mull over the possibilities as my due date is fast approaching, and to have a short list heading into the hospital.
Anyways, would love to hear your suggestions for this baby’s name. It must start with an E, not have a default nickname that sounds like one of our other kids’ name, and not be anything too modern or religious (Evangeline is out for this reason). So far it’s just Eulalie, Edwina (Winnie, not Eddie!) and possibly Esther, but maybe there is something else out there?? (I don’t like Eliza or Eloise; Elodie is too close to Edie; and a close friend has an Evelyn).
The middle name will be a family name. Either Ada (finally!) or Marina, or some combination of the two.
What do you recommend?
Thank you!!
Anna
At this point I feel you must have been through the E section of the baby name book so many times, there is no way I could suggest something you haven’t thought of. Instead, I will think of it as throwing my support behind some of the options you have mentioned and/or have certainly considered. (And I hope that if I accidentally suggest something that is comically close to one of the sibling names, that a commenter will point it out in time for me to quickly erase it and pretend it never happened!)
• Etta. I like that it gives a new sound (no hard-T sounds in the sibling group yet), and that it is nice with Emme and Edie. I don’t like that she alone among her sisters wouldn’t have a longer name to go with her nickname. You could do Etta/Ettie, perhaps—but one of the things I like about the name Etta is that it doesn’t give you a third girl with a long-E ending.
• Esther. I love it, which means nothing if YOU don’t love it, but I have experienced many times the phenomenon of having my opinion of a name vastly improved by other people’s positive reactions to it. And I like that it gives you a new sound (no S sounds in the sibling group yet).
• Estelle. Similar to Esther, yet a completely different vibe. New sound (T, ST). Nickname could be Essie or Ellie, but that’s another long-E nickname; could also be Stella, if it doesn’t have to be an E nickname. I like the way Estelle seems to bridge Emmeline and Edith.
• Eleanor. This name, too, does a good job of bridging Emmeline and Edith. Nicknames include Ellie, Lennie, Linnie, and Nora.
• Elsa. New sound (S). Nickname could be Ellie or Elsie. Downsides: Frozen movie/merchandise is still going pretty strong, as I understand it; third girl nickname with a long-E ending; Ellie visually similar to Eli, though when we are working on a SEVENTH name starting with the same letter I start to relax a LOT of preferences.
• Eva. New sound (V). Nickname could be Evie. Downside: maybe I don’t need to keep mentioning that I would rather not have a third long-E girl nickname, considering you have not mentioned that preference at all! But Edie and Evie are so similar.
• Elspeth. This has got some of the elements of Elizabeth, without lending itself to some of the nicknames you don’t like. I like the nickname Elsie, though you could also go with Ellie.
• Evette. Does that feel like cheating, or is that a legitimate spelling of Yvette?
Name update:
Hi Swistle,
Thank you to you and your lovely readers for all your thoughtful feedback and suggestions regarding a name for our littlest one. Our daughter was born yesterday morning and we decided to go with Eulalie (Eu-LAY-lee). I think she’ll wear it well! I’m not sure if we’ll use a nickname or not. For now we are all just getting used to calling her Eulalie. Her middle name is Marina, after my mom. (We decided to go with just one middle name for her, same as with our other kids. But having more amazing relatives than kids to name is not a bad problem to have!) So that’s her name! Eulalie Marina. I hope she loves it as much as we do!
Thank you again,
Anna
How about Evadne? Nn Evy (rhymes w Chevy)
Or Estelle nn Etta because why not? Although I love Telly!
Along the same lines, you could do Etta for Esther, if the nickname is the part that isn’t quite speaking to you.
Ellen
Ella
Eva/Eve
Esme
Eleanor/Elinor
Ellery
Elowen
Eugenie!
Eugenie
esther is so good!!
Love Estelle for you! It’s so chic and lovely.
I think the following E names are nice (and different from what you already have). Nicknames might be a stretch…
Erica nn Rica or Ricky
Eileen nn isla or leena
Erin nn Wren/Ren
Elena
Ellery
Elissa
Elka
Emerald
Estefania
Endora
Elowyn
Emlyn
I vote for Edwina (no one will call her Eddie) or for your husband to come to his senses about Eulalie.
I love Esther, and see other great ones suggested too (time for an Erica revival??).
My top suggestion is probably Elise!
Emilia
Esperanza
Erin
Elsie (my great aunt!)
Elaine (I know a teenager with this name!)
I know a Eulah. Just a little more serious, stronger than Eulalie but similar sounds. It’s wears really well. Eulah Mariana or Eulah Ada
Estella nn Ella removes the -ee nickname thing. I know a lovely teenager with this name and nickname so it’s a very positive association for me. I truly love Estelle nn Essie or Ellie as well.
Eugenia!
Emmeline, Edith, and….
Eglantine is a kind of rose. It comes with its own theme song (Bedknobs and Broomsticks with Angela Lansbury). She could be an Ellie or Etta or a Tina or a Lanny. Options abound!
Edmonia is all kinds of classic. Mona could be her nickname since sister Edie already has the first two letters claimed. There’s Nia as an option as well.
Esme is close to Emme, BUT if her nickname was May… there would be no conflict.
Eiley is pronounced EYE-lee. She starts with an ‘E’ but doesn’t sound like she does!
Ermengard is from Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker (Hello, Dolly was the musical adaptation). Ermie could be cute or even Minnie.
With Eli, Ezra, Eben, and Ethan in the mix, too, you’ve got the whole spectrum!
Congratulations and best wishes! (Seven is a wonderful number of children!)
I forgot Eurelia! She was a bigger deal in the 1920s, but Edith and Emmeline were popular then, too.
Nicknames include: Ellie, Era, Rellie, Relia, or Eurie.
OP here –
I love these suggestions, thank you! (And Esme IS too close to Emme and Ezra, otherwise it would definitely be on the list).
And thank you for your kind words re having 7 kids. We are the only family in our area that I know of that has more than 4 kids, and I definitely get a lot of comments thrown our way. Kind words are always so nice to hear. Thank you!
I teach high school and I have an Evette with that spelling and it’s charming.
I love Etta so much! I also love Esther!
I love Edwina! Winnie is one of my favorite nn.
Eulalie Ada is gorgeous.
You know that’s your favorite. Stick with it. It’s perfect for your baby.
There’s a Taylor Swift song about a girl named Este (est-ee). Cute by itself or as a short form for Estelle, Esther, Estrella…
Enola?
Etoile?
Eugenia?
Enid?
Earnestine? Ernie!
Efrata? Effie!
I also love Eulalie!!
I love Elowen/Elowyn, if you get vetoed on Eulalie. She can be Wynnie if not Ellie.
Elena (Lena, Leni)
Elodie (Lodie)
Eloise (Elo, Lou-Lou, Weezie)
Elora
Evanthia (I worked with an Evanthia and just realized it’s a real name; huh!)
Echo
Eudora
I just realized Elodie and Eloise are on your No list. Oops! And Echo is probably too modern.
Eowyn? Maybe problematic because it’s 1) pronounced like AY-o-wyn and 2) a certified nerd name (Tolkien).
OP here –
Ok, I LOVE Weezie! I can’t imagine using it past the toddler years, but I love it!
I also think Echo is really cool (just like Evening is really neat), but in reality we wouldn’t actually use it for our kiddo. But purely theoretically, I like it :)
My 9 year old counts Weezie (but worked differently) as one of her preferred nicknames!
We know little girls names Everly (nn Evie or Ever?), Elliott (nn Ellie), Elissa (pronounced Ee-lisa) and Ellerie.
Other E names I’ve heard that sprang to mind: Elaine, Erin (no longe name I can think of), Elodie, Enola (after a book character my daughter loves), Eugenie (royal association).
I love Eulalie, and I love that it has really different sounds to the names you’ve already used. I love Esther too but not as much.
Elowen
Estelle
Evanthe
Evadne
Elysia
Ethel works as a longer name for Etta or Ettie as a nickname.
Is Esme too close to Emme and/or Ezra? Anyway, it’s such a pretty name! And I love the previous commenter’s suggestion of Mae as a nick name.
And I love Esther!! I actually hadn’t thought of the nickname Essie, but hearing that makes it rise on my own personal name list for my January baby.
For Eulalie…I feel uncertain about how to pronounce it and what a nickname would be? Lolly? Eulie? Following in the Eu- theme, do you like Eugenie (Genie) or Eudora (Dora/Dorie) at all?
Haha just noticed that I somehow missed the ten other suggestions of Eugenie earlier in the comments – oops! So much for my original contribution! :-)
Curious about how you are defining a name as being too religious – all but Ethan of your boy’s names I’d consider more religious than Evangeline. (And you considered Ezekiel for Ethan which strikes me as a pretty religious name.) Bringing it up in case that helps you put names you’d ruled out but otherwise love back on. :)
Ideas:
Erica (Erika)
Eva
And Ethan is also biblical, from memory.
Seconding the suggestion of Eudora. Nicknames could be Dot, Dora, or Dorrie.
Estelle nn Essie – my favorite
Eulalie nn Ella
Everly nn Eva
Elaine nn Lainey or Ella
Elise nn Essie
Elvira nn Eva
Ethel nn Etta
Eunice nn Essie
Eleanor Adrina
I’m a bit puzzled about E names with non-E nicknames. Assuming that you’d use the nickname most of the time for this girl too, doesn’t this undo the whole E name requirement? I mean, if everyone else is using a name that starts with E be that Edie or Eli, and then you have Winnie at the end? Doesn’t that break the vibe you are looking for? In which case, you really need a E nickname too.
Like Evelyn, I think Eleanor/Ellie is the logical answer because it fits so well with Edith and Emeline. It that must have been eliminated for one reason or another. So moving on…
Esther is great, but you should at least strongly like it too. Etta is a viable nickname if your concern is Essie not being the standard nickname. Etta is fabulous on its own too, but will you miss the nickname? No reason all the girls need a nickname.
Elsie is adorable and could be a good compromise with hubby on Elisabeth as the first name and exclusive use of Elsie as the nn.
As for other ideas, I have always thought Eirwen is beautiful. And Eirlys which means snowdrop is gorgeous too. I’m sure there is a nickname in there somewhere if required. Both names have enough unique sounds to be distinct from the other kids.
Best of luck and congratulations on number 7!
I was going to say the same thing! I find it jarring to consider a long list of letter-E siblings, with one random Winnie or Stella thrown in toward the end. Even if she had a long version starting with E, I’d probably assume OP ran out of ideas.
Since it’s not clear whether OP intends to have more children, I wouldn’t want a single sibling to stick out in the line-up that way. But that’s personal opinion!
Lots of great name suggestion from Swistle, and in the comments.
I understand that a close friend has an Evelyn, but that really feels like to perfect name for this sibling set. I wonder if the friend would actually mind? Particularly if OP is always going to use a nickname like Ev or Eve or Evie (pronounced either eh-vee or ee-vee)?
Otherwise, I’d thrown my support behind Esther. Great name. I like the nickname Ettie.
I actually think the nickname with a different letter is a strength. That way this baby isn’t really left out of the group in the event this is their last child, but it also gives the opportunity to choose a W-name for the next baby if there is one, instead of being totally cornered into another E if they don’t want to be, and the youngest two would match.
Come to think of it, another equally good workaround would be to choose a name starting with a different letter and a nickname that starts with E (again, if there’s any chance this might not be the last baby, it would open up a lot more options).
I’m inclined to agree with this perspective. Or even if they didn’t want to go with another W, they just have a wider field of options if the nickname doesn’t ALSO have to start with E (e.g. they could do Edwina now and Estelle next time). And while it does make the cohesiveness a little looser, it helps keep the names from all sounding alike (like if you had Emme, Edie, Essie, Ellie, Ettie, Evvie…), which I think is the higher priority with this many children. If I did a letter theme, I would 100% go with other letter nicknames.
OP here –
Thank you!
We have no Welsh roots that I know of, but I do like the sound of both names. And it’s certainly crossed my mind that we should go in the “Ei” or “Eu” sound direction for this little one so that her name has a distinct sound while still tying into the E theme.
I know a Euli – lovely name.
So, Eulalie nick-named Euli.
Elleslie? It’s apparently Welsh for benevolent meadow.
One of my dearest friends’ name is Evily and I love the way it sounds. It’s short for a long Greek name but I love it on it’s own. Similar to Everly, but a little more unique.
I have an Emmeline, so I’m a fan! I love your options, and think that you can’t really lose. Swistle is bang on, as usual, and the commenters have taken every E name I could think of lol. So I put forth the simple, the elegant, the perfect punctuation to celebrate the end of your children’s line:
Eve
I know it’s biblical, but I agree with the poster who argued that many of your choices have been biblical, and Eve can be stylish and without adornment, clean and yet quietly powerful. I love it. And it’s so lovely with the girls’ names: Emmeline, Edith, and Eve. They sort of flow like a sentence or a story.
The only problem is the closeness of Evie and Edie. But I think you could make it work!
If not, SO many wonderful choices!!
Eulalie – wonderful! What would the nickname be?
Esther – Essie, Estie
Estelle – this was the first one I thought of
Eleanor – Ellie
Elowen – this is so so pretty. Ellie/Lolo for short!
Elisabeth – Elsie
Esme – Essie
Eugenie – Genie
Elliot – Ellie
And like another poster said, possibly reconsider Evangeline. Unless you pronounce Emmeline Emma-Leen. That might be a lot of “leens”. But Evangeline is so long and lovely.
Good luck!!
I mean,
Eve Ada Marina is a slam dunk for me. Or just
Eve Marina
I knew an Evelyn who went by Evvy and I thought it was so beautiful. (Like Eh-vee as opposed to Ee-vee). That could make it work better in terms of sounding similar to Edie. I’m not bothered by nicknames sounding the same.
I haven’t seen Eilish suggested (I’ve heard it pronounced both Eye-lish and A-lish) … Emme, Edie & Eilie?
Ellie seems a bit close to Eli.
I love Estelle!
I think Estelle or Estella would be perfect in your group!
Maybe…
Eisley
Everly
Elaine
Elena
Eleni
I have a 6 yo Esther-called-Essie, and I am here to say that I was unsure at first but can attest to it being a wonderful, strong, distinct, and attractive name.
I have TWO Eulalias in my life! Different pronunciations.
My mother’s name is Prudence Eulalia (you-layel-ya). From the Southern US. She hates her middle name. I love it!
A past employee of mine was Eulalia, nn Lali. She was from Mexico and pronounced her full name A-you-lalia. Gorgeous.
And my name is Erin – doesn’t sound like an E at the top, but throwing it in there because it’s served me well.
Eleanor seems like the perfect solution to me: starts with an E, matches the style of your other kids’ names, has great nicknames Ellie and Nora. Or if you’re looking for something similar but a bit more distinctive, I once read a book where the heroine’s name was Elnora. I do also like Eulalie, but it gives me very strong “The Music Man” vibes (Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn being my only association with the name).
I love E names! Emilin (though emi is the only natural nn), Ellison, Ellington, Elle, Ellis…. Best of luck!!
OP here – thank you all so much for your comments! Just over 2 weeks to go until my due date so I’m really starting to feel the pressure to get a short list together. Your thoughts really help out!
To answer a few folks’ questions, Emme’s full name is pronounced Eh-meh-leen (rhymes with Christine), so any other “een” name is likely out, even though I love the sound.
And in terms of not picking an overly religious name, I see your point. To me, our boys’ names are solid Hebrew names (I’m culturally Jewish), rather than specifically Biblical names, if that makes sense? For girls, Hebrew names just do not appeal as much, so we went with French and British origin names. Eve and Evangeline scream Biblical to me personally and just don’t appeal as much. Not sure if that makes sense as it’s probably very subjective..
In terms of a nickname starting with a different letter, I’m not sure which way to go, to be honest. I think as long as the given name begins with an E and we use the full name here and there, our daughter will feel like she is part of the E gang, I think? I hope? The E theme was not intentional originally, but we are committed now! That said, I think our kids’ names are still pretty distinct and it’s important to us not to have sounds that are too close together. In my head, I thought the natural nickname for Eulalie (pronounced Eu-LAY-lee) would just be Lalie (LAY-lee), but maybe not?
I’m combing through your comments carefully, so thank you all again!
OP again –
Forgot to say that our four year old suggested “Elephant” and our five year old is really rooting for “Emerald” (neither is our style). And either for this baby or for our current youngest one, one of the older kids said something like “maybe we should call it Idiot because that starts with E, ha-ha-ha!”.
Elephant is “not your style”… hahahah I don’t blame you!!
Hi OP!!
I completely get where you’re coming from with Eve and thank you for explaining – I find this so fun and interesting! I personally LOVE Eulalie and the nickname Lalie (in my head I also went to “Layls”) is so sweet!!
Good luck in your search and with the birth as well…
Thank you! I’ll definitely keep you all updated. :)
Effy or Ephie, short for Euphemia.
Elsie for Elspeth
Traditionally a boy’s name Etienne. However I once met an Ettie-anne. Could be the path to Ettie or Etta.
Also second Erin, Erica or Esther.
I’ve got a few names I haven’t seen suggested yet.
Elva. Lovely alternative to Elsa. I don’t find it too close to Eli or Ezra. Nickname Elvie.
Enya. Different style to your daughters’ names but works with Emme and Edie. Perhaps too close to Ezra. I like it as is but the nickname Yaya could be fun. Yana at a stretch.
Eira. Sounds bright and lively. Repeats the ending of Ezra but the different vowel sound makes a huge difference. Nickname Irie would avoid the repetition.
Eluned. Distinct sound and style. Feels very wearable with nicknames Elle, Lulu and Luna.
Elfrida. A little more embellished but similar in style to your daughters’ names. Nicknames Elle, Elfie, Effie, Fifi and Frida.
I also wonder if one of the many variations of Elizabeth could find the middle ground between you and your husband. I believe nicknames would be far less relevant or likely. Some have already been mentioned but I’d like to add Eliska, Elsabe and Elisheva.
Ember
This name evokes autumn campfires for me, and we’re getting close to fall for your baby.
I know you’re meh on Elizabeth, but there are some lovely nicknames within, and it would be its own solid name. Nicknames that I can think of off the top of my head are:
Essie
Ellie
Elsie
Elsa
Eliza
Liz
Lizzie
Libby
Liddy
Lisse
Lisa
Liza
Zabby
Zaza
Bette
Beth
Betty
Betsy
Birdie
Bitsy
It’s such a classic lovely name – my daughter has it for her middle and she’s always asking us if she can go by Elizabeth instead! Elisabeth with an s is nice too! Swistle always says how naming changes as we have multiple children – it’s not necessarily going to feel like “the one”. It’s more likely to feel like a “good” one, that grows on you with time.
Elizabeth Ada
Elizabeth Marina
Elizabeth Ada Marina
All stunners!!! I love Elizabeth.
Emmeline, Edith, and Elizabeth
Emme, Edie, and Libby
Emme, Edie, and Beth
Emme, Edie, and Elsie
Emme, Edie, and Eliza
Gorgeous. Like a bunch of female scientists ready to change the world!!
Thanks for writing back – it makes it so much more fun!
Sorry, I see now that you were “meh” on Esther not Elizabeth, and for Elizabeth you were a “hard no”! Oops!! Lol. Well it was fun for me, anyway…. ;)
I love Esther! I wonder if you would prefer Este as a nickname. I think it is remarkably different than your other nicknames. It seems highly stylish to me as well.
For that reason I also Like Estella with the nn Este.
Ellen
Edna
Erin
Eileen
Enid
Eris
Eva
The letter E’s stopped having meaning for me by now, so I don’t have any suggestions, but I really hope that you come back with an update OP! Your sibset is so gorgeous!
Late to this party, but here’s my two cents.
Of your top three, I like Esther best.
Of Swistle’s suggestions, I like Estelle, Etta, & Eva best.
How about Eileen, Eliana, Ella, Elena, Ellen, Eleanor, Emma, Emilia, Emily, Erin, Esme, Eve, or Everly?