Hi Swistle! (and lovely readers)
I have been reading your blog long since before baby names were even on my radar and I was a single gal. You even helped my friend change her name as an adult!
I am writing because I am due in March with baby girl number 2!
We are Ally and Ted Vitale (yes, my name rhymes), and we have a daughter, Cora Marilyn-Margaret who will be five when sister comes.
We went to the hospital with a handful of names (Cora, Margaret, Eliza, Adele) and obviously ended up using two. Margaret was my husband’s grandma who passed when Cora was six months (they did get to meet) and Marilyn was my mother who died when I was in college. We knew we wanted to honor them in some way and landed on both as middle names which maybe shot us in the foot a little bit, but, we didn’t know if we’d have another, etc etc.
Obviously, we love the name Cora and think it’s pretty darn perfect. Cora and Margaret were definitely the front runners my entire pregnancy.
This time around, our “remaining” names of Adele and Eliza don’t quite seem to be “it”. Although, for me I think Eliza fits more than Adele does.
We tend to like vintage names (I think?), names that are not wildly popular (however we can classify that! Social Security registry?) and names that are short or can’t be easily shortened/nicknamed. Both my husband and I have longer names and we go by a short nickname. (Allison/Ally, and Theodore/Ted–additionally, I am often called Al by close friends, he is Teddy to his family.)
Names we have ruled out for various reasons (and unfortunately these are hard not usable names): Georgia (absolutely love, would use in a heartbeat, but it our daughter’s best friend’s name, who we see almost daily and are incredibly close with the entire family), Olive, Audrey/Aubrey, Mila, Vera.
Names my husband has vetoed: Iris (BUT WHY!), Ruby, Tess, Mira, Camilla/Camille, Cecily/Cecilia, Hazel, Mabel, Elsie, Holland, Marin, Rosemary/Rose, Mary Emmy/Emme.
Names he has suggested: Violet (fine, but I find it to be too popular; I also feel this way about Vivan), Lily/Lilly (same sentiment, personally), Lila, Layla/Leila (I prefer the Leila spelling), Campbell, Brooke.
Semi short list
Ivy (I feel like this has shot up in popularity and is only gaining strength—this is my husband’s compromise on Iris but I don’t know that either of us are sold)
Eliza
Anna/Anne
Lila
Adele
Mia (we are torn here because it’s so popular right now and like that Cora is common but not “popular” if that makes sense. I am not a “cannot use top XYZ names” person exactly, I think if you love it, you love it and that’s all there is to it, but, I don’t know that we love this name enough)
Sophie
Leila/Layla
*maybe Haley (this is my “work wife”‘s name so I don’t know if that’s weird? We can’t do the similar Hallie because it rhymes with my first name and our last name, and as the resident name rhymer, we only need one of us)
The middle name will likely be Kathryn in that spelling to honor my paternal grandmother.
If we were having a boy, the name would be Theodore as per custom in my husband’s family. I would push for the middle name William in that instance, to honor my dad. Although, to be very frank, I don’t love either of those names for my own child (don’t tell my husband!) and know that both are very popular right now. But, I wouldn’t have a choice, because, tradition. Boy names I would personally have chosen might have been Scott, Aaron, Josh–truthfully I did not give boy names much thought, I am embarrassed to say.
Are there any in that style that we are missing? What have we overlooked? Is there a hidden gem on that list that I don’t see yet?
I guess we are hoping to find a “wow” name and we just aren’t there yet.
Thank you so much! I’m looking forward to your insight and that of your readers!
Give Swistle a moment to enjoy her smelling salts and lounging couch after reading the part about how you would not have had a choice in your own baby boy’s name because your husband’s family has a tradition of THEM getting to choose the name. What if YOUR family ALSO had a tradition of getting to choose the name, THEN what? Well, you’re not having a boy, you’re not having a boy, we do not even need to address this, we can move on.
(But!! And I know you were speaking lightly, but I feel that SO MANY it’s-almost-always-women have their naming rights taken from them by these it’s-almost-always-male naming traditions—and that many of those usually-women REALLY DO feel there is no argument against it. Let me just say it for anyone who needs to hear it: THERE IS AN ARGUMENT AGAINST IT, AND THAT ARGUMENT IS “I DON’T WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT TRADITION”! A tradition is IN NO WAY an inalienable right or unbreakable law; it is an invitation to follow a pattern. And couples routinely have to pick and choose among MANY traditions from BOTH sides of the family, keeping some and declining others! Many couples discover that a holiday tradition from one side of the family is in conflict with a holiday tradition from the other side of the family, and in those couples one person cannot shrug and say “Well, we have to do it my family’s way because it’s tradition; you and your family and your traditions don’t factor into this decision.” If anyone reading this is planning to co-parent with someone who thinks they would get 100% dibs on naming a shared baby Because Tradition, there’s a BIG CLARIFYING DISCUSSION that needs to happen, ideally before any permanent decisions are made.)
Okay. Okay. This is a baby girl. We are going to talk about a name for a nice little baby girl. Cora and _____, Cora and _____. Well, I absolutely love Eliza. Like, if you said “Swistle, please name this baby whatever you want,” I would name her Eliza Kathryn Vitale. What a lovely name. Or I might want to give her a hyphenated middle name like her sister, especially if you end up with an extra name you don’t have a place for and would be sad not to use, or if you have another honor name. Eliza Iris-Kathryn Vitale. Eliza Allison-Kathryn Vitale. (Or if I chose another first name: Ivy Eliza-Kathryn Vitale.)
My second favorite is Ivy. I think it’s wonderful with Cora, and I like that both names are familiar and easy without feeling overused. I do agree with you that Ivy seems to be suddenly getting more popular—though when we were considering the name for Henry before we knew he was a boy, my feeling was that I couldn’t use it UNTIL it became more popular. At 2007 usage levels, kids were still reacting with incredulity to the name and then immediately saying “Poison Ivy, poison Ivy, she’s poison, don’t let her touch you!!” while screaming and running away from poor Ivy on the playground. (In my imagination. That is: the children I surveyed ((mine)) about the name Ivy came up with that playground game idea in under five seconds, but the game was not actually played in my sight, nor did we know anyone named Ivy.) At current usage levels, I think children will still come up with the game, but there will be more than one Ivy on the playground, and they will form a little gang to play together and roll their eyes at dumb game ideas until the other kids get bored and knock it off.
And my third favorite is Anne. I think that name is overlooked right now, and would give people a fresh pleasant surprise when they heard/saw it.
From your husband’s veto list (and we know from experience that those vetoes sometimes unexpectedly reverse), I’d particularly want to keep trying to save Hazel, Rose, Iris, and Mabel.
It is interesting to me that he likes Violet and Lily, and you like Rose and Iris and Hazel, and you both like Ivy. It feels as if a good flower/plant name is within our reach. Fern? Briar? Calla? Dahlia? (Calla and Dahlia might be too rhyme-ish with the surname, and Calla too similar to Ally.) Daisy? Holly?
Or with Ruby as inspiration, what about Pearl? Cora and Pearl. I think Pearl has that simple/lovely/vintage/familiar-but-uncommon thing going for it.
More names to consider:
Ada
Bianca
Celeste
Claire
Eloise
Esther
Fiona
Frances
Gemma
Greta
Gwen
Jane
June
Lina
Lois
Louise
Lydia
May
Ruth
Stella
Sylvia
Willa
Winifred
What about Jules, like Jules Verne? Jules Kathryn-Anne Vitale? I love Swistle’s suggestion of another hyphenated middle. Cora and Jules. So cute!
I skim read Swistle’s response to see if I’d get to be the first to suggest Irene. Use Irene! It’s closer to Iris than Ivy, it matches wonderfully with Cora. It is familiar without any danger of becoming trendy.
I would also second Swistle’s suggestion of Anne. My daughter is Ann and I have regretted it zero times. I sit around sometimes thinking about how glad I am I chose it.
Or maybe you’d like Martha? No particular reason, but we seem to like similar names. And I kind of like the symmetry with your older daughter’s middle names.
Do you like any of the feminine versions of Theodore (Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Thora) better than Theodore? I might be tempted to use it now – even as a middle – make a big deal of how their family’s tradition is sooooo important to you that you couldn’t leave it up to chance of having a son in the future, and then if you do have a son, shrug and say you can’t possibly use something so close to your daughter’s name, and name him Scott. Maybe that’s too devious though.
Or…would you like George-Anne? Or Georgeanna? Or Georgianna? Or Georgia-Anne? I think that might be different enough to sidestep the daughter’s-best-friend issue, especially if you are open to nicknames like Gigi. Or might be good for a middle if you want both girls to have a double middle.
Or…have you thought about Alice? It seems like it might be your style. Just slightly different than Iris. Very close to your name, but your husband couldn’t exactly complain…
Or….are you thinking about Willa?
Willa gets my vote as an honor name for William in a heartbeat!!! Cora and Willa! I know a Willa and she’s spunky and cool. I’ll add her sister’s name, Joey.
NOT REMOTELY TOO DEVIOUS. I think this is brilliant. Theodora-Kathryn goes fantastically with its Marilyn-Margaret predecessor. Its got a great ring, pairs well with the many short first-name options, and once again honors both sides of the family at once. I think this is exactly the path this Tradition should follow.
Using the feminine form of the family name is not a bad idea, and if you’re up front about it with spouse, not devious either.
And you may never have that boy. This could be a/the chance to use The Family Tradition anyway.
Maybe too far from the actual family pattern, but the reverse form of the same name, Dorothea/Dorothy is lovely. OR, the female form of the OTHER form of Theodore, Thaddeus: “Thaddea.”
And I think Eliza sounds great.
Eliza Kathryn-Theodora Vitale
Eliza Thea-Kathryn Vitale
Eliza Thaddea-Kathryn Vitale
Eliza Dorothy-Kathryn Vitale
Theodosia! Eliza Kathryn-Theodosia, and you can sing the song “Dear Theodosia” to her.
I clapped with glee at this suggestion, but, alas, no dice from my other half. WOE IS ME TO NAMING!
Give the other half time. This is genius, and other halves sometimes recognize genius rather more slowly. As Swistle says, the rejected names turn up in the birth announcements rather frequently…
I personally don’t think using Margot is beyond the question here at all.
Our daughter has “Giana” as part of her first name, her sister has “Giovanna” as a middle (we do multiple middles too), and one of her brothers has “GianCarlo” as a middle, and we’re still very truly considering “Giovanni” for a middle or even possibly a first name for a potential brother someday. Zero qualms. (I don’t have any qualms if we choose to leave it out in a potential next time either.)
And if it ever came up as “that’s weird. Why, Mom and Dad?” among our kids, we’d tell them we just really love those names, and we’d tell them why we find them lovely and meaningful.
And so far they show no signs of “gosh, I was named for my sibling, and as a result, eternally feel as if I’m not my own person” or something, and I don’t anticipate that ever happening. Our oldest really loves having this personal sharing with her little sister. ❤
So, I don’t think using Margot is out of the question. And if it were me, I’d then just explicitly frame it to the girls as a cool, shared sister thing. They don’t share everything. They are their own persons…”but look! You and your sister friend get to have this added connection!” I don’t see any likelihood that it would ever arise as a feeling of, “gosh, I didn’t even get my own name…. *bitter* *resentful* *hate my sis* *hate my parents* *hate my name*” Unless you’re trying to explicitly MAKE THEM BE THE SAME PERSON–which you are not–I don’t think they’ll think anything weird about sort of sharing a non-last name name at all. Though I would still give little sis a double middle like her sister.
So, if you both love Margot, I say go for it!!
Margot Kathryn-Eliza Vitale
Margot Kathryn-Adele Vitale
Margot Kathryn-Adelaide Vitale
Margot Edie-Kathryn Vitale
(And if not, I think Edie sounds great with big sis Cora’s name!)
Edie Kathryn-Eliza Vitale
Edie Kathryn-Adele
Edie Kathryn-Adelaide Vitale
Edie Georgiana-Kathryn Vitale
Can’t wait to hear what you guys end up choosing!
Laurel would be a beautiful flower name to go with Cora!
I see you have several V names on your list and I love a punchy double initial, so what about Vada? Vada Vitale seems super.
Or the Veda spelling (like in My Girl). I like this too!
You love Margaret, so maybe Maisie or Pearl (as suggested by Swistle), variations of Margaret, might suit.
Virtue names tend to have that vintage feel you like — maybe Faith, Hope, or Grace would work. I think each one pairs nicely with Kathryn in the middle and big sister Cora.
Eliza Kathryn or Eliza Anne-Kathryn / Eliza Kathryn-Anne are great possibilities.
Your husband vetoed Elsie — would he consider Elise? It’s similar to Eliza, but without repeating the A ending. I pronounce Elise with two syllables, uh LEES, but I realize others pronounce it with three syllables, uh lees uh.
With only daughters, I dodged the “male naming tradition” of my husband’s family and have been blessed instead with wonderful sons-in-law.
Best wishes to you!
Irene – a true vintage name with similar vibes to Ivy and Iris :) but maybe too uncommon?
You’ve got a great short list. I think any of those names would go with Cora. My first daughter is Cora and our second is Rosemary (called Romy) which I see is on your list! Great taste ;)! Names we considered for our second were Olive and Frances. Probably not quite right for you. I love the suggestion Alice and Ivy and Eliza from your list!
I have a daughter named Cora and also love flowers and nature names! I pulled up my old names lists and may I suggest:
Rosalie
Magnolia
Briony
Eva
Linnea
Lydia
Delia
For more unusual flower names of varying levels of usability:
Aralia
Marigold
Orlaya
Azalea
Cerinthe
Nigella
Matthiola
Celosia
Zinnia
Acacia
Camellia
Amaranth
Hyacinth
Lupine
Nice, I also have a daughter named Cora and had Delia on my shortlist.
(For the record, OP, my older daughter is Anna and her name is so lovely and usable! If I had given them normal middle names, Anna would have been Anna Rosemary and Cora would have been Cora Marguerite. I wonder if you’d be interested in Elizabeth? Eliza can be a nickname option of course, but it gives a little more flexibility.)
Rosalie and Eva have made it onto a semi short list! Love
My favourites are June and Pearl! And another vote for a hyphenated middle name for this sister, too!
I kinda love Kathryn-Theodora
I love, love, love Eliza Kathryn. LOVE.
My vote is for Eliza! What a spunky, fun, second-sister name. It’s got great rhythm with the last name: Eliza Vitale.
Also seconding the recommendations of Ivy, Irene, Greta, Gwen. My daughter is Esther, and it is a great name. We get complements all the time.
And may I suggest Marie? Marie Vitale is swoony and sophisticated.
Eliza! So lovely. Eliza Anna-Pearl. Eliza Theodora-Pearl.
I have beloved relatives with these names so I’m partial :)
Swistle, it’s funny to me the names that strike me as fresh from your list are Ruth, Pearl, and Anne, and Esther. (Essie!)
OP, what about Vivienne?
I love the name Eliza, and I think it fits so well!
I like Swistle’s idea of using another middle name, too!
I like Violet and Ivy because of the V sound with your last name. V is really an under-used letter. But Iris is pretty awesome, as is Mabel.
Other ideas:
Twyla/Twila. Cora and Twyla.
Bree. Cora and Bree.
Avril. Cora and Avril.
Luna. Cora and Luna.
Willow. Cora and Willow.
Phoebe. Cora and Phoebe.
Sylvie. Cora and Sylvie.
Lola. Cora and Lola.
Eve. Cora and Eve.
Yvette/Yvaine (Evie)
Eliza Kathryn is so perfect. I still have a bit of regret about not using Eliza for my second.
But, since you are wanting more suggestions, and two of my daughters’ names made it onto Swistle’s recommendation list, how about another of my daughters’ name: Delia.
ooh my daughter’s name is on your list of likes as is several of my other favorites!
Since you like Eliza and Adele maybe
Estelle or Stella or Estella ?
Cora and Estelle
Estelle Ivy-Kathryn Vitale
since you seem to be into nature/flower names how about Hazel?
Cora and Hazel
Hazel Kathryn Vitale
Hazel has sadly been voted off the island which is a shame because I have loved that name since I was a kid! That said, I am pulling for Estelle–I think it gives lovely options for shortening or nicknaming that I don’t hate (I traditionally don’t prefer nicknames, it’s a whole annoying aspect of myself as a person. ha!)
Love so many of your choices!
I’ll throw out Vivian, I think it’s adorable and similar style to your other choices.
Good luck and congratulations 🎉
It feels super clear to me reading your name list where your choices stop, and his begin. His taste is clearly more modern/gender neutral and yours is vintage classics.
SO. I just much prefer the latter, and Cora is definitely in that category, so I’m going to roll out some names. Also I’m English and damn, we’re strong in this particular game.
Firstly I LOVE Eliza.
But some more options:
– Margot. I know you have a Margaret in the middle, but hey, it’s in the middle! Nobody would bat an eyelid if you used it.
– Beatrice – I know a Cora and Beatrice set of siblings IRL. I don’t think it *has* to become Bea
– Florence. Hasn’t caught on yet in the US and I have no clue why, super popular on this side of the point and very pretty
– Edith. Or just Edie to nickname proof it
– Martha
– Willa
– May
– Maeve
– Phoebe
I totally LOVE Margot and it’s the nickname that we would have used had we gone with Margaret for a first name versus Cora. I’ve always maintained that Margot was too close to C’s middle name and that they should have names that are wholly their own if that makes sense. But, truly love Margot.
Do we think that would be weird? Would one be made to feel “less than” (especially being the younger?)
Additionally, absolutely adore Edie. Trying to make that happen!
Cora and Edie are so sweet together!
Since you like Eliza and Iris and Ivy, what about Isla?
Isla Kathryn Vitale
Heidi Kathryn Vitale
Petra Allison Vitale
Stella Kathryn Vitale
Fiona Kathryn Vitale
Gianna Katryn Vitale
Juliet Kathryn Vitale
Naomi Kathryn Vitale
Lydia Kathryn Vitale
Alice Kathryn Vitale (my favorite, after mom Allison)
We have been talking about the name Heidi! It’s so lovely and under used (IMO)
I like Anna best from your list, with Adele second. I also like Swistle’s idea of picking a botanical name I think Fern is just perfect. I know you didn’t want a long name, but my sister had Clementine on her list for a while and I grew fond of it. (She ended up going with Lily.) Rosemary is another favorite of mine, but it’s easily nicknamed to Rosie.
Or how about Willow?
I also love Rosemary (and would have gone with Roey as a nickname). Definitely off the spectrum of “will I find a novelty license plate at this rest stop with [name] on it”, however; Anna is reliably present and Cora is hit-or-miss.
Clementine was actually on our longer list first time around with Cora! I think my hesitation is that it’s rather a mouthful for littles and no real solid way to shorten/nickname (which I don’t even prefer, but, you know, long names and littles).
I did somehow get Rosemary back on the list last night!
We have so many second girl list crossovers! She was almost an Eliza or Annie, and Adele was also considered. And my first daughters name is on your can’t use. I was hollering HOLLY and PEARL so glad Swistle took care of those.
I also agree another hyphenated middle would be sweet for balance and if not Allison-Kathryn (heck yes!) then how about Willa-Kathryn (your dad name tie-in.) Although I also love Willa up front for you!!!
Trying not to repeat though Willa needs to be repeated again and again:
Esme
Juno
Louise
Lucy
Margot (yes yes you already used Margaret but Cora & Margo are swoon – this is seconding cause hello I 100% agree)
Maude
Penny
Sabine
Simone
Willa
Maybe all the love for Eliza has given it some sparkle for you – I agree it’s gorgeous, although not quite nickname proof. There are a surprising number of people who absolutely need 3 syllable names to be shortened (and even two syllable names.)
I totally found it harder to find a WOW name the second time. Hence taking 7 names to the hospital and she rudely refused each one. Good luck!
I have 2 boys but our girl sense of naming was similar (short familiar no nicknames) and I had Cora pretty high up so maybe you would like one of the 4 other names on my lists:
Sonia/ Sonya
Wren
Irene
Miriam
You have so many wonderful names on your list! I will throw in two more in case they strike a chord- Meredith and Muriel. Muriel feels like it may get shortened to Ellie, but Meredith doesn’t really get shortened in my experience. I also loved the option of Marie in the comments!
So many good suggestions above!
Here’s a few more:
Linnea is another botanical, with the same beginning your husband likes in Lily, but uncommon.
Miranda would be lovely with Cora.
I know of a small Loretta and the name is darling on her. Or just Retta if you want something shorter.
Della
Lucy
Imogene/Imogen
Judy
Jane
Julia
Liza (if Eliza isn’t grabbing you any more – though Eliza is lovely)
Tessa
Ida
Nina
Came to suggest Linnea as well!
I love the alliteration of your daughter’s hyphenated middle. I thought it would be lovely to keep that going but struggled with the K combo (so many ks derive from Katharine). Is there any chance you would be charmed by Catherine-Clare as a middle despite it being the wrong spelling of Kathryn? I adore Eliza Catherine-Clare.
I also like the repeated v in Ava Vitale. Ava Kathryn Vitale.
I have a Cora and her younger sister is Lila Claire so I’m a big fan of this name. Some say Lila has roots in the word for “lilac” so there is some continuation of the floral theme as well. OP, what do you think of:
Lila Kathryn-Clare
Lila Kathryn-Ann
Lila Margot-Ann
So many excellent suggestions so far! I wanted to echo that Eliza is great! I also really like the suggestions of Lydia, Vera, Elise, Esme, and Vera.
Cora was my first choice for a girl with my second baby (who ended up being a boy). Other frontrunners were Margot, Iris and Sophie! So I think we have similar styles.
Here are some other names that were on our list:
–Chloe (this is my first daughter’s name and I liked how Cora and Chloe are linked in Greek mythology)
–Maren/Maris
–Eleanor
–Cassandra (couldn’t use)
–Felicity
–Lyra (similar to Lily, Layla)
–Sydney/Sidney
I really like using a double middle like older sister. I particularly like Ivy, Thea and Alice with Kathryn. I also really like Kathryn shortened to Kate, which may have a better flow with some names.
Combos:
Chloe Eliza-Kathryn Vitale
Lyra Ivy-Kathryn Vitale
Sydney Kathryn-Eliza Vitale
Anna Ivy-Kate Vitale
Eleanor Alice-Kathryn Vitale
Cassandra Ivy-Kathryn Vitale
Felicity Eliza-Kathryn Vitale
My feeling is that if you were willing to give naming rights of your son to your husband and his family, you should get naming rights to EVERY DAUGHTER EVER.
If you love Georgia, would you be able to do Georgette (like Georgette Heyer)
Swistle forever slipping the name Winifred in the suggestions :P
Because Winifred is a kick-ass name. Winne. Frieda. Freddie. Nif. Red. Eddie. Edie. SO MANY GOOD NICKNAMES.
I think Anne Vitale is a beautiful name. Alongside Cora, they bring it the best in each other … Cora & Anne.
Friends! You all are giving me so many good ones to work with–thank you!! I’m also saddened because so many of these fantastic suggestions are still being vetoed (rude), but! It’s forcing us to open up ideas, thank you!
I’m also very here with all of you who are knee deep in the variants of Theodore for a middle–this will be our last kiddo so no chance of ever using it for a son. You are my people.
Someone mentioned Margot–we seriously struggled with Cora as a first versus Margaret as a first and loved the nickname Margot. Obviously we went with Cora (up top to all the other Cora parents on this post–love it!!) and adore her name.
THAT SAID. A while back by husband did bring up “Can’t we just name her Margot” and I fully dismissed it because Margaret is (one of) Cora’s middle names and I felt like that should be her own if that makes sense? But maybe that one is worth exploring as a stand alone name?
Whew! You are giving me the best possible homework!
I definitely think you can name her Margo!! If you both love it, i don’t think sister having middle name Margaret is a deal breaker.
Lots of luck, looking forward to hearing what you choose!
Sorry for the spelling – Margot!
My first comment already said ‘Do it! Do it!’ and if you are swayed by celebrity precedent, just look at the Mendes-Gosling kids Esmeralda Amada and Amada Lee…
If you like balance and symmetry how about..
Margot Kathryn-Coraline, little sister to Cora Marilyn-Margaret
Then little sister has an alliterative middle, and each girl is tied to the other with the middles in such a beautiful way! .
But you do have some great options for a second middle if you don’t repeat the Cora- in little sister. And really, how many people will notice / care that one kid has Margaret and the other kid has Margot?
I am also on team Margot Kathryn-Coraline now.
I actually wanted to suggest Coralie, but figured it was too close to Cora. I am SWOONING with the possibility of sister middle names that honor each other!
Margot Kathryn-Coralie
Or Cordelia? Similar to Cora but also very distinct IMO.
Margot Kathryn-Cordelia
I had this dilemma! Older sis has a middle name starting with Beth- (like Bethany but weirder). When I picked it, I knew that I was foreclosing the possibility of using Elizabeth for a possible second daughter. But the odds were so low! And I loved that full name so much! Well. Whomp whomp, two years later, I called big kid “Betty” all the time and I was like, but but but maybe I can use Elizabeth ANYWAY? I ultimately decided not to—just felt like I didn’t want to give new baby something old or go full George Foreman. (And that’s how we landed on Cora :) )
Etta Kathryn
Is there any chance you could like Ruth? Ruth Margot-Kathryn, Ruth Willa-Kathryn?
Or could you like Marie, as a nod to Marilyn, giving each daughter a little connection to her grandmother (note: there are links to my mother’s name in the names of all three of my children, comprising both genders, and as she is no longer alive to enjoy them that gives me such tremendous pleasure)? Marie Willa-Kathryn, Marie Theodora-Kathryn? Or even Mary, perhaps, a good strong name little used at present that sounds so fresh and clear and new on a young person? Or – is this a branch too far – even Lynne?
What about Elizabeth? Beautiful as is, but lots of nickname options: Ellie, Libby, Beth, Betty, Betsy, Liz, Lizzy, Eliza, Zibby, Elsie.
Anna or Hannah. Classic charming names.
Audrey. This is a beautiful timeless name but you might find it too close to your own name. Audrey and Ally are maybe a little too similar.
As a parent of an Ivy, I will chime in. She has gotten “Poison Ivy” at times, but we get way more positive associations with Ivy all the time! Ivy as the vine, Ivy League schools, the name’s meaning (strong climber). And I absolutely love saying her name and hearing it said. Writing and spelling it has been a breeze for her (she is 8 now).