Hi Swistle,
I first wrote to you in 2018 when my husband I were expecting twin girls. I loved reading your advice and all the suggestions from your readers. We ended up naming them Vera and Helena. We also have a older daughter named Cecilia. We are now expecting baby #4 in early 2024! If the baby is a boy, we are almost 100 percent certain that his name will be Leo. The problem we are having is that we have almost no ideas for a girl name. When I think of my daughters names all that comes to mind is Cecilia Vera and Helena. I genuinely can’t picture a name for another little girl to add to our family.
Our last name is M@njg@fic (Main-ga-fitch) and we like names that are pronounceable in my husbands native Bosnian, but are more pan European and clearly familiar in America as well. I prefer names that are a little longer and romantic, while my husband prefers names that are shorter and easier to pronounce. We want her name to end in an A. I also love that the second letter is E in all three girls names so far, and Leo would fit that pattern as well. The second letter is not a deal breaker though. If we loved a name that second letter wasn’t E, we wouldn’t hesitate to use it.
So far we have tossed around
Julia (husband likes seems a little simple for me)
Sienna (I like but feels a little too modern compared to our other girls)
Georgiana nn Gigi (I like husband thinks is too long and complicated)
Liliana (husband likes but can’t use due to very close family already used similar name)Our list is short so far and we really just feel out of ideas. Im sorry I don’t have a longer list to work with! Any suggestions for this baby that feels like we will never find a name for?
All the best,
T&D
Cecilia, Vera, Helena, and:
Ada
Alma
Althea
Annika
Audra
Belinda
Bettina
Bianca
Claudia
Estella
Etta
Eva
Flora
Frieda
Gemma
Geneva
Georgia
Gianna
Gloria
Greta
Isla
Louisa
Matilda
Nadia
Rosa
Stella
Sylvia
Thea
Zola
I have some strong favorites on this list, but when I started listing them it seemed like too many favorites to call strong favorites. If it’s half the list, is it helpful? Well, my favorites are Ada, Belinda, Bettina, Bianca, Flora, Frieda, Louisa, Nadia, Rosa, Stella, Sylvia, and Thea. I like the B names so much, I hesitate to point out that they would create initials some prefer to avoid.
I suggest modifying the E-as-second-letter preference to be an E-in-first-syllable preference: for examples, Stella and Greta and Thea would then be included.
I think my favorite from the list is Louisa.
Some others I found:
Lucia
Diana
Susanna
Ramona
Elisa
Maria
Amelia
Hanna
Lara
Monica
Natalia
Clara
I love the suggestion of Lucia. It feels like a match on all fronts: romantic, but shorter Georgianna. Cecilia, Vera, Helena, and Lucia. I also love the name for a baby born in winter. Lucia means light, and is a lovely sentiment in the darkness of winter. My only hesitation is if they’re thinking of having any more children, it probably takes Leo off the table for a future boy.
Veronica
Victoria
Julianna
Dea
Ack – Veronica!! That’s a good one! 👍
This is just the first batch that came to my mind:
(I ADORE the names of your daughters!!!)
My favourite is Sylvia, I LOVE it with your names, and my other favourite is Leona or Leonora. It hits your need to have the e as second letter, it’s perfect with the sibset, it’s not Uber popular, ends in a!!
Julietta
Celeste
Alexandrea
Anastasia
Fia
Fianna
Gianna
Keira
Fiona
Fionula
Flora
Eva
Nora
Sara
Seraphina
Marguerita
Theodora
Teodora
Leona
Georgia
Lila! And like the suggestion of Lucia.
How about a long romantic name that can also be shortened to a pretty nickname since you like longer names and he likes shorter names?
Emilia or Emiliana.. Mila, Lia, Liana.
Miranda… Mira, Mia, Mara (both Miranda and Mira have lovely meanings “wonderful, to be admired”)
Leona… Lea, Lena (unless you plan on more children and want to save Leo for a boy)
Natalia… Talia
Teodora – hits that Eastern European note, but is romantic and long with the e and a where you like them 😊. I love Theodora SOOO much with your sibset and either Teodora or Theodora could be nn Teddy or Dora/Dorrie/Dottie/Teo/Theo. Sooooo cute!!
Viviana – a friend who has a multicultural coupling like yours named their daughter this pretty name that can be nn to Vi, Vivi – beautiful!
Carolina – Very easy in both cultures. Caro as a nn!!
Violetta – I mean. Come on. It’s gorgeous. It’s a knockout. If I were you, I would use this.
Louisa – I love the tie to Alcott, very usable in lots of cultures, and just so classic. It ties in so well with that sibset!! And the nn of Lou-Lou, which is what I call my daughter and I love it.
Virginia – I love this name so much. You could nn Ginny, SO sweet.
Henrietta – it’s perfect!! Fits the e and a rule, easy to pronounce. Nn Hattie, Etta, Ria, Hettie
Marguerita – Maggie! Meg! I knew a Marguerite and she was called Maggie.
Willa – Lovely, easy, sweet Willa.
Viola – this was a front runner for us. I love it’s lilting prettiness but it’s simple like your husband prefers
Josephina – My husband’s Dutch side has a Josephina who they call Josie or Jo or Joey.
Georgetta – hits the an and e rule plus it’s just really lovely, isn’t it?? You could call her Georgie or Gigi. It’s perfect!
Augusta – I think this name is so lovely!
Phillipa – I don’t know how to spell this one lol. Pippa is cute, even on its own!
Dahlia – soooooo beautiful and classic like the other siblings! Worth it not to have the e! ;)
Ophelia – Fee, Fifi, another Shakespearean name for you! He picked really good ones!
Delphinia – I think I’m making up names now lol
Magnolia – Such a lovely name with an array of nn Maggie, Nolie, Lia
Marilla – I always thought this should be used more often. It’s pretty!
Hope this was helpful!! You have already picked such beautiful names for your daughters, I’m sure you’ll do it again. 😊. Good luck with the baby!
I read the name of your daughters and your preferences and two names came to mind– Irina and Serena
I might also suggest my favorite girls name, Sonia
Juliana?
Marta/ Martha
Marina
Martina
Cassandra
Adriana
Seconding Juliana, which combines Julia and Liliana from your list!
I love your girls’ names. From your list my favorite is Georgiana. Maybe instead of Julia you can use Juliet.
Other names that came to mind:
Alexandria
Elise
Mila
Selma
Tessa
What about Lydia?
Lydia is beautiful and fits so well with the sister names!
I also liked someone’s suggestion of Marina
Cecilia, Vera, Helena (with maybe future brother Leo, parents T&D) so little sister…
Medina
Felicia
Zella
Highly second Swistle’s suggestions of Geneva and Estella, those feel so perfect with the sisters, and Teodora as recommended by PPs ooh yes yes yes (as long as you don’t mind sharing an initial with your kid, some people do.)
Funny enough, my family all has Es as the first vowel and we totally didn’t notice until after both the kids were born, but it does feel like a nice pattern to have.
Teresa
Alyssa
Zita
Flora
Rita
Petra
Diana
Clara
Leona
Maya
I see someone has mentioned it but I love the name Teresa (or Tessa if you prefer) and think it’s pretty much perfect with this group.
A few others that could work:
Serena
Nadia
Emilia
Kiera
Simona
Eloisa
Your daughters have lovely names! Though they don’t fit the second-letter-is-an-E pattern (not a pattern I’d have noticed), I LOVE Sylvia and Louisa with your girls’ names.
Karina / Kerina would be an interesting choice.
Cecelia, Vera, Helena, Kerina
Nina and Mila were the other two that jumped out at me.
Mila made me think of Minka.
Good luck; let us know what you decide!
I love your style! All of your girl names were on my list at one time, but we ended up going with Rosemary for our only girl! I think a “rose-” name would go so well with your girls!
Rosalie (Cecilia, Vera, Helena and Rosalie gives me heart eyes!!)
Rosemary
Rosalind
Other names that strike me as going well with your girls (some have been mentioned in other comments/by swistle but I love them!)
Josephine
Estelle
Lydia
Eleanor
Serena
Amalia
Isadora
My favorite so far are:
Gemma
Tessa
Georgia
Leandra
Seraphina
Other Names
Freya
Diana
Daphne
Penelope
Naomi
Lavinia
Marcella
Teresa
Miranda
Priscilla
Sylvia
I haven’t read the comments, so someone else may have said this, but how about Julianna if Julia seems too simple and Georgianna is on the list? Or if Georgianna is too complicated, how about simplifying it to Georgia? Is Lila further from the used name than Liliana (or is that the used name)?
I like Ava with the names you have.
Another vote for Georgia! I love this name ANYWAYS, and it satisfies your preferences, and is so close to your partner’s pick. I also like the suggestion of Sylvia.
I haven’t seen anyone mention one of my favorites: Venetia.
Ooh!
Cecilia, Helena, Vera and…
Could you use Lilia if Liliana is out?
Juliana
Josefina
Antonietta or Antonia
Estella
Selena
Serena
Nadia
Evelina
Lucia
Talia
Ilaria
Working only with E as the second letter, you might like these possibilities (some are repeats):
Belinda
Bettina
Delia
Della
Gemma
Geneva
Genevra
Leandra
Melia
Melinda
Leticia/Letizia
Petra
Serena
Tessa
Daniella — although It’s an A rather than an E as the second letter, I love Daniella with your daughters’ names.
Best wishes to you!
This is a great list!! Tessa could be the one..!!
I feel like Lydia is perfect :)
This link had so many European variations, if it’s not pan-European I don’t know what is. (Also, it fits nearly all of your requirements and is soooo lovely).
https://onomasticsoutsidethebox.wordpress.com/2019/11/27/all-about-lydia/
I think Julia is so beautiful, and somewhat unexpected on a little girl, like your others daughters’ names.
What about Lorena?
For a pan European vibe I like
Lydia
Bianca
Mira (Mee ra)
Zora
I also love Jana (pronounced Yana) but that is quite unusual here in the States.
Or Greek names, my favorites being
Thea
Penelope
Maia (Maya)
I love you girls names !! Leo is perfect. Cecilia, Vera, Helena, and …
My favorite from Swistle list:
Nadia
Alma
Gemma (gets you the E)
Other options:
Anya
Vienna
Anastasia
Petra
Serena
Lola
Calla
Have you considered Juliana, Julietta, Georgia, Georgina? Those jumped to mind immediately as seeming to solve the issues you had with Julia and Georgiana (although I acknowledge that they feel quite different; I only really like one from each grouping, despite the similarities).
Some other ideas:
Marina
Mariana
Rosa
Viviana
Katia
Emilia
Evelina (or is this too close to sounding like a mashup of Vera and Helena?)
Lucia
Focusing on the pan-European, I love:
Antonia
Aurelia
Camila
Carolina
Diana
Francesca / Francisca
Frida/Frieda
Julia
Laura
Leana
Leonora
Lola
Luisa/Louisa
Marina
Matilda/Mathilda
Natalia
Valentina
I want to put in a good word for Julia. When we were expecting our youngest, we kept going back and forth between Juliana and Julia; I felt like Julia was a bit too “plain” but that it was a better fit with our style based on our other kids’ names, and we went with it. Our Julia turns three today, and I now love her name! (And have loved it for a while). It doesn’t seem as plain to me now; I feel like it’s a name that grows well with a child into adulthood. But maybe you would like Juliana/Julianna more — a good compromise between you and your partner?
All of your girls’ names were on my list, so in case we have similar taste: we ended up with Matilda. It’s been a great name: elegant, unusual in the US but pronounceable in many languages. My daughter (now a teenager) had said many times how much she loves her name.
From previous suggestions, I LOVE Geneva! Cecilia, Vera, Helena and Geneva! Dahlia is also great if you forgo the second letter e preference. I like how Cecilia and Dahlia kind of book end each other with the same ending.