Kelly writes:

Ever since we found out that we’re having a boy, my husband and I have had a few name battles. I would LOVE to pick a name and have a peaceful pregnancy from here on out! I am due Jan 25. We have a daughter, first name Arden, middle name Grace, who is 3. It was so easy with her, we picked Arden years before we were even engaged, married, pregnant…it was a done deal. Now, it seems so difficult to find a good boy name! We would love a name that sounds nice with Arden. It would be too much, though, to choose a name that ends in “den”. Our last name is like Tempulltin, so it would be better to avoid suffixes of “ton” and “son”.

My daughter names all of her babies Noah since she could talk (and they’re all girls, so cute!). We like that name, it’s a contender but not our fave. We had picked Finn as a boy name the first time around, and considered Griffin, with a nickname of Finn, but ever since Glee, it seems like it might get to be overused. We don’t love it like we once did. Other names I have considered are Evan, Cooper, Hudson. Hubby has vetoed all of those. On his list, in no particular order, were Lane, Trey, Cormac, Levi, Lee, Bo and Abram. I don’t like ANY of those names. I went through old family archives on Ancestry.com and found some family names: Boden, Conrad, Grayson, Kern, Ezra, Salvatore. The only one of these that hubby liked was Ezra, and I am just not that crazy about Ezra. Then I came up with Emmett, and really like it. Hubby is “thinking about it”. Something with the “feel” of Arden…. but for a boy…. would be PERFECT!!

I am just at a loss– we both are.

If Emmett is “almost but not quite,” other possibilities are Elliot and Everett. I especially like Everett with Arden: Everett Tempulltin, Arden and Everett.

If you like Evan, I wonder if you’d like Ian. Ian Tempulltin, Arden and Ian. That’s a little hard to say, but I still think they go well together. I think part of the problem is merely that “Arden and” is a little hard to say no matter what.

Ezra IS really good with your surname and with the sibling name. One thing I particularly like about it is that I think of it as “the new Noah”: a name that went from almost-unused-biblical to mainstream. Ezra Tempulltin is a pretty hip name. Arden and Ezra is wonderful. And I am very fond of family names.

Wyatt is another possibility: it is sort of like Ezra and Levi and Lee and Bo, but also sort of like Emmett.

I wonder if you’d like the name Redford? Redford Tempulltin, Arden and Redford.

Or Harris: Harris Tempulltin, Arden and Harris.

Or Ruben: Ruben Tempulltin, Arden and Ruben.

Or Silas: Silas Tempulltin, Arden and Silas.

Or Lucas, potential nickname Luke: Lucas Tempulltin, Arden and Lucas.

Or Joss: Joss Tempulltin, Arden and Joss.

Or Isaac, potential nicknames Zac and Ike: Isaac Tempulltin, Arden and Isaac.

Name update! Kelly writes:

Thank you for your help! We went with Noah Hudson. He’s a doll!

Kara writes:

I am due January 23rd with a baby girl. I would love some input. This will be our 5th child and our 2nd girl. Our other children’s names are:

Willard Dale (nn of Will)
Kate Lynn
Spencer Wayne
Jack Dennison

Here are a few names we’ve thought of, but are still unsure.
Emma
Hannah
Nora
Jane

We would like to do a middle name. All of our kids have middle names that are from our family, so we’d probably do that again this time, but we really don’t have any suggestions or ideas for that yet. If you have any suggestions for middle names, we’d take them though. :) The only suggestion I can think of would be Ann for a middle name.

Since Will, Kate, and Spencer are all giving me royal-family feelings now (I may or may not have read ten million articles on the recent engagement), I like the way Jack breaks that unintended theme and I think it would be good if the new baby’s name also stayed away from royalty. From your list I think Nora is the nicest fit. Jane to me sounds a little too close to Kate, and I’d use it as a middle name if you don’t find a family one you like. Nora Jane—really nice. Nora Ann is nice, too, and I love family names as middle names.

Another name I really like with the sibling names is Eliza: it adds an additional multi-syllable name to the group, and it leaves all the children their own initials. I love it with Ann, too. Eliza Ann. Will, Kate, Spencer, Jack, and Eliza.

I like Emily for the same reasons. Emily Ann. Will, Kate, Spencer, Jack, and Emily.

Clara would be pretty. Clara Ann. Will, Kate, Spencer, Jack, and Clara.

Ooo, or Rose, but with a different middle name. Will, Kate, Spencer, Jack, and Rose.

Name update! Kara writes:

Just wanted to update and thank you for your suggestions. We actually decided to go with Hannah Elizabeth. We both really liked Hannah and it just seemed to fit her well. Elizabeth is my grandmothers name and we thought it sounded good with Hannah. Luckily our last name is fairly short, so we felt it was okay to have both her first and middle name a bit longer. Thank you again for your help and suggestions!

Jess writes:

I hope you and your readers can help. You’d think that after reading your Baby Name Blog for so long that I’d have more ideas and wouldn’t need help…but I do! My due date is January 15th, but my family is very crafty and wants a name to embroider on bibs, quilts, etc., ASAP Which is stressing me out! I have a daughter who is 9.5 and name choosing for her was EASY. I knew at least a month before the ultrasound what her name would be if she was a boy or a girl. My daughter’s name is very uncommon, it’s like Mattea but spelled differently. Our last name sounds like “Schloff”, I’m not really concerned with the name flowing since she’s a girl, and her last name may change one day. Plus, nothing really sounds right with it anyway. The one name I did fall in love with for a girl was Ava. But it is so popular, and I feel that since my older daughter has such an uncommon name, that I should follow that trend. Plus, my name was extremely common growing up, and I hated being the fourth girl in class with that name. The middle name will be Jane (after my mother) and Ava Jane just sounded so cute to me. I also would prefer an obvious girl name. Some names we have considered:

Lila (Layla and Lola are out as close friends have daughters with these names)
Emmalyn (I like it and it didn’t rank in the top 1,000)
Annabelle (which is a familiar name, but not popular)
Eliana (I really like this one because the meaning in Hebrew is “My God has answered me”, and we didn’t know if I’d ever be able to get pregnant again, which I desperately wanted….but don’t know if it’s the one, also, my neighbor is pregnant and this is one of her favorites too, but her husband hates it, and she doesn’t know if she’s having a boy or girl, but mine is due first, and she did say the name was mine if I wanted it…but I feel like I’m hijacking!)
Elena (which my daughter vetoed because a girl on her bus has this name and is “mean”)
Ellery (which my family associates as being a boy name, so that’s out)
Olivia (too popular)
Amelia (also rising)
Nora (I feel so-so about this one)
Adah (which I also liked for the meaning, “A beautiful addition”)

Also, to make matters worse, another neighbor of mine is pregnant (the three of us form a triangle) and due in December, she also isn’t finding out what she’s having, but I’m paranoid that it will be a girl and she’ll pick the name I settle on (not intentionally), so I feel like I need a lot of backups! Also, don’t drink the water here unless you want to get pregnant, NONE of us were trying, and now we’re all due weeks apart!)

Thanks to you and your readers for any suggestions!

 
To me, the clear stand-out from your list is Eliana. It’s one you love, it has extra meaning for you, and I think it’s the best one with Mattea. I mean, that is a gorgeous combination, similar in style yet still nicely separate: Mattea and Eliana. I love it. I feel like pressuring you to use it.

Is the reason it feels like hijacking that you got the idea of the name from your neighbor, or did you both just happen to have it on your lists? Though the former would give me some pause, too, it still seems to me that you should use it: she’s fine with it, and it would feel so awful if you gave up the name you loved and then she had a boy, or had a girl but her husband wouldn’t agree to the name anyway.

Also, I would like to send a message to your family: STEP BACK. Let’s not put additional PRESSURE on such an important decision. There is PLENTY of time to personalize items in the days after the baby is born (the baby will not need a personalized bib or quilt IN THE HOSPITAL), and in fact it gives everyone something fun to do right after they hear the happy news of the birth.

Name update! Jess writes:

It seems like everyone was pulling for “Eliana” (both due to how beautiful the name is and the special meaning behind it), but on 1/25 she was born and we named her Ava Jane. She was 8lbs 1oz and 20 inches long. 6 1/2 weeks later, she’s nearing 9lbs, but not quite there. She is a petite little thing, and I read once that Ava means “bird like” (which…boring!), but she is! I wanted to thank you and the readers for the help, even though I ended up going with my first choice. It’s safe to say though that I *might* be having a bit of name regret. Everyone I introduce her to says, “Oh, my new granddaughter is named Ava” or “Oh, we just enrolled two Ava’s in our class!” Argh! But, I knew that was bound to happen and for the most part, I call her by her full name of Ava Jane, so it sets her apart a little bit…right?

Thanks again!

Nicole writes:

We’re expecting our first child, a girl, on 1/11/11, and cannot decide on a middle name. Our last name is Ogle. Her first name will be Reese, but can’t settle on a middle name that we both like and that flows nicely with our last name. The middle names we’ve considered are:

Elizabeth – don’t want to use because of a family dispute

Irene – my grandmothers’ names, but don’t think it sounds right

Nicole – my name

Renee – my middle name

Isabelle

We’re not attached to using a family name but kind of liked the idea of honoring both great-grandmothers. We mostly just want a middle name that sounds good between Reese and Ogle.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!!

Similar in rhythm and sound to Elizabeth (but without the family dispute) is Felicity: Reese Felicity Ogle.

Another name with the rhythm of Elizabeth is Olivia: Reese Olivia Ogle.

I also like Reese Miranda Ogle.

Another possibility is a hybrid I saw recently: Elizabelle. It gives you Elizabeth and Isabelle, and it sounds very pretty with the other names: Reese Elizabelle Ogle. This does give the initials REO (as in REO Speedwagon), but I’m guessing a ’70s/’80s band isn’t going to be the kind of thing elementary school students will be familiar with. I mention it only because that’s the sort of thing I like to think through and accept in advance, rather than suddenly realizing it after the baby has been named.

The name Irene isn’t perfect as a middle name for Reese, but it’s good—and in fact, the more I think of it, the more I like it. I think if you don’t have a strong feeling about a particular middle name, you might feel pleased later on if you used a name that reminded you of both of your grandmothers. Then if anyone ELSE didn’t think the flow was perfect, they’d think, “Well, but it’s a FAMILY name”—an explanation that covers a great deal of imperfection. And it’s so rare for a name to be said in full. Yes, I think if I were you I’d use Irene.

Name update! Nicole writes:

We went with Reese Nicole. We just thought it sounds better together. But we’re planning on using Irene for our next girl’s middle name (assuming we have another girl, that is) :)

Thanks!

Jack writes:

I am Jack and my wife is Emily. Em’s stressing that we will never find the perfect name.
She says that it needs to be made up of one 1 syllable name and one 3 syllable name because our last name has 2… (first I’ve heard of this rule!)
And we’ll find a name we like and then she finds something wrong with it (eg Finn… nick name Finny, sounds like Fanny)
We’re looking to give our child one middle name and a first name this is either easy to nickname or only one syllable

Girls:
Isabelle Kate or Aveline May – we’d choose when we see her…

Boys:
Harrison Finn – Would probably go by Finn, but as I said above, a problem has been found with this.
Sebastian Jake – Don’t know if Sebastian sounds a little frilly (Jake is trying to counteract that) We would like a little Seb, but wonder if he’d like a ‘proper’ name for job interveiws etc
Seth Everett – Don’t like Seth as much as Seb, but it’s good because it’s a full name rather than a nick name
Tom Everett – Again, the ‘proper name’ dilemma.

So, if you could give your opinion, esp a different middle name for Harrison we could use as his primary name, that’d be great!

Thanks so much! Ps, baby will have my last name, which starts with an L and ends in an ‘ah’ sound.

Emily writes:

My husband, Jack, emailed you earlier today about our dilemma of finding the perfect boy’s name…
I just wanted to let you know that he left Miles off the list!
It has an L in it, which I’m not a fan of seeing as ‘it’s last name will start with an L
We’re from the UK and pronounce the last name Lah-nah (like Car, but with an L and then again with an N!!)
Thanks so much, I hope you read this in time… I quite like the idea of having a little Milo!

Let’s immediately loosen the unnecessary syllable restrictions: an individual might prefer one rhythm of syllables over another, but there are absolutely no naming rules about it. But this means you’ve been concentrating only on names of one or three syllables, and have neglected whole SWATHS of name candidates.

I definitely think it’s a good idea to consider nickname potential—but I don’t think you need to worry about the words that only rhyme with potential nicknames of the MIDDLE name. And so I think Harrison Finn is fine the way it is and the “fanny” connection is distant at most. If Finn is nevertheless out of the running, Harrison Jake is also nice. I personally prefer the rhythm of 3-2-2 here: Harrison Jacob Lah-nah.

Wait—re-reading the letter, it sounds like you want to call the baby by his middle name if Harrison is used as a first name? Why? If it’s because Harrison is a family name but you don’t want to call the baby by it, I’d move it to the middle name slot: Everett Harrison Lah-nah, for example. I’d likely use a 2-syllable first name: Emmett Harrison Lah-nah, Jacob Harrison Lah-nah.

But Sebastian Jake is my favorite from your list. I also like Thomas Everett, with the nickname Tom, although the repeating “ah” sounds of Tom Lah-nah might be too much.

Miles Lah-nah sounds nice to me, but Milo Lah-nah starts tangling my tongue.

You mention that the baby will have the father’s surname, which means there is another option for the middle name: using the mother’s surname.

Name update! Emily writes:

We didn’t even go with a name on the list – But Sean Jacob was born on the 8th at 7 pounds- Ten fingers, ten toes, and a name both Mummy and Daddy love!!!

Lisa writes:

My name is Lisa and my husband is Vincent (usually goes by Vince) and we are expecting baby #3 on January 11, 2011. Our last name is Knuffman pronounced Ku-nuff-man. We have two daughters named Sophie Marie and Harper Lynn. If we have another girl she will be Tess Rose or Tess Olivia.
We are struggling with boy names. There are names that we like, but nothing seems to be “it.” The middle name will be Paul, which is a family name.

Names in the running:

Beckett – I love this name, but hubby isn’t thrilled with it.
Warren – This is hubby’s favorite, but I’m not that into it. He suggested the nickname Wren/Ren and I like that, but I don’t want to name my child based on a nickname.
Foster
Reuben
Simon – only issue with this name is the middle name with it. Simon Paul just makes me think of the Paul Simons.
Miles – I like, but hubby doesn’t.
Roman – both of us like this name, but we are very close friends with a family that has a boy named Rowan and we thought they sounded too similar.
Keaton – doesn’t sound very good with our last name

Any suggestions?

Name update! Lisa writes:

Our baby girl was born on January 19, 2011. About a week before she was born I told my husband we had to go back to the drawing board with girl names. For some reason I just couldn’t name her Tess. So, she is Stella Rose. It fits her perfectly.
Thanks to all your readers for their suggestions! If we ever have a boy we’ll definitely keep them in mind.