Bren writes:

Repeat customer here! You and your readers gave us some great naming advice in January 2009 (We chose the name Eli for our son) and I am asking for your help again. I am now pregnant with a baby girl who is due this Thanksgiving. I am becoming a bit (or a lot) panicked that Husband and I have not been able to agree on a name for our baby.

Our children’s names are Rose, Tess, and Eli. Our last name is 2 syllables, starting with a “Y” sound and ending in -er.

In my mind, this baby’s name is Jane. I love it. I think it’s sweet, classic, and goes well with our other children’s names. My husband is less than enthusiastic about it. He brings up things like “Jane Doe” and “Plain Jane”. So either he needs to see the light, or we need to come up with a name that we both can love.

Other names that I have on my list are:
Ada, Alice, Wren, Cora, Mae

It’s important to me to have a name that won’t be shortened to a nickname, as well as a name that is not currently trendy or popular. I tend to like shorter names.

My husband doesn’t seem to have a “style” of name that he likes. His suggestions come from all over the place, so it’s been difficult to even try to find some common ground. Some that he’s suggested:
Bella, Lacey, Amelia, Mattea, Ashley.

The middle name will likely be a family name that will be decided once the first name is chosen.

What do you think? Any hope for us?

Thank you!!

 
If you like Jane but your husband is worried about Plain/Doe, there are several girl names that are nearly the same except for the vowel sound:

Jean
Joan
June

My favorite is June: Rose, Tess, Eli, and June. But I really like all three.

(There’s also Jade, but I think it lacks the sweetness/softness of your other girls’ names, and of the name Jane.)

I also love love love Cora from your list. Rose, Tess, and Cora is SO PERFECT for the three sisters: all three names SO DIFFERENT, and yet all having four letters and all very similar in style.

Name update! Bren writes:

Our little girl, Jane, made her appearance on December 3rd – a full week past her due date. She is beautiful and sweet and not a “Plain Jane” in the slightest. Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions. I think all the positive comments from your readers helped my husband see what a great name it is. Thanks again!

Christine writes:

I am due on November 16th with our second child. The first is 20 months and is named Harrison David Ruggiero Mellert. We do not know if this one is a boy or girl but are having a very hard time settling on a girl’s name. Our names are Neal Bradford Mellert and Christine Marie Ruggiero Mellert (Mellert pronounced MELL ert). We would like to give the new baby the same 2 middle name thing we have for Harrison, meaning ______ Ruggiero, with the last name Mellert. This way we can leave the Ruggiero out, simplify it to just R. or some combination.
For a boy we plan on naming him Knox Bradford Ruggiero Mellert, using a first name we both love and Bradford from my husband’s middle name. We really like family names, David, as in Harrison’s middle name, was my husband’s grandfather’s name who past away at a young age.
We really are liking the first name Clara for a girl, classic, not crazy and not overly trendy now but may be making a comeback. Other names that we like but are out include Charlotte (I don’t like it with Mellert), Irene (my grandmother’s name but not crazy about it), Claire (a cousin just used it) and Lucy. We were thinking about using the middle name Basil(e) as it was my great grandfather’s name, but are now thinking that it may be too out there(?). I also thinking about using my mother’s maiden name as a middle name (Cummings) but the same cousin that took Claire took that as well, the nerve, ha! Anyway, help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 
I like Eliza: Eliza Mellert. Harrison and Eliza. Maybe Eliza Irene Ruggiero Mellert. Or Eliza Claire, if you don’t mind duplicating in the middle name slot.

I also like Georgia: it has the strength and dignity to go well with Harrison. Georgia Mellert; Harrison and Georgia. Again I like Irene for the middle name: Georgia Irene Ruggiero Mellert. Georgiana makes it a little more feminine and also increases the nickname options.

Or Genevieve: Genevieve Mellert, Harrison and Genevieve.

If Clara is too close to your cousin’s daughter Claire, Cora is similar. Cora Mellert, Harrison and Cora.

Evelyn would be pretty: definitely making a comeback, but that’s the way it is with the names that sound good. Evelyn Mellert, Harrison and Evelyn.

Or Corinna: Corinna Mellert, Harisson and Corinna.

Eva might be getting too common for you, but I think it’s such a wonderful name. Eva Mellert, Harrison and Eva.

The name Rose is very common as a middle name but underused as a first name: Rose Mellert, Harrison and Rose.

Same with Jane: it’s a great middle name, but I love it as a first name. Jane Mellert, Harrison and Jane.

Simone would work, I think: Simone Mellert, Harrison and Simone.

Name update! Christine writes:

thanks so much!
as it turns out….I had the baby 2 days after I posted my question and we had a BOY!
So our little bundle is Knox Bradford R. Mellert, and he is a cutie!
I enclosed a picture because I always love seeing the pics on the updates on your blog!
Thanks again for your help, we will be keeping those names in mind when we have another (which I already can’t wait to do, there is a little face still missing in our brood!)

Bronwyn writes:

We just found out that we’re expecting baby #3 – on Christmas, of all days! My husband has declared that this one better be a girl, because he’s just about spent on boys’ names.

Here’s the scoop. Our first son is named Samuel Patrick, which is perfect, because when we found out he was a boy, we set up a hard and fast rule: no biblical kings or saints. See how well that worked out? Our second son is Dixon Louis, named for our beloved late grandmothers, Dixie (his) and Louise (mine). This was the perfect name, because it would have worked regardless of the baby’s sex (Dixon was a surprise, so it helped to have a flexible name going in).

We are now stuck.
If it’s a girl, we’ve considered names that are similar to mine, Bronwyn. My husband likes Sulwyn, but I’m not convinced the child wouldn’t live the life of name-mangling torture I’ve endured. I like Carmela, but don’t know how any of that would fit with our last name, Hartung. If it’s a boy, we’re just completely stumped. Maybe Gregory, for a cousin who died when he was young? Or is that bad juju? Maybe my maiden name, Ramey, could be a middle name for our next child.

My only sticking point is that I prefer names that aren’t automatically turned into diminutive nicknames by people who don’t care to get to know you first. Again, you can see how great I did on this one with SamPat :)

So. Plenty of time, but I wanted to be sure to get in queue. If we learn the sex, I’ll update you.

And:

Although I didn’t want to find out, my husband did, and he let it slip that “you know what it is”… and I knew, in my heart of hearts, that this child is a girl.

So. Still stuck. I considered Lillian Reid (for a great aunt and my MIL’s maiden name) but am still not convinced. I thought Liam Reid sounded fabulous for a boy, but could I name a girl Lyam?

And:

Sorry to barge in again, but I also wanted to mention that I love my mother’s middle name, Carmela, and keep coming back to Bryony, too.

*sigh*

And:

Well, the latest candidates (and I still don’t know the sex of the baby, but suspect it’s a girl) are Carmela Snowden and Liam Reid. Carmela for my mom’s middle name and my great grandmother’s first name, and Liam because after a string of William Davids I wanted a nod to dad without YET ANOTHER William. Snowden and Reid are from my MIL’s family.

Not sure how they sound with Hartung, though. It’s hard to make anything sound good with that name.

And:

By “string of William Davids” I mean my dad is WD III, his dad was Jr. (Bill) and HIS dad was … something else. All I know is, they were both jerks and my dad is NOT a jerk, so I’d want to honor him but not them. If that makes any sense at all.

:-/

(And do you guys now love Bronwyn as much as I do?)

Okay! Work shirts on! Let’s say Liam Reid if it’s a boy, because that is a great name and because I think we all think the baby is a girl, right?

And not Lyam for a girl, because it looks like LYE-um instead of LEE-um. Lillian Reid is great. I love your current top choice of Carmela Snowden and don’t feel like I can suggest better. It even has a nice balance of family names: your mom’s MIDDLE name as the first name, but then a FAMILY name from your mother-in-law’s side as the middle name.

But looking at all these fun names you have to choose from and to be inspired by, I feel like doing some playing and combining.

Ramey
Bryony
Bronwyn
Lillian
Reid
Carmela
William
Snowden

For a girl, do you like Willemina (or Wilhelmina) or Willa? Both would be nice ways to honor your dad. You could do something like Willemina Carmela and get both of your parents in one swoop! Or Willemina Snowden is wonderful, or Willemina Reid, or Willa Bryony, or Willa Ramey.

Wynne would be a pretty way to get a name “like Bronwyn” but without as much pronunciation trouble. Wynne Ramey Hartung, maybe, or Wynne Bryony Hartung.

Or Gwendolyn? Gwendolyn is so pretty and underused, and has nice nickname choices like Gwen, Gwennie, Lynnie. Gwendolyn Reid Hartung.

Rowan seems like a great possibility, but I don’t like it with Hartung.

And would you enjoy having some seasonal names on hand, or do you dislike those? I love the idea of them, and Eve is a beautiful choice if your baby is born on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve. I think it’s great with your surname, too: Eve Hartung. Eve Snowden Hartung—ooo, I like it! Or Eve Ramey Hartung.

And of course there’s Noelle and Natalie and Joy and Holly and Ivy. And when I was five I got a doll for Christmas and named her Jeanette Isabella.

Name update! Bronwyn writes:

Liam Reid was born at 11:13 pm on Saturday, December 18, 2010. He weighed 7 lb 2 oz, and was 21 in long. I believe my exact words were, as I held his slippery little body to my own, “oh my god, it’s another one!” One tends to be rather candid in such situations :)

Melissa writes:

We had no real trouble naming our first child. I guess to be more accurate, I had no trouble coming up with names for our first child, my husband would veto, we batted around a list for a while and finally came up with something we both love that really fits. Our last name is Right, but with a W. Our son is Ronan Joss. The first name is something we both just liked after a lot of debate, and the middle name is a family name to honor my husband’s grandmother, who passed away before our son was born. We had a decent sized list of leftovers for another boy…so of course the baby we’re expecting in December is a girl!

We are stumped for girl names. Like last time, I am in charge of coming up with ideas, my husband is in charge of naysaying. I know that we would like to use Elle for a middle name, to honor both of my grandmothers (Ellen and Eleanor). So here is my list of first name prospects, with explanations:

Saoirse–I really like this name but fear that she would be telling people how to say it and spell it for the rest of her life, and I think that’s a dealbreaker. My husband dislikes this one for the same reason.

Mila (pronounced MEE-la)–might sound funny with Elle, is getting super popular. I don’t wanna go too “out there” but want to avoid the super popular. My name was top 1 or 2 for my birthyear and there were a million in every class growing up. Also a little concerned about the initial problem–MEW? I am not a fan of initials that spell things.

Annika/Anya–like these ones but also showing a scary spike in popularity in the last couple years. My husband likes the similar but even more popular Amelia.

Considering something in the neighborhood of Serena, Selena, Sela, Sabina, Sabrina. I like Sabina the best of these, and I think it sounds good with Elle. The last time it was really popular was 1918. My husband thinks it’s weird but I really like it. I don’t mind SEW as initials so much.

Isadora–I vacillate between loving this one and thinking it’s weird. Plus with Isabella being basically the most popular name ever, and the most likely nickname being “Izzy,” I’m really on the fence about it. I guess the nickname could be “Zora” or something, but that is also less than ideal in my opinion. The other problem I have with this one is the “too many R sounds” problem. Say it– Isadora Right. I like the idea of this one but it just doesn’t sound right.

Scarlet–Cute but too associated with “gone with the wind?”

I kinda like Penelope, Calliope, things in that neighborhood, still kicking those around. Really like Penny & Callie as nicknames too. Penelope is getting a little too popular though.

I also kinda like Maren or Marin but those are too close to my mother’s name (Marion) and thus pretty much out.

I have come up with two fairly strong recent contenders that might take some convincing for my husband–Gemma and Carys. I think Carys also has a bit of that pronunciation problem (will people think it’s “Care-eez?” I would pronounce it “CARE-is.”)

I obviously wanting to avoid anything cheesily holiday themed, the poor kid is never going to have a birthday party being so close to Christmas anyway, so no Holly, Noel, or anything of that ilk. Friends who are also pregnant right now with a girl are using Zoe, so that’s out. I kinda like Lucinda but Lucy is so popular and I’m only lukewarm on it anyway. I like Isla but other friends just named their baby that so it’s also out. I want to avoid anything that that ends with an R because I think it sounds weird with our last name. Help!

 
Oh, I am a little sad about no holiday names! I love those for December babies. My favorite is Eve, because it’s a great name but I don’t think it instantly calls the holidays to mind.

Okay, in that case my first suggestion is to use Elle as the first name. Or Ella: Ella Marion Right would be so pretty. But I realize Ella is probably too common for you to want to use it as a first name, and the initials EW are unfortunate.

I don’t think you need to worry about there being a million in every class of any name. The top ten of THIS year are way way way less common than the top ten of our birth years. Ella, a name I think you should consider despite its popularity, was in 2009 given to less than half a percent of baby girls—or one Ella per thirteen classrooms. Even Isabella, the number one most popular girl name in the U.S., was only given to 1.1% of baby girls—or one Isabella per six classrooms. (Source for all this mathy stuff: Social Security Administration.) Of course, regional stuff screws up all these numbers: taking anything national and telling you it’ll apply to your daughter’s single elementary school would be misleading. Which on the flip side means there could be two Scarlets in her class.

And in any case I take your gist, which is that you’d rather avoid common names. And so my next suggestion is that you avoid Elle and go instead directly to Ellen. (I’d suggest going directly to Eleanor, but its popularity is rising as people realize they can get the nickname Ellie AND the nickname Nora from it.) Ellen is uncommon (#700 in 2009, and falling) and lovely: Ellen Right. Ellen Saoirse Right or Ellen Mila Right. Ronan and Ellen. I do wish that this didn’t give the initials EW.

Or, go ahead and use Annika: it was getting more popular for awhile, and I would have said it was a good bet for getting even more popular—but then it stopped, and now it’s getting less and less common.

(screenshot from SSA.gov)

Annika Ellen Right, maybe, or Annika Eleanor Right, or Annika Sabina Right. Ronan and Annika. Initials AW, which is better than EW.

Of the S names, my favorite is Sabrina, which is #214 and falling.

When I looked up Saoirse to get the pronunciation (SEER-shuh), one of the first hits was Saoirse Ronan. Perhaps Sasha? Anastasia?

I think Carys would work fine. Some people might need help pronouncing it the first time, but I’ll bet most people know it.

Scarlet is at this point associated as much with Scarlett Johannson as with Scarlett O’Hara—but a bigger problem, I think, is its popularity: the spelling Scarlet is #610 and rising, but Scarlett is #169 and rising even faster (900s to 100s in 8 years).

Other unusual Celtic possibilities:

Bronwyn (not in the top 1000)
Cliona (not in the top 1000)
Flannery (not in the top 1000)
Gwendolyn (#585 in 2009 and holding pretty steady)
Ione (#938 and falling)
Riona (not in the top 1000)
Tamsin (not in the top 1000)

Name update! Melissa writes:

Baby Girl (W)right was finally born on 12/26/10! We had chosen Carys Elena, but it still didn’t sound right to me somehow. Decided as my husband was sending out the announcement to go with Carys Eleanor and I think it suits her nicely. Thanks for the help everyone!

Erin writes:

I am currently pregnant with my second son, due December 24th, 2010. Our first son’s name is Trent Michael. Michael is a family name, and for our second we also want to use a family name, which is Nikolas. We are also open to using the name Petr as the middle name, if it goes better with the first name.
I would like to name our son Silas, whereas my husband likes Dexter. We like names that are not common, but also not out-there, made up, or hippy-dippy in any way. Trent, we feel is a solid, respectable sounding, serious name and we’d like something similar for our second.
Personally, I like to put “Judge” in front of the name to see if it sounds good…
I cannot, in good conscience, strong-arm my husband into the name I like, but I also need to love the name, since I adore the name Trent.
Any suggestions that would bridge the gap?

 
Bryce
Clark
Curtis
Dean
Declan
Derek
Everett
Reid
Scott
Simon

Name update! Erin writes:

Thanks to you and all your readers for some really great suggestions! I am all set if we end up with boy #3! As it turns out, the husband and I came to an agreement. He let me have the first name if he could have the second, so it will be Silas Andrew (his fathers name). We briefly flirted with Baxter, but we had been calling him Silas for so long, that it had just stuck.

Thanks!

Laney writes:

Sorry this is late notice, but I am due on the 12th of November and I would like some name help! (I only came across your blog today).

I’m Laney and my boyfriend Ryan and I are expecting our first baby – a girl! We are so excited, but we still don’t have her name chosen. We are planning on waiting until we see her, but I am a little bit worried that I won’t be able to choose as I love the names we have picked out all equally.

Ryan wants her to have an ‘L’ name like mine, which I think is sweet and a great idea! Her middle names will either be Charlotte Rose or Amelia Rose (family tradition – my grandmother is Margaret Jane Louise, my mum is Casey Michelle Jane, I am Laney Rose Michelle, so my baby will be ____ ____ Rose).

Here are the names we have picked out:
Leah Charlotte Rose
Lila Charlotte Rose
Lucy Amelia Rose

However we can’t choose our favourite! So which one do you like the most?

Another name that I LOVE that Ryan isn’t as keen on is Grace Amelia Rose “Gracie”, and another name that Ryan LOVES and I’m not as keen on is Keira Scarlett Rose. Today I also thought of Elizabeth Charlotte Rose “Libby”, though I haven’t consulted Ryan yet. Do either of these sound any better?

If you have any other suggestions for girl names starting with ‘L’?

Thanks!

One of my favorite girl L names is Lorelei. So pretty! Other possibilities:

Laurel
Leila
Lena
Liana
Liesl
Liliana
Lindsay
Linnea
Lissandra
Liviana
Louisa

If your surname is uncommon, I’d lean more toward the common Lila and Lucy and Elizabeth and Grace. If your surname is common, I’d lean more toward the less-common Lorelei and Laurel and Liviana. (Isn’t Liviana pretty? And a good alternative for those of us who love Olivia. I only just found it this morning in The Baby Name Wizard while working on this question.)

I don’t think I’d use Scarlett and Rose together, since together they sound either like two colors or like an adjective and a noun. Charlotte Rose and Amelia Rose are both great—I’d have a hard time choosing. Or, the first of the middle name slots would be a good place for Keira, Libby, or Gracie. Some of my favorite combinations:

Laurel Amelia Rose
Liliana Charlotte Rose
Linnea Charlotte Rose
Liviana Charlotte Rose
Lorelei Amelia Rose
Louisa Charlotte Rose

And let’s have a poll over to the right for your three finalists. [Poll closed; see results below.]

Name update 11-09-2010! Laney writes:

She’s here! She arrived on November 6th, and is doing great. She was 6lbs 13oz, and 20 inches long!
We decided to go with Leah Madeleine Rose. I think I always knew her name was Leah – it had always been one of my favourite names. We only had to decide between Charlotte or Madeleine for the first middle name, and we decided that Madeleine was best for her. I LOVE her name, and I can’t stop saying it. Thanks so much Swistle for posting the question, and thanks for everyone who answered. You really did make me realise that Leah was the perfect name for her :-)

Here is a picture of Leah: