Hi Swistle,

I’ve been reading your blog for as long as I can remember and I’m so excited to finally be writing to you with a baby name question of my own!

Ok, so here’s the lowdown: I’m Allie (short for Allison), my husband is Chris, and we’re expecting our first child, a girl, in March of 2021. Our last name sounds like Spiers, but with an M, and we plan to have two to three children. We both grew up with very common, fairly generic names, so would like to bestow something a little more interesting and fun for our little one. We like short, easy to pronounce and spell names that are unique, meaning there won’t be three other kids in their class with the same name. The middle name will be Anne, after my dear grandmother who passed away when I was in college.

Which brings us to Ferris. Cute, spunky, and fun, with a hint of an eighties vibe. The Ferris Bueller association does not deter us, but tickles us, it seems like a cute connection. Perfect, we thought. Ferris Anne (M)iers, it flows, and even the initials FAM are cute, and seem to be a sign that the name is meant to be part of our family. That was until we confided in my mother-in-law about the name. I know, I know, big mistake, but we were so giddy about Ferris we just had to tell SOMEONE.

The minute we said our daughters potential name, she recoiled in horror, and promptly began to explain to us all the reasons this is a terrible name. She mentioned its masculinity, the Ferris Bueller thing, the Ferris wheel thing, and just it’s general ‘ugly sound’. “The only Ferris anyone will have ever heard of is Ferris Bueller! They’re going to think my granddaughter is a boy!” She told us.

This shook us pretty badly, because even though we don’t care THAT much what she thinks (and Chris is pretty sure she’ll calm down once the baby arrives and love her granddaughter too much to care) this did get us to start considering the Pros and Cons of Ferris. Here they are:

Pros:
It’s unusual, but simple and has been heard of
Seems to only have one pronunciation
goes the middle name we want to use, Anne
has a bit of an 80s vibe but not too much
Chris and I went on a Ferris Wheel on our first date so it has a fond memory attached to it
We both love Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (also in the new generation is the Ferris Association fading. We are on the younger side, and born a few years after it came out. Surely many parents will know it, but will the kids think of it so strongly, or will it be a weaker reference?)
We both just love the name and cute nn possibilities (Ferri, Riss, Rissi, Fam, Fammi, for the initials FAM)

Cons:
does the S at the end of Ferris sound clunky with the S ending of our last name? Ferris (M)iers?
We know Ferris is a masculine name, and we don’t mind that too much, but
Does the ferris wheel thing seem bad to the general population??????? Are we blinded by the cute story?
Is it hard to pair with sibling names? What even would those be, we have NO ideas. Eek!

We just love Ferris Anne (M)iers so much and would hate to give it up, but feel it may not be right for a little girl. Maybe we can save Ferris for a boy??? Our style for girls is more gender neutral names.

Here are some other names we like for girls.
Gracyn
Finley (having trouble picturing an adult with this name)
Taylor
Peyton
Morgan (feels a bit harsh to me)
Cory
Jesse
Callahan (nn Callie. If we used Ferris for a girl then Callahan as a sister, will it seem too feminin in comparison?)
Garret
Teagan
Quinley
Sloane (but a definite NO with Ferris, for obvious reasons)
Darcy
Callum
Drew (Chris likes Drue, like true with a D, is that a thing???)
Logan

My favorites are probably Drew and Teagan while Chris’ favorites are Callahan and Garret. We really like Quinley but feel the rest fit into a category it doesn’t quite match. So far, none of these really feel quite right, and we are only lukewarm on some of them. I feel like our taste is a bit all over the place and I’m worried future sibling names will be a nightmare, boy or girl. Though some of these may be easier to pair together then with Ferris.

So my main questions are:
Are the cons issues or non issues?
Is the Ferris association getting weaker as time goes by?
Is Ferris a possible girl’s name? Has it ever been used for girls? Is it going too far with the unique thing?
What are some other names with a similar feel to Ferris that go with the mn Anne, or names that could serve as future siblings to Ferris Anne?
We would love some advice on this matter and suggestions for names like/that go with Ferris to see if it is the name for us and our daughter.

Thanks so much!
Allie (M)iers

I too have a positive association with Ferris Bueller, but I know that in my circle, whenever the movie comes up, people IMMEDIATELY start quoting BATCHES of lines from the movie, and it isn’t long before someone says “Ferris Bueller, you’re my hero!” in the dippy Cameron voice, and then someone says “Bueller?…Bueller?…Bueller?…” in that Ben Stein voice, and I would be heartily sick of that whole routine after one single time.

I think the issue isn’t that the associations aren’t positive, but that there are so few and so strong, and that Ferris is not much used as a name in the United States at all: in 2019, it was given to 29 baby boys and it is not in the data base at all for baby girls. So this would be a change from the style and popularity of the names you and your husband were given, but is this how far you want to go with that goal? Looking at the other names on your list, I don’t see anything as unusual or as strongly-associated as Ferris.

And I think you’re very wise to take future sibling names into account. Once you’ve used (1) an almost-unused name (2) for the opposite sex it is exclusively associated with, it seems like it could be very difficult to find a follow-up.

I do think the name Ferris makes an awkward -smi- sound with the surname, not that I’d consider that a deal-breaker—and I’m about to include similar names in suggestions below.

I know that just because a name sounds similar doesn’t mean it has the same feel, but I wonder if you would like any of these options:

Carys
Ellis
Florence
Frances
Hollis
Iris (I find this hard to say with the surname)
Maris/Merris (this may be far more alliteration than you’d like)
Verity

I especially like Ellis and Hollis for you: both are unisex names that lean boy, but have feminine nicknames (Ellie/Holly) if your daughter ends up preferring that; both are unusual but simple and seem to have only one pronunciation. Both go nicely with Anne. Both create the same issue with your surname as Ferris does, but again, I don’t think that’s a deal-breaking sort of issue, and I think everyone would get used to leaving a little pause in between. Hollis, unfortunately, gives you the initials HAM, which WOULD be a deal-breaker for me. Ellis still works, and Ellison would resolve the issue with the surname.

I also like Carys (it is ALMOST Ferris), but worry it’s too feminine with most of the other names on the list.

And Frances is interesting to think about. I don’t think it’s right with the rest of the names on your list, but the unisex nature of Frances/Francis, plus the nickname Frankie, plus you’d still have the initials FAM—well, it’s interesting to think about, but doesn’t seem Right.

I think you have a lot of other good options on your list. Probably I would steer away from Garret just because it’s another name used exclusively for boys in the U.S. And Jesse, though it is sometimes used for girls in the U.S., feels like a spelling specifically intended to communicate the male version of a unisex name, similar to Frances/Francis and Erin/Aaron. And Taylor and Cory feel a little dated, though not unusable.

I think Finley will feel right on adults by the time they grow up: it’s just that most of them are still children, so it still feels like a child name.

I have seen the spelling Dru/Drue before, but I think only as a nickname (like for Drusilla), not as a stand-alone name. I just checked, and to my surprise, in 2019 there were: 36 new baby girls named Dru, 14 new baby girls named Drue, 44 new baby boys named Dru, and 18 new baby boys named Drue. (For comparison, there were 184 new baby girls and 547 new baby boys named Drew.)

I’d be interested in what sorts of names you’re considering for future sons. If you haven’t made a list yet, I think it would be a good idea to make a quick list now: not that you have to decide on names for future children when it’s hard enough to decide on a name for this one, but it’s an exercise that can help clarify the current decision. Do you like unisex-leaning-girl names for boys? or traditional/classic names for boys? or do you like the same unisex-leaning-boy names from your girl-name list, and so you might want to choose now which you prefer for girls and which for boys?

And mixing and matching little groups of sibling names (just for fun, no pressure to ACTUALLY decide) can start to give you a feeling for what sounds like Your Kids. Picture them putting a puzzle together at the table, or getting into the car, or eating breakfast, or doing some other normal daily thing: are they Ferris and Callahan and Teagan? are they Garrett and Callum and Hollis? are they Gracyn and Sloane and Malcolm? Look at pictures of yourselves as children, and at kids you see on TV or in public: which names feel like they FIT well on those kids? Imagine filling out kindergarten registration paperwork; imagine announcing the name when you arrive at the pediatrician’s office; imagine telling another parent at the park which child is yours: which names feel like Your Kids?

I’d also think about which names on the list might rule out other names on the list (such as the rhyming Quinley and Finley), to make sure you use your favorite in each case. For example, would you use both Logan and Teagan, or does one -gan name mean not using the other? Similarly, Callum and Callahan: after using one, would the other be off the list? Do you have any feelings about not repeating initials? If so, you’d want to think ahead of time about Gracyn/Garret, Finley/Ferris, Cory/Callahan/Callum, and so on. It can be especially tricky if you prefer one name for a girl and another for a boy: you could accidentally use one of several favorite girl names, realizing only later that it ruled out a name you felt even more strongly about for a boy. (As when a friend used Eva for a girl, without realizing until later that it ruled out her top choice of Evan for a boy.)

More names to consider, just for the fun of making the list:

Campbell (cute initials-spell-the-nickname situation)
Carrigan
Carsten
Casey
Crosby
Darby (initials spell DAM)
Elliott
Emlyn
Garnet (initials spell GAM)
Jensen (initials spell JAM)
Keaton
Keegan
Kellen
Keller
Laken (initials spell LAM)
Locklyn (initials spell LAM)
Lowen (initials spell LAM)
Sterling
Winslet
Winslow

Name update:

Hi Swistle,

Thank you so much for posting and answering our question! It was really helpful to see everyone’s thoughts on this matter and get some more helpful insight into our conundrum. It was also really fun to read!

After seeing your and your readers responses, we had a long talk about exactly what we wanted our naming style to be. We agreed Ferris was our favorite name, but the cons outweigh the pros, although if we planned on having only one child she would probably be Ferris. That said, we used your idea of imagining our children and what we thought they may be like and trying to picture calling them. We had several rounds of:

“Campbell it’s time for dinner!”
“Drew, set the table!”
“Teagan, we have to leave in five minutes!”

before we came up with a few ones we liked. These names were on our original list, but embarrassingly, we overlooked them. We decided that despite our love of the more unisex boys names, we felt our girl was more unisex girl leaning. We planned to go into the hospital with the two names we loved, and decide there. Well, baby girl decided to come early, and after the scariest and most painful but also happiest day of my life, our daughter was born at thirty three weeks on January 19th, 4 pounds, 5 ounces, 17 and a half inches long. She is the joy of our lives!

When she arrived we were debating between Gracyn and Teagan, me favoring Teagan and him Gracyn. I actually broke down in tears when I saw her and realized that she didn’t look like either. Oddly, Chris agreed. So we were scrolling through comments and recreating lists to find an appropriate name for our girl. But I just knew she was our Ferris the minute our eyes locked, and just couldn’t shake the feeling.

Our daughter is Aven Louisa Ferris (M)iers, and she is the love of our lives! We realized that Ferris is perfect for our little girl, but we know she may outgrow it at some point and not want it as a first name. Thank you to the commenter who mentioned Ferris Olin, we think she is a beautiful namesake for our girl. Louisa entered late in the game, and we had never even had it on our lists, but when we met our girl, a Nurse named Louisa was there, and my mother commented on how that was a family name, and then it just clicked!

As for her first name, my mother actually suggested Aven when I was in tears over having no idea what to name our girl, and it felt perfect from the moment we called her that. We are sad we were unable to use Anne, but are happy with our choice and are in love with Ferris and the rest Aven’s name. I have never met anyone named Aven, and according to social security it’s not even in the top 1000, which I love. For now we are calling her A, Avie, Avie Lou and Muffin.

Thank you so much to Swistle and all the readers who helped us! We are obsessed with both our little Aven and her name!

Allie, Chris and Aven Louisa Ferris (M)y-ers

Dear Swistle,

I’ll preface this by saying that my actual problem might just be that the prospect of naming a whole entire person is too daunting, having never met the child in question. But possibly I’ve just given myself too many options to consider and that’s what’s overwhelming? At any rate, I’m turning to you, the best naming advice-giver/therapist on these internets.

My husband and I are expecting our first (likely only) child, a girl due in about 8 weeks. He and I share a first initial, so we have at least rejected all names beginning with the letter J (including Josephine, which is a favorite and thus contender for a middle name.) She’ll get both our last names, so her last name will sound something like Otherword-Mitten (to hyphenate or not, another thing I have too much time to consider in These Times!)

When we learned the baby’s sex, we came up with a fairly long list of potential names and have tried out one name a week from the list since. Names we both like go on a list on the fridge with potential middles in a column next to each. We’ve been at it for a while, and maybe the novelty of the game has worn off, but we haven’t come up with a fridge name in well over a month. (This week is Victoria, and we are both meh on it.) One major similarity between the fridge names is multiple nickname options. The name Charlotte (nn Charlie) would, I think, be number one on both our lists, but my parents picked a very, very popular name for me and I’m not interested in doing that for our child, so Charlotte is a no-go.

The fridge names:
Liliana (a name he and I have liked for years and years as a hypothetical, but now feels like maybe it’s lost a bit of its sparkle for me that I’m considering using it for a real person? He still loves it.)
Penelope
Ramona
Rosalie (I love this, he is less enamored.)
Theodora

Every time we look at the list now, we’re just not enthused. Is it decision fatigue or have we just not hit on the right option? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much,
Jen

Wait, let’s not be too quick to give up on a name that is #1 for both of you. I can see why you’d feel that way, but the name Jennifer was its own phenomenon: no subsequent name has come ANYWHERE NEAR that level of popularity. I don’t know why I don’t jot this down so I don’t have to look it up every time, but let me see if I can find the peak year for the name Jennifer. Ah, here we go: in 1974, it was used for 4.03% of baby girls born in the United States. Additionally, the name was in the Top Ten for TWENTY-SIX YEARS IN A ROW (1966-1991), and it was #1 for FIFTEEN of those years (1970-1984), and it didn’t even drop out of the Top 50 until 2006, so the Jennifer Saturation was INTENSE and LENGTHY, making it FEEL even more popular that it was—and it was very popular.

The name Charlotte, on the other hand, has been in the Top Ten for six years, none of those years yet at #1. Its highest usage was in 2019, when it was used for .72% of baby girls. Jennifer was used at 5-6 TIMES that rate. For every FIVE TO SIX Jennifers back then, there is only ONE Charlotte now. When you were in school, I’ll bet you frequently had another Jennifer in your classroom with you, sometimes two other Jennifers. Think back: did you ever have FIVE more Jennifers with you in a single classroom? That is approximately how often there are two Charlottes in a classroom now.

Of course, those are national statistics: some locations are going to have more Charlottes than that, and in others there will be almost no Charlottes. We’ve all heard/experienced situations where someone chose, say, Juniper to avoid the popularity of Harper, and then there happened to be three Junipers and no Harpers in that grade. There were THREE Roberts (.48% usage nationally) in Elizabeth’s classroom one year, and three Josephs (.90% national usage) (all three going by Joey, and two of them having the same middle name, and a different two having the same surname initial) in Edward’s class another year: statistics are broad, and local anomalies happen. But IN GENERAL, the name Charlotte is not even in the same orbit/league as the name Jennifer—NO name is now in the same orbit/league as the name Jennifer, nor has any name come close in recent years: even extremely popular names max out at about 1/3rd-1/4th Jennifer’s usage, and for much shorter reigns.

Well. Let’s look at the other names on the list. I do think a certain level of fatigue can set in, and that you’re right that the weight of responsibility makes it harder—and especially if you’re thinking this might be The Only Name You Ever Choose. I don’t know if this will help you, but it helped me: your parental responsibility is to give her a good solid usable name. It doesn’t have to be The Best Name or The Perfect Name or the name that shines out obviously as The One. She just needs something to write on her homework papers, and for you to call out when it’s time for dinner. Think of long-ago generations of parents, who were just like “I don’t know, I guess Mary for a girl, John for a boy.” They did not sweat the way we sweat. They just picked one of the dozen or so names that were commonly used, and they went on with their lives.

All of the names are your list are good, solid, usable names; you can’t go wrong here. And I don’t see any style concerns to work through: that is, if your girl-name list were Josephine, Charlotte, Avery, and Riley, I would suggest narrowing down your style before starting the naming process, so you don’t get backed into a corner later on if you were to change your mind about having more children. But all the names on your list are of compatible/adjacent styles: even if you were to have more children, I don’t think you’re going to use Charlotte and then be having another baby and think “Oh no, none of our other girl names work with Charlotte!”

One exercise I used to narrow down my own list was to imagine the kids sitting around the dinner table, or draped around the living room. Which sorts of names feel like “my kids”? Or I would imagine giving the name at the doctor’s office, or writing it on school registration paperwork. Maybe ALL the names sound a little funny, just because it’s hard to picture theoretical kids—but some names felt more comfortable/natural than others.

Sometimes it helps to look for similar names (whatever similarity looks like to the particular parents), if only to rule them out and feel more strongly about the originals. Charlotte might lead me to Scarlet and Violet and Juliet (I remember the no J’s rule, but am including it just as part of the exercise) and Celeste; Liliana to Vivienne and Eliana and Lillian and Jillian and Lydia; Victoria to Veronica and Bianca and Catherine; Penelope to Calliope and Phoebe and Eleanor and Philippa; Ramona to Simone and Fiona; Rosalie to Rosemary and Natalie and Romilly; Theodora to Dorothea and Cordelia and Thomasina and Claudia and Georgia.

Sometimes it helps to simplify the name: Liliana to options such as Lily and Anna; Penelope to Nell and Elle; Rosalie to Rose and Leigh and Lia; Theodora to Thea. And you can play with those pieces, too: maybe you take the Anna and the Elle and it makes you think of Annabel. Or the Nell of Penelope makes you think of other names Nell can be short for, such as Eleanor. Maybe you’re thinking about how you’d like to use the nickname Lottie for a Charlotte, and that makes you think of Lettie and Etta and Hattie, and you end up considering Violet and Henrietta and Harriet. Or maybe you’re dividing Theodora, and you think of Dora but don’t want to use that, but Dora makes you think of Nora and Cora, and Cora makes you think of Clara, and so on.

Because you like Josephine and Ramona, I’d like to specifically draw your attention to the names Fiona and Simone. Both are relatively uncommon, yet easy to pronounce and spell. They both seem like they’d work well with a longer surname.

And Theodora and Liliana make me think of Lydia, which would let you still use Josephine as the middle. Lydia Josephine.

Name update:

Dear Swistle,
Liliana Josephine joined us in the wee hours of Saturday morning! We love her and her name and all the many, many nicknames she’s already inspired.
Thanks again for tackling my question!

Hi Swistle,

Baby girl is due in 4 days and I am freaking out! We have no idea what her name is going to be, and I’m desperate for an outside opinion.

For context: I’m Elisabeth and my husband is Michael, and our last name sounds like Harding. This will be our first child together, but we each have children from prior marriages. I have two daughters, Hannah Eileen (8) and Norah Joanne (5), and he has a son, Holden Emory (7).

Because both Holden and Hannah start with H, we don’t want another H name, which would cause Norah to feel left out. Unfortunately, Harleigh, Hartley, and Hailey are all among my favorite names. Even more unfortunately, hubby actually really likes all of those. Eek! Why are the only names we can agree on the ones we cannot use?

At five, Norah is really at the peak of understanding her name versus her siblings’ names and I don’t think I would feel comfortable with her being the only non H. She is already losing her spot as the youngest and I wouldn’t want to make it an even harder transition for her, so the no H thing is fairly non negotiable.

Ok, onto other possibilities. The middle name we like is Corinne, but this is still rather up in the air. Our first choice is Hailey Corinne, but obviously that’s not going to happen. As for first names, here is our list:

Caitlyn
Piper
Willa
Lilly
Clare
Rose
Grace

Obviously our taste is kind of short and sweet and more contemporary names, although we’re having so much trouble fully agreeing to anything. There’s just nothing we love as much as Hailey Corinne, and that sings to our hearts the way it does. As far as personal preferences go, my favorite is probably Clare or Grace, while my husband favors Piper and Lilly. I also love Rose, but do not like Rosie but Rose Corinne does flow nicely to me. Caitlyn is also nice but I’m still on the fence about it, while Willa is a bit outside our normal range which makes me a little

I hope you can help us narrow down this list but also add some suggestions of your own! With the due date coming so close we are in desperate need of some advice and an outside opinion!

Thanks so much,
Lissie and Mike Harding

It is hard when a preference is so strong/important that it has to rule out the parents’ first-choice name. What I suggest in situations like this is a redirect: Don’t try to find a name you love as much as Hailey Corinne, or a name that makes your hearts sing as much, because there might not BE any such name. Don’t compare your new list to Hailey Corinne, because you’ve ruled that name out and it is no longer relevant. Instead, make your goal to find your favorite of all the non-H names, and only compare those names to each other.

Would it be fun in any way to choose a name that starts with N? I don’t mean in an “Oh, no, now our choices are even more limited!” kind of way, but more in a “Let’s try this interesting little side path first!” kind of way. We’ve just done Our Favorite Baby Names Starting with N, if that would be helpful. Nadia is pretty: it gives all three girls an -a/-ah ending but with a different sound to it, and it ties into the -d- of Holden and of the surname. Nadia Harding; Nadia Corinne; Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Nadia.

If she is born in December—well, I am a sucker for a good holiday-themed name, and would lean very hard toward Noelle. Noelle Harding; Noelle Corinne; Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Noelle.

Or do you have any interest in switching first/middle? Especially adding an -a: I think Corinna Hailey is very pretty, and lets you have most of what you wanted, without ending up with an H- first name. Corinna Harding; Corinna Hailey; Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Corinna. And I also like Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Corinne.

From your list, I like Willa if it appeals to you to give all three girls -a/-ah endings: I like the old-fashioned sound of it with Hannah and Norah. Willa Harding; Willa Corinne; Hannah, Holden, Norah, Willa.

I also like Lilly, Clare, Rose, and Grace: all great vintage-revival choices, all good with the sibling names, all good with the surname and middle name.

Piper feels to me like a sudden style jump: it’s great with just Holden, but doesn’t feel like a natural choice with Hannah and Norah, and emphasizes the change in naming partners. Caitlyn is a name that has had an extended season in the sun, and now perhaps is ready to take a well-deserved rest until its revival in a few generations.

We can also look for names similar to Hailey/Harleigh/Hartley—though I’m nervous that many of those veer from the style of her sisters’ names: e.g., I could suggest Kailey/Bailey/Paisley, and Marleigh/Carly, and Carter/Courtney/Atley, but those seem mismatched with Hannah and Norah. So I’m going to be looking for names that ideally combine to some degree the sounds of Hailey/Harleigh/Hartley with to some degree the style of Hannah/Norah; I’ll also add in anything else I find during the search:

Abigail
Ada
Adelaide
Audrey
Charlotte
Claudia
Dahlia
Daisy
Darcy
Elena
Faith
Garnet
Ivy
Jane
Laney
Layla
Lilah
Maisie
Margaret
Margo(t)
Molly
Rosalie
Sadie

Name update:

I’m sure you normally don’t get updates this soon, but then again I suppose most people write to you more than four days before their due date. :)
On December first, Noelle Corinna Harding was born at 5:36 am, happy and healthy. Older siblings Hannah, Holden and Norah are over the moon with joy. We are so happy with her name! Thank you so much for the suggestion of Noelle, Swistle, it’s absolutely adorable and suits her perfectly. She is our little Christmas baby.
Many thanks to you and your readers for all the help!
Lissie, Mike, Hannah, Holden, Norah and baby Noelle

Hi Swistle,

Only six weeks left until baby girl is due to arrive, and we are at a loss for names. I would really appreciate an outside opinion.

I’m Alexandra, but I go almost exclusively by Lexie, and my husband is Adam and the baby will have his surname, which sounds like Carsons, but it starts with a P.

I had a son in high school who is named Brady Maximillian, who I named myself, and hubs and I share a two year old daughter, Campbell Louise. I am in LOVE with both their names, and think they make the cutest sibset. I really want this next name to complete it.

To go with the old time-y middle name vibe, we have selected Josephine for this girl’s middle name.

As for first names, we are a bit lost. Obviously our style is unisex surnames as names, although I would like the name to be prominently female, as it is with Campbell’s name.

Some of our thoughts: Addison (too popular?), Ainsley (I like, he doesn’t) Blakely (too boyish and too similar to Brady), Delaney (sounds like a nickname?), Leighton (he likes, I don’t), Kennedy (don’t like nickname Kennie/Kenny), and Harper (something feels off).

For context, if this baby were a boy he would probably either be Spencer Adam, or Grant Michael.

I hope you can help, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Lexie

As I was reading the letter, I thought casually that it would be fun if this baby could have a name starting with D—like, not important enough to back ourselves into a corner, but it would be fun to have B/C/D, especially since you and your husband are both A (though you are practically-speaking an L). And, as you mentioned, it would be good to have another unisex-leaning-mostly-girl name like her sister’s name. And then you mentioned Delaney and my heart nearly stopped.

I don’t normally beg. It’s not appropriate: you should do what YOU want, not what SWISTLE wants. But. DELANEY. DELANEY!! It doesn’t sound like a nickname to me at all (nicknames for it include Del and Laney), and I think it is a FABULOUS name that goes BEAUTIFULLY with your naming style. Elizabeth has a friend named Delaney, so I’ve had ample time to get accustomed to it and I will tell you that at least for ME, I have not gotten tired of hearing it or saying it, and if anything I like it better and better. Delaaaaaaaaaney!! Delaney Josephine (C)arsons! Brady, Campbell, and Delaney! Girl, you are DONE! You have done it! You do not need us at all!

Okay. Okay. I will proceed as if I realize you still get to make the final decision.

I do think Addison is a little popular for your naming style. Looking back at the Social Security Administration data for when your son was born, the name Brady wasn’t yet in the Top 100. The name Campbell isn’t even in the Top 1000. But the name Addison was #47 in 2019, and has been in the Top 50 since 2006 so there will be plenty of Addisons in the grades above. Still, if that’s your top choice, I don’t think the popularity should rule it out: most people don’t know/think as much as we do here about name popularity. Plus, I like that you’d have A, B, and C, though it bothers me a tiny tiny bit that they’re not in order and that the parents are also both A. It doesn’t bother me enough that it destroys the joy, and I don’t normally consider the parents’ names together with the children’s names—it’s ONLY that this time I had already thought it would be fun to have B/C/D after A. It also bothers me a tiny bit that the -on of Addison is echoed-but-not-quite in the -ons of the surname, but that is purely subjective and for someone else might be a positive.

Ainsley is more the popularity ranking I’d be looking for: it was #475 in 2019. In long-gone days I wouldn’t have spent much more time discussing it, since you say your husband doesn’t like it—but we have learned here to leave room for the “My husband hates it” letter combined with a “We used it!” follow-up. So I will go on to say that I again enjoy the A/B/C situation, and that I think Brady, Campbell, and Ainsley is a great sibling set.

I reluctantly agree with half your assessment of Blakely: I don’t find it too boyish (and the usage was 1,607 new baby girls named Blakely and 17 new baby boys in 2019), but I do find it too similar to Brady.

I think Leighton is another really good option. It was #414 in 2019, and I think it’s nice in the sibling group. Brady, Campbell, and Leighton.

Kennedy is more popular: #67 in 2019. I’m hoping to hear from some people who are named Kennedy or who know a Kennedy: DO they get called Kenny? I wouldn’t have gone to that; for whatever reason, it doesn’t feel like a natural nickname to me, even though it meets all the qualifications for a natural nickname.

Harper is surprisingly popular; I say “surprisingly” because it made such a rapid ascent once it got going:

(image from ssa.gov)

I don’t like the sound of it with the surname: the rhyming and not-quite-rhyming bounce of Har-/-per/-Par bothers my mouth. I wonder if that’s what’s feeling off to you, too.

(I VOTE DELANEY.)

Name update:

Hi Swistle,

Name Update here! Baby girl (P)arsons arrived happy and healthy on January 8th, to the absolute delight of older siblings Brady and Campbell.

We named our daughter Delaney Josephine. Brother and sister have already started calling her Laney.

Thank you so much Swistle for posting my question, and giving me more suggestions. I really appreciate the help and suggestions of you and all your readers. In the end, I realized Delaney was the name I loved the most and fit best with our family. Runner up was Ainsley.

I hope this brought a smile to someone who was rooting for Delaney, despite the stressful times.

Many thanks,
Lexie, Adam, Brady, Campbell and Delaney,

P.S. – I attached a photo of our sweet girl you can share with your readers