Emily writes:

We are due Jan 1st with a baby girl and have basically exhausted ourselves looking for a name. Our names are David and Emily and our last name is (phonetically) Tom. This baby will be our 3rd child – we have an 8 year old daughter Rowan Terese and a 6 year old son Griffin David. Both of those 2 were SO easy to name, both were named within days of their 20 week ultrasounds, and I’m baffled why we are having such a hard time this go round. Nothing seems “right” for this one. A quick note – my husband is one of 14 kids, so we have a large grouping of nieces and nephews on his side. This will be grandchild #30 for his parents and we’d like to steer clear of cousin names.

Here are some of our (ok, mostly my) parameters:

No T name. I hate matching first with last initials – especially because matching T’s sound like Tater Tot to me.

At least 2 syllables – since our last name is so short.

No overly girly/flowery name – Rowan’s name (to us) is feminine but strong. We’d like to be somewhat consistent. We don’t really think of Rowan as unisex, since I’d always heard it as a girl name, but totally get that it is not “girly” by any means.

Nothing overly traditional – this just would not “go well” with the other 2. Does that matter? Maybe not when they are 30, but I’d hate to have a Rowan, Griffin and then a Gertrude, or even a Jenny. It feels like the “one of these things is doing their own thing” skit from Sesame Street. While we love some other types/categories of names, we don’t want the age gap between our older 2 and this one to be marked or highlighted by an obvious name shift.

Nothing too trendy – we like names that are easy to spell and read… but I am hoping our baby won’t need to add her last initial to her name when in school. I grew up an Emily WAY before it was popular, so I enjoyed being the only one. As a side note, my husband doesn’t really care about this at all – guessing he was one of many David’s in his classes and it never bothered him.

Names we’ve considered but ruled out (for now?):

Delia- husband likes a lot, but I’m not loving it – it isn’t quite right.

Delaney – we both liked, but then found out someone we know has a daughter named it and it was kind of wrecked for us.

Piper – both liked a lot, but same scenario as above.

Harper – we loved but don’t like how trendy it is getting. We’d like her name to be somewhat unique…though not out there.

Hadley – I love, husband hates.

Nora- Husband loves, I don’t.

Fiona – worried about the ogre connection a bit

Finley – love this, but don’t like that it “matches” the end of Griffin’s name.

Neelie – I loved this and keep trying to push my husband to it – it is my Grandma’s name backwards. He is not even slightly convinced. We also dabbled with Eiley for awhile after the same Grandma, but hubby is not a fan.

Nola- we both liked this for awhile, but after getting bombarded with negative comments from family and friends it has lost its appeal. Guess that is a good reason to keep names to ourselves J

Phoebe- one of the 29 grandchildren, so this is out. We both love, though.

Quinn – we both love, but “belongs” to a good friend, and is only 1 syllable.

Ruby – we like this one, but it seems to be trendy… and is a bit matchy matchy with Rowan.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. I’m doing my best to ensure this baby comes BEFORE we ring in the new year, more because of my quickly growing size than for any tax purposes, though that would be nice too.

 
Rowan and Griffin are both names that could be described as “contemporary, fashionable choices”: they’re not common enough to be called trendy, but they’re fully in style. This is, I think, why you’re getting stuck: your tastes are leading you to fashionable, cutting-edge names—but those are the very ones that could suddenly spring into trendiness/overuse.

I advise not trying to fight it too hard: future popularity of a name can’t be known, so you could drive yourself crazy trying to avoid it; the current popular names are not as common as the popular names of our decade were; going by a surname initial from time to time is not so terrible; you could name her something highly unusual and still find another in her class just by the luck of the draw; and it would be a shame to give up a name you love just because another child has it, or might in the future have it.

Harper would be, I think, a perfect name: to me it’s non-girly-but-still-feminine in the same way as the name Rowan. And, unfortunately, that kind of name is a hot property and, as you’ve noticed, the name is going up in popularity very quickly, which kicks it off the consideration list.

More possibilities:

Arden Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Arden
Averil Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Averil
Bianca Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Bianca
Bronwyn Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Bronwyn
Carys Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Carys
Cleo Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Cleo
Darcy Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Darcy
Daria Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Daria
Fallon Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Fallon
Haven Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Haven
Hollis Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Hollis
Imogen Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Imogen
Kiefer Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Kiefer
Larkin Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Larkin
Quinlay Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Quinlay
Yeardley Tom; Rowan, Griffin, and Yeardley

I wasn’t sure if I should avoid names that have the same ending as Rowan and Griffin: on one hand it’s nice to change, but on the other hand it makes the third name more obviously separated from the first two. I went for some of each.

Name update! Emily writes:

We hemmed and hawed –and then because she was late, we hemmed and hawed some more. She arrived January 7 – weighing a whopping 9 lbs 10oz. One look at her and both my husband and I knew she was supposed to be named Harper Adelia. Thanks to all the feedback – so many great names – and many of the comments (including yours Swistle) helped convince me that the “trendy” issue was not that important when we really loved a name. Thanks!!

Julie writes:

I hope you can help us decide on a name for our new baby. This is my third pregnancy and we do not know whether we are expecting a boy or a girl. Our living daughter’s name is Rebecca Ann. In addition, we have one who was born extremely premature and did not survive who we named Emma Eiliyah (/uh-LIE-uh/). Our last name is a two syllable word that starts with S and ends with the sound /ul/.

We are Jewish, and as such, traditionally name after loved ones who are no longer living. Rebecca is named for both of my grandmothers and for my husband’s brother (Rosalyn, Agness, and Richard). Because we knew that our second child would not live, we departed from the tradition and chose names based on their meaning (We found a meaning for “Ema” that means “loved one” so we changed the spelling a bit to be more conventional. Eiliyah means “beautiful one to grow in peace and love with God”). We would not have used either Emma or Eiliyah had she lived – partly because we don’t have relatives to name after who had names starting with the letter “E” and partly because of the combination of trendiness (Emma) and unusualness (Eiliyah) of the two names. We’re looking more to have the name sound appropriate with Rebecca than with Emma, since Emma doesn’t get spoken as often.

This time, we would like to name after each of our grandfathers, whose names began with “M” and “S,” preferably in that order so as to avoid the initials “SS” (not good for Jews) when the middle name is not used.

We lean towards names that are traditionally recognized, gender specific, with obvious spelling, & not extremely trendy/popular, super unique, or particularly ethnic. We would like to name the child what we call it – we’re not looking to use a nickname or to primarily use the middle name. Also, we try to avoid word names (Mark, Trip, Chase, Pierce, Hunter, Parker, Mason, Wendy, etc). Can you tell I used to be a teacher? ;) Rebecca fit the bill perfectly for us because it’s commonly recognized and while not currently particularly popular, it’s also not “dowdy.”

In my experience, our last name– two syllables & the /ul/ sound at the end – combined with the first letter constraints makes a difficult task all that much more challenging. As an example, although I love them both, we nixed the names Rachel and Abigail when I was pregnant with Rebeccca because of the rhymy-rhymy sound between first and last name. We also 86ed first names that end with the /s/ sound so as not to run into the /s/ at the start of our last name.

Names on the possibility list:

Mia (but is this too much of a rising star?)

Meg (my husband doesn’t like Margaret)

Matthew (although this is my brother’s middle name which poses a bit of a problem w/the tradition of not using the name of someone who is living)

Samantha

Sidney (for a boy)

Steven

Names we have eliminated for one reason or another: Max, Sarah, Sam/Samuel, Maris, (all names of living relatives), Michael, Mitchell, Miles, Mark, Maura, Megan, Saul

Thanks so very much for your help!!

M possibilities for girls:

Malin

Marin

Marissa

Mary (feels common, but isn’t; there was a Mary in my son’s class, and I was surprised how fresh it sounded on a little girl)

Meredith

Mira (similar to Mia, but without the Top Ten problem)

Miriam

Molly

Morgan

My favorites with Rebecca are Marissa, Meredith, Miriam, and Molly.

Marissa Simone
Meredith Shea
Miriam Sophia
Molly Samantha

M possibilities for boys are trickier: with Michael, Matthew, Mark, Max, Mason, Miles, and Mitchell eliminated (I’m eliminating Matthew since it breaks the tradition you’re trying to follow—and, as I understand Jewish naming traditions, which is only partially, using the name of a living relative seems to be a worse problem than declining to use a name of a no-longer-living relative), that leaves very few names. I’ve got three:

Malcolm Sidney
Micah Sawyer
Milo Steven

But I wonder if you have other relatives who could be honored, since so many M names are out.

Name update! Julie writes:

Hi! I wanted to update you and your fantastic readers. Our daughter was born on Thursday, January 6th and we chose the name Margaret Suzanne. Despite his initial lukewarm reaction to the name Margaret, my husband warmed to the name over time without pressure from me. Even up to (and beyond) the moment when Margaret was born, we were unsure about what name we would choose, particularly if she’d turned out to be a boy. But Margaret (instead of Meredith, our other leading choice for a girl) was the winner. We think it goes well with Rebecca and it feels so wonderful to have named her for both of our grandfathers. Thanks so much for all the help you and your readers provided! Now…on to finding a Hebrew name. ;)

Emily writes:

This is just a simple question but it’s driving me nuts! We’ve decided on the name for our baby boy- Finn. It goes well with our Irish last name (O’Meera), and we both love it. So the dilemma is, if we intend to mostly call our boy Finn, then should we just name him Finn and get it over with? I like the sound of the longer and more formal Finnegan, but my husband disagrees. Middle name will be one syllable (a family name). Any thoughts?
Thank you!

I have a similar situation in my own family. With one of my children, we decided we wanted to name him X, but there was a longer version of the name—let’s call it XZ—and we felt like maybe it would be better to use it as the Official Name. After much discussion, we decided we preferred the name X, so we named him X.

BUT! I’m sure there are lots of people who go with XZ and later are very glad they did: for flexibility, for formality, for nickname potential—lots of reasons. As a counter-example, with one name we were considering, we liked X but not XZ, so we decided not to use the name at all. A difference: in that case, X is widely considered to be the nickname for XZ; in the case of our son, XZ is only sometimes (narrowly, as it were) assumed to be the nickname for X, and is also a stand-alone name. And to me, Finn seems more a case of narrowly than of widely: some names are really JUST nicknames and some are shorter versions that are nevertheless full names, and Finn is a shorter version that is nevertheless a full name.

I think in your case, I would ask you which you PREFER: do you prefer Finn, or do you prefer Finnegan? Both are stand-alone names, and I think you’re safe choosing the one you PREFER. Either way, I don’t think later you’ll think you’ve made a mistake.

Name update: Finn

Kelly writes:

Saw a previous family had the same last name as us, Long with an A and since I’m due with twin boys in a couple weeks and we aren’t positive on names I figured I would email you as well.
Lets see, these are the final kiddos for us as we have Berkeley Rae 13, Talon William 11, Carter Daniel 9, Merritt Elizabeth 4, and Peyton Rose 2. All of the kids names are simply names that we fell in love with and they all truly fit them to a tee. All of the middle names are family names and we would like to keep that the same with the twins using Rowley (Row like Wow, not Row the boat) and Thomas. As of right now we have decided on Rory Thomas and Declan Rowley. However, I’m not quite sure if I love Declan the way I love all the other names, it is growing on me though and I’m not sure if Rory seems to girly. Would love to hear what you and the readers have for ideas for the newest additions to the Lang family. I’m not sure we have a “naming style” but we are pretty much open to any ideas. Also, although the doctors have told us they are both boys, my sister-in-law had a suprise girl last month so if there are any ideas for a girls name please share as we have absolutley no idea at this point.

Names we can’t use:
Griffin
Owen
Patrick
Colin
Cameron
Tristan
Mackenzie
Callie
Mason
Ashley
Lauren
Taylor

Thank you so much!

 
I do think that in a sibling group that includes a Berkeley and a Peyton and a Merritt, Rory would be too feminine. In the U.S., Rory is a name used slightly more commonly for boys (298 boys named Rory in 2009 versus 283 girls, according to the Social Security Administration), but I think two things make it seem girlish: (1) the popular TV show Gilmore Girls, in which one of the lead female characters was named Rory (short for Lorelai), and (2) the girl names/nicknames that rhyme with it, such as Lori and Tori. Other possibilities:

Geordie
Reuben
Roman
Ronan
Rudy
Rufus

If Declan is almost-but-not-quite, maybe:

Aidric
Cormac
Derian
Davis
Deacon
Duncan
Felix
Ivan

For me the biggest challenge of this question is the name Talon. It’s such an extremely macho/tough name (the large claw of a predator—it’s hard to get tougher than that), it makes brother names tricky: if you have, say, a Talon and a Rory, the name Rory looks even gentler and more feminine by comparison, while Talon looks even tougher and more nouny. This inclines me toward choosing boy names that are unmistakably boyish—and maybe even on the tough end of boyish. Ivan Rowley and Aidric Thomas. Davis Rowley and Roman Thomas. Reuben Thomas and Derian Rowley. Cormac Rowley and Delcan Thomas.

Name update! Kelly writes:

The boys arrived Dec 6th and all the comments from you and the readers truly did help. Although I absolutely loved your suggestion of Cormac, we really did not want to repeat first letters, so we reconsidered D names and setteled on Deacon Rowley. As we also felt Rory seemed slightly feminine, we went into the hospital with Ronan and Ryder on the list and Ryder Thomas came out just after his brother. With seven kids its been hectic but its safe to say everyone loves the newest additions and the family is well. Happy New Year to you and the readers! Thanks for all the help!

Nealy writes:

Help! We have six weeks to go and still do not have a name for our second daughter! She’s due on December 26th, and I’m starting to panic. :) My favorites are the older classical names, yet so many of these have become so common. I also don’t like the classic names of my generation (Amanda, Michelle, etc.) or anything that is too common.

Our first daughter is named Callie Christine, last name Landon. We both agreed and loved the name Callie – it’s a classical name yet still fairly uncommon. We’re considering the middle name Lucille because it is a family name, but are open to suggestions of this as well.

Here are some names that I like:
Ella (my husband thinks this is too common- what is your opinion?)
Evelyn (not crazy about Evie though)
Betsey (is this too 50’s???)
Clara
Emma (too common)

And my husband’s top:
Brielle (sounds too “made-up” to me…)
Clare

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Name update! Nealy writes:

I would like to update you on the birth (and name choice) of our daughter from this post…Clara Lucille. Thanks so much to the help and advice of Swistle readers!

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!