Consultation
Elisabeth Wilborn of You Can’t Call It “It”! offers private baby name consultations. She has been featured on such sites as Babble, Apartment Therapy’s Ohdeedoh, Nameberry, and on television for Bravo TV’s Pregnant in Heels.
If you need personalized advice and suggestions on what to name your wee one, please contact youcantcallitit {AT} gmail {DOT com}. The fee for a private one time consultation is $42, payable via Paypal. Ongoing consultation throughout your pregnancy or adoption process is $195.
I aim to please, though there is no guarantee of course that you will choose one of the names I suggest. What I can do is expand your options, introduce you to possibilities you may not otherwise consider, and help couples who are having difficulty come to a compromise.
Each family gets their own approach.
Examples of past consultations:
Making It Winsome, for Nicole Balch of Making It Lovely
Twin Girls: How Much to Match?
Baby Hockey Player Mathemetician
Kidd Sharp (for Amy Turn Sharp of Doo-ble-vay)
A Brother for River: Looking for an L Name
Over the Rainbow: Lilou or Jolie?
Thane, Seth, and Claire’s Sibling
A name that works in English and Spanish, and maybe Swedish. ;-)
Can you name your baby after a “van”?
Abraham, Sebastian, and Malachi’s Sibling
What goes with Piper, Finley, and Jonas?
{ 67 comments… read them below or add one }
I am so glad to have found this blog! I have two daughters, Linnea Nichole and Alaura Brianne. We are currently pregnant with our third daughter (due any day) and we are fairly certain we will be naming her Calista. I am stuck on a middle name though..we really love the name Elise, but the open vowel ending in her first name makes it seem kind of difficult to say. We have considered Lynn and Leigh (to honor family members) but something about them don’t sit well me either. It may be that I seem to prefer a two syllable middle name with our short last name. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!!
Hello Michaellea! Congratulations on expecting #3. Three girls is very special.
You’ve chosen gorgeous names. Calista is so beautfiul (it even means beautiful).
I understand your concern about the vowels abutting each other in Calista Elise. It’s called a glottal stop, when your vocal cords (glottis) has to catch the air in between syllables. My two year old, for example, would prefer to put a noun there. Calista Nelise she might say.
It doesn’t bother me per se, but it might not be technically ideal.
Off the top of my head:
Calista Jane
Calista Maren
Calista Wren
Calista Maeve
Calista Blythe
Calista Juliet
Calista Louise
Calista Verity
Calista Gwen
Calista Frances
Calista Simone
Calista June
Calista May
Hope that helps!
Hi, I am so glad to have found your site! Someone mentioned it on baby center recently. I am very intrigued by this topic and have been struggling with a name for my baby girl who will be born late this year. I fell in love with the name Paige, and although some don’t like it, I think it is very sweet. I like simple, sweet names. I also like that it is far down on the top 100 list, but still on there and is somewhat known. What are your thoughts on Paige? We are struggling with middle names. Not much sounds good with one syllable Paige!
We are thinking of:
Paige Lucia (pronounced Lu-see-ah). I fell in love with Lucia recently and love the nickname “lucy”, though I am guessing we probably won’t use a nickname since this is a middle name. My husband is italian descent so I felt this was fitting with an italian last name, but because of the way I prefer to pronounce it I am thinking it will sound more latin american? What are your thoughts? Our heritage is Irish/italian so I don’t want people to think we made a silly choice that doesn’t make sense for us. Also I am sure no one will know how to pronounce Lucia… that worries me a bit… but since it is a middle name, maybe not a concern.
I also love Paige Sophia but am concerned about the popularity of Sophia, even in the middle name spot. I would like something a little more unique, but think this is a pretty name.
I like Paige Annabel or Paige Annabelle… but I am concerned about the flow not being great. My husband isn’t quite as keen on Annabelle as I am either.
Thank you so much for such an interesting website!!!
If I may comment, I would say that I love Paige! Great choice.
Personally, I would stay away from Sophia. It’s a beautiful name, but it is just so incredibly popular. Annabelle is nice, but it seems like neither of you really love it. Lucia is lovely; personally I would know how to pronounce it, but I wouldn’t worry too much about pronunciation of a middle name — it will probably only be said by your family, and mostly just used in birth announcements or when she’s in trouble! It seems that you both like the name and it has some meaning to you — I would go with it!
If you are still open to other names, do you have any family names that would be meaningful to you?
I love this blog! Your 7 deadly trends post is a particular favorite.
My baby girl is due in 3 weeks, and my husband and I have narrowed it down to 3 choices (middle name will be Alice or Mae, family names on my side):
Clara (my husband’s favorite)
Susannah
Louisa (my favorite)
We are both okay with any of the 3, but have no clear winner. I am tempted to go with Clara just because I have a soft spot for any name my husband loves, but I worry about its increasing popularity. We also have a 1-syllable last name, and I feel that the longer names flow better. I’d love to get your brief thoughts!
Thank you so much, both for this and for this wonderful blog!
Lindsey,
You wrote this a while ago so I imagine your little girl is here already. But your top three names are OUR top three names and I’m dying to know what you picked!
Kim
Kim,
How funny! They are all good options. Clara Mae arrived a couple of months ago. We didn’t decide until she was 2 days old, although once I saw her face, she felt more like a Clara to me. We have had nothing but positive responses to her name.
I definitely think it makes sense to wait to select a name until you see her little face. It may become obvious to you at that point. Good luck!
Clara Mae is gorgeous! Congratulations!!
I have been reading your blog for about a year and I just love it. This is my first time writing in. My husband and I are expecting a baby boy in 2 months. We have very different taste in names: I like multi-syllable, more flowery names like Julian, Asher, and Sebastian. My husband likes strong, short, masculine names like Luke. The two names we both agree on are Owen (our first choice) with Desmond as a runner up. Can you suggest any other names we could consider which are preferably 2-syllable, not super popular, and definitely don’t have any alternate spellings? Thanks in advance!
Lindsey, thank you for your opinion on Paige… I appreciate it. I know what you mean about Sophia being overly popular. I feel the exact same way, and I think we probably won’t use it because of that. I love Lucia, but I am wondering if it just seems to “exotic” for us or something.. ha ha. I think I am overanalyzing.
By the way, I love the name Clara. I think it is elegant, sophisticated and beautiful. It is short and sweet too, which is an added bonus to me.
Elaine, I love Owen. That is one of my favorite boys names of all time. It’s a classic. If your husband likes Luke, why not Lucas? It is two syllable and a little more interesting than Luke. Is it too popular for you? It was on our short list for a while when we were expecting our son.
I personally love Julian, but my husband wouldn’t go for it because he felt it was too feminine sounding. I think it is a great name.
One of my other favorite boy names lately is Oliver. I truly believe this name is going to be very popular in a few years though, it just broke the top 100. It is quirky but cool. I love the nickname Ollie. It doesn’t sound like it is your style based on your other names, but I thought I would throw it out there anyway.
I have been following this blog for a long time now, and I absolutely love it. I have had a fascination with names since I was a little girl, and it is finally time for me to select one. My husband and I are expecting our first child in December, and we are choosing to leave the gender a surprise.
My husband isn’t too into the whole naming process, but he likes strong, masculine names for a boy. I tend to follow this.
We have decided on James for the middle name, in honor of my grandfather who passed away earlier this year. James is also his father’s name.
I have developed a taste for longer names, with a hard “C” sound somewhere within. Some forerunners are: Cameron, Caleb, Nicolai, and Declan.
However, the name Jericho has been on my list for almost ten years. It comes from the Bible; Jericho was a small town destroyed. I absolutely adore the nickname Jer, and this is a quirkier way to get it than Jerome or the like.
For a girl, I love longer, girlier names. I want something unique, but pretty. I am completely open for suggestions.
I love Tallulah, Evangeline, Lorelei, Cordelia, Adelaide, and Aurelia. Charlotte was once on the list, but it has become a bit too popular for my tastes.
I also need a middle name. We are both completely stuck in this department!
All of you are so wonderful here, and I know you’ll give me THE best advice for my precious little child.
-Lorraine
my husband, walker and i (emily) have one son, nash (age 3). when nash was a couple months old, i discovered our initials are n, w, e (just missing “s”) to complete all cardinal directions of the compass. our 2nd baby is due in september, and we don’t know if it’s a girl or boy. we love nash’s name and are hoping to find an “s” name that we love just as much. scarlett is a front-runner for a girl; still debating the boy name. what are your ideas? thank you!!!!
Congrats! Isn’t it just awesome when something like that happens? And I adore the name Nash!
I think Scarlett is a great name, both sexy and sweet. I also like:
Stella
Savanna[h]
Seirra
-I am a Samantha, which is a nice “S” name, but rather popular at the moment.
For boys:
Silas
Seth [Beware, for this is also a "Twilight" name, so it might get some special attention]
Santino
Sawyer
Good luck with your naming!
To those of you posting your queries here, I would love to answer all of you in due time! Please send your questions to youcantcallitit@gmail.com so that I can either try to schedule you for a blog post or communicate with you privately.
I look forward to speaking with each and every one of you.
Thank You!
Hi there,
Hoping for a bit of help and general public opinion. Our first daughter is due in just 3 short weeks, we have struggled with names either claiming they are too common or too weird !!! We have been calling her Gypsy since we found out it was a girl and now we cant seem to get past this name, thought maybe some advise form this great site might help with our dilema. We were thinking of Gypsy Anna ?? Any comments would be much appreciated.
Mnay Thanks
Hi, I posted previously about the name Paige…. well things have changed a bit over a few weeks and I think I am going with Lucia instead for my daughter. That may seem odd, as stylistically they are very different names… but I truly love both. I would be pronouncing it (lu-see-ah) and the nickname would be Lucy. I love how the name flows with our very italian last name. I am having a hard time abandoning Paige entirely, so I am considering Lucia Paige. I know the styles are different, but do you think that is a major issue? To me Paige is sweet and spunky and Lucia is exotic and elegant.
My biggest concerns with Lucia are the three pronunciations. The only one I like is the spanish version….but I will likely be using a nickname frequently so this may be less of a concern. The other major concern is that my sons name is scottish/celtic (Ian). I know it is not a perfect fit for Lucia, but I think it sounds pretty decent with Lucy. Style wise I don’t find Lucia and Ian a terrible fit at all, it just the ethnicity that I see as being a little odd. One scottish and the other Italian. Is this really a big concern? As my husband keeps telling me… they are separate people who will lead separate lives, so it should not matter.
I am curious about others opinions
Thanks in advance!!!
Lucia Paige sounds like a winner to me! I happen to agree with your husband– they are separate individuals and shouldn’t be named as a matched set. It’s at Joseph and Sundance that I draw the line! I think you’ve found truly the *perfect* compromise in the lovely Lucia nn Lucy! Great with the surname, spunky sweet nickname. Go for it.
My husband and I are looking for names for daughter number two. As far as we know, we are not pregnant yet, but we (meaning I) are eager to get the name sorted, as we (meaning I) hate not having things organised.
We are traditionalish, eclectic people. We prefer calico cats, mismatched pillows and plants. He is works with explosives, I am studying to be a librarian.
We have a boys name already, Henry James, which is repeated over and over again in both our families. My husband’s middle name is James.
My middle name is Heather. Our future daughters middle name will be Heather. (each name in my family for many generations has an ‘H’ beginning either middle or first name.)
Our daughter’s name is Elsa Helen, a name for each grandmother. (well, we changed Elizabeth to Elsa.)
We don’t need the names to match, per se, just not sound really mismatching.
Our last name is common and simple, and nothing sounds bad with it.
This is our (my) shortlist.
Mary (we are Christians, I love that it is not trendy. It doesn’t really excite me, but then neither does Pride and Predjudice and I NEVER get tired of it.)
Della (is this too much like Elsa? Does it go with Heather?)
Lucienne (I love lucy! I love Lucy Maud Montgomery who kind of got my husband and I together.)
Isadora (Heavenly name! and I could use the nickname Dorsey.)
Bijou (Does this sound too much like BJ?)
Cassia (is this too planty with Heather?)
Linnea (is THIS to planty? I don’t love plant names, but, for example, the name Fern which I LOVE I had to veto because Fern Heather sounds like a subspecies.)
Any suggestions? all my previous lists are gone, we were set on Penelope but it is getting too popular for my tastes – also set on Jacqueline but I can’t spell it without looking it up and I refuse Jackalyn.
Help?
Hi SunshineSuperwoman! When are you due? The best thing to do is to email me this information with your due date and we’ll try to do a post for you.
I will say the calendar is getting pretty full through the end of September, so please don’t wait until the last minute! Looking forward to helping.
~Elisabeth
youcantcallitit@gmail.com
I have been following this wonderful blog on and off since becoming pregnant in May. This is our first and we are having a dickens of a time with names. We aren’t finding out the sex, so we need to have options on both sides…
Our surname is Gallagher.
Girl names we like:
Aubrey
Adele
Aurelia
Cassia
Collette
Genevieve (for his deceased Grandma; concerned is may be too hard to spell as a first name)
Kinley
Marin or Maren
Vivian (for my deceased Grandma)
Ambrosia (used as a middle name only, after my deceased Grandpa, Ambrose)
Boy names we like:
(*middle name will be James after husband’s father’s name and his own middle name)
Grayson
Holden
Keegan/Kegan
Maxfield
All suggestions are much appreciated!
Hi Felix6cat! So glad you’re enjoying it here! We would love to help you. If you want a public post on the blog, please email me this information and I’ll put you in the lineup! Thanks.
Hi! SO GLAD to have found you! I’m feeling a little stuck, and am really hoping for good advice. (a friend talked me out of a name that I seriously regret not giving my now 3-yr-old. I’m not due until April, so have a little time (and will be finding out the gender in about a month, which may help considerably.) Would be thrilled with a public post – I can send you everything you’d need to know via email.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I would have loved this the first time around…everyone seems to like my son’s name except me, and I don’t talk about it.
I love your insight on names. I need your help picking a girls name
wow.
I have four girls… Danielle 22, Ashtin 20, Madison, 15 and Emma, 12. Emma is my favorite name of the four. I like Danielle because it is pretty in the written form and feminine. I liked Ashtin because it was pretty and different at the time…. I wish Ashton (Demi’s husband wouldn’t have made it such a popular boys name! Madison turned out to be too trendy and Like I said, Emma is a name I love!
I recently remarried the sweetest man in the world. He has Mary, 8 and Ezekiel 5.
I am 41 and am planning a pregnancy soon!!!
My husband and I were both born in July, on the exact same day, same year. We are so in love with each other. We were married on our birthday… fun!
Our favorite holiday is Christmas, but we love summer and both love our birthday July 14th.
We like the name Cael David for a boy. Would love you assistance naming a girl.
I come from a family with different names,
Aunna, Aliza, Adam, Karis, Grace.
Jenna, Chloe, Isabella, Cassie, Danika.
Dwyn, Noah and Travis.
Some other names that I like, to exclude are Noelle and Callie and Olivia.
Names that I do like…
Macie…. our third date at christmas time, we met at macy’s and had a magical night that included shopping at macy’s the mall, dinner, a walk in downtown areay, dancing in mcdondalds and back to the car to talk in macy’s parking lot with lots of kissing and steamy windows!!!!
I like Sarai….. We both like the way it looks, like the meaning, but not the sound as much… I like it because it is different and pretty. We keep saying it hoping it grows on us.
Can you please help us? You are like… a name artist!
Hi Trea,
Congratulations on finding what sounds to be the love of your life!
I would love to help you out. Please email me at the address above when you find yourselves pregnant. All the best. Hope it’s soon!
I love “name artist” by the way, that’s a great way to think about it.
Hi there, I keep coming back to this website ever since discovering it!
I am pregnant with my second baby, a girl due in February. Our first baby, was a boy who we named Sebastian Edward Cauley. Edward is a family name on my husband’s side and has been used for the last 5 generations as a middle name.
I have always liked family names for middle names- that has been the tradition on my side of the family too.
I am now stuck with a name for our girl to be.
The 2 names we have agreed on (so far) are
Eloise (care of your 7 deadly sins blog and my husband’s preference)
Eve (my preference)
The middle name I have had in mind, for a long time is Grace which is my paternal grandmothers name and who I would like to honor. Grace is just a bit too popular for me at the moment, and I don’t think it goes with Eve as well.
I also like Adele, which was my great grandmother’s name, who I never met, however it has been used as a middle name for my aunt and cousin. So in that way it would have similar tradition to Sebastian’s middle name, Edward and it could also honor my favorite Aunt.
However, although I am a fan of “family” middle names, I have just “discovered” the name Achara, which means Angel in Thai. Thailand is my mother’s country of origin, and where my husband and I got married.
So-
Elosie Achara Cauley (Elle as a nickname)
Elosie Grace Cauley
Elosie Adele Cauley
or Eve Achara Cauley (Evie as a nickname)
Eve Grace Cauley
Eve Adele Cauley
Or do you have any other suggestions?
Hi,
I need some major help for a boy name! My first born is named Max. Just Max. We debated back and forth forever until the moment he was born and then we just knew it was perfect. It feels very strong, simple and male. Now I am going to give birth to another boy and am having a hard time deciding on a name with similar qualities and characteristics. We love anything that is traditional and feels/sounds male. We also prefer a monosyllabic name. Can you please help with any/all suggestions? Thank you and thanks for a great and entertaining site!
This is the best site! Thank you so much. I’ve lurked for years, but only now have reason to post. Our baby boy is due in February. We are looking for a name that will suit him as a child, as well as an adult. We don’t want any names that are too trendy or popular, yet do not want to scar our child with a made-up name just for the sake of being different. You’d blogged a year or so ago about Prince Henrik of Denmark. Being a hockey fan, my husband also came across the name Henrik–the name of a half dozen Swedish players. My husband it a fan of classic, masculine names, and is convinced that Henrik fits the bill. Just because it isn’t classic in the US doesn’t mean it isn’t classic. I tend to agree with his logic, yet am unsure of my feelings towards dealing with the vast majority of the public who will not have heard of this name and will think we are doing something strange to our child.
Is Henrik Dane our first child?
Hello,
My husband and I are expecting our 4th baby in 3 weeks and we are totally stuck on a boys name. Our children’s names thus far are Olivia, Levi and Sadie.
Can you help us?
Rhonda
Hello!
I’ve LOVE reading this blog! I love all things names and enjoy reading about your interest as well.
I am currently pregnant with TWIN BOYS, due to arrive in March.
We have two boys at home:
3 1/2 yr old, Cale Timothy
14 month old Megersa (pronounced: Meh-grrr-sah, he is adopted from Ethiopia)
I feel strongly about naming one of the boys Thaddeus and giving him the middle name Drew (after the baby we lost). DH likes the nn Thad, but isn’t crazy about Drew for a middle. The other names we’ve discussed are Zachery, Lincoln, Marshall. DH likes Lincoln best, but I’m not a fan of the nn Linc.
We aren’t 100% married to any of these names, but definitely feel like these are good options. We’d like middle names to be namesakes (Cale’s middle name is Timothy after my husband.) The men in our life that dont already have namesakes are William and Perry. With Megersa not having a middle name yet (we need to readopt him in the states), he could take on one of those if they fit. My Gpa, Dad and brother all have the same name – Chester Frank, but it doesn’t go with our last name Nester, so that’s out.
Do you have a way to tie all the names together? If some boys have namesakes for middle names, should they all?
I enjoy old, interesting names, and names that will let my boys stand apart, but not be ridiculed.
A hefty request, I realize!
Suggestions?!
Soon-to-be Mommy to 4 boys,
Katie
i love your site, and your wit and way with words.
we are expecting our 4th. cheesy as it is, we have three “E” names, and for better or for worse feel committed to E’s, since at this point we fear it would make our fourth-born an “outsider” not to have an E name. our children are:
Emmanuel James (boy)
Eden Elisabeth (girl)
Evangeline Ruth (girl)
To add to the difficulty of our already very specific guidelines, we have an unusual last name: Lyda.
Our desire is to stay with the strong christian first name that also begins with an E (or a vowel) and all our children have family names that are also their saint/christian names as middle names.
if it’s a boy, we like Ezra Benjamin – so far a lone contender.
if it is a girl, we have no idea, but i have considered Ethne or Elody (though not strong Christian names, have lovely meanings).
Any suggestions would be so appreciated!!!
again, what a blessing and just plain fun your website is to read.
Lois Lyda
Hi Lois!
I couldn’t help but notice your post as I was leaving my own. I, too, have an Evangeline (on a side note, do you call her anything for short? I’m always curious to know c: ).
I also understand the allure of E names, and before Evangeline became, definitely, Evangeline, I had quite a few that we were considering.
I’m so happy to share them with you (as long as you let me know when you decide on one!).
Ezra Benjamin is a very sweet name, I think. But if you were to have second thoughts, our boy E list is as follows:
Eli(as) – (Hebrew, meaning Ascended)
Ephram – My personal favorite – (Hebrew, meaning Fruitful)
Everett – (German, meaning ‘brave boar’)
Elliot – (form of Elijah or Elias, meaning the Lord is my God)
and for girls:
Elliot – (I think it’s sweet. My husband thought I’d lost it…)
Esme – (French or Persian, meaning esteemed, beloved)
Ella – It was my grandmother’s name, which I love. But it’s become pretty popular recently, if that turns you off. (German, meaning fairy maiden)
Etta – after Ella got nixed, this was my go to alternative. (English and Scottish)
Eleanor(a) – (French variation of Helen, meaning bright, shining one)
Elsbeth – (Scottish variation of Elizabeth, meaning pledged to God)
I wish you a healthy, joyous rest of your pregnancy and a very happy life with all of your little ones:)
Best,
Imogen
I would love some help if you can. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little one but… we’ve decided to wait and not find out what we’re having. So that leaves us trying to find a boy name and a girl name. Girl names are easier but boy names we are struggling with. Here are the details of our complex (to us) problem:
1. I’m Indian, he is Carribean so we are looking for a name that leans to pronouncable American but has Indian (as in South Asian) flair
2. The middle name will be Ryan
3. The last name (which I’d like the first to flow in to because, as you mention, few people use the middle name) is Awai (pronounced uh-why). This starting vowel has created no end of frustration for me!
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
We are expecting our third child in April and have just found out that we will be having a baby boy. Our first two children have family names…India Mae (combo of 3 grt grandmothers) and Irvin Alexander IV (he goes by Alexander, my husband goes by Irvin). We don’t mind branching out and including something a little different. And since we expect this little one to be our last, I would like for him to have a strong, masculine name… but my husband and I are not really coming up with a lot of good options. It seems like the girl names were easier for us.
Some of our ideas were… Hampton Wolfe, George Ivey, Bridger…(George, Ivey and Wolfe are family names).
Thanks so much for any advice you may have to offer.
Alanna
p.s. We did not even realize what we were doing until it had already been done but we’ve got this funny “I” and “A” combo going on with Irvin, Alanna, India & Alexander…
FWIW Alanna, I’d lean towards George Ivey. We have the same thing – all three of us have A names, but since our son’s name is a family name, we felt like we could break the A-list to use another family name for our daughter.
BUT George Ivey would still have an I – as do your two older children. And Alexander and George are both regal classics for boys.
We are contemplating naming our daughter (should it be a girl) Minnie Tyler but still scared of the “mouse.” My husband thinks maybe we should use Mia and the NN Minnie but Mia is a bit too popular for me. LOve reading this site because it makes me braver! Can we get away with Minnie?
Could you compromise on Minna? I love Minnie, but even without the mouse, I’d fear that she’d feel like her name was incomplete. (I feel the same way about Gracie, Sadie, Julie. Even when they are complete names on their own, I have a hard time not hearing the -ie ending as super cute.)
Then again, there are oodles of kids with nickname names, and Minnie is no fluffier than Kaylee, Hayley, or Betsy. Girls are named Ariel, Jasmine, and Belle, so I can’t see the mouse being quite the barrier she might’ve been a generation or two back. Now LOTS of little girls share the name a name with their favorite animated character …
I am having a baby soon and have some favorite names picked out but can’t decide. Suggestions would be great. Thanks!
Girl names:
Hannah
Leah
Lily
Savannah
Jennah
(Others, not the top faves):
Lileah/Lilia
Addisyn
Brooklyn
Aleah
Adwen
Abriella
Lexi
Mercedes
Boy names:
Aden
Alexander
Aaron
Jaden
Joel
Jobe
Lucas/Luke
- Issue I’m having with the girl names especially is that I love the top few listed but they’re so similar that it wouldn’t sound right to use one as a first and one or two as middle names because they’re so similar. So it’s making deciding on just one really tough!
-I really like the A-names the best for a boy. But I know how super common they are & know at least one of each or more (including 2 babies of friends).. so that may or may not be an issue.
Any feedback is appreciated.
Suggestions for both first & middle names would be great.
Hello! I was so thrilled to have stumbled upon your website. It seems to have been a sign as my husband and I have been struggling with what to name our twins (I’m due in April).
We already have one girl, Evangeline, and a boy, Silas, and I know that one more of each is on the way (one boy and one girl, that is). For my first two kids picking out names was so exciting for me and my husband, but now with two coming at once, we’re finding ourselves stumped by a few issues.
1. Obviously, we want them to jive well with each other, but not too well. You know?
2. And we want them to fit in with their brother and sister too!
3. Our last name is Valentine, and edging into the realm of hoakey, cutesy, sickeningly sweet is something we no longer (after agonizing over these names for what feels like an age…) trust ourselves to avoid.
At this point, frustration is pushing us further and further toward Twin 1 and Twin A (as to avoid any 1st is the worst, 2cnd is the best etc… drama). And I really don’t want to have to resort to that. So any advice is so so more than welcome!
Thank you for creating such a welcoming and relevant environment for me and my fellow stressed out mamas:)
Best,
Imogen
How about:
Soraya
Vivienne
Bernadette
Adelaide
Xavier
Jonah
Lucien
Finn
I love Evangeline and Silas – great names! Good luck
Hi, we are pregnant with #4. Our older children are: Jonathan Shipman (my maiden name), Katelyn Elizabeth, and Emily Grace. Our last name is Carter. We feel like we’re out of names that we love, but we really like Anna. We want either the middle of first name to be Biblical. (Anna is Biblical, so that works.) And we aren’t crazy about being too unique. We just can’t think of any middle names that we like that sound good with Anna and Carter. Btw, dh loves the name Taylor, but I just don’t think I can do the double R endings. Looking for some ideas! Thank you!!
Looks like we’ve decided on Anna Claire.
Hi Elisabeth! What a fabulous blog this is! I found you through makingitlovely, and wish I had found your blog months ago. I’m 8 months pregnant, and my husband and I have decided on Elizabeth. My mom votes strongly for Elisabeth with an s, and I’ve been hesitant for the fear of our girl having to spell it out for folks all of the time. I think the z spelling is more popular, and typically assumed. I’m curious for your thoughts and personal experience on this.
The s would make sense, as we are planning on calling her Elsie. We love Elsie as it is, but Elizabeth is a family name and is so versatile, allowing for the option of a different nickname later in life.
Her name will be Elizabeth Bennett Holcombe (both family names, not after Jane Austin’s character). Most folks will know her as Elsie, so we’re hoping the Pride and Prejudice unintentional connection won’t be too obvious. Our names are Catherine (Cate) Emma and Frank Thomas. Elsie will be our first. Any thoughts?
I’ve always loved being Elisabeth with an “s.” While yes, it’s a bit of a pain and you get used to being Eli8abeth (that’s a person’s attempt to turn the Z into an S), it suits me just fine. It’s the European spelling (German, French, Sweden, Spain), and fairly well known. It’s gotten more popular with women like Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Elisabeth Rohm in the public eye.
I vote the S not because it’s my name, but because of the Pride and Prejudice character. That’s DEFINITELY the first place people will go, always, when they see her full name. It’s also closer to Elise as you said. I would suggest also switching the placement of Bennett and Holcombe. Is there a reason you prefer it the other way?
Our last name is Holcombe, so there’s no option there. Bennett is an old family surname that we both really liked, and we decided on it as a middle name before we chose the first name. Other first names we considered were
Celia
Delia
Aurelia
Adelaide
Laine/Lainey
Willa
Etta
Elsie (as a stand-alone)
It was so much more difficult that I realized to come to a consensus. Elizabeth won out because it is so versatile, it’s in both of our families, and we really like the way the names sound together. It’s good to get an outside opinion about the P&P connection. Thanks for your response!
My parents chose Elisabeth for its versatility as well. Sorry for the LN/MN confusion! Her name will be lovely, S or zed.
Hi, I love this site. I’ve always loved the topic of baby names but must say that naming our own babies is a bit overwhelming!
Since finding out we were having our second daughter I’ve been desperately trying to find inspiration for her name. Our first born is named Zara Pearl. So far we are thinking of either Ivy, Charlotte (Lotte for short) or Georgina (Georgie for short) but aren’t overly committed to any of them. I like Ivy but can’t think of a middle name that works well with it. Any suggestions? It’s so much harder trying to name our second daughter as we feel we used our favourite names first time around! I notice you also have two little girls, I wonder if you felt like this as well…
Hi Elizabeth! I’m so glad you found me. I love all those names (I, C, and G) for different reasons. Ivy seems to “fit” best with Zara. What about:
Ivy Juliet
Ivy Eloise
Ivy Eleanor
Ivy Charlotte
Ivy Beatrice
Ivy Louisa
Ivy Frances
Ivy Helen
I like Ivy with something really demure and straight laced to kind of balance it. Really any of these choices are lovely!
Thankyou for your suggestions, I think you’re right that Ivy needs a straight laced middle name. Anne name in both of our families but I’m concerned that while it fills the ‘normal’ quota it is a bit of a mouthful. Anyway, thanks again I appreciate your thoughts!!
Ok, my question is I love the name Dravyn Abigail for a girl, the only thing is everything I read has Draven as a boys name. Do you think my daughter will get made fun of with this name or do you think it is an ok name?
I just wanted to share with some Indian-American names with Neeta. First of all, I love your suggestions! I particularly like Kumari.
Neeta, I am in the same position as you. I’m Indian and my husband is American, so whenever I think of a seemingly lovely Indian name, he thinks of the terrible ways in which American kids will make fun of it! And for some reason, people have trouble saying “Suman” so I ended up with the nickname ‘Sumi.” This is fine but I love being called by my true name when I’m in India.
Anyway, here are some of the names I like and names I’ve encountered (I have lots of mixed friends with kids).
Girl – Nisha, Nina, Sonita, Rama, Sitara, Laila (Layla?), Shaila, Ahalya (I love this one!).
Boy (this was harder for me) – Jai, Vishal, Narayan (my fave and husband approved!), Suraj, Sujeet.
Good luck and best wishes!!
Suman
Hi, I found out about your website from Babble and am having so much fun reading your posts! I am the oldest of six children, and my mom loved names that end with n, which also sounded great with our surname Carroll… so we came out Lauren, Devin, Caitlin, Allison, Ryan, and Ethan.
Then, as the oldest, I started having kids first. Our girl was named pretty easily–Megan. Then we had a boy, and my husband insisted on Gavin, a friend from elementary school. I wanted Benjamin, who became our third child and second son.
So, without really trying, we continued my mom’s “n” tradition. (My sister Caitlin had her first. Always the rebel, she named him Atticus.)
We are pregnant with our fourth child, a little boy. Although I love so many names that don’t end in “n”, I feel like since this is our last child we should finish the tradition.
So, what should baby brother of Megan, Gavin, and Benjamin be called? I’d like it to end with n and perhaps not start with M, G, or B.
Names on the list:
Anderson (a family surname)
Curran (another family name, which was spelled Curin)
Kieran
Cullen (do you think Twilight ruined it?)
Logan (too close to Megan?)
Griffin (another G)
Finnegan/Finnian (rhyming brothers: Ben and Finn?)
Nolan
Sullivan
Harrison
Tristan
Collin (Megan’s top pick)
Hudson
Owen
Names we love but are already overused by family:
Ryan
Aaron (husband’s middle name)
Jackson
Sometimes I just want to buck tradition and name him Ezra or Harper…
I’d love input from anyone. Thanks!
I’m due April 4th and we’re not sure if we’re having a boy or a girl!
Our girls name is Amelia Skye
Our boys name is Malachi ______
Any suggestions for a middle name for Malachi?
Our last name is a 9 letter Russian name starting with D and ending in “Sky” (pronounced Skii)
We’re due at the end of May with our first baby and we’re fairly set on naming him Cohen Dean.
We understand that Cohen is traditionally a Jewish surname so we’ve consulted Jewish friends and they all love the name and have no issues but I just want to be sure… Do you think we’ll be okay? I would just hate to come off offensive.
P.S. We’ve also considered other spellings (Coen, Cowen, Koen, Kohen, etc.) but don’t like them nearly as much.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Lissa, have you seen this article? http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-05/the-big-baby-naming-battle/#
It may not offend all Jews, but knowing that it offends some, I could not do it. Being religiously offensive is just a deal breaker for me.
I imagine my child interviewing for a job at a law firm with a Mr. Schwartz who is offended by his name, he doesn’t get the job not because he’s not qualified but because of a name that he had no part in choosing.
Obviously, it’s your child and you should do what you think is best. But I would encourage you to read the article I posted and be fully aware of the issues before deciding.
I love visiting this site for wonderful name creations and inspirations! We are having our first baby and we are keeping the gender a surprise! We have decided on either Eloise or Adeline for a girl, but we are having trouble with a boy’s name. A few names we like (but don’t love) are Frances, Theodore, Oliver, Gavin…We would like a strong vintage name (nothing trendy). I would so appreciate some boy name ideas and thoughts!!
If you do name a boy Francis make sure to spell it with an “I”!
Please email me Rose if you want to do a consultation on the site: youcantcallitit {at} gmail {dot} com. Love the names on your current list!
Oh geez! Typo!
Wonderful, wonderful site!! You have given me so much to think about
My husband and I have very boring, traditional names and both were one of many in our classes throughout high school. We do not want this for our children. We love unique, but not weird names. Easy to say and spell. We currently have two daughters, Kinsley and Adella. We are expecting our third child in June. We don’t know the sex and are struggling with the name. Some names we are considering for boys: Crew, Layton, Fredrick. For the girls: Carrigan (though we don’t love the nickname Carrie), Carlee (not very common and we are worried about it as an adult name) Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
We’ve settled on Crew for a boy and are therefore ruling out Carrigan for a girl because we love Crew more and if we cannot use it this time around, we want to be able to use it next time. We have also decided that Carlee is too common when you figure in all of the variations in spelling. New names that we really like are Darla, but don’t actually want to use it because it is too close to Adella (who we often call Della) and Vera. We like Vera, but it has appeared out of no where (or thanks to the movie Up In the Air) and are afraid that it is going to get really popular, REALLY quickly. What do you think?
Thanks,
Looking for a sibling name for Kinsley Marie and Adella Grace
My husband (chris) and I (Alicia) are expecting a new baby in about 3 weeks and we’re stumped! We have a daughter, Kira, and do not know the gender of new-baby. We have decided on Brooke for a girl (but don’t have a middle) and are deciding between David paul or Collin Paul for a boy – but are open to other suggestions as we don’t LOVE either (Paul is my husband’s middle name). thanks!
Hi Elisabeth,
we are expecting our second daughter at the end of the summer and we are having a difficult time deciding on a name. Even though we still have a few months, i find it hard to wait it out. Our first daughter was easy to name, Ada Yarley (yah-lee). My husband is Ghanaian and I American of Irish/Italian descent. It is challenging to find a name that honors both cultures and fits our multi-cultural family. Ada was easy to name. We both loved it and while we pronounce it Ai-dah, the name is quite popular in west africa when produced ah-dah, meaning first daughter. We also liked the old testament references. We never even came up with other names, we knew she would be Ada as soon as we found out it was a girl. The middle names of our children are already determined, based on tribal ancestry. Our baby girl on the way will have the middle name Yarkor (Yah-koh).
Ok, so here are our faves…..
Salome: very common in Ghana, but not so much here, it’s definitely my favorite name, love the nn: May. There is a huge con: my husband’s old girlfriend had this name………..she is a great person though and he dated her over 13 years ago.
Luisa: just love it
Soraya: i think i only like this because it sounds like Salome
Vivienne: My husband’s sister’s name, I like it
Matilda: He loves it, his aunt’s name, too clunky for this child, although i really like the name
help! thank you!!
Email me with your due date and we’ll try to get you on the calendar. Love the list.
youcantcallitit {at} gmail.com
We are expecting our second girl in January. I’m stumped for first names and would welcome suggestions. The middle name will likely be Lisbeth (after my sister…or Elizabeth if that works better with the first name. Our first girl is named Calissa Catherine Yao. Calissa–as derived from Calista (meaning “most beautiful”). Catherine (meaning “pure”)–named after my mother. We tend to like traditional but uncommon names with softer sounds, yet not trendy or too feminine. Meaning is also important. Thanks!
I forgot to say that Calissa goes by “Cali”, so I wouldn’t want to choose a name with a nickname that is too similar or rhymey.