The Baby Name Wizard

HiLaura...hope you can help...i love your blog!! my husband and i are having a problem choosing a name for our daughter..traditionally my husband's family they name the baby after a recently departed family member..in this case; his aunt who was named mary-rose(not my favorite name!!!!) we can name her(we know it is girl) any name begining with the initial r or m..what is new and distinctive yet timeless? the baby is due 11/06(estimated arrival!)and i am getting desperate...thanks...Harmonie

Harmonie -
I realize I'm not Laura, but what about Megan Rose? Megan was 40th on the popularity chart last year and it's on a downward slope, but it's pretty and classic and you could honor your husbands relative by the first initial, middle name. There's also Michaela (with it's various spellings available) that is very popular but has a wide range.
At least his aunt wasn't named Eunice! Good luck!

What about Rosemary or Rosemarie? I think they are both timeless and a bit of a twist on Mary-Rose.

thanks guys for responding~ i really appreciate it!! my husband and i have different opinions of names for the baby..i am sure we are not the first couple in the world to disagree; but..it sure is stressful...he likes traditional names like megan..i love your name christiana!! so beautiful!! my parents are hippies hence my flower child name..i am used to it now but it dates me( i think anyway) so; either one of us gives in; or we find a way to comprimise...i appeal to all who read this blog..HELP ME!!p.s. what do you think of frederica? too out there? thanks again ; harmonie

Laura, I've been waiting and waiting for the results, and I want to see more ballots! What exactly were the names and numeric scores for, say, the top 10 entries? What about the lowest 10? What names were most frequently picked (I picked "Ava" as well)? More data, please!

Harmonie - I actaully thought of your name as fairly modern - As a child of the 80's I missed the hippee days for the most part and I always think of the name Harmony associated with a character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the show, not the movie). Funny how the generations see things differently, huh? I told my mom I was considering the name Madalyn and she said "that sounds like an old lady!" Ah, the sociology of naming children! Good luck with your naming discussions, my husband and I have had a few and we're not even pregnant yet!

Frederica is nice - incredibly old-fashioned, but isn't that the trend now? I'd think about a nickname though - it's awkward for a baby to carry around "Fred" when she's a girl and the full name is a lot for little mouths.

The name Sophia has gotten a lot of pop culture notice in the last few years - accoridng to the name voyager, it made a fairly significant jump recently. Do you think this is in relation to the pop culture references of a main character on the popular teen show One Tree Hill (I actually know more 20-somethings that watch it than teens) and the main female in The Da Vinci Code? Opinions?

Harmonie: I sympathize, you're looking for the elusive grail of names -- "new and distinctive yet timeless"! My crystal ball says you want Rafaela. Your runners up are Mara, Melina, Renata, Rhea, and Rilla.

Nicole R.: Take a look at the Feb. 9 '06 post for some more stats on the pool entries. (And psst...you scored in the top 20!)

-Laura

laura..you must be prescient!! i was just thinking of raffaella this morning!!we have agreed on the "r" initial(his choice) and i can choose her name.YAY!! what do you think of romy? or rosamond...p.s. what is the nickname for raffaella? thanks again laura for a wonderful site and for your dedication to the "name" cause..h

Harmonie,

Romy is traditionally a nickname for Rosemary so Rosamond nn Romy would work nicely, I think. I love them both. Ella could be a nn for Raffaella. Good luck.

Laura, can you post the top 20 rising names and the top 20 falling names? You had the predictions from February, would like to see how they compare.

Thanks

Wendy (who can't remember what I guessed in the pool)

Harmonie, how about my name, Romilly, its pretty unusal (even more so in the US i think then it is here in the UK) but doesn't sound too wierd and i often get complemented on it. As nicknames i've been called both Romy and Milly (which fits the r and m initials!), also i love Rosamond, very elegant! good luck

What about Rosemarhea (Rose-Mar-Hea)You could use Rose, Rosey or Rhea for short...or just Marhea on it's own is cute...It's kind of a variant of Maria

I like Rafaella - Ella or Fae for short. Romy makes me think of a ditzy blonde (Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, anyone?) I see where the Rosemarhea is coming from, but personally I would choose to go more traditional with the spelling (playground nn of Diarhea is what comes to mind)I like Rhea or Reyna - once knew one of the most beautiful women I've ever met and her name was Rhea. Reyna means "Peaceful" or "Queen."

Just wanted to say -- I love the name Romilly and have been considering it as a middle name for my baby girl (due late summer).

I just had a little girl on the 16th of this month, I named her Trista Lynn.

thanks christiana..i love the nickname fae..so pretty and it matches our last name of Fox...but...do you think it is too wierd? i want her to stand out and yet fit in...my mum loves the name susannah what does everyone else think? this is our first so i want to get it right..this is my first gift to her and the most important as you carry your name for life and it shapes who you are..thanks again harmonie

Harmonie,
Here are some ideas
These names sound "distinctive yet timeless" to me (I'm 25)
Maris
Mirielle
Meredith
Ruth
Regina
Regan – like in King Lear, My English teacher pronounced it REE-gan (not like the president)

Here are some more uncommon ideas
Mangena which in Hebrew means melody, I think this fits well with your name
Mathea (MAH-teh-ah)
Marisha
Radella
Rhiannon Pronounced like Brianna minus the B, its Welsh

If you use and R name for the first name will the middle name start with and M?

Harmonie,

I love the name Susannah. In fact my daughter is named Suzanna. (I call her Zanna or Zan for short). While there have been predictions that it is about to become popular, it is way down on the popularity chart. (Susana ranks around 800 at the moment) However, it is not a weird name that sticks out. Suzanna goes to school with girls named Sierra, Sierah, Sabrina, Sarah, Samantha so it fits well. There is the song. But so far at age 4, Suzanna LIKES that there is a song with her name. Don't know if she will feel the same later.

Wendy

How about Rosalind? You can call her Rose, Rosey, Ros, Lindy, etc.

It has the "rose" reference, it obviously starts with an 'R' and it's Shakespearean!

I think it's beautiful. I like how it feels when it's pronounced, which is a big thing for me, as silly as it may sound!

thank you all for your input..we have narrowed it down to two names ..susannah or raffaela..please write in your votes!! thanks again so much..harmonie

Susannah for me. But I'm biased. My sister's middle name is Susanne, plus I'm Southern! "Oh, Susannah, don't you cry for me ..."

I think we need a seperate forum to discuss baby names! Is there any way to add something like that on here?

Rhiannon was very popular in Wales when I was a child (in the 1970s and 80s). I went to school with countless Rhiannons and Rhians - it had a simialr sort of appeal to "Jennifer" in 1970s America!! It has now been superseded in popularity for female babies in Wales by names such as Ffion and Seren (Seren is not actually a traditional name but the Welsh word for "star" which has lately been adopted as a name)

Older Welsh names like Blodwen and Gwynneth don't seem to be coming back!

I agree. We need a place on this site to discuss baby names.

I do have a friend who just named her daughter gwynneth...

I am about to have boy/girl twins and my hubby and I are stuck on the boys name. Would you all mind giving us your input? The girl is Caroline and the boy is either Thomas, Henry, or James...we are traditionalists as you can tell... Which boy name best suits Caroline. (I also have a son Samuel and a daughter Lillian (nn Lilly))

Sarah- I have a son named Henry, so of course I love that. Our 2nd & 3rd choice names were Thomas and George. If we have another boy, we'll go with George, which I think is timeless and not used often these days, although I wonder if it is poised for a comeback like Henry? What do others think about George? By the way, did you know that Thomas, James, and Henry are all engines on "Thomas and Friends"? :)

Also, we started calling our Henry "Hank" due to the large number of Henrys we have been running into. We've gotten a lot of positive feedback on that nickname.

Harmonie, if you are in an area where there are a lot of "new" and unique names, I'd go with Rafaella. In the upscale areas along the coasts, Susanna might fit in better -- the trend is more traditional. Ask someone in your area with young kids what the hot names are as a guide to whether Rafaella is too "out there" for where you live. (FWIW, the first names that popped into my head was also Rosalind). Of course, in the end what matters is what you are comfortable with and will love!

Sarah, I think all of those names go nicely with Caroline. FWIW, around here Thomas and Henry are very popular names, but I haven't heard James.

Angela, George is our son's name (family tradition). I was worried it would sound a bit fusty but it's worked very well. Around here "grampa" names are in - Max, Duncan, Henry, Andrew, Sam etc. I've found anyone over 50 are very lukewarm about the name and people under 20 are enthusiastic (in between they are pretty neutral) so my guess is that it may become more popular in a few years.

I'll give my votes to Susannah and Henry. Not that I want to see my kids' names (my son is Henry and my youngest daughter is Susannah) get popular but with Susannah/Susanna falling out of favor I think I'm pretty safe there. And Henry is never going to sound trendy even as its poised to break into the top 100.

Hey Laura,
Where did Talan came from?

hi guys....wow i never realized how hard it would be to choose a name...susannah is still the front runner; raffaella is out because everyone i asked kept pronouncing the name as rafee-ella..argghh..my husband likes the name katharina(he is a shakespearean fan) but i think it might be too cumbersome also i do not like the name kate or kat and kathy is way too common has any heard of unusual nicknames for katharina..ie..buffy is the nn for elizabeth..thanks..h..p.s. zelda the name talan comes from the show laguna beach which my niece watches faithfully..take care all...eleven days before the baby is here..we better decide soon

Here are my baby name list:
Amberlee Lynn
Samantha Shay
Leslie Ann
Joshlynn Sage
Matthew James
John Anthony
Christopher Thomas

it was hard finding a middle name for the name Joshlynn. and it'll probably change again. If you have any suggestions it would be great.

oh if you want to e-mail me on what you think here's my e-mail address.
claudajenna3@yahoo.com
thanks...

Maybe Joshlynn Marie??? Joshlynn Hollyn??? I don't know. But i do know I really love the name Amberlee

Harmonie -
I'm surprised you had a lot of people mispronounce Rafaella - that would have gotten my vote if I'd made it in time. :-) You could always call Katharina "Trina" or Reena or really pull something out and make it "Arin". I also like the name Meredith that someone mentioned earlier. What happened to your M or R thing? Did you give up? Susannah is also nice, and I could see it being used, but it always makes me think of old southern books/songs (Susannah of the Mountains or something, Oh, Susannah..., etc.) I suppose if you came up with a great nn, it would be great.

Claudia - I like Joshlynn Sage or Marie, but I think the Hollyn is a bit much with the first name. I also like the name Amberlee.

Sarah, I like Henry and Thomas best, but that has more to do with an overly popluated class of "James" boys growing up. And most of them I didn't like. Isn't it funny how everyone associates certain names wiht certain people/personalities?

On the subject I just mentioned - have any of you ever rejected a perfectly good name based on an association wiht someone you knew and didn't like? My sister and b-i-l had quite a time coming up with names for their kids because both of them are teachers and knew a lot of kids that they wouldn't want to name their kids after (or several kids that they would, but then it would look like they were playing favorites.) I know there are a few names I don't like based on people I grew up with or even celebrities that I'm not fond of, etc. Anyone else have that problem?

My biggest dislikes are
Christine (though my best friend is named Kristine and I might consider the K spelling)
Casey (for boy or girl, though my dislike was female)
Autumn
Jamie (boy)
William/Bill
Adam

They all have negative associations for me. What are yours?

Yeah, i'm a teacher and I have bad associations with some names and good with others.

Top names for horrible kids ;-)
Kayleigh (and all it's varients)
Connor
Jake
Demi
Kieran
Lewis

Top names for lovely kids:
Harry
Sophie
Emma
Charlotte
Nathaniel

To Harmonie: what about Suzannah? (Susannah with a "z") I think it's more mysterious.

My "likes"
Olivia
Grace
Aridane
Nicholas
Thomas

My "dislikes"
Kayleigh (Kyles, Cailie's, etc.) -- way too many
Krissy
Tiffany
Daniel

Oops,

meant "Ariadne" not Aridane...

I was very disappointed not to win the pool. Better luck next year! I had hoped that Beatrice would crack the top 1000 since I know two little girls born in 2005 with that name. Alas. Next year I'll go with Shiloh and Suri and keep my fingers crossed!

Claudia, I tried e-mailing you but that address didn't work. I just wanted to suggest my middle name, Rae, to go with Joshlynn. I think the two names would sound very nice together. I absolutely love my middle name and always use it along with my first (although Jennifer is much more common than Joshlynn!).

You know what's funny? I can only think of one Kayleigh that I know and I adore her. She's a teenager (about 16), so maybe it's a generational thing, but I think it's funny that both Yelena and Elizabeth named Kayleigh in their dislike list! :-)

for a girls name i just love Azalea pronounced a-zal-ya wish i was having girl and not a boy lol boys names are so hard to think of

Harmonie, Please let us know when the baby's born so we can find out what you decided! All the best...

hi helen..our daughter is hopefully coming on june 11 although people say that your first baby is usually late.we still can not make up our minds arrggghhh!! today my husband came home and told me a co-worker just had a baby girl and named her grayson...i loved it as did he but maybe it is too male sounding...i don't want her to hate us for giving her a weird name.. i like marley rose..that way we have covered the aunt situation,but david (hubby) is not in love with it..also we tend to vacillate between very feminine names like katharina and more androgynous names like grayson..do you think it sounds to much like jayson? as a bearer of a somewhat unusual name i don't want to burden her with something uncool..yikes!! i wish we could just ask her!! in lieu of that we are asking all of you..i will definitely let you know when we finally decide..

I have an Arabella and an Adelaide and I was very disappointed to see them on the list for the first time this year. I was hoping they'd stay obscure. I also have a son named York and that name is nowhere to be found. Hooray!

Harmonie - there was an obscure Tv show called Models Inc in the 90's (a spin off of Melrose Place) that included a character named Grayson, played by Emma Samms. To me, Emma Samms is a very feminine actress and she was easily able to pull off the name and the character. I would say it's unusual enough to not sound too masculine. It's a great name. You could even create the nn Gracie (however you'd choose to spell it) if you wanted to ensure her name had a feminine option. I can picture a businesswoman 20 years from now, "Good afternoon, I'm Grayson _____"

Harmonie: Hmm, Grayson sounds VERY masculine to me -- don't do it! Also when I read Marley I immediately thought of Bob Marley -- anyone else? So that's masculine in my mind, too.

I actually liked the Rosalind suggestion . . . or just Rosemarie? I think those sound good with Fox. What else? There are a million nn's for Margaret . . . how about Rebecca? I guess I'm more traditional!

I would say not to use Grayson only because your husband's coworker might be annoyed if you also used a name she probably picked for its uniqueness.

Marley makes me think of the ghost of Jacob Marley in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol".

How about something like Mari, Marin, Rowan? Still somewhat feminine names, but not so girly (although I hate to suggest these, since they're at the top of my own list!).

Personally, I like Rosalind a lot, but it sounds like that's a no-go.

re christiana...thanks for the info..i will have to google models. inc...funnily enough i look like emma samms!! if she is the actress who played fallon on dynasty....i also think it sounds sophisticated yet soft..i see a number of others do not agree but we can always give her an ultra feminine middle name.. the baby will share my husbands last name (i dont like hyphenated names ..way too long!) and his last name begins with a g o we have alliteration..so perhaps we have a name after all...i was getting worried we would call her baby g. harmonie

I agree that your husband's coworker will probably not be too happy if you use the rather unique name of her daughter for yours.

I also think Grayson sounds mascline. If you are still looking for a R name, how about Raven? Similar sound to Grayson, but more feminine and with a R.

Wendy

Thanks for all of your input. Harmonie, I know how hard finding the "right" name for your child can be!!!

Our twins are due in July but they often come early so we are working against the clock too. I think James is out for us so it is just down to Thomas and Henry. Which name do you think sounds better with Caroline (the girl twin) as well as with my other two children, Samuel and Lilly?

I think that either Henry or Thomas works well with your other names, although personally I like Thomas better. (Love Caroline by the way).

Good luck!

wendy

Wendy - I like both Thomas and Henry as I mentioned earlier, but I like Thomas best with Caroline.

Harmonie - yes, Emma Samms played Fallon. imdb.com will give you any info on Models Inc and/or Emma Samms.

wendy..i love the name james! if we were to have had a boy that would be the name..of the other two i love henry.. harmonie

Ooh! I was so excited to see my daughter's name here that I just had to post! I have an almost-4-month old Romilly, who sometimes goes by Romy. I'm American, but we live in the UK, so my family back home think it's a little "unusual" but mostly we get really positives comments on it. I highly recommend it ;)

To the grown-up Romilly who posted - are you listed in the Romilly hall of fame yet? There's a man called Romilly in England somewhere who has a website that lists all the Romillys he's come across, and he's always looking for more. If you google Romilly Bowden you should find him :)

I think you might be able to attribute talan to that awful show on MTV "Laguna Beach" one of the main characters (and most tolerable) was named TALAN.

also on romily...that is my cousin's name. She is 18 and LOVES her name.

Sarah -- I know a twenty-something Caroline with two brothers - Henry and Benjamin. Both go well with Caroline.

I think Grayson sounds masculine, and it might upset your husbands co-workers.

Romilly is so cute! I'd never heard of it until I read the comments here.

What about Shoshana? It's the hebrew form of Susanna. I think Shana is a really cute nickname, and it's a very unusual name.

Some unique girl names I think would work well: Creeley, Jakelyn, and Auden.

Of names in the top 1000 for girls, I think Parker is a great choice. And I think the name Penelope is very cool (though my wife doesn't care for that one at all).

We've already had our girl, and the next one, which we expect to be our last, is going to be a boy, so we probably won't get to use any of these names.

How about Rowena? It's a literary name (Ivanhoe) with some history. It has a feminine sound, but isn't too girly.

My youngest s-i-l's middle name is Parker - it was a family name but all3 of my sister in laws love it and are bickering over who gets to use it on their kid (which I find hysterical). She even goes by it in some circles and often signs family notes as simply "Parker." Her older sister, however hates that "they call me by my middle name" thing and wonders why they bothered to give her a first name to begin with (my mother in law had the same problem - don't know why she did that to her daughter). It's funny those trends of giving a name and then not using it.

hi christiana..i love parker for a girl..we are due in next week and still no closer to a name...my sister had a dream that we named the baby hunter..what do you think? i am leaning toward androgenous names; but the mum of grayson called to ask me not to name my baby grayson..so ..ok i wasnt sold on the name anyway//h

Harmonie - Parker, Mackenzie, Addison, Cameron, Logan, Bailey, Riley, Dakota, Presley, Spenser, Peyton, Colby, and Skyler are some suggestions for androgenous names that are fairly modern, but some of them also have that classic feel. I like Hunter, but it always makes me think of a boy even with the Hunter Tylo reference out there (who is anything but masculine). I'd love to name my own kid Cameron, but I'm not crazy about it's meaning and my husband and I have a weird thing for the meaning of names. I can come up with one or more popculture references for most of the above mentioned names. Hope you find one soon! Good luck!

Don't like hunting, so not fond of the name Hunter. How about Harper? Androgenous, nicer meaning... (And would go well with your name)

Are you still interested in R or M names? If so, how about
Rori (Rory for boy)
Robin
Reese
Riley

All can be male/female.
Can't think of any M androgenous names at the moment.

You are getting verrrrry sleepy. You must forget you heard the name Harper.

(if you can't tell, I want to keep that one for myself!)

so how is romilly pronounced? long or short o? accent on first or second syllable?

i believe romilly's pronounced with a short o, similar to emily in rhythm. ive always predicted romilly to take off in popularity, mainly because of its similarity to emily in sound, so its really interesting to see it mentioned so much here!

also i love harper, its probably the only androgenous name i actually really like! makes me think of harper lee and to kill a mockingbird, another name heading for popularity?!

I don't think I've ever heard an actual person named Harper - characters (only one as a first name), yes - real people, no. It's interesting, but I would have a hard time using it on a girl - not that it's terribly masculine, it just doesn't sound at all feminine. I could really like it on a boy. Ideally, though I picture it as an old family name that comes up when you're trying to come up with a name for a son. (Nora ROberts In the Garden Trilogy has a great character named Harper, after his mother's family)

BTW - I really like the name Romilly, though I'd never heard it before this site. It's got a great sound. It makes me think of my Sci-fi friends using it (not sure why - the similarities to Romulus from Star Trek maybe?) A much better alternative to Ramona or Roma, in my opinion.

Harmonie - Just remembered your last name is Fox. I'm picturing lots of fox hunter references - when the teacher calls out "Fox, Hunter" - don't know that I would go there!

Kristin, you don't happen to be one of Harmonie's husbands coworkers do you? ;)

Harper is ranked at 743 in girls names this year, 887 last year, wasn't on the list before 2004. Hey! I want to vote for it for next year -- 144 spots is no small leap!

(and it doesn't make the list for boys).

hi everyone..still no name yet..my husband says we can just call her"baby" until she is two!! ok some progress..definitely want androgynous name..since gray is out..i love emerson rose..that way we include the rose and i like the three syllables...i love harper!!! i have not heard of any girl named harper..although i am sure i saw a movie with sarah polley playing a character named harper..does anyone know what the movie was? i can rent it and see if i like the sound.. i agree hunter is a little too male.. teri hatcher's daughter is emerson rose.. so..the beat goes on..five more days till baby girl appears..i better get busy...

Wendy - how about these for androdgenous names beginning with M - Miller, Marshall (or Marshalle for a girl, maybe?), Madison, Morgan or Maddox.

I like Emerson Rose - I knew I'd heard it before, must be from Teri Hatcher's kid. The Sarah Polley movie was Guinevere (sp?) which I saw years ago. I had forgotten about that. I love the nickname Emmy (ie. Emmy Rossum) sor any of the "Em" names.

Has anyone ever heard of a kid named Avonlea? I loved the Anne books as a kid, my grandmother even took me to Prince Edward Island when my mom and I graduated college. It's a pretty word, but has no meaning as far as I can tell.

1. For the record it is Harmonie who is looking for M names that are adrodgynous (sp?) names.
2. Harmonie, Emerson is nice. And since it starts with the "em" sound you can say you are honoroing your husband's relative with the Em in Emerson and the R in Rose. Another M name I thought of... Mallory.

3.Avonlea -- it means River meadow. Made up by the author. I love it and seriously considered naming my second daughter this, although Lorelei is the top contender at the moment.

Wendy -
Thanks for the info and that's kind of wild that you're debating about Lorelei, as Lorelai is one of my own top choices! (I'm a serious Gilmore Girls fan) It's a beautiful name and distinctive. Hopefully it will stay that way. :-)

Where did you find the meaning of Avonlea? In another book by LM Montgomery?

You might want to be careful about names like Emerson and other unisex names if you want something that is timeless. Names like that are extremely trendy.

hey nicole.. i think that harper is timeless..after all harper lee wrote to kill a mockingbird about 40 yrs ago.harmonie

I agree, Harper is nice. Not all unisex names are super trendy, but a lot of them are. It's just a name genre you have to be careful with. :)

I read about the meaning of Avonlea when I was seriously considering it somewhere on the net. Author said she wanted it to sound like Avalon (mythical place in King Arthur legend). Took Avon from old English (river) and put it together with Lea also old English (meadow/clearing).

My mom actually came up with Lorelei and she doesn't watch anything but PBS, but I like Gilmore Girls. Not to fond of the history of the name, but oh well...

I recently came across 2 androgenous names that really struck me as interesting and fresh - Hadley and Ripley. Now, I know Ripley conjures up all sorts of "Believe it or not" jokes, but it's still pretty cool to me. And Hadley strikes me as a very fresh individual - an artist or a business person with new ideas, etc. Any opinions?

I recently came across 2 androgenous names that really struck me as interesting and fresh - Hadley and Ripley. Now, I know Ripley conjures up all sorts of "Believe it or not" jokes, but it's still pretty cool to me. And Hadley strikes me as a very fresh individual - an artist or a business person with new ideas, etc. Any opinions?

Ripley to me conjures up the "Alien" movies!

I considered naming my youngest daughter Rhaelyn or McKenna but We chose Ava Alexandrea Jewel instead (we call her Ava-Jewel). I know Ava is the rising names but it is very uncommon in my area. Anyways good luck on deciding on a name!

I thought about Evangeline for my baby girl. I like that it has to do with my home state of Louisiana and I like the nickname Evie. But it sounds too much like the word evangelist. That may be why other people don't use it despite its beauty and sweetness.

Jamie,
Ava-Jewel is so cute! Even if there turn out to be other "Ava"s on the playground, she'll still be easily distinguishable without resorting to Ava C. or Ava M. It's pretty, too!

So Harmonie, today is your due date and PLEASE let us know what you chose! I hope all goes well with the birth.

Which spelling is more used my middle name is Susan.
I want to suggest something for my daughter should she chose my name
either SUZANNAH or SUSANNAH.

The most common spelling is Susana. It is the only one on the top 1000 list. I have encountered a couple of Susannas, one other Suzanna ( my daughter's spelling), heard of a couple of Susannahs. Never met/heard of Suzannah, but sure someone spells it that way.

Karen -
The most common version I've seen is Susannah (like Hannah), but it's hard to argue with the top 1000 names. I've also got a client who spells her name Suzan, which I thought was pretty distinctive.

well we did it..june 10; 2006...a day early..Barrington Hope Fox was born...we are home now..i want to thank all my e-mail friends for your help and interesting opinions..i know you will love to comment on her name!!! thanks..harmonie

Congrats, Harmonie! Barrington - that's pretty cool, I never would have come up with that one. Do you have a nn in mind or are you going to try and stick with the whole thing? So happy for you!

Yes, congratulations!!!! And I think you picked a great name--very unusual and not likely to be overused any time soon. I hope all goes well in the next couple weeks. Get some rest! And don't worry if little Barrington seems like an alien being sometimes. Hormones do weird things.

Congratulations Harmonie! Barrington is an interesting name. Never heard it before. How did you decide on it?

Love Hope. It is my daughter's middle name.

Enjoy your baby!

hi there..to christiana wendy(my sister's name!) and elizabeth..thanks for liking my choice..my whole family hates it!! oh well ..i definitely feel the hormones coursing through my body..so far barrington is up every 3 hours to drink..she is so beautiful ..so we have not thought of nicknames..what can you guys come up with? i just made up the name...maybe i saw it somewhere and it just was waiting until i retrieved it but as far as i know ..i put it together..maybe someone has heard of another barrington ..it would be cool to let me know..i love the name hope..if barrington is too imposing for her she could always use her middle name..i thought it matched well with mine...i told my husband that the next one is his choice ..except i have veto power! i don't know when that will be..this one HURT ALOT when she came out!! they say new mum's forget ..i am not so sure about that! p.s i love the name charlotte..but for a twist what about scarlett? bye for now..h.f

My sister's middle name is Susanne. It was a last-minute decision because my mother's cousin had a daughter about two months before my sister, and named her Martha Adair - Adair would have been my sister's middle name otherwise!

Harmonie - My first suggestion on a nn would be "B" (however you want to spell it) Also "Rin" or "Arri" taking letters out of the middle. Barry sounds way too much like a boy.

Abby - I love the name Adair - I haven't heard it in ages.

Ohh, Harmony, I love Arri. Congratulations!

hi christiana i love the name arri!!!very sophisticated thanks.h

Congrats, Harmonie (BTW I love your name, being a singer). To quote Allan Sherman's parody of "Mary's a Grand Old Name"

We'll call him Barry, Barry
That will be the baby's name
We thought of Lance or Josh,
But oh my gosh, they're not the same

But if it's Barry, Barry
That's a name with style and grace
And if it's not a he
It still could be
Like in Barrie Chase.

So Barrie is most definitely a girlie nickname, and only one letter removed from Carrie. I like it whole bunches.

Re Susanna (Suzannah, Susannah, et al.): this is the name of one of my dearest friends. She was born in 1944 into a large Mennonite family (lots of biblical names). Likes the nn Sue, hates Susie. It may be because I love her so much that if I were to have a daughter (unlikely at my age) she would be Susanna. With either Grace (HS friend) or Gail (a current friend) for a middle.

Barry works as a nickname. Is it masculine? Well, last year it fell off the 10000 popular names for boys. How about "Bara" for a nickname?

My Suzanna goes by Zan or Zanna. Never Sue. Sometimes I call her Susie Q, or sing "wake up little Susie" to her, but otherwise we avoid "Susie".

Barrie isn't bad, it looks a little more girly, though I still kind of like Arri.

I like the nn Zanna for Suzanna - there's something about Susie that always made me think of a ragdoll or an old lady. (even though I know a couple of Susie/Suzies that aren't old). There is also always Anna.

A friend of mine has a daughter named Savannah that she always struggles to nn. I suggested Savy, a little friend of Savannah's refers to her as Vanna. Anyone heard of other nn for Savannah?

My college roommate has a little sister named Zanna. Not a nickname, though! (Her bro is Zacary.)

What about Sannah?

what do you think of the name lolita for a girl? we are having twins i am naming my son laird..i really love the name lolita but i am not sure..tori..

Hi Tori. Lolita is a pet name for Dolores, and it has a very sexy image--even to those who have not read the novel. How about Lola? Another Dolores nn, but not nearly as over the top as Lolita.

I agree w/ Amy about the sexy connotation of Lolita. Laura, Lana, Lilah, Lilia, Leigh, Larissa, Laina/Lainey are other suggestions, especially if you want the aliteration of an L" name.

I agree with Amy and Christiana about Lolita. It has a great sound, but when you think about the book, it's not so appealing. A recap on the book: preteen Lolita is seduced by her guardian, Humbert Humbert, who is middle aged. Nabokov definitely portrays Lolita as very sexy. I think the name has an oversexed connotation even for those who never read the book (think of Amy Fisher, the "Long Island Lolita"). It also raises all sorts of ugly questions about pedaphilia, rape, incest, etc. My position is clear, isn't it?! But Lola doesn't have the same connotations at all. There's also Lina, Alita, or Lali.

Sorry to be so negative, but that name is just over saturated with bad connotations, in my opinion.

elizabeth christina amy ...thank you for telling me about the name lolita..i had heard of the book but had not made the connection ..i agree..i don't want to my daughter to be connected to any of those negative images...last night i had a dream of the name cassie( i have had weird preg. dreams!) i like that we can call her cassandra..maybe it was too cute to name them both l names anyway...does anyone think about their last name when choosing first names? ..tori ps. elizabeth do you like your name? do you have a nickname? my mom was going to name me elizabeth but choose victoria instead(we are british) ..do youknow any unusual nicknames for elizabeth to make her stand out(kind of like tori instead of vicki....

Tori, dreaming of the name Cassie. How cool is that? According to Greek mythology, Cassandra was a prophetess who saw the future, but was never believed. Maybe your dream has revealed your baby's true name, but maybe you won't believe her.

I have actually heard the name BArrington before, I have a cousin with that name we call her Bing...lol Don't know if that will suit your little one or not. I do like Airy though that is really cute. Anyways congrats on your new little life!!

i love bing!!! i am going to call her that right away!! harmonie

Tori - There are so many possible nn for Elizabeth. To me, the most unusual is Betts, but I'm sure there are others out there as well. Beth, Liz, Lizzie, Liza, Betty, Betina, Babette, Bess, Bessie, Eliza, Lisa, Libby, Lizbet, Bizy, etc. are the few off the top of my head. According to Oxygen Baby namer, there are 60 different nicknames for Elizabeth.

I love the name Cassandra - so sophisticated without being snobish.

My association with the name Cassandra is a particularly annoying classmate who was constantly correcting the pronunciation...as in "It's not CassANDRA, it's CassAUNDRA, CassAAAUUNDRA."

Aside from that, I think it's a very attractive name, and the nickname Cassie is great!

Ooh, I had a friend who babysat a little girl named Kassandra and my friend always insisted on that pronunciation, too. I had forgotten about that. If you want it pronounced with the "u", why not spell it that way?

Hi Tori,
I do like my name! I was one of five Elizabeth Anns in my 8th grade class, but never minded it. Now I rarely meet another Elizabeth who goes by her full name. Most of them have nicknames such as Beth, Liz, Betsy, etc. My dad used to call me Elspeth when I was little.

Cassandra and Cassie are both great names.

Jamie & Harmonie--"Bing" is so cute! What a cool suggestion.

Tori--Don't forget "Buffy" as a nn for "Elizabeth." Not sure if it's your style, but it gets extra points from me because of the slayer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer was smart, creative, tough, funny, loyal, and gorgeous. The character redefined the name for me.

I've always loved the name Cass for a boy and it's a really sophisticated nn for a Cassandra.

My aunt's name is Elizabeth we call call Iva B the Iva is actually pronounced like isa!

Tori-
If you're looking for an L name, I love Lola and Lorelei. I love the way that they roll of the tongue. I like the name Cassie, but I dunno- Cassandra sounds kind of annoying and snobbish. What does your last name sound like? My parents thought of my last name when naming both me and my sister. We have a 1 syllable last name, so we didn't want a 1 syllable first name. Mine has 2 and my sister's 3. I don't think 2 L names for twins is over the top, unless their last name will be starting with an L.

To change the topic, I'm not going to have babies anytime soon (I'm 14!) but I love names. I was thinking of naming my first kid Ginevra if it's a girl, to be shortened to Ginny as a nickname. It's the Italian version of Guinevere, and I love ot because it's Harry Potter!! What do y'all think? I f I had a boy, I'd probably name him David, because I've had positive experiences with that name, and I like the way it sounds.
Bye!!

We're debating between 4 names for a boy & I'd love to hear comments from others about about overall preference/connotation for these names:
-James
-Ben
-Peter
-Eric
PS. our last name is "Brydon"

Cathy - are you doing the shortened version as the given name or just as a nick name? I like James off the list you gave, but I love "Benjamin Brydon". Sounds so classy.

I've never liked the name Peter after too many Peter/Pedro jokes/nicknames for male genitalia.

If Ben, the birth certificate name would be Benjamin but we'd probably introduce him to people as Ben.
Yes, I think we're leaning towards James.
Thanks for your input. Its nice to hear from others because we're too close to it now ourselves.

A little late in the game, but so interested to learn that someone else has considered Avonlea. It was our second choice for our little girl, Anne Wilson, now 14 mts. (And, yes, we use both names - even my mom has gotten used to it.) In my searches, I had only found 1 other Avonlea (around age 25) out there. I still think it is lovely and would use it next time around, if there is one . . .

Christie - I love the name Avonlea - it flows so nicely and has really pleasant connotations as I remember reading the Anne books as a kid, and visiting Prince Edward Island with my mom and grandmother as an adult (even though the real life Avonlea is called Cavendish). I don't know that my husband will go for it, but I would never rule it out completely.

Hi everyone,

I just searched my name - Romilly - on the internet and it came up with this website. I LOVE my name. Throughout school i was forever spelling it out and correcting people but you soon get used to that. There are so few Romilly's in the world and i personally hope it doesn't come into fashion. My nickname is normally Rom but my closest friends named me Rompilly, or Rompils for short, during year 7. Rommy is also a cool nn but i don't really get that alot. It's a name that gets commented on alot and my grandma is always telling me that it came from an old english surname.

I was searching the internet for "Claudia" and I found this website! We're expecting our second child in April. My daughter, Cassandra Marie, is 4. We actually call her by her full first name. I've toyed with the idea of a "C" theme... If this baby is a boy, he'll be named Everett James or Everett William. As for girl's names, I'm liking Claudia, Annabelle, Dahlia, Charlotte, and Ava. Opinions on any of these names? Any suggestions?

Jen - I love the name Claudia for it's sound, but hate it's meaning. If you don't care about meaning, it's a beautiful name. I also love Cassandra. There are a lot of Ava's out there right now. But Dahlia is probably my favorite of your list, since personally I just love flower names for girls. You may want to post this question on one of the more current posts (this one was orignally from May) on the site - I'm a regualr and just happened to be looking for an old post when I came across this new one.

Thanks for replying, Christiana.
Dahlia was my top choice during most of my first pregnancy. I decided on Cassandra when an old family friend (named Cassandra, of course) died.
As for Claudia -- I don't care for the meaning either. I'm on the AOL message boards, and when I mentioned Claudia, that was the response I got from a few people. Personally, it seems to me that people don't care about name meanings unless it's their name, KWIM?
Again, thanks for replying, and I did repost on another thread.

I love the name Romy. I picked it out way before the Movie Romy and Michelle came out. My first daughter was born and I named her Romy Taylor. She is dark haired, very smart and beautiful. But she tells me she likes her name but wishes it was Sara :/ LOL

"Ava" is another nn for savannah :)

Hi, I was searching for the meaning of Avonlea and I found this board! I'm so happy other people have considered Avonlea! I love the Anne books and movies, and I would love to name my future daughter Michaela Avonlea. I think it's beautiful and romantic LOL.. My other favorite is Isabella Noelle or Noel. I haven't decided on the spelling yet. My favorite boys names are Alec Caeton (Caeton is a family name passed down to the first born boy) and I like Daven and Drake, but my husband isn't too keen on those two. :D But I'm sure I can convince him soon. lol. Our last name is Gordon. :D

My daughter was born on October 11 and we named her Landree Dallas Leigh. Landree Dallas for my husbands favorite football coach and team and leigh for my husband.

es tona todos os dias

Anyone heard the name Levi much? can't think of a nice middle name for it.

Christian had posted a message asking if anyone ever heard of a kid named 'Avonlea.' Wanted to let her know that our daughter is named Avonlea. She's 14 and we named her 'Avonlea' after watching the movie. We loved the word 'Avonlea' and thought it a beautiful name...and it has fit her perfectly!

I've got some names here. I'm welsh and generilly i dont like welsh names as they can be so hard for others to pro-nounce, but here's a couple of unique, unusal, easy one's...
-Manon, for short *Non*
-Seren,
-Gwen
-Rhiannon
-Eira ( pronounce as if the *e is an *a
-Heledd
-Teleri
-Siriol
-Mared
-

My husband is welsh and he wants to name our child either afon or siriol...hmm which is better??
(for a girl)

I love the name Jezebel and am devestated it is off limits - like lolita - you just don't want your baby girl associate with a prostiture from day one...
oh Jezebel...

Wow! glad I found this. For the person with the last name Brydon... my son's name is Bryden Marshall!

If we have a girl her name will be Avonlea Clare. I love how Avonlea is both strong and feminine and so unique. I'm an Anne nut and I have always looked forward to sharing it with my daughter. Clare spelled that way because I can trace my ancestors to County Clare in Ireland.

If we have a boy, his name will be Peyson Thomas. We have a local business named Paysen but I like my spelling better. We are also considering Nolan Michael.

Thanks for the insight on Avonlea!

Help!!! I have 2 months until baby girl #2 is born. DD is 2.5 and her name is Daly Jeanne. We need something equally different for baby girl #2. I love Rory but its kind of hard to say. Like Nora, Charlotte, Ella and Caroline...any other thoughts....

Hi! I have been obsessed with names for as long as I can remember. My husband and I don't have any kids, but we agonize over naming our little fur-kids- Audrey, Henry-Simon and Stanley Norman. I found your book the other day and started reading it as I walked through the store, couldn't put it down. I had to buy it, it's pretty perfect. Thanks.

My husband and I have loved the name Harper since we were first dating and had a long discussion about the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Two years ago it was the name we had selected, but had a boy and named him 'Gus', Augustus (family name). We are now having a girl and just found out that a friend of a friend is using Harper Lee... we really like Harper but I feel like I should come up with something else. Since I am a Jennifer and shared my name with lots of other folks growing up.. I really want our kids to have a somewhat unique name. Any thoughts?

hey i didn't see my sons name mentioned on here at all. he's 10 months old we named him Cole. NO MIDDLE NAME. our family and friends freaked out when we didn't give him one. i don't see why. we didn't like any other names and didn't want to name him after someone because we are very close to both our fathers and grand fathers and we couldn't pick. i don't plan on having 6 boys! i think it's becoming more common anyways. just to throw this out there...what about sydney for a girl? we picked that but found it came out cindy sometimes so we went with kendra instead. what do you all think?

is this the correct spelling

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