Valerie-- I am Tess to some and Teri to others...and Terese(accent aigu, accent grave on the e's) Suzanne to my French grandmere.No "H" im Terese---I think all the French and Irish relatives got involved and each voted on a letter.. My Southern father called me Teri Sue.. I like Tess best.

Just in case you nameophiles haven't seen this on The Onion
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/parents_legally_change_9?utm...

It's a funny spoof about parents of a girl named Britney who suddenly develop name regret. Laura, what do you make of their future son's names?

re: Dax. A cousin of mine named his son this about five years ago. I never asked him where the name came from b/c I just assumed he and his wife made it up. Nms, but the little boy is so smart and good-natured, that the name has grown on me. I've been surprised to encounter other boys named Dax since then. Maybe it isn't a made up name?

At the playground yesterday:

Lydia and Sylvia (sibs)
Charlie
Grace
Silas

Celeb baby name alert:
"Parminder Nagra and her husband James Stenson are thrilled to announce the birth of their son, Kai David Singh Stenson ... Mother, daddy and baby are all doing great," the actress' rep tells Us.

This is Neela on ER in case anyone doesn't recognize her REAL name.

This is a little late, but I -just- returned from my 20 week ultrasound to discover that we're getting a baby GIRL in the fall after two wonderful sons! All the talk of Eliza makes me happy--it's on my very very short list of names. For maybe 10 years I've wanted to name a daughter Amelia, but the skyward trajectory has me very nervous (we discussed this a few posts back). I tried "Eliza" on my husband two weeks ago and was surprised to hear that he really, really liked it--and now, so do I. It has the same spunky, offbeat character that once attracted me to Amelia, but unlike Amelia, is not rocketing up the charts. I am happy to see the NE's on here reinforcing the positive vibe that my husband and I have about the name.

Now my question-do you name the baby Elizabeth, nn Eliza, or is this a name that can stand alone? FWIW, we like the name Eliza, not Elizabeth, and she'd be exclusively "Eliza."

Thanks!

toothfairy - I think Eliza's a lovely name. If you like Amelia but think it's too popular, have you considered Aurelia? I think it has a similar feel to Amelia but is very rare nowadays.

Perhaps some of the Daxes are named after the character Jadzia Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

toothfairy -

A vote for just Eliza. Sweet, simple, and charming. If Betty and Lisa can break away and become full grown-up independent names, so can Eliza. (Oh wait... Eliza was actually first!)

I always find it ironic that North Americans, for whom nicknames-as-full-names are a long-standing cultural tradition, have become so nickname-phobic that we're inventing new "formal" names for classics... while the supposedly formal and proper British are naming their kids Alfie, Billy and Ben.

Why shouldn't Eliza be just Eliza? You can't say that it's too insubstantial or too childish. So what if she can't stretch her name out to four syllables or switch to Beth. Will anyone think the less of her? Do women named Mary feel bad that they can't call themselves Marilyn? Okay, rant over. :)

I know of a Daxton (nicknamed Dax) who was named after the beach volleyball player Dax Holdren. He's about four or five now.

There's also the actor Dax Shepard, who had a bit of tabloid press a couple years back when he was dating Kate Hudson.

Toothfairy- I think Eliza is a stand alone name..and quite lovely. May I add the suggestion of Allegra-for your consideration? The "happiness" meaning always delighted me. Although, it may be contradictory in some teenage years, but, perhaps not for your child!

Elke

The name is German/Dutch/Flemish and unknown/unused in Scandinavia. It's dated in Germany, not sure about The Netherlands and Belgium though.

I don't know of it being a diminutive form of Elsa, originally, but it has been an established name of its own for a considerable time.

re: Dax: I knew one in intermediate school who would be about 30 now.

re: Eliza: I think it can definitely stand on its own. Sounds "proper," serious, formal enough for a judge!

re: Dax-- there's also a video game that's decently popular called Jax and Daxter-- no idea if that's having an impact, too.

re: Amelia-- We are planning to use Amelia if our new little one is a girl and I confess, too, that I have some anxiety over the "skyrocketing popularity" as some of you have put it, over the name. But DH loves it and I can't seem to sway him from it (and there's a family connection-- it was his great-grandmother's name). Does nobody think that it's possible the name has reached its zenith? According to the SSA list, there were something like 4500 Amelias born last year, that doesn't seem *toooooooo* crazy popular, does it?

Thanks, everyone! slk34-if you love Amelia, you should use it. One of the reasons we're shying away from it had to do with my attraction to it in the first place-we wanted something that was offbeat and slightly unusual but not "weird." Amelia is still a gorgeous name, but I don't think I'd call it an "offbeat" choice these days.

I'm not sure Amelia has reached its peak just yet. It's got all the right style elements to continue to rise: all those vowels, it sounds like the ever-popular Emily, it's "old fashioned..." Not to mention the fact that Mia (a name in its own right, but also an Amelia nickname) is ranked I think in the top 10 or 20.

I'm glad to hear that we can have a "just Eliza" without raising any eyebrows. Ooh, even typing the name makes me smile a bit.

Thanks also for the Aurelia and Allegra, all. It's going to be a fun summer, playing with baby girl names for a change!!

toothfairy- love "just Eliza". I think it works well.

Re: Elke. I was thinking about some of those Germanic names ending in -ke that don't seem to have an English equivalent: Frauke, Heike, Maike, etc. They're interesting! Any more I've missed? There's another one I've been trying to remember.

Anna-Thanks for the info on Elke.

toothfairy-I like Eliza more than Amelia for its "spunk" factor. I ahd said a while back that there are names I think of in this category. I had forgotten to include Eliza but it is perfectly spunky.

I give Eliza the big thumbs-up as a standalone name -- and I'm an Elizabeth! Ordinarily I believe in long-version names, but Eliza isn't cutesy or diminutive at all, so it works by itself. It's a bit more like Nancy, once a nickname for Anne and now a name of its own. If I could dial back the clock I'd have taken on Eliza when I went to college and ditched Beth, which is pretty fuddy-duddy. But I was called Beth so that nobody dared call me Betty, which was my grandmother's nickname that she hated. Imagine anyone calling a child Betty in the 70s, anyway.

Allegra, alas, will always be an allergy medication to me. There was a suggested nickname a ways back that rang some alarm bells for me. Must go back and find it.

My captcha slogan is "malcolm as"

So many great girls' names floating around in this thread!

Amelia is lovely... but I agree, Eliza has the "spunk factor" and seems much more distinctive. Not that Amelia itself is overly common, but there are so many names with similar sounds right now, it blends in almost too well with the Emilys and Mollys and Mias and Mileys and Malias. There's nothing else quite like Eliza (including Elizabeth, this poster's own real name, spunk factor zero) and that's a great part of its charm.

Aurelia and Allegra are both delicately lovely, medieval sonnet sort of names... almost too delicate or frilly for playground use? Allegra would become Allie, but I'm at a bit of a loss for a natural nickname for Aurelia. Lia? Hmmm. Even more than Aurelia, I love the French Aurélie with its open, bright sound, but it would be mispronounced "orally" which is off-putting. A shame. Another shame: Allegra is an allergy medication.

As for the German -ke names: two more I know are Anke and Wiebke. My favorite of the bunch is Meike, pronounced like Micah (which I've always thought would suit a girl much better than a boy, sorry Biblical patriarch!)

Allegra-The only nn's I can think of for this would be Allie/Ally or maybe Lyra/Lera? Ella? Maybe a family name like Sunny/Sunshine since it is such a sunny name and means "happy".

Eliza=Elle/Ellie/Liz/Lizzie/Liza/Za/Zee but then again it doesn't really need a nn since its so short anyway.

Amelia=Ammie(short)/Lia/Mel/Amie(long)/Mimi

I wholeheartedly second Beth on wishing I'd taken on Eliza in college, and dumped lizardy Liz which I've never liked at since childhood! But Eliza wasn't really on my radar back then, I think I would have considered it pretentious. A few years make a lot of difference in one's taste in names...

Somehow the name Thomas Jude together makes me think of Doubting Thomas and Judas the Betrayer. But it's probably just too much Bible education on my part. :)

From celebrity-baby.com:

"The My Chemical Romance lead singer and his wife Lindsey ‘Lyn-Z’ Ballato, bass player for Mindless Self Indulgence, are first time parents after welcoming their daughter on Wednesday, May 27 at 2:57 p.m. Baby girl Bandit Lee Way weighed in at 6 lbs., 5.6 oz and is “healthy and happy.”

What do you think of a girl named Bandit?

Re Aurelia - I know of one nicknamed 'Raya'.

Also, on Thomas, not only is it quite popular in the UK it is in the top 10 in Australia and has been for awhile.

Much as I love "big" names, Eliza and Elizabeth are separate in my mind. And though I love them both, I would not nn Elizabeth Eliza, but rather Betsy. MMmmm yummy.

Beth the original,
I think the alarming nickname suggestion was Giz, short for Gideon. At least, that's the one that alarmed me.

Bandit seems like a lot to saddle a kid with. It's spunky, but if I were going the criminal route, I'd go for something more subtle, like Jane (Calamity) or Jesse (James). I suppose siblings could be Rob and Steele!

It does feel pompous to say, "Yes, I loved Eliza before it "re-surged", but it's true! I know other NE's have the same experience-- liking a name, for decades perhaps, that most people draw a blank on. Then, boom, it makes a big splash and loses some of its aura (for the NE, at least).

If that is happening to Eliza, I'll always have "Augusta", (she said wistfully!) Although I wouldn't be surprised if some Brits are already quietly boosting its popularity.

To me, Eliza and Augusta have both always had a great "spunk" factor, something you don't always find in names ending in "a". And that elusive "literary/intellectual" factor too.

My "male" version of Augusta is of course, "Barnaby". Am sincerely hoping that all those stumbly-bumbly consonants keep it from ever going "mass appeal", but don't count on it...

Love Eliza- it is definitely a name in its own right.

Amelia- I love love love this name, and I have a special connection to it. My husband is an aviation fanatic so Amelia for a girl would be so special (My Izzy's middle name is Skye for the same reason). I also would want to honor my Uncle Aaron. We would call her Millie (probably). I love Izzy and Millie as a sibset). However, it is getting so popular and I already hate how popular Isabel's name is. I knew what I was getting into when I named her that, but still...

Luckily I don't have to think about it yet. We've just started trying for baby #2.

Busy week here, so I've mostly been lurking as I have a chance, but I wanted to say that I definitely can see Eliza on it's own. I knew a (spunky actually:) girl in college named Eliza and I have no idea whether she was an Elizabeth or not, I knew a Betsy (which surprised me at the time, she graduated in '08) and several Liz's and I would always just assume those were nn's, not so with Eliza. I know a Liza too and I don't know whether she's Eliza, Elizabeth or just Liza... I thiiink just Liza actually which doesn't work as well for me as Eliza.

I also love Aurelia which I was first introduced to in Love Actually and is just a gorgeous name!

Also, Bandit?? That would be totally cute as a behavioral nn on a BOY (like Sunshine/Sunny that someone mentioned above). I don't like it on a girl though. Judge Bandit Way? Sounds like a street name Bandit Way out of Dickens:). Better hope she never wants to be a judge or politician...

Kim in Philly-- I also really like Izzy and Millie, totally cute!

Elizabeth T-LOL Rob, Steele, and Bandit sound like the perfect sibset! However, maybe they were going for the rock theme w/o being so obvious. They are both in bands after all. Of course, imo they failed miserably. They could've gone with Lyra/Lyric/Melody or some such thing. But of course, they might not have been mindless or self-indulgent enough. (Pun intended).

We are looking for a name for our second which will be born in a few months.

Our first is Eva Marie.

We need some new fresh ideas. Nymbler isn't doing it for me.

Names we like, need new ideas:

Micah, Leah, Nina, Ivan, Josiah, Lily

My husband likes Lily, Alice, etc, I am more on the Leah and Micah wagon.

Ideas?

I adore Amelia, Aurelia, and Eliza (which to me is a name separate from Elizabeth). All great names.

Seeing Bandit on this thread cracks me up. It was my cat's name and we always joked that it sounded more like a dog's name. I can't even comment on how I feel about it being a girl's name.

@need a name - Have you considered:
Lucia
Josie
Nora
Anna

And I tried to think of boys names but I'm stuck on those. Do you pronounce Eva as Eh-va or Ee-va?

'It does feel pompous to say, "Yes, I loved Eliza before it "re-surged", but it's true! I know other NE's have the same experience-- liking a name, for decades perhaps, that most people draw a blank on. Then, boom, it makes a big splash and loses some of its aura (for the NE, at least).'

How true! While I can't say I've always loved Eliza (being an Elizabeth, perhaps I grew up too close to the name to see it objectively!), I happily claim the same for Audrey, Alice and Clara.

I can't say I feel disappointed when my old favorites come back into fashion - I actually feel pleased, almost vindicated that my fashion sense was right! (Maybe because I'm unlikely to have any more kids now, and am not tracking popularity from that perspective.) I only start getting annoyed if my romantic old faves climb into the Top 50 or so, stringing along half a dozen kreative alternative spellings.

My 'Augusta' and 'Barnaby' (great off-the-radar names!) are probably Harriet, Agatha and Edmund.

Bandit??? Oh please. It's a child, not a chihuahua. What sort of parent names their baby after a criminal? Can't wait for little Bandit's siblings Addict and Carjack to come along...

re: Bandit: This was my friend's rabbit's name! (The rabbit was mostly white with a black band across its eyes.) On a human, kind of cute as a nn I guess... other than that, definitely a "celebrity" name!

Kim in Philly: Love your taste! Isabel Skye is gorgeous, Izzy and Millie are cute! If you are looking for another name to get Millie from, I knew a Camille who went by Millie.

need a name: Is your preference for Leah and Micah because they are Bible names or more about sound? Hrm... Hannah, Anya, Lila? It seems like you and your husband have a slightly old-fashioned style. For boys', staying away from popular names (but not necessarily popular sounds). Your girls' names seem more currently popular. Gotta think on this some more...

Need a name: What about Saul? I always think of that as a great, pronounceable, underused but totally viable boys name of that same stripe. I realize that it might have some of the same old-man connotations previously associated with names like Ira or Byron (or Ivan, for that matter!), but I think it's definitely fresh for reuse. (I went to college with a Saul who was the cutest boy on the soccer team, which probably did something to make the name current and appealing for me.)

Valerie,

-ke is a diminutive suffix in German, Dutch, etc. names--I'm guessing it's related to the suffix -kin (like munchkin, catkin, etc.). So, my understanding is that Elke is a diminutive of Adelheid, I think Heike would be a diminutive of one of the Henry/Heinrich variants, Maike is a diminutive of one of the Maria/Mary variants, and Frauke just sounds like "little woman" to me. I'm not sure what other one you're thinking of--I've also heard Femke, Alke, Ilke, Anke, Wiebke. Annike is probably in the same mold, too. I seem to see a disproportionate number of these types of names on German(ic) dogs. In the past, I've entertained myself by going through historic dog pedigrees (esp. 1800s to 1950s) for breeds like Dobermans, German Shepherds, Bernese Mountain Dogs, etc., and looking at what the dogs were named then. I guess it makes sense that these diminutive forms were popular for dogs--in the same way that we'd be more likely today to name a dog Maggie or Toby than Margaret or Tobias, etc.

Oh yeah, and my Elke is a doberman(mix?)--it seemed fitting.

re: -ke: Oh, there's the actress Famke Janssen.

need a name: Just remembered that I know an Eva with older sister Gabriela (sp?). For boys, how about Bryce or Spencer?

RE: Eliza

I still see Eliza as short for Elizabeth. I prefer to give the full. And Eliza won't prevent nicknaming. An Eliza can easily be called Liz or Lizzy.

But it's not really like other diminuatives in that it has a more grown up feel. A woman can introduce herself quite formally as Eliza. I feel some nicknames are better for childhood and friends. Eliza doesn't have that problem.

And there's always that sticky question. What you think of the other Elizabeth ? You might choose Eliza for her nn, but she can always choose something else. How would you feel about that?

I had a friend who basically re-named himself. No one calls him by the nickname his parents chose, except his parents. Not even his brother.

grist for the mill...

NeedaName-My first thought is Eva is a soft sounding name that something hard sounding would balance it out. On the boys side maybe:
Jeffrey Owen
Joshua Michael
Joseph Benjamin
Graham Elijah-does Elijah Graham sound to matchy?
Caleb Isaac

For girls I'm more inclined to go with a French feel:
Jacqueline Grace
Marceline or Mara Claire

Wow, lots of J names are coming to mind. Let me know if I'm on the right track.

RobynT- I tried Camille with my husband and he hated it. I unfortunately said Camilla and he said, "Like Camilla Parker Bowles?" Whoops, now I can't even approach him Camille by itself. I have a different preference for a C-name- CLAUDIA! I am completely in love with it. I would hate if this one came back as strong as Isabel and Amelia have. Check out the NameVoyager for it- it's a great looking graph.

Kim in Philly--
I have loved the name Claudia forever. So beautiful. It would have been a contender for both of my daughters if dh had been agreeable. It's a classic name and I don't think it will have quite the come back that other classic names have enjoyed.
Some Claudia combos I like:

Claudia Cecilia (nn Cici)
Claudia Jane
Claudia Frances
Claudia Louise

Name watch: A mothering forum I frequent has a new baby... T@vish M@rley. Brother for V@shti.

The anangram was completely unintentional and unnoticed until pointed out after the naming. Interesting...

Need a name,

Here are a few others I think of when I think of your girl choices.
Beatrix/Beatrice
Phoebe
Ruby
Annabelle
Marina
Linnea

I must be the only person who thinks of Laura Ingalls Wilder when I hear the name Eliza. It makes me think of Almanzo Wilder's sister, Eliza Jane Wilder. And that makes me think of "lazy, lousy, Liza Jane" -- sorry! But, I actually like the name Liza -- go figure!

Jessica, that woman's going to have some difficulty keeping the anagram going if she ever has a third. May I suggest Havist for a boy and Savith or Sivtha for a girl? lol. That's pretty funny, though--I can't imagine not noticing that my two children's names had all the same letters.

Annee--I'm with you on the Laura Ingalls Wilder association.

I like Eliza, but I do think of Eliza Doolittle immediately, not that that's not a charming reference.

What do people think of the name Sabrina? It sounds good with my husband's last name, but is it too frivolous?

need a name,

How about Magdalene or Magdalena? It's Biblical but less common. I like all its nickname options (Magda, Maggie, Lena)...?

Mirnada-Sabrina is okay but I personally prefer Samantha despite the Bewitched association. The associations I have with Sabrina are the following in order:
1)a girl I knew in school
2)a little girl that went missing and I dont believe has ever been found
3)Sabrina the teenage witch

I dont think it's as spunky as Eliza though.

-ke names:

Found out a little more: The ending -KE is a diminutive suffix (as hyz said). It indicates a name from Northern Germany or a Northern Germanic dialect. In other parts of Germany -CHEN or -LEIN is used for the same effect.

*and believe or not, my babysitter from Southern Germany did indeed call me Ännchen

Thanks for the suggestions you all are great help, I thinking I am of going with Elizabeth with possible nn of Betsy or Libby

wdyt of these

Isla Elizabeth nn Betsy or Libby, maybe Isla Beth
Elizabeth Breanne nn Betsy or Libby
Bridget Annelise not Elizabeth but kinda like this
Bridget Elizabeth
Sophie Elizabeth
Justina Elizabeth
Elizabeth Noelle nn Betsy or Libby
Elizabeth Beatrice nn Betsy or Libby

Lily-Beth: Interesting combos. You can't really go wrong with any of them except Sophie Elizabeth while it sounds beautiful it just is so popular I would shy away from it unless that doesn't bother you or in your area it isnt popular. My favs in order wit hsome NEW combos of the above are...
Beatrice Noelle
Bridget Annelise
Elizabeth Noelle
Isla Elizabeth
Brenna Noelle**note sp
Breanna Elizabeth

Justina does not appeal to me.