The Baby Name Wizard

KimB. Someone suggested Hadrian but Adrian is from the same name. I like Adrian and Lincoln together. Maybe Adrian Lewis? Kind of has the same flow as Lincoln Douglas without being match-y match-y...

Steph P. Have you considered spelling Caspar as Kasper (german spelling)? I really like that spelling and it separates a little (at least when read) from Casper the friendly ghost.

@ hyz

Stellan is pronounced exactly the way it is spelled.

I think the 'sht' sound you are thinking of is written "stj..." in Swedish

@hyz

And "st..." is pronounced the same in German and English.

EVie: I LOVE the idea of using the NATO phonetic names, but feel like I should say that -- for anyone who wasn't watching "Dollhouse" -- that those are the names used for a lot of the main characters. Not sure if that matters to folks, but I like to know what my "favorites" are doing in pop culture. -- I had stopped watching "The Office," then one of the characters went and "stole" Astrid!

(I secretly adore November though) =)

Tirzah- I really like Caspian. It will go on our list.

Hyz- I agree you are my naming doppelganger. Although, if I recall correctly, you really like Rosamond, right? I just don't like this. Whenever I see you have mentioned this one, I think...Hyz likes Rosamond?? That's not right since I don't :)

Can't wait until you are ready to name #2.

Anna- I was taught that st- in German is sht. As in Stück

KimB. A few names I didn't see mentioned among historical U.S. names -- Zachary and Taylor.

Also Ulysses and Pierce, two more presidential ones that you don't hear as often. I'm no history scholar, though, so I'm unsure of what connotations these would bring up for history buffs.

Steph P. -
Don't know if this would matter much to you, but I imagine many people would assume the name Ambrose was feminine.

For girls, the more obvious botanicals seem a bit joke-y with Ivy, but I really like Liesl and don't think the Sound of the Music association would be a problem at all.

Wow, what cool naming challenges we have going on now!
Kim in philly-You have gotten some great ideas for aviation names from others. I have nothing more to add.
Steph P-Were you the one who liked Phillippa Tate last year that we were all voting on? I thought that was someone else but maybe it was you. If it was you I remember your LN was a strange Ph/F name was it not? Well, I love Ivy and August as a sibset and funny enough I first thought of Frederick till I looked and realized it was ds's mn. So of the choices you've listed I like for boys:
Ambrose; Hans; Alden; Cyril
Kazimir/Casimir; Felix; Graham
Simon; Solomon; Soren; Sven

for girls:
Adelaide; Beatrix; Calantha
Coraline; Eleanor; Elsa
Fern; Hannelore; Hazel
Honora; Rosalie/Rosalind
Valeria; Verity

Let me also add:
Bernard; Franz; Niels; Asher; Hiram and
Katerina; Madeleine; Magdalena; Heidi; Charlotte; Temperance; Prudence

Some combos that might hit the spot:
Katerina Violet
Heidi Magdalena
Madeleine Rosalie
Valeria Georgette
Hans Ambrose
Felix Solomon
Alden Niels
Soren Bernard
Verity Corinne
Hiram Franz
Honora Lark
Ambrose Bennett
Let me know!

Lincoln's mom-Did we throw out Isaac; Russell or Byron? I don't remember.

Steph P:

Have you considered Courtland for a boy. I think it sounds nice paired with August and Ivy.
I think Magnus, Anton, Theodore, Phineas, Emery, Ellis, Pascal, Sterling, Grady, Gilbert, Hamish, Laurence would also sound nice with August & Ivy.

From your boys list I love Hendrick and Stellan. I know you said your concern about Hendrick was the similarity with Hendrix... for me they seem very different to me stylistically.

I really like the suggestions of Hazel or Beatrix. Also like Phillipa Tate.

What do you think of Felicity, Patience, Lucia, Maisie.

Zoerenne- Yes, Philippa Tate was me. I really like your suggestions. Many are right on style-wise. Soren Bernard is really lovely. I also like your suggestions of Calantha and Niels. What a good memory you have. You are also correct on the last name too. It's peach in German, so no fruit names.

Hannelore has been mentioned a couple of times now. I'm not really familiar with this name. Is it pronounced like Hannah-lore? Is it German?

Melissa C.- Courtland is really nice.

My mind is just spinning with all the options. I think I need to slow down until I know the sex.

If I don't want to have another botanical girl name I've also considered a bird-related name. I really like Wren and Dove. I will need to explore this as a possibility as well.

Anna--I am fairly certain that St- in German is always said like sht-, as in Stern, Sturm, or Staat--similar to Spiel, or sprechen. I have no idea about Swedish, though.

Steph P.--it's funny, isn't it? And yes, I do like Rosamond, maybe especially because it's a family name for me, but I also like it's general primness, strength, old-fashioned sound, and the fact that it sounds like a botanical name without actually being one (but rather has a horse meaning, which is also great for me). For bird names, I really like Dove, and I'd actually also consider Robin (Christopher Robin is a positive for me). I want to like Wren and Lark, but I'm not sure about them. A few other bird ideas--Callum, Linnet, Calandra, Philomela, Peregrine, Zipporah. I was interested in these as well (surprise, surprise), so I'll be watching to see if you get any other bird suggestions.

Re: Hannelore--it is used in German, and pronounced like HA-neh-LORE-uh, I don't know if people here say it like Hannah-Laura, or Hannah-lore, or what.

I also like the Hiram and Pascal suggestions.

OT - Hi all. I haven't been keeping up here lately and this may be old news to some of you, but I discovered elsewhere on the web today that Nymbler has become a verb. You can Google a name -or- you can Nymbler a name. Congratulations, Laura.

Just wanted to toss out that I know a female Garland (born in mid 1980s). It's a family name. Her whole name is kind of androgenous; Garland -(family last name) -Last Name; I think her parents chose one name that would work for either gender. At any rate, it sounds feminine to me, mainly because of that association.

Steph-Most of those I was just seconding from hyz. I do have a good memory and Philippa Tate is just a combo that's hard to forget. You may want to consider that-good or bad. Your style and mine don't exactly mesh (unlike you and hyz) but I'm glad to offer suggestions that I think DO fit for you. Bird and other nature names might be a good way to avoid the over-matchiness of two flower names. Hyacinth is cute but seems too specific (if that makes sense). Wren is better to me. Wren Alexa or some other very frilly mn seems nice but not exactly perfect.
Ooh how about my current fav of Miranda? I love how it rolls off my tongue. I think you need a 3 syl name to break up the others. Looking back, many of the ones suggested are.

Reading about Hyacinth as a name made me remember an off-the-beaten path name I came across in a local newspaper article:

Halcyon.

Traditionally used as an adjective of many meanings, it can mean calm; peaceful; tranquil, rich; wealthy; prosperous, happy; joyful; carefree.

It doesn't necessarily fit as a botanical name, but I like it as a "nature" name. Halcyon is another word for kingfisher, a particularly pretty bird :)

as far as bird names, there's always paloma, which means dove if i'm not mistaken. i think it's quite pretty.

Steph P, I love to read about the names you're considering. Your style is so fanciful without being pretentious. I really enjoy it.

You seem set on boys' names. Ambrose is by far my favorite of your choices and sets a quaintly old fashioned, very dignified tone when paired with August Frederick and Ivy. I also like Henrik and Ansel. (And here's a plug for a secret guilty pleasure of mine: Aloysius)

For girls, I also like the suggestions of Pippa, Beatrix, Hyacinth, and Hannelore (in my head I hear it as Hannah-lore, and it has a hauntingly lovely quality to it).

I think you mentioned Frances as a possible middle name--what about as a first? Ivy, August, and Frances are lovely together. Along those lines, I also like Faye (meaning fairy), Florence, and Flora.

Other girls' names to consider:
Henrietta (sounds lovely with Ivy and August)
Ianthe or Iolanthe (both meaning violet)
Starling or Nightingale (if truly adventurous)
Magnolia (nn Nola?)
Briony
Laurel
Rose (or Primrose)

The Hannelore I know pronounces her name Hannahlora. I know two people named Hans. The first, an adult, pronounces it "Hunts". The other, a five-year-old boy, says "Hahns". I've gotten used to this as a child's name and love it.

I really dislike Vixen as a name. For a boy, it gives out really weird vibes. On a girl, it screams sexual.

KimB - I knew a guy with the Aeneas (a-nee-us) which wore really well. It's old, distinct, unused, and easy to say. Also Senex reminded me of Lenox or Lennox.

Steph P. - I like the suggestions of Ansel (Ansel Adams!), Simon, Hannelore, Clara, or Robin. I'll add:

Francisca
Tove (toe-veh)
Fjola (fee-oh-leh)
Avocet - I don't think this has history as a name, but it's a bird, and I think it has the quality of an old fashioned name.

Raphael
Henrik nn Henning or Heiko
Nicolaus
Halsten

bianca-Fjola reminds me of the Spanish word for beans-frijoles (Free-ho-lays) which also springs to mind Frito Lays company. Where is it from and what does it mean?

Steph and hyz--I like your style! I copied your list to save for our naming task. Steph-Congrats on your pregnancy!

We just found out yesterday that we are having a girl! We are so happy to have a little girl but the naming is going to be much more difficult. You might remember me asking about Lena earlier. Sister is Eloise.

Another question--What do you think of Magdalena? It's a name I'm drawn to for a variety of reasons but don't really like the "mag" sound of it. Any creative ways to work it in to a name?

Well, I lost my first response-- let's see if two posts show up here:

Coll, Nightingale is so interesting as a name. In addition to a bird reference, it could also be a history-of-medicine/nursing tribute.

I love it when people present words previously unthought (at least by me) of as names!

Elaine-- You've probably already thought of the derivative "Madeline/Madeleine". There's the German short form "Magda", but has the "mag" sound.

Short forms from a variety of "Ma-" names could work:

Maidie
May
Maisie

or Maud

Elaine: I have the same reservation about Magdalena but in reading a book set in (I think) Italy, a girls name was Madalena (bnw tells me it is the french cognate), which I think it beautiful. Then Maddie, Lena, Leni are all possible nns.

Steph P,

I vote for Ambrose, Caspar, Soren or Garland. I'm especially glad to hear someone considering Garland - it's a very strong, masculine name to me. I know a lot of farmers named Garland for some reason but I hardly hear it in the city. Maybe that's why some folks have reservations about it - they just don't know any? I hope you use it.

Coll-
Cessna (I like this for a girl)
Wright ( I thought of this as a MN for a boy)
Hawk,Wing,Bird: too out there
Amelia (love! wish it weren't so popular)
Katherine/Kitty (as in Kitty Hawk)(cute!)
Cloud (thought of this as a NN for my fave girl's name- Claudia)
Wren, Lark (too out there)
For boys: none of these are my style.
Orville ,Wilbur,Charles,Curtiss
Leonardo, Icarus, Gustave
Kim B:
Quimby (I think of Ramona Quimby)
Markham (don't like the Mark nn)
Dumont (nms)
Lexington (cute, but maybe for a girl?)
Saratoga nms
Vixen no- too stripperish
Cheyenne- not bad
O'Hare- DH has weird Chicago memories
Delta- not bad
Jet(t)- like, too Travolta?
Radar- cute

AK:

Kinner- cute, too on trend?
Lockheed- DH works for Boeing
Lindy- very cute!
Jenny- cute, but not sure about the long forms
Electra- cute, but too Carmen Electra or the one who had Daddy issues

Evie:
Re: aviation names - how about names from the NATO phonetic alphabet, which is used in radio communication?

Love this idea!

For girls: Alfa, Delta, Echo, India, Juliett, Lima, November, Sierra

For boys: Bravo, Charlie, Mike, Oscar, Romeo, Victor

Will read page 7 now.

Gilead Michael Alan arrived June 11.

not sure this is going to work...

oops, did not work. How do i leave a link for a picture??

Valerie & hyz

You're both right. Sorry about the nonsense, I misuderstood what you meant with the 'sht' sound. (At first I was going to say that 'st' in German is pronounced the normal way, but then I figured that what is 'normal' to me is not necessarily normal to others...)

Hyz, the Swedish s-sound that is way (off compared to the spelling) is 'sj' like in 'sjok' (shock).

Congrats on Gilead Michael Alan (both on your son and the wonderful name!)

Gilead Michael Alan is beautiful! Congratulations!

KimB: Have Ajax or Trajan come up? If you can get past the cleanser association, I think Ajax is a strong name and seems to have some of the sounds you like. And Trajan is ancient with contemporary sounds (2 syllables, ends with n), but I don't think is much used today.

Jessica, congrats to you and a warm welcome to Gilead Michael Alan. Great name!

Elaine-Why don't you skp the "mag" part and just do Delana? I grew up with one and also there was one in dd's preschool last yr. This is how they both spelled it but you could adapt it to your preference. I think its a very pretty name. It could have nn's of Dee, Didi, Lena, etc.

Jessica-Gilead Michael Alan is lovely. I know what a hard time you had with the decision. Congrats on your new little one!

Steph-did you consider Genevieve or Gwenivere(sp?)? How about Victor?

StephP - I remember your naming debate with your daughter, Ivy. I did really like Phillipa Tate but wasn't sure about it with your last name, can't exactly remember how it is pronounced now. Anyway, I also love botanical names but not sure about how 2 together would be. Probably not so bad with an August in between. I love many of the suggestions given. Another couple not already mentioned (I think) - Camellia or Camille, Azalea, Lilac, Boronia. I am a huge fan of Boronia, after knowing one and have it right up there on my list.

Re your boys names. Love many of the suggestions given. Am a massive fan of Caspar/Caspian and Ambrose but also like many of the other suggestions. I think I have a similar naming style to both you and Hyz. Will have to add many of the suggestions given to my own lists.

Was also going to comment on the NATO alphabet names being used as main character names in Dollhouse. Many of these names have grown on me from this use, but beware of this pop-culture reference.

So many good names suggested in the last couple of pages......

Just checked Namipedia. I guess Rhys is pronounced Reese and is fairly common in Europe. Who knew! Love Namipedia btw, it's addictive and very informative.

Chimu- Thanks for the vote of confidence for Casper/Caspian. I remember this name coming up a couple months back and it seemed it didn't get much support. Maybe we need to come up with a new name category for our style now that there are three of us. I like Coll's description of "fanciful".

Zoerhenne- I have not considered Genevieve. Although, isn't Juniper another form of Genevieve?

Guest- I had no idea Garland was common among farmers. The Garland I met also matches this description. Interesting. I still love it though many think its feminine.

Bianca- Really like Tove. I think this would be nice to connsider for a MN.

Coll- You have reminded my of Faye. I love this as a MN option. Starling is great, but too fanciful, even for me. I agree that Frances sounds right with August and Ivy.

Hyz- I'm with you on Robin as well. Robinson was under consideration for me when pregnant with August.

I like Hannelore the more I think about it. I'm still not quite sure on the pronunciation.

Regarding Hans- Yes, I know it could sound jokey, but I just love the sound and feel.

re: airplane names... I used to live near a subdivision that all the streets were named "air" names. MOstly different planes and stuff. The one that I thought would make an interesting girls name was Citabria. (si-TAB-ria) Then my brother told me that it was airbatic spelled backwards. Who knew?

interesting names in my local listings:
BEAUCHAMP - NIA - RENYN (b) - ARES - BLAZER - TALON-GAGE - CASSIUS - RYAH (g)

@#320:

Re: Avocet

Here in the Canadian sticks, there was a CBC historical movie a few months ago where the protagonist (a 10-year old girl in rural 1930's) was named Avocet and nicknamed "Bird". I thought both options were cute and distinctive, especially for an aviatrix in training!

For "airplane" names I have thought of Avianna like a frillied up twist of Aviation.

Steph-I don't find that Juniper is related to anything but the plant.

I thought the link was Juniper- Genever (Dutch name for gin made from Juniper)) -Ginevra/Jenevora.

From wikipedia-
The juniper berry (Jeneverbes in Dutch, which comes in its turn from the French genievre) was chosen for its alleged medicinal affects[2], hence the name jenever (and the English name Gin).

Still no direct link between the names that I can find.

re: Magdalena - since I brought up Oxford colleges once before, I'll add that there is a college called Magdalen College... but it is pronounced MAUD-lin. Not sure you'd want to use that pronunciation though, as it would probably confuse people, plus the word "maudlin" doesn't have a very pleasant meaning. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

zorhenne- hmm, curiouser and curiouser!

Here's what I found from my own stash:
from "The Complete Book of Baby Names" by Hilary Spence

Geneva- juniper tree, also variant of Genevieve (Genevra, Genevre)

and from "The Perfect Name" by Jeanine Cox

Geneviève- French: Name of unclear origin and meaning; possibly meaning juniper, white shoulders or the race of women (Genevra, Ginevra, etc. etc.)

I'd love to know what a really great book like "The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Names' would say. Anyone know?

zoerhenne - I think Fjola is Icelandic for Violet.

Elaine - I was going to suggest Madalena as well. I heard it first as a surname and l like it more knowing it's a variant of Magdalena. I also think Magdalena would be an excellent middle name if you don't warm up to it as a first.

Steph P - so glad you like Tove!

I was just reading this article http://www.babyhold.com/babynames/Discussions/Names_with_Characteristic_... about baby names with characteristic meanings and was thinking how weird some people are... my sister is expecting next month and the middle name is Edward- she claims because it's my Dad's middle name but she is the biggest Twilight fan out there! Some people! lol

Thanks to all for continuing to humor me with ideas for boys names! I'm still calling the baby Ben to see if it will grow on me. It fits much more with my dh and family's styles, so it might work out. I just want to feel good about the choice.

Evie- very interesting train of thought and some names I hadn't considered...

Rhanda-Taylor is out since dh thinks it's too girly now - funny how we come back to that even with plenty of ppl openminded about names that used to be one gender crossing back and forth.

bianca-Lenox seems to Jolie for me but I do like it. Maybe I'm just falling prey to the trendiness of the x! (I wish I could say I didn't like trendy names, but I also like Aiden, athough won't consider it now!)

Jessica-congrats on your new son!

Sorry: random comment coming out of nowhere here.

I ran into a new "backwards" name yesterday: Evelot. It's supposed to be "The love" backwards, with the h taken out for easier spelling. It could be pronounced either "EH-ve-lot" or "Eh-ve-lay". I though that maybe Evolym -- My love -- may work better, but I don't know. What think ye?

re: Calantha--this reminds me of the kids book "10 Kids, No Pets", where the mom picked the kids names from baby books, the 1st girl got a name off the 1st page of A names, the next, a boy, got his name of the 2nd page of B names, etc. The kids all hated their names, but learned to adapt with nicknames. I only remembered Bainbridge and Calantha from the book, but I just googled it, and the 10 kids were named:

Abigail (Abbie), Bainbridge, Calandra (Candy), Dagwood (Woody), Eberhard (Hardy), Faustine and Gardenia (Dinnie) (the twins), Hannah, Ira, and Janthina (Jan).

Just thought the NEs might get a kick out of that sibset!