Brother or Sister for Day
We have a lovely little daughter named Day. We knew it was a pretty unusual name when we gave it to her, but we were still surprised to discover that it doesn't show up at all on the SSA records (the records only list instances of more than five births) in the last few years. It is a last name, after all. And, though it is also a word name, it's namey in the same style of more traditional names like May, Faye, Ray, etc. We have even encountered it a couple of times in real life. Still, I guess it's a little more "out there" than we supposed. But we love how simple it is to say and spell. And we love the bright meaning that it seems to suggest.
i know that's a lot of background, but I'm hoping it will help you to help us. We're trying to find a wonderful name for Baby No. 2. We'd like to find a name that would be a good style match for our little gal. It needn't be particularly uncommon, though we'd obviously be OK with that. I think it is relevant, so I'll add that our last name is Smith.
Can you think of a great name for Day's little brother or sister?
Wed, 08/15/2012 - 11:34am
Replies
Day is a very sweet name! It's hard to get an idea of your style though from the one data point... it seems like a lot of names could work (which is a good thing!) To narrow it down, would you prefer or not prefer...
Another word name?
Another short name?
A few that come to mind for no particular reason
Girls: Gia, Crosby, Margo, Wendy, Augusta (Gusty), Wren
Boys: Oren, Otto (I'm pretty sure this came to mind cause I read on here of a sibset of Tuesday and Otto???), Ephraim, Beckham, Desmond, Rollin, Theo
Maybe if there's any here you like, or if you could give some other examples of names you like it would be helpful.
Two more I thought of: Leland for a boy, Seneca for a boy or girl.
I had a friend named Daylynn years ago. One of her sisters was named Ember, which I think might match Day well. Color and botanical names would match stylistically but might be problematic when combined with Day (Violet Day, Rose Day, etc.). Hmm, this is an interesting challenge. Can you list any names that you like to get us started?
For another girl, I like the suggestion of Wren. If you don't mind a strong theme, Dawn?
Other one syllable nature words that are untraditional but work as names:
For a girl: Spring, Lake
For a boy: Oak, Hawk, Red
For either: Sky
I'll echo the others in that my immediate reaction was to suggest other nature-type names: season or month names like Spring, Autumn, April; botanicals like Rowan, Linden, Ivy, Linnea, Hazel, Iris, Cora, Bryony; bird names like Lark, Kestrel, Robin; also maybe some gem names like Jasper, Ruby, Pearl, Opal. With these names, though, you do run the risk of sounding descriptive (though I will put my full support behind Kestrel—LOVE this on a girl, with Kess as a nickname). In the non-nature realm, how about: Lara, Eva, Zoe, Elise, Lila, Lia, Daphne (though this has a botanical meaning—bonus!), Phoebe, Vera, Celia, Mira, Mara, Lyra, Cora, Cleo, Echo, Gaia, Isla, Blythe.
Other than Rowan, Jasper and maybe Linden, I'm more stumped for boys' names. There aren't as many nature-names out there for boys, and the short and sweet names tend to be nicknames. Right now I'm thinking perhaps one of the ends-in-o family, like Leo, Nico, Milo, Theo, Hugo, with a longer form as the full name if you prefer (e.g. Nicholas, Theodore). Something like Max could work as well. Can you give us more guidance for what you're looking for in a boy's name?
I also like the idea of more unusual nature or word names with Day. I agree with the previous poster that some names with Day can make a statement like "Sunny Day", "Autumn Day" or "Wendy Day" but that should be easy to avoid.
Some girl suggestions (sorry for any repeats): Wren, Lark, Sky/Skyler, Isla, Bree, Lake, Vita, Brynn, Laine, Blythe, Jewel, Star.
Boy suggestions are harder: Stone, River, Kai, Beau, Dax, Blaise, Leif, Sage.
These suggestions include a lot of what came to mind for me, so I'll add on to this comment. I think it makes sense that the next name should be some combination of 1) non-traditional word name, 2) short and crisp, 3) clearly meaningful, 4) nature oriented, 5) quirky/interesting. I don't think it has to have all of those qualities, but hitting 2 or 3 of them should make it a good fit for Day. Despite its similarities to May and Faye and Gray, Day does immediately strike me as an unusual name. I don't think it would be quite comfortable or fair for either child if the next baby had a name like Thomas or Julia, or even another nature name that is far more familiar, like Ruby or Lily (not that Day and Lily would make a good sib set, anyway...). So, that's my thought process--I'll sign on to some of the above suggestions, and add my own here too:
G:
Lark, Linnet, Luna, Sorrel, June, Juno, Djuna, Fern, Pearl, Glen, Raven, Rain,
B:
Blaise, Sage, Basil, Linden, August, Shepherd, Shiloh (I know the Jolie Pitts used this on a girl, but I knew a male horse with this name when I was young, and maybe for that reason it's always seemed more masculine to me--that, plus the O ending), Drake, Rowan, Asa, Bear, Wolf, Tor, Torin, Stellan, Reed, Glen, Ronan, Sylvan, Thornton, Walden, River, Dale, Griffin...
girl suggestions:I like Vera, that someone suggested, as well as Spring. Starling.
boy suggestions Teak, Vaughn, Stellar, Sterling
These are wonderful suggestions, and I think right on track. A few have even come up in discussion: Wren, Seneca, (Isla and Sky were both vetoed by DH). I think we liked the simplicity of our daughter's name, and the nature reference was a nice bonus. I do agree with NotaGuest, likeable nature names for boys are a bit tougher for me.
Here are a few other names we've batted around in the past:
Girls: Neve, Neva, Sonora, Hattie, Gemma, Morrow
Boys: Guy, Frank, Royal, Avett
I love the o-ending names suggested as well. Our cat's name is Hugo.
I've never heard of Morrow as a first name (it sounds like a ln to me, a la the actor Rob Morrow), but I think Day and Morrow are kind of awesome together. It's very themey--implying a hidden To- at the beginning of each: (To-) Day and (To-)Morrow. But I think it's great. What fantastic names.
Oh, I like Royal. It reminds me about a guy I went to college with named Loyal. In his case, I think it was a family surname. I aways liked it because you don't hear too many virture names on boys.
From your list I like Neva, Gemma and Frank best. I also like the suggestions of Ivy, Iris, Juna, and Wren for girls and the -o names for boys. Something short and non-traditional, but nothing too themey would work best I think. What about Joy, Calla or Callie?
I'd recommend not using Morrow for the (To-) Day and (To-) Morrow connection. For me that is too themey and cutesy, and I would guess that siblings named Day and Morrow would quickly tire of having that pointed out to them.
Day is a lovely name, BTW.
I really like Day! I can see why you picked it. It isn't that easy to 'match' a name to it without sounding too themey or descriptive or picking something that is much more common and conventional. There have been some great ideas already but here are some I thought of (sorry for any inadvertant repeats):
Girl:
Lark, Wren, Sage, Elk, Clover, Sonnet, Poet, Etta
Boy:
Wolf, Fox, East, West, Wes, Red, Bo, Arlo, Banjo, Otto, Torin, Oak, Leif, Astor, Rome/Roam, Kingston/King, Drake, Colt
When I was teaching, we read this tedious (imho) story about a girl called Cress.
I always liked the name, and I think Day and Cress have an appealing sound as a pair.
I just thought of it rereading the thread and seeing the mention of Kestrel.
I just saw the name Revel Guest in the credits of War Horse, and I thought of you. That Revel is a woman, but I think the name could work for either sex, and it seems very fitting with Day (maybe because of Reveille, but also because of a kind of carpe diem sentiment about it).
I kind of like Royal--it makes me think of Laura Ingalls Wilder (her brother in law was Royal Wilder). Other names that come to mind... Garland, Heath, Merle, Hart, Corbin, Meritt, Early, True, Pax, Lux, Alder, Falco, Leo, Orion....
Tamsin