Naming the last baby
I just got the two pink lines! I'm dying to talk names, but I'm not allowed to discuss them with my husband until the 20 week ultrasound. (he says so there's only one name to argue about). We have Evangeline Beth and Wesley David. This third baby will be our last, we think. We had a terrible time choosing Evie's name, over a hundred names crossed out before choosing it, and an easy time with Wes.
I love nicknames, and need good nickname options. That seems to rule out Thomas, since I don't like Tom.
My favorite girls name right now is Lucy (Lu, Lulu), but it was crossed off the list last time. For boys I like Simon (vetoed) and Lewis, which was on our short list last time, but no good nn, and many wrinkled noses.
Any suggestions?
I posted in the comments once before the forums were here. But life stuff got in the way of coming back to post right away, and I was deeply embarrassed, so I never posted again.
Thu, 07/12/2012 - 10:08am
Replies
Hello ThursdayNext! I'll have a think about names, but meanwhile I'd just like to say that your username makes me smile - I love that series!
Lucy made me think of Ruby, you could use the nicknames Rue or Bea. I also thought of Lucia or Lucille, with Lucy as the nickname.
Though with a sister named Evangeline, I really like the idea of a longer name with shorter nickname options. Something like Annabella, Theodora, Genevieve, Leonora, Vivienne, Veronica or Georgiana.
For boys, Simon reminded me of Silas (Si) or Solomon (Sol).
Some other suggestions-Mitchell, Henry, Oliver, Bennett, Graham, Marshall, Bradley and Matthew.
I sort-of like Ruby, just have a hesitation with word names. My husband doesn't though. I remember he suggested Opal, Hazel, and Willow last time around.
I like Annabel, Theodora, and Georgiana. Actually, I like all the -Ana names, but they were crossed off last time. Veronica is a cousin, or I'd consider it. That Georgiana is an Austen name makes it even more appealing.
For boys names I like Bennett.
I love your kids' names! Wesley is our #1 choice for a boy right now (still trying to conceive).
A few options that seem to fit and have nn options:
Boys: Theodore, Oliver, Everett, Alexander, Bennett, Dominic
Girls: Lucia, Juliet, Eleanor, Cecelia, Annabel, Adeline
Anything on the right track there?
Pretty good guess of my style. Theodore I love, but I'm sure my husband won't. We tried to name our dog Oliver, but found it wasn't a good calling name, if you know what I mean. Everett is too close to Evangeline, Alexander might be too popular, and I knew a Dominic who soured me on the name.
Bennett I like, but does it have enough history as a name for me? My only association is the Bennett family in P&P. It's cool that 2 people suggested it for me.
I like all the girl names but Adeline. Lucia has ambiguous pronunciation, and Eleanor (or Elinor) I am crazy about, but hesitate to repeat initials.
I was actually surprised at how much history Bennett has- if you map it in NameVoyager, you'll see that it's been in the top 1000 since at least the 1880's. It may not be as old as some names, but a 150+ year history seems substantial enough.
Ok, there goes my doubt. :) I think Bennett is near the top of my list now. I would like Benjamin too, but for some reason my husband puts an R in there: Benjermin.
I'm on a iPad so name voyager doesn't work for me. I'll have to look up on a real computer.
Just dug up my old name list from when we named Wesley:
Colin, Barnaby, Gabriel, Phillip, Douglas, Elijah, Seth, Samuel, Finnegan, Gideon, Lewis, Lucas, Martin, Neil, Micah, Miles, Paul, Theodore, Simon, Thomas
Some of these names we wouldn't use for various reasons - friend has used it, too popular, no good nn...
Oh, it's got a lot more history than that. It's a medieval form of Benedict, so it goes back hundreds of years.
Victoria? Could be Vickie, Tori, Ria
Charles? Charlie, Chuck, Chip
Victoria's Secret takes it off the list. Too bad, as I love the sound and nn.
And friends we see often just named a daughter Charlize, always called Charlie.
I adore your kids names! Wesley is a name I love but doesn't go with my surname, so I'm glad someone has used it.
I haven't read through the other responses yet but I'd say I'd go for a longer girls name with nickname options. Sorry for any repeats! Ones that strike me:
Lucinda (nn Lucy)
Genevieve
Juliet
Emmeline (although repeating the initials)
Aurora
Anastacia
Victoria
Allegra
Georgianna
Susannah
Anneliese
Theodora (nn Thea)
Margeurite (nn Maggie)
Boys:
Theodore
Gabriel
Piers
Nathaniel
Hugo
Eamon
Lucian
Benedict
Solomon
Simon
August
Alastair
Vaughan
Gideon
Giles
Rupert
Anastacia fits pretty well with our kids, and has a good meaning. Would you say it's easy to spell? We thought we were picking easy to spell names, only to find his family and mine couldn't spell Evangeline, and FIL & 2 of my siblings couldn't even spell Wesley! Is Anastacia more difficult, or about the same?
Well, considering that the more usual spelling is Anastasia, yes, I would say that Anastacia would present the possibility of confusion.
I second this.
I think Anastasia is definitely the predominant spelling. I actually prefer Anastacia (which is probably why I listed it) but if you don't want to over-complicate things then Anastasia is probably the way to go. I don't think Anastasia is any more or less difficult than Evangeline. I don't find either particuarly difficult but I think because they have several syllables and quite a few letters they are perceived as difficult by some people. That said, if the same people are having an issue with Wesley, I'm not sure you are going to be able to win!
If you love Eleanor, I'd use it!
Yes, you get repeated initials, but it doesn't sound too much like Evangeline, and you could use the darling nn Nora.
Evie and Nora sound perfectly perfect to me!
I have to read the rest of the suggestions to comment more, but that was my first thought.
As a mom of an Alex@nder and an Ev@ngeline, I have to second the Alexander possibility. ;-)
Elina for a girl!
I might be the only one, but Elina, Elena, Alina, Elaine, Elaina, Ilona, Lane, etc get mixed up in my head. They are very pretty names, but I have a hard time remembering who is who. I've known at least one of each. Do I just have a terrible memory?
One thing about making name choices is that it rules out others. This all depends on your personal naming rules. But choosing Evangeline excludes Gabriel, because of the Longfellow poem. And with a Wesley, I can't have a Susannah, John, or Charles. I probably wouldn't use a name beginning with E or W or ending in line or ley, maybe not even a name with a prominent V. And although Charles Wesley was one of the reasons we chose Wesley, another boy named Calvin might be too much.
By the way, anyone know of other Thea names besides Theodora? I like Anthea from Five Children and It, but it might be too unusual for us.
There are a few, though none are much less unusual than Anthea. Althea is pretty, but I don't know if many people are familiar with it. There's also Amalthea, Dorothea, or Mathea.
There's also Alethea/Aletheia, though those are no less unusual. With Wesley and Evangeline, I wondered if the literal meaning of Alethea might appeal?
Anthea's unusual, but not completely unfamiliar, I think? I know a canadian Anthea who is 23; her younger brother is Peter.
I love Aletheia! I picked that name when I was 15 for my future daughter, and still like it. (You should see some of the other names I liked at 15!). It means truth.
But my husband says no one will be able to spell it, and we have a last name that requires spelling.
Oh...that's too bad! Has your husband completely dismissed the name? I think Alethea's fairly intuitive- Althea's probably easiest, but that of course has a slightly different origin. Can we set up a poll? Start an email writing campaign?
On the other hand, Alethea and Evangeline leave poor non-Greek Wesley as the odd one out. One of the Wesley daughters was Keziah- does that appeal? Cassia?
Oh, I love Anthea, and hardly ever hear anyone mention it! I vote for that, and I think it fits in rather nicely with your others!
I love Theodora but I also like Anthea, Alethea and Aletheia. I think Anthea is probably the most straight forward pronunciation and spelling wise but they are all good options.
I have a soft spot for Dorothea. There's also Theadosia.
I say put Lucy back on the list. You need to start with a new list with each child, as they are all unique. It is a beautiful name!!!