As I roll into my 8th month I am trying not to panic on what needs to be done before baby B. arrives (according to my checklist a lot). One thing is definitely not going as smoothly as planned and that is naming her. I had always thought that I would name her after my paternal grandmother, but that name has rose in popularity so fast that it has become the #1 girls name in America according to the Social Security records name popularity site. Being bestowed a unique unisex name (which I love) I want my daughter to have the same affinity for her own name and also I like having a name that is not so common, to me it feels special, albeit I did try to get people to call me ‘Jenny’ at one point in my youth but no one went for it. I also wasn’t planning on having such a vocal partner when it comes to names. My husband who is usually relaxed and agreeable has become the ax ‘thrower downerer’ on names, giving each one an instant kabosh and when asked why gives me the frustrating answer, “just don’t like it.” I am someone that needs to know why, I can’t have a name tossed away so flippantly. So, when I offered up ‘Seren’, which is Welsh for star, he answered, “It’s a name of a poisonous gas”. It’s still pretty though. I would like to start calling her something and we have narrowed the names down to half a dozen choices, which I like to go over with my husband every.single.day which has prompted him to say, “If I agree to one of the names can we stop this discussion?” Uhm, no! Is he nuts? It’s her name, it’s supposed to be fun not a chore. I love ‘Keaton’ which I heard on a little girl a while back which has multiple meanings one of them being ‘baby hawk’ which I thought was both sweet + strong, but that one was thrown out almost before it rolled off my tongue. I knew of a beautiful and quirky doctor named ‘Prudence’ and have always thought it was so delightfully old-fashioned, but may actually just read ‘old lady’. ‘Clementine’ which was the name of Winston Churchill’s beloved wife has actually started to rise in popularity which takes away from its appeal for me, but wasn’t of appeal to her Papa so there’s that. I loved a host of French-centric names ‘Martine’ (Marty), Almandine, Esme (wow, did this one rise in popularity!), Colette (my husband thinks it rhymes too much with ‘toilet’), Adeline, but those were all nixed as well. So here I am back to my six, but figured maybe there’s an unusual unisex name that I haven’t heard of yet that you might know of? It’s worth a try to ask and it seems like everyone has a few spare baby names that they love but aren’t going to be using (or have a partner that has vetoed the name), so are there any unisex baby names that you love that you would like to throw into the Baby B. name pool? Please be my guest, I am open to hearing anything and everything! I am especially partial to both literary and nature names, or of course unusual classics but those seem to be very popular right now.
And if you are struggling with naming your baby, business or fictional character for your novel I have made a little list of name sites that I have been enjoying:
Appellation Mountain-The commentors always seem to have a lot of suggestions so if you like a name scroll through the comments for even more ideas!
Baby Name Genie-this has a fun little feature wherein the genie offers up 3 baby name wishes.
Baby Names World- I like the look up by origin feature.
Nameberry -I think the forums are better than the actual site!
Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She recently re-located to sunny Seattle with her handsome husband and two pups, they are expecting a baby girl in December (possibly November). Her lofty goal here is to make this a creative resource repository and to inspire you to fall truly, madly, deeply in love with your life.
My name is Alexane. I am french but even in France, this is a very unusual name, and even if a lot of people often misspell it, I like my name a lot because it feels unique. So your article will probably reflect the struggles I would have if I ever have a kid. I know I will want to find a special name too, like the one I have get from my parents. I still have time for that, but here is a name that I like for a girl: June.
I don’t know how popular it is in America, but I like it. Maybe it will helps you.
By the way, I love your blog, you have such a great taste for everything, thanks for being so inspirational for me.
And you are very beautiful.
I wish you a lot of happiness with your little girl to come and your husband.
Alexane, I have to agree with you that your name is superb and something I have neve heard, I REALLY love it! Is it pronounced like it is spelled (alex-ayne?) Thank you for the kind words! June is actually becoming very popular, I know two bloggers that have given their daughter that!
It is pronounced Alex-Ann.
I thought so about the popularity of June in the usa! Too bad! Here in France it is still very unusual.
Good luck with finding the perfect name! Can’t wait to know the one you will choose!
Alex-ann pronunciation is even better!
If I had a baby I always knew the name would be something Scottish and “different”, so these may be a few options you haven’t considered – Innes, Morven, Kennedy, Rowan, Reilly, Struan, Bhairi ((pronounced Vah-ray), Skye, Iona, Rhona, Shonagh, Morar, Harris, Munro, Walker, Findlay & Ainsley. Sorry I got a bit carried away!
Mags, I actually LOVE your last name as a first name but my husband doesn’t like an author that has it, which is lame, but I think it would go well with my name;) We have in our top 3 a Scottish name! My husband likes it because it would be a tribute to him, lol.
Wow, I didn’t even think of my last name, I love using surnames as 1st names. Shame it’s been vetoed by your DH. Don’t you just hate when they decide to have opinions!. I was watching a programme the other day with someone called Kelty and thought that was quite cool. Also wish I’d been able to call a daughter James, but not brave enough! It’s my Dad’s name and he would have been super excited to have one of his Grandchildren named after him. The closest we got was the middle name Jamie.
Thanks so very much for the shout-out, Tristan!
Let’s see: unisex baby names, preferably with a literary/nature name tie.
Kestrel
Avalon
Sloane (rising in popularity, though …)
Briar (but maybe not with a B last name, so I hesitate to mention Blair and Blythe, too …)
Arden (as in forest of … )
Alix (medieval French form of Alice, but maybe too close to all of those girls called Alexis and Alexa, no to mention the boys … )
Vail
Lake (brings to mind Veronica Lake – if we can have Harlow and Monroe, why not Lake? Plus, Jimmy Fallon’s Winnie was named after an actual lake in New Hampshire … There’s also Laken, also spelled Laiken, Layken, etc., but I’m not sure that’s what you’re going for …)
Hadley (as in Hemingway … but VERY popular)
Meridian (from the Alice Walker story)
Echo (one of the few my husband agreed to, though we ended up with our lovely Clio)
Vesper (yes, she was a Bond girl, BUT the name has a really cool meaning AND the story behind the real life woman who inspired the character is a good one)
Twyla (as in the dancer AND the time of day – not very unisex, I suppose, but definitely unusual)
Best wishes!
A celebrity baby namer! Hello Abby! I know you have a ‘Wren’ at home (I also love how you created her nn ‘Clio’ from her First + middle, clever and charming) I love a lot of these, we have toyed with both Lake and Blake and Blakely (a little more femme), we were worried that Lake might be too bohemian, but it has such a lovely sound to it in my ears. I read the Jimmy Fallon story it’s so darling, Fallon btw is an awesome name! I think Echo is unusual and strong. My husband liked Harlow (I was surprised) but I liked Marlowe (and I still do but my husband doesn’t!) Avalon was something that sounded so beautiful to me but my husband doesn’t think so and I can’t understand why, it’s not that ‘out there’ since Ava is so popular. Sloane is SO posh to me, Ferris Bueller’s GF and a high-end shopping area in London where Lady Di hung out (they call those girls the ‘Sloane Rangers’) and since my husband is convinced we will have a tennis star I think Sloane would be a perfect name for a tennis star, but alas Mr. Veto says no:( Thank you Abby for your names, I really am an Appellation Mountain addict!
Fallon is my daughter’s middle name, I think it sounds tough, cool, and different which in my opinion works for a middle name. Eva Fallon Stone is her full name. Eva is pronounce Eh-vah, like foreva and eva (although not unisex so maybe it doesn’t apply). But anyway, I think Fallon could be exactly what you’re looking for, run it by Mr.Veto. I also like Kieren, which was vetoed by my husband as well.
My two favorites. – Valancy. (From a L.M. Montgomery story). And Ananada. Which is Sanskrit for that joy in existence without which the universe would fall apart and collapse.
Oh, Andrea I like Montgomery, it was on our boy list!
Hi Tristan!
So tickled to see the beautiful profile of you and Miss Baby B on Instagram.
Some unisex names from our family. Holland, Lane, and Brogan.
w/L
Thank you Lynne! I love family names, it’s so popular in the South and I just love that tradition! Lane is very pretty!
Hi. When I was preggers I wanted to name my daughter Sevgi. Which means love in Turkish. EVERYONE (except me) hated that name annnnnd I had a son…(Ezekiel). Then, with my second baby I wanted the name Paz, which means peace in Spanish butttttt, I had another son (Isaiah) ! Oh, and Vida is also pretty…It means life in spanish. :) Sorry for the foreign names. We are a bilingual family! Hope you find a beautiful unique name!!! Best! xx
I love Spanish names and I actually think Paz would have totally worked for a boy;) I tried for Vida but my husband thought it was ‘too old lady’, I think if you don’t know the meaning it may read that way. I also loved Sirena, but I think it wouldn’t be pronounced correctly and it would drive me bonkers (sir-ehn-ah).
One of my favorites isn’t French, but Irish: Naeve. (Pronouned nee-v.) It’s an anglicized version of the Gaelic Niamh (mh is pronounced with a ‘v’ sound) and means radiant. In old Irish legend, she was the daughter of the God of the Sea.
For gender neutral names, what about Kiernan, Quinn, Averie, Eme rson? Under used French optiins… Aurelie, Cosette,
Hello Jess! I am such a sucker for names with beautiful meanings, although I love my name the meaning is ‘sad’ and ‘Tristan’ is also an island (the most isolated island on earth) both seem melancholy, lol. I loved Averie, but it has risen as well in popularity and Emerson is in our top 12, it would be in top 6 but my husband isn’t warming to it! I think it has good potential for nicknames! I has mentioned Cosette and my husband reminded me besides the prostitute association in Les Mis that our former neighbor had a dog names Cosette, I STILL think it’s a good name! He’s a total naming bummer, lol!
Ha, please excuse my terrible phone typing… Anyway, French options: Aurelie, Cosette, Adelie (there is a story about a french explorer who after being lost at sea for years, found Antarctica, and named the coast of Adelie after his wife back home ), Sabine, Maelle, Nadege, Sidonie… My grandmother was from a tiny town and everyone of her friends had what we now think of as an “antique” name. So many great ones, though some of them are more gender-specific: Maybelle, Tillie (Matilda was probably her full name), Ruby, Winifred, Hazel, Ollie – fair warning, she always had a G&T and ciggie in her hands, so namer beware! :)
Literary names are fun — what about Willa (Cather) or Millay (Edna St-Vincent)? Jane Austen had a ton of awesome girls’ names, but they’re very…girlie. Georgianna, etc. Hadley was Hemmingway’s 1st wife, and the inspiration for a few books. Tess, ala Thomas Hardy. Poe, Waverley…
I love the explorer tribute, sigh! And I love all the old-fashioned names but don’t like that are SO popular now, if you look at the Social Security list of popularity for 2013 and 1880 the names are almost identical in popularity with the exception of Bertha, lol. I had thrown Austen in the ring and I love Georgianna SO much (nn Gigi) but no dice. I actually think I should have a tad more leverage here since I am the one physically growing her but that argument isn’t working. lol! Thank you for the suggestions!!!! And Hadley is so good, but also really popular right now!
Our second choice girl name, and my favorite unisex girl name is Campbell (nn Callie). However, this sweet baby is an Alice. :) Good luck on your search! I hope you find a perfect fit!
I like Alice, that is a sweet name!
Billie, Rhys, Elliot, Carys
Krisk I tried all these (except Rhys) on the list, I think Elliott would be so great for a girl because it has the femme (“ette” sound) and Carys (love the meaning) is so good but he was all “why would we name our kid caress?” Uhm, no, not how it is pronounced! And I love Billie!
Mostly unisex names…
Ellery/Ellerie/Ellis/Emery/Emerson
Quinn/Quincy
Rowan
Morgan
Sage
Gray
Fable/Story/Poet
Sonnet
Haven
Wren/Dove/Alouette
Auden
Samar
Parker
Bennet/Bennett
Amoret
Scout
Meryl, I like YOUR name! You don’t hear a lot of Meryl’s! A lot of the names you suggested are on our top 6 or ones that my husband veteod. The ones he veteod that I LOVED were Parker (Parker Posy is one of the sweetest names I ever did hear), Auden (swoon), Gray, Rowan, you are a good baby namer;)
French-Canadian here if it makes a difference… How about Claude? It’s a unisex name. So is Andrée. I also remember a book where the main (female) character was Émile, and I liked it a lot. Dominique is another french unisex name. I have also seen Frédérique for a girl, as well as Raphaëlle. I also love Elsie. Have fun! I can`t wait to see what you end up choosing!
Marie-Eve, I shall take French in any form my dear;) I love the Marie+ hyphen, My mom is Marie and I think it is a very femme and sweet name! I like Emile would it be pronounced, that has options for ‘girly’ nicknames! I can’t wait to see what we choose either, lol!
Hmm
How about Sheridan? I came across one named Sheridan nicknamed Sadie too. Or Eulalie.
Others:
Everly
Finley
Fallon
Henley
Oakley
Hadley
Collins
Good luck!
Hi Sarah! I have been pushing Everly, I think that is such a pretty name! I also liked Finley but it has become very popular and Fallon is just awesome to me (but not the hubs!)
I have a unique name and HATED it as a child (I wanted to be a Victoria so bad!) As an adult, I LOVE it; there are rarely other Meryl’s around! Vintage names from my family (for inspiration!) are below. Good luck!
Mildred (Milly for short!)
Irene
Rose
Ester
Raffaella
Louise
I really love your name:) Rose for a middle although super popular is so classic and femme and goes well with almost anything, my Mom’s middle is Louise and I actually love it, I think it has room for the nn ‘Lou Lou’ which I think is so darling and since I was a kid anything that was ‘cute’ was a Lou Lou ( I have NO idea where I got this habit).
I’m partial to the name Shay or Shae, and Aaron is lovely as well. On girls, I love the unisex name of Quinn, or Collins.
Sonja I had actually suggested ‘Sea’ (pronounced ‘shay’, like the first of Seamus) but my husband thought it would be too complicated, but I do love that name!
I had a dream I was having another baby girl and that I would name her “Moline”
I woke up super happy but alas 3 kiddos is all I can handle ;)
I though of a couple of suggestions for you ;)
Harper
Devin (A friend named her daughter Devin and
I have not heard of another Devin… But I don’t know what it means ;)
I’m truly excited for you and I’m looking forward to all the creativity
This sweet little girl will spark on you .
Moline is super sweet! I liked Harper forever but now with Posh Spice the name is everywhere!
I know that they aren’t really unisex but I do think they are beautiful girls names!
Luella
Delilah
Emmeline
Isla
Naming a little person is hard! xx
I love Isla and Emmeline and Luella! My husband liked Isla but thinks people will have a hard time pronouncing and he didn’t like Emmeline which I think is so pretty, Luella has both the Lu + Ella that I love but he thinks it’s too cutsey, you see how difficult this is going to be?!
Haha! yes it is tricky, I am partial to Luella as it is what we named our daughter and call her Lulu for short, her middle name is Valentine. The name Luella means warrior, thats not too cutesy!
I think Luella is the cutest name, it has both the ‘lu’ and ‘ella’ which sound so charming to my ear. My husband unfortunately doesn’t want to girly of name but Luella would be a beautiful contender for the middle spot and I do believe you chose so well, thank you Kara!
I actually don’t think old lady when I hear Pruedence! That was the name of a character on my favorite show, Charmed! :) She went by Prue mostly. As for unisex, we went with Kamryn, nn Kami for our daughter. I also like Christian as a unisex name.
I like Pru and I think all the variations of Kamryn/Cameron are so good!
Oh, thinking about names is so fun! Here are some that popped into my mind:
Addison (Addie for short is so cute)
Audrine
Coco
Josette (“Jo” or “JoJo” for short, so darling!)
Mackenzie
Tegan (means “darling”, “loved one”, “favorite” in Welsh)
Zephyr (a neighbor’s name – I like how unusual it is and sounds pretty)
So exciting!
Hello Sanae! I liked Josephine for all the ‘Jo’ derivatives and Teigan/Teagan was on our list top 6 then he decided he preferred other names more, but I like that it seems both familiar and unusual! Okay, I was thinking Colette and nn ‘Coco’ but he think it sounds like a stripper (he was thinking of Ice-T’s wife) but I guess as girls we will always have a different association with Coco! Michelle’s niece is Mackenzie the call her Kenzie which I think is such a cute nn! I have never heard of Zephyr as a name, cool for a hipster little boy I think!
The Zephyr I know is actually a girl, but I agree that it’s very hipster boyish. :-) Another name that I thought was lovely is “Merys” and My husband’s great grandmother’s name was “Iuella” (with an I not L), which I love!
Best wishes with the naming challenge. We only named baby boys! I have always loved Kate. And K is lovely letter for monograms. So much to contemplate! It will be wonderful to hear what you decide. Your pregnancy is zipping right along!
Oh, I agree ‘K’ is a good letter and that’s definitely been on my mind when thinking of her name and potential monogram;)
Dominique, Claude, Alexis,Camille, Cyrille, Valéry are all French Unisex name with the same spelling for both sex.
then you have lots of others one with the “e” at the end to make it female, i.e, André(eà, Raphael(le), Justin(e),René(e)…
Hope this will help. But you know, you may also just find it when you’ll see your baby for the first time.
For information, Lucie and Claire are my daughters names and a third girl would have been Justine or Clémence.
xxx
Hello Christine! I love your girls names! I like Clemence and Clementine!
Unisex names like Ashley, Quinn, Avery, Robbie, Kendall, Jackie, Kennedy are all really pretty (:
Other girls names that I love are Heather, Diane (I think its soooo elegant!!) and Tanita (the name of a friend, not sure about the origin though! I think it sounds similar to Tatiana like that fairy queen haha which is so dreamy…)
Hehe good luck with choosing a name!!❤❤❤
Gillian is a good name! And Avery I LOVE!
Well, we have a daughter named Neave (Nee-v) from the Old Irish word for bright (the Irish spelling is Niamh, but yeah). But some names I love that my husband doesn’t so much are: I have girlfriends named Henri and Stewart, and I always thought they were so cool for having suck solidly male names. I also like Bennett, Ina, Blythe, Kendall, and Frances. Good luck! Baby naming is my favorite– I’m not even pregnant again yet, and I have a lot list of possible names!
Henri and Stewart, are so cute for girls! Neave is very pretty, I have seen a couple people suggest it!
When we first selected her name (Neave Amelia) I got a lot of flack from it from my ultra-conservative Southern family. Now we hear compliments every time a new person hears her name! Her twin’s name is Abigail, which is uber popular all the time, so some people tried to call Neave Amealia for awhile. It didn’t stick! There were only 47 Neave/Niamhs born in the US the year she was born though– so definitely not high on the popularity scale but absolutely beautiful, I think. :)
Oh, and Ellis! How did I forget Ellis. It’s my uncle’s name, but also the middle name of one of my best friends (Julie Ellis). I love how it can be unisex!
I really like both Ellis and Ellison!
Good morning, and best wishes on your adventures in naming. I have always loved the name Paige and more recently came to love the Scandinavian name Dagmar. When I was growing up, there wasn’t a Jessica in the whole school, and I liked being the only one.
I really like Paige, short and sweet! I doubt Dagmar would go over with the hubs!
I’m totally in the same boat that you are with a husband who axes names faster than I can come up with them! One of my favorite girl names that got the boot before we found out that we’re having a boy, is Lincoln. Just like you, we’ve also narrowed down our list to half a dozen…and it doesn’t seem to be getting any lower. I thought perhaps if we started the middle name discussion that would help, but now we have 6 first names, each paired with a middle name! Best of luck with the remainder of your name hunt, especially when middle names get thrown into the mix :)
I LOVE Lincoln for a boy! It is so hard when the ax gets thrown, lol.
oh, how i chuckled at your description of your husband’s flat ‘no’s’. We’re newly (12 weeks) pregnant and have started discussing names – currently we’re on Leo (he hates, i love), Harley/Harlee, Charlie (Charley for a girl), Dax (he hates), Jake and Ella. Last night i dreamt one of my bf’s named her baby Charlie which has been a name i’ve loved for years and i sobbed! Good luck with finding your ‘one’. V x
Hi Vicki, I love Charley/Charlie but would want a proper first name like Charlotte, but my husband doesn’t like it! But I hope you can get Charley/Charlie!
It’s a self-serving comment, but I have always liked my name. It’s not unisex, of course. I’ve always liked that it’s very unusual (have met maybe 5 others in my 55 years, so I don’t think it’s destined to be overly-popular) but not strange.
Yes, Jenny Prince I believe names her baby daughter Cecelia it’s a beautiful name!
My favorite names (feminine only, I fear) are Verity and Sonya, both of which I plan to make use of myself. I was old enough when my younger siblings were born to be party to the name-game with them and I agree, it is a fun and sometimes frustrating experience. Overall lots of fun though! Good luck in your search. :)
I like ‘Paige’ a lot it’s our niece’s middle name! And lucky you to have the names already picked out, if we were having a boy I would be so good with names right now!
I also like having an unusual name, though mine is a boys name that seems to have become more popular for girls. For the first few days of my life, I was “Bryna,” but my parents dropped the “a” after too many people thought they were saying “Brenda.”
I agree much better without the ‘a’ and I love that they had the foresight to drop it so you wouldn’t spend your life explaining, lol. I knew a boy Brinn growing up, I like than name a lot;)
Bookmarking this sucker for later! What a wealth of interesting names!
I’m sure my husband will be the exact way. It’s funny what becomes important – but at least you know he cares. :)
I’ve always been partial to Delilah.
Inez – soft i sound, as in the word ‘in’
Stella
Poppy
Opheline
Giselle
Cella – as in cello (ch)
Adelaide
Quinn
Aurelia
Loralei
I also know a few people named Elise and Eline. I personally like the 2nd one better.
Hi Katie, yes get prepared ahead of time, one more month and I have no name besides ‘baby’, lol. I love Stella especially with my last name and I proposed Giselle, but he didn’t like it because of the model, what?! I love your list!
Model schmodel. :P Watch, or even better, go to the ballet Giselle. It is one of my absolute favourites!
I agree with you, it’s been impossible to change his mind once he veto’s. I Also read that Gigi can be used as the diminutive which I really love as well!
At my granddaughter’s soccer game there was an excellent, strong teammate named Sarandon…
I like YOUR name! I think Sarandon might fall under the Keaton veto, sounding too much like an actresses name, which I actually think is very cool!
A few of the names I was thinking of were already in your comments! My sons middle name is Tate and it means cheerful! I think it would make an adorable girls name! I was also going to bring up Sloane! Me and my sisters all have weird names. Mika (pronounced Micah), Sharaya, and Marisha. I enjoy being part of the weird name club! I hope you find what you are looking for! I had the hardest time naming my daughter because of the same reason you are!
I LOVE Tate it was on my initial list and a name the husband tossed out!
I love many of those names…my grandmother was named Florence (pronounced the french way of course), and Marie was almost named that! We chose other family members names, but I still love it. Naming it so tough–imagine having to coordinate two at once! Just keep in mind what you would name a second or third if you plan on that…it might change your thoughts! ;)
I think this will definitely be my one and only! So no need to think of sibling names, lol. I am partial to Marie since it’s my mom’s name;) And I think Flo would be a terrible nn and no one would pronounce it beautifully so Marie is perfect. And two names would have driven us to divorce court for sure, lol!
I love the naming topic! Your little baby girl is so blessed that you and your husband are taking out the time to carefully consider what to name her. Here are some more unusual names that I have heard:
A friend just had a girl and named her Tovah Liv (Tovah means good) and Liv is a Scandinavian name
I know a Lark and I think she loves her name
In Australia I met a man that named his daughter Wren
A friend of mine named her daughter Sherise Adelaide and Annelise Sydney (after the Australian cities)
I think that Hadley is a lovely name.
Aspen
Anyway, good luck naming!
What about using a typical middle name as a first name? I really like the idea of “Marie” for a girl. It is usually a middle name, but would be a beautiful first name as well!
oops! I just read the comments and saw that Marie was already mentioned. Well, maybe thinking of other typical middle names will spark some more ideas!
i was in the same boat as you, i love unisex names and boy names for girls, but had a “mr. veto” of my own! my kiddos are carter, teagan, and kendall, but that was after many names got thrown under the bus! i am no help as all of the ones i would have offered up have already been mentioned in the comments or in your post. we named all of our kids before their born day and were calling them by name for at least a month, so when they did make their debut, it felt so natural! i hope you agree on a name soon! (hate my name, named after debby boone because my dad loved her “you light up my life” song. eh.)
I love all your names for your babies! We had Teagan/Tiegen on the list and then my husband took it off citing, “I like other names better” which is not really true since the list is still big (in my mind) and there’s no resolution. I definitely want to start calling her by her name too!
I gave into peer pressure from family and chose “safe” names for my girls. They are all mad at me now for choosing names that are so common. Especially when I told them what I wanted to name them.
A few of my favorites for girls were Blake, McKinley, Roman, McCall, Avery, Ryan, Collins and Harper (very common now). I love surnames with feminine middle names. No matter what you choose you won’t be able to picture her as anything else a few days later so you can’t really lose.
Blake is on our half dozen list, we loved Lake, but thought it might be too bohemian down the line, but Blake has the same melodic sound and the ‘B’ would help with honoring his grandmother. Your other names are all in line with what we are looking for something unisex + unique, but Harper has definitely climbed the popularity charts like crazy, especially with Victoria Beckham’s new addition!
My daughter is called Isla… it suits her so perfectly as Isla is taken from Islay meaning Island… she is fiercely independent and self contained and stands so strongly in her own right… I know it will represent her well her whole life. My boy… we waited a week to see what name fitted as the one we chose we loved until we met him and then it just wasn’t right! I’m glad we waited despite everyone’s horror! I loved Cecily Mae for a girl, Cee Cee for short but Isla always won out as as being a name that represented strength and light. My Dad liked girls names that could be shortened to tom boy names…. my sister and I are Georgina (George) and Samantha (Sam)! Names need to be right and summon a person and who they will be. Good luck, such a special little bean will make such an amazing difference to you both, like all of a sudden you can see life in glorious technicolour! x
Quincy! I always pictured a sweet little boucy toddler girl named Quincy, but it was vetoed by the hubs. We ended up with Hadley, which I was shocked when it was approved :) I can’t wait to hear what you pick, whatever it is it’s sure to be perfectly suited to your sweet baby girl!
I think Hadley is so perfect and it really fits her too. I also like that it has a semi-literary reference as Jess pointed out being Hemingway’s first wife, it’s very posh sounding to me, and of course Paige is also a fave name. ‘Q’ names are always unique!
Oh the name discussion can go on and on! We had an unwritten agreement the I got the final vote for girls and he for boys ( very sexist I know !) we had two of each so that ended well. If this little lady is a ” one and lonely ” that does complicate matters . I love sir names for first names . My girls are Blythe and Bronte ‘ and I have always loved Spencer for a girl as well . I adore Prudence , I think it is just waiting for a lovely little lady to revive it . I am attracted to Edith and Audrey to carry on the old fashioned theme. Good luck in your final negotiations !
Love your girls names! Bronte has been starting to get popular did you know that? I think literary names in general are rising up the charts. I had proposed Austen (Jane of course), Josephine(Little Women) and Barrett (Elizabeth Barrrett Browning). I love Spencer which I again proposed and got a veto, but I have been re-adding to the list since this post to see if he warms up to anything! He likes ‘Aubrey over Audrey’ but I am worried Aubrey is too popular as is Avery which I like but it is a name of an office supply product, lol!
My daughter’s name is Aviendha, which is from The Wheel of Time. We *LOVE* it….and there are lots of other amazing names in the books: Egwene, Nynaeve, Moiraine – here is a link to all the names in the book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wheel_of_Time_characters
Robert Jordan was an amazing namer.
Also, does HE have any ideas?
Oh, don’t even get me started on that, lol! He has suggested both Denise and Susan, which are fine names but I definitely want something less safe and more in line with my own name, or even your daughters name, a name that has a story behind it in which people will comment on it. I don’t think there has been a day in my life when I have said my name and someone has not complimented me on it, it’s a pretty good feeling;) Of course, kids can be mean but they will make up their own nicknames for you if they can’t find one on their own (‘Dristan’, ‘Twisted’. ‘Twister’) I wasn’t scarred by it;)
Hello Tristan, i have a word doc of names – i included every name that sounded good even for a moment to me while pregnant, even those that i doubted second time around. if you want, let me know where to send. thank you and good luck! hubs and i could not agree on either child’s name but i stood firm and in the end we are complimented all the time on layla giselle and roman luca – and he admits, he was wrong ;) jennifer
Jennifer LOVE the names you chose!!!
First, congratulations!
I haven’t read all 95 comments, but consider not naming Baby B until she is born. Then the name might come to you. My husband and I went through names even though we agreed we weren’t going to name our twin girls until they were born. We went with two names that weren’t even on the lists! And it was very clear which name went with which baby after they were born. Also we gave them two middle names. Family lasts names as first names takes some getting used to but can be very unisex and unique.
Best of luck! And thanks for your blog!
My daughter’s name is Honora (pronounced a-Nora). It’s a family name on my husband’s side. I always liked Nora and this is a formal version of it. There’s other ways to spell it too, but it means woman of honor. And I really like Reid, which is my middle name. I, too, stressed about naming our children. We decided to narrow it down to 2-3 names and decide once they were born. (and we didn’t know the sex until the birth so we had to come up with both boy and girl names!) Good luck!
Tristan,
Sending sweet CONGRATULATIONS your way! Seems I’m a bit out of touch and have been hiding under a rock.
The name combo I have always loved and still love is:
Ila James
I pronounce it as “eye-la”, but of course “eee-la” would work as well and James being a family name which I love for a girl.
Isla, alternate modern spelling of the Scottish Islay/Ila/Ile, used as a girls name
Ilay, alternate spelling of the Scottish Islay/Ila/Ile, used as a boys name
So interesting reading everyone’s suggestions.
Janice
Hello Janice! SO happy to hear from you:) Isla is one of my very faves, my husband was worried that people would always have to be told how to pronounce, but ‘tristan’ is an island and I thought it would be a sweet connection. I love a strong surname as a middle:)
Just thought of another one, as if you need one more confusing suggestion, hee hee! How about Jude? (If you can stand the constant Beatles references, the name itself is pretty cool, and definitely unisex.)
I like Jude, Martha Stewart’s daughter named her daughter Jude, my husband thinks it’s ridiculous for a girl, sigh…
Finally catching up on favorite blogs…my daughter’s name is Courtney. When she was in preschool, a little boy also named Courtney used to twirl her hair so I think it is sort of unisex…. I got the name from Natalie Wood. It was her daughter’s name and just loved her. So sad the way she died… But good luck with names but you may already have one cause IT IS ALMOST TIME!!!
Her daughter just named her daughter ‘Clover’ which I think is also really cool!