not even my baby, but rather istockphotoSoooooo, I'm soliciting names. I need ideas. I have so few.
A few generalities:
-I like real names, nothing made up or two names combined together. (No "Julisha")
-Nothing overly common, (sorry, "Sarah"'s out.)
-Something that will keep her out of trouble. (No "Jezebel", "Lolita", or "Bubbles")
-Not that it has to be, but I do like 'A' names. It's been a good letter to start with. I was first in line for most things at school and A's are pretty to write.
-Sadly, I like names with imagery.
-Classic names or names with meaning, but still easily pronounced, are a plus.
-I'm having a girl. I'd like her name to sound like it.
To entice you, I promise that I will pick a name from those offered in the comment room and use it either as a first or middle name. (I need both.)*
Please and Thank you!
*I may or may not keep this promise.
39 comments:
So... you like Anya? :) "A" name and feminine, right? To me, the names that end with "a" or "ya" are feminine (because that's how it is in Ukrainian, I guess). I really liked Layla but my mom had huge issues with it so it was out. I also like Krista, but the "Kr" sound is a little harsh. Zach liked Ella but it has become way too common. I also like Alisa or Alyssa (I couldn't use Alyssa because "lyssa" means bold in Ukranian)-- that might be too close to Alisha though, huh.
I like your rules, but my favorite part about the post is the asterisk at the bottom. :) Imagine if you HAD to keep that promise??
We went with classic/vintage names that have good nicknames that I like. You know my kids' names, of course, but here they are for those who don't:
Benjamin Wesley (goes by Benny)
Sophia Nicole (goes by Sophie)
Elizabeth Gwendolyn (goes by Libby)
When we named Libby, we stressed hard about the name and didn't come up with it until the very end. She is named after my grandmother and my mom. Here are the other names we considered:
Georgia (Gigi)
Matilda (Tilly)
Tabitha (Tabby)
Virginia (Ginny)
Eleanor (Lanie)
Emelia (Emmie)
As far as A names, you can always choose Audrey! :) Here are some others of my favorites:
Adelaide (Australia? I like the nickname "Addie")
Adele (She sings)
Amelia (LOVE this!)
Azalea (no mistaking her for a boy!)
I *LOVE* the website www.nameberry.com and I used it a lot. Check out their list just of A names for girls! It's SO long.
Have fun...you'll make the right choice, no worries. You might want to get a look at her first anyway. Who know, maybe you'll get another blondie!
I feel like I'm going to get judged about the names I put down.
I will put a few down, some I like more than others. Some I love and some I probably wouldn't choose, but you are just needing ideas right?
Ava, Ashlyn, Autumn, Olive, Olivia, Ara, August, Ana,
Ivy, Lily, Scarlett, Ginger, Gabrielle, Emmy. I don't know, I'm just throwing out names now.
Amelie
I can't help you if you don't know how to pronounce it.
How about Avonlea? It's "A" + imagery + not too commom + classic (in the literary sense) + feminine.
I too have rules with names. I wanted something that sounded normal but wasn't common. I LOVED it when I found out you named your son Whitman, I thought it was a fantastic name. I chose Benton because it was an old English name that showed character. Some people have told me his name sounds like he will be smart and successful, which is what I thought of when I heard Whitman. Anywho, onto the real answer here...
I googled successful names and this was an interesting article I found. http://www.perfectbabyhandbook.com/blog/2009/05/which-baby-names-ensure-success-ask-dr-mehrabian/
The top 10 baby girl names that ensure success are
1. Jacqueline. 2. Morgan. 3. Elizabeth. 4. Katherine. 5. Victoria. 6. Lauraine. 7. Susan. 8. Catherine. 9. Kate. 10. Madeleine.
The 10 that connote failure
1. Wilma. 2. Weeza. 3. Virgie. 4. Trixie. 5. Tina. 6. Swoosie. 7. Suzee. 8. Soosie. 9. Sissy. 10. Mush
So don't name her Mush.
I also like Adessa, Afton, Averlee, Kadence, Mindy, Dempsey, and Janessa.
Good Luck!
Okay, so I'm going to take a stab at this and I'll also give you my reasoning (when it comes to naming kids, both of my kids were named for very specific reasons):
Since you have Trevor, David and Whitman, I based my "G" names on the fact that David is the 4th letter from the beginning of the alphabet and Whitman is the 4th letter to the last of the alphabet. That left Trevor's initial letter being the factor in my decision, which is 7th to the last of the alphabet, thus "G" was the final decision—7th letter from the beginning of the alphabet. . . and drum roll please {buhm-buhm–buhm–buhm-buhm. . .okay, you get the gist):
Genevieve (Nickname Gene, Genie, Gena or Eve) Elle Garrity. Genevieve is French and means "white wave" or also in Celtic it means "of the race of women." Not sure why I picked "Elle" for a middle name, except that it seemed to ground the name. It's meaning is "sun ray, sun shining" and also "God's promise".
I'm very "concerned" with how names flow and especially as they roll of the tongue, which is why I spend more time working on how the two names work together than anything else—hence Camryn Brianna and Colin Daniel. Okay, really the middle names derived from my Dad's name, Brian, and Dame's father's name, Daniel., oh, and Camryn and Colin were the first two names Dame and I liked when we were dating. Sooo, I guess there were some other factors in my decision making. But I digress. . .
Another "G" option is Giselle Leigh Garrity. Nicknames would be Elle or Ellie, or even Elle Leigh. Giselle is french and means "pledge". Leigh is either English, which means clearing/meadow or Gaelic and means "Descendent of Laoidheach". Who is Laoidheach, you might ask yourself? Well, apparently it was an old Irish poem.
I know some people don't like the double letter first name/last name combo, but you only have a hard G with the last name, so the soft G and hard G combo might pass the test.
All the other "G" names were a little, uh, not what I would pick, so I don't have another "G" option.
An alternative option (not so involved with the reasoning) is Cassandra Ann Garrity, which then you'd both share your middle name. It's greek for "shining on man", but also can be associated with the feminine version of Alexander and a byname for Hera, queen of the Olympian gods. In Homer's Iliad, Cassandra was a Trojan princess blessed with a gift of prophecy.
For that matter, Alexandra Leigh Garrity even rolls off the tongue nicely. She could then use "Lexa" as a cute nickname or even "Alex", which I have several girlfriends named Alex over the years and they were all smart, beautiful and very talented.
Okay, those are my names to throw in your name pot. ;-D
I had to click on the links since I'm on the name hunt, too. :) I came across this quote and thought of you. It's a study on how self-esteem correlates with how well people like their name. One part of the study asked people to pick their favorite letters of the alphabet. "Those with high self-esteem will say they like those letters in their names, particularly the first letter." So if you like the first letter of your name so much that you prefer it for your daughter...? Made me smile.
Wow, Taryn. I should ask for your advice on my daughter's name. :)
Also, I had to laugh when I read your comment about you being very concerned about how your kids' names flow. (I don't mean to embarrass you. I've just never forgotten this.) I worked in nursery when you moved here and Camryn joined our ward's nursery.
Parents were asked to fill out a brief bio sheet on their children (food allergies, whatever else). The first line was, of course, the name. Most parents would write something like "Camryn Rhodes." You, on the other hand, wrote "Camryn Brianna" - no last name - then spelled out the phonetic pronunciantion of Brianna so I'd know NOT to pronounce AN-na, but AH-na.
It's still all I can do to simply call her Camryn instead of Camryn Brianna whenever I see her.
I commented with my ideas on fb.
I feel like I may have made a mistake on my son's name! The same week that Maximillian was born, another attorney at Jason's office had a son, and named him Max. (is it the next Aiden??)
So here are my nominations:
Floral names like:
Violet (was a name I considered if it was a girl), Clover (its cute, maybe middle name), Dahlia, Iris, Lilac, Lilly, Lillian, Peony, Petunia (love that one) and Poppy.
"A" names:
Anna (common I know), Adelade, and if your brave enough: Aurora.
Good luck! I am so curious.
I've always loved Ashley or Annie. Good luck... I'm excited to hear what you choose! It seems like just yesterday you told me you were pregnant at swimming lessons! Time sure flies...at least when you're the one who isn't pregnant!!!
Willamina would be perfect and goes nicely with Garrity and Whitman since they're (supposedly) "so close" in age.
I am a friend of Jana's (love your blog) Here are some suggestions,for your "A" names:
Anabel
Analisa
Alicia
Arielle
Arianna
Avielle-(will prob name my daugher this if I have a girl)
Avery
I also love Savannah.
Good luck!
Charlotte
Caroline
umm teh good luck part was supposed to be after the last two names, lol.
Okay let's get serious! At least I hope some of those other suggestions are joking a bit!! We had a hard time naming Audra cause we have such a common last name. We wanted something feminane, not mistaken for any boy names, different but not weird. And I was very picky about what nicknames that people could come up with. (especially mean kids!) I don't think you want your daughter nicknamed Avon! I also found that I was real picky about who or what a name reminded me of. The name had to evoke a possitive feeling!
I like your idea of focusing on 'A' names. Audra is taken, but the original Audrey is a very classy name. I also like Amber, I know an Autumn (very talented girl), Amelia is very classic but the nick name Amy? I've noticed alot of the 'A' names suggested are 'An...' which makes me think the short version on most would be Annie? If you don't mind that?
You mentioned you didn't want anything to common like Sarah, don't forget there are way to many Brianna's, Britney's, Emily's, Katlynn's, Hanna's, Abigail's and I know a number of Victoria's around here too!
I would also be cautious about the name being to long, you don't want it to look like an Eye chart!(Your Dad would have fun with that one!) And whether the name sounds like a ditzy airhead blonde or brunette! Your baby girl will someday be an adult, you don't want her name to alway sound like a cutsie little girl!
As far as names that don't start with 'A', All my teenage and college years I loved Tiara, (in Tahitian it would be after the flower pronounced 'Tiahara' (I think, ask Grampa). But I was tired of it by the time I had Audra. I have a friend named Scarlet (dark brunette), Sloan is an interesting idea, (Ferris Beuler movie) and I loved Savanna but a number of my friends I grew up with named their girls that name. The biblical spelling of Rebekah is a nice classic!
In the end we narrowed it down to 2 or 3 choices and waited till she was born to deside which one fit the most. Just don't do what Your Grandma and Grandpa did to me. 2 weeks after I was born they changed my name, but never put it on my birth certificate till I was 18!! Yep! for 18 years I was legally Baby girl Packard!!
Friends,
You've giving me many good ideas and so much to think about! How will I ever choose?
Alane (My baby sister's middle name) "Uh-LANE" rather than "EE-lane". It's Celtic.
Aven "AY-ven" old English name. Add another -ne to add more femininity.
Vienny, beautifuly little girl I met in Belize, and I loved her name. Variation of the Latin Vienna.
Ravenna, if she ends up having dark hair just like you.
Names I love but no one else does: Dagmar, Ragna, Isabeau, Bronwyn, Cora. My sister's comment, "Good thing you had all boys". Nice sister.
I only have one son at the moment, but I have a huge list of girls names, just in case I have 15 of them! Some of my favorites are
Fiona
Vivien
Rose
Gemma
Genevieve
Frances
Sofia
Stella
Grace
I don't have any A names, but I definitely agree with the poster who suggested Amelie. Best of luck to you!
Ok, I thought of three more I liked:
Amelia (may be too long with Garrity)
Eliza
Melia
I really liked Sofia and Olivia also, but when I was pregnant and checked, they were the top two names in the US for the last two years. :( We are not all as creative as we think.
I'm of the opinion that if you have to phonetically spell a name, it could be a disaster for the kid the rest of their life. (Not directed at the story of the girl who phonetically spelled her daughter's name for the nursery leader.) I just saw a lot of name suggestions where the suggester had to phonetically spell it for us so we could REALLY know how pretty it is.
I'm simplistic. I don't like made-up names. Or overly common names. Or trying too hard names.
Here are my favorites. I'm having a girl in June and will most likely choose one of these, but hey! You're in Oregon, I'm in Arizona. Maybe you'll hate them! But maybe you'll love just one. Here's my list:
Lucy
Penelope
Claire (Common, but I love it still.)
Jane
Eliza
Kate
I can think of a lot more, but none that I would actually name my own child. I can't wait to hear if you chose Willimina or not! :)
I don't know how you feel about names of cities, but I think of them as literary or historic, or even appealing to your and Justin's artistic roots:
London (I love this one)
Rome
Milan
Vienne, Vivienne, or Vienna
Florence (Might be a tad old-lady? Just don't go by Flo!)
Marseilles (but I had to look it up to see how it was spelled, so maybe that's a bad sign)
Other art history ones:
Marcelle (like Marcel Duchamp--unless that's bad imagery)
Monet
Matisse
And randomly,
Magdalena (historic, religious... probably the smartest woman I've ever known and her Doctorate-in Physics-bowtie-wearing husband named their daughter this and nicknamed her Maggie. I love it, very strong yet feminine.
You'll pick a great one, good luck!!
I love the art history names...
My favorites for girls names are:
Cézanne
Monet
Matisse
Whitman's name came from Walt Whitman. Using a historic last name as a first name works well. Still original, yet familiar.
Okay, so if art history references are possible contenders, then I would go with some of the most influential female artists rather than the sometimes overrated male counterparts (sorry I took a women's art history class and got a "wee" bit biased afterwards!). Some options:
Artemisia Gentileschi Garrity (by far the most influential female artist of the Baroque period—maybe one of the most influential artists in the Baroque era—period, well, after Titian of course).
Angelica Kauffmann (great neoclassical painter)– if "Kauffmann" is too much, you could go with her middle name Angelica Katharina Garrity
Mary Cassatt Garrity (I just plain love her work)
Berthe Marisot Garrity (another fav female artist of mine)
Frida Kahlo Garrity (another influential and powerful female artist).
Georgia O'Keefe Garrity (I wasn't going to suggest Georgia, since another person had suggested it, but with regards to female artists, I don't know how she couldn't be considered.
Well, there are others, but they have names that either were already suggested or names that, well, I'm going out on a limb and declare that they would NOT be contenders (in an stretch of the imagination).
Taryn -- Georgia is a great name. Georgia O'Keefe is great.
I'm glad Zach is not reading this because he would totally find justification for why Lucas should have been named "Luke Skywalker Everto" (he tried)
Try maybe, Alice, Alison, Adrianna, Ariana, April, Adrienne, Alexis, Alexa.. :)
I vote for Amelie, even before I saw that 2 other people suggested it.
Don't forget to consider initials. I grew up with the initials MFB (although noone ever said anything). So maybe not Odette Marie Garrity.
I will mention that we thought about your brother's name when we were naming our daughter. Almost went with Loren, but decided that the traditional girl's spelling (Lauren)would be easier for her.
Then we wanted to stick with an old fashioned name when we had Emma, the next year Friends Ross and Rachel named their baby Emma and now it's everywhere.
Also like several of the flower names.
Monique
I like several suggestions:
Violet, Cassandra, Fiona, Grace (especially for a middle name), London, Angelica, Amber, Adelade, and Lillian or Lilly. If you are going to name her after a specific person (like a classic artist) I would be sure that person had a good character reputation. Also, I dislike wondering how to pronounce a name (I'm thinking of Amelie - I still don't know which way to say it). And I'm really not fond of Georgia or Willamina. All the Kyrstins and Kristins drive me nuts to try to keep track of.
Just throwing out a few more suggestions -
Cherish, Chloe, Ashton, or Jasmine
I think you should definitely consider Charity.
Charity Garrity.
It's got a sort of ring to it. Just rolls right off the tongue.
Alish! How are you?? I am wondering if, by now, you already have your names chosen..maybe I am too late. I have never heard a girl name I was in love with, only ones I like a little better that the others. If I were to have a girl right now heres what I might go with:
Emme
Esme
Kate
Eva
Quincy
Charlotte (just to call her Lottie :P)
I can't wait to find out what you finally decide, you could always name her Angie :)
I always think of you in the middle of March, ever since you came to Idaho to throw me my baby shower. I miss you and want to call you soon. I hope your rooms are coming along well...I can't wait to see pictures so I can get some inspiration!
renesme
Bella Dawn
Oh I love the Twilight names above! If I had been having kids after i read the series, I might have been tempted to do something like that...after all Anna comes from one of my favorite books!
I love Ava. I almost did that for Evie.
And Speaking of misprouncing names, I can't believe how many people misprounce Evie's name??
It's Ee-vee, not Eh-vee. Not that I know how to spell phonetically...
I have a cousin named Aftyn, beautiful name, and unique spelling.
Wow. This comment room just shows the wide range of opinions on names!
I really liked the earlier suggestion of Genevieve Elle. It fits well with your boys' names & with your criteria.
Amelie & Fiona are not bad either. I always like Anna even though it is somewhat common, or Suzanna - something pure & classic about it, maybe a bit more pioneerish than you'd like though?
But I think that Genevieve Elle really is perfect.
It flows well too. I thought about flow for my daughters' names too, both the flow of first, middle & last & especially just the first & last (since that is how it is heard the most). A book I read about names says there is more flow if you match the number of syllables in the first name to the last name (so a first name with 3 syllables for your last name) & then alternate the middle name with a different number of syllables (that is why Elle is so nice for Genevieve Garrity).
And you probably already know about this website? http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/ -- to tell you the popularity of a name in the US, and specifically your state.
Good luck!
(did we all make this easier or harder?)
-Jana's friend, Breanne
ps. a nickname for Genevieve could be Genna (Jeh-na, not jeanna, so as to avoid Jenny if you think that's too common)
Another one of Jana's friends jumpin on the wagon. I don't think I saw Amy on that list. My daughter's name, she is 12. I think it is a very timeless and classic name. And if you want to change it up a bit Aimee (middle) Garrity. I tend to like names that remind me of people I loved growing up. We named Amy after my best friend as a little girl. You would think it is a common name, but I don't know of any other girls named Amy.
Then of course their is Abigail. All of the Abigails and Abbys I know are the sweetest, most thoughtful and kind people. There do seem to be a few more Abbys out there than Amys.
I took pictures for a preschool recently and here are some cute/interesting names you might be interested in.
Ellie
Lucy - she was the sweetest ever
Aspen
Annie
Minnie - Oh my goodness I wish I had a Minnie of my own!
And here is a very interesting one. It must be a very old name, never heard of it before... Ceradwin, they called her Sari.
Good luck, names are always a fun and hard decision!
I just too
Oh, another one! I always wanted to have a little girl with cute little curls and name her Betty Gene after my grandma, but my husband wouldn't have it. I just know that any little girl with that name could only be the most kind, compassionate and caring person you would ever meet.
Alisha,
Thought I would stop on by since Jana proclaimed it was your bday and read that you were expecting. So glad you are expecting a girl finally! I remember feeling ungrateful when i was pregnant with Madison and wanting a boy so bad and getting a girl. Then Jana telling me vice versa about you and trying not to be upset that I was having a girl.
So I think about it often when I see her and how girls are so amazing and different. Enough rambling; Congrats and Happy Birthday :)
Did you name her already? I just ran across the link to your blog so maybe I'm not in time. I think the best A name is Aviva, which means spring in Hebrew and has some of the same sounds as Genevieve. Genevieve Elle is going to end up being called Jenna of Evil sooner or later, alas.
There are not many Annes happening lately and that's always classic. Also Alanna, Astrid, and Arden. I kind of like Arden Garrity as a combo, and it has that nice Shakespearean Forest of Arden referent. But Aviva Garrity is kickier. Or Anastasia if you want even more syllables!
Found your blog because I'm in a naming crises too. But we have to name two this time around.
The A- name that has been on my mind lately is
Adella- means nobility, comes from the same origins as Adelaide.
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