A sister for Adam and Ivy

Name Advice
1

While I love reading about names and have enjoyed reading the message boards for quite a while, I haven’t had a good reason to post until now! We recently found out we’re expecting our third child, a girl, and I’m really puzzling over what name to choose.

Our son’s name is [name]Adam[/name] [name]Thomas[/name]. [name]Adam[/name] was a name I never liked until I was pregnant with him, and I always joke that he picked it himself, because then it suddenly seemed just perfect! He loves his name, and I like how it’s masculine, easy to spell and pronounce, and well-known but not so popular that he runs into a lot of [name]Adams[/name] at school.

Our daughter’s name is [name]Ivy[/name] [name]Sarah[/name]–[name]Sarah[/name] is after my husband’s grandmother, but [name]Ivy[/name] is a name we both loved and had planned to use since before we were married. (My husband wavered a little, thinking that “[name]Adam[/name] and [name]Ivy[/name]” was too close to “[name]Adam[/name] and [name]Eve[/name],” but I didn’t think that would occur to most people.) I was astonished at just how many compliments we got (and still get) about her name, and I love it more every day.

[name]Adam[/name] and [name]Ivy[/name] are 5.5 years apart in age, but [name]Ivy[/name] will only be 22 months old when this baby is born, and both are girls, so I’m most interested in having a name fit in with hers because they’ll be a “set” more often than not. My husband’s sister named her daughter [name]Ada[/name], and while we clearly can’t have an [name]Ada[/name] because of that (as well as the fact that we already have an [name]Adam[/name]), I [name]LOVE[/name] the way [name]Ivy[/name] and [name]Ada[/name] go together. [name]Both[/name] are three-letter vowel sandwiches, two syllables, slightly old-fashioned, equally feminine, and with all different vowel sounds, and the pair said together just flows right off the tongue. ([name]IMO[/name], it would make a great twinset.) My goal is to find a name that I love next to [name]Ivy[/name] just as much as [name]Ada[/name]. I’ve thought about [name]Emma[/name] or [name]Ella[/name] (two syllables, non-Y ending, start with a third vowel), but I’m put off by how popular they are. [name]Do[/name] you have any suggestions?

Thanks!

2

[name]Adam[/name] and [name]Ivy[/name] are great! What about:

[name]Alma[/name] (too close to [name]Adam[/name]?)
[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Helen[/name]
[name]Alice[/name]
[name]Margaret[/name] (nn [name]Greta[/name], [name]Maisie[/name])
[name]Louisa[/name]
[name]Hazel[/name]
[name]Willa[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Mina[/name]
[name]June[/name]
[name]Zara[/name]
[name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Mira[/name]
[name]Juno[/name]
[name]Priya[/name]
[name]Eloise[/name]
[name]Liv[/name]
[name]Adele[/name] (too close to [name]Adam[/name]?)
[name]Sophie[/name]
[name]Estelle[/name]
[name]Daphne[/name]
[name]Frances[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]

3

[name]Lola[/name]
[name]Lilah[/name]
[name]Lea/name / [name]Lia[/name]
[name]Liv[/name]
[name]Willa[/name]
[name]Willow[/name]
[name]Zara[/name]
[name]Fay/name
[name]Freya[/name]
[name]Mia[/name]
[name]Mae[/name]
[name]Maeve[/name]
[name]Tia[/name]
[name]Rae[/name]
[name]Jada[/name]
[name]Ana[/name]
[name]Eve[/name] / [name]Evie[/name] (maybe too close to [name]Ivy[/name])
[name]Kyra[/name]

4

There are some nice names here! Some thoughts that strike me as I read them:

irisrose (which is lovely, BTW!): I love [name]Clara[/name]/[name]Claire[/name], but my husband’s high school girlfriend was [name]Claire[/name], so out the window with those. :roll: I really do wish I liked the name [name]Mira[/name] more, because it sounds pretty and it’s made of our four first initials–I love little things like that–but living in [name]Texas[/name], I can’t stop thinking of it as the Spanish word for “look!” [name]Eloise[/name] is too close to [name]Heloise[/name] for me (a la “clean everything with baking soda”), but what do you think of [name]Elise[/name]? [name]Adele[/name] popped into my mind just the other day, but as you point out, I’m wary of having two Ads (plus cousin [name]Ada[/name])…it does have such a lovely contrast with [name]Ivy[/name] in sound and rhythm, though, it’s a shame not to be able to use it. Maybe the different sound/accent of the first A would distinguish them enough? [name]Charlotte[/name] is beautiful and not too common around here yet, and it does sound nice with both [name]Adam[/name] and [name]Ivy[/name].

kulah: I like [name]Lia[/name], especially because it would be the kids’ first initials all together, but I have this weird hangup because my name is [name]Rachel[/name] and, in the Bible, [name]Leah[/name] was [name]Rachel[/name]'s less desired sister…is that odd of me?! [name]Willow[/name] is also nice, but it might be too cute to have two botanical names. [name]Mia[/name] I’m very tempted by. It’s popular, but it goes so nicely (and has that first initial thing going again). [name]Eve[/name]/[name]Evie[/name] and [name]Eva[/name] are so cute, but in addition to being close to [name]Ivy[/name], we had to rule them out forever after we had an [name]Adam[/name]. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the help! Any more ideas? This is so helpful.

5

Oops I forgot the [name]Adam[/name]/[name]Eve[/name] connection - I was to focused on finding short names :slight_smile: I do have an aunt named [name]Eve[/name] and she married an [name]Adam[/name] lol.

Definitley don’t use any names you have negative associations with. We don’t have any kids but we sometimes bounce off names just for fun, and there are so many names we have associations with that we can’t use (either people we know, or some images we already have in our head) - e.g. last night I asked my husband if he likes te name [name]Caleb[/name]. We don’t know anybody by that name. He said it reminds him of a spoiled brat with hippy parents?! I have no idea where he got that from and he doesn’t either. Guess it won’t be a name on our future list.

Other names…
[name]Kia[/name] / [name]Kiah[/name]
[name]Delia[/name]
[name]Isla[/name] (maybe too close to [name]Ivy[/name])
[name]Isis[/name] (maybe too close to [name]Ivy[/name])
[name]Asha[/name]
[name]Leta[/name]

6

I love the suggestion of [name]Asha[/name] - even though it’s another A like [name]Adam[/name] (and [name]Ada[/name]), I don’t think they sound too similar. But it’s a vowel sandwich like you said and goes with [name]Ivy[/name] without sharing the sounds. [name]Ivy[/name] and [name]Asha[/name] rolls off the tongue! Other ideas:

[name]Elsa[/name]
[name]Nina[/name]
[name]Mila[/name]
[name]Lila[/name]
[name]Zara[/name] (too close to [name]Sarah[/name] probably)
[name]Nora[/name]

Good luck!

7

Have you considered [name]Etta[/name]? Or is it to close in sound to [name]Ada[/name]?

I think [name]Ivy[/name] and [name]Opal[/name] would be cute as sisters since they are both vintage “old lady” names that are making a comeback, but if you are only interested in names that end with a vowel I’d like to suggest:

[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name] and [name]Orla[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name] and [name]Oona[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name] and [name]Cora[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name] and [name]Dora[/name]

I apologize if I repeated any suggestions.
Best wishes to you and your family!

8

Sorry if there’s any repeats.

[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Blair[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Elyse[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Flora[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]June[/name]/[name]Jane[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Keira[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Mae[/name]/[name]Maeve[/name]/[name]Mabel[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name] & [name]Tessa[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Willa[/name]

9

Sorry for any repeats…

[name]Anna[/name]
[name]Ayla[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Hannah[/name]
[name]Lila[/name]
[name]Hazel[/name]
[name]Georgia[/name]

10

[name]How[/name] about…

[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Ila[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Lily[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Opal[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Liv[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Enid[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Hope[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Joss[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Lila[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Kate[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Sunny[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Luna[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & Bex ([name]Rebekah[/name])
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Darla[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Tansy[/name] (a wildflower)
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Nora[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Bree[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Kay[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Kaila[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]May[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Mae[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Faye[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Gail[/name]
[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Gemma[/name]

11

Lots of new ideas! Thanks so much! Hearing lots of different names is really helpful. I’m not particularly determined to have the name end (or begin) with a vowel, nor does it need to be two syllables (though with two twos, it would probably sound odd with more than three), but I thought I would try to avoid another -ee ending. However, I’m not dead-set on that either–one of the names I keep coming back to is [name]Zoe[/name], which ends in the -ee sound. (My sort of “fantasy name” is [name]Zoe[/name] [name]Ariadne[/name] because, for whatever reason, we’ve both liked the name [name]Ariadne[/name] and haven’t wanted to saddle a kid with it, but that’s both very Greek as a pair and kind of out of line with the simplicity of the other two kids’ middle names. Although I AM Greek, so there’s that. And our last name starts with a P, so she could be ZAP, which I find kind of endearing.)

Other names that have been on my list that I like to varying degrees–although I’m sure my husband won’t like most of them because we have very different tastes–are [name]Celia[/name] (I know he doesn’t like this one because he thinks of celiac disease), [name]Talia[/name], [name]Mia[/name], [name]Erica[/name], [name]Emma[/name] (which I think would be perfect if not for the gosh-dang popularity), [name]Adeline[/name] (again with the [name]Ad[/name] problem), [name]Amelia[/name] (kind of long), [name]Elise[/name], [name]Trista[/name] (no, I have never watched The Bachelorette, but I loved the name [name]Tristan[/name] when I was a kid from reading the [name]James[/name] Herriot books).

My six-year-old son–who suggested the lovely [name]Andrew[/name] and [name]Lauren[/name] for the last baby–has this time expressed a preference for [name]Matthew[/name] and…[name]Priscilla[/name]. :shock:

12

pw ~

i love the names you like! you’re right, [name]Emma[/name] would be perfect with [name]Adam[/name] and [name]Ivy[/name]… :? i really love [name]Celia[/name] and [name]Talia[/name], too. and [name]Ariadne[/name] is such a great name, as is [name]Zoe[/name]. [name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], and [name]Ariadne[/name] sort of has a nice rhythm/flow when you say them all together. Maybe you should just go with [name]Ariadne[/name]! It sounds old-fashioned and old world like [name]Ivy[/name] and it starts with an A like [name]Adam[/name]. [name]Just[/name] some thoughts!

13

First of all, [name]Adam[/name] & [name]Ivy[/name] are FABULOUS names (individually and as a sibset!!

I think [name]Elise[/name] would be an excellent choice. It is very pretty and introduces fresh sounds into the set. I would pass up [name]Violet[/name] in this case due to the long I sound being prominent in both [name]Violet[/name] & [name]Ivy[/name]. I basically like the suggestion of [name]Flora[/name] – and love the name itself – but [name]Ivy[/name] & [name]Flora[/name] kind of overshadows [name]Adam[/name]. I think [name]Elise[/name] complements [name]BOTH[/name] [name]Ivy[/name] & [name]Adam[/name] perfectly, and lets each name shine through equally. Also “[name]Adam[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], & [name]Elise[/name]” have excellent flow together. The distinctive vowel-consonant beginnings of each create subtle similarity and definite individuality. [name]Elise[/name] is a much more unexpected choice than [name]Emma[/name] or [name]Ella[/name] – and, personally, I find [name]Elise[/name] to be the prettiest of those options by far.