We’re expecting our third baby–finally a little girl!–at the end of the summer. We’re obviously incredibly excited, but choosing her name has been equivalent to violently pulling teeth. Not fun. We think we love a name and we think we’re sold, and then the wind blows in the opposite direction and our adoration is gone. It was not this hard choosing our boys’ names! [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I are monumental English buffs and pull almost all of our naming inspiration from works of literature. Our boys are [name_m]Zachary[/name_m] [name_m]Holden[/name_m]–named after J.D. [name_m]Salinger[/name_m]'s [name_m]Zachary[/name_m] “[name_u]Zooey[/name_u]” Glass of [name_f]Franny[/name_f] and [name_u]Zooey[/name_u] (our [name_m]Zachary[/name_m] also got the nickname! We couldn’t help ourselves! He loves it and it fits him to a T! *pronounced ZOO-ee) and [name_m]Holden[/name_m] Caulfield of The Catcher in The [name_m]Rye[/name_m]– and [name_u]Harper[/name_u] [name_u]Eliot[/name_u], named for [name_u]Harper[/name_u] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] (we know she’s a woman–we loved [name_u]Harper[/name_u] for a boy) and T.S. [name_u]Eliot[/name_u].
We’ve gone through hundreds of names–literally. Everything from today’s most popular monikers ([name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]), to the downright reserved ([name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Belle[/name_f], [name_f]Millie[/name_f]), to the wildly energetic and bold ([name_f]Beatrix[/name_f], [name_u]Juniper[/name_u], [name_f]Romilly[/name_f]). We just can’t seem to find a happy balance that will stand tall beside our crazy [name_u]Zooey[/name_u] and sweet [name_u]Harper[/name_u]. Preferably something literary; heard of, but not incredibly popular; stylish, but not pretentious; quirky and spunky, but not overwhelming. We’re just so picky, which is probably our problem.
I like [name_f]Stella[/name_f] [name_f]Thisbe[/name_f] and [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] [name_f]Mae[/name_f]. [name_m]Both[/name_m] names are lovely on their own (plus [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]'s such a darling nickname), and they fit well into the sibset: [name_u]Zooey[/name_u], [name_u]Harper[/name_u], and [name_f]Stella[/name_f] or [name_u]Zooey[/name_u], [name_u]Harper[/name_u], and [name_f]Pippa[/name_f].
Going through the classical literature on my bookshelf, the only names that stuck out to me are [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] and [name_f]Tess[/name_f]. I love [name_f]Tess[/name_f] in your sibset; it would be really cute with [name_u]Zooey[/name_u] and [name_u]Harper[/name_u].
[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_f]Lily[/name_f] and [name_f]Stella[/name_f] [name_f]Thisbe[/name_f] stand out to me as being just excellent, literary choices.
[name_f]My[/name_f] favorite literary names include [name_f]Julia[/name_f], [name_f]Elinor[/name_f], and [name_f]Anne[/name_f]. [name_f]Julia[/name_f] [name_f]Thisbe[/name_f] would be pretty cute.
The only one I’d really say to shy away from is [name_f]Liv[/name_f] [name_f]Clementine[/name_f]. [name_m]Don[/name_m]‘t get me wrong - I absolutely love it - but [name_f]Liv[/name_f]/[name_f]Livvy[/name_f] is such a common nickname for the ridiculously popular [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]. She will not be the only kid in her classes called [name_f]Liv[/name_f]/[name_f]Livvy[/name_f] and everyone will initially assume her name is [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]. It’ll get annoying pretty quick, in my opinion. All the others are gorgeous and you can’t go wrong with any. I suppose if I had to choose, I really like [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_f]Lily[/name_f] and [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] best with your boys’ names.