[name_m]Hi[/name_m] y’all! My baby girl is due in about a month and we still don’t know her name! We’ve narrowed it down to three names: [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] ‘[name_f]Emme[/name_f]’, [name_f]Raina[/name_f] ‘[name_u]Rai[/name_u]’, and [name_u]Abilene[/name_u] ‘[name_u]Abi[/name_u]’. We had knocked [name_u]Abilene[/name_u] off of the list until I discovered that my late grandmother was born and raised in [name_u]Abilene[/name_u], [name_u]Texas[/name_u] before she moved to [name_f]Georgia[/name_f]. This grandma of mine is different than the one who we are honoring with the middle name [name_f]Mae[/name_f], so I love the idea of honoring both of them in some way! The only drawback is that we dislike how common [name_u]Abi[/name_u]/[name_u]Abby[/name_u]/[name_u]Abbey[/name_u] is. Although she will likely be the only [name_u]Abilene[/name_u], she will be in a sea of [name_u]Abi[/name_u]'s. Have y’all got any advice? Knowing all of the info above, what name would y’all choose?
[name_u]Abilene[/name_u] [name_f]Mae[/name_f]
[name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f]
[name_f]Raina[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f]
I would use [name_u]Abilene[/name_u]! [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] and [name_f]Raina[/name_f] are nice names too, but [name_u]Abilene[/name_u] is so much more unheard of and it sounds like more meaningful. As for the nickname [name_u]Abby[/name_u], if you don’t like it then don’t call her [name_u]Abby[/name_u] - as she gets older if that’s what she wants to go by that’s her choice! I know lots of people who changed what they went by as they got older and it worked seamlessly. Some other nicknames you might prefer are [name_f]Lena[/name_f] or [name_u]Billie[/name_u], if family insists on nicknaming her.
[name_u]Abilene[/name_u] is georgous and full of meaning. She might get called [name_u]Abby[/name_u] and she might choose to go by it but as pp points out, there are lots of other nn options and her full name will still be special
Normally, I would pick [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] out of the three, but [name_u]Abilene[/name_u] is a beautiful name I actually haven’t heard used before, and I love the connection it would have with her great-grandmother.
[name_m]Even[/name_m] though the nickname [name_u]Abi[/name_u] might be a bit common, I agree with what some of the other posters have said, that there may be other nickname options that will work for her if you decide that [name_u]Abi[/name_u] is too common.
I love [name_u]Abilene[/name_u]!! [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] and [name_f]Raina[/name_f] are nice too, but I haven’t come across an [name_u]Abilene[/name_u] before. You could always use [name_f]Lena[/name_f], [name_u]Billie[/name_u] or [name_m]Lenny[/name_m] as a nn?
[name_f]Maybeline[/name_f] or [name_f]Bernadine[/name_f] are other ideas?
Thank y’all for being so helpful as always! 
<3
Abeline! It honors two people, and it’s really unique. As for the nickname, just don’t call her [name_u]Abby[/name_u]. Maybe [name_f]Line[/name_f] or [name_f]Lena[/name_f] would work instead. If she chooses [name_u]Abby[/name_u] when she’s older, that’s her choice, but calling her something else will probably make her prefer that nickname more than [name_u]Abby[/name_u].