We are so excited to finally be expecting a precious little girl after 4 boys. While we have had girl name ideas with each of our sons now that we are actually picking a name we are having a really hard time.
We live in a classic historical southern city and I prefer preppy southern names. Our sons are [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m], [name_u]Sterling[/name_u], [name_m]Briggs[/name_m], and Townsend and I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] their names. I want a girls name that flows with the boys’ names, is equally unique but feminine.
I like double names (I knew a [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_m]Cullen[/name_m], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] [name_m]Hayes[/name_m], etc growing up and think these types of names are beautiful). I do really like surnames but we are out of family names so there are no front runners. And sadly grandmother names are either very generic ([name_f]Jennifer[/name_f], [name_f]Emily[/name_f], [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f], etc), don’t go with our last name ([name_f]Marjorie[/name_f]), or awful ([name_f]Maude[/name_f], [name_f]Edith[/name_f], etc).
Our last name starts with an M and ends in a Y… sadly making all ie/y ending names sound too sing songy. I would also like to avoid M names.
Our favorite girl name for the last 7 years has been [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] Aucoin (pronounced O-quinn… a french surname after a family friend) but I am having a very hard time with [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] being so popular. As a [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], I hate the idea of my daughter always being [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] M. but it is truly a beautiful name. [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m] is a surname in our family and when we chose it had never met anyone else with that name before… you can guess how I feel now.
Here are some that we like but are not sold on…
[name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] (I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] this but DH is ehhh. I’m working on him)
[name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_f]Jane[/name_f]
[name_f]Greer[/name_f]
[name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] (maybe too popular)
[name_f]Isla[/name_f]
I like [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] as a middle name option since it is my middle name and flows nicely with many names but it is not a must.
I love [name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_f]Jane[/name_f]!
I’m french and would definitely not use Aucoin. It means “in the corner” and in [name_f]France[/name_f] we used to put in the corner bad kids called “donkey” because they were not intelligent or acting stupidly. It’s negative.
I like [name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_f]Jane[/name_f]! [name_f]Isla[/name_f] is very pretty too. I steered away from [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] because you already have a Br- name ([name_m]Briggs[/name_m]).
My first thought was [name_u]Eden[/name_u]! [name_u]Eden[/name_u] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] would be gorgeous. I also like [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] and [name_f]Isla[/name_f] from your list.
I agree with @daphodil and the suggestion of [name_u]Eden[/name_u] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], and like her, love [name_f]Isla[/name_f] from your list!
Other suggestions:
[name_f]Erin[/name_f]
[name_u]Rowan[/name_u]/[name_u]Rowen[/name_u]
[name_f]Emma[/name_f]
[name_f]Hanna[/name_f]/[name_f]Hannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucie[/name_f]
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosa[/name_f]
[name_f]Zara[/name_f] (you might find this too similar to [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] but I thought I’d suggest anyway)
[name_f]Alice[/name_f]
[name_f]Clara[/name_f] (I’m told it’s pronounced [name_u]Clair[/name_u]-uh in the US but you could try the English Clar-a)
[name_u]Lou[/name_u] (on its own or nn for [name_f]Lucie[/name_f]/[name_f]Louise[/name_f])
[name_f]Harriet[/name_f]
[name_f]Millie[/name_f]/[name_f]Milly[/name_f]
[name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]/a
[name_f]Elle[/name_f]
[name_f]Zoe[/name_f]
As a fellow [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], and specifically a [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] [name_f]Beth[/name_f], I feel your yearn for a unique name.
My husband has some family names that are dreadful… ie. [name_m]Eugene[/name_m] and [name_m]Nelson[/name_m], along with [name_f]Donna[/name_f] and [name_f]Betty[/name_f]. We’ve already established we are not going there. [name_u]Ever[/name_u].
We have some beautiful names on my side, like [name_m]Solomon[/name_m], [name_m]Otto[/name_m], and [name_m]Roman[/name_m], with [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] being the best girls name.
However, due to the family connection, I don’t know if I could ever utilize these because of the memories they already harbor of someone else, not my baby.
Why not try to honor [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f], [name_f]Emily[/name_f], [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f]? Use the first letter. [name_f]Jubilee[/name_f], [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], and [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]?
From your list…
[name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f]- I like this, it’s nice, but I prefer the traditional [name_f]Bronwen[/name_f] spelling. To me, adding a “y” doesn’t make anything more feminine.
[name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_f]Jane[/name_f]- This sounds like a label, or a brand to me.
[name_f]Greer[/name_f]- Is this not a surname? Either way, it sounds masculine in my ears.
[name_f]Emmeline[/name_f]- This is definitely growing in popularity.
[name_f]Isla[/name_f]- I’m not a fan of this name, and I don’t think it flows well with your other children’s names either.
Best of luck, and congratulations on getting your baby girl!
Thank you all for taking the time to respond. You have given me some things to think about.
I didn’t know about the [name_m]French[/name_m] meaning of Aucoin and that is definitely something to consider… we had only ever known it as a surname in the US.
Some of the suggestions are beautiful. I am adding [name_u]Eden[/name_u] to my list as a possibility. We had already considered [name_u]Sloane[/name_u] and [name_u]Quinn[/name_u] but DH worries they are not feminine enough. Sadly there are many pretty names that are highly popular in our area. We know several Carolines, Eleanors/Lenores/Noras, Abigails, Lydias, [name_f]Lilas[/name_f], Lolas, etc. And so many beautiful ie/y/ee ending names are out because of our last name (I actually love names like [name_f]Maddie[/name_f], [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f], etc but they sound pretty bad).
While we think [name_f]Isla[/name_f] is a pretty name, I do worry it doesn’t flow with the sibset.
Thank you again. I will keep looking for the perfect name. [name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] was our pick if DS #4 had been a girl. I do like it but I am not sure if I am sold. If DS #3 had been a girl he would have been [name_u]Austen[/name_u] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]. I am a huge [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_u]Austen[/name_u] fan, but having trouble pulling names from her works.
This may be a bit stereotypical, but when I think Southern names for girls (I am from [name_f]Canada[/name_f]), I often think about girls with classic names like [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], [name_f]Alice[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], etc., or girls with surnames/unisex names. On that note, I like [name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] and [name_f]Greer[/name_f], I feel like they go well with your boys’ names. Would [name_f]Greer[/name_f]/[name_f]Grier[/name_f] [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] work?
Other suggestions:
[name_u]Blair[/name_u]
[name_u]Delaney[/name_u]
[name_u]Quinn[/name_u]
[name_u]Aubrey[/name_u]
[name_u]Harper[/name_u]
[name_u]Hadley[/name_u]
[name_u]Waverly[/name_u]
[name_u]Elliott[/name_u]
@ashleyg your perception is accurate. My generation is full of classic names and most of our children have surnames or double names with classic names (ie lots of [name_f]Mary[/name_f] ___, ____ [name_f]Kate[/name_f], ____ [name_f]Grace[/name_f], etc). My sisters and I are [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f] and [name_f]Hannah[/name_f]… all classics. I agree [name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] and [name_f]Greer[/name_f] fit our style the most. I like your suggestions. [name_u]Waverly[/name_u] is actually one of my [name_m]FAVORITE[/name_m] names and DH and I both knew one when we were in school but it doesn’t flow with our “Y” ending last name. We personally know a child with every other name on your list… which I guess means you are on the right track!
@mrsdrs you have some great suggestions. If we had a better last name I would have several of those on my list. I adore [name_u]Sullivan[/name_u], one of our close friends just used that name for their 4th. They call him [name_u]Sully[/name_u], so cute.
Haha! I’m glad I was so perceptive. Must be all those southern novels I’ve read, ha! I’d love to know what your end up choosing- I like the uniqueness of all your names! Maybe you could give me some suggestions for the future.
Have you checked how [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] ranks in your state? I live in [name_f]Alabama[/name_f], and [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] is only #29 here. I noticed it ranks 10-20 places higher in every Southern state except [name_f]Louisiana[/name_f] and Mississippi though, but I don’t necessarily think that makes it too popular to use. [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] is a very pretty name. I also like [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] for you, and since that’s all the way down at #907 I don’t see how that could be too popular. I think you need something feminine with weight to it. [name_f]Bronwen[/name_f], [name_f]Greer[/name_f], and [name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] could work, they just aren’t really appealing to me. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you like [name_u]Rowan[/name_u]? [name_f]Corinne[/name_f]?
@southern.[name_f]Maple[/name_f] We live in [name_m]Charleston[/name_m], SC. I personally know 3 babies that have been named [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] this year… 1 is called [name_u]Charlie[/name_u]. You are correct it is a beautiful name but in this area it is definitely popular. I also know 2 Emmelines, though those are friends from other cities. So while not popular, maybe rising too fast for me. [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] was one of our top girl names for years but after 4 different friends chose it I took it off the list. I think [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m] has jaded me.
I don’t know how I feel about [name_u]Rowan[/name_u] or [name_f]Corinne[/name_f]. I don’t hate them but don’t necessarily feel drawn to them either.
[name_f]Isla[/name_f] is very pretty too. I steered away from [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] because you already have a Br- name ([name_m]Briggs[/name_m]).