Sorry to keep posting, berries, but I am really struggling, here!
DH said he likes the name [name]Annabel[/name]. I like it too, except for a few things:
I have a friend named [name]Anne[/name] whom DH is NOT fond of (he said it wouldn’t remind him of her, though…?) and that he’d probably call our daughter [name]Anna[/name] for short (which reminds ME of an [name]Anna[/name] I’m not very fond of).
The whole thing with -bel/[name]Gabriella[/name] (big sister) being similar…are [name]Annabel[/name] and [name]Gabriella[/name] too similar?
Other than that, I like it. What do you guys think?
Our one year old is [name]Annabel[/name] and we’ve loved it. Interestingly enough, we’ve never called her [name]Anne[/name], [name]Anna[/name], or [name]Annie[/name]. If anything, we’ll call her [name]Belle[/name], but more like Littlebel, Babybel, etc. We often call her Amabayoh, which is what her toddler brother calls her. What I’m saying, I guess, is that [name]Annabel[/name] doesn’t necessarily equal [name]Ann[/name]… nicknames. Good luck!
Sorry, I like the name [name]Annabel[/name] alot, but I agree with your #2 concern. [name]Gabriella[/name] and [name]Annabel[/name] is a little too close.
Ok, first of all i [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Annabel[/name] but, i am biased bc i am naming my little girl [name]Annabel[/name] due in 4 weeks lol. Although its not the ideal pairing of sibling names, i dont think they sound awful together at all. Its not like their whole lives they will be knows as a set! “hi my name is [name]Annabel[/name] and i have a sister named [name]Gabriella[/name]” heehee. not going to happen, and they definaitely dont sound like they CANT be siblings. that being said, i do however think they may be a little too similar to one another? with the repetitive “ell” sound in thier names. but, i think if you love it, you could pull it off. My daughters name is [name]Mia[/name] and alot of people would probably say thats not an ideal sibset either ([name]Mia[/name] and [name]Annabel[/name]) but, honestly, i dont care bc i love both names and in the end all that matters is that you guys love it
My only concern with [name]Annabel[/name] now is that it is going to get too popular like the name [name]Mia[/name] did ugh! i hope that doesnt happen AGAIN!
Oh I have to disagree, I don’t think [name]Annabel[/name] is too much like [name]Gabriella[/name] at all! I really think that’s being a bit too perfectionist. I know 3 sister, 2 of whom are twins, where the twins are called [name]Rohanna[/name] and [name]Arielle[/name] and their younger sister is called [name]Isabelle[/name]! [name]Arielle[/name] and [name]Isabelle[/name] and they aren’t even the twins! And no one in the world notices or comments on that except for me because I’m obviously name obsessed lol.
I think it’s wonderful that you both have another name you like and that your husband is opening up to a new idea. [name]Annabel[/name] just happens to be one of my favourite names too! I think [name]Annabel[/name] and [name]Gabriella[/name] are two totally different names, different starts, different endings, different amount of syllables, different rhythms. There are 3 sounds in [name]Annabel[/name] “An” “na” “bel” - and not one of these repeats in [name]Gabriella[/name]. If you wanted to call them [name]Bella[/name] and [name]Ella[/name] or [name]Belle[/name] and [name]Elle[/name] it’s be different but you already calle [name]Gabriella[/name] [name]Gabby[/name] so it’s really not an issue if you like the name!
I agree that you don’t need to nn her [name]Anne[/name] or [name]Anna[/name] though, [name]Belle[/name] would be cute!
Or if you do decide to ella and bel endings are too close what about an [name]Ann[/name] alternative? [name]Anastasia[/name], [name]Angelica[/name], [name]Anais[/name], [name]Anita[/name], [name]Annika[/name], [name]Anwen[/name], [name]Anneliese[/name], [name]Anissa[/name], [name]Angelia[/name], [name]Angelina[/name], [name]Annia[/name], [name]Anya[/name], [name]Annora[/name], [name]Anona[/name]*, Annalyn? [name]Do[/name] you or he like any of those? I starred my favs with [name]Gabriella[/name]!
I think that is something that only name nerds like us would be particular about. I personally don’t think they are too close at all. In fact, I like them for sibling names.
I’m changing my answer – I agree with some of the other recent posters. Sometimes we just overanalyze things on this site. When I was talking twin names and if [name]Ella[/name] and [name]Anna[/name] were too close (as nicknames) someone reminded me that people name their twins [name]Jalen[/name] and [name]Jaden[/name]. So, really-- [name]Annabel[/name] and [name]Gabriella[/name] are both beautiful names and I can see them as sisters. [name]Anna[/name] & [name]Gaby[/name] are not too close either. Maybe having the names be kinda close (borderline maybe too close to NB people or true name nerds) is kinda nice? They share an “[name]Elle[/name]” sound and that’s a pretty sound to share.
Yay, crunchymama!!! I have to say, I was quite disappointed to see the responses from you and lemon. I’m glad you have changed your mind though! I do agree with some of the pp that we over-analyze names on here…most people I talk to in “real life” didn’t see the similarity at all between [name]Annabel[/name] and [name]Gabriella[/name], and almost ALL of them accuse me of “thinking about this too much” or “overanalyzing” names.
For some reason, I think [name]Annabel[/name] and [name]Gabriella[/name] sound pretty good together; I think [name]Annabel[/name] makes [name]Gabriella[/name] sparkle a little bit more. They are a tad similar, but not too bad (I recently found out today that a coworker has a son named [name]Jaden[/name] and a daughter named [name]Jada[/name]!!! That is terrible!!) I’d probably call her [name]Belle[/name] for short (so maybe I should consider the “[name]Annabelle[/name]” spelling - although for some reason this makes me feel like it makes it too similar to [name]Gabriella[/name] LOL) to avoid the [name]Anne[/name]/[name]Anna[/name] association - I’ve never really been fond of [name]Anna[/name], although I do like [name]Annabel[/name] - is this weird?!
Anyway, all that being said, I’m not totally sold. I don’t know if I can get over the less than favorable [name]Anna[/name] association. I told [name]Brent[/name] I’d try it out for a week and see how it goes. (Apparently [name]Annabel[/name] is right up there with [name]Madeleine[/name] now…sigh - he is so fickle! It drives me insane!) I really do favor [name]Mirabel/name more than [name]Annabel[/name], but he said [name]Mirabelle[/name] reminds him of an “old lady like [name]Muriel[/name] or [name]Myra[/name].” Oh well…at least I feel encouraged he likes another name! I think we’re up to like 7 now!
Oh p.p.s., I love your post, ljandrl! Thank you for your support!! And I agree…I like the nn set of [name]Gaby[/name] and [name]Belle[/name] a whole lot better than [name]Maddie[/name] and [name]Gaby[/name]! I’ll keep thinking about it…
I love the name [name]Annabel[/name] and would use it without hesitation. It’s a beautiful name and I don’t see a problem using it with [name]Gabriella[/name]. I think it’s just fine.
[name]Mirabelle[/name] is so not old ladyish! hehe
I’m sorry I was wishy-washy. I think [name]Annabel[/name] is great w/ [name]Gaby[/name]'s name and you could call her [name]Belle[/name] and DH could call her [name]Anna[/name]. She could also use [name]Annabel[/name] as a full name because it’s not all that long and nickname necessary ya know?
The overanalyzing of names kinda drives me insane some days. It’s fun to talk about names and definitely helpful to get other opinions, but sometimes it’s a little too much. And you could go to another message board and people would say something totally different.
case in point, when I was considering [name]Eleanor[/name], I asked if people here thought it was too close to [name]Penelope[/name]. I got alot of “yes’s” here. Then I asked on another site – a more “mainstream” if you will and not one person said it was too close. In fact, there was a woman who HAD two daughers named [name]Eleanor[/name] and [name]Penelope[/name]. some people even went so far as to tell me I was being stupid to ask a question like that and they weren’t close at all.
Now I’ve moved on to [name]Eloise[/name] and [name]Eloise[/name] and [name]Penelope[/name] are probably even closer than [name]Eleanor[/name] and [name]Penelope[/name] ever were… I’m not messing with it or asking any other opinions! Who knows if board #2 would tell me “no way” to that combo? It seems to have gotten the “ok” from nameberries, who seem to favor the name [name]Eloise[/name] to [name]Eleanor[/name]. (sorry, I know that’s harsh, but it’s my opinion.)
Middle names? Hmm do you want an A to continue the alliteration?
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Audrey[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Amy[/name]
or another virtue type name?
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Faith[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Charity[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Patience[/name]
(I don’t really love any of these)
Or just a simple 1/2 syllable name like [name]Grace[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Jane[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]June[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Marie[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Rose[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Jade[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Ruby[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Eva[/name]
I agree we tend to over-analyze names, and I’m sorry you were disappointed with my response, [name]Elsie[/name]! [name]Gaby[/name] and [name]Belle[/name] are really cute together, but [name]Gabriella[/name] and [name]Annabelle[/name] - that spelling - together does emphasize the similarity. I just worry it locks you into using names with “elle” in them for any future daughters. It will be like the “[name]Elle[/name] Girls,” you know?
As for middle names, why not get your [name]Ava[/name] in there and use [name]Annabel/name [name]Ava[/name]? Pretty name, for sure.
Ha, lemon! I know, I do agree with the [name]Annabelle[/name] spelling - it really does emphasize the similarity. Well said.
I’m PRETTY sure (like…99% sure) we won’t be having any more kids. So hopefully I won’t have to worry about keeping up with a pattern!
I dunno, not really any middle names are popping out at me…I guess [name]Ava[/name] wouldn’t be so bad with [name]Annabel[/name], since [name]Annabel[/name] is less common than [name]Madeleine[/name]. [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Ava[/name] doesn’t seem as cliche as [name]Madeleine[/name] [name]Ava[/name]. I also thought of [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Pearl[/name]. [name]Both[/name] of those seem a little tongue-twistery to me, though. I guess I can worry about middle names later, if [name]Annabel[/name] really starts to grow on me.
What do you guys think of this name though for someone who’s like ages 25-60? I think it’s really adorable for a baby/little girl, sweet for a teenager, attractive for a 20-something year old, and super sweet on an old lady, but I’m not really sure how it fits a middle aged person. What if she’s an attorney or something serious?! Sorry to be annoying, I have to consider all angles!
It’s really so hard to picture our kids growing up!
when we were considering [name]Annabel[/name], we had the same question. I came to the conclusion that during those times of your life, you generally are not in school or being introduced as a full, formal name often. It’s usually just meeting people and telling them “[name]Hi[/name], I’m ___” where ___ is your preferred name/nickname. So, if she wanted to go by [name]Anna[/name], [name]Ann[/name], [name]Belle[/name], or [name]Annabel[/name], that’s where she’d let people know what to call her. On a resume, I don’t think [name]Annabel[/name] is a bad thing at all. Keep in mind, her generation of applicants will have names like [name]Jaylen[/name] (sorry I keep picking on this name), [name]Hayleigh[/name], [name]Emalee[/name], and of course [name]Isabella[/name] (there are so many that one will surely be applying for the same job as your daugher! lol). So, I think employers have to adapt and become more open minded as far as names go. [name]Emalee[/name] and [name]Emily[/name] – yeah they might prefer to hire [name]Emily[/name], but in this rapidly changing and competing world, they can’t “settle” for [name]Emily[/name], the “C” student, when [name]Emalee[/name] is an “A” student. It may be hard for us to imagine a generation of many creatively spelled and more unique names, but it’s going to happen and employers will adapt.
omg crunchymama, you are so totally right! that is so funny, it didn’t even occur to me…it’s hard to picture jaylens and jaydens and kadens and bradens and adysyns applying for jobs LOL! annabel looks pretty darn awesome and classy next to those! (no offense, of course.)
He likes about 5 names on the planet…literally.
I’m glad you have changed your mind though! I do agree with some of the pp that we over-analyze names on here…most people I talk to in “real life” didn’t see the similarity at all between [name]Annabel[/name] and [name]Gabriella[/name], and almost ALL of them accuse me of “thinking about this too much” or “overanalyzing” names. 