[name_u]Baby[/name_u] #2 (unknown sex) is due [name_m]Saturday[/name_m]. We are having a REALLY hard time coming up with a solid shortlist of girl’s names. We’re looking for names that are not frilly or popular ([name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Ellie[/name_f], [name_f]Lyla[/name_f]), that are bright and modern or vintage and due for revival (inexplicably I am drawn to [name_f]Heather[/name_f]), not-popular ([name_u]Harper[/name_u] is out) but recognizable for pronunciation and spelling.
The first kid is a boy named [name_m]Jonah[/name_m] [name_m]Robert[/name_m]. If this one is a boy, he will be either:
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u]
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] [name_m]Wilder[/name_m]
or [name_u]Elias[/name_u] [name_m]Wilder[/name_m] (nn [name_m]Eli[/name_m])
Names I love but wife doesn’t:
[name_f]Paige[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f]
[name_f]Sarai[/name_f]
[name_u]Raleigh[/name_u]
[name_u]Merritt[/name_u]
[name_u]Walker[/name_u] [name_u]Leigh[/name_u]
[name_f]Corinne[/name_f] (though rhymes with last name - so is out for other reasons)
My wife’s favorites are
[name_u]Avery[/name_u] - which feels too popular for me, and
[name_u]Blake[/name_u] - which I only associate with [name_u]Blake[/name_u] [name_m]Shelton[/name_m], and say in my mind with a thick twang.
For a boy, she also likes [name_u]Bryce[/name_u] - after the canyon, I love the nature association but I don’t like what feels like a 90s trend of dropping a “y” in the middle of names.
We got pretty close to agreeing on [name_f]Willa[/name_f] [name_u]James[/name_u] for a girl - which honors a long line of [name_m]Williams[/name_m] in my family as well as my maternal grandfather, but has alliteration between first and last name - [name_f]Willa[/name_f] W., and feels a shade too flowy for our style.
We’re open to traditionally male names for a girl ([name_u]Elliot[/name_u]) - but that one in particular will shorten to [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] in no time, and so feels like a no to me.
Considering both you and your wife’s style i’ll suggest [name_f]Pacey[/name_f] [name_u]Barrett[/name_u] for a girl. I like [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] [name_m]Wilder[/name_m] from your list for a boy.
My favourite is Willa and I like some alliteration depending on the last name but sometimes it makes for a memorable name! Esther (ready for rvival) and Peyton (unisex) came to mind that you may like.
I think [name_f]Willa[/name_f] is lovely too and also like [name_f]Heather[/name_f]. My additional suggestions would be:
[name_f]Willow[/name_f]
[name_f]Winifred[/name_f] (NN could be [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] or [name_u]Freddie[/name_u] - the latter meaning the name would only be an alliteration when using the full version)
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f]
[name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] (I like that this can be shortened to [name_u]Ottie[/name_u] or the more familiar [name_f]Tilly[/name_f])
[name_f]Harriet[/name_f] ([name_f]Hattie[/name_f], [name_f]Hetty[/name_f], [name_f]Etta[/name_f], [name_f]Ettie[/name_f] and [name_m]Harry[/name_m] give you a huge range of NN possibilities!)
Thanks, all for the great suggestions and the affirmation of our front-running boys names. Many of these have been on one or the other of our lists over time - so you’ve nailed our style. [name_f]Juno[/name_f] was my favorite girl name when we were pregnant with [name_m]Jonah[/name_m], though my wife was never crazy about it.
Are names that we like but have to pass on (sadly) for a variety of reasons - cousins, close friends, etc.
We’ve added a couple of your suggestions to our shortlist - [name_f]Naomi[/name_f] and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f]. We were struck by how much [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] and [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] are similar - and so it seemed an obvious choice for a girl.
I love the additions of [name_f]Naomi[/name_f] and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f]! [name_f]Naomi[/name_f] seems less popular to me and is a perfect fit with [name_m]Jonah[/name_m] and you don’t have to worry about another ellie nn which you really don’t seem to like. I don’t know if these are your style at all but on my shortlist are [name_f]Ione[/name_f], [name_f]Iona[/name_f], [name_f]Ines[/name_f]?[name_f]Agnes[/name_f].
What about [name_m]Wiley[/name_m]? It’s an older-fashioned nickname for [name_m]William[/name_m] (it was my great grandfather’s nickname), but I went to college with a girl named [name_m]Wiley[/name_m] and loved it on her! (can also be spelled Wylie)
[name_f]Willa[/name_f] is a great name and I like it with [name_m]Jonah[/name_m] too. But [name_f]Naomi[/name_f] and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] also work well.
And I think [name_f]Willa[/name_f] is also stunning. I’m a fan of alliteration when done inn the right way and sometimes finding the ‘name’ totally trumps perfect flow.