My SO and I love the name [name_f]Fern[/name_f] but we cannot seem to land on a middle name. We want to use a family name but don’t know which.
Family names that we have thought to use are:
[name_u]Jo[/name_u], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], [name_u]Jean[/name_u], [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] and [name_f]Ann[/name_f].
We are leaning more towards- [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_u]Jo[/name_u] or [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_u]Jean[/name_u] but we aren’t sure or settled on anything.
Please let us know what middle name you think would work best!
I like [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] because it flows well and I like [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]. I think [name_u]Jo[/name_u] is too short with [name_f]Fern[/name_f] and [name_u]Jean[/name_u] too close to [name_f]Fern[/name_f]. [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] is also okay though [name_f]IMO[/name_f] it doesn’t flow well.
[name_f]Fern[/name_f] is a lovely name, and I’m very happy to see someone considering it, particularly as a first. I think, of the names you’ve listed, [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] has the best flow, and makes for a lovely combo. [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] & [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] are quite nice, too.
I think in terms of flow, the one syllable middles ([name_u]Jo[/name_u], [name_u]Jean[/name_u] & [name_f]Ann[/name_f]) don’t work as well, as they make the combo sound quite clunky and abrupt when said in full. That said, when you’re working with family names, often the names you like best, are the names of the people that mean most to you, so it makes it more difficult as it can come down to using the special namesake, or a name that flows better. Have you perhaps considered finding variations on your family names, that could work to both honor that family member, as well as give your little one her own individual name? There are many lovely [name_f]Ann[/name_f] variants, and then there’s [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] (for [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]) as well as [name_f]Greta[/name_f] or [name_f]Margot[/name_f] (for [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]). [name_m]Just[/name_m] an idea.
I like [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] [name_u]Jo[/name_u]; since [name_f]Fern[/name_f] and [name_u]Jo[/name_u] are shorter I think the extra syllables in [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] has a nice flow.
My favorite of these options would be [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]. I think the “j” middles sound great with [name_f]Fern[/name_f], but I agree with pp that [name_f]Fern[/name_f] needs a longer middle to balance it out.
I’d probably use one of the longer names. I think [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] and [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] sound best.
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f] and [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] are lovely with [name_f]Fern[/name_f]. [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_u]Jo[/name_u]/[name_u]Jean[/name_u] are both way to choppy/abrupt