Can you make them less Yupster??

So the girl names on our list are finally narrowing down (here is the original list Vote on Name Lists at BabyNames.com). The only thing: the names we both like sound soo yupster, especially when they are combined with each other. Are there any combos that seem less mainstream when put together? All the more different [name]Beatrix[/name], [name]Finley[/name], [name]Paloma[/name], [name]Ingrid[/name] names got nixed. So the names we are working with are:

[name]Isla[/name]
[name]Sofia[/name]/[name]Sophia[/name]
[name]Isabella[/name]
[name]Isabelle[/name]
[name]Olivia[/name]
[name]Harlow[/name]
[name]Chloe[/name]

Any thoughts?

[name]Even[/name] though [name]Chloe[/name] and [name]Olivia[/name] are in top spots, they still feel fresher and more classic to me than the others.

[name]Chloe[/name] [name]Olivia[/name]?
[name]Olivia[/name] [name]Isabella[/name]?

These combinations seem to me like they have the most edge to them:

[name]Olivia[/name] [name]Harlow[/name]
[name]Harlow[/name] [name]Sophia[/name]
[name]Isobel[/name] [name]Chloe[/name] (I much prefer the [name]Isobel[/name] spelling–have you considered it? [name]Isobel[/name] [name]Chloe[/name] looks much less frilly to me)

[name]Chloe[/name] is actually my favourite off your list, but I don’t think any of the other names really work with it to get the effect you’re going for.

This is tough since most of these names end in ‘a’. I think these combos work best for what you are going for:

[name]Olivia[/name] [name]Harlow[/name]
[name]Harlow[/name] [name]Sophia[/name]
[name]Chloe[/name] [name]Isabelle[/name]/[name]Isobel[/name]
[name]Chloe[/name] [name]Harlow[/name]

Below are some names that sound similar to some of the names you have above. Maybe some of these might work?
[name]Octavia[/name]
[name]Olive[/name]
[name]Hadley[/name]
[name]Harper[/name]
[name]Ivy[/name]
[name]Ava[/name]
[name]Clio[/name]/[name]Cleo[/name]

thanks for the additional names, ewwangenspack.

[name]Olive[/name] – this is what [name]Olivia[/name]'s nn would be, love it!
[name]Harper[/name] – love this one too, especially its musical connotations
[name]Ava[/name] – love it! but it may fall to my love of a ending names
[name]Cleo[/name] – love this!

cressida, I do also like [name]Isobel[/name]. It seems much edgier to me. I will put it back into the running.

I have to say that I think [name]Cressida[/name] sounds like it fits too :slight_smile:

[name]Isla[/name] [name]Harlow[/name] is the least yupster. I like [name]Isla[/name] [name]Chloe[/name], too.

I’m sad to hear [name]Beatrix[/name], [name]Paloma[/name] and [name]Ingrid[/name] have been nixed, as all three are beautiful …

I personally would avoid [name]Chloe[/name] the first name slot, as I feel as though it has passed its prime. I would also avoid [name]Harlow[/name], as it seems trendy to me, as opposed to simply popular (the category the other names fit into).

Have you considered simply going for [name]Olive[/name]? It seems so much more fresh and original than [name]Olivia[/name], and you clearly like it anyway if you are planning to use it as a nickname … The same goes for [name]Sophie[/name] and [name]Isabel[/name]/[name]Isobel[/name] - these simpler versions seem just that little bit less used, although there actually isn’t a significant difference in popularity.

[name]Isla[/name] is the least popular name on your list, I believe, and I do like it, but you might also like [name]Orla[/name] or [name]Elsa[/name]. As an alternative to [name]Harlow[/name], how do you feel about [name]Margot[/name]/[name]Margo[/name]?

If you like [name]Ava[/name], which is unfortunately also very popular, you might like [name]Ivy[/name].

I adore [name]Cleo[/name], and think this would be a great alternative to [name]Chloe[/name].

If I were you, I would go for [name]Sophie[/name]/a [name]Olive[/name] or [name]Cleo[/name] [name]Isabel[/name].

Good luck!
[name]Auburn[/name]

Thank you auburn for all your advice. That was exactly what I was looking for!

It has been narrowed down to [name]Isla[/name] for a girl and [name]Riley[/name] for a boy! So here some combos we r looking at!

[name]Isla[/name] [name]Olivia[/name] & [name]Riley[/name] [name]Hudson[/name]
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Olivia[/name] & [name]Riley[/name] [name]Jasper[/name]
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Harlow[/name] & [name]Riley[/name] [name]Hudson[/name]
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Harlow[/name] & [name]Riley[/name] [name]Oliver[/name]
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Sofia[/name] & [name]Riley[/name] [name]Alexander[/name]
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Piper[/name] & [name]Riley[/name] [name]Chase[/name]
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Harper[/name] & [name]Riley[/name] [name]Oliver[/name]
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Delaney[/name] & [name]Riley[/name] [name]Declan[/name]
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Finley[/name] & [name]Riley[/name] [name]Leland[/name]

[name]Chloe[/name] [name]Sophia[/name] is very nice.

So glad you’ve narrowed it down to [name]Isla[/name]! That’s my favorite off your list and the least “yupster” for sure, in my opinion.
One concern I always have when trying to pair [name]Isla[/name] is a dominance of L sounds, I think [name]Isla[/name] [name]Olivia[/name] and [name]Isla[/name] [name]Harlow[/name] fall into that trap, unfortunately.

My favorite is [name]Isla[/name] [name]Harper[/name]! I was going to suggest this before I saw your updated post. I think it’s lovely sounding and [name]Isla[/name] seems to elevate [name]Harper[/name] for me.
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Piper[/name] is similar, and a close second. I can’t decide whether I like the softness of the H or the bold contrast of the sharp P. I think for me, it would depend on your LN.

I also like: [name]Isla[/name] [name]Delaney[/name]-- really charming
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Finley[/name] – this is very cute, but I prefer [name]Finley[/name] on boys.

[name]Isla[/name] & [name]Riley[/name]. Hmm. I don’t want to discourage you if you’re finally excited about narrowing it down to the two top names. For what it’s worth though, I think [name]Riley[/name] is fine, but it doesn’t seem to match [name]Isla[/name]'s elegance.
I love some of your other boy’s names though: [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Oliver[/name], [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Hudson[/name], [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Declan[/name], [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Jasper[/name]. I even like [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Finley[/name] or just [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Finn[/name].

Of the [name]Riley[/name] combos, I’d go with: [name]Riley[/name] [name]Hudson[/name], [name]Riley[/name] [name]Declan[/name], or [name]Riley[/name] [name]Alexander[/name]

I too would be loathe to encourage [name]Riley[/name] in the first name position but you have some fantastic middles that would make great first names eg [name]Hudson[/name], [name]Jasper[/name] and [name]Alexander[/name].

[name]Isla[/name] is lovely.

I have to say, when I think of “[name]Riley[/name],” I think of a girl :expressionless:

Sorry!

[name]Isla[/name] [name]Sofia[/name] is beautiful!So feminine and lyrical, and while [name]Sofia[/name] is very popular, it is also a firmly established, elegant name with a long history.

[name]Riley[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] sounds great, although I do also love [name]Jasper[/name]. In my opinion, [name]Riley[/name] hasn’t gone to the girls just yet, but it would stop me using more masculine girls’ names in [name]Isla[/name]'s middle slot (such as [name]Piper[/name] and [name]Harper[/name]).

[name]Auburn[/name]

Thanks, mam2321. [name]Isla[/name] does have a strong L. For some reason it never really dawned on me that it would be negative to repeat the L sound the middle name. So namers, how bad is to have a repeated L sound or a repeat vowel sound?? In my mind it is sorta a variation on a theme…if that makes sense! I do see that too much soft vowel and Ls would be less desirable ([name]Isla[/name] [name]Olivia[/name]), so hmm…

I, too, like our boy middle name choices as first names: [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Oliver[/name], [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Hudson[/name], [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Declan[/name], and [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Jasper[/name]. However my hubby loves the name [name]Riley[/name]–it is his number one. He is very much a guy’s guy. For some reason he doesn’t feel like [name]Riley[/name] is a girl name even though he does know that girls have the name too. [name]Oliver[/name], [name]Jasper[/name], [name]Hudson[/name], [name]Declan[/name] are all my name choices and all these he thinks are too soft for a first–well the first two at least, [name]Hudson[/name] he think of dirty sewage, and he never heard of [name]Declan[/name] before my suggestion. He thinks [name]Riley[/name] is a high energy, rough and tumble name, which he likes. One reason why I thought [name]Isla[/name] & [name]Riley[/name] might go is because similar in geographical origin. And [name]Isla[/name] ends in A so more obvious fem name…?

That is what we r thinking. Any thoughts Berries?