Coming Up with Combos

I have an exhaustive laundry list of names, but almost no combos. I just have to wonder, how do y’all do it?

For me, names in the first name position are generally names I would like to use for future children.

Middle names can be names I love, but wouldn’t use as a first name or just names that sound lovely with the first name.

I also have a list of combos that I wouldn’t use for children, but they just make my heart smile.

If you wanna PM me some names, I’m happy to have a bit of a play with combo ideas for you.

I have a certain imagery or vibe I go for in names but I switch it up sometimes for fun.

For me it starts when I find a name I like as a first or middle name. I take the time to think about what I’m aiming for and make an excessively long list of potential combos for said name. Then if that went well I take the time to whittle it down to my favorites. If it didn’t? I’ll pop in here to ask for suggestions or for others opinions on the too long list. After that I choose a combo seemingly at random that wasn’t on my list but just felt right. This typically happens immediately after making a post about said name.

That’s just my process. :smiley:

I found this page helpful:
http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/advice/middle.html

When coming up with combos, I try to vary the number of syllables, and/or the syllable stress. E.g. [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] (both stressed on the first syllable) sounds okay, but [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Louise[/name_f] sounds better [name_f]IMO[/name_f] because [name_f]Louise[/name_f] is stressed on the second syllable.

Hubby and I just chat really. We say names out loud together and share ideas of names that we feel might flow. Some of our combos are perfect straight away and haven’t changed in a long time, others we change often trying to find the right flow. I think the process is different for everyone - it depends on what you like. Some people are big on the flow of the sounds, others need the meanings to make sense together, etc. There’s no real right and wrong or rules, just whatever works for you.

We think of a first name, then think of what sounds good with it. The middle names don’t always come from a list we have but they sometimes do. It is pretty relaxed and works for us! I know others who start with the middle name, then build the rest of the name based on that (like…if you want to honor Aunt [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], so you think of what sounds good with [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] as a middle name).