We have about 8 weeks left to name this baby girl who will be our 4th child. We have [name]Evangeline[/name] [name]Rose[/name] (“[name]Eve[/name]” or “[name]Joey[/name]”), [name]Soleil[/name] [name]Gabrielle[/name], and [name]Merrick[/name] “Brugh” (goes by Brugh, sounds like [name]Hugh[/name]). This has been the hardest child to name so far! I have loved the name [name]Cosette[/name] (“[name]Coco[/name]”) since before we had our first, but now I’m wondering if we should go a little less frilly, more sophisticated & straightforward. Something like the name [name]Sybil[/name], though that particular name doesn’t appeal to us. [name]Colombe[/name] is another name I’ve had on the long list for years and I think it sounds more sophisticated. My husband also suggested the name [name]Isla[/name] which we both love, but it’s one of the top 3 fastest rising girl names & we try to stay away from those. No one here has heard of it around us, but since my husband & I both have names that are very very common (mine was a trendy one from the 80’s, [name]Ashley[/name]), we want to increase our chances of our kids being the only ones with their name most places they go. Though that’s not easy to predict, since we know [name]Isla[/name] is a fast riser, I’m hesitant to use it, even though I love it.
We considered doing [name]Isla[/name] [name]Cosette[/name], and just trying to call her by both for a few years so that if [name]Isla[/name] ends up being trendy, we can use [name]Cosette[/name] more. [name]Silly[/name], I know. I also think the name [name]Lark[/name] has a simple sophistication and it is a nickname for [name]Cosette[/name] from [name]Les[/name] Mis.
Now I’m wondering about [name]Colombe[/name] [name]Cosette[/name] or [name]Cosette[/name] [name]Colombe[/name] - lends to “[name]Coco[/name]” more, plus we could maybe try out the nickname Loie for [name]Colombe[/name]. I’m concerned that if I pass up using the name [name]Cosette[/name] this time I’ll really regret it since we haven’t used it for 2 other girls. Not sure if we’ll have more kids or not.
We also tossed around using the name [name]Thibaut[/name], which is a boy’s name - it’s probably going to be our back-up boy’s name, but we thought about giving it to a girl - too much like [name]Tim[/name] Tebow??? Newer interests of mine are [name]Satine[/name], [name]Petra[/name], [name]Cybele[/name] (too similar to [name]Soleil[/name]?), though those are so new to our list & I’m not sure we’re ready to switch this late in the game.
What do you guys think? Is there a combo of [name]Isla[/name], [name]Cosette[/name] and [name]Colombe[/name] that works better? Am I crazy about the trendiness of [name]Isla[/name]? Or do [name]Colombe[/name] & [name]Cosette[/name] sound too similar to be in the same name (all our girls have French names)? I love the meaning of [name]Cosette[/name] & [name]Colombe[/name], though [name]Isla[/name] is a little blah on the meaning.
I think [name]Colombe[/name] [name]Cosette[/name] (and vice versa) is just a bit too much personally. I like them both separately, but together it’s a mouthful. I think [name]Coco[/name] comes perfectly naturally from either [name]Cosette[/name] or [name]Colombe[/name], so I wouldn’t say that’s a problem.
[name]Thibaut[/name], I’m not keen on for a boy or a girl, but that’s just my personal feeling. [name]Do[/name] you live in a French-speaking area? If not, I think it’s a definitely no-go and the pronunciation will most likely come too difficult to most people. [name]Satine[/name] and [name]Petra[/name] are nice, but I think your other choices work better.
I like the idea of [name]Isla[/name] [name]Cosette[/name], simply because it means you get to use your French names without completely singling [name]Merrick[/name] out as the only English-sounding name. You do have the issue of popularity, it is becoming very common now as you said. But then, I think your suggestion of having her go by [name]Cosette[/name] more would work fine. In fact, I think if you used “[name]Coco[/name]” as a family nickname from the start, it would make any transition much easier. I guess some may say that would be confusing, but having a nickname unrelated to the first name happens so frequently in my family and everyone gets used to it. [name]One[/name] of my cousins was called [name]Lou[/name] for most of her childhood, even though her first name is [name]Terri[/name]!
Personally if it were me, I’d go for [name]Isla[/name] [name]Cosette[/name] and use the names [name]Isla[/name] and [name]Coco[/name] to address her through her infant years, until you can properly assess the popularity of the name and make a decision on what you want her to go by. [name]Don[/name]'t let the popularity put you off a name if you really love it
I don’t love [name]Colombe[/name]. I think either [name]Isla[/name] [name]Cosette[/name] (I wouldn’t worry about it being too popular, honestly) or [name]Cosette[/name] (love the nn [name]Coco[/name]) with some middle name (i don’t think either [name]Isla[/name] or [name]Colombe[/name] works). [name]Coco[/name] is one of those nns you can use even if it doesn’t really fit with the first name, so [name]Isla[/name] [name]Cosette[/name] would be fine if you wanted to use that nn! Good luck
I love your idea of [name]Isla[/name] [name]Cosette[/name], using [name]Cosette[/name] or [name]Coco[/name] often, with [name]Isla[/name] as her formal name. I have a trendy nn ([name]Emma[/name]) which I go by, and a more elegant 3-syllable [name]Em[/name] name that I keep in my back pocket for formal occasions, documents, and to remind myself that I’m not just another [name]Emma[/name] even though I do love the name [name]Emma[/name]. So I definitely advocate flexibility with a pair of names. [name]Both[/name] [name]Isla[/name] and [name]Cosette[/name] are lovely. [name]Isla[/name] feels more substantial, and makes sense as a first name to me. I think it goes well with your sibset too.
This may be a stretch, but… Could you name her [name]Isla[/name] [name]Cosette[/name] and have her go by [name]Lark[/name]? You get beauty, sophistication, and time to consider whether she’ll be going by [name]Isla[/name], [name]Cosette[/name], or [name]Lark[/name] when she gets to school. I know my daughter only gets called her actual name about half the time at home - of course I don’t think Boo, Stinks, or [name]Honey[/name] Badger are likely to follow her into kindergarten
I love [name]Colombe[/name]-- it’s beautiful, sophisticated, and underused. St [name]Columba[/name] was a great namesake, and it means ‘dove’ so you have a great deal of peace-related imagery as well.
However it’s completely unknown in the anglophone world. The closest word I can think of is coulomb, the unit of electrical charge in electromagnetic physics.
I do not care for [name]Satine[/name]. It’s ‘satin’ in French and most famous as a fictional prostitute. It would be akin to naming your child something like [name]Velvet[/name] in the US, with all of its implications.
[name]Isla[/name] will not be a runaway megahit like [name]Ashley[/name], but it would likely be the most common of your children’s names. [name]Isla[/name] [name]Cosette[/name] has a nice flow.
It seems like you gravitate towards elegant, evocative French names but are worried that they’ll be too frilly. Some thoughts:
[name]Colette[/name] (the famous writer; still allows you to use the nn [name]Coco[/name])
[name]Sidonie[/name] / [name]Sidony[/name] (another of [name]Colette[/name]'s names; an ancient name meaning ‘from Sidon,’ part of the Mediterranean coast in the Levant)
[name]Sandrine[/name] (old diminutive of [name]Alexandra[/name])
[name]Anais[/name] (most famous as X [name]Nin[/name], but an old variant of [name]Anne[/name])
[name]Dahlia[/name]
[name]Aurore[/name]
[name]Delphine[/name]
[name]Gisele[/name]
More ways to [name]CoCo[/name]:
[name]Columba[/name] / [name]Columbia[/name] / [name]Columbine[/name] if you’re worried [name]Colombe[/name] isn’t workable here
[name]Constance[/name] (ability to use [name]Coco[/name]; English name like [name]Merrick[/name], uncommon but not unfamiliar)
[name]Coraline[/name]
[name]Cordelia[/name]
[name]Corisande[/name] (French name derived from the Greek for chorus member)
[name]Corinna[/name]
[name]Cosima[/name] ([name]Coco[/name], Cozy as nicknames)
I would use [name]Colombe[/name] if you’re looking for sophistication, [name]Cosette[/name] is not what I nor in my opinion and experience the French would consider sophisticated, not sure if that matters to you but considering your other children have French names I thought this might be a factor in your decision making and thought it was worth saying. I admit to not liking the name in general so feel free to disregard my opinion, still based on aesthetics and sound I think [name]Colombe[/name] is still a better choice.
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Colombe[/name] sounds lovely to me, if you’re looking for other names that start with “I” maybe you would go for [name]Isaure[/name] or [name]Isaline[/name], both are French.
