I am a long time lurker of Nameberry (10+ years) and have been obsessed with baby names since I can remember. I have always had an ongoing list of names that I’ve loved. I am now at the age where many of my friends, cousins, coworkers, etc. are all having children, and all of my names are being taken! Of course, they each deserve to name their baby something they love, and I never shared my names with most of them, so no harm/no foul.
I am very fortunate that I can still preserve my top 2 boy names (for now!):
[name_m]Callan[/name_m] (nn [name_u]Cal[/name_u]) - flows so ceremoniously with my last name, I’ve loved this name for almost a decade.
[name_m]Theodore[/name_m] (nn [name_u]Theo[/name_u]) - family name that is getting super popular elsewhere, but my area seems to be safe for now!
My list of girl names that have been ‘taken’ (do you see a trend?? ):
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]) - obviously could not be paired with [name_u]Theo[/name_u] as a brother
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] (nn [name_f]Evie[/name_f])
[name_u]Eden[/name_u] (nn [name_f]Edie[/name_f])
[name_f]Elsa[/name_f] - Frozen completely ruined this for me
[name_f]Grace[/name_f]
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]
I do have a few names I like, but they just aren’t “the one.” I thought for sure I would have a daughter named [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] or [name_f]Evie[/name_f], but now I know 3 [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]'s and 2 [name_f]Evie[/name_f]'s born in the last 2 years. The other names are a little bit more unique:
[name_u]Merritt[/name_u]
[name_f]Lux[/name_f]
[name_u]Navy[/name_u]
[name_f]Millicent[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Millie[/name_f])
[name_f]Lark[/name_f]
[name_f]Greta[/name_f]
I tend to lean towards names that either sound like a nickname, or have a nickname. I have scoured thousands of names and just haven’t seen one that has struck me as much as [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] and [name_f]Evie[/name_f]. The middle name will definitely be [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] after my dh’s grandmother. If all goes according to plan, we hope to have our first kiddo next year. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
The best name I can suggest for you is [name_f]Elsie[/name_f]. It’s so cute, and it’s a cross between [name_f]Evie[/name_f] and [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]. I definitely recommend it for you!
[name_f]Millicent[/name_f] is adorable! I adore [name_f]Millie[/name_f] as a nickname, it is super sweet. [name_u]Eden[/name_u] is also gorgeous.
Also, what about [name_f]Aveline[/name_f]? It’s quite similar to [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u], and the nickname, [name_f]Avie[/name_f], is pretty similar to [name_f]Evie[/name_f]? It might not work but I wanted to suggest it anyway. I hope you find this helpful! Good luck!
Here are some variations of your taken favourites (some may be too similar)
[name_f]Ilsa[/name_f] - which I think has much of the same appeal as [name_f]Elsa[/name_f].
[name_f]Elissa[/name_f] - close again to [name_f]Elsa[/name_f]
[name_f]Elodie[/name_f] - could still use the nn [name_f]Edie[/name_f]
[name_f]Nola[/name_f]/[name_u]Nila[/name_u] - I love [name_f]Nora[/name_f] but I also like these less common alternatives
[name_f]Nina[/name_f] - growing in popularity I think but still gorgeous!
I really like [name_f]Avie[/name_f]! [name_f]Aveline[/name_f] is beautiful but I do think it would be pretty similar to my best friend’s daughter, [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]. I also like the nickname [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] as well, but not a huge fan of most of the fuller names to produce [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] as a nickname.
[name_f]Elodie[/name_f] was one of my favorites for a long time but [name_f]Edie[/name_f] is unusable for me as well. I surprisingly like [name_f]Maple[/name_f] a lot (all the lists I’ve been through more commonly mentioned [name_f]Mabel[/name_f]) but I think [name_f]Maple[/name_f] [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] may be a little too much! Although I do have quite a soft spot for alliteration names!
I have similar taste I think, too bad a lot of other people seem to also. I like the suggestions of [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] and Liddy/[name_f]Lydia[/name_f]. You could do [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f] or maybe [name_f]Elise[/name_f] for a long form for [name_f]Elsie[/name_f]. I also like [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] a lot and [name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f] or [name_u]Winter[/name_u] are nice long forms for that. Also [name_f]Greta[/name_f] is a favorite of mine but now I’m worried it will get popular too… [name_u]Merritt[/name_u] is cool, I just worry about the word association.
[name_f]Elise[/name_f] nn [name_f]Elsie[/name_f]
[name_u]Winter[/name_u] nn [name_f]Winnie[/name_f]
[name_u]Marion[/name_u] (maybe nn [name_f]Maisie[/name_f] or [name_f]Molly[/name_f]?)
[name_f]Ingrid[/name_f] (maybe nn [name_f]Indie[/name_f])
[name_f]Harriet[/name_f] nn [name_f]Hattie[/name_f]
What about [name_f]Lily[/name_f]?
It’s similar enough to [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] but it’s not so popular and it’s a beautiful elegant name.
I love [name_f]Milly[/name_f] and [name_f]Tilly[/name_f] as well.
Other names:
[name_u]Penny[/name_u] / [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]
[name_f]Bella[/name_f] ([name_f]Annabel[/name_f] / [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] etc)
[name_f]Poppy[/name_f]
[name_f]Livvy[/name_f]
[name_f]Libby[/name_f] / [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Maggie[/name_f] / margaret
[name_f]Nancy[/name_f]
[name_f]Polly[/name_f] (I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Polly[/name_f])
[name_f]Wendy[/name_f]
[name_f]Katie[/name_f]
[name_f]Kitty[/name_f]
[name_f]Lola[/name_f]
[name_f]Leila[/name_f]
[name_f]Lyra[/name_f]
[name_f]Elva[/name_f] / [name_f]Elvie[/name_f]
Elkie
[name_u]Ellis[/name_u]
[name_f]Della[/name_f]
I really like [name_f]Millicent[/name_f] for you. I think it is a lovely name and you probably don’t have to worry about it being stolen–yet. [name_f]Millicent[/name_f] [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] sounds very nice to me.
But if you really are looking for something different, I LOVE the lesser used nickname Nell. Ways to get there:
Helena Margaret
Ellen Margaret
Helen Margaret
Eleanor Margaret
Ellen Margaret
Cornelia Margaret
Penelope Margaret
I have recently fallen in love with [name_f]Edith[/name_f] nn [name_f]Edie[/name_f]
also [name_f]Bridget[/name_f] nn [name_f]Birdie[/name_f]
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]
[name_f]Lola[/name_f]
[name_f]Harriet[/name_f] nn [name_f]Hettie[/name_f]… could even go [name_f]Ettie[/name_f]
[name_u]Vivian[/name_u] nn [name_f]Vivi[/name_f]
[name_f]Lavender[/name_f] nn [name_f]Evie[/name_f] (a true guilty pleasure)
[name_f]Olive[/name_f] nn [name_u]Ollie[/name_u]
[name_f]Marigold[/name_f] nn [name_f]Margo[/name_f]
[name_f]Patricia[/name_f] nn [name_u]Pax[/name_u] or [name_u]Paz[/name_u]
[name_u]Juniper[/name_u] nn [name_f]Junie[/name_f] or [name_f]Juno[/name_f]
[name_f]Zadie[/name_f]
[name_f]Stella[/name_f]
[name_u]Ruby[/name_u]
[name_u]Josie[/name_u]
[name_f]Tilly[/name_f]
[name_f]Zoe[/name_f]
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f]
My favorites are [name_f]Greta[/name_f] and [name_f]Millicent[/name_f]. [name_m]How[/name_m] about [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] as the first name and use nn [name_f]Greta[/name_f]?
Instead of [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] … Ellora or Eleanorah
Instead of [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] … [name_f]Evelina[/name_f] or Evaleena
Instead of [name_u]Eden[/name_u] … EverMarie or [name_f]Edith[/name_f]
Instead of [name_f]Elsa[/name_f] … Kellsah or [name_u]Chelsea[/name_u]
Instead of [name_f]Grace[/name_f] … [name_m]Graysen[/name_m] or Gracyann
Instead of [name_f]Nora[/name_f] … [name_f]Nola[/name_f] or Lorah or CoraBeth
):
[name_u]Eden[/name_u] is also gorgeous.