Finding 'S' Names and Middle Names

Hi all. New to this board. Nice to meet everyone!

My husband and I are currently TTC. I’m one of those people who have had a list of baby names since I was a teenager. I just always thought it was better to let a name settle in for a while before attempting to saddle someone with it.

We also have a custom in my family where all the girls have first names starting with ‘S’. This isn’t some wacky idea I came up with. I have 3 great aunts, 4 aunts, 2 sisters and 3 nieces and countless cousins with ‘S’ names for that reason. It’s a family quirk I guess and it does save a fortune on monograms. I do like it and my relatives and I are pretty proud when a new baby joins the tradition. I know you’re thinking that we’re going to run out of names. We’re pretty sure it’ll happen eventually, but by then it’ll be time for the old names to cycle around again.

If you guys could suggest some more S-names, middle names for the ones I already have, or just awesome middle names, I’d be grateful. I’ll italicize names that I’m attached to where they show up.

Here are the names that are taken by close relatives: [name_f]Sheri[/name_f], [name_f]Shawnie[/name_f], [name_f]Sadie[/name_f], [name_u]Sasha[/name_u], [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], [name_f]Samantha[/name_f], [name_u]Shiloh[/name_u], [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f], [name_f]Suzanna[/name_f] (my name, and my [name_f]MIL[/name_f] is a [name_f]Susan[/name_f], so we’re pretty full up on all manner of [name_f]Suzy[/name_f]'s) and a nephew named [name_u]Shayne[/name_u]

Middle names that are taken or that I otherwise can’t stand: [name_f]Ashleigh[/name_f], [name_f]Nicole[/name_f], [name_f]Brittany[/name_f], [name_f]Crystal[/name_f], [name_f]Ellen[/name_f], [name_f]Kristen[/name_f] and [name_f]Chastity[/name_f](because that’s a unrealistic name to live up to)

First names that I’ve collected: [name_f]Savannah[/name_f], [name_u]Salem[/name_u], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f], [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]/[name_f]Sylva[/name_f], [name_f]Sally[/name_f], [name_f]Sinead[/name_f]

Middle Names that I like: [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f], [name_f]JoAnna[/name_f], [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u], [name_f]Delilah[/name_f], [name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], [name_f]Natalie[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_u]Robin[/name_u], [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], [name_u]Arya[/name_u], [name_f]Alice[/name_f], [name_u]Lee[/name_u], [name_f]Faith[/name_f], [name_f]Hope[/name_f] and pretty much any mythological name with a good ring to it.

My father’s pick is [name_f]Savannah[/name_f]. I was actually going to be [name_f]Suzanna[/name_f] [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] until my mother intervened. He’s tried to convince my brother and sisters to name their daughters this ever since.

DH likes the name [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], but might sway otherwise if a better name is found.

Thanks guys!

EDIT: I also don’t mind a well put together GRRM reference, but please nothing out there (hence [name_f]Arya[/name_f] being on the list), but nothing too far out there. An ex-friend of mine recently named her baby girl Khaleesi (the baby was also born in the ER bathroom and put on the news, so double whammy on the poor child) and I was flabbergasted.

I can only add [name_f]Surya[/name_f] and Sebastienne (I have a female [name_m]French[/name_m] ancestor w/this name, and I love it!) [name_f]Sari[/name_f] is a Finnish name I also love, but in English it sounds a bit close to ‘sorry’. Best wishes!

[name_f]Sabrina[/name_f] is a long term favourite of mine. It just has a graceful sound to me. I blame [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] Hepburn. It also has mythological grounding to it.

[name_f]Sarita[/name_f] is a form of [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] but not a terribly close one and could be workable. Sah-ree-ta.

[name_f]Shoshana[/name_f] is the original form of [name_f]Susan[/name_f]/[name_f]Suzanna[/name_f] so either that’s far too close or an adorable call back. In any case, it doesn’t cut down to [name_f]Sue[/name_f]/[name_f]Susie[/name_f].

[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is really pretty. I saw [name_f]Sinead[/name_f] and I think of them together.

[name_f]Sibyl[/name_f]/[name_f]Sybilla[/name_f] are both pretty. You can call them [name_u]Billie[/name_u] for short if you want the S name but not an S nickname in a crowd of S names?

I’ve known a [name_f]Sapphire[/name_f] who was really beautiful, but I prefer the more botanical/spicy [name_f]Saffron[/name_f].

Of your middles, my favourites with everything are [name_f]Faith[/name_f] and [name_u]Lee[/name_u]. [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is also pretty but I do get liking one-syllable middles. I’m not nearly as big on [name_f]Grace[/name_f] or [name_f]Hope[/name_f] as I am on [name_f]Faith[/name_f]. And [name_u]Lee[/name_u] is quite underused nowadays. You might also like [name_f]Fern[/name_f].

[name_f]Welcome[/name_f]! I love [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f], [name_f]Sally[/name_f], [name_f]Sinead[/name_f], and [name_u]Salem[/name_u].

Other “S” Names:

[name_f]Sula[/name_f]
[name_f]Sidra[/name_f]
[name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_f]Sabrina[/name_f]
[name_f]Saffron[/name_f]
[name_f]Saga[/name_f]
[name_u]Scout[/name_u]
[name_u]Selby[/name_u]
[name_f]Sybil[/name_f]

Combinations:

[name_f]Savannah[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] (I think this is so cute!)
[name_u]Salem[/name_u] [name_f]Odette[/name_f]
[name_u]Salem[/name_u] [name_f]Helene[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f] [name_f]Madeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] [name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_f]Sylva[/name_f] [name_u]Ruby[/name_u]
[name_f]Sally[/name_f] [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]
[name_f]Sally[/name_f] [name_f]Margot[/name_f]
[name_f]Sally[/name_f] [name_f]Delilah[/name_f]
[name_f]Sinead[/name_f] [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f]
[name_f]Sinead[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabrina[/name_f] [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]
[name_f]Sybil[/name_f] [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f]
[name_u]Sage[/name_u] [name_f]Delilah[/name_f]

I adore [name_f]Sally[/name_f] & [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] from your list!
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f] is wonderful as well, but it being the #1 name sways me from it slightly.

[name_f]Sally[/name_f] [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]
[name_f]Sally[/name_f] [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] [name_f]Natalie[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] [name_u]Robin[/name_u]

<3 these!

a few more to consider maybe?

Sonia (an excellent alternative to Sophia)
Shelby
Sibyl
Sylvie (a cute, more modern Sylvia)
Simone
Stella
Summer
Sterling

Any you like?

There are actually quite a few “s” names, i don’t think you’ll ever run out! Ya know more words start with “s” than any other letter?

good luck!

i like [name_f]Savannah[/name_f]. It’s very pretty.

I also like:
[name_f]Shana[/name_f]
[name_u]Sloane[/name_u]
[name_u]Simone[/name_u]
[name_f]Sienna[/name_f]
[name_f]Stella[/name_f]
[name_u]Skyler[/name_u]
[name_f]Summer[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabrina[/name_f]
[name_f]Serena[/name_f]
[name_f]Samara[/name_f]
[name_f]Sarah[/name_f]
[name_u]Shane[/name_u]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

@stripedsocks: I like the name [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]. I hadn’t heard it before. It’s definitely on the list now, although I might go with an Anglo spelling. I had to laugh at [name_f]Sarita[/name_f]. [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] was a name I had picked until my sister was looking for names and stole it from me, knowing it was at the top of my list! I could get her back for that… Also, [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Hope[/name_f] and [name_f]Faith[/name_f] are all family names, so their meaning is all equally important to me. [name_f]Glad[/name_f] you liked one of them.

@ribbons-and-soldiers: I had always though about [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]. It took someone else mentioning it to really normalize it for me. I also really like [name_u]Scout[/name_u], but DH vetoed it a long time ago when he caught a glimpse of the list.

@juliet.a: I would say the same about [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], but it’s not very common around here. It’s in the high 70’s as far as ranking in my state and by the time we managed to get a baby here the rankings will have changed again. [name_f]Stella[/name_f] was another favorite of mine that DH shot down with a Daft Punk reference. [name_u]Robin[/name_u] has definitely gone on the list beside [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]! And I’d never really thought of [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] as a middle name, even though it’s a nickname I once had, but I love it. I’ll put it in the long list of just-in-case middles!

[name_f]Seraphine[/name_f] / [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f]
[name_u]Sloane[/name_u]
[name_u]Skye[/name_u]
[name_f]Siobhan[/name_f]
[name_f]Serena[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabrina[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabine[/name_f]
[name_f]Saraid[/name_f] (Suhray)
[name_f]Stella[/name_f]
Safiya (Saf-e-yah)
[name_f]Sonia[/name_f] / [name_f]Sonya[/name_f]

I like [name_f]Sienna[/name_f] and [name_f]Sabrina[/name_f].

For something more unisex, there’s [name_u]Spencer[/name_u], [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u], [name_u]Shelby[/name_u]/[name_u]Selby[/name_u], [name_u]Sheridan[/name_u].

A few others, hopefully I’m not repeating anything:
[name_f]Sela[/name_f]
[name_f]Shauna[/name_f]
shaye
[name_f]Sharlene[/name_f]
[name_f]Sandrine[/name_f]/[name_f]Sandra[/name_f]
[name_f]Solange[/name_f]
Soleia

[name_f]Selma[/name_f]
[name_f]Shiona[/name_f]
[name_f]Sheila[/name_f]
[name_u]Skye[/name_u]
[name_f]Samantha[/name_f]

[name_f]Welcome[/name_f] to Nameberry! Out of your list, I like [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]. Here are a few others to throw into the mix:

[name_f]Samara[/name_f]
[name_u]Simone[/name_u]
[name_u]Sloane[/name_u]

I’m curious to know what’s the surname’s first initial and how many syllables it has. A differing syllable count count for each part of the name will leave it less monotone such as a 1-3-2 or 2-1-3. With the initials, you may want to avoid them spelling anything like SEA or SAP.

[name_f]Saffron[/name_f] [name_f]Hope[/name_f]?

I am in love with [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] (sare sha)

Some of my favorite S names are [name_u]Sage[/name_u], [name_u]Sorrel[/name_u], [name_u]Sutton[/name_u] and [name_u]Simone[/name_u].

Paired with a few of your middles:
[name_u]Sage[/name_u] [name_f]Delilah[/name_f]
[name_u]Sorrel[/name_u] [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f]
[name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_f]Hope[/name_f]
[name_u]Simone[/name_u] [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]

And a few others:
[name_u]Sage[/name_u] Jessemine
[name_u]Sorrel[/name_u] [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]
[name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_f]Laurel[/name_f]
[name_u]Simone[/name_u] [name_f]Willow[/name_f]

Other middles you might like: [name_f]Wren[/name_f], [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f], [name_f]Felicity[/name_f], [name_f]Audra[/name_f], [name_f]Willa[/name_f]

@basicsand: The last initial will technically be M, but as we’ve hyphenated, when written out it will be MC. The way they sound together is more 2-2 than 4 syllables. Some middle names with 2 syllables sound okay with it, but some just don’t flow well. Trial and error I guess.

I also tend to stay away from unisex names… I’ve always hated my middle name for that reason and it’s not even a common name for boys. [name_f]One[/name_f] of the last names is also a common name for men, so that’s another reason… [name_u]Scout[/name_u] was a pretty rare exception and as I said, DH wasn’t a fan.

And names that remind me of animals… Names like [name_u]Sorrel[/name_u] tend to remind me of a horse.

S-first name + (middle name) + M…-C…? No unisex names. And you also have that list of taken S-names.

I’d also advise a middle name that didn’t contain vowels ([name_u]SAM[/name_u], SUM, [name_m]SIM[/name_m], etc). With that longer syllable count for a hyphenated last name, I’d try to go for a 1-2-4 or 2-1-4 count. I’ll throw in a few more:

[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]
[name_f]Suzette[/name_f]
[name_f]Sandra[/name_f]
[name_f]Sheila[/name_f]
[name_f]Sonia[/name_f]
[name_f]Stella[/name_f]
[name_u]Shannon[/name_u]
[name_f]Sharon[/name_f]
[name_u]Stacy[/name_u]
[name_f]Sheri[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophie[/name_f]

Lately I’ve been liking the name [name_f]Suzanna[/name_f]. Other S options I like include:

[name_f]Serene[/name_f]
[name_u]Sasha[/name_u]
[name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_f]Signe[/name_f]
[name_f]Samantha[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabrina[/name_f]
[name_f]Severine[/name_f]

Middle name options that work with these names:

[name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Elise[/name_f]
[name_u]Kendall[/name_u]

[name_f]Sally[/name_f] [name_f]Minerva[/name_f]

[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f], [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] [name_f]Eudora[/name_f], [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]/[name_f]Johanna[/name_f], [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] [name_f]Lavinia[/name_f], [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]

[name_f]Sophia[/name_f] [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]

[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] [name_f]Juno[/name_f]

(To me, [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] is too similar to [name_f]Suzanna[/name_f]. Additional middles are mythological.)

@basicsand: So you see my dilemma… I’m in a sea of complications here. And after having the initials S and M, having a vowel in there is a welcome distraction, as my sisters and I can all sympathize.

@jennwarwick: I love the name [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and it goes so well with names ending in -a. But we have four or so of them already in both of our families. sigh

@apollonia: I think that’s why my dad likes it so much, as [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] was his suggestion.

These are my favorites from your FN list: [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f], [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f], [name_f]Sally[/name_f] (I also like [name_f]Sally[/name_f] spelled as [name_f]Salli[/name_f] to make it unique-ish).
These are my favorites from your MN list: [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f], [name_f]JoAnna[/name_f], [name_f]Delilah[/name_f], [name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Natalie[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], [name_f]Alice[/name_f], [name_u]Lee[/name_u], [name_f]Hope[/name_f].

[name_f]Sophia[/name_f] [name_f]Hope[/name_f]
[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Sally[/name_f] [name_f]Anne[/name_f]