So I have 10 days before I deliver my second daughter! I’ve done a few name polls during this pregnancy and have a solid list of 5 names to bring in to the hospital, but there are definitely a top 2 names, one my husband’s favorite and one mine.
Mine is [name_u]Brooke[/name_u]. I’ve always loved this name, I love it’s shortness, it’s strong feel, it’s nature connection…The ONLY thing holding me back is that our last name starts with a hard “K” Sound, and is exactly almost like the name Konnelly, just spelled differently. So when you say [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] Konnelly together, you either have to almost say it as one word “Brookonelly” or pause in between each word. Right now, it does irritate me, but I wonder if I’d get over it, and you don’t say full names together ALL that often, but I am pretty anal about name flow.
My husband’s favorite is [name_f]Norah[/name_f]. I think this is actually a beautiful name, especially when I see it written down, and has a cozy magical wintery baby feel to it. It is a little old fuddy duddy for my taste. My hesitation with this name is that when I say [name_f]Norah[/name_f] out loud, I don’t get excited, and it doesn’t feel natural, but wonder if I’d get over it once it was attached to a real baby. I also don’t love how fast it’s climbing up the popularity charts. I agree though that [name_f]Norah[/name_f] Konnelly has a better flow.
Back up names are [name_f]Johanna[/name_f], [name_f]Claire[/name_f], and [name_u]Kelly[/name_u].
So what would you do? Pick your first choice name even if it “clashed” with your last name, or pick a name that is “okay” in your mind, because it had better flow? In the end my husband said he is okay with whatever I decide. Good man, but also sick of my back and forth:-)
I honestly love all five of your names, and I don’t think you could go wrong with any of them.
[name_u]Ruby[/name_u] and [name_f]Rosie[/name_f], two of my favourite names, entirely clash with S/O’s surname, because his surname is very R heavy, and there’s repeated sounds for both name combinations. While he isn’t a fan of either of those names, if he was, I’d happily use them, despite them clashing with the last name ([name_u]Ruby[/name_u] especially).
[name_u]Brooke[/name_u] Konnelly is fine, imo, but if it bothers you, and nothing else seems to compare, what if you double barrelled it? Something like [name_u]Brooke[/name_u]-[name_f]Louise[/name_f] breaks up that repeated K sound, if you really do want to use [name_u]Brooke[/name_u].
Also: It makes me so happy to see someone else who loves the name [name_u]Kelly[/name_u]!
[name_f]Norah[/name_f] and [name_f]Johanna[/name_f] are my favorites. I think [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] Konnely is fine. It doesn’t run together when I say it out loud.
I don’t think [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] clashes with the last name, I actually like it a lot together. Sometimes I think this site places too much emphasis on flow, when in reality you don’t go by your full name too much (whether that’s fn and surname or fn mn sn).
I think you should at least keep [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] on your list for when you meet your daughter.
This is tough! But ultimately, I think going with a name you [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] is more important than the flow of her full name (which could even change if she gets married!). You’ll be saying “[name_u]Brooke[/name_u]” a LOT more than you’ll be saying “[name_u]Brooke[/name_u] K______”. What a sweet husband you have! If he is happy with [name_u]Brooke[/name_u], I say move forward with it and don’t look back. Here’s to a safe delivery and a healthy mom and baby! Congratulations!
I think you should only give up your first choice name in the event that it sounds outlandish/embarrassing/confusing with the last name: which is not AT ALL the case for [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] Konnelly. Yeah, you do have to pause a little or the names run together, but that is no big deal in my opinion, and true for a lot of names. If you’ve gotten your husband on board with your first choice name I say use [name_u]Brooke[/name_u]! I would suggest [name_f]Norah[/name_f] in the middle unless you think you might someday have another child–and want to reserve it for another daughter in the future.
I love [name_f]Norah[/name_f] Konnelly and [name_f]Claire[/name_f] Konnelly, but you need to go with what feels right. It’s true, the first and last name together sounds like “Brookonnelly,” but so what? What’s so wrong with that? I think it’s adorable. It wouldn’t bother me at all – consider whether it truly bugs you or if you are just setting too many restrictions on yourself.
As an alternative – does [name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u] do anything for you?
Also bear in mind that the majority of women (in American culture, at least – not sure where you are located) change their name if/when they get married anyway… yes, you do want to choose something that sounds nice for the first 20-30 years of her life (assuming she gets married around that age), but many women change their name when they get married and then end up with something that doesn’t sound that great (because their name wasn’t picked out to go with the married name) for most of their life anyway…
Thank you everyone! You are very kind and making me feel better:-) I just didn’t want to set her up for a lifetime (or at least half lifetime) of annoyance. But funny enough I grew up with a few kids whose names did the same thing of ending with the same letter the last name would start with, and never thought twice about it. I guess when you are deciding something so big for someone else, the pressure is on!
And to the person who said she also liked [name_u]Kelly[/name_u], that is great to hear! [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] gets a lot of hate, but to me the actually sound of it is so fresh and crisp, I love it! The reason it’s not at the top of my list is because [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] Konnelly is verrrrrrry “L” heavy and sing songy (not the end of the world), and also super heavily Irish, which my husband is, and is fine too, but I’d like a little more neutralism if I can manage it.
And as for [name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u], it’s just really not my style, but thank you!
First middle name combos we were thinking of:
[name_u]Brooke[/name_u] [name_f]Joelle[/name_f] or [name_f]Johanna[/name_f]
[name_f]Norah[/name_f] [name_f]Jewel[/name_f] (I know some people call [name_f]Jewel[/name_f] a “stripper” name, but it’s special to me).
[name_f]Claire[/name_f] [name_f]Joelle[/name_f], [name_f]Johanna[/name_f], or [name_u]River[/name_u]
[name_f]Johanna[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_u]Rae[/name_u]
[name_u]Kelly[/name_u] [name_f]Rose[/name_f]
I love your choices. I have to admit that I’d go with [name_f]Norah[/name_f] over [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] b/c of how it sounds with your last name. I think [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] would be a nice middle name because the number of times you’re going to say your full name out loud are very few. [name_f]Norah[/name_f] [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] Konnelly is lovely, and there’s less of a tendency to run the middle and last names together when “[name_u]Brooke[/name_u]” comes in the middle. That said, I don’t think the fact that [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] and Konnelly run together is a total show stopper. I also think [name_f]Johanna[/name_f] is a great choice and under used. [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] Konnelly is a little too sing-songy. I have a [name_f]Claire[/name_f] and love that name.
Out of curiousity, separate from my last name, do you guys prefer [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] or [name_f]Norah[/name_f]? I’m so torn! Really hoping she looks like one or the other! [name_f]Johanna[/name_f] is third and intrigues us, but I think the other two take the lead for us.
I personally prefer [name_f]Norah[/name_f], by a lot. It’s sweet, vintage but not too granny, easy to spell and say, sounds good with your last name. I don’t really see the problem.
I don’t personally like [name_u]Brooke[/name_u]. I think of [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] Shields, [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] [name_m]Burke[/name_m], a lot of kids I babysat growing up had it as a middle name so it’s still stuck in the 90’s/2000’s for me. I’m also not a fan of [name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u] so it might not be my style or favorite sound.
[name_f]Johanna[/name_f] is an interesting choice and I really like it.
I’m surprised by how different all of your top picks are.
Very interested to see what you end up choosing, good luck!
Thank you, yes I guess you could say my taste is all over the place…but I’m a libra and we are known for our indecisiveness:-)
I really don’t like [name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u] (for us). I get what you’re saying about [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] being super popular in the 90’s. But then I worry that [name_f]Norah[/name_f] is so popular on these boards that will enter top 10. I’m not trying to be unique, I actually prefer names people recognize, I just don’t want a bunch of her name in one class. But I know you can never avoid that. You could name your child [name_m]Bear[/name_m] and there very well might be another one! I really love one syllable names but I guess I could always call her “[name_f]Nor[/name_f]” if I was feeling lazy:-)
While I like both [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] and [name_f]Norah[/name_f], I favor [name_f]Norah[/name_f] because it’s a classic. I also love [name_f]Johanna[/name_f], which is an ancient name, although many think it was recently invented. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of those three names.
I’m a libra too! This board is not good indication of general popularity, nameberry has it’s own taste so I wouldn’t worry about [name_f]Norah[/name_f]'s popularity. One syllable names are tricky. We have a one syllable last name and ended up naming our youngest daughter a one syllable first name as well even though it’s kind of choppy because it was the name that suited her best.