[name_m]Hi[/name_m] everyone, sorry for the long rambly post but I’m in need of some help. I’m expecting my first child, a girl, and am excited to FINALLY get to use the baby name that’s been my absolute favorite ever since I first heard it in middle school: [name_f]Gemma[/name_f]. Less exciting is that we are having no luck whatsoever picking out a middle name we both like enough to use. Our surname is Newsome, which is not a particularly easy one to work with IMO. (I actually think [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] Newsome is almost a little awkward/clunky to say but like I said, I’ve been waiting like fifteen years to use this name so she’s just gonna have to deal with it.)
Before I was actually pregnant we’d all but settled on [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] for a potential future daughter, but for reasons he apparently can’t articulate my husband no longer likes it. Our current favorite combo based on sound alone is [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Faith[/name_f], but we’re not theistic (we’re UU but not really “religious”) and live in a very [name_u]Christian[/name_u] area, so we just feel like it’d be too weird to use such a heavily religious name that will naturally carry assumptions. Another top contender is [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Delaney[/name_u] just because [name_u]Delaney[/name_u] is another name we both really love, but I’m not sure if they really flow together and with Newsome all that well. Other options we’ve considered but aren’t in love with are [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Rae[/name_u], [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Lane[/name_u], [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f], and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Charlie[/name_u]. [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] was on the table for a while, but my MIL’s name is [name_f]Lucille[/name_f] and my mother (a [name_u]Lisa[/name_u]) is just the type to hold it against me FOREVER if her first grandchild was ‘named after’ the other grandma and not her, even though our like of [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] was just a coincidence. Similarly, I love the sound of [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Carly[/name_f] but one of my husband’s sisters is [name_f]Carlie[/name_f] and he thinks it would be too weird. Names I kind of like but the husband won’t go for are [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Valerie[/name_f], [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Lux[/name_u], and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] (yes, he inexplicably likes [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] but not [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]). His favorites right now are [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Reese[/name_u], but I’m just not into [name_f]Rose[/name_f] (might be because of an unbreakable association with my childhood dog, [name_f]Rosie[/name_f]) and I’m not sure if I like the way [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Reese[/name_u] Newsome sounds together.
So as you can see, our naming tastes are literally all over the place and we’re just going in circles. Somehow, despite keeping a giant running list of names I love for most of my life, I am WAY pickier than I thought now that it’s time to name an actual child. Maybe it’s just too much pressure? Help!
Ooh, I like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] a lot. [name_f]Elise[/name_f] was on my middle name list early on, but my husband has a bad association and vetoed it (same with [name_f]Eloise[/name_f], one of my favorites, which he thinks is too similar…sigh). I also like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Claire[/name_f] and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Wren[/name_u] but feel like they both sound awkward with our last name.
We did consider [name_f]Faye[/name_f]/Fay as a substitute for [name_f]Faith[/name_f], but for whatever reason we just…don’t like it as much. I honestly don’t think I could even explain why.
Gemma [name_f]Colette[/name_f] is cute! I feel like my husband’s gonna hate it but I’ll put it on my list to show him anyway. [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Hadley[/name_u] also really grew on me the longer I looked at it so I added that one too. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
From your list I like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Rae[/name_u], [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Lux[/name_u], [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Claire[/name_f] and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Reese[/name_u].
Thank you everyone! Some of these suggestions are just darling. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I have been looking them over and adjusting our list.
He doesn’t like [name_f]Colette[/name_f], [name_u]Hadley[/name_u] or [name_u]Wren[/name_u], but is lukewarm on [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] and [name_u]Blaire[/name_u] so they’re still in the running. We both like [name_f]Kate[/name_f] and [name_f]Claire[/name_f] a lot. [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Quinn[/name_u] is cute but our niece is named [name_u]Quinn[/name_u] so I feel like it’s unusable, plus I’m not sure it sounds great with our last name. I like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f] but my husband thinks it has the same problem as [name_f]Faith[/name_f] - too religious-sounding. ([name_f]Gigi[/name_f] is an adorable nickname though!) I also added [name_u]Louise[/name_u] to the list since it’s apparently different enough from [name_f]Elise[/name_f]/Eloise for my husband to accept it.
A few others we randomly started tossing around today are [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Harper[/name_u], [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Lorraine[/name_f] (kind of combining [name_u]Rae[/name_u] and [name_u]Lane[/name_u] together), and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Lacey[/name_f] (similar sound to [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] but without the strong connection to one grandma’s name). Any thoughts on those?
Congratulations on your pregnancy, and welcome to nameberry!
[name_f]Gemma[/name_f] is lovely, and I really like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Lorraine[/name_f], that was going to be my suggestion actually!
I think [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Delaney[/name_u] is cute, perhaps a little clunky, but its super pretty. [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f] and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Claire[/name_f] are also very nice options.
Thank you! I do like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Lorraine[/name_f] a lot. We keep running into the same problem where we can’t decide if a name we like truly flows with our surname or not…I feel like the end of [name_f]Lorraine[/name_f] and beginning of Newsome almost run together like one word when you say it all together. Still a top contender though. It has the [name_u]Rae[/name_u] sound that I really like and is a ‘neutral’ L name we could say honors both grandmothers.
I appreciate the thoughts on [name_u]Delaney[/name_u]. As much as I love both names, I feel like they’re a little clunky as a combo too. I’m actually thinking that if we don’t end up using [name_u]Delaney[/name_u] as a middle now we may tuck it away as a first name option for if [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] ever has a little sister in the future.
Gemma [name_f]Elise[/name_f] is gorgeous but my husband has a bad association with someone named [name_f]Elise[/name_f] so he won’t allow it. (He just suggested [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Alice[/name_f] as an alternative, but I’m not sure if that flows well with the back-to-back As.)
I like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Monroe[/name_u] - very cute and spunky - but he doesn’t. We do both like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Bethany[/name_f] a lot…less overused than [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] but with the same lovely sound. That could be a real contender.
I like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Hailey[/name_f] a lot! That surprises me because I’ve never been very into the name [name_f]Hailey[/name_f], but I think it sounds super cute with [name_f]Gemma[/name_f]. [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] are nice too. We thought about [name_f]Nicole[/name_f] early on because that’s my middle name, but I think I’d rather her have her own unique one.
We keep trying to narrow down our list, but I think we’re just expanding it because it seems like every time we cross an option off the list we add two more. Today my husband randomly suggested [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Avery[/name_u] and [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] and I’ve started thinking about [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_u]Taylor[/name_u]. I think we have a lot of beautiful options at this point but I keep waiting for one name to just feel like THE name right away, and none of them do. Maybe I just need to lower my expectations?
Gemma is actually one of my favorite names, as well, so I love seeing it used! I really like quite a few of the ones you listed. If you like the sound of [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Faith[/name_f], what about [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Paige[/name_f]? I think they have a similar sound quality. [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Paige[/name_f] is actually the top combo I’ve had stuck in my head for a while now when I think of this name.
Gemma [name_f]Paige[/name_f] is beautiful! We really like that one. I love the name [name_f]Paige[/name_f] so I don’t know how I never thought of it myself. Might sound a bit clunky with our surname but I think we still like it enough for it to be a top contender. Thank you!
My husband seems to be gravitating towards one-syllable middle names a lot. [name_u]Reese[/name_u] has really grown on me the last few days, so it might end up being between [name_u]Reese[/name_u] and [name_f]Paige[/name_f].
Help!
I do like [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] [name_f]Lorraine[/name_f] a lot. We keep running into the same problem where we can’t decide if a name we like truly flows with our surname or not…I feel like the end of [name_f]Lorraine[/name_f] and beginning of Newsome almost run together like one word when you say it all together. Still a top contender though. It has the [name_u]Rae[/name_u] sound that I really like and is a ‘neutral’ L name we could say honors both grandmothers.