Hard surname! opinions needed

General Name Discussion
1

[name]Hi[/name] Namers,

Hopefully you guys can give me some advice on how to pick a name for our first child that will flow ok with our surname. There are lots of names i love but find it hard with alliteration (is this acceptable really or too cutsey/cartoonish?) Please judge my list below giving reasons why it does/does not work below. A non bias opinion will really help us.

My Husband and i don’t want to go for something too unusual (he is particularly fussy and hates anything to long/posh/pretty - you get the picture :roll: ) - here is the list so far and any other variants or suggestions are appreciated Thank you :wink:

Girls

[name]Elisia[/name] [name]Jaye[/name] Cowling - [name]Elisia[/name] has been a crush of mine for years now - [name]Jaye[/name] is my sisters MN

[name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Rose[/name] Cowling - [name]Phoebe[/name] and [name]Rose[/name] are both recent crushes - no family connection

[name]Caitie[/name] [name]Eve[/name] Cowling - [name]Caitie[/name] is my DHs fav name -in fact there is not a lot he actually likes tbh! - me? not so inspired by it but don’t hate it so don’t want to veto, [name]Eve[/name] is his Mum’s name

[name]Emilia[/name] [name]Sylvie[/name] Cowling - [name]Emilia[/name] - a spin of my sisters name [name]Emma[/name] and [name]Sylvia[/name] is my Gran

[name]Cara[/name] [name]Mae[/name] Cowling - Mum’s name is [name]Carolyn[/name] so want a nice variant and [name]Mae[/name] is a variant of another grandma [name]Moira[/name]

Boys - finding boys so hard!!!

[name]Finley[/name] [name]Stephen[/name] Cowling - Only boy name that DH likes so lucky that i love it too even though it is uber popular, [name]Stephen[/name] is both my fathers and his fathers name

[name]Alexander[/name] [name]Richard[/name] Cowling - [name]Richard[/name] is DH name but too long? unsure…

[name]Aiden[/name] [name]James[/name] Cowling love irish names and think would go well with [name]Finley[/name] eventually

[name]Harrison[/name] [name]John[/name] Cowling - relatively new name crush, DH not sure, [name]John[/name] is grandfathers name

ahhh… so this is it… soul bared for all to judge. But please what i really need help on is how it sounds with our surname and overall sounding, rhythm etc as well whether you like the actual names in themselves.

Many Thanks

2

Here are my favorites: :slight_smile:

Girls
[name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Rose[/name] Cowling
[name]Caitie[/name] [name]Eve[/name] Cowling –[name]How[/name] about [name]Catherine[/name] [name]Eve[/name], with the nn [name]Catie[/name]?

Boys
[name]Finley[/name] [name]Stephen[/name] Cowling – I don’t think [name]Finley[/name] is too popular!
[name]Aiden[/name] [name]James[/name] Cowling – prefer [name]Aidan[/name] spelling
[name]Alexander[/name] [name]Richard[/name] – this is not too long!

3

This combo is beautiful! …[name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Rose[/name] Cowling

Boys:
[name]Finley[/name] [name]Stephen[/name] Cowling - I really like this combo!
[name]Alexander[/name] [name]Richard[/name] Cowling - I love the name [name]Alexander[/name], so for me it’s hard to pass up, unless the mn is stupid like Botox or something. :wink:

4

My favorite of your girls is [name]Phoebe[/name]. [name]Emilia[/name] and [name]Elisia[/name] seem too frilly and complicated to me. As for alliteration, I think it can be silly or cartoonish if both names have the same number of syllables. [name]Caitie[/name] or even [name]Caitlin[/name] Cowling seem sing-songy while [name]Catherine[/name] Cowling doesn’t. I think you could also use [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Jaye[/name] or [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Emma[/name] if you wanted to add some family significance.

For boys, I love [name]Finley[/name] [name]Stephen[/name] - this is very handsome and what a wonderful way to honor (both!) grandpas. I also like [name]Alexander[/name] [name]Richard[/name].

Good luck!

5

I think alliteration is fine depending on the specific combo. I think alliteration can make a name memorable and sharp. I’d avoid alliteration with names that begin in the same way (example: [name]Wally[/name] [name]Watson[/name] sounds cartoonish to me, while [name]Will[/name] [name]Watson[/name] sounds fine).

From your girl list, my favorites are [name]Elisia[/name] [name]Jaye[/name] Cowling and [name]Cara[/name] [name]Mae[/name] Cowling. I also like [name]Caitie[/name] [name]Eve[/name] Cowling, but agree that I’d prefer [name]Caitie[/name] as a nn for a longer name - either [name]Catherine[/name] or [name]Caitlin[/name].

Based on the fact you both like the name, I think [name]Finley[/name] [name]Stephen[/name] Cowling is probably your best bet for a boy name. I think its a very handsome combo. I think all of your other boy combos are great. I don’t think [name]Alexander[/name] [name]Richard[/name] Cowling is too long at all.

BTW - I noticed that most of your combos seem to combine a family name from the person whose favorite name is also being used. Have you considered switching some of the combos around a bit to reach more of a compromise?
[name]Elisia[/name] [name]Eve[/name] Cowling - your name crush + his mom’s name
[name]Caitie[/name] [name]Jaye[/name] Cowling - his fav name + your sister’s mn

6

[name]Elisia[/name] [name]Jaye[/name] Cowling- I love [name]Elysia[/name], spelled like this. The [name]Elysia[/name] spelling relates to the Greek word for “blissful,” the Champs Elysees, and the mythological equivalent of heaven. I think that’s a cute meaning.

[name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Rose[/name] Cowling - I think a name with a family connection is nicer.

[name]Caitie[/name] [name]Eve[/name] Cowling-Not a fan of [name]Caitie[/name] by itself, especially this spelling, but I love [name]Catherine[/name].

[name]Emilia[/name] [name]Sylvie[/name] Cowling - Beautiful name and honors family!

[name]Cara[/name] [name]Mae[/name] Cowling- I like the family connections, but [name]Cara[/name] Cowling for some reason doesn’t work quite as well as [name]Catherine[/name] Cowling or [name]Caitie[/name] Cowling. Maybe [name]Caroline[/name] or [name]Carina[/name]?

[name]Finley[/name] [name]Stephen[/name] Cowling - [name]Finley[/name] isn’t uber popular at all! Not even top 500. [name]Aiden[/name] is the one you’ve got to worry about.

[name]Alexander[/name] [name]Richard[/name] Cowling - I think it’s a nice, classic choice.

[name]Aiden[/name] [name]James[/name] Cowling- I can deal with the [name]Aidan[/name] spelling, but I’m not a fan of the mega-popular [name]Aiden[/name]/[name]Brayden[/name]/[name]Hayden[/name]/[name]Jadon[/name]/[name]Kaden[/name] family.

[name]Harrison[/name] [name]John[/name] Cowling- Another one I like.

My favorites are [name]Finley[/name] steven and [name]Emilia[/name] [name]Sylvie[/name]. Good luck!

7

Girl Names In Order From Best To Worst:

  1. [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Rose[/name] Cowling - I absolutely [name]ADORE[/name] this combination!!! It sounds sooo beautiful! I simply can’t get enough of it! I vote for this name 100%! :smiley:

  2. [name]Cara[/name] [name]Mae[/name] Cowling - I love [name]Cara[/name] [name]Mae[/name], but I’m not a fan of [name]Cara[/name] Cowling. Maybe, and this is just a suggestion, she could go by both [name]Cara[/name] and [name]Mae[/name] and have a double first name…? I love [name]Cara[/name] [name]Mae[/name]!

  3. [name]Emilia[/name] [name]Sylvia[/name] Cowling - This one’s alright. I’m not really a fan of [name]Emilia[/name], though [name]Sylvia[/name] is very sweet.

  4. [name]Caitie[/name] [name]Eve[/name] Cowling - I like the suggestion of [name]Catherine[/name] and [name]Caitie[/name] as a nickname. [name]Even[/name] [name]Caitlin[/name] would work. Also, I don’t really like the flow of [name]Eve[/name] with [name]Caitie[/name]… I would prefer [name]Catherine[/name] [name]Eve[/name] or even better, [name]Caitlin[/name] [name]Eve[/name].

  5. [name]Elisia[/name] [name]Jaye[/name] Cowling - I don’t like [name]Elisia[/name] or [name]Jaye[/name] and putting them together just makes it worse for me. I don’t really like anything about this name.

Boy Names In Order From Best To Worst

  1. [name]Alexander[/name] [name]Richard[/name] Cowling - I like this combination the best. I think it sounds regal and authoritative and your son would get a lot of respect with this name.

  2. [name]Finley[/name] [name]Stephen[/name] Cowling - I like [name]Finley[/name] [name]Stephen[/name] and [name]Aiden[/name] [name]James[/name] equally and I agree that they could be a fabulous sibling pair.

  3. [name]Aiden[/name] [name]James[/name] Cowling - Very nice, although I don’t really like [name]Aiden[/name] Cowling…

  4. [name]Harrison[/name] [name]John[/name] Cowling - I like [name]Harrison[/name] and [name]Harrison[/name] Cowling, but I don’t think [name]John[/name] flows with [name]Harrison[/name] and Cowling very well.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

8

Oh my, just posted a really long reply and it’s vanished!!!

In a nut shell i just wanted to thank all of you for your time and non bias opinions, it’s really given me a lot think about over the coming months and hopefully DH will open his mind a little as there are so many great names out there! [name]Catherine[/name] he said was too posh (i however thought it was very classy and timeless) and neither of us though [name]Caitlin[/name] was quite right.

[name]Phoebe[/name] and [name]Finley[/name] seemed to be the winners but now that has got me worried that those in a sibset it will sound odd! … :?

We have a long way to go so i’m sure this won’t be my last post - thanks again for all your great feedback.

[name]Merry[/name] [name]Christmas[/name] xxx