[name]Hi[/name] everyone. I am posting on behalf of my mum who is not the best with computers! She got married recentley and is trying for a baby. She has two children (me and my brother) and my step dad has a daughter. We all have biblical names which is a theme they would like to continue (but it’s not a necessity).
They like the names [name]Emily[/name], [name]Lucy[/name] and [name]Freya[/name] (which is quite popular here in the UK). An idea for a middle name is [name]Louise[/name] to honour my aunt - or perhaps a name that includes [name]Louise[/name], eg. [name]Eloise[/name]?
Also, do you think that [name]Freya[/name] with the nn [name]Fay[/name] and [name]Francesca[/name] with the nn [name]Chessie[/name] are too close for siblings?
BTW, what are you and your siblings’ names? I really love underused Biblical names (I have one, after all). Well, some are underused and some are popular now. Some have already had their day.
Girls:
[name]Abigail[/name]
[name]Claudia[/name]
[name]Dinah[/name]
[name]Dorcas[/name]
[name]Esther[/name]/[name]Hester[/name]
[name]Jael[/name]
[name]Jemima[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Magdalene[/name]
[name]Noah[/name] - Really! There was a girl too!
[name]Rachel[/name]
[name]Rebecca[/name]
[name]Ruth[/name]
[name]Phoebe[/name]
[name]Priscilla[/name] - Though I wouldn’t personally recommend it.
[name]Salome[/name] - Ahem!
[name]Tabitha[/name]
[name]Tamar[/name]
Boys:
[name]Abraham[/name]
[name]Amos[/name]
[name]Barnabus[/name]/[name]Barnaby[/name]
[name]Caleb[/name]
[name]Enoch[/name]
[name]Esau[/name]
[name]Ezekiel[/name]
[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Felix[/name]
[name]Josiah[/name]
[name]Judah[/name]
[name]Jude[/name]
[name]Lazarus[/name]
[name]Linus[/name]
[name]Luke[/name]
[name]Nicodemus[/name] - Fun in an adventurous kind of way. Think [name]Nico[/name] for short.
[name]Paul[/name]
[name]Peter[/name]
[name]Philip[/name]
[name]Phineas[/name]
[name]Saul[/name]
[name]Silas[/name]
[name]Stephen[/name]
[name]Timothy[/name]
[name]Titus[/name]
[name]Zaccheus[/name]/[name]Zachariah[/name]/[name]Zacharias[/name]
You could also vary a classic, a la [name]Mary[/name]:
You could also go symbolic. As in use [name]Rosalie[/name] for “The [name]Rose[/name] of [name]Sharon[/name]” or the aforementioned [name]Lilibeth[/name] for “[name]Lily[/name] of the [name]Valley[/name].” That would give you the nickname [name]Lily[/name] which is similar to [name]Lucy[/name]. You could also just use [name]Lucy[/name] by itself since it means “light” which has religious significance if you want to go that route.
[name]Freya[/name] and [name]Francesca[/name] might be a little matchy. What about the similar sounding [name]Isla[/name] paired with it instead?
Wow, thanks so much for the detailed reply! They like [name]Phoebe[/name], [name]Abigail[/name], [name]Rebecca[/name], [name]Ruth[/name] and [name]Magdalene[/name] (though they prefer [name]Madeleine[/name]). [name]Esther[/name] is lovely but it’s already my middle name (I like it more than my first name!)
[name]Phoebe[/name] - [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Ruth[/name], [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Madeleine[/name]? [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Emily[/name], [name]Emily[/name] [name]Phoebe[/name], [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Lucy[/name] are all too ‘eee’ heavy imo, think that applies to [name]Lucy[/name] [name]Phoebe[/name] too.
[name]Abigail[/name] - they love this. However the nn [name]Abi[/name] doesn’t sound great due to a repeating ‘b’ sound with the surname. [name]Do[/name] you reckon it’s realistic that she could go by ‘[name]Abigail[/name]’ always? Or would it be almost always shortened to [name]Abi[/name]?
[name]Rebecca[/name] - same as applies to [name]Abigail[/name] (they don’t like the nn [name]Becky[/name]).
[name]Ruth[/name] - [name]Lovely[/name], they like it as a middle name - perhaps [name]Emily[/name] [name]Ruth[/name]?
[name]Magdalene[/name]/[name]Madeleine[/name] - [name]Madeleine[/name] [name]Emily[/name], [name]Emily[/name] [name]Madeleine[/name], [name]Lucy[/name] [name]Madeleine[/name] and [name]Madeleine[/name] [name]Lucy[/name] sound lovely imo but (though I hate to say it) does [name]Madeleine[/name] instantly remind you of poor [name]Madeleine[/name] McCann?
Thanks for your views on the [name]Freya[/name]/[name]Francesca[/name] situation (thinking of names for future siblings!) but we found out when brainstorming middle names that my step-sister’s middle name is [name]Frances[/name], so unfortunately [name]Francesca[/name]'s a no-go.
Oh and we are [name]Rachel[/name] [name]Esther[/name], [name]Matthew[/name] [name]Caleb[/name] and [name]Hannah[/name] [name]Frances[/name] - not all underused, I’m afraid though I was consistently the only [name]Rachel[/name] in my class the whole way through school, so maybe I was lucky!
Out of the ones they like, I think [name]Rebecca[/name] or [name]Abigail[/name] seem like the best fit with your family names. As far as nicknames, what about [name]Becca[/name] instead of [name]Becky[/name]? Or [name]Reba[/name] like [name]Reba[/name] McIntire? [name]Abigail[/name] could also give you [name]Gail[/name]. But it’s entirely possible you that she might always be [name]Abigail[/name]. Everyone calls me [name]Salome[/name]. My personality just doesn’t lend itself to [name]Sal[/name] or [name]Sally[/name]. And no one’s ever ATTEMPTED [name]Mimi[/name]. People usually have their own personal nicknames for me, which is fun.
Oh, and [name]Madeleine[/name] doesn’t remind me of that tragedy at all. Maybe because it and all its variations have been at the top of my list since High School. I think it’s common and popular enough to avoid the association.
Some experiments:
[name]Abigail[/name] [name]Ruth[/name] - This feels classic like your other names to me.
[name]Lucy[/name] [name]Abigail[/name] - Spunky, I like it. Though I don’t think it matches.
[name]Madeleine[/name] [name]Ruth[/name] - Refined.
[name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Ruth[/name] - Cute. But a little more modern than the others.
[name]Emily[/name] [name]Ruth[/name] - Sweet, but I’m not sure it fits her siblings’ names.
[name]Lucy[/name] [name]Rebecca[/name]
[name]Rebecca[/name] [name]Lucy[/name]
or
[name]Rebecca[/name] [name]Lucille[/name] - You could call her [name]Lucy[/name]! [name]Lucille[/name] I think works perfectly of the more vintage-chic middle names of [name]Frances[/name] and [name]Esther[/name]. This is probably my favorite combo.
I agree that mixing [name]Phoebe[/name] with [name]Emily[/name] or [name]Lucy[/name] is a little too much. [name]Lucy[/name] and [name]Phoebe[/name] are both spunky and lively. You might want to balance them with something like [name]Ruth[/name] or [name]Rebecca[/name].
[name]Hi[/name]! With three Biblical names, [name]Rachel[/name], [name]Hannah[/name], and [name]Matthew[/name], I can best see another Biblical name in the mix.
Other classics I can see with [name]Hannah[/name], [name]Rachel[/name], and [name]Matthew[/name]:
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Julia[/name]
[name]Margaret[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name] (To honor your relative, [name]Louise[/name]…[name]Louisa[/name] is one of my favorite classic names. I can better see some of the others, especially the Biblical options, with your family’s names, though. )
