I’ve always had trouble coming up with combos that flow nicely. They usually end up sounding blocky or boring and I’m unsure how to fix that. Any advice? Thanks! 
Honestly, I think what’s made it easy for me is that I read a lot/have studied language.
3 Likes
I honestly think that, to an extent, flow of combos is really subjective! For example sometimes I think alliteration makes a combo so special, and other times I think it ruins the flow!
I think the most important thing is having confidence in your combo making skills - always remember that the most important thing is that these combos are special to you!
Some advice I’d give while creating combos:
Don’t necessarily be afraid of putting the same vowels together, but be wary of putting the same sounds. (Example: [name_f]Clara[/name_f] [name_f]April[/name_f] may have two a’s next to each other, but still flows because the a sounds are different, while [name_f]Madelief[/name_f] [name_f]Leatrice[/name_f] doesn’t flow because the -LEE sound is present too close together)
The [name_u]Berry[/name_u] community has also been fantastic at helping me find flow, so never ever be afraid to ask!!
Best of luck, and can’t wait to see more of your combos going forward 
4 Likes
focusing on alliteration, syllable count and mouth movements. If multiple names ‘flow’ like one name (I’m presuming you’re struggling with first/middle flows) then it’s probably working.
For example: [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] [name_f]Lily[/name_f] flows because it goes: 1-2-3-1-2 (like a song) Lia-Lily flows like it could be a name in itself, the alliteration slots together. The whole name just tipples off the tongue like one long connecting word. However [name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] is a little more of a mouthful, because two vowel sounds bump into each other (Lil-EA-melia). So it’s harder to move from one name to the next. Also, the L sounds that alliterate the name are separated by the M in [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]. So you don’t hear the poetic “L” tipples in [name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] as you do in [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] [name_f]Lily[/name_f].
Did any of that make sense? It’s basically just the rhythm of the names slotting together.
[name_u]Anne[/name_u] [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] >> [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] [name_u]Anne[/name_u]
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] >> [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] [name_f]Fiona[/name_f]
[name_u]Ivy[/name_u] [name_u]Florence[/name_u] >> [name_u]Florence[/name_u] [name_u]Ivy[/name_u]
Although they’re all lovely combos, the 2nd ones just roll of the tongue a little easier, the ending and beginning sounds of both names slot into one another a little better.
[name_f]Edit[/name_f]: Winterlyricalfox explained what I was trying to say MUCH better than I did 
3 Likes
Combos are so subjective! There’s no right or wrong way to make them, no universal trick that makes them lovely to everyone, of course.
That said, here are three things I always do. I hope they might inspire you!
1. I use names I love. They could be meaningful because they honor things/people/ideas/places that are important to me, because they remind me of something nice, because the meaning is sweet, because they just sound cool… Using names that speak to me always makes for a combo I’m confident in.
2. I follow a flow. Usually I don’t like the flow of names when they sound too similar (eg.Selah Elisa), come from the same mother name (eg.Margot Greta), or have the same number is syllables 1/3/4 with stress on the same one (eg.Beth Joy/Caspian Barnaby/Ophelia Meridian) — for some reason this doesn’t often sound as ‘off’ to me with 2 syllables! It’s not a form line to me. It’s all about how it sounds to your ear, each time. Some folks aren’t particular at all, and others are. No worries either way!
3. I say it out loud. A combo might look gorgeous, have some great meaning, be the perfect honor… but if something sounds or feels weird when saying it out loud, I think that’s a dealbreaker.
4 Likes
I think you’ve already got some great advice, but saying them out loud is definitely what I’d recommend!
There are also some things I try to avoid in a combo, because either I find them hard to say together or they just don’t sound great (imo!!!). This includes:
-
lots of Rs (like [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] or [name_u]Rory[/name_u] Royal)
-
too many Ls - especially when paired with an ee sound - like [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] [name_f]Lilia[/name_f].
-
names with the same amount of syllables and the same ending sound - like [name_u]Luca[/name_u] [name_u]Noah[/name_u], [name_f]Clara[/name_f] [name_f]Freya[/name_f]
2 Likes
[name_f]My[/name_f] name, [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_f]Edith[/name_f], is a family honor name. [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is the female version of my maternal grandfather’s name, [name_u]Charles[/name_u]. [name_f]Edith[/name_f] was the name of two of my great-great grandmothers, one on each side of the family. [name_f]My[/name_f] family and I also really like the way it flows and I think it flows much better than [name_f]Edith[/name_f] [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], especially in the twenty-first century.
Some other combos with a given (first) name in my family are:
[name_f]Barbara[/name_f] [name_f]Ruth[/name_f]
[name_m]Jeffrey[/name_m] [name_u]Robert[/name_u]
[name_u]Charles[/name_u] [name_m]Paul[/name_m]
[name_u]Robert[/name_u] [name_m]Allen[/name_m]
[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]
[name_u]Beverly[/name_u] [name_f]May[/name_f]
[name_u]Michael[/name_u] [name_m]Allen[/name_m]
[name_u]Daniel[/name_u] [name_u]Elliot[/name_u]
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f]
[name_f]Madeline[/name_f] [name_f]Esther[/name_f]
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_f]Paige[/name_f]
[name_m]Geoffrey[/name_m] [name_u]Benjamin[/name_u]
[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] [name_f]Bertha[/name_f]
[name_f]Esther[/name_f] [name_f]Bertha[/name_f]
[name_m]Bernard[/name_m] [name_u]Roy[/name_u]
Some with surnames as middle names are:
[name_f]Sarah[/name_f] [name_u]Cohen[/name_u]
[name_u]Daniel[/name_u] [name_m]Johnston[/name_m]
[name_m]Willis[/name_m] Tebbel
1 Like
What has worked for me is taking a first name I love, and then finding a middle name that…
- Balances the length. If the first name is [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f], I would pick [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_u]Fern[/name_u], [name_f]Violet[/name_f], etc. rather than something long like [name_f]Susanna[/name_f] or [name_f]Caroline[/name_f].
- Balances the uniqueness. This is something I used to do more. If the first name was common, it got a unique middle to spice it up. If the first name was unique, then I paired it with a grounding middle name. For example, [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f] [name_f]Lilac[/name_f] and [name_f]Artemisia[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] are more balanced than [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] and [name_f]Artemisia[/name_f] [name_f]Lilac[/name_f]. (This is totally subjective.)
- Solidifies the vibe/feel/style that I am going for. Because I am drawn toward more common names, I often feel I have to clarify “Timothy, but not like a middle-aged man.” This may lead me to go with [name_u]Timothy[/name_u] [name_u]Lark[/name_u] over [name_u]Timothy[/name_u] [name_u]John[/name_u]. [name_u]Or[/name_u], if you could see [name_f]Cecily[/name_f] as being either soft or strong, and you are going for stronger vibes, [name_f]Cecily[/name_f] [name_u]Nyx[/name_u] is more fitting than [name_f]Cecily[/name_f] [name_u]Dove[/name_u].
I also usually avoid repeated ending (i.e. [name_u]Leander[/name_u] Booker), but there are exceptions. I also don’t like it when one name runs into the next (Ellis Sylvan).
Hopefully this was a bit helpful to you!
1 Like