We’ve been trying for a sibling for our daughter [name]Avery[/name] with no such luck so far, but with plenty of discussion on baby names. We chose [name]Avery[/name] because I myself have a unisex name, as does my sister and I happen to like them (though I know they aren’t as well loved on nameberry, lol). But I like fairly established unisex names, not names that have long been used on boys and are now trending towards the girls (such as [name]Dylan[/name], [name]Evan[/name], etc). My husband says [name]Evan[/name] is THE one if we have a girl. THE ONE! I’ve tried so many times to come up with alternatives, even going so far as to suggest names I don’t really like ([name]Devin[/name], [name]Tevin[/name], [name]Evangeline[/name] w/nn [name]Evan[/name]) and he refuses to compromise.
Is this one of those times where I just say, “okay, well, I’m just going to have to pick out the name if we wind up having a girl?” Are there other alternatives I’m overlooking here? Maybe I’m blowing this out of proportion, but we’ve had this argument so many times I just had to make sure I’m right in standing my ground here. LOL He won’t listen to reason, he isn’t willing to compromise, and he doesn’t want to look for other names because this is THE one he fell in love with and will always sincerely love for the rest of his life (pretty much a direct quote). Am I being mean if he truly loves the name that much to deny him? Hopefully we wind up just having a boy.
I agree with your husband that [name]Avery[/name] and [name]Evan[/name] are adorable together–but [name]Evan[/name] is a boys’ name not a unisex name (imo) and a pretty popular boys name too. Maybe if you have a boy you can use it!! If you don’t love [name]Evan[/name] for a girl then I don’t think it’s mean to refuse him. Could you try to find out what it is that he likes about it–two syllables, likes the ‘v’, likes that it starts with E, etc? Maybe there’s a compromise in there somewhere. Otherwise, read up on all those old wives’ tales on how to have a boy!!!
Somewhat off topic–do you like [name]Barrett[/name]? I went to high school with one (a girl) and I always thought it was a nice name on a girl with the -ett ending–somewhat like [name]Avery[/name] with the -y ending I think.
I kind of like [name]Evan[/name] for a girl, but I think it’s too close to [name]Avery[/name]. I like it mostly for a boy, but I can see its appeal. I think [name]Evangeline[/name] is way too different than [name]Avery[/name], very feminissima. I’m not sure it’s possible to capture the sound of [name]Evan[/name] that might appeal to your DH without getting too close to [name]Avery[/name] if it contains a V and/or an R, or matches the rhythm of [name]Avery[/name], for example [name]Emily[/name] - still matchy-ish.
I will try to think of something to suggest… in the meantime, tell him it matches too closely, and remind him if you had your heart set on one single name and he didn’t like it, he would be allowed to veto it and you would agree to consider other names with him. I hope that’s the case, but I think that’s the best option to approach this, rather than try to bust through the blockade with more names.
In the reverse situation (which occurs around here a lot), had you liked a name so much and he said no, you would come back to him with a list, an entirely new list of names. In this case, maybe he could try looking at names and come to you with a list instead.
If you are against it 100%, don’t even offer “middle ground” of names you’re not crazy about. In an ideal world, he should come to you with alternatives to [name]Evan[/name] for your approval, and you should not let this go through without consensus. I like when both parents participate and really are interested in the names, so nudge him to think of something else that you might like and doesn’t sound too much like [name]Avery[/name].
I’m not really going to be to much help, I love the name [name]Evan[/name] for a girl. I do think it is a bit matchy with [name]Avery[/name] though. [name]How[/name] about [name]Evelyn[/name]? [name]Avery[/name] and [name]Evelyn[/name]? “The One” should be the one you both agree on. I wish I could just say this is “The One” and that would be that but that isn’t fair to either one of us in the end.
Let see other unisex names for a sister named [name]Avery[/name]…
[name]Auden[/name] nn [name]Audie[/name]
[name]Bronwyn[/name]
[name]Brynn[/name]
[name]Brooke[/name]
[name]Grayson[/name]
[name]Hadley[/name]
[name]Hollis[/name] or Hollyn
[name]Jameson[/name] nn [name]Jamie[/name]
[name]Julian[/name] nn [name]Jules[/name]
[name]Kinsley[/name]
[name]Leonie[/name] - not unisex but I do love this name.
[name]Morgan[/name]
[name]Micah[/name]
[name]Marin[/name]
[name]Noa[/name] - acually a girls name
[name]Parker[/name]
[name]Quinn[/name] - unisex but leaning towards girls now or so it seems.
[name]Rhys[/name]
[name]Rowan[/name]
[name]Reagan[/name]
[name]Sidney[/name] or [name]Sydney[/name]
[name]Sidonie[/name] or [name]Sidony[/name] - a girls name.
I love [name]Evan[/name] for a boy! Hate it for a girl! He is being pigheaded and needs to compromise with you. You have to do all of the work of bringing the child into the world, so it needs to be named something you like as well. Tell him point blank it will not be named [name]Evan[/name]. Give him some name websites to visit and tell him to find some other ideas. At the very most consider it as a the middle name.
[name]Brynn[/name]
[name]Quinn[/name]
[name]Bronwyn[/name]
[name]Eleri[/name]
[name]Haven[/name]
[name]Maren[/name]
[name]Thomasin[/name]
I like [name]Evan[/name] for a girl, and I have known two girls named [name]Evan[/name]. However, I don’t think anyone should ever have to use a name that they don’t like for their own child! [name]Evangeline[/name] seems like the perfect solution, because he can call her [name]Evan[/name] and pretend her name IS [name]Evan[/name] if he wants to, and you’ll be happy too. But if that can’t be done, I guess you should just look at other options. Is using [name]Evan[/name] as a mn a possibility?
Thanks for your help, ladies. A lot of these names are on my list of possibilities. Here is a run down of names I like, not all unisex: [name]Azure[/name], [name]Tessa[/name], [name]Hollis[/name], [name]Laurel[/name], [name]Hattie[/name], [name]Tabitha[/name], [name]Paige[/name], [name]Brier[/name], [name]Maizie[/name] and [name]Mallory[/name]. I am standing my ground with my husband. LOL But it’s nice to know I have some support out there!
I absoluletly love [name]Hollis[/name]! (With [name]Brier[/name], are you thinking of [name]Briar[/name], as in Sleeping Beauty? I think that [name]Briar[/name] is pretty.)
I really like [name]Tabitha[/name], too, but can better see some of the other names with [name]Avery[/name]'s more modern style.
I think that [name]Tessa[/name], [name]Paige[/name], and [name]Mallory[/name] are very pretty, and work beautifully with [name]Avery[/name]. (It may not bother you, but I thought I’d mention that [name]Mallory[/name] means “unlucky.”)
(I love [name]Hattie[/name], too, but think the styles of the other names work better with [name]Avery[/name].)
My personal favorites with [name]Avery[/name]: [name]Hollis[/name], [name]Tessa[/name], [name]Paige[/name], and [name]Mallory[/name].
My younger sister’s name is [name]Evan[/name], and it would have been my son’s had he been a girl. While I love it, I know it is certainly not for everyone…if it’s any help, these are some others we talked about:
[name]Bevin[/name] (He could still call her [name]Evan[/name]!)
[name]Britton[/name] ([name]LOVE[/name], but worry it will be confused with [name]Brittany[/name])
[name]Eben[/name]
[name]Verity[/name] ([name]May[/name] still be too similar, though)
[name]Noa[/name] (I like this with [name]Avery[/name] a lot)
[name]Rowan[/name]
He needs to compromise! [name]Baby[/name] naming is all about [name]BOTH[/name] of you loving the name, not one saying this is my favorite and never budging again.
What about [name]Haven[/name] instead of [name]Evan[/name]? It is actually unisex and pretty cute with [name]Avery[/name]. [name]Avery[/name] and [name]Haven[/name]? [name]Haven[/name] [name]Arabella[/name], [name]Haven[/name] [name]Olivia[/name]? Something feminine in the middle?
I mean, personally, my favorite unisex names are more feminine, like [name]Harper[/name], [name]Hollis[/name], [name]Reagan[/name], [name]Piper[/name], and [name]Ellis[/name]. Maybe your husband would like some, but I don’t know…GL!
I sort of know how you feel. My ex was in [name]LOVE[/name] with the name [name]Riley[/name] and whenever we discussed having kids he said he would never budge. I like unisex names, but that one just didn’t appeal to me because of how popular it has become. I knew I would have a tough time ahead of me with this, so I started collecting unisex names and asked him why he liked [name]Riley[/name] (in his case it was because he thought it sounded like a confident girl who wasn’t high maintenance). I think I would have been able to get him on board with a [name]Riley[/name] substitute eventually!
In your situation, I think [name]Evan[/name] is just more masculine than [name]Avery[/name], so I can see why it’s bothering you - plus, it must be difficult to feel you’re “giving in” to a name you don’t love. Maybe if you can find out what sort of “personality” he associates the name with you’ll be able to persuade him of alternatives.
I agree with [name]Jill[/name] that [name]Hollis[/name], [name]Tessa[/name], [name]Paige[/name] and [name]Mallory[/name] go really well with [name]Avery[/name], and I also [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Laurel[/name]. I’m sure you’ve seen just about as many names as you can take, but here are some that haven’t been mentioned that I think are feminine in the same way [name]Avery[/name] is:
[name]Aurora[/name]
[name]Blaise[/name]
[name]Ellison[/name]
[name]Greer[/name]
[name]Jess[/name]
[name]Laine[/name]
[name]Leighton[/name]
[name]Waverly[/name]
