We have a very strong pattern of names for our four daughters. They all are two syllable, ending in -a, with a single syllable middle name. It was an unintentional pattern, established with our first two children, and we thought it would be weird to name the third an out-of-pattern name compared to her two older siblings, and when we found out we had a fourth daughter, we felt pretty boxed in and made another pattern name for her.
With a fifth child on the way, of course if it is a boy, we won’t be doing any patterning for it, but if this is a girl, what do you think the implications of going off-pattern would be? For instance:
[name]Kiera[/name] [name]Mae[/name]
[name]Jenna[/name] [name]Rose[/name]
[name]Lana[/name] [name]Grace[/name]
[name]Isla[/name] [name]Jane[/name] [name]Cordelia[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] or [name]Clementine[/name] [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Louise[/name]Is it way too weird to name a final (and yes, this is DEFINITELY our final child!) child something offbeat to the rest of a strongly patterned sibset?
We do have some names in mind for a fifth girl that fit the pattern, but would going off-pattern be something that sort of grabs people’s attention in a weird way, or something that might make this child feel like they aren’t quite the same as the others??
I personally like the pattern you have going and I do think it would be a little strange to change it now. I have a Aunt and Uncle that had four kids with names that began with C and then for their fifth, they changed the letter. I always thought it was weird and felt a little sorry for the one that was “left out”.
I think [name]Cordelia[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] fits in with your other girls names. It still ends in the -a sound and has a single syllabol middle name.
I realise the first name has that extra syllabol, but in my opinion it’s similar enough without being over the top matchy-matchy. (Though not sure if I would be okay with [name]Cordelia[/name] sounding very similar to [name]Keira[/name])
I do think [name]Clementine[/name] [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Louise[/name] is too big a deviation from the others, and a bit too much a mouthful in general
I think [name]Cordelia[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] is lovely with your other girls. [name]Clementine[/name] [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Louise[/name] is too different though.
I like the pattern you have been using, and I think I would continue it, if you have a girl. Although, I don’t think [name]Cordelia[/name] is too big a stretch. [name]Do[/name] you want to share some of the names on your list that have the same pattern? You may get some reinforcement, or suggestions that could help solidify your decision. Out of curiosity, can you share your boy name??
Ditto this. So long as you don’t call the girls by both their first and middle names, I wouldn’t notice unless I saw them written down, and was in a particularly picky mood, that [name]Kiera[/name], [name]Jenna[/name], [name]Lana[/name] and [name]Isla[/name] were a pattern, or that Coredelia broke that pattern. Yes, it’s a little longer, but it’s not cumbersome and still ends in an A. Besides, the nn [name]Cora[/name] totally fits your pattern. [name]Clementine[/name] is more noticeable because of the different ending, especially as with the middle name, it would be considerably longer than your other daughters’ names.
That said, I think in all cases you should pick the name you most love, rather than one which fits a pattern. Most of the people your daughters know throughout their lives will not think of them as a ‘sibset’, and so it I think it is pointless to settle for a name you love less when many people won’t even know it follows a pattern. The only thing which would concern me is this daughter getting an ultra-long, princessy name and it exacerbating her older sisters’ feelings that she is the pampered baby of the family - but I feel that scenario is highly unlikely. I certainly wouldn’t worry about her feeling left out of a pattern - your choices are beautiful, so I’m sure she’ll love her name.
Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is. I never would have noticed a pattern until you pointed it out. And unless you’re calling all your daughters by their full names, throwing a 3-syllable name in with some 2-syllables is unlikely to be noticed by anyone.
I was expecting you to say that your girls were named [name]Daisy[/name], [name]Violet[/name] and [name]Rose[/name]. To me, your pattern is pretty but totally unnecessary. No child will feel slighted that her name is one syllable longer than her siblings, and I’ll bet you a million dollars that unless you’ve already pointed out the pattern to your children, they will never notice it.
[name]Do[/name] you call your daughters by both their first-middle names, or just first?
I don’t think it’s that big a deal to break the pattern so to speak - probably not many people (maybe close family members only) would really notice to be honest.
[name]Cordelia[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] fits nicely with the rest of the names. [name]Clementine[/name] [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Louise[/name] is a bit of a mouthful.
Ditto what auburn said. I think going with [name]Cordelia[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] switches things up a bit so that they aren’t too matchy-matchy but sounds completely in line with her older sisters.