[name_m]Hi[/name_m]!
I’m due with our second daughter in [name_u]July[/name_u] and just beginning to think about names. [name_f]My[/name_f] first daughter is [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] [name_f]Violet[/name_f] and I want to come up with a name combo that I love and has as much meaning to me as [name_f]Eliza[/name_f]’s name does. I think I’d describe my style as “underused traditional names that lean spunky.”
In choosing [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], we loved the fun, spirited feeling of the name and also that it has a connection to Pride & Prejudice/Elizabeth [name_u]Bennett[/name_u], my favorite book and literary heroine. The rationale behind [name_f]Violet[/name_f] was two-fold. [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] has my husbands’ last name (I don’t), so I wanted her to have flower middle name like I do (mine is [name_f]Rose[/name_f]), and the name also honors my grandparents [name_f]Viola[/name_f] and [name_m]Victor[/name_m].
For this baby, we have names we like, but nothing we LOVE yet.
Top Contender First Names
- [name_f]Maren[/name_f] (MAIR-in): I like the clean, modern sound and how it pairs with [name_f]Eliza[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] background is Swedish so I also like the Nordic connection. Lastly, my husband’s grandmother is [name_f]Martha[/name_f], and the only grandparent not yet honored by anyone.
- [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f]: I find this so spunky and cute and I love it paired with [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] (maybe the matching of two uncommon letters – Y & Z?). I like that it’s uncommon where we live, yet totally recognizable. I don’t love the [name_u]French[/name_u] roots, as it doesn’t reflect our family.
- [name_f]Margot[/name_f]: I also find this name spunky and fun, and similar rationale to [name_f]Maren[/name_f] that it would honor grandma. I don’t love the inevitable nickname Marg though.
- [name_f]Anika[/name_f]: [name_f]My[/name_f] husband loves this, I’m lukewarm on it. I like the Nordic connection and that it’s relatively uncommon. I do worry that [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] & [name_f]Anika[/name_f] is too close to [name_f]Elsa[/name_f] & [name_f]Ana[/name_f]…?
- [name_f]Nora[/name_f]: No real meaning or connections here, just have always thought it’s a beautiful name.
- [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] ([name_u]Charlie[/name_u]): Like many of the others, I think [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] is really cute and fun. Only issue here is that [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] is very common where we live – I can think of 3 Charlottes we know under age 3.
- [name_f]Tess[/name_f]/a: I really like [name_f]Tess[/name_f], but it’s terrible with my husband’s last name which is 2 syllables and starts with S (not great with my last name either). [name_f]Tessa[/name_f] sounds better, but I don’t like it nearly as much as [name_f]Tess[/name_f]. Like the others, I think [name_f]Tess[/name_f] is spirited and fun, a great match with [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], and I also like the literary connection between [name_f]Tess[/name_f] (D’Urbervilles) and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f].
Other First Names I Like:
[name_f]Alice[/name_f]
[name_f]Annie[/name_f]
[name_f]Audrey[/name_f]
[name_f]Brynn[/name_f]
[name_f]Claire[/name_f]
[name_f]Clea[/name_f]
[name_f]Freya[/name_f]
[name_f]Georgia[/name_f] ([name_u]Georgie[/name_u])
[name_f]Isabel[/name_f] ([name_u]Izzy[/name_u]) – i know it’s a derivation of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], as is [name_f]Eliza[/name_f]…
[name_f]Lucia[/name_f] ([name_f]Lu[/name_f])
[name_f]Mira[/name_f]
Middle names – would love options!
- M names that could honor [name_f]Martha[/name_f]
- It would be nice to keep a flower connection with both girls, but I worry it’s a bit cheesy? Would it be better to broaden to nature names? I had also thought about [name_f]Jacinda[/name_f] (hyacinth in Spanish) and sort of a fun connection between a pandemic baby and the kick-ass female world leader [name_f]Jacinda[/name_f] Ardern who handled it best? Too much? Thoughts?!
- Any names that could do both jobs? I’ve thought of [name_f]Marigold[/name_f], [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f], [name_f]Maple[/name_f], but don’t love any of them.
Thanks for reading, this is a novel!
