So dh and I both love [name]Nell[/name]. But I can’t feel the same way about any of the longer names - [name]Helen[/name], [name]Ellen[/name], [name]Helena[/name], and [name]Eleanor[/name]. I don’t like how [name]Ellen[/name] and [name]Helen[/name] sound with our last name Ty$0n and dh thinks [name]Eleanor[/name] is ugly. I’m thinking [name]Nell[/name] can’t stand alone particularly since one of daughters is named [name]Katharine[/name]. [name]Do[/name] you guys agree? Also is sort of complicated because [name]Katharine[/name] mostly wants to be called by her full name though she goes by [name]Kat[/name] some. Can you think of a first name where [name]Nell[/name] would work in the middle spot? Or should I just go with [name]Helen[/name] Ty$0n or [name]Helena[/name] Ty$0n?
EDA: I shared this with hubby and he was insistent that he never said Eleanor was ugly. Just old lady. Not ugly. Apologies to all the Eleanor lovers out there.
[name]Love[/name] the sound of [name]Helena[/name] Tys0n! I think it’s adorable. And I like that it’s longer, so it’d balance the length of [name]Katharine[/name]'s name. I used to love [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Nell[/name] as a combo, but I’m not sure about how it would fit with your other children. I like [name]Lucy[/name] [name]Nell[/name], but maybe that’s too cute. [name]Theresa[/name] [name]Nell[/name]?
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Nell[/name]… It was my great grandmother’s name and she was the sweetest, most wonderful woman. She was just “[name]Nell[/name]” though, and her family called her [name]Nellie[/name]. From your choices, I think [name]Helena[/name] is just gorgeous. I tried convincing my husband to use [name]Helena[/name], but we live in [name]Montana[/name] and he’s afraid everyone would just associate it with our capital city… Which isn’t my favorite place in the world.
I had [name]Nell[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] on my list for a long time. I think it can stand alone beautifully and I don’t see anything wrong with sisters [name]Katherine[/name] and [name]Nell[/name].
I think [name]Nell[/name] would work as a nickname for both [name]Penelope[/name] and [name]Cornelia[/name]. [name]Nell[/name] as a stand alone first name is a little plain for my taste but I do think it can work if you can’t find a longer name that you prefer.
I really love [name]Nell[/name], and think it would be a great nn for [name]Penelope[/name]. As a middle name, it would sound lovely with so many names- particularly something long, like [name]Elizabeth[/name]. [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Nell[/name]. Or [name]Virginia[/name] [name]Nell[/name]. [name]Matilda[/name] [name]Nell[/name]. [name]Felicity[/name] [name]Nell[/name]. Something like that.
Thanks for the responses. I’m looking forward to sharing them with dh. [name]Penelope[/name] is definitely not our style. I’m torn about [name]Helena[/name] nn [name]Nell[/name]. We were originally going to call [name]Katharine[/name] [name]Kate[/name] but she quickly became [name]Katie[/name] but after a couple of years I got so burned out on all the Katies that I orchastrated a switch to her full name. So I’m not sure if I don’t like nicknames or if I just don’t like super popular names. Since few Katharines use their full names it is essentially uncommon. But now I feel like i need another kid with a long name that we won’t shorten too much to match [name]Katharine[/name]. But our taste is for short and sweet hence our other kids - [name]Paul[/name], [name]Clare[/name], [name]Mark[/name], and [name]James[/name]. I’d much rather name them what we will call them and I’d like that name to stand alone without sounding childish. So I guess my question is can [name]Nell[/name] stand alone and does a sibling set of [name]Paul[/name], [name]Clare[/name], [name]Mark[/name], [name]Katharine[/name], [name]James[/name], and [name]Nell[/name] sound disjointed?
[name]Ash[/name] - I was thinking about [name]Theresa[/name] [name]Nell[/name] too and wondering if I liked it more or less than [name]Theresa[/name] [name]May[/name]/[name]Mae[/name].
I think [name]Nell[/name] goes really well with [name]Katharine[/name] actually! I am in the same boat, I love the sound of [name]Nell[/name] but don’t like any of the “longer forms.” If you like it, I don’t think there is anything wrong with using it! I think it would tie all the girls names together nicely: [name]Katherine[/name] and [name]Clare[/name] share the strong “c” beginning and [name]Clare[/name] and [name]Nell[/name] would share the soft “l” sounds.
I love [name]Nell[/name], just by itself. It is such a sweet sounding name. I think it goes fine with [name]Katherine[/name], and it definitely fits well with the rest of your kiddos. I doubt anyone would ever notice a difference. I rarely put any thought into other peoples sibsets, or my own for that matter. My only sibset rule is that the names don’t rhyme (annoying when you can never tell who your mom is yelling for), and that I put just as much care and love into choosing my next child’s name as I did my first. [name]Nell[/name] is so nice on it’s own, and [name]Nellie[/name] is a cute nn. I know a wonderful woman named [name]Nell[/name] at my church. She and her husband just celebrated their 70th anniversary. There is also a younger woman named [name]Nellie[/name]. I may not be able to use the name for those reasons (it’s a somewhat small church), but it’s on my list anyway
We have a [name]Fenella[/name] who goes by [name]Nella[/name] and [name]Nell[/name].
I love them as nn but am not sure I would use them as a stand alone option. In saying that if it is [name]Nell[/name] you love then [name]Nell[/name] it should be because as your [name]Katherine[/name] experience has shown you…nicknames and other versions quickly take over from our much thought plans!
