The names are horribly mismatched, if you take a step back. But no one really thinks about that. With that knowledge, would you ever give twins a set of names like that – [name]Susie[/name] and [name]Taylor[/name], say, or [name]Nancy[/name] and [name]Lindsay[/name]? What if they were boys – how would [name]Johnny[/name] and [name]Colten[/name] work, or [name]Jerry[/name] and [name]Kyle[/name]? For that matter, how do the names of the [name]Olsen[/name] twins compare, in your opinion, to the monikers of [name]Eli[/name] and [name]Peyton[/name] [name]Manning[/name]?
I think that [name]Eli[/name] and [name]Peyton[/name] [name]Manning[/name] have a good set of names. [name]Both[/name] share a semi-feminine feel (admit it, [name]Eli[/name] isn’t the most manly name around), yet seem refreshingly cool and masculine at the same time. However, [name]Eli[/name] is short for [name]Elisha[/name], not [name]Elijah[/name], [name]Elias[/name], or any of the other [name]Eli[/name]- names. This, I’d say, is a fairly feminine name, much like the girly [name]Alicia[/name]. Strange pick, Mr. and Mrs. [name]Manning[/name]!
As I look at it now, the classic names [name]Mary[/name] and [name]Kate[/name] paired with the trendy (or it was twenty years ago) [name]Ashley[/name], seems ill-fitting. However, when I consider how trendy double names were and still are, it works better. If it was [name]Mary[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name] or [name]Kate[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name], we’d have a problem, but the double name [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name], in its own way, seems right at home paired with [name]Ashley[/name]. The weird thing is that [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name] [name]Olsen[/name] appears to be her full name, whereas [name]Ashley[/name] is [name]Ashley[/name] [name]Fuller[/name] [name]Olsen[/name].
I am a twin, and I’ve always felt that my name, [name]Lauren[/name] - an uber-popular name of the nineties - was mismatched with my sister’s elegant, classic, feminine (not to mention family) name, [name]Sarah[/name]. However, this to me doesn’t seem as bad as [name]Susie[/name] and [name]Taylor[/name] or [name]Nancy[/name] and [name]Lindsay[/name]…
Most twins I’ve come across have fairly well-matched names: [name]Emily[/name] and [name]Anna[/name], [name]Rohan[/name] and Bayan, [name]Taylor[/name] (B) and [name]Barrett[/name], [name]Kirby[/name] (G) and [name]Riley[/name] (B), [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Gregory[/name], [name]Michael[/name] and [name]Patrick[/name], and then there are my distant (deceased) twin relatives, [name]Esther[/name] and [name]Lester[/name] and [name]Gary[/name] and [name]Larry[/name] - creative!
As I’ve said before on here, if I every have twins, GG will be [name]Lydia[/name] and [name]Charlotte[/name], BB will be [name]Henry[/name] and [name]Nathaniel[/name], and BG will be [name]Lydia[/name] and [name]Henry[/name] - I think these names are all well-matched, yes?
I think maybe because I grew up watching them, [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name] fit well for me. It does seem odd that [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name] is her full name and [name]Ashley[/name] has a middle name.
I like [name]Peyton[/name] and [name]Eli[/name] together. I went to [name]Ole[/name] Miss, so I kind of have a soft spot for the Mannings. I didn’t, however, know it was short for [name]Elisha[/name]! Not very modern for a guy’s name. Their older brother is [name]Cooper[/name], which seems like a great southern name to me.
I could never rhyme twins like [name]Gary[/name] and [name]Larry[/name]. I think the ones you chose “match” well though!
[name]Edit[/name]: [name]Lemon[/name], I thought you meant that [name]Eli[/name] itself is only nickname for [name]Elisha[/name], which confused me. I just realized you meant that [name]Eli[/name]'s real name is [name]Elisha[/name]! I can’t believe it! Yes, it’s a man’s name, but it’s so feminine! I had no idea that he’s really [name]Elisha[/name] [name]Manning[/name]! Thanks for the info… 
([name]Just[/name] ignore what I wrote below.Sorry about that!)
[name]Lemon[/name], [name]Eli[/name] isn’t only a nickname for [name]Elisha[/name]; it’s a male Biblical name in and of itself. ([name]Pam[/name] and [name]Linda[/name] refer to it as a “solid Biblical name.”) [name]Eli[/name] and [name]Elisha[/name] actually have different meanings, with [name]Eli[/name] meaning “ascension” and [name]Elisha[/name] meaning “God is my salvation.”
I was always bothered by the pairing of [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name] with [name]Ashley[/name], too! I remember the first time I heard their names, thinking, “Huh?”
As for [name]Peyton[/name] and [name]Eli[/name], I don’t think they’re a good pairing, with [name]Eli[/name] being a clearly masculine name (not to mention a Biblical classic) and [name]Peyton[/name] being unisex and trendy. That said, I think they’re very handsome brothers!
[name]Edit[/name]: Now that I know that [name]Eli[/name] is a nickname for [name]Elisha[/name] [name]Manning[/name], I think that the feminity of both [name]Peyton[/name] and [name]Elisha[/name] work together, but the styles are way too different for me.
Take care!
[name]Eli[/name] and [name]Peyton[/name] aren’t twins
[name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name] has no middle name while [name]Ashley[/name] does. MAybe the parents intended something with the hyphenated name.
Well [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name]'s name is actually [name]Mary[/name], [name]Kate[/name] is her middle name, but I guess calling her [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name] stuck after a while.
I would give them the names I love, regardless of whether they matched. I’ve never thought much about the [name]Olsen[/name] twins names.
I’ve always thought [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name] & [name]Ashley[/name] were very mismatched. Most twins I know personally share the same initial ([name]Hannah[/name] & [name]Heidi[/name], [name]Lucas[/name] & [name]Lauren[/name], [name]Jess[/name] & [name]Jeremy[/name], [name]Bruce[/name] & [name]Brian[/name], [name]Eliana[/name] & [name]Elijah[/name]). If I ever have twins they’ll hopefully similar styles, but definitely different initials - [name]Lydia[/name] & [name]Charlotte[/name] are beautiful together, @[name]Lemon[/name]!
I can’t imagine doing super matchy names for twins. The closest I would come would be [name]Julian[/name] [name]Edward[/name] and [name]Emmett[/name] [name]Adrian[/name], because I love both of those names and have a hard time imagining not using them, whether for twins or just brothers.
This is a really old thread, but…
Regarding [name]Eli[/name]'s full name, [name]Elisha[/name] is actually a family name for the Mannings. Their father’s name is [name]Elisha[/name] [name]Archibald[/name] [name]Manning[/name] III, but he is, of course, known as [name]Archie[/name] [name]Manning[/name]. I do think it’s interesting that they chose to pass down the name, but not for their first (or second) son and not as a fourth.
I actually think that [name]Cooper[/name], [name]Peyton[/name], and [name]Eli[/name] are a good sibset. I think it’s safe to assume that they named their son [name]Elisha[/name] knowing that he would always be [name]Eli[/name], and I think [name]Peyton[/name] was less popular for girls when he was named 30 some years ago. Plus, I think the fact that [name]Peyton[/name], and to a certain extent [name]Eli[/name], have “feminine” sounding names does a lot to counterbalance the idea that unisex names are effeminate.
[name]Ever[/name] since I was old enough to care about names, [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name]'s mismatched names bothered me.
I have a cousin with twin daughters - same first initial, and one has a feminine first name and a unisex middle name, and the other has a unisex first name and a very girly middle name. Matching first and middle initials.
Personally I wouldn’t match initials (but she herself had matching initials with her own sister so obviously she didn’t hate it and didn’t think it would be a problem, having walked in those shoes) but I thought the girly/unisex balance was interesting.
I think I would try to match syllables and whether they were common or rare. For example, I like all of these names, but I would think if one were very common or simple ([name]Emily[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Jane[/name]) and the other were extremely obscure or exotic by comparison ([name]Saoirse[/name], [name]Zephirine[/name], [name]Xanthe[/name]) somebody would be pissed at me later for making them either “weird” or “boring.”
My twin girl cousins are named [name]Lila[/name] and [name]Sloane[/name]. To me at first, they were ill-fitting. [name]Sloane[/name] is a unisex name, where as [name]Lila[/name] is a girly girl name. But when you just always call them by their names it starts to sound good. I now think they compliment each other.
I think it pairs just fine actually. [name]Mary[/name] is traditional and [name]Ashley[/name] was more trendy at the time, but maybe their parents liked both aspects so gave each one a different style, also making the twins more “individual”. Maybe the names had sentimental meaning. Sometimes the best way to match, is to not match just right and thats what I see here. It is better than lets say, [name]Barbara[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name], Or [name]Ashton[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name]. [name]Mary[/name] is a safe name and can be matched with about anything that isn’t too kooky. My understanding is she added [name]Kate[/name] as part of her “call” name to be a bit more modern/cool.
Sure, a name like [name]Nicole[/name] or [name]Michelle[/name] would have fit in more typically with [name]Ashley[/name], or [name]Mary[/name] with [name]Abigail[/name], [name]Agatha[/name] or [name]Caroline[/name] but I think that makes it more… bleh. I think her parents did an alright job, and did even better by calling [name]Mary[/name] by her first-middle.
NB: Also, [name]Ashley[/name] was #2 in 1986, and [name]Mary[/name] was #37. So they are both fairly common for that time.
From what I understand, [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name] was actually born as [name]Mary[/name] [name]Kate[/name] [name]Olsen[/name]. [name]Mary[/name] as a singular first name. After some time, her parents started calling her both names and it morphed into a hyphenated first name.
[name]Mary[/name]-[name]Kate[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name] have never bothered me 1/10 of 1% as much as [name]Barbara[/name] and [name]Jenna[/name] [name]Bush[/name] have bothered me for a twin set. I know the reason for their names, and I respect honoring family, so intellectually I don’t think that it should bother me, but I seriously gnash my teeth when I hear it. (Sorry, [name]Bush[/name] ladies, if you happen to come across this in pursuit of a baby name.)