Name Change Elizabeth/Isabella

I am experiencing baby name remorse! My second daughter is over 6 months old and we named her [name]Elizabeth[/name]. My dilemma is that my husband and I always loved the name [name]Isabella[/name] and now really regret that we allowed family to talk us out of our heart’s desire. I look at her and wish I had named her [name]Isabella[/name]. I know the name [name]Isabella[/name] is wildly popular, (#2 on S.S. list in 2007) however, that has never bothered me because I grew up with an extremely popular name and always loved it. Besides, there does not seem to be that many Isabellas in our hometown. What do you think…is it too late to change our daughter’s name? I am afraid of traumatizing my 5 year old daughter by changing her baby sister’s name. Or do you think we should save [name]Isabella[/name] for our next daughter (IF we ever have another girl). Would an [name]Elizabeth[/name] and a sister [name]Isabella[/name] be too similar? [name]Isabella[/name] is an Italian variant of [name]Elizabeth[/name] and, therefore, has the same meaning.

Thank you so much for your thoughts!

Personally I would’t legally change her name but I don’t think there is any reason [name]Bella[/name] cannot be a nn for [name]Elizabeth[/name]!

I agree that you should probably not legally change her name. [name]Do[/name] you just like the nicknames for [name]Isabella[/name], or the name itself? [name]Izzy[/name] works for [name]Elizabeth[/name]…
But if you are seriously considering changing her name you need to do it before she gets much older. Keep in mind though that people may still call her [name]Elizabeth[/name], and you will constantly have to explain why she has a different name (at least for a good while)

I agree with [name]Rory[/name] - the implications of changing her name would probably drive me crazy, personally :slight_smile: If I were really set on it though, I would go for it. Once everyone gets used to it, it should be fine! Maybe, if you do decide to change it, adopt a nickname that can be transversed between both [name]Isabella[/name] and [name]Elizabeth[/name] (such as [name]Izzy[/name]), so it’s not such an infinite, absolute shock to the system, especially in relation to your Daughter.

just a thought- would you consider incorporating [name]Isabella[/name] into her middle name somehow? is it possible? Change her fn to [name]Isabella[/name] legally, but keep [name]Elizabeth[/name] as a first middle or something, so there is that familiarity factor there?

Lastly, no - I don’t think an [name]Elizabeth[/name] & [name]Isabella[/name] sibset is too close at all!

My Mom had a colleague who changed his 5 year old daughters name and the little girl not only had issues with her medical records etc but her kindergarten teachers brought the parents in because the little girl kept changing her friends’ names and calling them new names!

Then when the parents had their next child, also a girl, they were so traumatized by the name change that the didn’t give her a real name for almost 5 years (they actually put Peanut on her birh certificate and called her Peanut for the first 5 yrs! Only prompted to give her a real name by the need for a name to go to Kindergarten) and guess what they names her? The older sister’s original name!!!

All in, changing names doesn’t sound like something I would consider unless its really important, and if you do, the earlier the better!

(Btw I am not comparing you to this obviously extreme version of changing names, just thought people might find the story interesting!)

Wow, that’s a crazy story (last response)! Those poor kids!

Anyway, if you really want to change her name, you should do it NOW, before she gets any older. Like others have said, it would help to have a transition nickname between the two names, like [name]Izzy[/name] or [name]Bella[/name]. This would help [name]Elizabeth[/name] and your other daughter adjust to the change. Personally, I much prefer [name]Elizabeth[/name] to [name]Isabella[/name], but I think you should go with your gut on this one. Good luck with your decision!

I’m with emma7 on this one: If you’re going to do it, do it now – not that much time has passed and it sounds as if you really feel strongly that you prefer [name]Isabella[/name]. I think [name]Isabella[/name] is a gorgeous name but I much prefer [name]Elizabeth[/name]; however, it’s your baby and your baby alone to name! I [name]DO[/name] however disagree with some of the other posters on the closeness of [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Isabella[/name] – I do think they’re too close for sisters, as they’re different forms of the same name.

Thank you, [name]Pam[/name], and everyone for your thoughts. This is a difficult situation. It would have been easier to let go of “[name]Isabella[/name]” this time if it was a totally different name from “[name]Elizabeth[/name]” so that I might one day have another chance to name a daughter “[name]Isabella[/name]”. I do see your point that the names are too close for sisters, as they’re only different forms of the same name. I would probably always feel strange about giving two daughters in essence “the same name”. [name]Pam[/name], if you get a moment, please share with me why you much prefer [name]Elizabeth[/name] over [name]Isabella[/name].

Thank you!

I think [name]Isabella[/name] is trendy (and really only suits Italians IMHO) and people will regret naming their daughter that when they see how very common it is.

[name]Elizabeth[/name] is classic and timeless and so versatile. I bet you will be happy to see her name on her class registrar next to the 4 Isabellas and 5 Aidans. And yes, the names are just a bit too close for sibilings I think…

You can definitely call her anything you like for a nn - including: [name]Elise[/name] ( my favorite!), [name]Elle[/name], [name]Ellie[/name], [name]Lizzy[/name], [name]Lizbeth[/name], [name]Beth[/name], [name]Bella[/name], [name]Izzy[/name], [name]Dot[/name], [name]Lise[/name], [name]Lisa[/name], [name]Elisa[/name], [name]Bette[/name], [name]Betsy[/name] or [name]Betty[/name]!

I hope that you grow to love [name]Elizabeth[/name] and remember the reasons why you chose it in the first place. I think it is a beautiful name and prefer it to [name]Isabella[/name]. x x x

My reasons for liking [name]Elizabeth[/name] more than [name]Isabella[/name] are mostly just personal preference, due to [name]Isabella[/name]'s extreme trendiness right now. But, again, that’s just my naming style: you’ll find that I don’t have other crazy popular names like [name]Ava[/name], [name]Sophie[/name]/a, [name]Ella[/name], [name]Hannah[/name], [name]Lily[/name], [name]Madelyn[/name], etc. on my list either.

[name]Elizabeth[/name] is timeless and definitely not trendy; I just find it refreshing compared to all of the Isabellas that will soon be flocking the playground. I find its elegance to be simpler and more refined than the frilly floofy-ness of [name]Isabella[/name]. Actually, I much prefer [name]Isabel[/name] to [name]Isabella[/name], but they’re both too trendy for my list right now, anyway.

But like I said above, if you want your daughter to be an [name]Isabella[/name], you won’t find a better time to change it! I agree with some of the other posters in that [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Isabella[/name] are too close for sisters.

I love [name]Elizabeth[/name] even more than [name]Isabella[/name]. [name]Elizabeth[/name] is my favorite girls’ name. [name]Isabella[/name] is pretty and elegant, but very, very popular, and I think that is not a good thing. [name]Isabella[/name] will be the [name]Jessica[/name] of tomorrow - a very pretty name (I really love the name [name]Jessica[/name]) that has had its time in the sun and now is being put aside for who knows how long.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Isabella[/name] are too similar to be sisters’ names.
That said, if you really want to change your daughter’s name, do it ASAP. It will be less painful in the long run to do it sooner rather than later.
If I were you, I would nickname your daughter either [name]Bella[/name] or [name]Izzy[/name] and be done with it.
Then if you have another daughter name her something frilly and Italian. Something like Raffaella, [name]Francesca[/name], or [name]Gabriella[/name].

I agree with dinks, I think you should think about why you chose [name]Elizabeth[/name] over [name]Isabella[/name] in the first place. Like everyone else, I much prefer [name]Elizabeth[/name] to [name]Isabella[/name]. [name]Elizabeth[/name] is beautiful, classic, timeless. It’s a name that will fit ANY girl, with all those nickname options. I don’t think [name]Isabella[/name] is quite so versatile. I can’t imagine an [name]Elizabeth[/name] wishing she was named [name]Isabella[/name], though I’m sure it can happen. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be an [name]Isabella[/name] born now, far too common. And while you haven’t met other little Isabellas, your daughter also hasn’t started school yet, I’m sure there will be others. Anyway, I’m curious why you picked [name]Elizabeth[/name] if you prefer [name]Isabella[/name], and I really think you should think about that that.

Changing a child’s name is not something I could do, but if you really have to do it tomorrow before the baby ends up so confused.

I much Prefer [name]Elizabeth[/name] I think they are too close izabe is in the middle of [name]Elizabeth[/name], which nearly spells [name]Isabel[/name]

I happen to prefer [name]Elizabeth[/name] to [name]Isabella[/name], BUT YOU SHOULD CHANGE HER NAME IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT… I know someone who changed her daughter’s name at 3 years old and she is fine. you should be happy… it will be weird for a couple months and then it will be fine!

I’d stick with [name]Elizabeth[/name], it’s an absolute classic and it’s ageless, which IMHO is an important quality for a name to have. [name]Isabella[/name], while beautiful, is very trendy and people will be able to guess how old little [name]Izzy[/name] is based on hearing her name. Whereas, [name]Elizabeth[/name] can be any age.
If I were you, I’d stick with [name]Elizabeth[/name] on the birth certificate, and call her [name]Izzy[/name]/[name]Bella[/name] as a nickname. That way, she has the option of those nicknames, as well as [name]Liz[/name], [name]Eliza[/name], [name]Bess[/name] (personal favourite of mine), [name]Betsy[/name] etc.

I think that you should definitely change your daughter’s name to [name]Isabella[/name] as that seems to be what both you and your husband want. One day she is going to grow up and ask you why you named her what you did and I think that it is much better to be able to honestly say that [name]Isabella[/name] was the name I loved more than any other than to say well Grandma, Grandpa and everyone else thought we should call you [name]Elizabeth[/name] so we went with that. In regards to the popularity issue [name]Isabella[/name] might be in the top ten but so is [name]Elizabeth[/name] and despite this drawback they are both lovely, respectable names for a little girl. I also don’t feel that [name]Isabella[/name] is too close to [name]Elizabeth[/name] to give that name to a future daughter if you should decide to stick with [name]Elizabeth[/name], only name junkies like ourselves would know that they are forms of the same name. Go with your heart on this one. Good luck with your decision!

[name]Hi[/name] [name]Deanne[/name]. Sorry for the delay. My preference for [name]Elizabeth[/name] is purely because it’s a classic name that, while popular, is unlikely ever to be trendy the way that [name]Isabella[/name] is. If it were 20 years ago, I would ABSOLUTELY choose [name]Isabella[/name] as my favorite, because i like that name much better on its own merits. But choosing it now, when it’s the number 2 name and is likely to hover at or near the top of the list over the next several years, all but creates a situation where you’re going to hear it everywhere you go. Plus, there are lots of little Belles, Bellas, Arabellas etc. around. if that truly is not going to bother you, then go ahead and make the switch. If you stick with [name]Elizabeth[/name], you’ll probably always pine a little bit for [name]Isabella[/name] – it’s your name that got away – but you’ll probably end up feeling that [name]Elizabeth[/name] has more enduring appeal and is not, as [name]Susan[/name] pointed out, the [name]Jessica[/name] or the [name]Shirley[/name] of tomorrow.