Name Length

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] Berries!

I have a question. Would you think it would be weird if siblings had names of noticeably different lengths? Such as [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] or [name_f]Mia[/name_f] and [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]. Because I know when I think of names, I try to match names that sound good together and are stylistically similar. Is name length also taken into account when matching sibling names? For example, does [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] and [name_f]Florence[/name_f] match better than [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] and [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] even though they are all the same style?

Also, since we’re on the topic, I would love to know if you have a preference for long (8+ characters), medium (5-7 characters), or short names (3-4 characters) or if you don’t care about name length at all! Personally, although I have long, medium and short names on my favorites list, when I narrow it down to serious potential future children names, all of them but one are 4-6 characters long.

Sorry for the long post, but I thought this was an interesting topic and I wanted to hear what others had to say! :slight_smile:

I dont think it cares. I love the names [name_f]Alice[/name_f] & [name_m]David[/name_m]. Which both have 5 letters. But then again, I adore the names [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f] (who has 10 letters) and [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] (who has 8 letters)

You could name your daughter E, and name her identical twin sister Elizabethanylillian (please don’t) and it wouldnt matter (to me).

I don’t think about sib sets, let alone if they match in length. That would be too much thinking and would make me go crazy. I don’t even bother with that stuff like most people on here. You guys can go bunkers while drink my cup of tea.

I prefer short and medium names. I got three last names that I don’t plan on giving up, my kids will definitely have long last names too.

I think matching the styles is much more important than length, although I do think it’s a good question.

I think an [name_f]Acacia[/name_f], [name_f]Olympia[/name_f], and [name_u]Sam[/name_u] are worse of a sibset than a [name_f]Cassiane[/name_f], [name_f]Parthenope[/name_f] and [name_m]Ajax[/name_m], you know what I mean?
Although, maybe I’m just weird, but I would feel bad if one kid had to spell out a long name (8+) while the other had a short one, so that would be a reason I wouldn’t.

I think I love mainly medium names, 7 characters. The only exception is [name_u]Cruz[/name_u]. I like a lot of short names, but I prefer having more to say.

Name length is one aspect of matching sibsets. Generally I don’t notice (or care) except for really short and really long paired together. Like [name_u]Bo[/name_u] and [name_f]Evangelina[/name_f]. But that is only if written out, most of the time a name feels long or short has more to do with the number of syllables. Two or three are ideal to me, I avoid anything shorter or longer mostly, and not on purpose at first. However, I don’t think sibling names matching is always the first concern.

I like symmetry in names between siblings. If one sibling has a 9 letter name I’d expect any other sibling(s) to have one that is 8-10 letters in length.

I personally prefer short to medium length names (3-5 letters). I find them more appealing, longer names tend to look cramped or even sloppy to me.

In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter about the length of the various names–it matters about the ‘theme’ or feel of the names. For example, [name_f]Mckenna[/name_f] and [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] don’t sound all that great together. However, [name_f]Amy[/name_f] and [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] don’t sound to shabby (they both have a vintagey feel to them–although I may be a bit biased because this is my sister and I’s names!) of course, this is only my opinion so take it with a grain of salt!

My name length preferences tend to vary, although at the moment I like shorter-medium length names.

I don’t care as long as they work stylistically. For example, I love [name_m]Ian[/name_m] and [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] which have a pretty large difference. I think often times for me though I don’t like the difference in length BECAUSE often the style is much different because of the length. Like another poster used [name_u]Bo[/name_u] and [name_f]Evangelina[/name_f] as an example. The length doesn’t bother me, but the difference in style does a lot. [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] and [name_f]Evangelina[/name_f] don’t sound odd to me at all though because I think they have similar style.

I’m another who would probably notice differences in style more than length. Though I do know of a sibset [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_m]Jack[/name_m] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] which to me is a little bit extreme - they go together really nicely but I did feel a bit sorry for [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] (twin to [name_m]Jack[/name_m]) when she had to learn to write her name!

I would probably put myself in the category of liking mid-length names (5-7 letters) but actually two of my three children have four letter names! That said, one of those is a three-syllable name (as is the other child, with 6 letters) so I think syllables makes a difference too.

Name length is probably the one thing that I’m really fussy about when it comes to sibling names. I really like it when the name lengths are around the same. I’m not even that bothered about matching styles or even sound (unless they’re too matchy), it’s just length for me. Most of the names I love as firsts, are 7 letters long, and it’s almost a criteria that potential firsts have to fit. I do have some names that are 6 or 8 letters long (I wouldn’t go more or less), but I really, really have to love a name to break the 7 letter rule. I’m trying to become more lenient (my friends think I’m mad), but I just can’t help it. I do like/love short and long names, but I use those as middles, for which I don’t have any weird rules. :stuck_out_tongue:

I won’t dislike a sibset just because one daughter’s called [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f] and the other’s called [name_f]Iris[/name_f], especially if I like the names. But sometimes, if I dislike individual sibling names, but they’re the same length, there’s at least one thing that makes me happy. It’s weird, I know, but that’s just me. :slight_smile:

It’s more to do with syllables for me rather than visual length. [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] and [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], for example, are both two syllables and despite one being four letters long and one nine, it doesn’t seem awkward. [name_f]Jade[/name_f] and [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], on the other hand, feels a bit more mismatched as one is one syllable and one four, despite both names being the same length as [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] and [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f].

And to the latter question, I prefer mid-length names on the whole. I don’t like overly frilly names, and very short names seem abrupt next to OH’s short surname, so mid-length names seem to sit perfectly with me.

I think in a perfect world I’d like sibling names to be somewhat aesthetically similar, but it ain’t gonna happen :slight_smile: Like all the others said, style is more important to me. However, the lengths of individual name combos matter a fair bit to me. Names like [name_m]Leo[/name_m] [name_m]John[/name_m] or [name_m]Maximilian[/name_m] [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] make me squirm, even though I like all names involved. [name_m]Leo[/name_m] [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] and Maximilan [name_m]John[/name_m] look much better to me- I like the balance. So my favourites, [name_m]William[/name_m], [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] and [name_m]Peter[/name_m], may all be different lengths, but I’m happy that they even out when written like this:

[name_m]William[/name_m] [name_m]David[/name_m]
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]
[name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_m]Richard[/name_m]

Yeah, I’ve doubted my sanity for a while.

I think different name lengths create different vibes. I usually find longer names to have a bit more of a personality on their own before being used on a child. Shorter names for me a re easier to imagine on any kind of child while longer names usually create a certain image that not every child fits, e.g. [name_f]Ava[/name_f] or [name_f]Mia[/name_f] I can see working on most children, [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] or [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], not so much.

I also think that pairing a shorter names with a long sibling name can make it less “regal, vintage, etc.” sounding, not in a bad way but pairing [name_f]Ella[/name_f] with [name_f]Clementine[/name_f] makes [name_f]Clementine[/name_f] seem more usable and less long.

I think most names on my list are either of medium length or longer as I like to connect an image to a name which is much easier with non-short names.

I don’t think it matters. Your kids will be adults for most of their lives and will rarely be asked what their siblings’ names are. I think it’s definitely something to think about, though. It’s something I think about a lot too, especially since I tend to favor short names, but there are a few longer ones I love too.

Name length matters to me. At the moment, I seem to be drawn to longer names with at least five letters and two syllables.

For me, there’s a sort of line at four letters. A name with four letters is short, and if used, other short names must be used for the siblings as well. Some five letter names are short, they have few sounds or few syllables, [name_f]Willa[/name_f] being an example, but also [name_u]Jules[/name_u]. 6 letter names are never short, 5 letter names with three syllables are also long. 4 letter names with three syllables are short, but can’t be in a sibset with monosyllabic names. It just doesn’t feel right. I would never have siblings [name_f]Iona[/name_f] and [name_u]Bo[/name_u] even though they look very compatible. I would easily do Idunn and [name_u]Bo[/name_u], even though Idunn has more letters than [name_f]Iona[/name_f].
Ideally a sibset should have names with 1 or 2 syllables, 2 or 3 syllables, 3 or 4 syllables.

[name_f]My[/name_f] lists have names with anything from two letters to eleven, I’m not limiting myself until my firstborn is named. At that point, a lot of names would probably be eliminated or pushed to middle name material due to not fitting in with firstborn’s name.

Funnily, my Norwegian lists are often comprised of shorter names.

I don’t think it matters at all. I would definitely pick a name I love rather than a name that suits the first child’s name… why is the first child’s name most important anyway? I think it’d be too bad to dictate what siblings are named based on an existing child’s name, and not just through equal love or importance of the second, and subsequent children’s name.

I used to be one of those people who wanted a perfectly styled sibset, but the chances of me having 6 children is virtually zero, and I’ve outgrown that idea. It’s nice to have something cohesive and eye-grabbing in a signature on here, so I get that, but I don’t think it’s actually important.

If I were to get really nitpicky about your examples to show my support for “Go with your heart”…
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] + [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f]: you could look at the Romanov family- [name_f]Olga[/name_f] next to sisters [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] and [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f]. They’re royalty, I feel like if anyone was going to be concerned with how they’re perceived, it’d be a royal family.

[name_f]Florence[/name_f] + [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]: They work well in [name_m]French[/name_m] and English, but [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] works just as well with “jenna-veev” as a pronunciation. [name_f]Lucie[/name_f] is common in [name_m]French[/name_m] as well, so I think either option works. Again, nothing to do with the length, but with the usage.

I don’t really have much of a length preference. [name_f]My[/name_f] SO and I love [name_f]Iris[/name_f] just as much as we love [name_f]Eleanora[/name_f].

I grew up my whole life with the short name [name_f]Lilly[/name_f], and my two sisters are [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f] and [name_f]Veronica[/name_f], so as a child I did wonder why they had so many cool nicknames and I didn’t, so I think it does matter. I try to keep the names in the same length.

I don’t think name length matters at all when put into the sibling context.

I like a variety of names, but the majority of my favourite names for boys consist of 5 characters, whereas the others are all either 6, 7, 8 or 9 characters in length. Whereas there is more variation in length with my girls names. The majority of my favourites consist of 8 characters, whereas the others all either have 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 or 10 characters.

[name_f]My[/name_f] personal rule is first name and last name must be no more than 20 characters including a space, but with middle/s it can be longer