[name]Hi[/name] everybody, I have been looking at nameberry ever since we named #4 but this is my first post so I am looking forward to your suggestions.
We have five children currently, 3 the old-fashioned way and two through adoption. As much as we would love the kids to be a part of the naming process, they are all under seven and I fear that a child name Mister [name]Turtle[/name] Face may be teased; DH and I can’t seem to agree so we are turning to you for advice.
Currently our children are -
[name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Anouk[/name] (sometimes called [name]Scout[/name]) [name]Elsie[/name] [name]Sage[/name] (full name Elsabet, her Ethiopian name) [name]Felix[/name] [name]Atticus[/name] (often called [name]Fox[/name]) [name]Arlo[/name] [name]Jasper[/name] [name]Moses[/name] [name]Henry[/name] (Ethiopian name was [name]Muse[/name] but it translates to [name]Moses[/name])
[name]Both[/name] DH and I adore the French culture and many french names and we lived there for a year when [name]Scarlett[/name] and [name]Fox[/name] were little (before we adopted [name]Elsie[/name]) and we would love to move there sometime in the future.
Names that both DH and I like but aren’t sure will “work” in real life/ in Australia (where we live) -
BOYS
[name]Hugo[/name] (not sure with [name]Arlo[/name])
[name]Jesse[/name]
[name]Levi[/name]
[name]Noah[/name] (too much with [name]Moses[/name], we aren’t very religous)
DH also loves [name]Aspen[/name] and [name]Sadie[/name] and I love [name]Patrick[/name] and [name]Ruby[/name] but we can’t seem to make the other agree with us.
We are mostly sure that the baby is a girl but she/he is not happy to cooperate during ultrasounds so we don’t have conformation.
I hope you can help, what names do you think “fit” with our other kids and will fit into real life?
(I’ve bolded the ones I particularly like)
GIRLS
[name]Lilou[/name] - would fit with [name]Elsie[/name], not so much with [name]Scarlett[/name]. [name]Lily[/name] is a cute nn.
[name]Hero[/name] - too close to [name]Arlo[/name] and too masculine, imo
[name]Amelia[/name] - lovely, but it doesn’t seem to be as…eccentric as the rest
[name]Greta[/name] - almost sounds like a nn for [name]Scarlett[/name]
[name]Lola[/name] - this would fit wonderfully with you sibset, and though it’s outdated, it could work in real life [name]Ivy[/name] - ditto [name]Lola[/name], though it would work better in real life and I love this one personally
[name]Olive[/name] - would fit wonderfully with your sibset, and it seems to be gaining enough popularity to work alongside [name]Olivia[/name]. But I’m not a big fan of the fruit olives, so this isn’t my favorite name.
[name]Piper[/name] - Seems a little new-fashioned for your sibset
[name]Clio[/name] - ditto [name]Lola[/name]
BOYS
[name]Hugo[/name] - feelo different enough to work with [name]Arlo[/name]. Also fits lovely.
[name]Jesse[/name] - not bad, but with all the Jessicas around, he would probably be teased [name]Levi[/name] - fits wonderfully with your sibset and totally workable in real life, despite the jeans
[name]Noah[/name] - see [name]Amelia[/name]
if you’re worried about religion, all of these names minus [name]Hugo[/name] are from the Old Testament.
jame1881 - thanks for your help, I like your description of the names as eccentric, I absolutley agree! Maybe also a little eclectic? I agree that [name]Amelia[/name] doesn’t quite fit, that was a miss type, I meant [name]Amelie[/name] DH and I both agree with your opinions and definitely feel that [name]Hero[/name] doesn’t work because of [name]Arlo[/name], but maybe as a middle name?
philomena - We are in WA, but we try and not look at the top lists, we don’t want to rule out a name we love just because other people love it too, plus all our kids are given middle names that we love equally as much and so if they get sick of being the 3rd [name]Ruby[/name] they can choose their middle.
Also, just looking at the 2012 charts for WA and only [name]Ruby[/name] and [name]Amelia[/name] (which was ment to be [name]Amelie[/name]) are in the top 10 with Noah in the 11th spot, and those are not our favourites anyway… thanks for the heads up though.
Being French, I just wanted to offer some advice on how those names would work if you ever moved back to [name]France[/name].
[name]Lilou[/name], [name]Amelie[/name], [name]Lola[/name], [name]Hugo[/name], [name]Noah[/name] - Those names would work just fine. They are quite popular in [name]France[/name] and their pronunciation is similar.
[name]Hero[/name], [name]Clio[/name] - I would stay away from those. [name]Hero[/name] is just too masculine and unheard of in [name]France[/name], and [name]Clio[/name] is the name of a very popular car model.
[name]Greta[/name], [name]Olive[/name], [name]Jesse[/name] - They could work, even if they are rarely heard.
[name]Ivy[/name], [name]Piper[/name], [name]Levi[/name] - Those names would be pronounced very differently in French, and you would have to constantly correct people and spell the name for them. But if you don’t mind doing that, go ahead.
joy19 - thanks that is really helpful, could you tell me about my other kids names? would they work? when we were there with [name]Felix[/name] and [name]Scarlett[/name], neither of them had started school yet and so their names were never really an issue because we were the only ones who used them.
I wondered about [name]Clio[/name] because it is also a popular car here in Australia and I was hoping that people wouldn’t make the connection but it seems they will…
Thanks for you help
I think your other kids will find a way to make it work no matter what (I have an English name and I survived). After all, it’s too late to rename them!
[name]Scarlett[/name] : no problem there, [name]Scarlett[/name] is not very popular but thanks to actress [name]Scarlett[/name] Johansson, people are somewhat familiar with it.
[name]Elsie[/name] : it’s probably going to be pronounced “Elzee” or “Elzabet” if you use her full name. But most people only need to be corrected once, usually.
[name]Felix[/name] : I don’t see any problem here, except maybe some references to the cartoon [name]Felix[/name] the [name]Cat[/name].
[name]Arlo[/name] : unusual but should be pronounced the same.
[name]Moses[/name] : this one could be tricky. It doesn’t exist in French, [name]Moses[/name] being translated to [name]Mo[/name]ïse ("[name]Mo[/name]-ee-zeuh"), and it retains a very strong Jewish connotation. The “s” at the end of [name]Moses[/name] would be silent. Maybe he could use the nickname “[name]Moe[/name]”?
[name]Don[/name]‘t let any of this discourage you though, people can learn to pronounce your kids’ names correctly and they would probably expect foreigners to have slightly different names anyway.
joy19 - thanks for your help! obviously we aren’t going to change our kid’s names but it nice to hear someone else’s opinion that french people won’t have a hard time with their names, we have friends in [name]Paris[/name] who have mostly told us the same thing but I do like to get different opinions. My kids all speak french (according to their abilities - the youngest mostly just says “chat”) but they have no accent on the names of people and places and neither DH nor I have any real connection to [name]France[/name] other than that we love it!
davisellu - thanks for all the suggestions! the ones we like are
[name]Clara[/name] - such a sweet name but we prefer the [name]Clair[/name]-a pronounciation and in Australia (and [name]France[/name] too) it is pronounced like Clah-rah
[name]Cora[/name] - lovely name
[name]Tabitha[/name] - I like this but dislike the nn [name]Tabby[/name]
[name]Henry[/name] - DS middle name
[name]Theodore[/name] - we would probably call home [name]Theo[/name], but this doesn’t work with [name]Arlo[/name]
[name]Xander[/name]/[name]Xavier[/name] - we love these but have very close friends who recently named their baby [name]Xander[/name] and feel [name]Xander[/name] is too close.
Hi! And welcome to Nameberry, Rose! I think Amelia is a gorgeous name, but seems very much a popular name than the rest of your children’s. However, in Austrailia, Amelia may not be popular. Greta seems to fit well, as do Levi or Noah. Is there any family members you would like to honor in your child’s name?! and congratulations to you and the rest of your family!
Xx,
Shealah
Oh, a little edit:
Some suggestions are…
Harry
Isaac
Jack
Thomas
Kate
Jillian
Brianne
Muriel
Savannah
Catherine
Juliette
Rosalie
I live [name]Olive[/name], but I think [name]Scarlett[/name] and [name]Elsie[/name] are a little more feminine, so maybe [name]Olivia[/name] or [name]Octavia[/name] instead? I’m also not sure how [name]Olive[/name] is pronounced in French and whether that’s a consideration for you. For [name]Tabitha[/name], you could use Tib or [name]Tibby[/name] instead of [name]Tabby[/name] as a nn. If you like [name]Cora[/name], there’s also [name]Coral[/name], [name]Coralie[/name], or [name]Coraline[/name]. They all work well in French too.
[name]Love[/name] [name]Amelia[/name]/[name]Amelie[/name], [name]Greta[/name], [name]Lola[/name] & [name]Ivy[/name] from your list. These are all names I’ve heard here in Australia.
[name]Hugo[/name] is a lovely name and my fav from your boys list!
[name]Piper[/name] and [name]Lilou[/name] jumped out at me first for girls. I really like [name]Amelia[/name] and [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Amelie[/name], but I think the other 2 sound better with your other children’s names.
[name]Levi[/name] and [name]Jesse[/name] are the boys I like with the other siblings. [name]Noah[/name] could work, as it’s been a pretty popular name for a while and it’s doubtful that all children with the name are from religious families. And [name]Levi[/name] has a biblical association, but not as well known as [name]Noah[/name].
[name]Piper[/name] and [name]Lilou[/name] jumped out at me first for girls. I really like [name]Amelia[/name] and [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Amelie[/name], but I think the other 2 sound better with your other children’s names.
[name]Levi[/name] and [name]Jesse[/name] are the boys I like with the other siblings. [name]Noah[/name] could work, as it’s been a pretty popular name for a while and it’s doubtful that all children with the name are from religious families. And [name]Levi[/name] has a biblical association, but not as well known as [name]Noah[/name].
Wow! Thanks everyone baby finally let us see… She’s a girl at the moment we are leaning towards [name]Lilou[/name] or [name]Piper[/name] as the first name with [name]Olive[/name] as a middle name… We generally don’t choose family names as we feel that we want the kids to be their own person and to not have someone else’s name and expectations to live up to. I love [name]Piper[/name] but as we are so connected to [name]France[/name] (and are hoping to move there sometime in the future) I worry that the pronouciation is so different, do you think this matters?
What do you think of [name]Piper[/name] [name]Olive[/name] or [name]Lilou[/name] [name]Olive[/name]?
Names that both DH and I like but aren’t sure will “work” in real life/ in Australia (where we live) -
[name]Lilou[/name] I think that this sounds like a sweet nickname for a little girl named [name]Lilah[/name]/[name]Lisette[/name]
[name]Hero[/name]Sounds a bit too boyish to me
[name]Amelia[/name]/ [name]Amelie[/name] Top marks and I think that [name]Amelia[/name] fits with your children more than [name]Amelie[/name]
[name]Greta[/name] Very nice
[name]Lola[/name]Exotic, energetic, feminine, very nice
[name]Ivy[/name]Clinging [name]Ivy[/name] is my first thought
[name]Olive[/name]I think of a green salty thing with a pip in it whereas with [name]Olivia[/name] it is all glamour and a great match with [name]Scarlett[/name] too.
[name]Piper[/name] Especially nice with the nn of [name]Pip[/name], combo of [name]Piper[/name] [name]Lily[/name]
[name]Clio[/name] Sorry I like [name]Cleo[/name] spelling only
[name]Laurence[/name] [name]Edward[/name]
BOYS
[name]Hugo[/name] (not sure with [name]Arlo[/name]) Too matchy with [name]Arlo[/name] what about [name]Laurence[/name]?
[name]Jesse[/name]A nice name but a bit dated and not in my view a great match with the siblings
[name]Levi[/name]Quite nice, very trendy
[name]Noah[/name] (too much with [name]Moses[/name], we aren’t very religous)Why not go for [name]Josiah[/name] then with the nn of [name]Joe[/name]?
Or [name]Ezra[/name] or [name]Nathaniel[/name] or [name]Jeremiah[/name] all very good names with a vintage vibe or the quirky [name]Quentin[/name] instead of [name]Hugo[/name].
[name]Patrick[/name] and [name]Ruby[/name] are very nice but [name]Ruby[/name] and [name]Scarlett[/name] in the same sibset is a no no
[name]Aspen[/name] reminds me of asp as in the one that killed [name]Cleopatra[/name] so it is out but maybe [name]Austin[/name] [name]Patrick[/name] would be a good fit for you?
I would like to see [name]Sarah[/name] nn of [name]Sadie[/name] but I would avoid giving two of your children a name starting with the same letter.
[name]Scarlett[/name], [name]Elsie[/name] and [name]Felix[/name], [name]Arlo[/name] and [name]Moses[/name] with brother as stated before [name]Jeremiah[/name], [name]Josiah[/name], [name]Nathaniel[/name] or [name]Jonathan[/name]
and
[name]Lola[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] or [name]Amelia[/name] [name]Lily[/name]
[name]Piper[/name] [name]Lily[/name] or [name]Olivia[/name] [name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Marguerite[/name] [name]Lilou[/name] nn [name]Greta[/name]
[name]Amelia[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] or [name]Lola[/name] [name]Madeleine[/name] nn [name]Mia[/name] and [name]Lola[/name]
and
[name]Nathaniel[/name] [name]Xavier[/name] nn [name]Nate[/name]
[name]Ethan[/name] [name]Jeremiah[/name] (same letter as [name]Elsie[/name]) [name]Jeremiah[/name] [name]Elliott[/name] nn [name]Jem[/name]
[name]Quentin[/name] [name]Philip[/name] or [name]Philip[/name] [name]Quentin[/name] nn [name]Pip[/name]
[name]Hope[/name] this helps from one Aussie to another!
PS [name]Just[/name] saw that you are having a girl (keep the boy suggestions for the next boy).
We are thinking that this will be our last, but you never know!
Your suggestions are all wonderfull and I will definitely keep the boys suggestions “just in case.”
My favourites are [name]Lola[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] and [name]Marguerite[/name] [name]Lilou[/name] nn [name]Greta[/name]
problem is that my sister is due with a baby girl soon and ATM [name]Josephine[/name] is her top contender so we can’t use it [name]Margaret[/name] is my grandmother’s name and so I wanted [name]Greta[/name] to honour her but I feel like [name]Marguerite[/name] is too close (DH als vetoed [name]Greta[/name] yesterday :()
[name]Lovely[/name] names though and I would use them in a heartbeat if it was up to me alone!
Thanks
I think I like the flow of [name]Piper[/name] [name]Olive[/name] better, but I really [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Lilou[/name] [name]Olive[/name]! [name]Reason[/name] 1: Never been too fond of [name]Piper[/name]. [name]Reason[/name] #2: My mn is [name]Louise[/name] and my family nn is [name]Lou[/name]. And [name]Lilou[/name] isn’t heard much, either. Would you use her mn very often? Either way, I think I would just go with [name]Lilou[/name] [name]Olive[/name]!!