Naming after grandparents -- advice needed!

We”re just six weeks from our baby girl”s due date and we”re still working on names”can you help? We”d like either the first or middle name to be after one of our grandparents: [name]Lena[/name], [name]Helen[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Mae[/name], or [name]Bernard[/name]. (Anything that starts with “B” counts as after [name]Bernard[/name].) Our last name is tricky”it”s a four-syllable [name]German[/name] name that starts with ”[name]Lin[/name].”

I tend to like shorter names, especially considering the long last name, but my husband prefers longer traditional names. So, for example, I”d love the name [name]Lena[/name] [name]Mae[/name], but he prefers something like [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Beatrice[/name]. Ideally, we’d rather not have a first name that”s in the top 100 (we”re making an exception for [name]Elizabeth[/name] because of the many nickname options”we”d probably go with [name]Libby[/name]).

Our frontrunner for a first name is ”[name]Helena[/name]” (nn [name]Lena[/name]) which is a kind of two-for-one in terms of namesakes and a good compromise on the long vs. short question, although I still feel it might be too long to go with our last name, and I’m not sure about having the “lin” sound twice. (My husband insists on pronouncing it like the city in [name]Montana[/name].)

Here”s our list right now”we”d love input on the list we have or new suggestions!

[name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Brielle[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Grace[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Autumn[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Ruth[/name]
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Brielle[/name]
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Mae[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Helen[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Briella[/name]

[name]Lena[/name], [name]Helen[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Mae[/name], or [name]Bernard[/name]. (Anything that starts with “B” counts as after [name]Bernard[/name].) Our last name is tricky”it”s a four-syllable [name]German[/name] name that starts with ”[name]Lin[/name].”

  • I have [name]Helen[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]May[/name] (not [name]Mae[/name]), and [name]Bernard[/name] in my family!

Our frontrunner for a first name is ”[name]Helena[/name]” (nn [name]Lena[/name]) which is a kind of two-for-one in terms of namesakes and a good compromise on the long vs. short question, although I still feel it might be too long to go with our last name, and I’m not sure about having the “lin” sound twice. (My husband insists on pronouncing it like the city in [name]Montana[/name].)

Here”s our list right now”we”d love input on the list we have or new suggestions!

[name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] - so pretty!
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Brielle[/name] - I don’t like the name [name]Brielle[/name]. Makes me think of Brill Creme.
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Grace[/name] - I have thought of this myself, and I love it. My mom’s name is [name]Helen[/name] and my aunt’s name was [name]Grace[/name]. There are chocolates called [name]Helen[/name] [name]Grace[/name] chocolates. Are they everywhere or just in [name]CA[/name]?
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Autumn[/name] - this feels overly warm to me.
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Ruth[/name] - I like it.
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] - [name]Love[/name]!
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Brielle[/name]
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Mae[/name] - cute
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Helen[/name] - I don’t like these two together.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Briella[/name]

Here are my faves:
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Grace[/name] - very pretty and I think the short middle name works well with your long last name
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] - cute and spunky
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Mae[/name] - I love this!

Other ideas using [name]Lena[/name], [name]Helen[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Mae[/name], or [name]Bernard[/name]:
[name]Elena[/name] [name]Mae[/name]
[name]Magdalena[/name]
Madalena
Elsabeth
[name]Elspeth[/name]
[name]Lisette[/name]
I also love [name]Mae[/name] as a first name
[name]Mae[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Mae[/name] Elsabeth
[name]Mae[/name] [name]Isabelle[/name]

All the names you have to choose from are lovely.

[name]Helena[/name] is my favourite, I like that it honours two people in one go and is a classy underused name. [name]Lena[/name] makes a lovely nickname as well.

[name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] – This is fabulous! It would be great with a german last name and [name]Beatrix[/name] is interesting and ‘ahead of the trend’. The two names work really well together. Plus it honours [name]Bernard[/name] as well.
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Brielle[/name] – [name]Brielle[/name] looks very trendy next to classy [name]Helena[/name].
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Grace[/name] – Pretty but [name]Grace[/name] is filler in the middle now.
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Autumn[/name] – Nice enough, but the As run together a bit.
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Ruth[/name] – solid and refined.
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] – This is pretty, but [name]Helena[/name] offers more variety and versatility.
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Brielle[/name] – Flow is good but the two styles clash a bit.
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Mae[/name] – Reminiscent of a 1920s cabaret girl for me. [name]Mae[/name] looks tacked on for cutesy-ness rather than family significance.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Helen[/name] – Pretty and classic but lacks pizazz.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Briella[/name] – Too much ‘B’ sound.

[name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] definitely gets my vote.

Also:

[name]Eliza[/name] – for [name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Amabel[/name] – for [name]Mae[/name]
[name]Eliana[/name] – for [name]Helen[/name]
[name]Eleni[/name] — for [name]Helen[/name]
[name]Eliane[/name] – for [name]Helen[/name]

[name]Libby[/name] is a lovely nn for [name]Elizabeth[/name]! I also love the idea of [name]Helena[/name], which I have always pronounced hel-an-a, so the repeating ‘lin’ would not be a problem. I have heard it pronounced hel-ay-na, too. Have you consider [name]Bernadette[/name] (as a mn, probably) after [name]Bernard[/name]?

[name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] - I adore.
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Brielle[/name] - I’m personally really not a fan of [name]Brielle[/name].
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Grace[/name] - [name]Grace[/name] is very popular as a mn at the moment, but very pretty.
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Autumn[/name] - lovely, but the flow is not as good as with the others.
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Ruth[/name] - gorgeous.
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] - the flow isn’t perfect, but this is still very nice.
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Brielle[/name] - again, I dislike [name]Brielle[/name].
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Mae[/name] - too … well, I can’t put my finger on it, but I wouldn’t pick this one.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Helen[/name] - where [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Helen[/name] meet the sound is too breathy, in my opinion, but they are both lovely.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Briella[/name] - not [name]Briella[/name].

Out of yours, my favourites are :
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Ruth[/name]
[name]Lena[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name].

Also, how about [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Autumn[/name] or [name]Lena[/name] [name]Ruth[/name]?

Good luck!

Thank you everyone for the great advice! My husband and I have found it so helpful to hear your impressions of these names–after tossing them around for several months you kind of lose perspective, you know?

We’ve decided to go to the delivery room with two options and see what she looks like. We’ve narrowed it down to:

[name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] (nn [name]Lena[/name])
[name]Elizabeth[/name] _______? (nn [name]Libby[/name])

We would be so grateful for any suggestions on middle names for [name]Elizabeth[/name]–we’d like something that gives it a little more oomph (I agree with elea that [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Helen[/name] lacks pizazz, and with twinkle that it sounds too breathy in the middle). Here are some we’ve tossed around so far”would love to get your reactions/other suggestions!

[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Florence[/name] ([name]Florence[/name] is a family name)
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Flora[/name] (variation on [name]Florence[/name])
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Hazel[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Ruby[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Honor[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] (she is due near Rosh Hashana)
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Autumn[/name] (she is due near the first day of fall)

Thanks so much!

[name]Elizabeth[/name] is gorgeous!

[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Florence[/name] - just beautiful.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Flora[/name] - I adore [name]Flora[/name], although [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Florence[/name] has a better flow, in my opinion.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Hazel[/name] - the breathy problem.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Ruby[/name] - not the perfect flow, but [name]Ruby[/name] does add some good spunkiness to [name]Elizabeth[/name].
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Honor[/name] - lovely.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] - it’s beautiful, and I love the connection with her due date.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Autumn[/name] - gorgeous, and as above I really like the date connection.

So, my favourites are, in order :
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Autumn[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Aurora[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Florence[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Honor[/name].

I looked for other names meaning [name]Autumn[/name], but all I could find was Hazan (Turkish, but sounds made up) and Akiko (cute, but very very Japanese), I’m afraid.

[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Verity[/name] sprang to mind as a possible alternative, too, or [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Venetia[/name] (another Italian city name, like [name]Florence[/name]), although I’m not sure about the flow of the latter.

Good luck!

Thanks, Twinkle–we love your suggestion of [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Verity[/name], so that’s definitely going on the list, too.

Oh good, I’m glad you liked it!

[name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] has lots of style

Here are a few more suggestions,

[name]Eliza[/name] [name]Autumn[/name]

[name]Aurora[/name] [name]Jane[/name] I call [name]Aurora[/name] a ‘fabulous’ name and hope the the child has lots of personality to carry it off.

[name]Tallulah[/name] [name]Autumn[/name] nn [name]Lulu[/name] Now this is a ‘fabulous’ name!

I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Venetia[/name] and I think that [name]Venetia[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] really works.

[name]Helena[/name] [name]Honor[/name] or [name]Helena[/name] [name]Faith[/name] simple and sweet and feminine.

I second this name for the same reason! [name]Beatrix[/name] [name]Helena[/name] nn [name]Bea[/name] might be another option.

Thanks, everyone, for the great advice! Our baby girl was born on Sept. 8 (three weeks early!) and her name is [name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name], nickname [name]Lena[/name]. The name suits her perfectly, and honors three of our grandparents. My husband and I are especially grateful to everyone on this site because I don’t think we would have thought of the name [name]Beatrix[/name] without Nameberry! (We needed a name beginning with B, he loves [name]Beatrice[/name] but I don’t, [name]Beatrix[/name] was the perfect solution–a little hipper and more unusual than [name]Beatrice[/name], but still classic.) Thanks again for all your help–I hope my little girl loves her name as much as her father and I do!

Congratulations! [name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] is a beautiful name!!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations! I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Helena[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name]! :slight_smile: Wow!!! :slight_smile:

I hope that you and Miss [name]Lena[/name] are doing well, and I thank you for sharing the happy news with us! :slight_smile:

Best wishes to you!