[name]Hi[/name]! I am due with our second baby girl in 5 days and we’re still undecided about a name…yikes! All of our children have family names incorporated (twin boys [name]Dane[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] and [name]Andrew[/name] [name]Robert[/name], daughter [name]Mae[/name] Loiuse) and we want to do the same with this one using a variation of my grandmother’s name [name]Eleanor[/name]. I originally thought that we would just name her [name]Eleanor[/name] and use a nickname, but it just didn’t feel right, especially since I tend to gravitate toward shorter, simpler names. So…we’re down to [name]Nora[/name] and [name]Nell[/name]. I love the sound and feel of [name]Nora[/name], but am worried that it could be trendy, especially with [name]Norah[/name] [name]Jones[/name] and the passing of [name]Nora[/name] [name]Ephron[/name] this year. Thoughts? I like the vintage, sweet, simple feel of [name]Nell[/name] (and think it matches with [name]Mae[/name] nicely), but am having trouble finding a middle name that sounds good with it. Our last name is Italian, 3 syllables, begins with a “B”, and ends with the “O” sound. Some ideas that we’re throwing around are:
[name]Nora[/name] [name]Belle[/name]
[name]Nora[/name] [name]Quinn[/name]
[name]Nora[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Nell[/name] [name]Susannah[/name]
[name]Nell[/name] [name]Frances[/name]
[name]Nell[/name] [name]Isabeau[/name]
Would love feedback on these or suggestions! Thanks!
I would adore both if they were [name]Norah[/name] and [name]Nelle[/name], they just seem much more complete like that!
[name]Nora[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] is stunning, but I do quite like [name]Nell[/name] [name]Frances[/name] (I’d prefer [name]Nell[/name] [name]Francesca[/name] though!).
I love both [name]Nell[/name] & [name]Nora[/name]. Personally I like [name]Nell[/name] better, but if you love [name]Nora[/name] most I think you should go for that. I think [name]Nora[/name] [name]Quinn[/name] is beautiful. If you go with [name]Nell[/name], I’d like to see [name]Susannah[/name] as a middle.
I originally liked [name]Norah[/name] better too, but my husband didn’t, so I wrapped my head around the [name]Nora[/name] spelling, but now he likes them both! Are the “h” and “e” extraneous or nice for adding length and authenticity to what are traditionally nicknames?
So funny, because my husband suggested [name]Nell[/name] [name]Francesca[/name] last night!
Thanks for your comments!
With your last name, which I will call “[name]Benito[/name],” do you think a name ending on a vowel sounds better? I do-- I like [name]Nora/name [name]Benito[/name], and I think [name]Nella[/name] [name]Benito[/name] would be even better.
For a middle name I would select something a little less elaborate and fussy than [name]Francesca[/name]. I’ll borrow [name]Frances[/name] from your [name]Nell[/name] combo, as it would pair better to my ear-- [name]Nella[/name] [name]Frances[/name] [name]Benito[/name] flows beautfully, and it incorporates a bit of Italian imagery with a nice buttoned-up English name, just like her siblings.
[Btw do you know the song [name]Nella[/name] [name]Fantasia[/name]?]
I normally love [name]Nell[/name], but I think [name]Nora[/name] might work best in you case. If I already had a daughter with a one syllable name I’d like the other girl to have a name with two or more, just to get some variety. And [name]Nora[/name] would probably sound more musical with your longer Italian surname.
My favourite is [name]Nell[/name] [name]Susannah[/name]. I think [name]Nell[/name] goes very nicely with the other siblings, and it’s less commonly used. [name]Dane[/name], [name]Andrew[/name], [name]Mae[/name] and [name]Nell[/name] sound great to me! My second favourite middle name combo would be [name]Nell[/name] [name]Frances[/name] if you think that sounds better with your last name.
[name]Nell[/name] [name]Frances[/name] is my favorite from your list, but I’m thinking that [name]Nora[/name] may sound better with your last name. [name]Even[/name] with the Noras you mentioned, my guess is that [name]Nora[/name] will never be super-popular so I wouldn’t worry about that. Either name works well with your sibset though so you really can’t go wrong with whichever you select. I like [name]Nora[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] best from your [name]Nora[/name] combos. What about [name]Nora[/name] [name]Margaret[/name], [name]Nora[/name] [name]Caroline[/name], [name]Nora[/name] [name]Jane[/name], or [name]Nora[/name] [name]Frances[/name]?
[name]Nora[/name] all the way for me. Spelled without the h - the h is not particularly authentic or traditional, and looks, to me, like it’s almost apologizing for the name, trying to dress it up somehow. Extra h’s get tossed around like glitter sometimes, lol.
[name]Norah[/name] also feels like a direct reference to [name]Norah[/name] [name]Jones[/name], who isn’t terrible, but I don’t love her THAT much. [name]Nora[/name] is more historic and has more namesakes.
[name]Nora[/name] is fine itself, and a nice smooth [name]Art[/name] Deco sort of trim-but-femme look, when spelled like this. It makes me think of slim flapper girls, and [name]Nora[/name] from the [name]Nick[/name] and [name]Nora[/name] mysteries.
I like [name]Nora[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Nora[/name] [name]Belle[/name]. Or maybe [name]Nora[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name]?
[name]One[/name] syllable does have an appeal, though, especially with a [name]Mae[/name] already.
For some reason, I like [name]Elle[/name] [name]Susannah[/name] or [name]Belle[/name] [name]Susannah[/name] more than [name]Nell[/name] [name]Susannah[/name]. Not sure why at all, all three should be fairly equivalent I would have thought!
[name]Louise[/name] is a two-syllable name with accent on the second syllable. If you wanted to continue that:
Thank you all so much for your feedback! Your comments mirrored so many of my own thoughts ([name]Nell[/name] might be fresher, [name]Nora[/name] might sound better with our last name, etc). I saw a middle name suggestion for [name]Nell[/name] on another forum that is now a front runner…[name]Nell[/name] [name]Sophia[/name]. Our last name has the emphasis on the first syllable, and while I have never been a huge [name]Sophia[/name] fan, [name]Nell[/name] [name]Sophia[/name] actually sounds quite nice together.
We are only 2 days away from her due date…I think we’re down to 2 choices:
[name]Nell[/name] [name]Sophia[/name]
[name]Nora[/name] [name]Belle[/name] (just think this is so precious, in much the same way that [name]Mae[/name] [name]Louise[/name] is)
Let me know if you have any thoughts! Thanks again!
[name]Both[/name] [name]Nora[/name] and [name]Nell[/name] are nicknames for [name]Eleanor[/name]/[name]Elinor[/name]. Maybe you could name her [name]Eleanor[/name] and then see which nickname suits her? [name]Elinor[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] has always been a favorite combo of mine.
For some reason [name]Nell[/name] just doesn’t seem to stand alone to well to me, maybe with an e at the end? I do like [name]Nora[/name] with or without the optional h.
I love [name]Nora[/name] and think it stands the test of time better than [name]Nell[/name].
I love [name]Nora[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Nora[/name] [name]Frances[/name]. I considered [name]Belle[/name] as mn for my dd but in the end worried that [name]Belle[/name] was a hard name to live up to even in the mn name spot - I probably over think things a bit I admit! Good [name]Luck[/name]!
