needs a middle name! We decided on [name]Annabel[/name] only a few months into my pregnancy, but we are now nearing the end and have no middle name. We are being incredibly indecisive, mostly b/c we really want to use a family name, but are not really in love with any of them. Our son’s name is [name]Henry[/name] [name]Joseph[/name] (both family names). We love that his name has meaning to us and our families. Below is a list of names we’ve considered and explanations of why they are on our list. Other suggestions on how to incorporate a fam name would be wonderful. We would SO appreciate any help.
[name]Quinn[/name] (my grandfather’s name was [name]Quintus[/name])
[name]Georgia[/name]/[name]Georgina[/name] (family name)
[name]Caroline[/name] (a name we love, but not a lot of family connection and seems like a mouthful)
[name]Violet[/name] (no family connection)
[name]Margaret[/name] (both have grandmothers with the name [name]Mary[/name]…so [name]Margaret[/name] is a derivative; any other [name]Mary[/name] suggestions?)
[name]Jean[/name] (my mother and grandmother’s middle name; dont’ really like it; any ideas on how to use in a different way?)
[name]Mae[/name] (my great-grandmothers name)
[name]Charlotte[/name] (another name we like and considered for a first name)
[name]Beatrice[/name]/[name]Beatrix[/name] (family name; but dh is not crazy about it)
Other family names that I love do not sound at all right with [name]Annabel[/name] (i.e. [name]Estella[/name]).
You have some great middle name choices on your list but my favourites in order of preference are:
1 [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name] (two classic names)
2 [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Mae[/name] (very Southern and ladylike)
3 [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Quinn[/name] (flows well together even if there are alot of "n’s)
I love the names of [name]Caroline[/name] & [name]Violet[/name] but there are 3 syllables in all of them so they would be quite a mouthful.
Alternatives to [name]Mary[/name]/[name]Margaret[/name]…you can choose names with “MA” beginnings: [name]Maeve[/name], [name]Margot[/name], [name]Marlowe[/name], [name]Maude[/name], [name]Maida[/name] or [name]Mairead[/name]. Instead of [name]Jean[/name], how about [name]Jeannette[/name], [name]Jeannine[/name] or even [name]Jane[/name], [name]Joan[/name] or [name]June[/name]?
[name]Quinn[/name] (my grandfather’s name was [name]Quintus[/name])
[name]Georgia[/name]/[name]Georgina[/name] (family name)
[name]Caroline[/name] (a name we love, but not a lot of family connection and seems like a mouthful)
[name]Violet[/name] (no family connection)
[name]Margaret[/name] (both have grandmothers with the name [name]Mary[/name]…so [name]Margaret[/name] is a derivative; any other [name]Mary[/name] suggestions?)
[name]Jean[/name] (my mother and grandmother’s middle name; dont’ really like it; any ideas on how to use in a different way?)
[name]Mae[/name] (my great-grandmothers name)
[name]Charlotte[/name] (another name we like and considered for a first name)
[name]Beatrice[/name]/[name]Beatrix[/name] (family name; but dh is not crazy about it)
Other family names that I love do not sound at all right with [name]Annabel[/name] (i.e. [name]Estella[/name]).
Great taste! I love your choices. Hard to choose.
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Quinn[/name] – I’d hate it without the family connection. I’m not a fan of [name]Quinn[/name] at best and don’t like it with [name]Annabel[/name]. Your grandfather makes all that go away. If this seems the time and place to honor him, do it.
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Georgiana[/name] – My favorite of the possible spellings. It rocks this is a family name, as it is possibly my favorite choice. Yes – it is a lot of syllables – a lot of beautiful together syllables. Not a bad thing.
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Violet[/name] – Very sweet. But I tend to favor those family connections.
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Margaret[/name] – I like it a lot, but I never think of [name]Margaret[/name] as a in the same family of names as [name]Mary[/name], although perhaps I’m wrong. I think the best of the versions of [name]Mary[/name] are nns such as [name]Mimi[/name] and [name]Mamie[/name], both adorable. I think [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Mamie[/name] is charming and offbeat, but I can see how it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It might not be yours. [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Miriam[/name]?
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Jean[/name] – [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Jane[/name] is much sweeter, and I think of [name]Jean[/name] and [name]Jane[/name] as kissing cousin names.
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Mae[/name] – So cute! Darling.
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name] – Another great choice! [name]How[/name] do you do it?
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] – Wonderful. But with so many choices your dh likes, why pick one he doesn’t?
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Marie[/name] – This makes the case that there can still be times when [name]Rose[/name], [name]Grace[/name], [name]Marie[/name] – and even [name]Ann[/name] – can work as mns. [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Mary[/name] just doesn’t flow right. [name]Annabell[/name] [name]Marie[/name] does.
My first suggestion: drop anything that you only like and has no family connection. I think names that have a meaning behind them are just so much better. My middle name is a family name, and I love that, even though I don’t like the name itself. Anyway…
My favorite is [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Quinn[/name]. [name]Quinn[/name] just seems so unexpected but perfect with [name]Annabel[/name]. It’s tough, modern, and totally different from [name]Annabel[/name], but flows really well and somehow doesn’t take away from it at all. The only problem I can see with it is that it’s not as classic as [name]Henry[/name] [name]Joseph[/name], but I don’t think that’s a huge issue.
My second choice is [name]Mae[/name]. [name]Mae[/name] is a diminutive of [name]Mary[/name] (or [name]Margaret[/name] or [name]Mabel[/name] or many other names) so it honors the great-grandmother and the grandmothers much more directly than [name]Margaret[/name], which is etymologically unrelated.
But I love all your choices! Good luck!
I like the follwoing combos:
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Quinn[/name] (but the “style” of first and middle name is quite different though)…
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Georgia[/name]
What about: [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Malia[/name] (hawaiian variant of [name]Mary[/name]), [name]Annabel[/name] Maristella (similar to [name]Estella[/name]), [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Joanne[/name] (as a variant of [name]Jean[/name])
I love [name]Annabel[/name] and [name]Henry[/name]!
From the middles you have, I really like [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Violet[/name], [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Margaret[/name], and [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name]. [name]Margaret[/name] is definitely not a derivative of [name]Mary[/name], though. What about [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Miriam[/name], [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Mary[/name], [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Maria[/name], [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Rosemary[/name], or [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Marianne[/name]?
Oh lovely choices and I love [name]Annabel[/name]! My favs are:
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Mae[/name] -this is perfect to me and [name]Mae[/name] is a nn for [name]Margaret[/name] and [name]Mary[/name] so honours more that one person too
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Margot[/name] (instead of [name]Margaret[/name]?)
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Maria[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Marisol[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Martha[/name] (similar to [name]Mary[/name]?)
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Quinn[/name] - I think this works well
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Jeannie[/name] - can’t think of many other ways to honour a [name]Jean[/name] except for maybe [name]Jane[/name], [name]June[/name] or [name]Joan[/name] all of which I think are lovely, especially [name]Jane[/name]!
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Georgina[/name] - I love [name]Georgina[/name]!
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate everyone taking the time to give us some feedback.
Right now, [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Quinn[/name] is at the top of my list and [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Georgia[/name] is at the top of my husbands. I like [name]Quinn[/name] because it feels rather unexpected and because my grandfather was very special to me and it would mean a lot to my grandmother. He prefers [name]Georgia[/name] b/c it was actually on our first name list and is a tad unsure of unisex names even with family connections ([name]Quinn[/name]). Still, we both like each others choice too, so they are both still in.
I think [name]Mae[/name] is off the list because my husband feels it is a little too country sounding with [name]Annabel[/name]. I’m a little disappointed because I agree it sounds really sweet and has a lot of family connection.
[name]Do[/name] you think using [name]Georgina[/name] is a way too honor a [name]Jean[/name], as well as [name]Georgia[/name]? It’s a bit of a stretch, but maybe it works…what do you think? [name]Annabel[/name] [name]Georgina[/name]
