My husband and I are expecting a little girl soon and we have almost decided on a name. What do you all think about [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Wilhelmina[/name]? I choose this name to honor my father who I lost this year. His name was [name]William[/name] so the middle name is an obvious choice. [name]Caroline[/name] was chosen because my father wanted to name me [name]Joy[/name] and I recently found out that [name]Caroline[/name] means [name]Joy[/name]. [name]Do[/name] you think it flows well? I want desperatly to honor my father, but also a beautiful name for our little girl. Also any nickname ideas?? Thanks in advance for any input!
I love the name [name]Caroline[/name] (one of my personal favorites) and I think middle names that have family meaning are really special. I don’t mind [name]Wilhelmina[/name] as a middle name, but if you are looking for other options you could go with his middle name or even his surname/your maiden name (if that name isn’t already your daughter’s surname).
Congratulations on your daughter!
A few points:
- Flow will depend on your surname, too, especially given that she’ll be called “[name]Caroline[/name] Surname” lots more than “[name]Caroline[/name] Wilehelmina.” In general, though you want to keep a few things in mind.
- try to avoid having names with the same syllable count next to each other (i.e. 2-3-2, 2-1-2, 3-2-1; rather than 2-2-3, 2-2-2)
- try to avoid having stressed syllables adjacent to each other. [name]Elise[/name] [name]Corinne[/name] works (e-[name]LISE[/name] cor-[name]RIN[/name]), but [name]Elise[/name] [name]Jane[/name] does not.
[name]Caroline[/name] [name]Wilhelmina[/name] is a very long name-- 3+ 4. If your surname has >1 syllable, I would say it’s too much name. In addition, if you’re pronouncing [name]Caroline[/name] to rhyme with line or shine, you are quasi-stressing the final syllable, which runs into the starting syllable in [name]Wilhelmina[/name].
If you switch the names to [name]Wilhelmina[/name] [name]Caroline[/name], that problem is resolved (say it aloud to see).
-
aesthetics: both [name]Caroline[/name] and [name]Wilhelmina[/name] are very, very consonant-heavy, particularly the latter. [name]Caroline[/name] might pair better with a softer, more vowel-rich middle. [name]Willa[/name], for example, if you’d like to honor your dad. [name]Willa[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] has optimal flow and just the right balance of consonant and vowel sounds.
-
meanings: [name]Caroline[/name] does not mean ‘joy,’ unfortunately. It’s a feminine variant of [name]Charles[/name], which means “army, warrior.”
-
[name]Wilhelmina[/name] is a very, very big name. Many people consider it too heavy and unfashionable for a young girl. It will get strong reactions.
My suggestion would therefore be [name]Willa[/name] [name]Caroline[/name]; you could also consider [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Joy[/name] (or, for better flow, [name]Carolina[/name] [name]Joy[/name]-- that ending A lilts right into [name]Joy[/name]) or, pulling out all the stops, [name]Wilhelmina[/name] [name]Joy[/name].
Ways to honor a [name]William[/name]:
[name]Willow[/name]
[name]Willamina[/name] (a trim variant of [name]Wilhelmina[/name])
[name]Twila[/name]
[name]Willene[/name]
Meaning: [name]William[/name] means “will + protection.” Roughly, “desire to protect.”
[name]Minna[/name]-- diminutive of [name]Wilhelmina[/name], modernized
[name]Lara[/name]-- different name from [name]Laura[/name], this means “protection”
Alvara-- “universal protection”
[name]Rosamond[/name]-- “horse protector;” all of the -mond names mean “protector”
Mouna-- “wish, desire”
I think my favorite is still [name]Willa[/name] [name]Caroline[/name].
I’ll second the suggestion of [name]Willa[/name], either as a first or middle name. It goes well with [name]Caroline[/name], and it’s nice that there’s family significance in your choices
I’m going to say that I love it. I like both names individually and together. I prefer [name]Wilhelmina[/name] to [name]Caroline[/name] actually, and I think it has better NN potential, [name]Willa[/name], [name]Mina[/name], [name]Billie[/name], [name]Minnie[/name] etc.
I also like the suggestion of [name]Willa[/name] [name]Caroline[/name].
I am so into [name]Wilhelmina[/name]. I agree it is a strong name but I am so glad you’re going for [name]Wilhelmina[/name] over [name]Willa[/name] or [name]Willow[/name]…
[name]Caroline[/name] is pretty, simple, classic & classy like [name]Catherine[/name]. It’s nice, but doesn’t excite me as much as [name]Wilhelmina[/name]. [name]Wilhelmina[/name] is so much more distinct & has many nickname possibilities
I think [name]Wilhelmina[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] flows better and sounds great.
[name]Wilhelmina[/name] [name]Joy[/name] is nice too.
[name]Willa[/name]
[name]Mina[/name]
[name]Winnie[/name]
[name]Minnie[/name]
[name]Billie[/name]
[name]Mila[/name]
[name]Caro[/name]
[name]Cara[/name]
[name]Lina[/name] (If you are saying [name]Caro[/name]-leen, but I usually assume it’s [name]Caro[/name]-line)
[name]Coco[/name]
Thank you all for your responses. [name]Blade[/name], I found on a couple of websites that The Scottish meaning of [name]Caroline[/name] is [name]Joy[/name]. I will have to look further into that. If it were totally up to me I would go with [name]Willa[/name], or [name]Wilhelmina[/name] as a first name but my husband is so not on board. I like the name [name]Caroline[/name] but the most important thing to me is to honor my father. His full name was [name]William[/name] [name]Joseph[/name] any other suggestions I am open to. Thank you so much of your input! Between losing my dad and my hormones I am really stressing.
[name]Caroline[/name] [name]Willow[/name] would be lovely.
[name]Gioia[/name]
[name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Jolene[/name]
[name]Jolie[/name]
[name]Persephone[/name]
[name]Johanna[/name]
[name]Joanna[/name]
[name]Joan[/name]
[name]Joanie[/name]
[name]Joni[/name]
[name]Josette[/name]
[name]Jonquil[/name]
[name]Jodie[/name]
I don’t have a list of names meaning [name]Joy[/name] but I love [name]Gioia[/name] (Italian for joy) and you could look into that.
Also maybe you could make a list of things that remind you of him. It might be a way to find a word name or place name that you associate with him.
Good luck & sorry for your loss.
I have to say that I don’t think that the websites saying that the Scottish meaning of [name]Caroline[/name] is “joy” are accurate. As far as I know, [name]Caroline[/name] is a French feminine form of [name]Charles[/name], like [name]Blade[/name] said. There’s a lot of inaccurate information about the meanings of names on the internet, even in the Nameberry database. The website Behind the Name is the only source I completely trust for reliably accurate meanings.
[name]Abigail[/name] means “my father is joy” or “father’s joy”, which you might like.
I don’t like [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Wilhelmina[/name]. Something sounds off. The names together are too heavy.
[name]Joy[/name]:
[name]Allegra[/name]
[name]Beatrice[/name]/[name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Felicity[/name]
[name]Gwyneth[/name]
[name]Merry[/name]
[name]Naomi[/name]
[name]Wilhelmina[/name]:
[name]Mina[/name]
[name]Wilhelmine[/name]
[name]Willa[/name]
[name]Willow[/name]
I like:
[name]Allegra[/name] [name]Willow[/name]
[name]Carolina[/name] [name]Willow[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name] [name]Willa[/name]
[name]Felicity[/name] [name]Willow[/name]
[name]Willa[/name] [name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Willa[/name] [name]Joyce[/name]
Wow, what great reply…lots of helpful info! Makes me want to share my 2 names with you and ask your opinion of them! 
Wow, [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Wilhelmina[/name] is a gorgeous combo! Neither of those names are my favourites but I do really like them. Together it sounds like the name of a [name]German[/name] or Austrian or Dutch queen (well there was [name]Caroline[/name] of Ansbach, a [name]German[/name]-born British queen consort, and [name]Queen[/name] [name]Wilhelmina[/name] of the Netherlands), a very good thing [name]IMO[/name]. Honouring family just makes it even more special.
I agree that it’s quite a mouthful- and that’s coming from someone who loves long names! But in reality, how often will she be called [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Wilhelmina[/name]? She’d probably be just [name]Caroline[/name] or [name]Caroline[/name] Lastname most of the time.
I’ve actually seen the “joy” meaning before…usually “Song of joy” or “Joyful song” I would assume stemming from the word “carol.”
Probably not the most legit meaning, but nicer than the “free man”/“womanly”/“small and womanly” meanings all from fem. form of [name]Charles[/name]. “Song of [name]Joy[/name]” was the meaning that was on the little “Your Name” wall poster I had as a kid.
I like [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Wilhelmina[/name]…it is a lot of name, but it’s a strong name. If the length is a concern, I do like the suggestion of the somewhat softer [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Willow[/name] or [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Willa[/name] (gorgeous!).
I really like the suggestions of [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Blythe[/name]. I think that has a beautiful flow. [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Willa[/name] is also lovely. Agreed that a 3 + 4 syllable name is a bit long.
[name]How[/name] about [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Joanna[/name]?