UPDATE: It’s done!! The 30 finalists can be found in this thread: https://forum.nameberry.com/t/final-monster-list-wrap-up/366729. Please note that you are welcome to continue coming up with combos, whether here or on the new thread.
Sorry about the title. This whole process is making me a little punchy. 
If you’ve been following my journey from the start, you’ll know that initially, I’d hoped to whittle down my massive collection of names to a shortlist of about 30 that we could take with us to the hospital. After several days, multiple threads, and narrowing down our Monster List from 141 to 56, I started seeing diminishing returns with all the analysis.
If you’ll indulge my geekery for a minute - I’m an INFP, so in terms of the cognitive functions, I’m an Ne-user, not an Ni-user. [name_f]My[/name_f] brain works by generating new ideas and possibilities, and really struggles with narrowing down existing options. I’ve always been indecisive, and I think I reached a point in the process where I just could not move forward with eliminating more names until I explored some of the possibilities!
Which brings me to the fun stuff: combo time!! I’m going to list all of our names and let y’all have fun playing in the sandbox and coming up with possibilities. Not only will this hopefully reignite my creativity (I’ve definitely been feeling a little name fatigue), but it should also reveal patterns of which names I’m drawn to in combos and which ones feel uninspiring, which in theory will lead to further whittling down of the list.
A little background on our family: I (the pregnant one) am in a long-term polyamorous relationship with two live-in partners, and we will all be co-parenting together. I’ve called them T and S to avoid confusion. We’re also super pagan, hence all the witchy names!
Combo Guidelines
- Keep in mind that our last name is phonetically pronounced KAY-lahr.
- We’re looking for combos with two middle names.
- Ideally, each combo should incorporate at least one nature or word name (most of these can be found on the Middles Only list).
- Ideally, each combo should incorporate at least one name that is unisex, or has a nickname that is unisex or masc. We want our child to have built-in options if they are not comfortable presenting as femme.
And without further ado, here are the lists! Names in italics indicate names that at least 2 out of the 3 of us have explicitly stated a preference for or personal connection to. Note that this doesn’t mean that names without italics are only liked by one person. I’ve been doing the vast majority of the name hunting, so neither T nor S has seen the entire list as it currently stands. (I was hoping to narrow things down a little further before bringing it to them. T especially gets overwhelmed when presented with too many options. But I digress!)
Firsts or Middles
[name_u]Alder[/name_u], [name_f]Avalon[/name_f], [name_f]Belladonna[/name_f], [name_f]Circe[/name_f], [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f], [name_f]Cosima[/name_f], [name_f]Elowen[/name_f], [name_f]Ferelith[/name_f], [name_f]Gwyneira[/name_f], [name_f]Illyria[/name_f], [name_f]Isadora[/name_f], [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], [name_f]Lavinia[/name_f], [name_f]Lilith[/name_f], [name_f]Lumi[/name_f] / Lumiere, Lunaria, [name_f]Melusine[/name_f], [name_f]Morwenna[/name_f], Mycelia, [name_f]Nimue[/name_f], [name_f]Octavia[/name_f], [name_f]Olwen[/name_f], [name_f]Oona[/name_f], [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], [name_u]Phaedra[/name_u], [name_f]Reverie[/name_f], [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f], [name_f]Senara[/name_f], [name_f]Soraya[/name_f], [name_f]Sylvana[/name_f] (and variants [name_m]Sylvan[/name_m] or [name_f]Sylvaine[/name_f]), [name_f]Sylvestra[/name_f], [name_f]Titania[/name_f], and [name_f]Wisteria[/name_f].
Middles Only
[name_f]Alcyone[/name_f], [name_f]Alice[/name_f], [name_f]Bianca[/name_f], [name_u]Cypress[/name_u], [name_f]Eve[/name_f], [name_u]Fable[/name_u], [name_f]Fawn[/name_f], [name_f]Fern[/name_f] / Fearn, [name_f]Ivy[/name_f], [name_u]Lark[/name_u], [name_u]Meadowlark[/name_u], [name_f]Moon[/name_f], [name_u]Nairne[/name_u], [name_u]Nightingale[/name_u], [name_u]Noor[/name_u], [name_u]Oleander[/name_u], [name_u]Rune[/name_u], [name_u]Snow[/name_u], [name_u]Starling[/name_u], [name_u]Willow[/name_u], [name_f]Yvaine[/name_f], and [name_f]Zelda[/name_f].
Sample Combos
These are some of the combos I’ve played with over the past few months. A couple of them are no longer relevant because certain names were cut, but they should give you an idea of the style we’re going for.
- [name_f]Circe[/name_f] [name_f]Morwenna[/name_f] [name_f]Fern[/name_f] - this is still my favorite, and I would use it in a heartbeat if T and S were to give the go ahead.
- [name_f]Nimue[/name_f] [name_f]Lily[/name_f] [name_f]Sylvestra[/name_f] - this was my number one combo until S used her veto on [name_f]Lily[/name_f]. I haven’t found another nature middle that feels like it belongs between these two names.
- [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] [name_u]Willow[/name_u] - they would have gone by [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] rather than [name_f]Alice[/name_f], but ultimately, I decided against having [name_f]Alice[/name_f] in the first name slot even so.
- [name_m]Sylvan[/name_m] [name_f]Illyria[/name_f] [name_u]Fable[/name_u] - I don’t know that I love [name_m]Sylvan[/name_m] in the first name slot, but the Sylv- options ending in A didn’t work next to [name_f]Illyria[/name_f].
- [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] [name_u]Alder[/name_u] [name_f]Octavia[/name_f] - super in love with the ___ [name_u]Alder[/name_u] [name_f]Octavia[/name_f] portion, but feel like they need a different first other than [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] favorite [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] combo was [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] [name_u]Briar[/name_u] ___, but [name_u]Briar[/name_u] has since been removed from the list after T used their veto.
If you have any questions about specific meanings behind these names, you can reference the original posts for Round One https://forum.nameberry.com/t/help-me-narrow-down-my-massive-list-part-1-a-g/365143/ (Parts 2 and 3 are linked at the bottom) and Round Two Round Two of the Monster List: The Questioning. In both places, I go pretty in depth, both in the original posts and in my subsequent replies, about why each name is on the list and what connections and associations they hold for us.
This is everything I can think of, but if you have questions, please feel free to ask! Thank you once more for your assistance, dear Berries. I never would have made it this far without you. Hopefully playing in the combo sandbox will feel like a reward after all your hard work of helping me dissect and analyze each name along the way!
All these magical suggestions are making me fall in love with these names all over again!
Thank you very much for the feedback and suggestions. I think [name_f]Illyria[/name_f] [name_u]Fable[/name_u] [name_f]Moon[/name_f] is absolutely magical, and [name_f]Cosima[/name_f] [name_f]Fawn[/name_f] Lumiere is so evocative - it feels like warm candlelight on a starry night. [name_f]My[/name_f] favorite of your [name_f]Reverie[/name_f] combos is actually [name_f]Reverie[/name_f] [name_u]Lark[/name_u] [name_f]Sylvana[/name_f], as I love the drama of [name_f]Sylvana[/name_f] next to the dreaminess of [name_f]Reverie[/name_f] [name_u]Lark[/name_u]. [name_f]My[/name_f] absolute favorite of your other suggestions is [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] [name_f]Sylvestra[/name_f] [name_f]Fern[/name_f]. I love the liquid sounds of [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] next to the whispery [name_f]Sylvestra[/name_f], and [name_f]Fern[/name_f] wraps the whole combo up in this beautiful nature-drenched bow. This combo just radiates [name_m]Pacific[/name_m] Northwest forest energy!