Roxie, Rio, Kai and”

[name]Hi[/name] there. My name is [name]April[/name] and my husband [name]JR[/name] and I have two daughters, a son who is no longer with us, and are expecting our fourth in [name]October[/name]. We live in [name]California[/name] and my husband is a surf-nut so he loves any name having to do with surfing or the beach. I prefer to be a bit more subtle (so [name]Coral[/name], Sea, [name]Cove[/name] etc. are all out), but finding names we both like that have the right feel for us is difficult. THE name has to feel effortless and laid back but still playful and exotic- like a great day at the beach. My husband and I have thrown around a few names for number four but nothing is sticking so far. Our oldest daughter, age seven, is [name]Roxie[/name] [name]Adelaide[/name]. It was pretty easy to decide on [name]Roxie[/name] (it”s a surf brand, and it also comes from my favorite musical, Chicago) and [name]Adelaide[/name] is a nod to my DHs Aussie roots. Had she been a boy her name would have been [name]Knox[/name] [name]Alexander[/name], but we”ve eliminated that now because [name]Knox[/name] and [name]Roxie[/name] seem to close. Our second daughter, age four, is [name]Rio[/name] [name]Artemis[/name], [name]Rio[/name] was chosen partially because of it”s connection to water, partially because of the [name]Duran[/name] [name]Duran[/name] song (”Her name is [name]Rio[/name] and she dances on the sand”, my DH and I met in the summer we were ten- when the song was released). I”ll get to [name]Artemis[/name] in a second. [name]Rio[/name] was a twin, but her brother was only with us for a few days. Our son is named [name]Kai[/name] [name]Apollo[/name] [name]Malachi[/name]. We choose [name]Kai[/name] because of it”s oceanic connection (plus we love [name]Hawaii[/name]), [name]Apollo[/name] and [name]Artemis[/name] were the twin god/goddess and children of [name]Zeus[/name] and [name]Leta[/name] (one of our and [name]Roxie[/name]”s favorite myths) and [name]Malachi[/name] was chosen after he was born because it means ”My messenger” or ”my angel”, and though [name]Kai[/name] is no longer with us, he was our angel- he delivered a very special message to us. We are very blessed to be expecting again and choosing a name this time around is very difficult, especially because after loosing [name]Kai[/name], it’s hard to attach to another name. Actually the reason I’m posting here is because a friend who comes to this site mentioned other moms in a similar situation have found great advice here in the past.

A name we love is [name]Stella[/name], but it”s getting popular and I know more than a few babies in L.A. with the name (not to mention the star baby associations). Other than [name]Stella[/name] we don”t have a lot. We”d like to avoid other R names and nothing similar to [name]Kai[/name]- though he is no longer with us we talk about him often and his name is important to us. Our last name is Stevens. S names usually sound bad with it (another reason not to use [name]Stella[/name]” [name]Stella[/name] Stevens”ehh). We”d also love to use another A name in the middle, to connect this baby to their sisters and to [name]Kai[/name]. We need a short list of both boy and girl names, so lots of suggestions are needed!

The few names we”ve seriously considered:

Boy:
[name]Smith[/name] (an homage to the Smiths, our favorite band, but is [name]Smith[/name] Stevens bad?)
[name]Bodhi[/name] (seems to be popping up a lot in our area, more often spelled [name]Bode[/name] and Bodie)
[name]Dax[/name] (too much X with [name]Roxy[/name] we think, same reason we can”t use [name]Knox[/name])

Girl:
[name]Vida[/name]/[name]Vita[/name]/[name]Viva[/name] (love that these mean life, but I feel like we shouldn”t use another Spanish name because we”re not Spanish”)
[name]Lola[/name] (same as above)
[name]Vega[/name] ” love the astronomical connection, dislike that people will butcher the pronounciation.
[name]Lotus[/name] ” my favorite at the moment, DH likes it too, so it is at the top of our list. The only concern is that [name]Lotus[/name] Stevens kinds of runs into itself.

Any help, advice, and suggestions you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks a ton!

  • [name]April[/name]

I love your names, [name]Roxie[/name], [name]Rio[/name] and [name]Kai[/name] and I think it”s wonderful that [name]Kai[/name] is still such an important part of your family”s life!
Here”s what I came up with:
[name]Vida[/name] ” my favorite from your list. beautiful name, perfect fit for me with your other three. If you like it I”m sure your daughter will love it
[name]Marisol[/name] ” you made me immediately think of this when you said you were looking for a great day at the beach. might be too long for your taste compared to your other 3
[name]Marina[/name] ” nice meaning, but doesn”t really fit your others
[name]Pearl[/name] ” makes me think of the ocean
[name]Coral[/name] - I actually like this and I don”t think it”s more obvious than [name]Rio[/name]
[name]Ama[/name] - Cherokee name meaning "water”
Inna - Russian unisex name meaning "strong water”
Moana - Hawaiian unisex name meaning “wide expanse of water.”
[name]Ren[/name] - Japanese name meaning “water lily.”
[name]Tallula[/name] - Native American Choctaw name meaning “leaping water.”
[name]Iara[/name], [name]Yara[/name] - Brazilian, ”water lady”, like this a lot
[name]India[/name] ” Sanskrit, ”body of water”
Inia - Sanskrit, ”body of water”
[name]Talise[/name] - Native American ”beautiful water”, lie this, too

[name]Moses[/name] ”obvious water connection, I love the name and it fits you others

I can see all of the following on boys and girls, more on boys though:
[name]Ellery[/name] - just like the name and the meaning, thought it might fit
[name]Dallas[/name] ” ”skilled”, other website says ”from the waterfall”
[name]Wiley[/name] - Old English name meaning “water meadow.”
Kelbi - Celtic/Gaelic ” ”Place by the flowing water”
[name]Noah[/name] ” obvious water connection, I love the name and it fits your others, though it might be too popular in comparison Bondi ” Aboriginal - ”Sound of tumbling water”. Since you like [name]Bodhi[/name], plus the beach, surfer and aussie connection - seems perfect for you ( also Bells and [name]Byron[/name] ” all three are Australian beach names)

Middle names:
Airlie ” beach in Australia
[name]Anthea[/name] - lady of flowers (Greek)
[name]Aretha[/name] - the best, nymph (Greek) - day at the beach, surfing and the ocean makes me think of music. [name]Aretha[/name] would be a nice music connection.
Aspasia - welcomed (Greek), meaning sounds perfect for you
[name]Astra[/name] - like a star (Greek)
[name]Astrid[/name] - star, super strength, divine strength (Greek)
Athan - immortal (Greek)
[name]Athena[/name] - goddess of wisdom (Greek)
[name]Althea[/name] (Greek) ” ”with healing power” (one of my favourites)
Arion ” musician (Greek) ” love it
Aristo ” best (Greek) ” love it

Bondi I think would be my favorite for you because it is perfect for a beach-ocean.surfer-music picture and shares the Australia connection with [name]Roxie[/name] [name]Adelaide[/name]. I would pair it with a Greek A-middle name to connect it to [name]Rio[/name] and [name]Kai[/name] like Bondi [name]Althea[/name] for a girl or Bondi Arion or Bondi Aristo for a boy.
Good luck!

I adore your childrens’ names and the fact that they all have personal significance to you!

Boy:
[name]Smith[/name]: I really like this! It’s so accessible but also incredibly unique - a rare combination. Goes great with [name]Roxie[/name], [name]Rio[/name], and [name]Kai[/name]. [name]Smith[/name] Stevens isn’t ideal, but I wouldn’t let it stop you from using the name. If you still like [name]Alexander[/name], I think [name]Smith[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] Stevens works great, gives you another A name in the middle, and has a very nice look when written out.

[name]Bodhi[/name]: [name]Roxie[/name], [name]Rio[/name], [name]Kai[/name], and [name]Bodhi[/name]… too much of the “ee” sound for my taste. Fits stylistically, though, so it could work. I would not suggest using this name without having a thorough understanding of and respect for its significance in Buddhism, but considering that each of your other names has a specific connection to you, I’m guessing you probably already do. :slight_smile:

[name]Dax[/name]: [name]Roxie[/name] and [name]Knox[/name] sound matchy because they share a vowel sound as well as a consonant, but I don’t think sharing the x alone (as in [name]Roxie[/name] and [name]Dax[/name]) is too much. If you’re worried, maybe [name]Dashiell[/name] nn [name]Dax[/name]?

Overall, [name]Smith[/name] gets my vote for the boys.

Girl:
[name]Vida[/name]/[name]Vita[/name]/[name]Viva[/name]: These aren’t necessarily strictly “Spanish names” - they all have their roots in Latin, right? [name]Vida[/name] and [name]Viva[/name] do have a certain Spanish flair, but if you’re wanting to avoid that, I think [name]Vita[/name] would be a good bet. I probably wouldn’t have gotten that same feel from [name]Vita[/name] if you hadn’t mentioned your concern and I hadn’t seen it in the context of [name]Viva[/name] and [name]Vida[/name]. As someone with a very Spanish name (Sonrisa) and no Spanish heritage, I’ve actually really enjoyed that connection - I’m heading into my sixth(ish) year of Spanish class this fall! :slight_smile: For some reason the “ee” sound in [name]Vida[/name]/[name]Vita[/name]/[name]Viva[/name] doesn’t strike me as “overdoing it” in your sibset the way that [name]Bodhi[/name] did… maybe because of the different ending? But bottom line, I think any of these names would work for you, [name]Vita[/name] especially if you’re worried about the Spanish thing.

[name]Lola[/name]: A nice name, but sort of trendy right now. In the sibset of [name]Roxie[/name], [name]Rio[/name], [name]Kai[/name], and [name]Lola[/name], I would probably think [name]Rio[/name] was a boy since [name]Lola[/name] and [name]Roxie[/name] are so similar, both with strong, slightly dangerous, distinctly feminine associations (Chicago and [name]Lolita[/name]). Those two names go well together, but they leave [name]Rio[/name] sort of left out.

[name]Vega[/name] ” [name]Love[/name] this in your sibset. It’s pronounced VAY-guh, right? Like [name]Vegas[/name] without the s? I don’t know about you, but to me that’s a pretty obvious pronunciation (assuming it’s right! haha. if not, then I think I just proved your point!) Speaking of [name]Vegas[/name]… my only concern with this name is that [name]Vega[/name] Stevens might start sounding like [name]Vegas[/name]…

[name]Lotus[/name] ” I adore this! It’s more different from your other names than [name]Vida[/name]/[name]Vita[/name]/[name]Viva[/name], [name]Lola[/name], and [name]Vega[/name] are, but it still fits wonderfully in your sibset. Another plus to [name]Lotus[/name] is that since it’s the only one of your girl names that doesn’t end in a, it’s probably the only one you can do an A middle name with. I think a three-syllable middle name with the stress on the second syllable (like [name]Amelia[/name], for example, although you’ll probably want something more unique… [name]Ailani[/name]? [name]Arava[/name]?) would be perfect. As for [name]Lotus[/name] Stevens, the same thing applies as with [name]Smith[/name] Stevens. If everything else fits, don’t let that stop you. :slight_smile:

[name]Lotus[/name] is my favorite of the girls.

Good luck!

~Sonrisa

First of all, oh my gosh I [name]LOVE[/name] your names! I love [name]Rio[/name] for a girl sooo much! I love it because of the song and because of that I think it’d be so weird for a boy “HER name is [name]Rio[/name]!”. I’m really excited to see what you pick for this baby!

I’m also from [name]California[/name] and worked in theatre for years! Yay!

Boy:
[name]Smith[/name]- I love [name]Smith[/name] but hmm, I’m not sure about [name]Smith[/name] Stevens
[name]Bodhi[/name]- [name]Bodhi[/name] is awesome.
[name]Dax[/name]- I agree with PP, you can use this, it’s not nearly as match as [name]Roxie[/name] and [name]Knox[/name]. What about [name]Dash[/name] instead?

Girl:
[name]Vida[/name]/[name]Vita[/name]/[name]Viva[/name]- I don’t think it’d be weird for you to use this… Especially [name]Viva[/name].
[name]Lola[/name]- I don’t think of this as Spanish, but I think it’s too feminine like [name]Roxie[/name], leaving [name]Rio[/name] out.
[name]Vega[/name] ” I think I’d butcher it, I’m not sure how it’s supposed to be said
[name]Lotus[/name] ” this is beautiful and great with your kids, but it sounds like [name]Lota[/name] Stevens, or Loada Stevens when I say it. Personally I wouldn’t use it.

Some suggestions:
Boys:
[name]Link[/name] - surferish and Hairspray!
[name]Jude[/name]- Hey [name]Jude[/name] reminds me of the beach
[name]Oz[/name]
[name]Breaker[/name]- a la 9 by Design, reminds me of waves
[name]Rocco[/name]
[name]Rocky[/name] (Horror)
[name]Kingston[/name]
[name]Levi[/name]
[name]Ace[/name]/[name]Asa[/name]
[name]Hawk[/name]
[name]Noble[/name]
Zucko (as in [name]Danny[/name])
[name]Pippin[/name]

Girls-
[name]Rhea[/name] prn [name]Ray[/name]-uh- this is my friends name and she gets tons of compliments, also mythological
[name]Paz[/name]
[name]Soleil[/name]- Means sun, nice meaning for beach people :slight_smile:
[name]Echo[/name]
[name]Priya[/name]- [name]LOVE[/name]
[name]Zita[/name]
Zinna
[name]Zelda[/name]
[name]Magenta[/name]
[name]Columbia[/name] ([name]Rocky[/name] Horror again!)
Rizzo- probably not, lol!
Frenchie?

Ok, can you tell I was trying to think of theatre names? Hehe. Maybe [name]Pippin[/name] isn’t the right fit, but some of them are cool! I feel like there are a million more names for you at the tip of my tongue that I can’t think of!

Hello and [name]Welcome[/name]! I am sorry to hear about kai.

what do u think about:
[name]Ondine[/name]- a mythological water spirit

[name]Maya[/name] - “water”
[name]Ianthe[/name] - the name of an [name]Ocean[/name] Nymph
[name]Mira[/name] - “sea” in Sanskrit
[name]Dylan[/name] - From the Welsh elements dy “great” and llanw “tide, flow”. In Welsh mythology [name]Dylan[/name] was a god or hero associated with the sea

Only as a middle name, but the herb name [name]Rosemary[/name] comes from ros marinus meaning “dew of the sea”.

P.S. The literary spelling is [name]Undine[/name], [name]Ondine[/name] is a movie.

[name]Delfina[/name]- Dophin

Hey [name]Fay[/name],

According to Wikipedia its undine or ondine- from the latin word unda which means wave. Here is the link Undine - Wikipedia

I am terribly sorry to hear about [name]Kai[/name], but that is such a great name! [name]Roxie[/name] and [name]Rio[/name] are also very cool names. It is great that each of your names has a special meaning to you.

Boy:
[name]Smith[/name] - I surprisingly really like this name, but I feel like it doesn’t ‘fit’ in with [name]Roxie[/name], [name]Rio[/name] or [name]Kai[/name]. [name]Smith[/name] Stevens doesn’t sound bad though.
[name]Bodhi[/name] - really dislike this name, seems like a bad spelling of body or a mispelling of [name]Brody[/name]. It aslo sounds a bit like grody.
[name]Dax[/name] - I adore this name with your children’s names! [name]Dax[/name] and [name]Roxie[/name] aren’t too much! Since [name]Roxie[/name] and [name]Rio[/name] start with ‘r’ then [name]Kai[/name] and [name]Dax[/name] would be different. [name]Roxie[/name] and [name]Dax[/name] have an ‘x’ and [name]Kai[/name] and [name]Rio[/name] are different. perfectly acceptable.

Girl:
[name]Vida[/name]/[name]Vita[/name]/[name]Viva[/name] - I love each of these names and think that they work well with your sib set.
[name]Lola[/name] (same as above) - don’t think that this name matches.
[name]Vega[/name] ” My favorite name on your girls list.
[name]Lotus[/name] ” doesn’t seem to fit with [name]Roxie[/name], [name]Rio[/name] and [name]Kai[/name].

My friend [name]Caira[/name] is from South [name]Africa[/name] and huge into surfing. She and her husband named each of their four children after water/surf/beach themes:
[name]Echo[/name] (g), [name]Carver[/name] (b), [name]East[/name] (b) and Salani (g). I know that [name]East[/name] is named after the Eastern Coast of South [name]Africa[/name]. I think that any of these names could work with your sib-set as well!

Okay this might be crazy, but what about [name]Mickey[/name] for a boy? Then [name]Roxie[/name] would have the song [name]Roxie[/name], [name]Rio[/name] would have her song and [name]Mickey[/name] would have “Oh [name]Mickey[/name] you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, Hey [name]Mickey[/name]!” I think someone like that would be a fun sibling connection. The [name]Mickey[/name] song reminds me of the [name]Rio[/name] song, upbeat and happy and something everyone knows and likes. [name]Mickey[/name] could also be a nickname for [name]Michael[/name] or [name]Mikhail[/name] (I have no clue how to spell that) or even [name]Mitchell[/name] or just [name]Mitch[/name] or tons of things. Anyway, I heard the song today and thought of you, so I thought I’d throw it out there!