Short name for long last name

Girl Names
1

I have 5 weeks to go and can’t settle on a name! We have a long, 5 syllable, german last name (16 letters!) so my first two kids have one syllable names that I love - [name]Luke[/name] and [name]Claire[/name].

I’ve wondered if I should do another one syllable name, but can’t really think of one I love.
I’ve thought of [name]Paige[/name], and [name]Jane[/name] (liked [name]Kate[/name] but we’ve had 2 Kates born in the family in the last year)

I like [name]Hailey[/name] and [name]Lily[/name] but wonder if they’re too popular - and they’re 2 syllables…
And I’ve considered [name]Amy[/name] because it’s short and sweet, despite that it reminds me of a dozen girls my age.

I want something that fits with [name]Claire[/name] but that doesn’t sound matchy. I like classic names - I don’t want to go too unique because our last name gets a lot of attention already.

[name]Kaye[/name] is my top choice for a middle name because it’s a family name.

Any help would be appreciated…this is keeping me up at night!

2

I see as perfect fits: [name]Anne[/name], [name]Eve[/name], [name]Fay/name, [name]Grace[/name], [name]May[/name]/[name]Mae[/name], [name]Rose[/name]

Less perfect maybe, but plausible: [name]Bell/name, [name]Elle[/name], [name]Faith[/name], [name]Hope[/name], [name]Joy[/name], [name]Kay[/name], [name]Nell/name, [name]Pearl[/name], [name]Ruth[/name], [name]Tess[/name]. I’d put [name]Tess[/name] and [name]Jane[/name] here, and [name]Joan[/name] and [name]Jean[/name].

Getting less likely, but in the realm of plausible: [name]Blaine[/name], [name]Blaise[/name], [name]Dawn[/name], [name]Gail[/name], Gate(s), [name]Fate[/name], [name]Fawn[/name], [name]Fern[/name], [name]Fleur[/name], [name]Jade[/name], [name]Jewel[/name], [name]Jude[/name], [name]Lane[/name], [name]Leigh[/name]/[name]Lee[/name], [name]Liv[/name], [name]Lynn/name, [name]Maeve[/name], [name]Maude[/name], [name]Neve[/name], [name]Quince[/name], [name]Quinn[/name], [name]Rue[/name], [name]Sage[/name], [name]Wren[/name]

You may want to look at a few more here:
http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/advice/middle.html

I also think a short snappy 2 syllable is fine! [name]Lily[/name] and [name]Amy[/name] seem to have more history than [name]Hailey[/name]. [name]Ada[/name], [name]Anna[/name], [name]Ava[/name], [name]Eva[/name], [name]Hannah[/name], [name]Ida[/name], [name]Iris[/name], [name]Isla[/name], [name]Leah[/name], [name]Lila[/name], [name]Mila[/name], [name]Nora[/name], [name]Rosa[/name], [name]Zoe[/name] all come quickly to mind.

Best wishes!

3

[name]Don[/name]'t continue the one syllable trend- I don’t like themed sibsets, and [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Luke[/name] aren’t close in any other way, so this baby wouldn’t feel left out. I love [name]Lily[/name]- it’s so classic and sweet and beautiful. [name]Hailey[/name] is trendy. They’re both about equally popular, but [name]Lily[/name] will age much better without becoming dated and is less likely than [name]Hailey[/name] to blend into the hoards of Baileys, Kaylees, and Naleighs. It’s got a much shorter history of use and that makes it seem less sophisticated to me. I wouldn’t worry about popularity- [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Luke[/name] are both in the top 100, so [name]Hailey[/name] and [name]Lily[/name] really aren’t significantly more popular. Other names you might like:
[name]Grace[/name] (I know I said two syllables was better, but this fits perfectly)
[name]Maya[/name]
[name]Leah[/name]
[name]Hannah[/name]
[name]Audrey[/name]
[name]Layla[/name]
[name]Nora[/name]
[name]Elise[/name]
[name]Corinne[/name]
[name]Adele[/name]
[name]Marie[/name]
[name]Lucy[/name]
[name]Bridget[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Camille[/name]
[name]Eva[/name]
[name]Mina[/name]/[name]Nina[/name]/[name]Lina[/name]
[name]Mara[/name]
[name]Rachel[/name]
[name]Sophie[/name]

4

I also have a very long, [name]German[/name] last name. However, I don’t think that should limit me (or you) to one syllable first names. I really like [name]Lily[/name] - it’s still short and sweet. Below are some other 1 and 2 syllable first names:

[name]Rose[/name]
[name]Eva[/name] - a little less popular than similar [name]Ava[/name]
[name]Ivy[/name]
[name]Joy[/name]
[name]Gemma[/name]
[name]Nora[/name]
[name]Willa[/name]
[name]Sylvie[/name]
[name]Pearl[/name]
[name]June[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Mia[/name] - very popular, I know. But, so sweet.
[name]Gail[/name]
[name]Anne[/name]/[name]Anna[/name]

5

My favorite one syllable name is [name]Eve[/name], but I don’t think you need to go with another one syllable name. Of the names you mentioned, I think [name]Lily[/name] is adorable and [name]Amy[/name] is very pretty. Other ideas-

[name]Alice[/name]
[name]Anna[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Brynn[/name]
[name]Eve[/name]
[name]Fleur[/name]
[name]Gemma[/name]
[name]Grace[/name]
[name]Gwen[/name]
[name]Helen[/name]
[name]Hope[/name]
[name]Ivy[/name]
[name]June[/name]
[name]Lily[/name]
[name]May[/name]
[name]Margo[/name]
[name]Nell[/name]
[name]Nina[/name]
[name]Rose[/name]
[name]Thea[/name]
[name]Zoe[/name]

6

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help! I feel more confident now and am happy to have more cute names to think about!

7

yeah, I don’t think you need to stick with the one syllable trend. Two syllables would be rephreshing…let’s see, how about…

[name]Stella[/name]
[name]Rosa[/name]
[name]Luna[/name]
[name]Sophie[/name]
[name]Cora[/name]
[name]Nora[/name]
[name]Isla[/name]
[name]Celia[/name]
[name]Juno[/name]
[name]Junia[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Ivy[/name]

8

I think I agree with not really having to do a one syllable name, especially if the two syllable is short and sweet. Thanks to your ideas my favorites now are [name]Lily[/name], [name]Nora[/name], [name]Ivy[/name] and [name]Mia[/name]. I also like [name]Grace[/name] and [name]Rose[/name].

[name]Hailey[/name] is cute, but you pinpointed my hesitation - it just hasn’t been around as long and I like names that have more history to them.

My last name starts with ‘von’ so a name with a V in it has a nice ring…like [name]Ivy[/name] or [name]Eva[/name]. Dumb question - Is [name]Eva[/name] pronounced “Eee-va” or “Eh-va”?

[name]Do[/name] [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Ivy[/name] go together as sisters? [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Lily[/name] sounds a bit cuter.

9

[name]Claire[/name] and [name]Ivy[/name] are fine as sisters, but I like [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Lily[/name] a lot better. [name]Eva[/name] is pronounced EE-va in English, EH-va in Spanish and Italian, and [name]Ava[/name] in Dutch, so really you can pick whichever you like. EE-va is probably the most common.