Sister for Britton

We’re expecting baby #2 in early 2016, but we’re already thinking about names (since my husband and I both love talking names)!

We have a 2 year old girl named [name_u]Britton[/name_u], a name we selected because it reminded us of the trips we’ve taken and loved to the UK. I am also an Anglophile through and through, and taught British Literature for several years, so the name just fit.

If we have a boy, we’ll name him [name_m]Gibson[/name_m] (nn [name_m]Gibby[/name_m] or [name_m]Gibb[/name_m]). It’s a family name (my middle name and my mom’s maiden name), and we like that it has the same “-on” ending as [name_u]Britton[/name_u]. It’s also Scottish, which ties in with the place name that our daughter already has.

For a girl, we’re in a three way tie between [name_f]Alba[/name_f], [name_u]Devon[/name_u], and [name_u]Teagan[/name_u]. We’ve already got the middle name picked out ([name_m]Vereen[/name_m]), and that’s non-negotiable as it is a family name.

  1. We like [name_f]Alba[/name_f] for a few reasons: it’s Gaelic for “[name_f]Scotland[/name_f],” so there’s that subtle British theming going on. It’s one of the character names from one of my favorite books (The Time [name_u]Traveler[/name_u]'s Wife). And it’s very similar to “[name_f]Alma[/name_f],” which was my paternal grandmother’s name: she was one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met, and I’d love to honor her memory with that name.

On the other hand, I don’t love [name_f]Alba[/name_f] because of the pronunciation issues ([name_m]AL[/name_m]-ba or ALL-bah…I like the latter). Plus, I’m afraid people will think we named her after [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] [name_f]Alba[/name_f].

  1. We like [name_u]Devon[/name_u] because it’s got a similar feeling to [name_u]Britton[/name_u]: two syllables, unisex, “-on” ending. However, of the three, my husband likes this one the least–mostly because he’s in love with the other two options. I am worried that [name_u]Devon[/name_u] will clash with the middle name we’ve already picked out: [name_m]Vereen[/name_m]. Too many Vs and Ns?

  2. When I suggested [name_u]Teagan[/name_u] originally, my husband immediately threw it out. It’s become the dark horse of the pack, though, and now he loves it as much as he does [name_f]Alba[/name_f] (his original first choice). I like it because it’s unisex, two syllables, and similar in style to [name_u]Britton[/name_u].

We have a common last name (think [name_m]Smith[/name_m] or [name_m]Jones[/name_m]) that starts with a D. I want to give our kids something unique to offset the last name factor.

So, [name_f]Alba[/name_f] [name_m]Vereen[/name_m] D______, [name_u]Devon[/name_u] [name_m]Vereen[/name_m] D__________, or [name_u]Teagan[/name_u] [name_m]Vereen[/name_m] D____________.

Thoughts? Which is your favorite of the three?

Out of those options, I love the name [name_f]Alba[/name_f].

I also really like [name_m]Gibson[/name_m]. I know someone with this name and his nn is Gibs.

I love the name [name_u]Devon[/name_u] simply because it is my favorite part of [name_m]Britain[/name_m]. But it is a little rhymey with [name_m]Vereen[/name_m], although not much more than [name_u]Teagan[/name_u]. I like the association of [name_f]Alba[/name_f] with [name_f]Scotland[/name_f] ([name_m]King[/name_m] Hereafter is my all time favorite book), but I don’t find it an attractive name for a girl. So I would probably drop it from consideration myself and would probably ultimately vote for [name_u]Teagan[/name_u].

I’d choose [name_u]Teagan[/name_u], because [name_u]Devon[/name_u] doesn’t quite flow with [name_m]Vereen[/name_m], and [name_f]Alba[/name_f] [name_m]Vereen[/name_m] sounds a little clunky. Some similar names: [name_u]Reagan[/name_u], [name_f]Tamsin[/name_f], [name_f]Bryony[/name_f], [name_f]Ailsa[/name_f].