We are coming to the end and we still havent decided on a first name for our second baby - a girl. Our son is [name_m]Ian[/name_m] [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] and we absolutely love his name! Short and sweet, not too common but still classic as well. We have a middle name picked out for our girl [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] or [name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f] after my grandmother. Our last name is fairly long and so I don’t want to stick the poor girl with too long of a first name either.
The only 2 names DH and I have agreed on so far but still have not settled on are:
Isla (eye-la) - A pretty name but I worry about it being mispronounced (Is-la) and it’s another I name. I hadn’t planned on naming all my kids with the same letter. A cool coincidence is it does happen to be an anagram of my wonderful Mothers name [name_u]Lisa[/name_u]. Something we didn’t plan but found out afterwards.)
Paige - Pretty and a favorite of my husbands but I find it a bit blunt to my ears and so haven’t been able to love it but I think I could grow use to it. (I think its the one syllable that bothers me).
Other names we have considered:
Alice
[name_f]Veronica[/name_f] (Getting a bit to long)
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f]
[name_f]Hazel[/name_f]
[name_f]Layla[/name_f]
[name_f]Valerie[/name_f]
Any thoughts on our contenders or some other suggestions would be wonderful!
[name_f]Elsa[/name_f] - a variation of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]/[name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f]; [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] is also a variation of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]/[name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Suvi[/name_f]
[name_f]Alis[/name_f] - a variation of [name_f]Alice[/name_f]
I really like [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_m]Ian[/name_m] together! Though they start with the same letter, they do sound quite different so it doesn’t seem too match-y. Also, I think most people will pronounce it eye-la if you live in a predominantly [name_f]English[/name_f]-speaking area, since it’s like the word ‘island’. I could see it being said ees-la, like the Spanish word, though it should be an easy correction. Of you other options, I really like [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] with [name_m]Ian[/name_m] (and [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] [name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f] would be beautiful!)
Other ideas:
[name_f]Mara[/name_f]
[name_f]Cara[/name_f]
[name_f]Molly[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophie[/name_f]
[name_f]Claire[/name_f]
Would you consider [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] as a first name ?? [name_m]Ian[/name_m] & [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] would make a lovely sibset. And [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] [name_f]Isla[/name_f] would be a nice honor combo
I really like [name_f]Isla[/name_f] for you, and I don’t think pronunciation would be a big issue, honestly. Most [name_f]English[/name_f]-speakers assume the correct pronunciation; it would be Spanish-speakers who might not.
However, if you don’t want the siblings to share initials, would you consider [name_f]Lila[/name_f]/Lyla instead? It sounds similar, and is still close to [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] as an honor name. [name_u]Or[/name_u] there’s the lovely [name_f]Elisa[/name_f] for something more unique, if you like.
(But, I will say, that if you plan to have future children, you can always break the pattern with them.)
Oh, and I second the suggestion of using [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] as a first name! It would be a lovely choice, too.
Isla-I think that this is well known enough that people will get it right most of the time. It’s actually getting super popular. If that would bother you, I’d take that into consideration. It’s a beautiful name though. And it goes well w/Ian.
Paige-I don’t personally love it. It don’t mind it in theory, but I’m w/you that it doesn’t sound super nice. Kind of blunt, like you said. It does go well w/Ian though, for what its worth. And it’s not that popular, but well known.
Alice-Aw, so lovely. Smart, sweet, classic, simple & grows up well. It’s getting a little done, but not too terribly popular. It goes nicely w/Ian too.
Veronica-It is long, but it’s at least not overly complicated. It’s not my personal cup of tea, but it’s interesting.
Lucy-This is adorable. Sweet & classic & friendly. Nice w/Ian too. And simple, but still has substance.
Hazel-This is nice. It’s smart & quiet, but a little bit glamorous. Getting pretty popular.
Layla-This is also fairly over done. It has a pleasant sound, but it’s just too modern sounding & not that interesting in my opinion.
Valerie-Ooh, I like this one. It’s smart & friendly & well known but pretty unique. Really nice w/Ian. I like it w/the nn [name_f]Vivie[/name_f] too.
My favourite for you is [name_f]Alice[/name_f]. [name_f]Alice[/name_f] and [name_m]Ian[/name_m] are perfect together. [name_f]Isla[/name_f] is lovely and is well known so I don’t think it would be mispronounced but if you are planning on having more than two children I think I would try to avoid a name beginning with the letter I as you may feel boxed in choosing a name for the next baby.
I love [name_f]Isla[/name_f] [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] as a combo! Agree with everyone else - I doubt it’ll be mispronounced because it’s well-known nowadays and it works really nicely with [name_m]Ian[/name_m] because of the ee v eye sounds. Plus the connection to your mum is just lovely!
If you’re still not feeling another I name, I feel like [name_f]Alice[/name_f] or [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] would also match [name_m]Ian[/name_m] well.
Some other options:
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]
[name_f]Hester[/name_f]
[name_f]Maisie[/name_f]
[name_f]Verity[/name_f]
[name_f]Rhea[/name_f]
[name_f]Florrie[/name_f]
[name_u]Briar[/name_u]
[name_f]Etta[/name_f]
Isla is a popular little name I do not see this being mispronounced commonly. I think [name_m]Ian[/name_m] & [name_f]Isla[/name_f] work fine together even though [name_f]Isla[/name_f] feels a bit more trendy then [name_m]Ian[/name_m].
Paige is a nice name prefer [name_f]Isla[/name_f] though.
Would you consider [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] as a first name [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] is sweet with [name_m]Ian[/name_m] I really like the idea of [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] & [name_m]Ian[/name_m] I think it’s a really sweet sibling combination. I like the idea of [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] [name_f]Isla[/name_f] I think that’s very spunky. [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] has a nice vintage sound that works with [name_m]Ian[/name_m].
Your contenders feature my favourite options! I love [name_f]Alice[/name_f] and [name_f]Hazel[/name_f]. [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is a sweet whimsical choice I think she sounds lovely with [name_m]Ian[/name_m] stylistically they work well together. [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] is a favourite of mine she’s charming feels warm and inviting. I like [name_m]Ian[/name_m] & [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] as well.
If it was up to me my final choices would be…
[name_f]Gwen[/name_f] [name_f]Isla[/name_f]
[name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f]
[name_f]Hazel[/name_f] [name_f]Gwen[/name_f]
I think [name_f]Isla[/name_f] [name_f]Gwen[/name_f](dolyn) is lovely for you. I love the idea of an honour name from [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] coupled with [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] for your Grandma. [name_f]Isla[/name_f] is a lovely name with royal connections.
Another possible name from [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] is [name_f]Ilsa[/name_f]. It originated as a short form of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]/Elisabeth. This name could also be an honour name for your mother
Thank you all for your input (just so you know how things ended) we have decided to go with [name_f]Isla[/name_f]. I loved many of your suggestions and added them to my list (lucky for me my husband is decisive and can quickly veto things or we would have a list 50 long). I would have loved to use [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] as a first name like many of you suggested but husband vetoed that one from the beginning. We both agreed that [name_m]Ian[/name_m] and [name_f]Isla[/name_f] go well together and decided that with the personal connections it held it seemed the right choice for us. Thank you all for the input and setting my heart at ease!
