I’m 38 weeks pregnant now with my second baby girl. The first, [name_f]Isla[/name_f] [name_f]Elise[/name_f], will be 20 months when her baby sister joins us. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband loves the name [name_f]Louise[/name_f]. I love the name [name_f]Lola[/name_f]. We have tried to compromise by combining the two names [name_f]Louise[/name_f] [name_f]Lola[/name_f] vs [name_f]Lola[/name_f] [name_f]Louise[/name_f], but we’re still butting heads on who gets the first name.
[name_f]My[/name_f] husband doesn’t like that [name_f]Lola[/name_f] is not well-known in the country he’s from, although the pronunciation would be almost identical in his language. Meanwhile [name_f]Louise[/name_f] is #32 in his country and has a very charming pronunciation in his language, but falls short in [name_f]English[/name_f]. He’s also concerned that [name_f]Lola[/name_f] might sound too similar to [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and get the names confused between the two girls or invite extra comparison given their close ages.
I don’t like that my mind sometimes reads [name_f]Louise[/name_f] as “Louse,” I used to work in a biology lab that studied lice. I also dislike when my family pronounces [name_f]Louise[/name_f] they overemphasize the “wheeze” part of the name. They also tend to truncate it to [name_f]Lou[/name_f] or [name_f]Lulu[/name_f], which are both cute, but I’d like the name to be just as appealing as the nicknames.
We’ve asked around with family and friends and gotten their take. Almost everyone prefers [name_f]Lola[/name_f] for the first name. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband has suggested going for [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] or [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] instead.
I think you could put [name_f]Louise[/name_f] on the birth certificate and use the nickname [name_f]Lola[/name_f]! That could be a “best of both worlds” situation. [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] nicknamed [name_f]Lola[/name_f] also makes perfect sense to me since the “lo” sound is right there.
[name_f]My[/name_f] daughter’s middle name is [name_f]Louisa[/name_f], because my great-grandmother’s name was [name_f]Maria[/name_f] [name_f]Luise[/name_f] (she was from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany).
[name_f]Louisa[/name_f] is a common European pronunciation (Spanish, Italian, [name_m]German[/name_m], Polish, Norwegian, etc) so it solves your problems with [name_f]Louise[/name_f], which is [name_m]French[/name_m].
I know that [name_f]Lola[/name_f] can sometimes be a nickname for [name_f]Dolores[/name_f], but it’s also a nickname for [name_f]Louisa[/name_f].
Whether you decide on [name_f]Louisa[/name_f], [name_f]Heloise[/name_f], [name_f]Eloise[/name_f], or [name_f]Lois[/name_f], you can still use [name_f]Lola[/name_f] as the nickname.
[name_f]Eloise[/name_f] did come to mind reading your dilemma, since it could be [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] ‘Lola’?
Honestly, I know it might feel ‘late’, but I’d keep [name_f]Louise[/name_f] and [name_f]Lola[/name_f] on the table, then look for a couple of completely new options - as neither of you seem happy with each other choices!
(not sure why, but [name_f]Nina[/name_f], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], [name_f]Anya[/name_f] and [name_f]Freya[/name_f] came to mind)
[name_f]Lola[/name_f] is a nickname for [name_f]Louise[/name_f]
But it seems like [name_f]Louise[/name_f] has bad associations with you
Maybe you can look for a name with a [name_f]Lo[/name_f] sound, like [name_f]Elodie[/name_f], then use [name_f]Lola[/name_f] as a nickname
I think Eloise might prevent people from overemphasizing the “wheeze” part, looks a lot less like “louse” and feels a bit more modern like sister Isla. You can also use Lola as the nickname for it. Actually there are a lot of nickname options she can choose from Elle, Ella, Lola, Lois. Eloise is the perfect compromise imo! Buuttt if neither of you will budge, I believe YOU should have the final say since you created them and carried them the whole 9 months. You’re the one that has to birth them. Seems most fair to me.
I know so many people that only go just by their nicknames - so many Johns are Jacks, so many Charlottes are Lotties etc - that the pronunciation issue with Louise shouldn’t be a problem as most of the people will call her by her nickname anyway🌷
I think Lola Luise flows better than Louise Lola, but I agree about the importance of finding a name that everyone is happy with, even if it has to be a third new name.
Here some new name suggestions that have a similar sound or feel to Lola and Louise:
Viola
Lois
Lydia
Lucille
Lena
Lana
Layla
Liza
Lily
Luna
Oona
Una
Leonie
Leah
Lyla
Lucinda
Delores
Lucy
Lucida
Elodie
Eloise
Luella
Luisa
[name_f]My[/name_f] favourite of the suggested Fn options is [name_f]Louisa[/name_f], I think that’s beautiful. But for a different ending sound for both the girls and a similar feel to [name_f]Isla[/name_f], [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] is perfect. Happily, it could also yield the nn [name_f]Lola[/name_f]. However I’d understand if you’d rather not use [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] for its similarity to [name_f]Elise[/name_f], though I don’t think this matters so much as [name_f]Elise[/name_f] is a middle.
Is there anything else on the table? I understand compromise is often necessary but both names seem a compromise too far for both parties.
Lola Louise
Louisa Lorraine
Eloise Lara
Dolores Eloise
Delilah Louise
Louise Lana
Louise Anne/Anna/Amy/Alora
Lorraine Laura
Paloma Louise
Loretta Louise
Yeah, [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] nn [name_f]Lola[/name_f] feels like a good compromise here. [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] is so pretty, [name_f]Lola[/name_f] is bright and spunky, and it’s not too close to [name_f]Isla[/name_f]
As it stands with these two names, you could have an [name_f]Isla[/name_f] [name_f]Elise[/name_f] + [name_f]Lola[/name_f] [name_f]Louise[/name_f] which are very similar in their sound patterns, or [name_f]Isla[/name_f] [name_f]Elise[/name_f] + [name_f]Louise[/name_f] [name_f]Lola[/name_f], which for me personally are more distinct overall in terms of sound, but for some reason, [name_f]Louise[/name_f] feels like a blend of your daughter’s first and middle names.
So my vote would go to [name_f]Lola[/name_f] [name_f]Louise[/name_f] or [name_f]Eloise[/name_f]!
& as a suggestion, a name I quite like myself is [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] [name_f]Jade[/name_f]
For me [name_f]Lila[/name_f] is much closer in sounds to [name_f]Isla[/name_f] than [name_f]Lola[/name_f] is. And between [name_f]Lola[/name_f] and [name_f]Louise[/name_f] I also prefer [name_f]Lola[/name_f]. I also picture [name_f]Isla[/name_f] & [name_f]Lola[/name_f] as sisters more than I can [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_f]Louise[/name_f]
I think [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] is also a cute option! Though [name_f]Elise[/name_f] is similar to [name_f]Eloise[/name_f], since it’s middle vs first name I don’t think it’s a bad option, and in a way it’s a sweet bond your daughters could share, having their first/middle names being similar
Some names you guys may like if you’re looking for alternatives
