So I married an Axmacher...

Expecting daughter #2 in [name]June[/name]. Unfortunately, our surname is a bit of a beast at “Axmacher” pronounced [name]Ax[/name]-mocker with the A as in apple (although it seems people usually pronounce it Ahhh like in [name]Ox[/name]-mocker).

What do you do with such a masculine and clunky last name? Our first daughter is “[name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Cate[/name]”. I tend to prefer a definitively feminine first name but am curious what others think. My tentative list includes [name]Eloise[/name] [name]Juliet[/name], versus [name]Elle[/name] [name]Madeline[/name], [name]Elise[/name] [name]Madeline[/name], or [name]Juliet[/name] [name]Madeline[/name], but I’m curious to see what you guys would recommend pairing with our surname.

Thanks so much, I always value your opinions.

  • [name]Jessica[/name]

My favorite is [name]Juliet[/name] Axmacher ([name]Juliet[/name] and [name]Scarlett[/name] obviously rhyme, some people don’t like that but if it doesn’t bother you go for it). [name]Eloise[/name] is my second choice.

[name]Elise[/name] Axmacher and especially [name]Elle[/name] Axmacher are hard for me to say out l oud without getting tongue tied.

I really like [name]Madeline[/name] Axmacher, any reason not to use that as a first?
[name]Madeline[/name] [name]Juliet[/name]

Your daughter has a beautiful name, [name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Cate[/name] is very feminine and pretty. With such a strong feminine name I would choose [name]Juliet[/name] [name]Madeline[/name] for the second daughter.

I would definitely vary the syllables in the fn, mn and ln. [name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Cate[/name] Axmacher works well because it is 2-1-3. [name]Eloise[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] Axmacher is a mouthful for me [name]IMO[/name]. You could probably get away with 2-2-3 or 1-3-3, but the first name should end with a vowel and middle start with a consonent (or vice versa).

Here are some possible name combos you might like (suggestions from Nymbler):

[name]Grace[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Lucy[/name] [name]Claire[/name]
[name]Elise[/name] [name]Aria[/name]
[name]Lucille[/name] [name]Anne[/name]
[name]Alice[/name] [name]Evelyn[/name]
[name]May[/name] [name]Elle[/name]
[name]Ivy[/name] [name]May[/name]
[name]Raine[/name] [name]Amelie[/name]
[name]Rose[/name] [name]Lena[/name]

It always surprises me how much consideration people give the middle, since it so rarely comes up for an individual in everyday life. I don’t introduce myself as [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Margaret[/name], I introduce myself as [name]Elizabeth[/name]. Or even [name]Liz[/name], [name]Eliza[/name], [name]Beth[/name]…

But I digress.

Agree with the Jessicat on the pronunciation difficulty, and with [name]Madeline[/name] Axmacher being the easiest to say. I’m running through different names in my head, oddly it’s a bit counterintuitive as far as which flow best… [name]Genevieve[/name] Axmacher, [name]Emily[/name] Axmacher, [name]Ruby[/name] Axmacher are all on the easy side. Not necessarily suggesting as choices, just perhaps a jumping off point as far as phonetic balance.

From your list, the only one that I think doesn’t run together with your last name is [name]Juliet[/name]. I like yellow’s suggestion of [name]Genevieve[/name] and I’d like to suggest [name]Lydia[/name], [name]Cecily[/name], [name]Emmeline[/name], [name]Iris[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Cordelia[/name], and [name]Audrey[/name] (I think those should all work okay at least!).

I like [name]Eloise[/name]. I think the name is sleek and elegant, but also has a sense of humor about itself (because of the [name]Kay[/name] [name]Thompson[/name]/[name]Hilary[/name] [name]Knight[/name] books.) [name]Eloise[/name] Axmacher - I see her as a beautiful little girl with blue mary-janes and immaculate pigtails. Her kindergarten classmates will always remember her fabulously quirky name.

[name]Eloise[/name] [name]June[/name] Axmacher or [name]Eloise[/name] [name]Jane[/name] Axmacher or [name]Eloise[/name] (family name) A.
[name]Eloise[/name] + [name]Juliet[/name] takes either name into trendy territory.

Oh I married into a similar “beast” of a surname…3 clunky syllables, -er ending, and vowel sound beginning. Your name doesn’t have as many r’s as mine does, so at least you’ve got that!

What I’ve noticed, playing around with a last name that starts with a vowel sound, is you’ve got to be really careful about the final consonant of the first name (middles just aren’t used that often, special as they are). [name]Say[/name] the first and last name together a couple times quickly to see what I mean…my last name starts with “wine” so names that end in -s start to run together and it sounds like “swine”! I don’t want that! And names that end with an -o sound blend into the “oo” of the w- dipthong, and start to sound like -a, making a masculine-ending name turn feminine!

Anyways, that’s my name, how about yours =P [name]Elle[/name] Axmacher doesn’t work, just say it out loud a few times quickly…[name]Elle[/name] Axmacher…Ellaxmacher…Elaxmacher…suddenly it sounds like a pharmaceutical. [name]Scarlet[/name] is actually a great FN because the -t cuts the first name from the last. So you’ll want first names that end with hard consonants like -t or -d. Out of your choices, [name]Madeline[/name] is the best. You can do names that end with vowel sounds if you want something more feminine as long as the vowel sound is very different (-y is a great one, and honestly some -a names will require a little beat to change the vowel quality, and those might work as well).

Definitely something feminine. [name]Fiona[/name] would be lovely. I like [name]Eloise[/name] too. [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Madeline[/name] would be lovely.

I agree with Yellow, on this!

[name]Juliet[/name] is my favorite of the names you’ve chosen. It sounds good with [name]Scarlett[/name] and the rhyming, imo, is really nice in this case, especially for sisters! It also sounds good with the last name.

I think you would better off with names that are consonant heavy. Vowel heavy names like [name]Elle[/name] and [name]Eloise[/name] get lost with your last name.

Thank you everyone! I do love [name]Madeline[/name] but its pretty popular and was hoping for something a little more unique if possible. You are right about the first names sounding better when they end in a hard consonant. Thank you for the input!

Well, i somehow managed to accidentally close my own thread! Sorry if anybody tried to respond, time to stop checking nameberry on my phone!

[name]Juliet[/name] [name]Madeline[/name] is lovely and balances the masculinity of your surname.

[name]Juliet[/name] would be my favorite regardless of the last name, but it is definitely my favorite by far, given your last name. The Others don’t work as well. I think [name]Juliet[/name] is gorgeous!