Thanks, berries, for all of your help! We have narrowed our list down to three girls names and two boys names. All of them draw upon family names, with an optional second middle that is also a family name. Here is a little bit about each of our names and why they are staying on the list while others have been eliminated. I’d love any thoughts on our remaining choices. Thanks so much!
Boys:
[name]Theodore[/name] [name]James[/name] Rhynold – [name]Theodore[/name] was my husband’s great-grandfather. It is also a Greek name like [name]Alexander[/name] and doesn’t share many similar sounds to our other children’s names. Plus it has multiple nickname options ([name]Theo[/name] and [name]Teddy[/name] are my faves). [name]James[/name] is a family name on my side for generations – my uncle, my great-grandfather, great-great grandfather, etc. And Rhynold was the name of my husband’s beloved grandfather on his mother’s side. Plus my hubby thinks that T.J. Rhynold sounds like a vintage Hollywood name. We both love this combo.
[name]Sebastian[/name] [name]Thomas[/name] Rhynold – We love the name [name]Sebastian[/name] with the nickname [name]Bastian[/name], and think that [name]Xander[/name] and [name]Bastian[/name] make pretty awesome brothers. Downside is the “an” ending, which is similar to [name]Madelyn[/name] (and the fact that our [name]Madelyn[/name] cannot get over the [name]Little[/name] Mermaid association). The name [name]Thomas[/name] is shared by my grandfather and my uncle, as well as a great-great grandfather on my husband’s side. And again, our beloved Rhynold. 
But this combo just isn’t as fantastic for me as [name]Theodore[/name] [name]James[/name] Rhynold.
Girls:
[name]Felicity[/name] [name]Margaret[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] – We both love [name]Felicity[/name] and think it flows nicely with our other kids’ names, without having too many similar sounds. I like that it doesn’t have an obvious nickname, since we don’t call our [name]Genevieve[/name] by any nicknames. [name]Love[/name] the meaning, too. [name]Margaret[/name] is a family name on both sides (though it was [name]Margaretha[/name] on my husband’s side), and [name]Louisa[/name] was his great-grandmother’s name (his mom’s middle name [name]Lou[/name] comes from [name]Louisa[/name]).
[name]Bridget[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] [name]Mary[/name] – [name]Bridget[/name] is my Irish great-great grandmother’s name. I had it on my list for both of my daughter’s and my hubby nixed it both times, but now he suddenly loves it. I love that it represents my Irish heritage (my dad is first generation American), and I think it is very cute with our sibset. [name]Louisa[/name] again is my hubby’s great-grandmother and honors his mom, whose middle name is [name]Lou[/name]. [name]Mary[/name] was my grandmother’s middle name and also the name of my husband’s great-grandmother.
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Mary[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] – [name]Helena[/name] is a name from way back on my husband’s family tree (great x8 grandmother), and it also honors my great-grandmother [name]Nellie[/name] (we would use this nickname). [name]Mary[/name] is a family name on both sides (see above), and [name]Elizabeth[/name] is just a name I absolutely adore but have decided not to use as a first name because there are SO many [name]Elizabeth[/name]'s on my husband’s side of the family that share our last name. Our daughter would be one of 7 [name]Elizabeth[/name] C***'s going back five or six generations. So using it in the middle is my only choice. It is also my husband’s great-grandmother’s name, AND he shares her birthday.
