A couple of weeks ago I posted looking for some ideas on what I was pretty sure was going to be baby girl number 2. Since then we’ve confirmed that we will indeed be welcoming a new little girl in early [name_u]December[/name_u]. Here older siblings are [name_u]Dillon[/name_u], [name_u]Liam[/name_u], and [name_f]Alice[/name_f].
We have a pretty large list of unusable (we are trying not to use the name of any known living relatives) or discarded names, but I think I finally have a good start.
Our last name is [name_u]Bell[/name_u].
Caroline. This is the front runner for my husband I think. He prefers [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] over [name_f]Coraline[/name_f] or [name_f]Coralie[/name_f].
-[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_u]Louise[/name_u]
-[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]
-[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f] (I know this combo gets used quite a bit, but I do think it’s rather pretty)
Matilda. This one comes and goes from my list. Some days I really love it, and others I worry that it’s a little aggressive sounding I guess?
-[name_f]Matilda[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f]
-[name_f]Matilda[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f] (Another [name_f]Grace[/name_f] pairing, I think it softens [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] a bit though)
Lydia. Another and comes and goes. I do really like [name_f]Lydia[/name_f], but so far my husband doesn’t seem to care for it.
-[name_f]Lydia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f]
-[name_f]Lydia[/name_f] [name_u]Jeanne[/name_u]
Valerie. I like the possibility of [name_u]Vale[/name_u] as a nickname here. This is another that I like that my husband doesn’t seem to care much for.
-[name_f]Valerie[/name_f] [name_u]Anne[/name_u]
-[name_f]Valerie[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f]
Holly or [name_f]Hayley[/name_f]. I do wonder if naming a [name_u]December[/name_u] baby [name_u]Holly[/name_u] is too overdone or predictable though?
-[name_u]Holly[/name_u]/Hayley [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]
-[name_u]Holly[/name_u]/Hayley [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]
What do you think?
Also happy to hear your ideas. For firsts, not too interested in rhyming or alliteration with our last name, or anything that would inevitably be shortened to something sing songy (ie [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] shortened to [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] Belly or [name_f]Elodie[/name_f] to [name_f]Elodie[/name_f] Bellodie). Also trying to avoid anything that sounds like one name when you say the first and last together (ie [name_f]Clara[/name_f] [name_u]Bell[/name_u] becomes [name_f]Clarabelle[/name_f] [like the cow from [name_u]Mickey[/name_u] Mouse Clubhouse] or [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_u]Bell[/name_u] becomes Maribell). For middles, we don’t mind “filler” names, and actually like quite a few of them. [name_m]Don[/name_m]’t want to go too far outside the box for either firsts or middles as my husband tends to lean toward names that are familiar on the traditional/classic side, and that is a fight that I’m not likely to win.
[name_f]Eve[/name_f], [name_u]Julie[/name_u], [name_f]Evie[/name_f], [name_f]Flora[/name_f], [name_f]Willa[/name_f] are all too similar to close family members, and most of the rest I’ve already run past my husband and he didn’t care for them. We’ve been though a ton of names, unfortunately, he’s really picky.
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_f]Lucie[/name_f] came to mind.