[name]Isabelle[/name] - I love how sweet and understated and innocent it is. It’s a gorgeous name, just too overused for most people, but that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. The French spelling has significance for me, as well, and I love the connection to the story of [name]Jesus[/name]’ birth, through [name]Elizabeth[/name]. I love the nn [name]Belle[/name]/[name]Bella[/name], too, and how that connects to my love of languages. I love the meaning, too.
[name]Arianne[/name] - I love how it flows off my tongue, the nn [name]Ari[/name], and the meaning “very holy one”. I think [name]Isabelle[/name] and [name]Arianne[/name] are delightful for sisters, too.
[name]Olivia[/name] - I love the connections to peace and [name]Shakespeare[/name]. I also adore the nns [name]Olive[/name] and [name]Liv[/name]/[name]Livy[/name].
[name]Violet[/name] - purple’s my favorite color. 
[name]How[/name] could I not like [name]Violet[/name]? lol. Purple is also my grandmother’s favorite color, and violets are my dad and other grandmother’s birth flower. Plus, violets are some of my favorite flowers out there. I think they’re so delicate and beautiful and usually go unnoticed.
[name]Rachel[/name] - I don’t know why I love [name]Rachel[/name], haha. It’s one of those that I grew up loving years ago after reading about this amazing [name]Rachel[/name] in a book, and I grew up loving the story of [name]Rachel[/name] and [name]Leah[/name] and [name]Jacob[/name] in the Bible. I think it’s great with my other favorites, too.
[name]Liliana[/name] - I don’t even really remember when I fell for [name]Liliana[/name], but I remember it was cemented when I met this adorable little girl named [name]Liliana[/name] through work. Back then, I didn’t think I’d use it because I didn’t like the nn/name [name]Lily[/name] back then, but then [name]Lily[/name] took on meaning to honor my grandmother, and I love that [name]Liliana[/name] honors both my grandmothers (the last gift one of them gave me was a lily before she was laid to rest, and the other grandmother’s mn means the same thing as “ana”–[name]Grace[/name]).
[name]Charlotte[/name] - I love its femininity and understated charm, and the nns (oh, the nns!). I also like that it’s the feminine form of a name my mom always wanted to use ([name]Charles[/name] nn [name]Charlie[/name]) but never got a chance to.
[name]Hannah[/name] - I like that this also means “grace”, which honors my grandma. I love that it’s not a predictable classic like [name]Mary[/name], [name]Julia[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Jane[/name], or [name]Margaret[/name], but it still is so timeless and classic. I love the story of [name]Hannah[/name] and [name]Samuel[/name] in the Bible, too. In a remote, very sentimental way, it honors my mom, too.
[name]Eleni[/name] - I love how utterly and completely Greek it is, how totally unlike the rest of my list it is, lol. It’s so fun to say and I adore the quirky nn of [name]Leni[/name]! I also love that it’s the original form of my sister’s MN ([name]Eileen[/name]).
[name]Anne[/name]-[name]Sophie[/name] - not set as number ten, but very likely at this point! I love how French chic it is, how it references my faith, my love of languages, my best friend, my sister, and my grandma, all in one, and it’s so unexpected and charming. I love its nns, too ([name]Annie[/name], [name]Sophie[/name]/[name]Soph[/name], maybe even [name]Posy[/name]).
[name]Caleb[/name] - [name]Caleb[/name]'s my favorite Bible character ever. He may not be mentioned a ton, but I love everything the Bible says about him, and I’m sure any little boy would love having such a namesake. I love the vintagey nn of [name]Cal[/name], and that the meaning loosely translates to “loving as full-hearted as a dog” (roughly. haha. I’ve heard it’s not a literal translation, but it sounds much better than how most websites translate it [dog], and it seems like Hebrew scholars corroborate it? I hope it’s true, I love that meaning.
[name]Everett[/name] - I just love how smart and charming and put-together it sounds. [name]Everett[/name]'s so down-to-earth yet so attractive, smart, approachable. [name]Everett[/name] sounds like the perfect catch. I love the occasional nn of Ev, too.
[name]Asher[/name] - I love it for the nn [name]Ash[/name]. Guilty! I know it’s so close to my name but I would love to have an [name]Asher[/name] some day. It’s so fun to say, and I love that it means “blessed”. Granted, most of [name]Joseph[/name]'s brothers weren’t the best role-models, but I haven’t come across anything terrible about [name]Asher[/name] on his own yet.
[name]Jack[/name] - [name]John[/name] is this huge family name for me, but I’m so sick of it that I don’t want to use just [name]John[/name]. [name]Jack[/name] is the perfect alternative! My brother hates it (and thus doesn’t want to pass just [name]Jack[/name] or [name]John[/name] [name]Robert[/name], IV, nn [name]Jack[/name], down), so that pretty much gives me free reign and still honors my brother and dad (and grandfather, and great grandfather, you get the picture!). I love how down-to-earth it is, a bit mischievous, fun. [name]Jack[/name] could be anybody.
[name]Grayson[/name] - I have always had a weird obsession with [name]Gray[/name]–it used to be my favorite color when I was around 5, and I always liked the idea of it as a name, too. When I figured out it could honor my grandma (mn [name]Grace[/name]), I loved [name]Grayson[/name] even more. Plus, I just love surnames.
[name]Avery[/name] - There’s this radio drama I love called Adventures in Odyssey (which I desperately hope my children will love just as much as I do, in the future!), and there’s a very awesome grandpa-figure on it called [name]John[/name] [name]Avery[/name] [name]Whittaker[/name]. So even though I just love [name]Avery[/name], it’s a little bit after [name]Whit[/name], too. Plus, its meaning relating to elves could honor the [name]Christmas[/name] name theme that’s sort of been started in my family (my sister and I both have [name]Christmas[/name] names), and it’s an old name on my grandfather’s side of my family tree.
[name]Brody[/name] - I love how fun and laid-back it is. I don’t know why I love it, I’ve just always loved [name]Brody[/name].
[name]Bailey[/name] - I don’t even remember when I first started loving [name]Bailey[/name], lol. I’m a huge fan of unisex names on boys, and I think [name]Bailey[/name]'s just so handsome. Maybe it was when [name]Bailey[/name] [name]Chase[/name] was on Castle–I was so intrigued by the fact that there was a [name]Bailey[/name] who was a guy, and it slowly grew on me after that. I love it.
[name]Spencer[/name] - it’s soft, surnamey, smart. [name]Just[/name] the sort of name I love!
Eventually there will be a number 10 for the boys, but I don’t know what it is yet. It’s between [name]Charles[/name] nn [name]Charlie[/name] (I have loved [name]Charlie[/name] for a long time, and I love that I could give my mom a [name]Charlie[/name] finally), [name]Elijah[/name] (have always loved the prophet [name]Elijah[/name] in the Bible, and I think [name]Elijah[/name] sounds so sensitive, smart, and handsome), [name]Judah[/name] (love all the Biblical connections to [name]Judah[/name]/[name]Jude[/name], and I just love the sound), [name]Declan[/name] (love how well it fits on my list, and how sensitive and Irish it is… I also love the rumored meaning “full of goodness”), and [name]Zane[/name] (I love that it could be a form of [name]John[/name], and thus also honoring my dad and brother, and I love how quirky “Z” names are, plus, I love the surnamey and cool vibe [name]Zane[/name] gives off).
I’m really curious to hear what you guys have to say. Maybe you’ll even get people to love certain names by showing them something about it that they never realized before.
What about you guys?