We have a [name_m]Teddy[/name_m] (Theodore) and [name_f]Mara[/name_f] (Marjorie) and have top choices for baby 3 of [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] (Rosemary) and [name_m]Sonny[/name_m] (Harrison). I’m worried that in either scenario [name_f]Mara[/name_f] will feel left out with her name ending in an a instead of ie. kiddos go exclusively by their nicknames so far.
She’s already a middle child and I don’t want her to feel more of an outsider. Or am I being unreasonable? Would love to hear from people who’s name is different form all their siblings and middle children.
Massive caveat of you know your children better than an internet stranger, but:
I don’t think so because even though they go exclusively by nicknames, she has got an -ie name. I feel it would be different if these were their full/only names but you can at least lean on the fact they’re all -ee sounds in some way. They’ll all also have an O in their full names so you can highlight those too.
Me and my younger sister have very similar sounding names (both two syllables, with a strong “an” sound and ending in a schwa -uh sound), and our older sister has a longer name with an “an” sound but exclusively uses a nickname for it which doesn’t have the “an” sound. None of us have felt left out soundwise. If anything, my older sister finds it easier to tell when she’s being called from across the house because her name sounds completely different.
Agreed with previous posters — I don’t see this being problematic. I know a sibset of [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] (Ellie), [name_m]August[/name_m] (Auggie), and [name_m]Harris[/name_m] (no nickname), for example, and that’s never been an issue. I have an “ie” nickname, but my sister doesn’t. Never really thought about it! I think it’ll be OK, too.
Of course I don’t know your child but my thoughts are that I do not think this will be an issue in all honesty. Also you could also go Rose as a nickname for Rosemary which would make more of a distinction or Harris/Hal as a nickname for Harrison.
I think it’s okay! I think giving #1 and #3 matching initials, for example, might make her feel left out, but sharing an “ee” nickname ending while hers ends in “a” I think is totally fine.
I’m the only one in my immediate family who doesn’t go by a nickname (my name is 4 letters and doesn’t have an obvious nickname form) and I’ve never felt left out.
My dad didn’t notice he was the only person in his immediate family without a J name until he was an adult. [name_m]Even[/name_m] then he did not understand why someone would point this out. If her name ending in a different letter from her siblings is the only thing your daughter ever has to resent you for, you did pretty good as a parent.
I agree with this! I didn’t realize until I was an adult the differences between my name and my siblings’ names! I am a little disappointed today that I don’t share those factors with them, but I doubt they have ever noticed, and I don’t know if I would have if I wasn’t so interested in names! Teddy, Mara, and Rosie or Sonny are great together, and even if she notices one day, there are other aspects that tie her name to the others too—like sharing the “or” sound in their full names for her and Teddy, and the “mar” letters with Rosie! (Haven’t figured out a connection with Harrison yet, but I’m sure you could find one, even if it’s with middle names, if it’s important to you?) But my sister is right next to me and I asked her if it bothered her that she was the only one who didn’t have a name or nickname ending in the ee sound in our family, and she said it didn’t bother her at all. She also brought up a good point that you may notice this factor, but there may be other factors in their names that they notice that would leave out Teddy, or Sonny, or Rosie!
Rosemary and Harrison are lovely names, and I wouldn’t let this keep you from using them! All the best
Mara’s full name ends in the same sound, bringing cohesion
If baby is a girl, they’d share the letters mar, just as she shares or with [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]
It could make her feel special rather than left out
From an outside perspective, I probably wouldn’t even find it odd/noticeable. Maybe if you had a larger set with an obvious strong theme – and then [name_f]Mara[/name_f] in the middle, (let’s say [name_m]Teddy[/name_m], [name_m]Sonny[/name_m], [name_f]Poppy[/name_f], [name_f]Mara[/name_f], [name_f]Kitty[/name_f], [name_f]Holly[/name_f], and Tabby), then it might feel stranger but two kids ending in -ee and one in -uh doesn’t feel like breaking a pattern
[name_m]You[/name_m] know your kids best, but I’m thinking she probably won’t care lol. This thread just made me think about (a) the fact that my name is the only one that ends with a vowel, while both of my siblings end with a consonant, and (b) my siblings each share an initial with my mom or dad, while I don’t. I can assure you, I had never felt left out by it as a kid. If anything, I thought it made me more unique than my siblings!
Another example to hopefully ease your mind, but one of my friends has 3 siblings, and the first 3 kids have longer first names and go by a nickname that ends with an -ie or -y (think [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] nn [name_f]Ellie[/name_f], [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] nn [name_f]Lexie[/name_f], etc.) but the 4th kid has a shorter name that ends with a consonant and no nickname (think something like Ashton). It’s never really been brought up, and I don’t think the 4th child has ever felt “left out” because of it.
[name_m]Teddy[/name_m], [name_f]Mara[/name_f], and Rosie/Sonny sound really sweet together, so I really wouldn’t worry too much!
[name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] and [name_m]Harrison[/name_m] are lovely choices. I don’t think [name_f]Mara[/name_f] would feel left out but I second the option of using Rose; there are so many nicknames for [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] like Ro, [name_f]Rosa[/name_f], etc.
I thought about using [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] for a long time. And still might. But it sounds really Hispanic to me? And we’re [name_m]French[/name_m] Canadian. We also will probably wait until we meet her to decide 100% but we’re like 99% on [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f].
We plan (hope) on having 4 in total. If we have two girls it would likely be [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] and [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] (poppy). Which does maybe worry me because it’s like two flowers and then [name_f]Mara[/name_f]? Boys we struggle more to agree on names so no idea. Our only other agreement is [name_m]Caspian[/name_m] nn Cap/Cappy and while I do love it I’m unsure about using on an actual person but it’s definitely more useable than most of the boy names my husband likes (Napoleon, [name_m]Cornelius[/name_m], [name_m]Mortimer[/name_m]) LOL
My dad was also a name nerd and I so wish he was still alive to talk to about baby names. He talked all the time about his kids names (me and my siblings) and how well they go together and their significance to his life. So maybe that’s also in my mind haha he was alive when we named [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] and loved it and his mothers name is [name_f]Marjorie[/name_f] so I know he would have loved her name too and the full names do go so well together!
I might not even have noticed this. Doesn’t feel strange at all.
I’m the middle child and only girl. My brothers share the last three letters of their names. I don’t, and honestly it might have felt weird if my parents had given me a name with this typical male ending for the sake of matchiness rather than the name I have.
This question comes up a lot about initials rather than endings, and one time I forwarded it to my younger brother (the M out of S, S & M). He said he never thought about it that way.
But of course, I don’t know your children, and it’s impossible to predict what thoughts and feelings they will have about their names.
I wouldn’t worry about this! It’s not something most kids will notice or care about, as far as I’ve seen. My name at birth was different sounding from my two older brothers’ names, and my name now is still different sounding from theirs. I enjoy the distinction, personally. When I was choosing my name I specifically went with a different sound from my siblings, for that reason.
