I need help with some name suggestions. My husband and I are expecting baby #2 on January 8 and have not found out the sex. We have a 3 year old girl, Lily Beth. We did not find out the sex with her either. Lily was the only girl name we could agree on and Beth is my mom and I's middle name. Our boy name choice was Jackson Dean, but that is not an option this time around (too many Jacks around now). Will Gregory was also an option, but not so this time around. So, we're starting at square one with Baby #2's name.
We seem to have middle names picked out already though. If it's a girl, the middle name will be Lane (my mother-in-law's maiden name) and if it's a boy it'll be Dean (my father-in-law and husband's middle name). Our last name is pretty standard and most names flow well with it. We tend to like kind of old-fashioned names. Some options on our list include:
Girls:
Evelyn "Evie" (I have a friend with a daughter named Evangeline who they call Evie. I'm not sure what the etiquette is on that. Would we be copying? They'd be 3 years apart in age)
Lucy (We don't necessarily want a Lily and Lucy though. Also, Lucy Lane is a lot of L's.)
Chloe
Gracie
Boys:
Everett
Grant (my dad's cousin's name is Grant and I'm not sure if it would be weird to use his name. We're not particularly close and we wouldn't be naming the baby after him, per say)
So far, we just haven't found anything that we absolutely love or that we can agree on. Most of the options listed above are names I like. My husband hasn't contributed a lot to the lists, just vetoes what I come up with. Ha!
Thanks for any help and advice!
I think an Evelyn-Evie born three years after a Evangeline-Evie is fine. I know some people are more sensitive on this issue than others, though, so if you think your friend might mind you could feel her out by mentioning that you're considering the name. Evelyn Lane is both pretty and strong, and is my first choice from your list.
I agree with you that Lily and Lucy is not an ideal sibling pair. Chloe and Gracie both work well with Lily, although any name that ends in an "ee" or even an "ah" sound will run together with Lane, making it sound like Elaine. That's not really a problem since we rarely say the first and middle names together (and since Elaine is a perfectly nice name), but it's the sort of thing I'd want to have thought of beforehand in case it WAS a problem. Gracie Lane, for example, sounds the same as Grace Elaine. Lucy Lane could sound like Loose Elaine.
Eleanor is similar to Evelyn, and you could pick between Ellie and Nora as nicknames. Eleanor Lane.
I wonder if you'd like the name Georgia? It's one of my own favorites. Georgia Lane. (A little too much like George Elaine?)
Or Esther. I think this name is so underused. Esther Lane.
Another of my favorites in the old-fashioned section is Clara. Clara Lane. (It sounds the same as Claire Elaine, but again, I think it's a minor issue.)
Beatrix goes exceptionally well with Lily, I think. Beatrix Lane.
I was going to try to coerce you into using the name Millicent, but then I realized that would give you a Lily and a Milly.
My first choice of your boy names is Everett. Everett Dean is terrific.
I think it's fine to use Grant even though it's your father's cousin's name. It may be a little awkward, yes, but the awkwardness will quickly pass. Grant Dean, though, seems choppy.
I also think you should reconsider Will Gregory---that's a very good name. Or Dean Gregory? Or Dean Jackson. Lily and Dean is wonderful.
I like Milo with Lily. Milo Dean.
Or Isaac? Isaac Dean.
Name update! Katie writes:
Hi, Swistle! Thanks for posting my question and offering some suggestions. I enjoyed reading them and the comments, even if it ended up being after the fact. We had a baby boy on December 21! His name is Henry Dean and he was 6 lbs. 11 oz. Had he been a girl, the name would've been Maggie Lane.
