I am due with a baby girl in February (around 2/20/10) and we are having a heck of a time naming her! We seem to like a bunch of names but haven’t fallen in love with any. We already have one son, named Aiden Michael. I love the name Aiden but back then, I didn’t really understand how popular the name had become. Though I still love his name, I regret that it is so very common now. I don’t like really unusual or made-up names, but we are hoping to avoid a super-duper popular name for our baby girl. Hmm, what else? Our last name sounds like Foe-dell. Ideally, I would like to use the middle name “Anne” or “Anna” to honor our mothers, since they both share that middle name.
Some of our favorite names so far include:
Delaney (nickname Laney)
Leah
Natalie
We also like:
Lilah
Reese
Gianna
Charlotte (nn Charlie)
Emerson (nn Emmy)
Aubrey (nn Bree)
Jenna
Brianne (but my husband had an ex named Brianna… so… we’re not so sure about this)
I like the names Avery, Mia, Paige, and Harper, but my husband isn’t too crazy about those. We’d appreciate any ideas or advice!
Thanks!
Natalie is a popular name (#13 in 2008), and Lila/Lilah is shooting up so fast I would bet on it hitting the top ten before long. Charlotte, Leah, Emerson, Reese, Gianna, Aubrey, Avery, Mia, Harper---all rising in popularity. And it's so hard to know which ones will just become pleasantly popular (i.e., everyone will know the name and not think it's weird) and which ones will become regrettably popular.
There are a few on your list, though, that don't follow the trends: Delaney had a surge in the early 1990s but now seems to have leveled off and may even be decreasing in popularity. Brianne is heading straight down, and Jenna and Paige seem to be going down in popularity as well. (Source for all the names up/down info: the Social Security Administration.)
From your list, I think your best bet is Delaney. It's not super-popular but it's not weird either, and it has a great nickname. It's terrific as a sibling name for Aiden, and it's great with your surname and with the middle name Anne. Delaney Anne Foedell---that's my first choice.
Another possibility, similar to Jenna and Brianne, is Brenna. Brenna Anne Foedell is pretty, I think, and the name Brenna feels familiar but is not very common and seems to be decreasing in popularity.
Name update 05-10-2010! Kelly writes:
Our sweet girl was born February 20th and we just adore her. It took us 24 hours to finally settle on her name, but in the end, we just thought she was a Lilah, through and through! Lilah Anne was 8 pounds and 18 inches long, and she’s doing great! Thanks so much for the help and name suggestions.
