Finalist names:
Gwen (our favorite)
Audrey (also a fave, but it's my mom's name - sort of feel weird about that)
Other kids:
Quinlan Elise, Drew (boy), Margot Laine
Surname:
One syllable and starts with a T, so first name shouldn't start with a T. I don't love names ending with a t either (other than the silent "t" in Margot). We liked Bridget but rejected it for that reason.
I lean towards older, traditional names that aren't as popular - like Arwen, Blythe, etc. -- all of which my husband hates. He likes stripper names. Heh. But seriously. They sound like strippers. We like Daria as an alternative for Margot but I wanted everyone to have their own letter, so I'm leaving that out as an option right now.
I love the name Gwen and was thinking Audrey Gwen and just calling her Gwen but I'm not sold on naming someone something as a middle name and then using it as a first name. Like, why not just make it her first name.
And I don't really love Gwen Audrey.
I'd really just like a cool middle name for Gwen. Our kids are not named for anyone in the family, so it doesn't need to be something sentimental. We've been toying with Alexandra and Elizabeth - but I've got Elise already and I'm sort of "meh" about having another derivative of Elise.
Help!
I'm with you: I'd rather not call a child by his or her middle name unless I have some super-compelling reason to do it, such as a naming tradition where it's necessary to avoid mix-ups.
So let's look for a good middle name for Gwen. I THINK Quinlan Elise and Gwen Elizabeth are too similar. The "Quin" of Quinlan is already so close to the sounds of Gwen, it seems like adding a similar middle name is too much similarity.
I might look first for names starting with D, M, and Q, since you don't want to use any of those as first names for this or future babies.
Gwen Daria
Gwen Madigan
Gwen Magnolia
Gwen Mallory
Gwen Marissa
Gwen Matilda
Gwen Melina
Gwen Meredith
Gwen Millicent
I find that with the one-syllable first name and one-syllable surname I like the longer middle names: Magnolia is my favorite from this list, and I like the way it has the same rhythm as the name Elizabeth. Others like that:
Gwen Amelia
Gwen Cecelia
Gwen Cordelia
Gwen Felicity
Gwen Livinia
Gwen Olivia
Gwen Veronica
Gwen Victoria
Also Gwen Penelope, but something about that sounds amusing to me.
But before I act as if Gwen is The Choice, I think Audrey is a wonderful name, and I like the two syllables with your one-syllable surname, and I like how it's not similar to any of the other kids' names: Quinlan, Drew, Margot, and Audrey is a very nice assortment. One of my kids is named for my dad and it hasn't been weird---but then, I also didn't mind the idea that it might make my pinehole father-in-law wonder why we didn't use HIS name. Some middle names for Audrey:
Audrey Carissa
Audrey Corinne
Audrey Gwenyth
Audrey Helene
Audrey Isla
Audrey Jean
Audrey Jocasta
Audrey Joella
Audrey Laurel
Audrey Penelope
Audrey Piper
Do the rest of you want to vote? Not with a poll this time, but just say which of the two names is your favorite, and then list some middle names?
