I’m due on November 7th with my first child, a baby girl. I have 3 stepchildren from my husband’s first marriage, and they all live with us full time. Their names are Gabriella Elizabeth (Gabby), Samarah Michelle (Sammi), and Finnegan Francis Xavier (Finn.) Our last name is Redrow—and sounds just like its spelled, Red (the color) and Row (a boat.)
When we first found out we were expecting, we had no problem picking out a boys name, Connor James. Connor hit me one day, and James is a family name on my side. We still plan to use it in the future, if we should have a boy. Girls names, however, have been difficult. We have a list, but we go back & forth with pros and cons, and nothing seems “just right.”
Right now, our list consists of…
Audrey
Fiona
Celia
Moira/Maura
Marion
Caroline (which is only on my list...)
I love Audrey, but my husband isn’t a fan of Audrey (but I’m keeping up hope.)
We both love Fiona, but my husband’s stepmother’s nickname is Fee (her name is Charlotte, a nephew couldn’t pronounce it as a baby, and she became "Fee") so my husband is very hesitant to use Fiona.
We both really like Celia a lot, but we have a lot of C’s and K’s in my family (all of my female cousins but me, actually), so I’d like to stay away from C, especially if we’re going to use Connor James in the future.
Moira/Maura has been a great debate in our house. I love Maura, pronounced More-ah. My husband likes Moira, pronounced Moy-rah. I think naming the baby Moira is setting her up to spend her life correcting people who call her More-ah. My husband thinks I’m thinking too much into it.
And we have Marion. Marion was my choice as a middle name, and my husband whole-heartedly agreed. My great-aunt, who was very near & dear to me, passed away right before my wedding. Her name was Marion, and I’d love to honor her, along with the rest of my family (mother Maryanne, grandmothers Mary & Margaret, stepmother Margaret, etc.), since they are all derived from Mary. My only issue is—when I think Marion, I think older woman. Maybe because my great-aunt was a grandmotherly type, I just don’t see it as a child’s name. The more we discuss it, the more my husband loves Marion. I’ve wracked my brain to come up with what I think of as a kid-friendly nickname, and I’m coming up blank. I have Mimi, Minnie, etc., but nothing really grabs me. I just can’t see my daughter, at 6 years old, walking into dance class saying, Hi, my name is Marion. If I can come up with a good nickname, then I’d have no problem naming the baby Marion (middle name Renee.)
Also, on MY list is Caroline Marion. I LOVE THIS NAME, but my husband doesn’t. This is another name that I’m trying to keep in the running.
My only criteria is that the name be classic & different, but not weird & made up. I don’t want the name to be too popular either, she shouldn't be another Grace or Ava (not that I don’t like those names, I just think they’re too popular to me, I don't want her to be Grace R.) We’re also trying to stay away from the C/K craze that my aunts created in my family, and we’re also trying to stay away from R’s, since our last name has a double R.
This is causing quite a bit of tension in my house, so I hope you can help. I’m hormonal & indecisive, and I’m afraid that my husband is running out of patience. I tried to discuss it again last night and he said he didn’t want to talk about it, probably because I just keep re-hashing the same pros & cons, and we never really get anywhere (and I can’t really blame him either.)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!
Thank you so much in advance!
I think you need a fresh list to work with: the "going round and round" feeling can come from a list on which none of the names are The Name. Let's take Caroline off: your husband doesn't like it, and it's a C name which you're trying to avoid. Let's take Celia off, too, since it's a C name. Let's take off Maura/Moira, because it sounds like the debate my husband and I had about Elliot/Eliot: neither of us would bend on the spelling, so finally it had to come off the list. Let's take off Audrey because your husband doesn't like it. Let's take Fiona off the list because Fee is a natural nickname for it.
This leaves Marion, which you both like and is a family name. I think the cutest, least-old-ladyish nickname is Mari. Well, all right, yes, it sounds like Mary, and Mary is also a little old-ladyish---but I'm not sure it sounds that way to children, who are steeped in Mary Had a Little Lamb and Mary Mary Quite Contrary. Also, it was very recently that names like Ava and Emma and Grace sounded impossibly old-ladyish, so my guess is that soon Marion/Marian will sound just as revived. (I have hopes for Florence and Millicent!)
New suggestions, keeping in mind the siblings Gabriella, Samara and Finnegan:
Adriana Redrow
Anastasia Redrow
Annabel Redrow
Beatrix Redrow
Bianca Redrow
Elena Redrow
Eliza Redrow
Emmeline Redrow
Felicity Redrow
Francesca Redrow
Genevieve Redrow
Josephine Redrow
Marilena Redrow
Penelope Redrow
Stella Redrow
My pick is Bianca: it's similar to Fiona, which you both love except for the Fee problem; it doesn't repeat any of the other children's initials; and it's good with your surname.
Name update! Megan writes:
Sorry its been so long, but I just wanted to let you know that on November 1, 2010, I delivered a beautiful baby girl named Juliette Elyse. Her name-which wasn't even on "the list"-hit me out of the blue, after a long day of nesting & organizing. When I said it out loud, my husband & I fell in love with it. Its classic, not overly popular, and very feminine. Thanks for all your advice & thoughts (and for those of your readers too.)
