I have wanted to write to you for about a month, but I've put it off every time thinking I am surely capable of naming my own child. Yet, here I am two days away from my due date and we are still at a total loss. So, I find myself in the position of having to sheepishly ask your opinion in this, the eleventh hour. Hopefully, you can help us out before baby arrives!
We are expecting our third child, a girl, on January 8. We have two boys, Daniel Henry, and Peter Michael. My full name is Catherine, but I go by Katie to most people in my life. My husband is Henry. Our last name is two syllables, Cor**n. We had no trouble at all naming our boys. We made lists, placed the names in the order of our preference, and it turned out that we both liked the same names the best. Daniel and Peter were our clear favorites from the beginning and we waited until each was born to make sure the name chosen suited them. Our third place name was James, but Peter just suited him beautifully, so we went with it.
We are having so much trouble, though, with girl names. We made the lists and ranked them in order of preference. The trouble is that every time we look at the list, we have different preferences. Worst of all, sometimes I just love them all too much to decide between them. Other times I dislike them all equally and find none of them suitable for my daughter. I'm hoping I can offer you our list and get some opinions. We've never needed opinions before, but given the fact that we've actually gone back and started to look at new names entirely, maybe it's time to call in the reinforcements.
Here is our current list in our current order of preference:
Meredith
Abigail
Elizabeth (I really like this name, and love the nn Ellie for it, but my husband is not really on board)
Eleanor (We both love this name, and it gives us our nn Ellie, but I'm not sure it goes well with our last name. The common "or" sound bothers me a little. Henry doesn't seem to mind it, though, and its beginning to grow on me)
Alice (a beloved aunt)
Ellie (the nickname we love on its own, but I really prefer having a longer, more formal name for myself, and I am projecting that desire onto my child. But, if this is a serious enough name on its own, then maybe I should consider it?)
Grace
Amelia
Cecilia
We have also today begun to explore the possibility of Elise, which would also give us the nickname Ellie. I don't like it as much as Elizabeth, and Henry doesn't like it as much as Eleanor. So, its a compromise. But, I'd hate to think that we'd settle for a name that neither of us likes just to get the nickname we like. Especially when Ellie is a pretty decent standalone name.
My worst fear is that we will name the baby and end up with name regret because we are so unsure of ourselves now. Help!
Alice. Absolutely I would choose Alice. Not only is it wonderful with Daniel and Peter, and wonderful with Cor__n, it's a family name---and the name of a BELOVED family member to boot.
Well, but I also love Meredith. I think it's wonderful and underused. So that's a good one too. I like Meredith Eleanor Cor___n.
Ellie is not traditionally a nickname for Elizabeth. However, I've noticed more and more people are doing it as they search for a way to get to the nickname Ellie. Perhaps soon it WILL be a traditional nickname for Elizabeth.
I think of Ellie as a nickname, but of Elle and Ella as full names. Elle Cor__n or Ella Cor__n would be pretty, and you could call her Ellie either way.
I love Eliza even more: Eliza Cor__n; Daniel, Peter, and Eliza. Or Eloise? Eloise Cor__n; Daniel, Peter, and Eloise.
A name that was completely off my radar until a friend's sister used it is Elsa. The baby in question was Elsa Jane, which is lovely with your surname: Elsa Jane Cor__n; Daniel, Peter, and Elsa.
A name I've loved since before I had children is Elodie. It's like Ellie with more substance. I used to think I'd use it with the middle name Jane: Elodie Jane Cor__n; Daniel, Peter, and Elodie. Not a perfect style mesh with Daniel and Peter, but I generally think it's fine to have a boy/girl style split in a family.
Cecilia makes me break into song, but Cecily has a similar sound with no singing. Cecily Cor__n; Daniel, Peter, and Cecily. I love that. Maybe Cecily Meredith Cor__n?
I will stop playing now and turn this over to the commenters to get things going as soon as possible.
Name update! Katie writes:
Baby girl Cor--n has arrived! Our daughter, Alice Catherine, was born on July 10. We are so thankful for all the help you and your readers gave us. Seeing your responses reminded us that we have other beautiful names, besides Ellie, that we both love equally. And, that was ultimately more important than getting just the right nickname. We decided to focus on our other names and had it down to either Alice or Meredith. It turns out she looks just like an Alice. Plus, we couldn't go wrong naming our daughter after a wonderful woman who was so loved.
We'll keep Meredith in our back pockets just in case we decide to try for baby #4!
Thank you so much!
