My husband and I are expecting our 2nd daughter February 2011. We can NOT agree on a name...or any names really. Our 2 year old daughter is named Avery Caelyn. We heard Avery on a baby show about half way through the pregnancy & agreed. Her middle name came in the hospital, 3 days after she was born. I literally opened a name book and pointed until he said "Yeah, that one."
Our naming strategy is pretty similar to everyone else's: I list them, he has veto power. And he remembers names he already said no to, I've tried it. I would love to use a family name- he said no. We tend to pick more modern girl names- boy/unisex names, surnames & places- but we are not opposed to girly names. I heard once that if you name a girl a unisex name, they will be more successful in life because people tend to give credit/praise/expectations/opportunities to male names- even with no other point of reference. If we were having a boy though, he was going to have a more traditional, masculine name- Jon, Cason, Elliot [the only family name I was able to keep on the list] or Alec, with the middle name Richard- there are 9 Richards in our family from our daughters to our grandparents- both sides big popular name. We are open to suggestions and yays or nays for our ((short)) list. We want it to work well with Avery without being matchy. I like same 1st initial, but it's not high priority. And I like same syllables, also not high priority. It cannot end in a T- or Tr- sound because of our last name. Also, our last name is one that you do not hear often...it has an 'x' in the middle of it- and some people say it sounds like pretzel. My name is Jenna & my husband's is Richard- soo her name cannot be similar to these.
Our list:
Jaycee/Jacy- "Ok" according to him
Kylee- My current favorite- though it changes daily.
Macy- Like Jacy
Graceson- Strong second to my favorite
Kaylee/ie/eigh- Almost too popular
Ashtyn- His absolute favorite- he calls her this now.
Morgan- I have cousin with this name, but i like it anyhow.
Vetoed names/ Names we cannot use (acquaintances, cousins)
Leah
Hannah
Emerson
Carly
Amaya
Londyn
Ellison/Elliot
Jensen
Taylor
Any flower/spice/herb names.
Any color names.
Any "outdoorsy" names.
Most nouns.
Any emotion or inspirational word (faith, hope, grace)
Our biggest challenge: I do not LOVE any names that we have heard. We love our daughter's name, Avery Caelyn. He picks one and can "go with it" I keep looking and reading. None of them have been it. And no, We have not even considered talking middle names yet.
Please help!!
And:
I need to amend my list.
We need to add Logan to it. I love it. I just can't seem to find a middle name.
He's said "It's one we agree on. Ok"
And:
Ok...I'm obsessed this is my third email to you. Sorry.
Our new list-
Logan
Gracen
Erin
My newest dilemma- Is Erin too different from Avery?
Thanks again!
And:
Ok Swistle. THIS is my last email...I have 8 weeks left..we'll see right?
I guess I'm just trying to get the best answers?opinions? from you and your readers.
Last time I added Erin to the list (we love it!) only, he wants to spell it Aaryn or Arynn. Erin is pronounced "EHrin" not "AIRin" he says. The A(s) will give us the pronouciation we want; AIRin.
I like it because it gives both girls A-names and makes it more masculine (like Avery).
Thoughts?
Also, her middle name will be Leigh (unless her name ends in an -ee sound). My husband's middle name is Lee and since this will be our last* and he didn't get his boy** I thought he should have a big part of her name.
*ask me again in 3 years.
**see *.
I'd say Erin is okay with Avery but not great. Erin was in the Top 100 for girls from 1971 until 2004 (source: Social Security Administration). Avery has been in the Top 100 for girls since 2003, and until the late 1990s was used more often for boys. So they're both boyish girl names, but Erin is now a common Mom Name, while Avery is next-generation (jumping into the Top 100 the year before Erin dropped out) and single-spelling androgynous (though getting more Girl every year).
This could be a regional thing, but where I live the name Erin is pronounced like AIR-rin, to rhyme with Karen. If you want AIR-rin you can spell it Erin: at worst, there are two ways to pronounce it. However, in your case I think your idea of using Arynn improves the fit: it makes the name more modern, and it gives you the two A-names you were hoping for. Furthermore, both names would have the same number of letters, and three of those letters would be the same. The Arynn spelling would give you some small hassle, but not as much, I think, as Aaryn, and not more than Gracen/Gracyn. And Arynn Leigh works very nicely. My only concern, and maybe this is nothing to worry about, is that both alternate spellings make me think of Aryan, a very unpleasant association but maybe not one that would come to most people's minds.
Gracen/Gracyn is also a very good match: like Avery, it's used for boys (usually spelled Grayson or Greyson) and it's a recently popular name (more recent than Avery, but it's "this generation" as opposed to "last generation"). And again, Gracyn Leigh is a nice fit.
To me, the name Logan still sounds utterly Boy---but I see it was used for about 700 girl babies last year along with over 14,000 boys. (It's falling for girls and rising for boys.) If you do use it, I suggest using a middle name that is used exclusively for girls: Logan Grace or Logan Rose or Logan Joy. Oops, all three of those are on the veto list (for being flowers/inspirational). Maybe Logan Louise or Logan Nicole or Logan Simone or Logan Leeanne (this also gives you Lee) or Logan Elise or Logan Celeste.
Name update! Jenna writes:
Our 2nd daughter came 5 days late! She didn't have a name for a few days and my entire list went out the window!! My husband stuck with Aerin, but I had a whole new list of names come to me when I met her! Wren was her name and I knew it within an hour of her birth but he said no...our compromise? I saw it on a list you did for one of your other readers- Emryn. Emryn Leigh was born on 2/20. Big sister Avery is ecstatic!Thanks for everyones help!!!! Still love reading your baby name blog Swistle!!!!
