90s Names for Baby Three: Nicholas, Zachary, and …

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KEEPING IT SIMPLE FOR BABY THREE

Kate writes:

We have two boys with traditional names: Nicholas John and Zachary Paul. Yes, they’re kind of 90s. No, we were not deliberately throwing it back. We wanted normal names that everybody could spell and pronounce and ended up settling on names that have been around.

At home, we mostly call them Nicholas and Zachary, but they both get shortened by others and that’s fine.

If this baby is a boy, we’re mostly set on Alexander Michael. John, Paul, and Michael are all family names.

The problem is names for girls. We don’t really want a name like Elizabeth, but we also don’t want a name like Melissa, Ashley, or Brittany that sounds like someone we grew up with.

What’s the middle ground for a girl’s name, not super-traditional but also not out of a time capsule?

If it helps, our last name sounds like Mice-with-an-H.

Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.

MODERN TRADITIONALS

Abby replies:

Congratulations on baby three!

You’ve identified a very real challenge.

I’d call Nicholas and Zachary modern traditionals. They might have felt fresh, even a little bit trendy in the 1990s. But they’re solid citizens now, names that wear well from childhood into the adult years, names that we can easily imagine on a grown-up.

Girls’ names do operate a little differently. They tend to trend faster, rising and falling more rapidly. So while I could easily rattle off half-a-dozen boys’ names from the Top 100 in 1996 that are still there today, that’s slightly more challenging for girls.

But only slightly.

Let’s look for long-term favorites, difficult to pin down to a specific moment in time without veering into classic Elizabeth/Katherine/Margaret territory.

A SISTER FOR NICHOLAS AND ZACHARY

ANNABELLE

Anne is a classic, and Isabella has been a long time Top Ten favorite in US. Annabelle falls somewhere in the middle. It peaked in popularity about a dozen years ago, but mostly this is just a standard-issue choice for a late 20th century/early 21st century girl. While the spelling Annabel was once more common, in our Gabrielle/Isabelle/Arielle age, Annabelle is far more common.

AUDREY

There’s some Hollywood sophistication to Audrey, thanks to the iconic Ms. Hepburn. But Audrey is mostly a friendly, accessible name that’s been used for centuries. It’s never left the US Top 1000, and typically ranks in the Top 200 – timeless, without being too traditional.

CASSANDRA

Before we were naming our daughters Penelope, there was Cassandra. Another name straight out of myth, Cassandra peaked in the 1980s and 90s. But it never reached the US Top 50, so it feels very familiar, but not overdone.

JULIA

We’re more likely to name our daughters Juliette today, but that’s why sophisticated Julia is the better choice for your family’s style, a logical sister for Nicholas and Zachary.

LAURA

From the 1940s through the 90s, the name Laura was very popular. In fact, it’s probably the most common name on this list. But it’s faded in recent years, and that could be an opportunity. Effortlessly international, easily spelled and pronounced, Laura is a name that no one knows but your daughter will almost certainly never share – unless it’s with her teacher.

SABRINA

A name from legend and literature, Sabrina had a good run in the 20th century. But it’s only spent a handful of those years in the Top 100. Singer Sabrina Carpenter makes it current, but also proves that this name wears well in any decade.

VERONICA

Like Sabrina, Veronica hit peak popularity in the 20th century. If you’ve ever seen the movie Heathers – or the musical based on the movie – you’ll know that all the cool mean girls shared a name: Heather. But Winona Ryder played Veronica, the one who stood out.

VIVIAN

If Sabrina and Veronica were popular in the recent past, Vivian is trending now. But it’s still very much a name in steady use, not exactly classic, but far from trendy.

Overall, I’m in love with the idea of Sabrina. Sabrina Kate or Sabrina Katherine, maybe? If not Sabrina, I think Julia hits that timeless-not-too-classic note really well. I’m not sure if there’s another family name you’d like to use, but something like Julia Lauren might be lovely.

Readers, over to you! What would you name a sister for Nicholas and Zachary?