A Four-Letter Girl Name to Match Nora, Eden, and Lily

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! To have your question considered, email appmtn (at) gmail. Looking for your own private #namehelp post? Order one here.

ONE MORE FOUR-LETTER NAME

Sara writes:

My husband John and I have three daughters: Nora, Eden, and Lily. In each case, we chose the name we liked best. Lily was on our list from the beginning. Eden was a last-minute suggestion from a friend.

We are now expecting our fourth daughter, and our last child. We realized, after we named Eden, that all four of us had four-letter names. We weren’t too worried about it with Lily’s name, but it helped us decide on Lily over other names we liked equally.

Now we feel like we’d really, really like to find another four-letter name for baby four!

If possible, we’d also like her name to end with another letter/sound and not repeat the same initial – so no more E, J, L, N, or S names.

Our last name sounds like W@ll@ce and the girls all have the same family name as a middle name, which sounds sort of like Hunter.

I’m feeling kind of blank, but I also haven’t done all that much looking. John agrees it would be great, but he keeps suggesting other names that I do like, but don’t fit our accidental theme.

Help!

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

COMPLETING THE PATTERN

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your new daughter!

I know you already know this, but I want to say it, just in case: it’s absolutely fine if you fall in love with a name that has five letters. Or three. Or seven! It’s great if the name also ends in A, Y, or N or even starts with a letter you’ve already used. And so on.

After all, this is a nicely subtle pattern. If you quizzed a dozen of your nearest and dearest, would they know? I’m guessing at least some would say, “oh, huh, never noticed that.”

But you’ve asked, and I get it. I mean … to be the youngest and find yourself named Ophelia or Marigold might be a little awkward.

So let’s brainstorm!

A SISTER FOR NORA, EDEN, AND LILY

HOPE

Lovely virtue name that’s immediately recognizable, but relatively underused.

IRIS

Gorgeous flower name with a distinctive sound.

JADE

It’s another J name, yes. I ruled out Jane, as it’s a feminine form of John. LINKFIX But Jade seems different enough that it might be worth considering.

KATE

An enduring classic with a bright sound.

OPAL

Vintage gemstone name. I might’ve suggested Ruby, but Opal ends with an -L, a sound you haven’t used yet.

ROSE

As classic as Kate, with the long O of Opal and a different ending sound: S.

RUTH

The first name that came to mind.

SAGE

A nature name that also means wisdom and brings to mind a pretty shade of green.

I’m sure there are more, but these were the ones that felt like the best options – even though I broke the no-repeating-initials rule in a few places. If I may, it seems like repeating a J or S might be less of an issue than two sisters sharing an initial.

Also noteworthy: your girls’ names are all four-letters and two-syllables. But your husband’s name is a single-syllable, and so I wonder if it might appeal to pick a one-syllable name for this daughter. To end the sentence, if you will.

And so I’m tempted to suggest Nora, Eden, Lily, and Rose.

Except, Lily and Rose together might be very, very floral.

So I’m also tempted by Sage: Nora, Eden, Lily, and Sage. It’s a touch more modern, like Eden’s name. But only a touch. And while Sage would share your initial, I think it’s distinct enough that it wouldn’t be an issue.

Okay, I can’t follow all of the rules, but I bet some of the readers can solve this puzzle.

Readers, what would you suggest as a sister name for Nora, Eden, and Lily?