Another Surname Style Name for Hadley’s New Sister

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TIME FOR A LAST MINUTE CHANGE

Mia writes:

We have a daughter named Hadley Sienna. We always planned to name a second daughter, if we had one, Emery. Now we’re actually due with our second daughter, and there’s an issue.

My brother has proposed to his long-time girlfriend, Emily. And now we realize that Emily and Emery sound very similar.

We’ve decided to rethink our daughter’s name, but we only have about eight weeks, and nothing feels right.

Our last name sounds like B@r-ber, so a lot of names with an R sound don’t sound right and I don’t like B names with our last name, either. We’re ruled out Marlowe, Harper, Parker, Briar, Beckett, Bailey, and Carson.

Instead of thinking about names that would work, I feel like we keep thinking about every name that wouldn’t work.

Can you help us with a new list?

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

KEEPING THE STYLE, BUT SHIFTING THE SOUNDS

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your new daughter!

I love Emery as a sister for Hadley, but I can see that Aunt Emily would sound an awful lot like her niece Emery. That doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker, but it sounds like you’ve decided it won’t work for your family.

So let’s look for a new name for Hadley Sienna B@r-ber. The criteria are:

• Almost certainly a modern, surname-style name
• Nothing with a strong R sound
• Probably not another two-syllable, ends-with-y name

Let me explain that last point. One of the reasons Hadley and Emery are great together is their shared style, but slight difference. Emery’s extra syllable is subtle, but it makes the names sound more distinctive. It could be a different ending sound, or a shorter name, too – just something to differentiate Hadley and her sister.

A SISTER FOR HADLEY

CAMPBELL

Cam names have had a good run, including Camden for boys, Camila for girls, and Cameron for both. Campbell remains nicely underused.

DELANEY

My immediate thought. I love the way it shares a middle D with Hadley – it’s just enough repeating sound to ensure they sound like sisters.

ELLIS

A smooth slip of a name.

EMERSON

The tiniest shift would be choosing Emerson instead of Emery. It still shares the EM sound with Emily, but I don’t trip over Emily and Emerson the same way I might Emily and Emery. This might be either the perfect compromise … or still too close.

LENNON

Another popular surname, this one more unisex than Hadley, but with the same vibe.

SLOANE

A strong, definite sound. Modern, but not novel.

SUTTON

A current favorite, boosted by actress Sutton Foster – which is a good test case for how good it could sound with your surname, too.

TATE

Friendly and bright, and rising in use across gender lines.

Overall, I think it’s possible that Emerson might solve your problems without a particularly big change. But I’m also guessing you’ve already considered Emerson and aren’t sure, so let’s move on.

I’m really drawn to Lennon and Sutton. Since you used a more elaborate middle name for Hadley, I wonder if you’d consider something like Lennon Cecilia or Sutton Charlotte?

Readers, over to you! Since Emery is out, what would you name a sister for Hadley Sienna?