Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, we discuss reader’s name questions, usually on Tuesdays and Fridays. 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.
WE LOVE OUR DAUGHTER’S NICKNAME
Brooke writes:
Our daughter’s name is Everlie Rose. We sort of named her for my grandma Beverlie, but not really. We really just liked it and because it was close to a family name it felt like it made the most sense.
Since she’s been born we call her Evie pretty much all the time. If I had it to do over again, we might have named her Eva or Evelyn or even just Evie. I do feel like Everlie is a sort of trendy name and that wasn’t my intention.
We are due with our second child in a few weeks, another girl. If this baby had been a boy, we would have named him Archer James and call him Archie.
For a girl, all of my favorite names seem very mismatched. Or they match Evie, but not Everlie as much.
Here is our list:
- Hallie
- Hattie
- Josie
- Lottie
- Mila/Millie
I can imagine naming her Josephine for Josie or maybe Charlotte for Lottie, but only to give our daughter a formal name. I would not really want to ever use the full name.
My husband suggested Miller for Millie and I don’t hate it, but I don’t like it’s the name of a beer. We both like Mila a lot, but it seems wrong to have a nickname longer than her name.
A good friend suggested Marlowe called Lola and I love that, but I’m not sure if it’s too different?
If the baby were born today, I’d want to name a girl Hallie. My husband is on board and is happy to use the name without it being short for anything. We would probably name her Hallie Elizabeth, which is my middle name, too.
I cannot imagine naming a daughter Harriet, and I don’t like the idea of something like Holland or Hallan, so I think her name would be just Hallie.
Are we breaking some sort of a rule? Will my daughter feel like it’s unfair if she doesn’t have the same kind of name/nickname combination? I’ve see comments about names like Hallie being too cute/informal for an adult, and I don’t want that for my daughter.
But also, I have friends with names like Molly and Haley, and I don’t think their names sound immature.
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
WILL MISMATCHED NAMES BE A PROBLEM?
Abby replies:
Congratulations on baby number two!
As much as I love a really well-matched pair of sibling names, there’s no rule that says names have to go together.
I think what you’re imagining isn’t the style clash. It’s the possibility that your younger daughter might feel her name is lesser than her sister’s name.
Your anxiety is understandable, and yet … the future is unknowable. When it comes to naming, we’re not asked to gaze into a crystal ball and name for our child’s exact future. We’re expected to make the best possible choice based on our lives at this moment. That’s exactly what you’ve done!
Something that leaps out at me: your concerns that Everlie will be perceived as trendy. There is a long, rich tradition of using surname names for our daughters. Shirley, Kimberly, Ashley, Courtney, Madison, Avery, Harper, and so on. The names do feel tied to their generation, but they also feel like very normal names. That’s not exactly trendy as much as it reflects the way names cycle in and out of favor. Everlie won’t be popular in 50 years, just like former favorites Mary and Lisa are not common now.
The real question: would your children feel like they had mismatched names? Maybe. But maybe not. Evie and Hallie are nicely balance, but so are Everlie and Hallie. This isn’t quite like naming your daughters, say, Albertine and Mia or Honey and Margaret. The overlap isn’t perfect, but it’s absolutely there.
Let’s go through your options:
- Name your daughter just Hallie. (Or Millie or Lottie …)
- Choose a formal name for Hallie and use that, with the intention of calling your daughter Hallie 99% of the time.
- Go with a different name that leads to an obvious nickname, like Josephine/Josie and Archer/Archie.
- Pick a formal name/nickname combination you like more, even if they feel less obvious.
Before we go any further, let’s see if we can add a few name suggestions into the mix.
FRESH NAME SUGGESTIONS
CALLAHAN
This shortens to Callie more logically than Hallie, but the sounds are there. That said, I think Callahan reads more masculine than most of the choices on your list.
HADLEY
A popular surname name for a daughter that feels a little more complete than Hallie – at least in the sense that no one would ask what if it’s a nickname.
HALSTON
A 20th century fashion icon, Halston is surprising and fresh, and offers a direct path to Hallie.
HATTON
A surname option for Hattie.
ROMILLY
A surname that leads to Milly/Millie without out the problematic associations.
TOP SUGGESTIONS
MILA called MILLIE
Yes, Millie is visually longer than Mila. But it works. If this appeals to you, I think it’s worth considering.
MARLOWE called LOLA
This really sings. Marlowe mirrors Everlie, and Lola makes the perfect sister name for Evie. Is it too much of a stretch? Not really – the sound is right there. And yet, it’s not an immediate formal name/nickname combination. It might be more of a hassle, at least compared to how easily Evie flows from Everlie.
HADLEY ELIZABETH
If your main concern is finding something that feels more complete, then subbing Hadley for Hallie might work for you.
HALSTON called HALLIE
I love the idea of Halston as a formal name for Hallie. The nickname flows. And while Halston isn’t common as a given name, it feels familiar to most as a surname. Everlie and Halston, Evie and Hallie. It’s exactly right.
HALLIE ELIZABETH
All of that said, I do think Hallie Elizabeth might be the perfect choice. It’s your favorite. They’re not really mismatched names … they’re just not perfectly parallel. Hallie works as a sister for Evie, a sort of vintage sweetness. But Hallie and Everlie sound like sisters, too, a pair of 21st century favorites.
I’m most drawn to Marlowe/Lola and Halston/Hallie. But I think I’d still put just Hallie at the top of my list and make it the name to beat.
Go with Hallie Elizabeth.
Elizabeth has nicknames to spare.
I can see a sweet nicknames of Hallie Beth or Hallie Bea if your daughter wants that nickname experience.
1) sib sets are overrated.
2) Hallie Elizabeth is gorgeous and isn’t a mismatch for Everlie Rose.
Go with Hallie Elizabeth! I think it goes fine with Evie / Everlie and you never know what kids are going to think of their names.
Or Harlow,
HArLow Elizabeth (HAL-E): Hallie
As an aside – if you really come to the conclusion you want a formal and nickname, I saw the option of Hazel for Hallie and I think it would work, especially with Elizabeth as a middle:
HAzeL Elizabeth, like HAL-E.
But just a suggestion for the formal name – like I just said, Hallie Elizabeth on its own is beautiful.
Agreed – Hallie Elizabeth is beautiful and would work well through all ages. Congratulations on baby #2!