Finding A Strong, Elegant Name for Spencer Christopher’s Sister

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.

A READER SUGGESTION HITS THE RIGHT NOTE

Kristen and Robert write:

We wrote to you back in January with long lists of possible names for our boy/girl twins who are due late this spring. We’ve finally decided on a boy’s name. It wasn’t on our list or yours, but it was suggested in the comments by your readers and we are so very grateful. My husband and I almost immediately agreed on Spencer once we added it to our list. Our new son will be named Spencer Christopher (Christopher is a family name) and we’re thrilled.

But now, we need a name for his sister, and nothing seems to fit. Our previous list included Clea, Olivia, Harper, Odette, Haven, and Elliotte, but none of them feel as though they quite work.

We’re looking for something feminine but not frilly. Strong yet elegant. And of course, something that flows with Spencer as I’m sure we’ll be saying their names together quite often. Also, her middle name will be Kate or Kathryn (family name). We’re leaning toward Kate, but which version really depends on how it flows with the first name.

Our last name starts with an E but is pronounced You-wen. So many of the names we agree on end with -an, -en, or -on and we’re not sure that works with our last name.

Again, we are so very grateful for all of your help and hope that you and your community will come through for us again.

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

FRESH SUGGESTIONS FOR SPENCER’S SISTER

Abby replies:

Again, congratulations on your twins.

Spencer Christopher is a great name! Reader suggestions really do hit the mark.

Let’s go back to your girls’ list and evaluate them against Spencer.

CURRENT LIST

• Elliotte is more common for boys to begin with. Adding the final E makes it visually feminine, but if I heard Spencer and Elliotte, I’d immediately think they were brothers. So let’s drop Elliotte.
• Harper and Spencer could be perfect, but it’s a lot of repeating R sound.
• I do like Haven, even with Spencer, but it’s not ideal with your two-syllable, ends with-N surname.
• Olivia is very, very popular. It’s perfect with Spencer, except that I think you’re hoping for something slightly more distinctive.
• Clea and Odette are the opposite from Olivia – very different. I think that maybe makes these names feel not-quite-right for a sister for Spencer, either.

If I had to choose from your current list, I do think Olivia Kate sounds great with Spencer Christopher.

But let’s see if we can find some new names to consider.

NEW IDEAS FOR A SISTER FOR SPENCER

ANNIKA

Strictly speaking, Annika is an elaboration of Anna. But I think it feels like a distinct name. It’s long like Olivia, and shortens to Annie, should you wish.

COLETTE

More feminine than Elliotte, more familiar than Odette. Like Spencer, it’s tough to pin Colette to a particular era, making this name timeless but not necessarily classic.

CORA, FLORA

Short like Clea, but more mainstream, Cora is sweetly vintage but strong. You could also Coraline for something longer, or another -ora name, like Flora.

ELODIE

Elodie is a cousin to Odette. A distant cousin, to be sure, both related to Otto across many centuries. But Elodie reminds me most of Elliotte. I love a three-syllable name with your surname, and I think Elodie is great with Spencer.

LYDIA

While Lydia has ranked just inside the Top 100 for some time, it’s not nearly as dominating as Olivia. It shares some of the same sounds, but feels more timeless – exactly right for a sister for Spencer.

ROSEMARY

Maybe this is a little random, but I get a very 1930s vibe from Spencer. While his career spanned the 1930s into the 1960s, Hollywood leading man Spencer Tracy won his first Oscar in 1938. So I found myself looking at 1930s names that are back today, and Rosemary leapt out for a girl. Shorten it to Rosie, Romy, or Rose, or use it in full. (The one school-aged Rosemary I know is always Rosemary.)

SIMONE

While I hesitate to suggest matching initials, I do think Simone fits your description of feminine and strong perfectly.

VIVIAN

I love the middle V like Olivia, and the way the three-syllable rhythm makes it work with your two-syllable surname.

Overall, my favorites are Annika Kathryn and Elodie Kate, assuming that Olivia Kate from your list is off the table.

But let’s open it up to the readers! What would you name a sister for Spencer Christopher, using the middle name Kathryn or Kate?