Finding a Strong Middle Name for Arcelia

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A MIDDLE NAME THAT FITS THE PATTERN

River and Yesly write:

We are having the hardest time coming up with a middle name for our last daughter. We have eight girls:

• Alaia Brooke 
• Elysia Rain
• Aristea Noelle
• Lyra Celeste
• Elara Sage
• Aliria Jade
• Liana Carys

We like the name Arcelia for this daughter.

Yesly liked the names Elysia, Aristea, and Arcelia the most, while I liked the others the most. Alaia’s name was basically truly a compromise that we both really liked. We’ve both kind of won out a bit!

Brooke, Rain, Celeste, Sage, and Jade are more obvious nature/word names while Noelle and Carys are more subtle.

Nothing feels exactly right when it comes to Araceli’s middle name, though. We feel like it has to be either a word name (Rain, Jade, etc.) or subtle (like Noelle can mean snow, Christmas, etc.)

These are the names on our list right now:

• Kate – feels a bit too bland compared to the others maybe?
• Grey – I don’t love how Arcelia Gray looks together. (Picky I know!) But I do love how it sounds.
• Banks – recent addition
• Collins – Along with Banks, a recent addition but neither of us really loves them
• Winslet – this might be the best, but I don’t know
• Winsley – kind of eh

We have ruled out Alazae, Avery, Campbell, Capri, Dove, Elyse, Emery, Lanee, Lilyana, Linnea, Lorelei, Jane, Maeve, Margot, Meadow, Seren, Skye, Solenne, Winter, Valentina, and Vega.

It’s hard to find a middle name that doesn’t repeat sounds in Arcelia, like the Ls or C/S sounds in Solenne. Our last name starts with a Z and ends with an O, so middle names ending with O don’t work.

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

WHAT’S THE RIGHT MIDDLE NAME FOR ARCELIA?

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your new daughter!

It’s clear you know your style, and you’re good at compromising on a name that you both appreciate.

The problem is that after a certain number of children, everything does start to feel taken, right?

I think we’re probably looking for a name with a Kate/Grey kind of style – a single-syllable, probably a word name, possibly with a long A vowel sound.

Except Rain, Sage, and Jade are taken, so we’ll need to think a little harder to find a middle name for Arcelia.

I’m tempted to suggest Mae, but maybe there’s not quite enough sound to make it feel right, and you’ve already ruled out Maeve.

MIDDLE NAMES FOR ARCELIA: FRESH SUGGESTIONS

BAY

Borrowed from the body of water, Bay is far less common than Mae or May, and that strong B sound is distinctive. Visually, I wonder if you’ll like Arcelia Bay more than Arcelia Grey?

BLAZE

Fiery Blaze is more common for boys, but also used in small numbers for girls. There’s no confusing Blaze with Rain or Sage, but it fits the same general pattern. Arcelia is a flowing, lovely choice, balanced out by Blaze’s energy.

DREAM

I wonder if Dream’s meaning is too different for you? I think it’s a good midpoint between, say Rain and Carys. A strong word name, but also a meaning that’s a little less concrete.

ESTELLE

A very different kind of suggestion, Estelle means star. It came to mind because you have Seren on your original list. Arcelia Estelle is a lot of L sound and some repeating S as well, but I feel like a star meaning would fit your family well.

KIT

The tiniest change from Kate to Kit, but with a subtle nature name vibe and something of the sound of Winslet, too. Kit means kitten and cat, but a kit is also a young fox (or rabbit or badger, to name just a few more.)

LAKE

Like Bay, Lake is a water-inspired name. But I think it’s a little more distinctive than Bay.

NEVE

One of your comments mentioned snow, which is probably why Neve came to mind. It rhymes with Rev or the first syllable in seven. We sometimes think of it as an Anglicized form of Irish name Niamh, meaning bright. But it means snow in several romance languages, including Italian. (Though in Italian, it’s pronounced with two syllables.)

TRUE

True is a little bit like Dream – clearly a word name, with a strong and distinctive sound. But it’s harder to picture True and that makes this slightly more vague. There’s a strength and resilience to this sound, though, that feels right for your family.

VAIL, VALE

Vail is very Colorado, while Vale is an old-fashioned word for valley. I like the way the sharp V sound contrasts with the flowing, soft sounds of Arcelia.

VESPER

I’ve mentioned the letter V, as well as names that mean star. Could Vesper be the best of both? Strictly speaking, it’s the Latin form of the Greek Hesperos. In Greek mythology, Vesper is the personification of the evening star – also know as the planet Venus. It’s celestial and distinctive, too.

From your list, I’m inclined to agree that Winslet sounds best: Arcelia Winslet. I suspect that you’re looking for something more like Arcelia Dream or Arcelia Lake. But if I was choosing? I think Arcelia Vesper would probably be my top pick.

Readers, over to you! Can you suggest the perfect middle name for Arcelia?