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.
A UNIQUE MIDDLE NAME FOR MADELYN, JUST LIKE MOM
Jasmine writes:
I have a middle name that I have never heard on anyone else before: Lullaby. It’s kind of a joke that stuck. My dad misheard my mom’s last name as Lullaby and asked a mutual friend to introduce him to so-and-so Lullaby. It was incredibly embarrassing at one point, but I’ve grown to really love it.
Now I’m pregnant with a daughter, and I’d love to find something equally interesting and meaningful, something that can be all my daughter’s own.
Her first name will be Madelyn, which my husband suggested, so he’s on board with almost anything for a middle name as long as it’s not “crazy,” which I know is pretty vague.
The problem is that I don’t have a name with a good story. But I feel like so many kids have different names now that I have permission to choose something really unique, even if it’s not really a name.
I’ve considered:
- Arabesque – saw it on a discussion, love it but I’m not a dancer or anything like that
- Alouette – from your bird list
- Azure – because my favorite color is blue
- Lioness – sort of obsessed but maybe this is too much
- Persimmon – love the way this sounds, but maybe not with Madelyn
- Promise – I just like the way it sounds
- Terpsichore – goddess of dance, Arabesque sort of led to this one, maybe too complicated to pronounce even as a middle name
- Valancy – found this on your site and I really like LM Montgomery, plus I like the way it ends with a Y like Lullaby
I feel like I’ll know it when I hear it.
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
CREATIVITY PLUS MEANING
Abby replies:
Congratulations on your daughter!
My first thought: why not hand down the middle name Lullaby? I like it with Madelyn. It’s a great story. And it’s an even better story because now it’s a family middle name, too.
If not a Lullaby encore, I think there are two general directions to consider:
- A name with deep personal significance to you and your husband. I wonder if this list might inspire some fresh ideas?
- A word name that points to the natural world, virtues, or some other universal quality or experience.
I can’t guess at the former, so I’m going to focus on the latter. I do think Promise is, well, promising.
It sounds great with Madelyn. It’s different. And yet it’s an open kind of virtue, a flexible and positive meaning that’s very forward-looking.
UNIQUE MIDDLE NAME SUGGESTIONS
AMORET
Poetic word name ultimately from the Latin amor, meaning love.
BRAVERY
Avery plus BR, but with all the bravado of Lioness.
BRIO
A musical term meaning spirited.
EVERMORE
An enduring promise of a word name, even better if you’re a Taylor Swift fan.
FABLE
Literary word name that reads like Faye plus Mabel.
KESTREL
Another bird name possibility.
SONNET
If Amoret and Fable are close, but not quite, Sonnet might appeal.
VESPER
The evening star, a night sky name with mythological roots.
Overall, I really love the idea of handing down Lullaby to your daughter. It’s almost a family name on your side, right? And it preserves that story well into the future.
If not Lullaby, I think Promise from your list is pretty much perfect.
And if I had to pick from my suggestions, I’m drawn to Madelyn Vesper.
One thought: you haven’t shared your daughter’s surname, but saying these together might help determine which rhythm is best.
Congratulations on your baby girl.
So many lovely suggestions already.
You can really let your imagination soar with this. How sweet.
Blessing
Bunting
Gift
Peace
Praise
Sequin
Ballet
Petal
Evergreen
Sparkle
Star
Hosanna
The best option is reusing your middle name. Such a sweet story!
Another idea is naming her Madelyn Talullah.
It reuses the “lulla” part but she gets her own name.
I agree with looking more into names of personal significance to you – a birthstone or flower, the street you lived on, the place you met your spouse, etc., or even passing down Lullaby.
Otherwise here are some more ideas, mostly based on their meaning or their connection to Lullaby!
Allegra
Lyric
Cadence
Zephyr
Prairie
Bloom
Blossom
Zinnia
Lark
Harbor
Summer / Autumn / Winter for the season she is born
Indigo, Navy, Ocean, Sapphire, Teal (for other blue names)
Legacy
Mystery
Vivacity
Marceline
Hyacinth
Luminous
Magnanimity
Magnilda
Magnolia
Embelia
Perspicacity (maybe an alternative to Terpsichore?)
Equinox
Delonix
Lonicera
Equality
Eloquence
Excitement
Ephemeral
Treasure
Resolution
Revelation
Eureka
Livingstone
Miranthe
Nebulene
Nyxpetal
Peacelily
Peacerose
Wavellite & Rubellite (Gem names)
Andalusia & Marrakesh (Place names)
Rosefinch
Solandrax
Ravensoar
Sylphrosia
Sychorax (Literary name)
Literary
Halimede (mythology)
Starlily
Skylene (sky + Eileen)
Sphynx
Skylax
Sunstone
Honeysuckle
Velvindra
Chrysalis
Fable
Curiosity
Calypso
Serenity
Symphony
Sincerity
Dreamstone
Reverie
Genorosity
Benevolence
Deliverance
Colibri
Eluned
Araminta
The fun thing about creative middle names there is very little limits, which is also the hard thing about them. I would suggest thinking about what your hopes and dreams you want for your future daughter. What do you want to evoke for her? Maybe that will help narrow it down for you.
Starfloria
Poetry
Vesperlark
Evening
Ethereal
Endeavour
Mesmerise
Aviolet
Tigerlily
Tigerose
Eviolet
Adamite (Gem name)
Lovestruck (maybe too out there)
Albacete
Aethera
Astravine
Ashvine
Adanyx
Bellanyx
Celestial
Celestara
Dawnspire
Drosmira
Inspire
Inspiration
Echoflare
Element
Malachite
Lunavere
Moonrose
Zunyite (Gem name, pronounced Zuni-Ite)
Revelry
Pasiphae and Pasithea (from mythology)
Luxury
Royalty
Moonshine
Apricity
Liriope (Mythology)
Lyrical
Selkie
Caraway
Elysian (greek heaven mythology)
Serendipity
Whimsy
Lazuli
Tourmaline
Infinity
Vespertine
Evanescence
Locket
Petrichore
Velvetine
Daystar
Opalite
Sunquartz
Moonglade
Rosegold
Yay for a baby girl!
My first thought was also to hand down Lullaby.
If not, why not another name referring to a kind of song or poem as a connection to Lullaby without repeating it? Aria and Lyric are current, known, given names (I know one of each aged 6 & 8 respectively, not in the same family.)
Sonnet & Vesper would fit that idea. Otherwise:
-Sonatina
-Sonata (too car brand perhaps)
-Symphony
-Opera/Operetta
-Concerto (or change the -o to -a to make it more feminine)
-Song
-Concerto (or Concerta)
-Ballade
-Berceuse (lullaby in French… but it also means ‘rocking chair’)
I’m sure there are other words along those lines that you could look into. I hope it becomes a fun scavenger hunt rather than a worrisome burden!
Congrats on your baby girl! This is a fun challenge. I think Abbey’s suggestions of Vesper, Sonnet, and Fable are great. They are bold but not too bold, especially as a middle name.
Some other ideas; some are bold, some not so much but have nice meanings:
Meridian- it means midday or pinnacle
Kismet- fate or destiny
Leona- it means lioness but is less daring than Lioness itself
Wildflower- bold but beautiful
Felicity- it means happiness
I would also recommend looking at birth stones or birth flowers for months that are significant to you. Some of those could make for a really fun middle name.