Girl Names to Go With Emmett: Twins on the Way

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.

LOOKING FOR TWO GREAT GIRL NAMES

Pauline writes:

My husband and I have son named Emmett Matthew. He’s almost seven. It has taken us a long time to grow our family, and we’re overjoyed to be expecting twins.

They are both girls. Neither of us really remembers the girl names we talked about for Emmett, probably because we waited until our ultrasound told us it was a boy before we talked about it seriously, so I feel like we’re starting from scratch.

It also feels like we know a lot of names that are already taken. We have big families, lots of friends, and kids from Emmett’s school/soccer league and our neighborhood and their siblings, too.

We did go back and forth between Emmett or Bennett, and I’m so glad we ended up with Emmett. There are lots of little boys named Ben/Benjamin/Bennett out there, and I think we would have felt like he was one in the crowd.

Names we have discussed, but probably aren’t quite right:

• Melissa – My husband really likes this name, but it feels old to me. I always wanted to be Jessica or Taylor when I was a kid, and I feel like a Melissa in the 2020s would be too grown-up.
• Francesca – Love this name, always have, but we’re not Italian, and I think it’s probably a little fussy. I don’t love the nicknames Franny/Francie, so I think it’s probably more a name I like for other people.
• Charlotte – I can imagine it for our daughter, but we know three.
• Amelia – Kind of close to Emmett, there’s one in our family. (Wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but another reason it’s just meh for me.)
• Poppy – I want to love it, but I think it’s very cute, and I can’t imagine what I would name her sister.

That part about Poppy is really the problem. Even if we get to a name we kind of like, like Poppy, finding a second name that goes with it feels impossible.

The girls will probably be here in October, so I’m starting to panic that we really don’t have any ideas about their names.

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

FINDING TWO NAMES THAT HIT THE RIGHT NOTE

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your twins!

Here’s what leaps out at me: your girl name style is a little bit different from your boy name style. Maybe? Probably.

Then again, your style is also quite broad. There’s tailored Charlotte, upbeat Poppy, the elaborate and flowing Melissa and Francesca. I suspect that a middle ground name, like Cora, wouldn’t appeal to either of you.

So I’m going to move beyond your current list and think about what I’d name a sister for Emmett.

• Emmett’s sisters should have strong names, but also slightly understated
• Their names should be traditional, but relatively mainstream now

Emmett is on my list of homespun boy names with Arlo and Otis and Gus. If that general style appeals to you, then my challenge? Finding girls’ names that match that energy.

SISTERS FOR EMMETT

BLAIR

A surname long used as a first, just like Emmett. Blair probably reads feminine thanks to classic Claire.

GEORGIA

Sparky, but plenty traditional, too.

HADLEY

A literary surname name that’s less expected than Harper, with some of the Poppy’s bounce.

HEIDI

Speaking of bounce, Heidi is a high-energy choice that feels just on the right side of traditional.

JUNIPER

A nature name very at-home in the 21st century.

LUCY

Sweetly old-fashioned but still spirited.

MARGOT

There’s something about Margot that bridges the sophisticated and the fun.

PHOEBE

Offbeat mythological name with a lovely meaning: bright.

TESSA

Teresa nickname that feels nicely vintage.

VIVIAN

Vivacious, restrained Vivian threads the needle perfectly. It’s a little bit Poppy, a little bit Charlotte.

Swistle’s #namehelp column always urged parents of multiples to focus on choosing their next two favorite names. She’s a twin mom herself, so this always felt right to me. Except I’ve also observed that parents of twins tend to say their names together more often than siblings, and so there’s wisdom to thinking about how well they balance out, too.

So I’m going to make all of my suggestions in pairs:

• VIVIAN & MARGOT – I like how these are balanced classics with plenty of verve.
• HADLEY & BLAIR – Both surname-style firsts, like Emmett, but varying the endings means they don’t feel too matched.
• GEORGIA & JUNIPER – I would never suggest, say, Jane and Julie, but somehow Georgia and Juniper seem like different names that are great on their own, and even better together.

I think Vivian and Margot are my favorite. Maybe Vivian Charlotte and Margot Frances?

Readers, over to you! What would you name twin sisters for Emmett Matthew?