When we decided to call our daughter Clio, we forever closed the door on another favorite name – Theodore, nickname Theo.
Or did we?
For every family that decides Maya and Milo are too similar, another embraces the sound-alike names.
Or insists that Alicia and Alina are totally different names.
Some parents might never notice that Joanna and Jackson are both related to John.
Or maybe the first time Kelly introduces her daughter Grace, she suddenly realizes that the legendary Grace Kelly is echoed in their names.
Siblings’ names will be said together countless times. The names we like often have much in common.
So how can you tell if your choices make for a compatible set, or if they’re much too close?
There are no hard-and-fast rules, but here are ten factors to consider.
10. The names share the same meaning.
This can be a subtle way to link siblings’ names. Think Lucy and Claire. One means light; the other, clear. Felix and Asher both mean happy.
Sometimes the challenge comes when your family of two ends up a family of four or five or more. Your first two are the nicely paired Hazel and Ivy, but after using Olive and Jade, your choices for #5 narrow to Loden, Fern and Moss.
9. The names share the same origins.
Name aficionados know that Jacob and James are related. A popular combination for twin girls is Isabella and Elizabeth – two forms of the same name, even if it’s not quite like choosing Mary Anne and Marianne.
Origins aside, Jack and Sean make for a compatible pair of brothers’ names. And Charles and Caroline seem different enough to be worn without incident.
Daniel and Danielle, however, feel too close.
8. You’ve neglected 25 letters of the alphabet.
Sometimes this is unintentional. You’re naming your sons after their grandfathers – Michael and Matthew. Or you just happen to like the names Julia and Jason.
But let’s say you choose a letter with fewer options.
I remember hearing about a family with four sons – Henry, Heath, Hugo and Hatrick. Are they hockey fans, or was Harvey not their style?
And if you’re on the second generation sharing the same syllable, your options might be very limited.
7. The names are linked in history or pop culture.
If the movie was a bust, or we’re talking minor comic book characters, this matters not at all.
(You can safely ignore “But Sami named her twins John and Alice on Days of Our Lives.”)
Some combinations might appeal because of their shared connections. Imagine daughters named for two Jane Austen heroines, as in Emma and Elinor.
But then there’s Gillian Anderson’s threesome – Piper, Oscar, and Felix. Her kids might not know The Odd Couple, and it’s not a negative reference, either – so maybe that’s a non-issue.
Some do feel truly unthinkable – siblings named Romeo and Juliet, maybe.
Though, of course, it can happen after the fact – in which case, all you can do is laugh and promise that, no, the Twilight novels didn’t inspire you to name your children Jacob and Bella.
6. Your choices can lead to same nickname.
Sure, you never intend to call Kathryn or Katelyn by the nickname Katie. But it could easily happen. And how will their sister Annie feel about having an unrelated name?
Not every set of names that shares a nickname feels too close. Amelia and Marianna could both shorten to Mia. Alexander and Natasha might both go by Sasha.
The harder you have to think about it, the less it becomes a concern.
5. Your favorites share the same ending.
If you like Isabel, you might also like Annabel.
Ditto names like Parker, Carter and Harper.
But sharing the same ending is another sign that your favorites might be too close for comfort.
4. They nest like Russian matryoshka dolls.
Does one name fit neatly inside the other? Annika and Julian share an “an” but it isn’t glaringly obvious.
But Ella and Kellen seem like they’re part of the other.
In cases like Anna and Susanna, one sibling’s name is an elaboration of the other.
That can be a little too close.
3. They share the same first syllable.
With #10 through #4, it is easy enough to come up with examples that work, despite being close in some ways.
But #3 is tougher to navigate.
Imagine sisters called Madeline and Madison? A brother-sister pair named Jordan and Georgia? Twins Miley and Myla?
2. The names rhyme.
Yes, there have surely been twin sisters called Cara and Tara. But most parents – and siblings – would find it a bit too matched.
And yet, this is trickier than it sounds. Timothy and James, Jeffrey and Stephanie and, of course, Benjamin and Jennifer all end up rhyming if you use the most common diminutives.
1. A combination of the above.
Jackson and Jonathan are close, but probably on the right side of the line. Jack and John, though? That seems a little too close.
Jeffrey and Stephanie seem less troubling than the Hollywood power couple Benjamin and Jennifer – because the nicknames rhyme and we think of them as a matched pair.
Sarah and Laura are pretty close, but Laura and Maura feel like they cross a line.
What choices have you had to reject because they’re just too close to your an older child’s name?
First published on December 10, 2009, this post was revised and re-published on January 19, 2022.
Do you think James & Jack for brothers 2 years a part is acceptable? Or too similar? So curious what you think!! Great post!
Hey Britt – I think they’re close, but not at all TOO close. The challenge might be if you had a third son in the future … would you feel like he had to be Joe/Joseph or Jude or … some other traditional J name? If so, then it’s worth looking elsewhere. But if you’re confident your family is complete or wouldn’t feel hemmed in by a pattern, then I wouldn’t hesitate to use James and Jack for brothers!
What are your thoughts on Maison as a sister for Maeve!? I love love the name Maison, but I am worried the about the first syllable “May” or how close nicknames will be Maevie and Maisie.
We already have a Gianna 🙂 and were expecting our 2nd. We are set for Lucas for a boy. I think Gianna and Lucas pair nicely. But we’re so stuck for a girls name. We love Liliana 🙂 but it has the same ending as Gianna. We’re thinking Lilian abit also but it’s just not as beautiful to us. I would love to hear your thoughts
I’m vetoing my husband’s suggestion of Flint because it’s too close to our older son’s name Quinn because of the shared “in” sound. I realize that they don’t look or sound very close, but because when parents want to call their kids they may bungle the names or say the pet’s name first, I feel like it would be inviting me to just call them “Flynn” or “Finn” accidentally or it will be too easy for either of them to be misheard and called Flynn, leading to confusion later. I can just picture myself answering the phone and the person saying he or she wants to speak to Flynn and me wondering which kid. Maybe this means I need to just get them each their own cell phone.
HA! I think we all trip over our kids’ names from time to time, but shared sounds do make it much more complicated.
We have a Juliana and a Lucca (sons name was extremely hard to agree on). Our all time favorite second girl name has always been Leila – recently found out baby#3 is a girl. Is this too close too Lucca and does it leave out Juliana? Or no because JuLIANA? We mostly call him Lukey or Luke. Our runner up girl name is Audriana (but everyone is telling us way too similar to Juliana).
So … there are two ways of looking at it, right? The first is that the three names all share a strong L sound and an a ending and that continuing the pattern is a mistake. BUT you could also see it as a plus – Juliana, Lucca, and Leila roll off the tongue. That makes the shared sounds a plus, not a problem.
Since I can’t imagine the names sharing nicknames, it seems like there’s not really any conflict here. The only possible challenge would be someday naming a fourth child!
Hi there,
Wondering what your thought of Mila and Aleeya are?
Ooh … I’m not sure I would use those for sisters. Both are so pretty, but I think they run together when I say them. If there was just one more sound – maybe Mila + Alina? – I think I’d feel completely differently. (Or Aleeyah and Meena?)
What about Eliana and Aleeya? My daughters are Eliana and Mila and the only name I love is Aleeya for my third. I cannot find another name.
Eliana and Aleeya seem totally fine together! (And I can see that Eliana rules out Aleena even more so than Aleeya.) There’s just enough sound to set them apart. But there’s the thing … names don’t have to conform to any set of rules. Do you feel comfortable saying all three names together? For the most part, we as parents are the only ones who often say our children’s names in a series. If you + your partner are on board, then it works. (And in some families, names that share close sounds are preferred … so your daughters may love that they all share a strong L sound in their names.)
Thank you for your input! I like the sound of Eliana and Aleeya together too. Eliana actually starts with Elia but it isn’t heard that way and is pronounced a bit different. Would this be ok? Am I looking into this too much? Or is this something that really is noticeable and wouldn’t sound right.
My first is Olivia and then I have a boy Jacob. Expecting my third any day. Is Owen too close to Olivia?
I don’t think so. The only thing they really have in common is the first initial, and you already have another initial in the mix.
We have a Daniel Henry and love the name Nathaniel Westley (Westley is a family name). Having matching endings for BOTH names was a bit much though. I’m not sure if we should abandon Nathaniel completely or choose a different middle name (Harrison, another family name, is a lead contender).
My first son’s name is Connor and if we have another boy, we are considering Carter but I’m so afraid they are “too matchy”. I came across this post and I loved the advice and all of the personal thoughts you provided to everyone. Was hoping for some honest feedback. I’m truly afraid of them never knowing which one I’m calling for when they’re older since the names start with the same letter and end in the same syllable, haha.
Hi Paige – I think they’re very close, and when I say them quickly, it does trip me up. But I don’t think it’s as close as, say Carter and Carson. So I might use them together. BUT … do you imagine you’ll ever have a third child? If so, I think I’d seriously consider whether I could find another name that doesn’t feel like an outlier.
I’ll ask this on the Appellation Mountain Insta/Facebook/Twitter, too – curious to hear what others say!
I have encountered so many sib sets where I secretly wonder if they did it on purpose or realized after the fact how close it was. I even had a friend who unknowingly had her son’s name rhyme with her own but it never occurred to her until weeks after he was born. My second son’s name is Edward, and one of the names I loved for a third son was Alfred. Not a total match but pretty similar. Especially if they decided to go by nicknames down the road. And one of the girl names I really like is Edith. Again, not totally terrible if they don’t ever go by the nicknames, but the chance that he ever called himself Eddie and she Edie, could be a little confusing. Especially since my oldest has a name that would make him an outlier with the other 2. But I do think it’s proof that our ear is just drawn to certain names and combinations.