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.
Table of Contents
LOVING ALL THE SYLLABLES
Ali writes:
I’m an Alexandra who always shortened her name to Ali, and liked the contrast between my names. Naming our daughter Penelope was easy. I love all the nickname options, especially Pen (Penn?) and I found Poppy listed here, too, which I went heart-eyed for!
But somehow our girl is a Penelope. No nicknames stick, and now that she’s four, she will insist on her full name in a very stubborn, totally adorable (I think!) way.
We are overjoyed to be expecting our second, and almost certainly last, baby. We had a good list for boys from last time: Sebastian, Nathaniel, maybe Harrison (family name). But our girls’ list was pretty much Penelope, and we’re having another girl.
I do feel the pressure is off a little, because I don’t feel as much of a need to have a nickname for this daughter. I’m considering names I ruled out last time, like Savannah and Sienna, but I feel like they’re not as good as Penelope’s name.
Penelope’s middle name is Ann for my mom. This daughter’s middle name will be either Kathryn or maybe just Kay for his mom.
What we can’t have: word names! Even if they’ve been around for a while, my husband isn’t crazy about Violet or Ruby or anything like that.
Right now I’m looking at everything and nothing is sticking. Can you help with some new ideas? Long, fun, upbeat names that have nicknames or not!
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
LONG NAMES LIKE PENELOPE
Abby replies:
Congratulations on your new daughter!
This is a fun challenge. If we talking on a consult, I’d ask you a few more questions about popularity. Penelope continues to increase in use. Is that a concern for you, in any way? It absolutely does not have to be, but knowing your feelings can help set the dial.
Instead, I’m going to suggest names from across the popularity spectrum.
But first, a few notes:
- I love that your firstborn is all Penelope, all the time! This reminds me of something I often say to parents: our kids take ownership of their names early. Sometimes they surprise, even astonish, with their preferences. But there’s no guarantee that your Penelope won’t come home from middle school orientation a Penny … or something else entirely. This makes me think that names with nickname options are still preferable.
- Names like Savannah and Sienna are pretty and lyrical, but they’re not quite matches for Penelope. The thing about Penelope? I can absolutely imagine it as the name of an eighteenth century daredevil, taking a flight in a hot air balloon. Or a women’s rights activist from the early twentieth century suffrage movement. Penelope blends a daring spirit with a vintage vibe. So that’s what we need to mirror for her sister’s name.
ADVENTUROUS ANTIQUES
Let’s find some names that hit the same note as Penelope: a long history of use, combined with plenty of spark.
CLEMENTINE
Sweetly old-fashioned, but with plenty of spirit, too, Clementine could be Penelope’s sister in the 1890s or today.
ELOISE
Another Top 100 choice, Eloise shares a little bit of Penelope’s sound – that great lo – but it’s a subtle detail, just enough to make these names nicely matched.
GEORGIA
Spirited and somewhere between traditional and modern, Georgia and Penelope share a sensibility.
JUNIPER
Strictly speaking, Juniper is a modern name – though Ginevra and Junipero have history in romance languages. Still, it brings to mind vintage June and has the same energy as Penelope.
MATILDA
Another old-fashioned choice that sounds like a storybook heroine. Bonus? Matilda’s many nicknames. How darling would Penny and Tillie be together? Or Nell and Millie?
ROSALIE
Like Penelope, Rosalie is enjoying a moment. My only hesitation: does the Rose part make this too name like?
TALLULAH
A recent arrival in the US Top 1000, Tallulah is where Penelope was twenty years ago – familiar, but a little bold.
VERONICA
One of those names that we all recognize, Veronica isn’t exactly a classic. But it echoes the vintage appeal of Penelope.
Overall, I keep coming back to Tallulah. Like Penelope, it could be shortened. Lulu! Lula! Tallie! But it really doesn’t need to be at all. And I love the sound of Tallulah Kay.
But if Tallulah is just too different, would you consider Rosalie? Yes, shorten it to Rosie and it’s close to Violet and other word names your husband dislikes. But somehow Rosalie feels like far more name than noun.
And I do think the most logical choice is probably Eloise. That subtle repeating LO sound, the name’s similar old-fashioned but very current style, the wealth of nicknames without an actual need to shorten the name. Bonus? Eloise Kathryn is perfection.
I’m not sure if my previous comment went through so I’ll add it again! I think Veronica is absolutely perfect with Penelope, and Veronica Kathryn sounds great. Here are some other suggestions:
Arabella (Ari, Bella, Belle)
Caroline (Caro, Cara)
Delilah (Lila)
Eleanor (Ellie, Elle, Ella, Nora, Nell)
Eliza (Ellie, Elle, Lizzie)
Felicity (Lissy)
Genevieve (Gen, Evie, Eve)
Gwendolyn (Gwen, Wendy, Dolly)
Helena (Nell, Lena, Elle)
Josephine (Josie, Jo, Posie)
Lucille/Lucinda (Lucy)
Margot (Maggie)
Olympia (Pia)
Sophie
Vivienne (Vivi, Viva)
Zola
Zora
Sorry for any repeats!
I love every one of Abby’s suggestions! I think any one of them would be a perfect match for Penelope.
It’s interesting that Savannah is on your “maybe” list, because I definitely consider it a “word name”! But maybe you associate Savannah more strongly with the city than with the grasslands?
Since both Alexandra and Penelope have four syllables, maybe you’ll find a favorite by looking in that direction. For example:
Amelia
Arabella
Carolina
Eleanora
Gabriella
Isabella
Juliana
Liliana
Natalia
Seraphina
Valencia
Valentina
Viviana
Based on your affinity for S names (Sebastian, Savannah, Sienna), perhaps Seraphina is the one? Potential nicknames include Sera, Seri, Phi, Phia, Phin, Phinney, Nina, Rina…
Please excuse any repeats!
Penelope and…
Ariadne (Ari, Addie, Adrie, Annie, Rhea, Didi, Nini, Arnie)
Cassiopeia (Cass, Cassie, Casey, Opie, Sia, Queenie -because of the constellation -, Sophie)
Melisande (Mellie, Sandy, Mel, Sandra, Andi, Lissy, Elisa)
Anastasia (Ann, Annie, Stacey, Natasha, Tasha, Tacy, Sia, Stacia)
Araminta (Ari, Minty, Minnie, Mina, Amy, Attie, Tia)
My favorite is Ariadne because they share Greek roots, end in the long ‘e’ sound, have four syllables, and have very different nicknames.
Congratulations and best wishes!
I really like Abby’s suggestion of Georgia! It’s not as long as Penelope, but somehow it fits perfectly. Georgina would work really well too.
I also love Iris’ suggestion of Philippa. I went to school with a Penelope who had a sister named Philippa – they were called Penny and Pip, which I thought was so sweet. I always enjoy a sibset where the initials match but the sounds don’t (as in P and Ph).
Some other ideas:
Beatrice, Rhiannon, Zinnia, Winifred, Jordana, Lucinda, Ursula, Madeleine, Henrietta, Naomi, Edwina, Lorelei, Abigail, Mariana, Thomasina, Natalie or Natalia, Sabrina or Sabine
And ignore this idea if it has no appeal, but how about choosing a different middle name and using a longer variant of Kathryn as the first name? Catalina came to mind first. It fits in so beautifully with Penelope, and I think it’s different enough from Kathryn to not be an immediately obvious honour, but it clearly is related.
Philippa!
Phillipa is so cute! I love Pippa/Pippi/Pip. The Featherington sisters in Bridgerton are Penelope, Phillipa and Prudence though, so that might be some people’s association.