A Formal Name for Lainey: Strong Classics to Undiscovered Gems

Would you consider formal names for Lainey – or Laney? Maybe even Lainie?

The baby name Lainey rocketed into the US Top 100 in 2023. Credit to country singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson, who appeared on smash hit television series Yellowstone.

It’s a new name that feels like an old name. 

But when parents try to decide if their baby girl needs a formal name? It’s not always clear what works best. 

To be clear: there’s absolutely no need to name your daughter anything other than Lainey. Plenty of good reasons argue for putting the name you plan to use straight on your child’s birth certificate. If you don’t love the formal name, then it’s fine to skip it in favor of the nickname.

But if you’d like to build in some options? 

This list of thoughtful suggestions for getting to the name Lainey is for you!

ADELAINE

It’s a subtle twist on Adelaide. It looks almost like Ada with the middle name Laine. But Adelaine is an invention that might work nicely.

ALAINA, ALAYNA, ELAINA, ELENA

One of the most obvious formal names for Lainey. The challenge? The most common spelling, Elena, is visually distinct. A first name like Alaina or Elaina includes more of the logical letters, but it will likely require regular spelling across your daughter’s lifetime.

BLAINE

Laine-with-a-B.

DELANEY

The sound is built right in to this stylish surname choice. It’s an obvious option on this list of formal names for Lainey, though the spelling suggests Laney instead.

ELAINE

A traditional choice from Arthurian legend, Elaine is a perfect way to get to the first name Lainey.

GHISLAINE

Intriguing French rarity Ghislaine might be an obvious choice, but the crimes of Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes cast a long shadow.

HELEN, HELENA, HELAINA

The name Helen is an enduring choice. In Greek mythology, Helen was the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda. Paris fell hard for the lovely Helen. Some accounts say he kidnapped her. Others suggest she ran away with him. Either way, it sparked the Trojan War. Helen’s name endures as a classic choice. Ellen is another form, but it doesn’t lend itself to Lainey. Helena is the Latinate form, with at least three distinct pronunciations, one of which might work. And Helaina? That’s a sort of Helen-meets-Alaina compromise.

LAINA, LENA

Lena can be short for lots of longer names. Pronounce it with a long A sound, though, and diminutive Lena can be shortened even more, to Lainey. (Which isn’t shorter at all, but does feel more casual.)

LAINE, LANE

Laine looks familiar and feminine thanks to traditional names like Elaine. Lane, on the other hand, is a surname far more common on lists of boy names. Worth noting: Gilmore Girls gave us a female Lane, Rory’s BFF. Either has potential for a daughter. Just like Rose becomes Rosie, it follows logically that Laine would become Lainey.

LEILANI

We’re all living in Hawaii lately, at least when it comes to naming our daughters. Kehlani, Kailani, Kaylani, Alani, Nahlani, Jaylani, and several more -lani names all rank in the current US Top 1000.

LILIANE, LILLIAN

Any Lillian would logically be Lily, but the letters and sounds for Lainey are almost there, too – especially with the French form, Liliane.

MADELAINE

Another name in the key of Helaina and Adelaine. With so many spellings of Madeline/Madelyn and so on in use, it’s easy to imagine one more fitting right in – especially if it comes with a less-expected nickname than Maddie. This is one of those formal names for Lainey that’s both obvious and rare, though 24 girls were named Madelaine in 2023 alone.

MARJOLAINE

The Latin word maiorana became marjoram, the herb often used in cooking. In French, it became marjolaine. It’s used as a given name in France today, though it was most popular circa 1990. Today it’s a very rare choice that would lend itself to the nickname Lainey. One more herbal fun fact: Marjorie is a re-spelling of the medieval Margery, the English form of Margaret. It, too, is a reference to the herb.

MALANI, MILANI

Probably names inspired by Melanie and Melanie, but with a healthy dose of those Hawaiian -lani names, too.

MELAINA

A Melanie-adjacent name with the right sounds.

MELANIE

With the letters Lanie embedded in this name, it seems like it ought to be an obvious formal name for Lainey. But the sound isn’t quite there, so it’s not a common association.

ROSELAINE

We’re so used to Roseanne and Rosemary. Names like Rosalind and Rosamund aren’t common, but they’re delightful finds in history and literature. But dozens and dozens of Rose- names have been heard over the centuries. Roselaine might be a cousin to Rosalind, a Rose-Elaine smoosh, or even a combination of Rose with any other name ending in -laine.

VIOLAINE

A gorgeous and unexpecting -laine name, Violaine was invented by an early twentieth century French playwright, Paul Claudel. The play was originally titled in 1892 La Jeune Fille Violaine. It’s not clear if Claudel’s inspiration was the name Violante – a French form of Yolanda – or something else. To an American ear this sounds more like a Violet-Lainey mash-up with a few letters dropped.

YOLAINE

Yolanda became Yolande in French, and might’ve evolved to Yolaine from there. It’s slightly middle aged in France now, but might feel fresh to an English-speaking audience.

Would you consider any of these as a formal name for Lainey?

First published on June 1, 2018, this post was revised substantially on February 26, 2025.

The first version of this post was a response to a reader request for #namehelp. They named their daughter Alaina “Lainey” West!