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!
Shay writes:
We have three boys – Cameron, Hunter, and Hayes. We’re now expecting our fourth baby, and it’s a girl! We weren’t trying for a daughter at all – I love being a boy mom. But I’m so much more excited than I ever thought I’d be.
When we first started our family, my favorite girl names were unisex. I actually thought Cameron would be Cameron no matter what. Other names I liked were Harper, Lane/Laine, and Dylan. Though we know a few Dylans now, so it’s pretty much out, and I wouldn’t want a third H name.
But I now I find myself drawn to names like Annabelle – or even Annabella? – Josephine, Liliana, Eliana, and Cecilia.
Our last name is two syllables, starts with an M, and ends with -y, so we pretty much avoid any first name ending with y/ee/ie, etc.
My husband isn’t sure if he likes our old list better than my new list, but he’s mostly leaving it up to me. And I’m appealing to you and your readers: what should we name a sister (eep!) for Cameron, Hunter, and Hayes?
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Dear Shay –
Congrats on your new daughter!
I think plenty of parents experience what you’re feeling. We think we like the same kinds of names, regardless of gender. But when we actually picture our child, something shifts.
That might feel unfair or biased or downright wrong. But it reflects reality: girls’ names have always been more subject to trends, and, generally speaking, the pool of girls’ names in use has always been deeper and more varied.
But it may simply be that your tastes have changed. Some families name four or five children across a dozen years and stay remarkably consistent. But most of us change a little more, either because we’ve heard SO many kids’ names, or simply because, well, styles change.
Let’s work through a few questions:
Is this likely to be your last child? Sorry, it’s nosy! But I ask because Cameron, Hunter, Hayes, and Annabelle is one thing. But if you have another girl in the future, it might be difficult to name her Parker or Lane without making Annabelle feel like the odd one out.
Do any of your girl names have extra significance? Maybe Annabelle reminds you of your grandma Annie. Or if you grew up singing in youth choirs, then Cecilia’s associated with musicians might speak to you. I mention this because changing styles is fine, but having a really good reason behind it can build your confidence in the choice.
All of that said, I wonder if you might be happiest with names that are clearly feminine, but just a little more tailored. So not borrowed-from-the-boys Dylan, but not the lacy romance of Cecilia, either?
Or … maybe names that are unisex in style, but used in overwhelming numbers for girls?
NAMES MIDWAY BETWEEN DYLAN and CECILIA
EVELYN – Some will argue that Evelyn is meant for boys, and it has a history as a unisex name. But in the US? It’s all girl. That tailored sound separates it from frilly choices like Arabella, but it’s undeniably a vintage, feminine choice.
EVERLY – If Evelyn is close, but not quite right, would you consider Everly? It shares the same style as Cameron, Hunter, and Hayes, but it’s used in far bigger numbers for girls. Plus, nickname Evie makes it even more feminine.
MAREN – Maybe Maren sounds like a surname, but it’s actually a rising favorite for girls in the US, borrowed from Scandinavian languages, where it’s a form of Marina – or possibly Mary and Margaret.
PIPER – Musical Piper feels light and feminine, but with a style that stands up to your favorite boy names.
SLOANE – I suppose Sloane could be a boy’s name. But from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to Entourage, we’ve associated it almost exclusively with girls. It’s an update to Joan, a tailored choice that’s feminine enough to fit in with Cameron, Hunter, and Hayes, but still sound like their sister.
TEAGAN – Confession: I’m always surprised at how popular Teagan has become. Twenty years ago, it was used in modest numbers for boys and girls alike. Since 2015, it’s been a Top 200 choice for our daughters.
VIVIAN – This name shares many characteristics with Evelyn; at some point, Vivian was also masculine. But it’s a feminine favorite, timeless and yet gently vintage, too.
WREN – How do you feel about nature names? Something like Wren – brief and complete, used in bigger numbers for girls, but not especially frilly – could be perfect.
I’m tempted to suggest names like Everly and Teagan, but I suspect that’s exactly what you’re ruled out. From your original list, I actually like Annabelle and Josephine an awful lot, too.
You haven’t mentioned middle names. I wonder if something like Piper Annabelle or Wren Josephine could be the best of both worlds?
I think your choice of Eliana is actually a nice option with the spirit of your old favorites and the style of your new ones. I like Abby’s suggestion of Maren, there’s also Maris or Carys. Something like Bianca has a little oomph behind it, only 6 letters, but the same “a” ending you find yourself drawn to. I like someone else’s suggestion of Meredith as well.
I would go with the style you like now. Styles change, and your naming this baby in this moment. Pick what you like! You can always pick a flowy name with a gender neutral nickname if you want a balance.
Annabelle is lovely and not that commonly used. I here it more in Central America where I live. Here are a few others:
Cecilia
Georgiana
Evangelina
Rosabelle
Rosalie
Luciana
Viviana
Francesca
I’m liking the C bookend and definitely something less unisex. Maren caught my eye on Abby’s list, but it repeats the end of CaMERON.
Cleo was my first thought. Maybe from Calliope is you want something longer? Then you could use Callie too!
Lots of Cs above, but I’ll add:
Clementine
Coraline
Cressida
Cassia
If you want to lean into the surnames with a girly nn:
Calloway nn Callie or Lola
Conway nn Coco
Campbell nn Bella
Clementine is actually a unisex name historically, that could be perfect!
Suggestions –
Louisa
Carys
Carlotta
Carla
Caroline / Carolina
Eleanor
Amelia
Annalise/ Annaliese
Zoe
Eva
Go with what you love! All the frilly names on your list are beautiful choices. If you do decide to lean less frilly (totally up to you), I like Maren from Abby’s list.
Some suggestions:
Between Dylan and Cecelia
Corinne
Meryl
Celeste
Adelyn
Maren (from Abby’s list)
Honor (I know it’s another H name, but the H is silent)
Pearl
On the Frilly Side
Ariella
Carina
Camila
Giselle / Gisela
Clarissa
Calista
Felicity
Victoria
Larissa
Note: any of these in the “Frilly” list would make great middles because of the accent’s being not on the first syllable.
Corinne Ariella
Pearl Felicity
Honor Calista
Or you could flip the order.
Victoria Maren
Ariella Pearl
Ariella is gorgeous, and plain old Ariel is technically gender neutral
I say go with your gut! All of the names you listed were beautiful. I’m a teacher and have had a few Annabell/Annabella’s in my class, and it always seems so wearable and adorable on them. I also love Josephine and Eliana. The nice thing with longer names is kids can always shorten them if they think that fits their personality.
If any of the in-between names strike you, go for it. I’ll throw out Margot, Claire, Bridget, Elise, Louise, Tessa, and Rose into that category. But if you are feeling Annabella – then I think that would be beautiful!
Using the same logic of “names midway between Dylan and Cecilia”:
Meredith
Addison
Willow
Aurora nn Rory
Chloe
I am not one to care too much about initials, but I’m drawn to the symmetry that Cecilia (or perhaps Cecily) would bring to your kids’ names – a bookend to Cameron! Though this might work best if you plan for this to be your last baby….
I like this idea! Catherine, Carson, and Cary would be good book end names as well. Carson only briefly charted for girls between 1992-2004, but I always think of the Phoebe Cates character in Shag.
Since each of you children has a different length name, I really like the idea of something with four syllables. From your list there’s Annabella, and besides shortening to the names which make it, you could also use Beau or Birdie. I also like Evangeline witch could shorten to Evie, Effie, Van, Angie, Elle, or Ellie.
Shorter names I think could work include Artemis, originally feminine but modern people seem to think it’s masculine. She was the Huntress. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Vesper popped up on the side bar, that could be perfect. I think Sterling could work as well.
I think Everly,Maren, Piper, Sloan, Arden and Quinn from Abby and Keats fit best with your boys names if you decide to stick with surnames/gender neutral. Are there any surnames from your family tree you could use?
About to hit post and I thought of Delaney. A surname, a gender neutral name, leans female, a bit long, could shorten to Lane from your original list (or the slightly frillier Della). Cameron, Hunter, Hayes, and Delaney sound like a set to me.
Think it is perfectly fine for your subset to be a bit different. I mean, kids are only known as siblings for such a short part of their life. Choose the name you love, not one that matches.
That being said, it sounds like you haven’t reached love yet on the names you have above. Here are a couple more ideas.
Ariana – it scratches the frilly feminine itch but shares the r sound of Hunter and Cameron and the a sound of Hayes.
Arden – this one is like a smush of Harper and Dylan. Unisex but heavily feminine and less used.
Quinn – again more unisex but used more frequently for the girls. 1 syllable like Hayes but balances the H names with another C/Q sound.
I didn’t go into super frilly names, but those are beautiful names too. Bottom line, no one else will care about how a sibling set sounds. Just choose the name you love.