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Name Help: A Short, Traditional Girl Name for Baby Five!

May 8, 2020 By appellationmountain 18 Comments

Name Help: A Sister for NoraName 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!

Lindsay writes:

We have four beautiful children: daughter Nora Claire, plus three boys: Caleb William, Hunter James, and Wyatt David. We’re expecting our fifth child, and second daughter, soon.

Boy names come easy for us. But girl names feel like a struggle! I like lots of them, at least for other people. Somehow, none of them sound like our baby, if that makes sense.

We have a long Italian surname, that starts with an S, ends with an i. (We’re not especially Italian, though, which makes names like Gianna seem a little wrong, too, even though I love the sound.)

If this baby had been a boy, we’d talked about Beckett, Weston (though we’re trying not to repeat initials), Parker, or Holden (initial thing again).

At this point in our lives, we know about a million little kids, so it’s hard to find a name that isn’t shared by someone in our lives. We’re not worried about repeating necessarily, but some names do feel taken. The one name we like and definitely can’t use is Olivia, my niece. (But I’m not sure Olivia works with our last name anyway.) Clara is another one, but maybe we wouldn’t have used it because of Nora’s middle name anyway AND sharing an initial with Caleb.

We have talked about Elizabeth, which is my beloved grandmother’s name and a name in my husband’s family, too, but I like that none of our kids have nicknames so far, and I don’t know if I like Elizabeth enough to deal with that.

Can you help us come up with a list?

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

Dear Lindsay –

Congratulations! How exciting for Nora to have a sister!

It’s interesting that SO MANY things in parenting get easier with experience. But in many ways, a growing family makes naming tougher.

So we need to avoid C, H, N, and W names. We’re looking for a shorter name that won’t be reduced to a nickname. And we’re probably looking for a mainstream favorite, something that we’d all recognize – assuming it’s not already taken by someone in your circle. (Another reason naming gets harder as we become experienced parents, right?!)

Audrey – Simple and elegant – credit the enduring image of Audrey Hepburn – Audrey has ranked in the Top 100 since 2002. But it’s never quite hit the Ava-Olivia popularity point. And it’s complete and nickname-proof, too.

Elise, Eliza, Ella – I wonder if a shortened form of Elizabeth might appeal to you as a first name? It nods to your grandmother and the other women on your family tree, but gets you out of the nickname bind.

Evelyn – If you liked Olivia, I wonder if you’d like other names with a V in the middle? Evelyn and Nora sound exactly like sisters to me.

Greta – Greta started out as one of many Margot nicknames, but I suspect Margarets-called-Greta are pretty rare today. Instead, this is a traditional name that we all recognize, but aren’t using too terribly much.

Lucy – Like Audrey, Lucy has ranked in the US Top 100 for a while. (Since 2010, in Lucy’s case.) But it has many of the same qualities as Audrey – short, complete, nickname-proof.

Lydia – I often think of Eliza and Lydia as two great Olivia substitutes. If you’d like to keep Elizabeth as a middle name option, Lydia could be great.

Margot – Like Greta, Margot comes from Margaret. And again, it stands alone as an independent name, unlikely to be shortened further. Margot is also a name on the upswing, feeling fresh and stylish – while still traditional. I think that describes your older kids’ names, too!

Vivian – I tend to think of Vivian and Evelyn together, just like Lydia and Eliza. But I also think it’s wonderful with Nora. And while I often hear Vivians called Viv or Vivi, I’m not sure it’s enough to take Vivian off your list.

My favorite idea is to use Elise, Eliza, or Ella as a nod to your grandmother. I love the sound of Eliza Vivian. And if not as a first, then it could be a perfect middle – Audrey Elise, maybe.

But I’m having a tough time narrowing this list down to just one recommendation other than the Elizabeth names.

Readers, over to you – what would you suggest to Lindsay for her new daughter?

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Comments

  1. Sara L. Uckelman says

    May 24, 2020 at 9:25 AM

    What about “Blair”? It’s short, and in keeping with the more surname-oriented boys’ names. Or even using Parker for a girl?

    Reply
  2. Em says

    May 10, 2020 at 4:21 PM

    Eliza, Lydia and Lily sound perfect.

    Other suggestions:
    Ella (except Ella and Nora might blend into Eleanor…which isn’t bad)

    Cecilia

    Reply
  3. Amy3 says

    May 10, 2020 at 11:41 AM

    Elspeth is my all-time favorite version of Elizabeth. I also thought of Lily, which is an Elizabeth nickname that hasn’t been mentioned so far. It’s super popular in my area, but I know that varies.

    Reply
  4. Zena Eve says

    May 9, 2020 at 3:40 PM

    Mary
    Ivy
    Alice
    Eva
    Fern
    Pearl

    Reply
  5. Julia says

    May 9, 2020 at 2:08 PM

    I love Eliza. Fiona and Julia were also suggestions I think work well (I love my name!). Elizabeth is one of my middle names, and I think works well with Julia as a first.

    I think Stella is also very pretty and fits with your other kids’ names. Plus it’s nickname-proof. Stella Elizabeth is lovely.

    Reply
  6. Iris says

    May 9, 2020 at 7:48 AM

    Elizabeth fits more in the middle name style in this sibset, so I suggest:
    Petra Elizabeth
    Isla Elizabeth
    Ada Elizabeth
    Luna Elizabeth
    Maya Elizabeth
    Ruby Elizabeth

    Reply
  7. Cece says

    May 9, 2020 at 6:36 AM

    Oh lots of lovely options!

    How about:

    Vera
    Flora
    Greta
    Ida

    Reply
  8. Christina Fonseca says

    May 9, 2020 at 3:04 AM

    Nora and Eliza sound great for sisters.

    Reply
  9. Nathalia says

    May 9, 2020 at 1:31 AM

    Some of these may be repeats, but they could fit the bill:
    Rose
    Therese
    Tess/Tessa
    Eliza
    Helen
    Phoebe
    Anya/Anne
    Grace
    Marie

    Reply
  10. Diane says

    May 9, 2020 at 1:25 AM

    With Nora Claire, I’d like….

    Amy, Aimee
    Margot
    Ruth
    Katherine (nn. Kate)
    Margaret (nn. Meg)
    Elizabeth (nn. Libby)

    I like Elizabeth or Elise as a middle name.

    Reply
  11. Kx says

    May 8, 2020 at 8:17 PM

    Enid
    Elara
    Fleur
    Faye
    Freya
    Florence
    Flora
    Fiona
    Beth
    Ingrid
    Isolde
    Astrid
    Lena
    Anna
    Ava
    Adele
    Selene
    Verna
    Tamsin
    Gemma
    Thea
    Rhea
    Larkin

    Reply
  12. Liz says

    May 8, 2020 at 8:13 PM

    I love the suggestion of Eve Elizabeth and Abby’s suggestion of Lydia. A few others that came to mind were Stella, Rose and Julia.

    Reply
  13. Marisa says

    May 8, 2020 at 7:00 PM

    Alice came to mind immediately, though it might flow into your last name too much. Betty might work as a nod to Elizabeth. June, Kate, or Maren would all be pretty.

    Reply
  14. Jaime says

    May 8, 2020 at 6:24 PM

    I like all of Abby’s suggestions for you, especially Lydia, Greta and Audrey. I think you should consider Elizabeth for a middle name if you don’t end up using it (or a diminutive variant as the first name).

    I have three daughters, one of whom is a Nora. Her sisters are Lucy and Faye. We also considered Claire and Audrey.

    Additional suggestions:
    Ivy
    Ruby
    Ada
    Estelle
    Phoebe
    Maisie
    Bonnie
    Gemma
    Maeve

    Reply
  15. C in DC says

    May 8, 2020 at 4:57 PM

    Maeve, Stella, Eve, Eva, Della, Gina, Jenna

    I know it’s hard to think of them as unusual, but they’re not popular today. How about just Lisa or Beth?

    Lucy Maeve or Lisa Maeve have the same vibe as Nora Claire for me.

    Reply
  16. ab says

    May 8, 2020 at 4:22 PM

    Daphne
    Ebeth — pronounced with a long E sound. Unusual, but lovely, and honors Grandmother Elizabeth.
    Eden — but could be shortened to Edie
    Lark
    Lily
    Liza
    Mia
    Mila
    Phoebe
    Piper
    Robin
    Ruth
    Tess or Tessa
    Thea
    Vera — maybe too matchy with Nora?

    Reply
    • ab says

      May 8, 2020 at 5:18 PM

      Jane Elizabeth would be nice with Nora Claire.

      Reply
  17. Stefanie says

    May 8, 2020 at 2:00 PM

    The first one that came to mind when I thought “short, no nickname” and saw the other kids’ names was Eve. I know there’s Evie, but Eve and Nora sound like sisters to me! You could even go with Eve Elizabeth S—i if you don’t mind the alliteration.

    Reply

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