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Name Help: A Sibling for Sophina

November 8, 2019 By appellationmountain 18 Comments

Name Help: A Sibling for SophinaName 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!

C writes:

I’m pregnant, and would love some help coming up with more names to consider.

Our daughter is Sophina.

For a girl, I like Lenori. For a boy, maybe Gideon.

I would love some more names to consider. Ideally, they should be a fresh twist on a classic name, something that relates to a saint’s name but doesn’t sound made up. I prefer three syllables.

Suggestions, please!

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

Dear C –

Congratulations!

This is such a fun challenge. It’s also harder than I thought it would be! For girls, I kept running into twists that sounded too much like Sophina, mostly because they ended with another -ina sound. Other names crossed the line from twist to invented.

And for boys? I found twists harder to come by, but I hope these spark some ideas.

A SISTER FOR SOPHINA

Carlotta – My first thought was Carina, but, well, two -ina names feels like too many. But how ’bout Carlotta? It’s traditional, a twist on so many Caroline and Charlotte names. But it’s out of use today, and has never been especially common.

Eleni – Strictly speaking, Eleni is the modern Greek form of Helen. Maybe that puts it on the same family tree as Lenori? (Eleni – Helen – Elena – Eleanor – Lenori.) Or maybe not. Either way, I think it’s worth consideration.

Lileas, Lilias, Lillias – Strictly speaking, Lily probably evolved from Elizabeth. But Lilias – pick your spelling – is typically listed as a Scottish form of Lillian. So it could be a take on either a long-time favorite flower name, or one of the most enduring of choices for girls.

Lucina – I nearly went with Luella here, but Lucina seems like more of a Lucy/Lucille twist, with the added bonus of a great meaning – light.

Mariel, Marielle – One of my favorite Mary elaborations, Mariel remains quite rare in the US.

Valeska – Is this too far out there? Valeska comes from Valerie and Valeria; -eska is a German diminutive form. There’s lots to love about this name, but I wonder if Valerie feels traditional enough, and, of course, if Valeska goes too far to the different category.

A BROTHER FOR SOPHINA

Arkady – The problem with “traditional” is that you first have to ask traditional to who? Arkadios is an ancient Greek name, borrowed from a region. Versions of the name exist in Polish and Russian, Italian and Spanish. But English? Not so much. Still, I think Arkady has potential.

Augusten – Lots of August names are having a moment, but Augusten – a rare form in nearly any language – strikes me as the best fit with Sophia.

Finnian – As with the August names, there are lots of Finns. Finnian mimics the sound of popular choices like Julian and Adrian, but it’s far more rare. And I think it sounds perfect with Sophina.

Malachi – No twist here, just an underused Biblical boy name with a cool sound.

Jericho – There’s so Saint Jericho, but I think there are enough saints associated with the ancient city to make it work. It also sounds wearable because it’s so close to Jeremiah and Joe and lots of other more familiar choices.

Tobiah – Toby peaked in the 1970s, and Tobias feels like a more recent favorite. But the Old Testament Tobiah seems like an intriguing rarity.

Overall, I love Lenori so much I can’t imagine trying to talk you into a different name. But oh, the boys’ choices are tough!I lvoe Finnian, because of the repeating f/ph sound. It’s the kind of subtle thing that can link siblings’ names together nicely. But I wonder if Augusten is more of the style you had in mind. Plus there’s something about Saint Augustine and Saint Sophia – both wise, knowing choices.

Let’s turn it over to the readers: what would you name a sibling for Sophina?

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Comments

  1. JK Garrisin says

    November 13, 2019 at 1:49 PM

    Saints names that sound like a twist on a more common name:
    Aurelia
    Julitta
    Marciana
    Melania
    Odilia
    Laurentia
    Kateri

    Albertus
    Perrin
    Emiliani
    Lucius
    Marcellus
    Godfrey
    Wilhelm

    Reply
  2. Megan says

    November 12, 2019 at 11:00 AM

    3 syllable saints or variations

    Girls
    Augusta
    Celestine
    Celia
    Janessa
    Similar sound to Lileas – Lalia

    Boys
    Alexi/Alexei
    Bellinus ( I think with Bellamy being popular this could fit nicely)
    Valentin/Valentine
    Vasili

    I loved Lileas and Augustine.

    Reply
  3. Sara L. Uckelman says

    November 12, 2019 at 5:41 AM

    I can’t help but think Leandra/Leandro/Leander. Though I see someone else has suggested Leonidas, and now I want to second that rec!

    Reply
  4. Whales_and_Anchors says

    November 10, 2019 at 1:14 PM

    This list surprisingly has a decent collection of twist names:
    https://names4real.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/kix/
    Emalicia
    Britlyn
    Lexan
    RoseAli

    For boys, I’d never heard of Kix, but it’s cool. If Brooks, Parks, Max, and Dez, why not Kix?

    Reply
    • appellationmountain says

      November 10, 2019 at 4:21 PM

      Ooh … great find, thank you!

      Reply
  5. Iris says

    November 10, 2019 at 8:57 AM

    Inessa (variant of Agnes)
    Margalit
    Rosetta or Rosalind
    Marion

    Mathias
    Simeon
    Lucian
    And I love the Nikolai suggestion

    Reply
    • Iris says

      November 11, 2019 at 7:03 AM

      Hendrickson, Roderick, Clarissa, Anita, Mariette, Marisa

      Reply
  6. ab says

    November 9, 2019 at 5:36 PM

    Beatrice
    Celestine
    Clementine
    Flavia
    Josephine
    Juliet
    Lucienne
    Paloma
    Sabina — where I live the name is pronounce suh BYN uh rather than suh BEEN uh
    Simona/Simone
    Violette — pronounced vee oh LET

    Reply
  7. Zena Eve says

    November 9, 2019 at 11:51 AM

    Alistair
    Peregrin
    Benicio
    Enzo
    Reuben
    Solomon

    Renata
    Agatha
    Fiammetta
    Rosalba
    Anthea
    Liliosa
    T’zipporah

    Reply
  8. Erin Beth says

    November 9, 2019 at 9:02 AM

    I love Sybilla/Sybella as a sister to Sophina. Great suggestion!

    Reply
  9. Maree says

    November 9, 2019 at 5:40 AM

    Epiphany

    Zephyr

    If it’s saints you are after have you visited Sancta nomina? It’s a treasure trove.

    Reply
  10. CarolAnn says

    November 9, 2019 at 2:46 AM

    I have a Mariel and a Nikolai, so similar in the “twist on a classic” theme 🙂

    I’ve always really liked Sybella, and I’ll second the suggestions of Eleni, Sidonie, Kateri,Rafael, and Evander.

    I’d add Elisabetta, Bellamy (I love it for a boy, but can see it on either), Ania, Violetta, and Sinclaire, Mathias,

    I think they could find some great options by looking in lists of German, Slavic, Italian, etc. names. I think that might reveal just the right spin on traditional (in English) names they’re looking for!

    Reply
  11. Janine says

    November 9, 2019 at 12:16 AM

    Girls:
    Chiara
    Dominica
    Eulalia
    Jacinta
    Marcella
    Rosalia

    Boys:
    Augustine
    Benedict
    Casimir
    Gabriel
    Kilian
    Raphael

    Reply
  12. Jaime says

    November 8, 2019 at 11:15 PM

    I agree that Lenori is great with Sophina but I also quite like Marielle. I could also see Sybella or Sidonie/Sidonia or even Sunniva. Valeska is intriguing. I also like Varya. Maybe Devorah or Delancey? Eudora or Thessaly? Or Xanthia, Romilly, Cosima or Cressida?

    Love Gideon. I also think Finnian or Finnegan would work well. Others: Merrick, Rafferty or Tarquin.

    Reply
  13. Em says

    November 8, 2019 at 9:52 PM

    What about Kateri after the first Native American saint?

    Reply
  14. Dana M. says

    November 8, 2019 at 9:39 PM

    Twists on saint’s names. . . perhaps Veronique or Nikolai? Lenori is very sweet, and I adore Eleni, Carlotta and Valeska, too. I also really like Augusten and Erin Beth’s suggestion of Evander. Though not twists, Raphael and Frederick would sound wonderful with Sophina.

    Reply
    • Dana M. says

      November 8, 2019 at 9:57 PM

      *saints’ names

      Reply
  15. Erin Beth says

    November 8, 2019 at 6:50 PM

    I love Lenori—gorgeous! Other ideas:
    Adela
    Ginevra
    Geneva
    Evangelia
    Apollonia

    Evander
    Gareth
    Leonidas
    Anton

    Reply

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