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Name Help: A Sister for EllaRee

November 6, 2017 By appellationmountain 34 Comments

Name Help: A Sister for EllaReeName 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!

Leah writes:

We have a sweet three year old named Eloise Rhiannon. Those were my top two favorite names, and I let my husband choose which one would be the first name. When she was just a few days old, we started using the nickname EllaRee. We didn’t plan to use a nickname, but she’s EllaRee 99% of the time now.

Now we’re expecting again, another girl. This is our second child together. My husband also has a son William Jr., called Will.

This time I really want to choose a name like EllaRee, but I’m having a hard time finding one.

We could use Kathryn – or Kate? – for my grandma. But if we give this daughter a family name, EllaRee will be the odd one out.

Every name I think of feels less special than EllaRee.

What do we name this girl?!

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

Dear Leah –

Congratulations on your new daughter!

It’s often harder to name a second child. You’ve already used your favorite names, and that makes it tough. But it also sounds like lightning struck with EllaRee. You found two gorgeous names, as well as an adorable nickname that fits your daughter exactly right.

EllaRee is part-smoosh name and part-double name, but it’s also a real name formed from elements of your daughter’s first and middle. Ellery is cousin to Hilary, and traditionally masculine; meanwhile, Eleri comes from Welsh myth and is feminine.

I’m tempted to tell you that working so hard to duplicate the name causes needless stress. Maybe a name you just plain love makes the most sense here? And yet, combining names feels irresistible! I completely understand the impulse.

So with the caveat that you do not need to duplicate the structure of your older daughter’s name, let’s see what we can find.

EllaRee rules out most of the other names with strong -elle and -ee sounds, which often appear in smoosh names. For example, Kathryn Lee called Kaylee almost rhymes with EllaRee, and KatieLee definitely does.

Of course, KatieLee feels like a name a girl will outgrow. That’s not as true for EllaRee, so we’re looking for something with a high degree of wearability.

It’s also true that neither of your daughter’s names can be called “filler” – they’re not the familiar Lee/Leigh or similar names that easily combine with a first. So something like Anna Lee, called Annalee, feels rather spare compared to Eloise Rhiannon.

Let’s give this a try!

Emmeline Kathryn, Emilie Kathryn, Emilia Kathryn, called EmmaKay – EmmaKay and EllaRee sound like sisters, plus you’d use a family name in the middle spot. Emilia Kathryn might be my favorite combination, but they all work – along with nearly any other Em- name in the first spot, or any of the international variations of Kathryn. Emilie Katrina, maybe?

Louise Kathryn, called Louka or Luka – In most languages, Luka is used for boys; however, that’s not always the case. Using Kathryn’s ‘ka’ sound with Louise’s Lou seems like an option. But daughters named Eloise and Louise? That feels very close, so I’m not sure about this one.

Lucia Kathryn, called Luca – Eloise and Lucia seem like a better sister-set, so if you like the idea of Luca, Lucia Kathryn called Luca might be the more wearable choice.

Lilia Louise – One of my favorite smoosh nicknames is Lilou. It appears that Lilou started out in France, as a nickname for Liliane, but became an independent name thanks to the character in 1997’s The Fifth Element. (Though she spelled her name Leeloo.) Using Louise in the middle spot makes this nickname more obvious.

Amelie Louise, Ophelia Louise, called Lilou – You can go bolder to get to Lilou, of course. Amelie and other -lee ending first names work well, and names like Ophelia also have a clear “lee” sound. Amelie Louise, called Lilou, might just be my favorite so far …

Mae Eleanor, Marguerite Elodie – I know I said that most -elle names were off limits, but I can imagine sisters called EllaRee and Mariel. Mariel started out as an elaboration of Mary, or possibly a combination of Maria Isabel. But you could reach Mariel via nearly any Ma- first name, plus an El- middle.

Margaret Louise, Margaret Lorraine – Marlo Thomas started out life as Margaret “Margo” Thomas, but when she mispronounced her name as a child, it stuck. Thanks to the actress-turned-philanthropist’s fame, we sometimes find Marlo on the list of Margaret nicknames. But using a more obvious Lo- middle might make the nickname even more obvious.

Margaret Lux, Margaret Lucia, called Marilu – Marilu Henner was born Mary Lucy. Again, any Mar- name and Lu- name leads to Marilu as a short form. I can’t decide if Marilu feels delightfully retro or slightly dated. But I do think EllaRee and Marilu work together as sisters names.

Nora Emmeline, called Noemi – In several European languages, Naomi becomes Noemi. It’s never short for a longer name, and yet, I can imagine shortening something like Nora Emmeline to Noemi.

Rose Millicent, called Romilly or RoMilly – Another favorite! Like Ellery, Romilly is a sometimes-heard surname, and very occasionally, a given name. It could easily come from Rose – or any Ro- name, plus any name with a strong Mil- sound. Other combinations like Rose Amelia and Rosalie Matilda come to mind, too.

Genevieve Anouk, called Gianna or Vienna – I feel like Genevieve ought to work, with all of those strong sounds – but I’m not quite sure about these combinations. Still, I can imagine sisters named Eloise and Genevieve, so I think it’s work considering if it works in some combination.

Anouk Genevieve called Annavieve – Really any Anna name works here. Annavieve feels nearly as unexpected as EllaRee. It’s another favorite.

Vivienne Odette, called Viviette – I keep feeling like there must be an opportunity to use an -ette ending here, but I’m not sure if Viviette is the best possible suggestion.

Lorelei Alice, Lorelei Arwen, called Lola – Lorelei could shorten to Lola on its own, but add an A middle name, and it feels more obvious. A bonus: Eloise and Lorelei seem equally romantic and elaborate, without being quite frilly. So I think they’re very well matched.

Oh, I could go on – and on! But I think my favorites so far are EllaRee and Annavieve (or AnnaVieve?), plus the Romilly, Lola, and Lilou combinations.

I know the community will have some amazing suggestions, so let’s turn it over to them.

What would you name a sister for Eloise Rhiannon “EllaRee” with a similar first + middle = nickname formula?

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Comments

  1. Everly says

    March 7, 2023 at 9:26 PM

    So I think Eloise Riahnon is such a beautiful name so I think why don’t we matcch it up with another classic name. Celine Emelie, Cassiopea Gabrielle, Celestine Roselle and one of my favorites Cassiara Ellianne Rose ( nickname: Cassy Anne Rose or Cassie Ellie Rose). Its a cute pattern as the first name is resembled in C as skip1 backward you have c and the uniqueness of it captures Riahnon, Ellianne and Eloise are cute together and having a third name makes it feel as special as Ella Ree!

    Reply
  2. Colleen Mengel says

    February 19, 2021 at 5:33 PM

    Ellen Winona (Winifred, Winsome, Wynn or anything similar) = Elowyn.
    There won’t be another one in school; she’ll be an original!

    Reply
  3. Laura says

    August 30, 2020 at 11:40 AM

    Katherine Mae (Katy Mae), Katia Mae, Lula, Lulu, Erin Eloise would give you an adorable way to keep an El sound for your second beautiful girl. She could go by Erilu, or whatever nickname you think would fir her best. I believe that since you loved both of EllaRee’s names so much, it led you to include both of them in your everyday life, and what you call her. I think it would be OK if you dont smoosh both girl’s names like you did for EllaRee.

    Reply
  4. Anna says

    April 12, 2020 at 11:17 PM

    Lysbelle, Esmebelle, Rosefaye, Roselys, Winterose, Winterlys, Roseden
    Quelques idées de prénom smoosh inspiré puis réinventer

    Reply
  5. Chanel says

    November 29, 2017 at 6:47 PM

    Amelie Belle “Amabel”

    Reply
    • appellationmountain says

      November 30, 2017 at 10:01 AM

      Oh, I LOVE that idea!

      Reply
  6. Lee says

    November 19, 2017 at 12:23 PM

    I don’t think you should worry about EllaRee feeling left out if she’s your only child without a family name. She was gifted your two! favorite girls names which will I’m sure make her feel special in her own right.

    You could use the “kah-” initial sound from Kathryn with Millicent/Amelia/Emmeline/etc for a smoosh name “Camilla”. Appellation Mountain did a while post about formal names for Mille if you need inspiration there.

    I loved commenter Josie’s mention of Liora for its similarity to Eloise. Kathryn Liora = Kaylie/Kayla/Kara/Cora
    Or I wonder if you would consider Cloelia. Appellation Mountain did a post on this name too listing several pronunciations: klo-EL-ee-ah, klo-EL-yah, and my favorite klow-EE-lee-ah which shares the internal “low-ee” sound with Eloise.
    Kathryn Cloelia = Kaycie.

    Cloelia Liora = Coralie /Cora / Lily

    Cloelia Everly = Clover/Lily

    Marcheline/Marcella Liora/Shiloh = Marley/Marlo

    Caroline Isabelle/Alyssa/Melissa= Carissa/ Cary

    Ava Loren = Avalon

    Evelyn/Eva/Everly + Jane/Jenelle/ Genevieve/Imogen/ Regina/ Genesis = Eugenie/ Virginie/Virginia

    Everly Matilda = Everild

    Everly Katie/Kathryn = Verity

    Or Everly could be the smoosh name. But maybe too close too EllaRee’s sound.
    Evelyn + Pearl/Pearline = Everly.

    On the other hand, Everly/Eva/Evelyn + Xanthe = Evanthe which shares the same cadence as EllaRee as well as the same first and last sounds without sounding too matchy matchy for sisters. This is my personal favorite.

    Reply
    • K. says

      November 19, 2017 at 12:28 PM

      proofreading: Appellation Mountain did a WHOLE post about formal names for MILLIE

      also: Caroline Isabelle/Alyssa/Melissa= Carissa/ CARYS

      Reply
  7. Star says

    November 10, 2017 at 1:30 AM

    Oh my, I agree you have a complete winner with Eloise Rhiannon, EllaRee. I can see where it will be hard to find anything that compares. It was your two favourite names to begin with and the adorable, legit name nickname came organically. I don’t know if it will work quite so beautiful the second time.
    I do agre with pps who say focus more on finding names you love then the perfect nickname Is there any one name you particularly love? Even if you have one name you love you could play around with it and possibly come up with middle names and nicknames you love also based on that. These feel a bit random, out of the blue, but here goes-

    Amelie Bellatrix -AmaBell
    Amalia Bellamy -AmaBell
    Aveline Maelys -AvaMae
    Lilias Bethan/Elizabeth -LillaBet
    Marigold Solenne -MaraSol
    Maribel Solana -MaraSol
    Marina Soleil -MaraSol
    Marceline Luella/Lumina/Luna/Luneth -MaraLou
    Milana Rhea -MillaRay
    Rosalind Leona -RosaLee
    Rosamund Liora -RosaLee
    Tallulah Phaedra -TulaFae or LulaFae

    All the best!

    Reply
    • appellationmountain says

      November 10, 2017 at 6:51 PM

      These are brilliant, Star!

      Reply
  8. Amity says

    November 9, 2017 at 12:13 AM

    Namespotted a real-life GenniVee this week…made me think of this post.

    Reply
  9. Hayley says

    November 8, 2017 at 6:15 AM

    Matilda Zoe – “Mayzie”
    Margaret Leah – “Magali”
    Odette Matilda – “Ottilie”

    Reply
  10. L. says

    November 7, 2017 at 4:55 PM

    I would just pick your two favorite names and let a nickname evolve naturally. If you really want a smoosh, I would just use a nickname of the given name and the initial of the middle (like “Katie O” or “Maddie L”) instead of reverse engineering a distinctive name like Genevieve or Ottilie. It works for EllaRee, but duplicating it for another child seems really forced and unlikely to work out as well. Also I think Louise is way too similar to Eloise to use at all.

    Reply
  11. Em says

    November 7, 2017 at 10:18 AM

    Kinley/KinLee= Kathryn Emily (Kathryn Cecily; Kathryn Leora/Leonie)

    Kinsey= Kathryn Chelsea (Kathryn Zara= KinZee)

    Reply
  12. Em says

    November 7, 2017 at 12:12 AM

    Adelaide Matilda…Adamae?

    Reply
    • FE says

      November 7, 2017 at 12:46 AM

      Ooh … or Adelaide Kathryn – Adalyn

      Reply
  13. Emma says

    November 6, 2017 at 11:42 PM

    Rose Millicent “Romilly” is brilliant! Definitely my favorite, followed by Lily Louise “Lilou”.

    Reply
  14. FE says

    November 6, 2017 at 11:30 PM

    I seem to like the Ann names in the middles spot – so many options so I’ll mix them up a bit:

    Elizabeth Anastasia – BethAnnie
    Genevieve Antoinette – ViviAnn

    I’m sure there’s more!

    Reply
  15. Lashley says

    November 6, 2017 at 11:23 PM

    Michaela/Millicent Kathryn/Kate -> “Mika” (could pronounce the first vowel sound like “eye” or like “ee”)

    Use Kathryn as a middle to get you to ____Kat, which might be too playful compared to EllaRee, but might work!
    Lily Kathryn -> LilyKat
    Tallulah Kathryn -> LulaKat
    Adelaide Kathryn -> AddieKat

    Good luck! If all else fails, just pick two great names again and see how the chips fall!

    Reply
  16. Edeslee says

    November 6, 2017 at 11:11 PM

    Maybe something like Rosalind Maria — RoseMia. Or Josephine Elinor — Joselle.

    Reply
  17. Jean C. says

    November 6, 2017 at 8:10 PM

    So many great suggestions from Abby and commenters! I love them all, ESPECIALLY Marlo! Maybe you would like Beatrice/Beatrix or Bridget with Kathryn to get to Bryn (Bryn feels to me like a style match with Rhiannon). I also feel like maybe Tallulah would be up your alley as a first or a middle. It would also get you that easy for nicknames “Lu” sound. Maybe Tallulah Kathryn to get to Luka? Or frankly I just love Tallulah Kate. As someone with an Eloise, I would personally feel like Louise in the first or middle spot would be way too close for immediate family.
    Or maybe Tallulah Brynn with Tabby as a nickname? Is there a middle name that could get you to the lovely nickname Lumen?

    Reply
  18. FE says

    November 6, 2017 at 7:19 PM

    Kathryn Lucinda – Katelyn
    Evelyn Annabel – Evanna

    Love the suggestion of Mariel

    Reply
  19. Josie says

    November 6, 2017 at 6:08 PM

    I like Leeloo/Lilou/Lilu. But I know so many women with the middle name Louise that doesn’t compare to Rhiannon for me as an unexpected middle. Options I like: Coralie Lucinda, Thessaly Luscinia.

    I have always liked Leocadie, so part of me thinks LeoKaty? Leona Kathryn? I like Leora and Liora – LioKaty is cute too. Eloise and Liora share a lot of letters but the sounds don’t cross too much IMO.

    If the issue with Kathryn is that its too family and then EllaRee is left out, I think I might strongly consider a Kathryn-adjacent name. Katia, Katerina, etc. plus various C forms. Even Katriela, which isn’t related to Kathryn at all really and is an obscure angel name.

    Katibelle/Katybel – Katia Mirabel, Catriona Maybelle, Katharine Belisent? Could go on with Kate-forms forever.

    Juniper Opal, Juniper Octavia – Juno. For whatever reason EllaRee and Juno as sisters works easily for me. Octavia and Rhiannon remind me of each other too – rich, historic, grounded with some ground consonant sounds.

    Reply
  20. SaskiasMama says

    November 6, 2017 at 4:58 PM

    Some thoughts —

    Kathryn Simone (Kaysie)
    Noelle Vera (Nova)
    Miriam Renata (Mira)
    Beatrice Morwenna (Brenna)
    Cassia Delphine (Cassadie)

    Though this feels a bit like the tail wagging the dog without knowing more about which first names you love — if you have a list people can brainstorm middle-name combos for you!

    Reply
  21. Jaime says

    November 6, 2017 at 2:24 PM

    I think Marlo would be just about perfect!

    Reply
  22. Dani says

    November 6, 2017 at 12:35 PM

    Here are some ideas, trying to keep them pretty simple, and using names I love with Eloise.
    Adelaide Josephine–Delphine or Delphi (would also work with Adeline. And with Fiona as a middle!)
    Clementine Olivia–Cleo
    Estelle Margaret–Esme
    Penelope Rose–Posy
    Philippa Erin–Piper
    Vera Felicity–Verity
    Vivienne Alice–Vienna
    Vivienne Delphine–Vida

    I really love the Romilly and Lilou ideas!!

    Reply
    • R says

      November 6, 2017 at 3:38 PM

      Great suggestions by Abby! I LOVE Dani’s suggestions too!
      I would add-
      Miriam Lucille “MiriLou”
      Lillian Belle “lilibelle”
      Kathryn Marielle “Katie Mae”
      Violet Avery “Viola”
      Penelope “Penny” not a middle combo but cute with Eloise / EllaRee 🙂
      I don’t think EllaRee should feel left out if you use a family name because her names were your favorites and that’s special too. 🙂
      Good luck and congrats!

      Reply
  23. Tiana says

    November 6, 2017 at 11:38 AM

    As a mama of 7, I can tell you that the nickname that “sticks” is completely unpredictable. I would focus on finding names that you truly love.

    Reply
    • Mandie L. says

      November 15, 2017 at 1:34 AM

      Yes – This. I have 5, and only two of them will even answer to nicknames I picked out before they were born. And one of those two, the nickname came organically while I was in labor, not as part of choosing the name. The other one is still a baby and it remains to be seen if my nickname for her will last or not. All of our kids have multiple nicknames, but the ones that stick the most aren’t related to their given names at all.

      Reply
  24. Eva says

    November 6, 2017 at 11:14 AM

    Overall, I agree that you should just focus on finding a name you love. EllaRee happened naturally and now it could seem a bit forced.

    That being said, i love a lot of Abby’s suggestions! So creative! My faves are

    — Amelie Louise, Lilou (Amelie & Eloise are so perf for sisters! They have the same number of letters and are pretty vowel heavy and I love that)
    –Nora Emmeline, Noemi (You could also do Nora Emilia/na)
    — Genevieve Anouk (Vienna) — Hmm maybe Genevieve Endellion, Elowen, Bronwen, Seren, Mairwen, Morwenna, Gweneth to get the “en”. Love that some of these of these are Welsh like Rhiannon!
    — Rose Millicent – Romilly. This is my second favorite after Amelie Louise. You can do many versions of it, Rose Milena/Milana/Melisandre/Melody. And then of course the many variations of Rose.

    Overall, my favorites for you are Amelie Louise (Lilou) and Genevieve Seren (Vienna)

    Reply
  25. Sharimsh says

    November 6, 2017 at 10:38 AM

    Find a name you love for the first name, then use Kathryn for the middle. Our DD is Evangeline Kathryn, and her double nn came naturally also and took us by surprise. (Evie Kate– long E at the beginning)

    Reply
  26. Brenna says

    November 6, 2017 at 10:07 AM

    My favorite suggestion is by far Romilly, either on its own or as a smoosh of Rose Millicent or Rose Matilda. As others have said, it’s tough to come up with usable ‘smooshes’ when EllaRee happened to organically! A few other suggestions:

    Olive Matilda, “Ottilly/Ottilie”
    Josephine Renee, “Jory”
    Rosalie Rita, “Rory”

    Reply
  27. Julie G says

    November 6, 2017 at 9:52 AM

    Anna Maeve nn AnnaMae
    Anna Leigh nn AnnaLeigh
    Anna Maewyn nn AnnaMae
    (Note: Rhiannon and Maewyn are both Welsh names.)

    If I repeated any suggestions below, I apologize. Trying to offer suggestions without any influence. : )

    Reply
  28. Marisa overseas says

    November 6, 2017 at 9:30 AM

    I think what is hard is that you loved both of EllaRee’s original names and her smoosh was organic. So making smooshes felt like I was stealing your fun. The only thing I came up with that I really wanted to share was Makenna Delphine, aka “Makadie”, which sounds like Katie and sounds great with EllaRee!

    Reply

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