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!
Andi writes:
Our second daughter is due at the end of December, and we are stuck!
We named our first daughter Emilia Violet after lots of back and forth. I never really liked Amelia, because none of the nicknames seemed right. But I love Emmy for Emilia, and that’s what we (mostly) call her.
I’ve been surprised about how much it bothers me when people think her name is Amelia. And while we spell her nickname Emmy-with-a-y, we’ve gotten Emmie (I dislike this) and Emme (don’t mind, but it’s not her name).
Some names that I do like don’t work with Emilia. Like Cecilia almost rhymes, and Emmeline is obviously out.
Before Emmy was born, we talked about names like Sloane, Blair, and Hadley. But now that we have one daughter with a very girly name, going back to that list feels wrong, too.
In a perfect world, we’d find a name that matches Emilia’s flow, but also has a nickname – but that isn’t hard to spell. So far, though, I’m not sure if that exists!
Our last name is like Han-plus-son. Also, I’m Andi and my husband has an A name, too, so we really want to avoid another A, and maybe another E, too.
Please read on for my response, and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Abby replies:
Congratulations on your second daughter!
The good news: you know what you’re looking for!
The hard part? Naming a second child is that rare task in parenting that gets harder as we become more experienced and confident parents.
Let’s talk through some options that I can imagine hearing with Emilia “Emmy” Violet, and I know our readers will have more ideas, too.
A SISTER FOR EMILIA “EMMY” VIOLET
BEATRICE
A classic name with a romantic vibe – think of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, for one – Beatrice sounds like a sister for Emilia. The obvious nickname is Bea, but options abound. One hitch: it can also be Beatrix.
DIANA
A Roman goddess name, Diana has one dominant spelling. It’s the name of the late – and beloved – Princess Diana. But more importantly for this generation, Diana is Wonder Woman. Di and Dee are logical nicknames. Ana/Annie might work, too.
ELOISE
If you’re ruling out E names, then Eloise is a non-starter. But Emmy and Ellie are quite sweet together, and Emilia and Eloise definitely don’t match too much.
GENEVIEVE
Gen, Gigi, Evie, Vivi … the nickname options for this classic French import go on and on.
JOSEPHINE
Elegant and spirited, Josephine is both a classic and a twenty-first century favorite. Nickname options are plentiful, but Josie and Jo are the most familiar choices.
JULIET/JULIETTE
I hesitate to suggest Juliet, because … well, the -ette spelling is more popular in the US for our daughters now, but I’m sure you’d get Juliet a lot, too. Still I think it has the same romantic, just slightly different vibe as Emilia, so it’s worth consideration. Plus, Jules is a great nickname.
LOUISA
If Louisa feels too frilly, Louise is every bit as lovely. Lou, Lula, and Lulu are all great nickname choices.
ROSALIE
Old-fashioned and just a little different, Rosalie makes a great sister name for Emilia – Emmy and Rosie sound just right together.
I think these kinds of naming situations are tough because you have to love both names – the formal and the short form.
That said, I’m drawn to Josephine “Josie” for you, as well as Rosalie “Rosie.” They’re clearly spelled one dominant way, and the nicknames are obvious and intuitive.
I’m also wondering about those surname-style names you considered for Emmy. Could you use something like Josephine Hadley Han-plus-son? Or Rosalie Blair Han-plus-son?
My first thought was Dorothea nn Dot or Dottie/Dotty or Thea. Other ideas:
Octavia
Olympia nn Ollie
Helena nn Nell
Adriana
Miranda
Marina
Julianna
LOVE the suggestion of Rosalie “Rosie”!
Same!
Bianca (Bee or Bebe), Veronica (Vero, Vee), Francesca (Frankie, Francie), Lucia (Lucy, Lu).
Junia “Jewel/Jules/June/Nia”
Estella “Essie”
Renata “Ren”
Marigold “Mari/Goldie”
Vivienne “Vi”
Philippa “Pippa”
Lavinia “Liv/Livvie”
Oriana “Ori”
Silviana “Silvie/Sylvie”
Rosalie nn Rosie (or even Roz!) is ADORABLE with Emilia/Emmy. I also think Rosie is a sweet nod to Emmy’s floral middle name. Other options to get you to Rosie that you might consider are Rosalind, Rosalyn, Rosamond or Rosemary/Rosemarie.
Can I also just make a pitch for one of your original choices? I really think that Emmy and Sloane or Emmy and Blair sound great together, even though they are a little bit different, style-wise. You could always add a super feminine name to the middle spot to balance things out (you could even use one of your “non-starter” names there: Sloane Emmeline or Blair Cecilia, for example!).
Congratulations and best of luck!
Oooh I think Blair Cecilia sounds so lovely! That’s a good point, especially since Emmy is mostly Emmy, in practice it will be Emmy and Blair, or Emmy and Sloane.
I second Louisa, with nn Lou or Lulu.
I like Clarissa nn Claire for you because it sounds like Blair but it’s not unisex.
Or Gwendolyn nn Gwen. Emmy and Gwen!
Penelope nn Nell (Emmy and Penny is probably too much).
Veronica nn Vera (no spelling issues).
Lillian nn Lily. Emmy and Lily!
Or even Camilla nn Millie.
From Abby’s suggestions, I like Josephine and Juliet best.
Additional suggestions:
Francesca, nn Francie, Frankie, Frannie
Margaret, nn Maisie or Meg
Gwendolyn, nn Gwen
Lucinda, nn Lucy
Charlotte, nn Charlie or Lottie
Sophia, nn Sophie
Theresa, nn Tess
Here to shout ROSALIE! But Josephine is great too 🙂
Off this list, I LOVE Rosalie and Louisa (Lulu) for you! If you don’t mind no nickname Abby’s featured name from yesterday Iris also seems really cute with Emmie/Emilia. Iris Sloane sound so beautiful! In terms of longer more feminine names with nicknames, I also thought of Henrietta (Henny, Hetta, Etta), Felicity (Lissie, Cici), Sylvia (Sylvie), Coralie (Cora), Magnolia (Maggie, Nola), Penelope (Nell, Penny), and Mirabelle (Mira, or Belle).
I think even though Diana has the one dominate spelling, people who learned the Ana/Anna rule may get it wrong. But certainly not as frequently as your Emmy gets Amelia. Margaret (Maggie), Theresa (Tess, Thea). I like Joelle for y’all, nickname Jojo could be cute.
Rosalie is my favorite option for you guys. I know one who wears it well, and is usually Rosalie, Rosie or Rose occasionally among close friends.