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!
C writes:
Hi! I’m in need of advice or suggestions. We have two little girls, Prairie and Mabel, and a third on the way soon!
Any help on a sister name would be so appreciated.
We are struggling to agree on much, if any, and want it to flow with the others.
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Abby replies:
Congratulations on your third daughter!
Based on Prairie and Mabel, I’m guessing your preferred name is:
- Familiar, but not common
- Easy to spell and pronounce
- Tailored and frills-free
- Not likely to be shortened
- A little bit old-fashioned/vintage
I’m tempted to call your style cottagecore, mostly because I picture Mabel and Prairie climbing trees somewhere and maybe baking bread. But … that doesn’t really narrow down the list!
An early twentieth century favorite, Mabel is slowly enjoying a revival, reaching #427 as of 2020. Prairie, on the other hand, has never ranked in the US Top 1000. But it’s more popular now than it was just a few years ago – even if it’s still really rare.
That makes me think that we’re looking for a name that probably won’t crack the current US Top 500.
If popularity doesn’t matter to you? I’d be tempted to suggest Luna. It’s vintage, but feels modern. Like Prairie, it’s drawn from the natural world – but it’s a little less obvious, so it’s not quite two-nouns-and-a-name.
But it’s most important, I think, to strike a good balance between your girls’ names, particularly since you mentioned flow.
A SISTER FOR MABEL and PRAIRIE
BONNIE
Equal parts sweet and gutsy, Bonnie is a shapeshifter of a name. It’s not a perfect style match for Prairie or Mabel, but I think it pairs well with them both.
DELLA
It’s tough to define Della. A former favorite, Della is rising in use, thanks to years of Bella and Ella names near the top of the charts. But Della remains nicely distinctive. Another similar choice: Delia.
ELLIS
I kept coming back to the idea of surname names, but they often felt a little too close to your girls’ names. (Prairie and Parker could be a tongue twister, and Mabel rules out Marlowe.) But then I thought about Ellis. It’s close to classic Alice, but far less expected.
JOVIE
It comes from the word jovial – happy or joyful, and was likely invented for Christmas movie Elf. It fits right in with Josie and Ivy, but stands out, too.
LEDA
If Luna is too popular, would Leda work? A name from Greek myth, it’s a good balance of old-fashioned and current.
PEARL
Gemstone name Pearl is broadly familiar, but far less common than Ruby.
SCOUT
An active, energetic name, Scout is tempered by the enduring character in To Kill a Mockingbird.
WINNIE
Winnie feels a little more clearly vintage than either Mabel or Bonnie, I think – but still feels right.
After re-reading this list, my favorite – far and away! – is Pearl. I can picture Prairie, Mabel, and Pearl in cowboy boots or ballet slippers. They’re feminine but strong, vaguely vintage but at-home in this century.
I’d put Leda in the second spot, a good mix of the unexpected and the stylish.
Readers, I know you’ll have some great suggestions! What would you name a sister for Prairie and Mabel?
As a rule, I generally like to follow a theme when it comes to names. My children have Biblical names and all my pets have had Mythical names.
Here are some I think flow well together.
Prairie, Mable and Willow
Prairie, Mable and Violet
Prairie, Mable and Petunia
Prairie, Mable and Jasmin
Prairie, Mable and Rose
I really hope you like one of these.
All of your suggestions sound good, but I really love the name of Willow. Great choice!
Maybe it’s because my kids are reading Charlotte’s Web, but I’m really loving Fern in this group.
I didn’t read through all the responses, but here are some ideas that I didn’t see mentioned.
Prairie, Mabel, and Fern
Prairie, Mabel, and Jane
Prairie, Mabel, and Laura/Laurie
Prairie, Mabel, and Edith
Prairie, Mabel, and Ada
I do think the suggestion of Kit is absolute perfection. Kit shares the spunky, vintage vibe of Mabel and the nature (baby fox) word style of Prairie. Prairie, Mabel + Kit
What an adorable sibset already! Some
Prairie, Mabel, and Briar
Prarie, Mabel, and Robin
Prarie, Mabel, and June/Junie/Juniper
Prarie, Mabel, and Kit
Prairie, Mabel, and Brighton
Prarie, Mabel, and Haddon
Prairie, Mabel and Briar
Prairie, Mabel and Eden
Prairie, Mabel and Nola
Prairie, Mabel and Raine
Prairie, Mabel and Saffron
Prairie, Mabel and Tansy
Prairie, Mabel and Willow
Prairie, Mabel, and June!
Flora
Delia
Olive
Thea
Leona
Eden
Fern
Beatrice
Harriet
Giselle
Wren
June
Vera
Holly
Lola
Felicia
Isadora
Elaine
Prairie, Mabel, and
– Bettie
– Ida
– Dorothy (nn Dottie)
– Louise
Such great names!
Flora
Dinah
Rose
Virginia
Goldie
Wren
Fern
I like Jane.
Prairie, Mabel & Jane.
I think Pearl is just about a perfect choice. It also makes me think of a few other P names that are favourites of mine: Prudence, Primrose and Patience. The repeating Pr- might be too much with Prairie, though.
Fern is also a great suggestion.
Or how about one of the Gret- names: Greta, Gretel or Gretchen? I like how they are familiar yet distinctive.
Juniper
Fern
Alma
Coral
Leona
Marigold
Jewel
Thea
Alba
Odette
Dahlia
I love the suggestion of Bonnie! It sounds like a great fit! Betty or Betsy might be sweet too. And before reading any of the suggestions, I thought of Linnea!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the suggestion of Justine. Others that came to mind:
Claudia
Wren
Louisa
And maybe my fave next to Justine, Jean.
Tatum
Iris
Bloom
Enid
Seren
Vita
Eden
Astrid
Terra
Cleo, Garnet, Lucille, Nola, Oakley, Olive, Opal, Polly, Vale, Waverly, Willa, Zelda
My favorite suggestions so far are Flora and Luna. Other ideas:
Juno
Carys
Lyra
Willow
Fern
Frances
Zora
Cleo/Clio
Zinnia
Sonnet
Laine! Love that suggestion from above. Esther also hits the sweet spot for me too.
I think Pearl is my favorite suggestion, it fits best with the sisters names. I like Winnie a lot too, but I wonder if it might be a problem to have one nickname name while the other 2 aren’t nicknames.
From the comments, I like Olive, Flora, and Ivy.
Hazel would be nice, but probably too popular. Maybe Iris? June? Esther?
I would like to suggest
Prairie, Mabel & Neve
Prairie, Mabel & Willow
Prairie, Mabel & Olive
Prairie, Mabel & Sylvie
Prairie, Mabel & Opal
I think they would sit perfectly with Prairie & Mabel, good luck, I adore the name Prairie!
Ooh. I adore both of these names but my automatic thoughts are aligned with one sister or the other (Briar, Ruby) plus I think it would be nice not to repeat an ending or initial. I like Edie’s suggestion of established noun name. And cottagecore is totally it, Abby!
Viola
Kit
Olive
Jules
Nova
Veda
Flora
Laine
Is Bodhi going way too far? If so, I’d like to suggest Justine.
I think a noun-name that is very well established as a name would tie to both sister names (as Pearl does).
Prairie, Mabel and June
Prairie, Mabel and Robin
Prairie, Mabel and Calla
Prairie, Mabel and Ivy