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Name Help: Boy-Girl Twins with Classic-ish Names

January 17, 2020 By appellationmountain 20 Comments

Name Help: Traditional Boy-Girl TwinsWelcome to the world, Arthur Branden and Louise Carroll!

Clare writes: We loved the suggestion of Arthur immediately, and knew that was our son’s name. I’d almost suggested it, but worried it might be too old-fashioned, but the comments here convinced me that wasn’t true. It fits him perfectly!

For Louise, we almost went with Helen, but realized it was too close to Eleanor. Frances was our favorite for a while, but the whole Franny thing bothered me. We eventually came back to this list, and really warmed to the sound of Louise, especially with Carroll (a family name) as her middle.

We appreciate all the help and great suggestions!

Clare writes:

My husband and I both come from big families, so we have lots of nieces, nephews, and cousins, creating a list of can’t-use names a mile long. We have two children, Simon Wallace and Eleanor Lacey. Wallace and Lacey both have significance to us. The first names are names we liked.

Now we’re expecting boy-girl twins, and we have a lot of rules, and it feels really hard to come up with names.

  • Our last name rhymes with Ken-first, but starts with a P, so no Isabelle, Isaac, or other I names, because the initials I.P. seem like a curse. The same for P names and probably U names, too.
  • I don’t like nicknames. Eleanor is always Eleanor, but that still worries me (a little). I prefer names like Simon, that don’t open themselves up to nicknames. (My husband is more neutral about this.)
  • We both prefer classic names, and my husband really dislikes word names, even traditional ones like Rose or Grace.
  • Neither of us really minds if a name is popular, but the more common it is, the greater the chance that it’s taken by our families. We could consider repeating a name, but I think we’d have to have a reason stronger than, “Oh, we liked it.”

I don’t think we’re fussy, it’s just that every name that we would consider is either taken already or violates a rule. (For example, I do like Isaac, Peter, and Isabelle.) We’re lucky enough to see lots of our family pretty often. (Two of my husband’s siblings have kids in the same school where Simon will start in the fall, and my brother just got married and moved a few blocks away from us.)

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

Dear Clare –

Congratulations on your twins!

Big families are great, but yes – it is easy to feel like every name is spoken for, especially if some of your siblings started their families first.

Still, I think you know what you want: traditional names that can’t be easily shortened. That’s a pretty clear direction. It’s just a question of working through the options until you find two that don’t conflict with your surname – and aren’t already taken.

I’m also going to assume that most of the more common names – William, James, Joseph, John, Katherine, Margaret, etc. – are already spoken for, and focus on names that are a little less popular.

TRADITIONAL & UNCOMMON BOY NAMES

Arthur – Like Simon, Arthur is a traditionally masculine name with tons of history. But it’s not Top 100 today, and so I wonder if that makes it just different enough? From King Arthur to Arthur Curry, there are plenty of dashing examples of this name wearing well.

Benedict – I know you’re wary of nicknames, but if your Eleanor isn’t Ellie, then there’s no reason why Benedict would have to be Ben. And I think it pairs perfectly with your old kids’ names.

Conrad – Nothing sounds quite like Conrad, I think. It’s another name that we all recognize, but few of us are using.

Gregory – Greg is still wearing bell bottoms on re-runs of The Brady Bunch, but Gregory – said in full, no nickname, seems far more handsome.

Malcolm – I suppose Malcolm could shorten to Mal, but it’s a mere two syllables. It works perfectly in full.

Vincent – From saints to world-changing artist van Gogh, Vincent has plenty of noteworthy namesakes. Like Gregory, Vincent works best when it’s not shortened.

TRADITIONAL & UNCOMMON GIRL NAMES

Dorothy – Storybook Dorothy feels vintage and adventurous. It’s cousin to Theodore – they both mean gift of God – but relatively rare.

Louise – Like Eleanor, Louise is tailored and traditional. It’s classic, and while lots of Lou- names are wildly popular these days, Louise isn’t nearly the chart-topper that Lucy or Luna has become.

Margot – Margaret almost begs to be shortened (though I do know at least one who doesn’t), but Margot? It works beautifully in full.

Miriam – I thought about Mary and Marie, but I think Miriam is the name that fits best with Eleanor and Simon.

Rosalie – You said no to word names, but maybe Rosalie is different enough?

Vera – Short and sweet, Vera fits with names like Ava, but isn’t nearly as popular.

Overall, I think my favorites are Conrad and Margot. They’re not likely to be shortened, and they feel compatible with each other, and with Eleanor and Simon, too.

What would you name boy-girl twins to go with Eleanor and Simon?

More names you might like:

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  • Name Help: Naming a Girl After Three BoysName Help: Naming a Girl After Three Boys
  • Name Help: Ellie, Charlie, and Boy/Girl TwinsName Help: Ellie, Charlie, and Boy/Girl Twins

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Comments

  1. Liv says

    March 11, 2020 at 4:02 PM

    I love the combo of Abram & Alice! Or Arthur & Aurelia sound lovely as well!

    Reply
  2. Julie G says

    January 19, 2020 at 2:47 PM

    Niall
    Owen
    Colin

    Alice
    Gemma
    Clara

    Reply
  3. Em says

    January 19, 2020 at 1:50 AM

    I like the suggestions of Alice and Louise.

    For a boy maybe Owen?

    Reply
  4. Maclary says

    January 18, 2020 at 8:52 PM

    It sounds like your style is very similar to mine, right down to your second child being an Eleanor-who-is-always-Eleanor! My Eleanor’s big brother is Lewis (always Lewis) and my third and fourth are also twins, though two girls, named Johanna (not Jo!) and a Catherine variant.

    Some others from my list that you might like (I’m sure there are some repeats):

    Julia
    Caroline
    Lydia
    Vivienne
    Alice
    Josephine
    Claudia
    Bianca
    Nina
    Rowena
    Harriet
    Georgia or Georgina
    Fiona

    Ambrose
    Fergus
    Linus
    Grady
    Xavier
    Jasper or Casper
    Fletcher
    Duncan
    Archer
    Magnus
    Quentin
    Victor

    Reply
  5. zenspiral says

    January 18, 2020 at 1:17 PM

    Colin Graham and Beatrice Imogen

    Reply
  6. Jaime says

    January 18, 2020 at 11:09 AM

    I also wanted to suggest (avoiding more S or E names):

    Graham
    Grant
    Reid
    George
    Merritt
    Jasper
    Davis
    Clark

    and

    Daphne
    Lydia
    Audrey
    Ramona
    Georgia
    Camille
    Helen
    Greta
    Frances
    Amelia
    Cora

    Reply
  7. DM says

    January 18, 2020 at 10:51 AM

    Congratulations! I love Abby’s suggestions of Conrad, Vincent and Benedict, but I do have a hard time imagining Benedict as nickname-proof. I see Bennett was also recommended, and I think that may be the best “Ben” name for someone who doesn’t like nicknames. And Rosalie and Louise are my favorites of Abby’s for a girl. Alice, Frances, June, Eliza, Lauren, Greta, Elliott, Grant, George, Jesse, Leo and Nigel were all already recommended, and I think they are both darling and also nickname-avoidable. 🙂

    Reply
  8. The Mrs. says

    January 18, 2020 at 12:03 AM

    I haven’t read any other responses yet. Sorry if these repeat!

    Walter Paul and Rowena Estelle

    Simon, Eleanor, Walter, and Rowena.

    All different initials, all different endings, both boys have two syllables, and both girls have three syllables. Nothing super popular, but nothing weird!

    Congrats and best wishes!

    Reply
  9. Marie Thomas says

    January 17, 2020 at 7:56 PM

    My suggestions

    Vera
    Gretchen
    Esther
    Mary
    Helen
    Imogen
    Ruth

    Lewis
    Nathan
    Bennett
    Joel

    Reply
  10. Erin Beth says

    January 17, 2020 at 6:41 PM

    I love your style, so I am going to suggest my favorites with the sibling names. I think these are mostly repeated so please consider them seconded:

    Sisters for Eleanor:
    Frances
    Beatrice
    Charlotte
    Edith
    Ada
    Ida
    Audrey
    Miriam
    Cassandra
    Juliana
    Sybil
    Genevieve
    Sylvia

    Brothers for Simon:
    Benedict
    Felix
    Julian
    August
    Dominic
    Oliver
    Emmett
    Elliott
    Virgil
    Cyril
    Cyrus
    Evander
    Nathaniel
    Augustine

    Reply
  11. Kirstin says

    January 17, 2020 at 4:04 PM

    Congratulations! I love Arthur, Malcolm and Louise (or Louisa) as suggestions for your twins. A few more to consider:

    Collin
    Donovan
    Elliot
    Oliver
    Dexter

    Violet
    Eliza
    Edith
    Felicity
    June

    Reply
  12. Margaret says

    January 17, 2020 at 3:08 PM

    Simon makes me think of Nigel. Both have a contemporary British vibe, nickname-proof, and the long “i” is complementary without being matchy matchy.

    Reply
  13. Sharimsh says

    January 17, 2020 at 1:16 PM

    My first thought was Miles and Violet, but those both violate the “noun name” category (I feel your pain– my husband has the same issue with them).

    So then I thought Milo and Daphne.

    But Milo has similar vote sounds to Simon.

    So:
    Arthur and Ramona
    Felix and Lydia
    Hugo and Clara
    Rupert and Daphne

    Reply
  14. Megan says

    January 17, 2020 at 11:41 AM

    Anna and Henry
    Elsie and Ambrose
    Audrey and Eli
    Ruby and Jasper

    Other Boy Name
    Felix
    Toby
    Basil

    Other Girl Names
    Estelle
    Celeste
    Celine/Selene
    Cora
    Corinne

    Reply
  15. MKey says

    January 17, 2020 at 11:12 AM

    Girls:
    Alice, Celine, Cecily, Felicity (technically a word name), Frances, Joan, Valerie

    Boys:
    Alfred, Clement, Felix, Francis, Gerard, Henry, Sebastian, Wilbur

    Reply
  16. Alison Doherty says

    January 17, 2020 at 10:42 AM

    A few more classics to consider (if they aren’t already taken by the fam!)
    Boys: Louis, Alton, Gerald (some people think this sounds old, but I think it’s charming!), Philip, Hugo, Franklin
    Girls: Lydia, Beatrice, Vivian, Caroline, Audrey, Jeanette

    Reply
    • Megan says

      January 17, 2020 at 11:42 AM

      Phillip, Hugo and Franklin are adorable! Kinda makes me want triplets.

      Reply
      • A says

        January 17, 2020 at 1:09 PM

        Lydia and Felix
        Audrey and Nolan
        Alice and Zane or Audrey and Zane (A to Z!)
        Anna and John
        Claire and Elliott
        Mary and Arthur
        Fiona and Graham

        Beth
        Cora
        Margot
        Vera
        Katherine
        Amelia
        Greta
        Stella
        Fiona
        Emily
        Natalie
        Kate

        Hugh
        Graham
        Hugo
        Philip
        Leo
        Albert
        George
        Jack
        James
        Owen
        David
        Jesse
        Elias
        Rory
        Frank

        Reply
  17. Jordan Pace says

    January 17, 2020 at 10:40 AM

    Fiona
    Daphne
    Lydia

    George
    Asher

    Reply
    • Suz says

      January 17, 2020 at 4:42 PM

      Boys:
      Bennett, Calvin, Andrew, Roman, Josiah, Grant, Edgar, Marshall, Amos, Malachi

      Girls:
      Allison, Kate, Lauren, Annie, Annabelle, Cora, Caroline, Julia, Natalie

      Simon, Eleanor…
      Bennett & Julia
      Calvin & Kate
      Andrew & Natalie
      Roman & Annabelle
      Grant & Allison
      Malachi & Lauren

      Reply

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