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!
Jill writes:
My husband and I are expecting our sixth child, and fifth daughter. We like traditional names, but after four girls, we’ve run out of names we agree on and could use some new perspective.
Our son is William Andrew, mostly called Will.
He’s followed by four sisters:
Anna Elizabeth, called Annie, Annabeth, Anniebee, and AnnaBanana at home, but mostly Anna by everyone else.
Katherine Jane, sometimes called KayJay, but mostly Katie or Kate.
Sarah Veronica, always Sarah. Her middle name was Rose until the very last minute, when we decided we might use Rose for a future daughter.
Eleanor Grace, mostly known as Ellie.
Our last name is long, Polish, starts with a N, ends with a -ski. No one ever says it right, so we want our kids’ first names to be easy. Family names aren’t our thing, unless it’s an accident from a few generations back.
The only name that has been on our maybe list for all this time is Rose. Sarah was almost Sarah Rose; Ellie was almost Rose Eleanor.
If we’d had another boy, we’d planned to use James Henry or James Anthony. Since it’s possible we’ll see use it in the future, we probably want to avoid J names. (So Jane was never a first name option.)
We also like the idea of Elizabeth, except it’s already Anna’s middle name, and we have an Ellie. So that seems confusing.
Please read on for my response, and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Dear Jill –
Name her Mary!
Wait, did I just blurt that out? Let me back up.
Congratulations on your daughter! It does get tougher as you use your favorite names. But in this case, I’m wondering if you’ve ever considered Mary? It seems like such an obvious sister name for Anna, Kate, Sarah, and Ellie. And you could easily use Rose as her middle name. There’s something very sweet and timeless about Mary Rose, whether you use it as a double name sometimes, like Annabeth, or not.
Except you must have considered Mary already, right? Or Maria or Marie? So I’m going to (try very hard to) move on. Would you consider:
Claire/Clare – Clara almost rhymes with Sarah, so that’s out, but how about classic Claire? The French spelling, with the ‘i’ added – is far more popular in the US today, but you might like the sparer Clare instead. (And I know women and girls with both spellings.)
Louisa/Louise – I feel like Louise is more your style, a tailored name in the key of Katherine and Eleanor. And nicknames? Oh my, do these two names have nicknames! Lou, Lulu, Lucy, Lula …
Lucy – Of course, Lucy isn’t a nickname at all. It’s the typical English form of Lucia just as Mary is to Maria. Or Lucy could be short for Lucille, too, which seems like it might sound right at home with your older girls’ names.
Margaret – I’m having the same reaction to Margaret than I have to Mary. Surely you’ve talked about traditional Margaret already, right? With forms and nicknames galore, it’s easy to imagine Maggie or Meg or Margo fitting in with your family.
Ruth – Ruth carries the same simple elegance as Rose, but it feels a little different, too. And it’s slightly distinctive, I think, a name that’s just different enough.
Teresa/Theresa/Therese – I know a bunch of girls who answer to Tess – or Tessa or Tessie – but they’re actually Theresa, Therese, or Teresa. So it seems like a logical name to suggest.
Okay, I know our readers will have opinions, so I’ll end with this: I love the idea of something like Mary Lucille or Margaret Ruth – two traditional names, but one a little more evergreen, and the other slightly less so.
Readers, what names would you suggest for William, Anna, Katherine, Sarah & Eleanor’s new sister?
Irene Rose or Edith Rose.
I have several classically named girls/women in my family.
My daughters: Catherine Rebecca, Julianne Patricia, Jennifer Elizabeth, Susanna Jean.
Catherine’s daughters:
Sarah Ellen
Catrina Jane “Cate” — her daughters:
Mabel Grace
Camilla Rose, sometimes called “Milla”
Emma Elizabeth —- her daughter:
Jane Violet
Sophia Anne —Sophie as a young girl
Jennifer’s daughter:
Miranda Elizabeth “Mira”
(Among my sons and grandsons are a William “Will” and a James in both generations.)
There are so many excellent suggestions already. I would like to add Phoebe. I would also suggest that you read through the website British Baby Names. And I agree that Rose would be perfect for this fifth daughter, as either her first or middle name.
Catherine’s daughters are Sarah, Catrina, Emma, and Sophia. (Indentations to show generations did not come through above.)
I see a British Royal cluster, which is why Mary and Margaret fit so well! There are two other names besides Victoria that fit: Charlotte and Alice. I like both and prefer Charlotte for you. Charlotte. I know it’s the name of a current royal baby, but given that she joins a big sibset I wouldn’t be worried. I also like Alice but since you have an Anna and an Ellie, I think it smushes in too much.
I’m sort of with Abby on Mary, maybe called Maisie.
Lydia Rose
Rosemary Susannah
Suzette Rose
Josephine Marie
Naomi Ruth
Helen or Helena Rose
Teresa Joan
Magdalena Rose
Madeleine Rose
Victoria Susan
Amelia Jennifer
Jennifer Rose
Caroline Mary
Petra Rose
Ruth Ellen
Cordelia May
I could spend all day on these types of names!
I wouldn’t repeat an initial. I think Abby’s suggestions were spot on. Mary Rose would be lovely. I also love Maisie and Meg as a nn for Margaret and Tess for Theresa. I love Rosemary, nn Romy or Rosalie, nn Rose.
A few others: Lydia (Lydi) or Sybil (Sybi) or Helen (Nell) or Cecelia (Cece) or Beatrice (Bea).
Will, Anna, Katie, Sarah, Eleanor, and . . . Harriet, Caroline, Beatrix, Grace, Violet, Martha.
But honestly, I think Rose would be perfect. Or Rosemary, Rosa, Rosalind, Rosalie, Rosaline, etc.
Sometimes when a name has been on the list for a long time I start second guessing it for no better reason than that I haven’t used it yet, so there must be something better. But if I have loved it a long time it may just be that it was waiting for the right kid. 🙂 (I’m saying this from experience. My 4th has a name that we had on the shortlist for three previous pregnancies, but never seriously considered for him until the moment he was born.)
Mary and Tessa/Tess are both SUCH great suggestions. I love them both with those lovely sibling names. I also really like the suggestions in the comments, especially Rosemary, Caroline, Victoria, and Cecilia.
Here are a few additional suggestions:
Genevieve Rose
Lena Victoria
Maura Josephine
Bethany Amelia
Mary-Rose Elena
Florence Rose N_____ski
William, Anna, Katherine, Sarah, Eleanor, and Florence.
If you were considering ‘J’ names, I’d suggest June.
What about Beatrice? She’s royal, classic, and elegant. Bea makes THE most adorable nickname, too.
Beatrice Rose N____ski.
Best wishes!
Rosaline Marie would be lovely
I like Claire
I also really like Alexandra
What about Meredith? I actually am not a huge fan of the name but maybe it’s a fit?
Good luck!