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!
Kate writes:
We have two sons, Owen Edward and Elijah Brent. We’re expecting a third baby in June. It’s a girl!
Owen was my husband’s pick and Elijah was mine. The middle names are for their grandfathers. Our girl name was always Amelia, probably the only name we ever both likely equally.
But I feel like we hear Amelia everywhere. My husband doesn’t think it’s a big deal, but he’s not the one who spends as much time on kid stuff (though that has changed this past year!) and so doesn’t notice.
Other names we liked, like Eliza, just seem too similar to our boys’ names, or are even more popular, like Isabelle. I like Aurora, but my husband just can’t get on board. We do NOT like nicknames.
Our last name sounds like Carrie, but with a K, so names like Lucy and Audrey don’t sound great.
We’re not set on a vowel name necessarily, but they tend to be our favorites. We also considered Isaiah for Elijah and Owen was almost Aiden.
Can you help us with a new list of names? Or maybe talk me into using Amelia?
PS – If it’s not too much, we’re stuck on middle names, too. This is probably our last child, and we have two grandmas to honor. It worked so neatly with our boys’ names that we’re feeling stuck. Our moms are Cheryl and Dawn, which don’t really combine, either.
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Abby replies:
Congratulations on your new daughter!
Amelia is a very popular name for a daughter. And, thanks names like Emilia, Emily, and Amelie, it seems even more popular than a #7 rank would imply.
It happens, right? We talk about names with our firstborn, and five, six, seven years later, the world has caught up! But it’s also true that suddenly we know what kids are called. Unless we’re teachers or pediatricians, it’s easy to miss emerging trends … until we’re the ones on the playground.
And yet, I still think you should seriously consider naming this baby Amelia.
After all, Elijah is currently the #5 name for boys in the US. I’m guessing you know – or know of – other boys with the same name. But it doesn’t seem like it’s dulled your appreciation. Even Owen currently ranks #21. So if you haven’t been overly frustrated with moments when your boys share names, I suspect it wouldn’t really bother you for your daughter, either.
Then again, maybe this isn’t a vague feeling of hearing the name often. Maybe this is more of a “other families in our extended circle have used the name so it feels taken” scenario.
If that’s the case, then I understand the urge to move on. Let’s find some fresh ideas!
A SISTER FOR OWEN AND ELIJAH
ADA
A sweetly vintage mini name with a lot of strength, Ada is instantly familiar, but at #209, not nearly as common.
ALICE
Storybook Alice is a classic name with plenty of strength. It’s hovered in the Top 100 for the last several years, ranking #73 on the most recent list.
IRIS
I wanted to suggest Isla, but it does repeat lots of sounds in Elijah, doesn’t it? So I moved on to Iris instead. A vintage name that feels quite current thanks to our love of nature names, Iris ranks #129.
LYDIA
Like Alice, Lydia has steadily been a Top 100 name without feeling too common. At #94, it’s a great stands-out/fits-in choice.
MILA
As brief as Ada, Mila makes a short name with a lot of sound. At #19, it’s popular – but not Top Ten popular.
STELLA
Like so many -ella names, Stella has had a good run. It comes in at #39 today. And yet, it still feels distinctive and sparky.
ZOEY
This name is also spelled Zoe, though Zoey-with-a-y is slightly more common. Of course, that could be another Amelia/Emilia situation, but I wonder if Zoey appeals t you enough to overlook it? I’m probably drawn to it because it shares Owen’s O and Elijah’s E … but whether anyone else would ever notice, well … guessing probably not. Zoey ranks #31 and Zoe #38.
My favorite for your family is probably Stella.
But let’s back up and talk about middles for a minute.
It’s slightly crushing that Aurora isn’t an option, because, well … Aurora means Dawn.
Aurora Cheryl, Aurora Cher, Aurora Charlotte … there are lots of ways to use the other grandmother’s name as a middle with Aurora and honor both women gracefully.
But if Aurora is truly not an option, I wonder if you’d use two middle names? Stella Cheryl Dawn? It does leave you in a jam if you did welcome a fourth child, and it was a girl and suddenly there are no family middles left. But it sounds like it’s much more possible that you’d exclude one grandmother or the other.
So I’m going to suggest Stella Cheryl Dawn. Owen, Elijah, and Stella … I think that’s pretty much perfect.
Owen and Elijah are pretty popular names, so I wouldn’t shy away from Amelia.
As for middle names, I’d choose Kate (mom’s name) to avoid the grandma issue. Any of the options listed here seems to dilute the honor, so it’s easier this way.
Amelia Kate!
Or, maybe you can convince your husband about Aurora with the promise of his mom’s name as a middle? Aurora Cheryl!
If Dawn feels less honored this way, you can say “oh but her first name is after you!” and if Cheryl feels less honored this way, you can say “oh but her middle is your real name!”
Hi, I’ve been trying to post a reply for a few days. I have lots of ideas… what about Allegra? Nickname could be Allie, Ellie, or something creative! I’ll come back and post more! And perhaps Daryl as a smoosh middle name? Or else I love the idea of something that means dawn, or incorporates the first letters without using the exact names. <3
I also have an Elijah, so we might have similar taste in names! I don’t have a daughter, but two of my favorite names are Hannah and Clara. My other suggestion is Ophelia. I recently met an adorable 3-year-old with this name! It meets your preference for a vowel name, it doesn’t have a nickname, and shares the last 4 letters of Amelia! And it’s not common – it was ranked 387 in 2019.
Another…
Acacia
(I knew an Acacia and it wore beautifully).
For alternatives to Amelia:
Adeline
Anastasia
Celia
Cecilia
Arabella
I want to add that one way to avoid conflict between the grandmothers is to give your daughter one of your names (first, middle, maiden) as her middle name. No one can argue with that!
For me, Amelia is one of those names that I can’t stop liking. I can wish it were less popular, but really, it’s just that other parents have the same great taste. There is a chance, however, that if you give her that name that your Amelia will end up using a nickname. So if that’s a dealbreaker, then it’s okay to move on. I love the M sound from Amelia, so I’m going to suggest Maisie, Mae, Meredith, Mary, or Maeve.
I think you could also work outwards from Cheryl and Dawn, since you aren’t crazy about those specific names, but there are lots of names that have similar meanings. It’s not the same as giving the exact name, but it seems like a worthy path to at least explore. Maybe there’s something that could spark another idea?
Cheryl (beloved/dear/general love meaning) – Aimee, Amala, Esme, Freya, Imogen, Love (maybe as a middle?), Vida
Dawn/light – Aurora, Aurelia, Lucia/Lucie, Nova, Helen/Elena/Helena, Neve
Aurelia Love
Esme Lucia
Nova Imogen
Lucie Aurora
Helen Vida
How about Adina or Anthea or Meliora in place of Amelia with Roxana (“dawn of day”) and Cherry or Cherie for Cheryl?
Congratulations! What about Amalia instead of Amelia? There is only one letter difference, but the middle vowel sound makes this name more distinctive on the playground. I would go all in with the honor names in the middle, maybe with a hyphen: Amalia Dawn-Cheryl or Amalia Cheryl-Dawn. (You could do the same kind of things with grandmothers’ middle names.) If your daughter ever wanted a nickname, Molly or even Addie/Adie (with initials AD) could be used. Aurora is great too – I like the meaning of “Dawn” for you. Talk it up and see if hubby will warm up to it! Aurora Cheryl.
I love the idea of Aurelia as a way to honor Grandmother Dawn and also have a name like Amelia without the popularity. I doubt most people would nickname it, either. Aurelia Charlotte (for Cheryl)? If Aurelia is not a go, I think Alice is great. Athena is a little like Amelia and doesn’t tend to be nicknamed/isn’t too popular. June is probably my favorite of all the beautiful suggestions besides Aurelia.
Sheridan as a middle could honor Cheryl+Dawn. If it’s still meaningful to you to use their middles/surnames/maiden names, that would give you additional names that could be combined into one. Two middles is a great option, too! I hope you’ll report back and share what you choose for your daughter. Best wishes!
I love Iris for you. Ivy would be awesome but you’re saying no y-endings. Other vowel names that aren’t long and prone to nicknames and way less common: Astrid, Iona, Avril, Irene
Although, you’re saying no nicknames but you’re choosing Amelia and Aurora so maybe….Alexa, Imogen, Alida,Isolde, Ariadne
Could you take part of Amelia and use Mia? Again, Amy would be sweet, but it has a y-ending.
For the middle names, I would go all in with both names. Cheryl Dawn. Or DC. Or if you’re open to a smoosh – there’s also Deryl. I actually think Iris Deryl Kerry sounds ADORABLE.
I know of a Dawniel. Her parents combined Dawn with the Hebrew element el to mean Dawn of God. This could be a great way to combine Dawn and Cheryl.
Aurelia seems like a perfect sub for Amelia, and the meaning works out well. I think Heloise and Stella are great options as well.
Aurelia Dawniel Carrie
Heloise Dawniel Carrie
Stella Dawniel Carrie
Do your respective mothers have middle names that are easier to honor? We did that with one of my boys. My biological father’s middle name is F (really, just the letter; it was his father’s middle name) and my stepfather’s name is Robert. So we gave my son the middle name R — a nod to both names, but his own.
Oh that is a beautiful way to combine the two. Thank you for sharing!
Nina?
I think Diana or Dana could be nice ways to honor Dawn! What are the grandmas middle names?
If you hear your sons’ names all the time but it doesn’t bother you, go with Amelia. If it does, or if you don’t hear as many with your sons names as you do Amelias, what do you think about Arielle? Owen, Elijah, and Arielle.
I also think June would be a cute middle since she’s due in June!
Arielle June is very cute…and maybe a good way to not offend either grandma by picking one over the other.
As a teacher, I can say Amelia does feel VERY popular right now. I love a lot of Abby’s suggestions here (Alice and Iris were my favorites from the list.
Some other names that feel like Amelia to me but are less popular are Annabella, Arabella, Azalea (maybe too weird, but I had a student with this name and it seemed very wearable), Alanna, and Annalise or maybe Aurelia if your husband likes that more that Aurora?