Name Help: Rowan Michael and His New Sister

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!

WE HAD STRANGERS VOTE ON OUR SON’S NAME

Amanda writes:

When our son was born in 2022, we couldn’t settle on a name. My husband manages a local restaurant and joked he was going to have his regulars suggest/vote to help us decide.

It sounds crazy, but it worked! One of his regular customers suggested Rowan, and he kept a little white board where everyone (staff/regular customers) voted, and it was the clear favorite.

My husband’s name is Michael, and there were lots of suggestions to use his name for our son’s first or middle, so we did.

We tried to do the same thing for our daughter, but there’s not really a clear front-runner this time, and she’ll be here in August.

So it just makes sense that we’d try to let the internet name our baby, right?

Here are the six names that are all sort of tied right now:

• AMELIA
• CECILIA
• HALLIE
• JOSIE
• SARAH
• TEAGAN

Our last name sounds like Albert, but with an H. Because of that, I want to rule out Hallie, which is kind of too bad because I think it could be my favorite otherwise.

I don’t really like Josie, only because it feels like we’d have Ro and Jo, and that seems a little too much for us.

I’ve always wanted to use Morgan, a family name from my side, as our daughter’s middle name, but I’m undecided because it rules out Teagan, and I really do like Teagan. But Teagan Morgan Albert-with-an-H is kind of a lot.

Can you and your readers help?

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

CROWD SOURCING A SHORT LIST

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your daughter!

I know crowdsourcing a baby name might seem a little out-there. And yet … well, it works! It sounds like the people who are voting aren’t total strangers. They know your husband, at least casually, and there’s probably a vibe to the place he works that helps suggest Rowan and not … Archibald or Vladislav or Trace, right?

When it comes to names, there are just plain more names for girls in use, with more potential spellings and variations. So I’m not surprised that there’s broader range this time around, even though you’re asking the same (basic) group of people, right?

Let’s look at your current shortlist first, then move on.

RANKING THE CURRENT SHORTLIST

SARAH

A lovely, classic name, but it doesn’t sound like something that appeals to you?

AMELIA

Pretty much what I said about Sarah applies to Amelia, too – plus Amelia ranks in the current US Top Ten, which might be a reason to avoid it.

CECILIA

Of course, Cecilia is one of those names I’d suggest as an Amelia substitute … but it doesn’t seem to strike a chord for you, right?

JOSIE

It sounds like Josie’s flaw is the possibility that your kids would be known as Ro and Jo. On some level, I can’t imagine that would happen … but, of course, you’ve already thought of it, so it’s enough to cross Josie off the list.

HALLIE

This sounds like it could be the perfect name, except it’s not quite right … because Hallie is so close to your surname. Still, I’m putting it near the top of the list, because it’s clear you really do like it quite a bit. Plus, I think the style is great with Rowan.

TEAGAN

A very logical sister name for Rowan, and it sounds like you’re a big fan. But if you’re not willing to drop Morgan to make Teagan Middle Albert-with-an-H work, then we’d need to find something similar to Teagan but without the N ending.

I wonder if what we really need are some names like Hallie and Teagan that overcome the mismatch with your preferred middle/last name.

FRESH SUGGESTIONS

CHLOE

Would something like Chloe appeal? It has the EE ending of Hallie, along with a bit of an L sound … but it’s distinct and different from your surname and works well with Morgan as a middle.

DAISY

Along the same lines, I wonder if Daisy might work? Another advantage to Daisy: a completely different vowel sound from Rowan’s strong O.

EMERY

Because Teagan is a surname, it seems like other surnames could be worth considering. Emery is a little bit longer, and takes traditionals like Emily and Emma in a modern modern direction.

MARLOWE

I can’t decide if Marlowe Morgan is just plain fun to say, or a little too much alliteration, but I love Marlowe with Rowan, so I’m leave it on the list. If Marlowe is close, but not quite right, there’s also Harlow or even Winslow.

MILLIE

The first name that came to mind! It’s a perfect substitute for Hallie, I think, and Millie Morgan seems the perfect mix of spirited and sweet.

PRESLEY

A cool, edgy surname with just a hint of rock star.

SAGE

This name has it all: a nature name, a shade of green, the suggestion of wisdom. It’s brief and complete but strong and distinctive, too. Rowan is also a tree name associated with a color, so I think Rowan and Sage are nicely matched in the most subtle way.

ZARA

This one is a little out of left field. But since you didn’t say anything about Sarah, I thought I’d suggest it as less conventional tweak to that classic name.

One final thought: would you consider Morgan as a first name? Rowan and Morgan are great together, and I really like Morgan with your last name, too.

If not Morgan, then my favorites are Sage Morgan and Millie Morgan. Still, I think I’d put something like Morgan Sage even higher on the list.

But you asked for crowdsourcing, so let’s get to it!

Readers what would you name a sister for Rowan Michael?