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!
Bree writes:
Can you help us with a puzzle, dear Appellation Mountain readers?
I’m Bree (really Breanna, but Bree to everyone who knows me) and my new husband is Dan.
We brought four children to our marriage: my son Abel and daughter Felicity, and Dan’s boys, Carter and Easton.
We’re now expecting our first – and probably only – child together. My sister pointed out that we are currently Abel, Bree, Carter, Dan, Easton, and Felicity, so this baby should have a G name.
Maybe it’s silly, or maybe it’s one of those self-imposed rules that only makes life hard. But right now, it feels like the perfect way to put our whole crazy Brady Bunch together.
Dan isn’t super into names in general. (His ex-wife chose the boys’ names.) But I like all sorts of romantic, vintage-y names, and he sometimes vetoes those.
Can you help us come up with some cool G names that are a little bit old-fashioned, but not Gertrude and Gerald? And we aren’t finding out – the kids wanted to make it a surprise! – so we need names for a boy or a girl. (Just making this as crazy as possible!) The baby’s last name will be William-with-an-s.
Please read on for my response, and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Dear Bree –
Congratulations on your new baby! And what a fun coincidence to discover – and an appealing way to narrow down your shortlist, too.
First things first: if you can’t find a G name you love, then yes, you should feel free to walk away from the pattern.
But it sounds like you’re open to lots of possibilities.
G NAMES FOR GIRLS
Should this baby be a girl, she’ll be Felicity’s only sister! And that makes me think it’s important to match that style. We need something romantic, elaborate, and vintage, but not too dusty.
Genevieve – Probably my favorite. It’s a G name that sounds exactly like a sister for Felicity, without sounding like you worked too hard to match them.
Gemma – While Gemma feels a little more modern, it has history aplenty. Thirteenth century Italian author Dante Aligheri was married to a Gemma; the Italian Saint Gemma lived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Gloria – Gloria was wildly popular for decades in the twentieth century, which explains why we tend to think of it as a little tired. But if it’s really the perfect sound for 2020, a mix of Cora and Olivia.
Greta – I think we’ll hear more of this name, thanks to inspiring young activist Greta Thunberg. But even without Thunberg making headlines, there’s lots to like about this name. It’s originally short for Margaret, so it has a classic pedigree. But it’s brief and complete, a G name that feels instantly familiar, but isn’t terribly common.
Gwendolyn – I’m not sure if any of your kids favor nicknames, but if so, Gwendolyn might be perfection. It comes with tailored Gwen and retro Winnie – though that takes you away from the letter G. It’s also spelled Gwendolen, with a final E, but the Y spelling is consistently more popular in the US.
G NAMES FOR BOYS
The name Abel may belong to a different era than Carter and Easton, but all three names offer strong sounds and come with varying endings. Let’s see if there are some good options that add yet another ending sound into the mix.
Garrett – Garrett peaked in the 1990s, but it was never so wildly popular that it feels too tied to the decade. Fun fact: it’s a surname related to Gerald, but feels far more modern.
Grady – I’d always expected Grady to follow Brady into wider use. And it did … but absent one super-star quarterback, Grady feels much less flashy. I think that makes it a good match for Abel and Felicity, while it shares the surname-style of Carter and Easton.
Graham – Graham sounds natural with your surname. (So much that I triple-checked to make sure I wasn’t missing some famous athlete by the name.) Like Grady, I think it balances both sets of siblings’ name styles.
Gregory – Okay, you mentioned The Brady Bunch. And G names for boys. So inevitably Gregory appears on this list. The name was a 1960s favorite – which tracks with the sitcom’s 1969 debut. But that was Greg Brady. I think Gregory, used in full, reads handsome and traditional.
Griffin – Griffin is closer to Carter and Easton in terms of popularity. It’s very much a twenty-first century name. But it feels closer to Abel and Felicity, I think, because of the considerable history behind Griffin, including the mythological half-lion/half-eagle.
Overall, my picks are probably Genevieve and Griffin, but I’m so curious to hear what others have to say.
Readers, over to you: what would you name a sibling for Abel, Carter, Easton, and Felicity, starting with the letter G?
Garrett, Grant, Gerard.
Genevieve, Gianna, Greta
Boys – Gabriel, Gage, Grey,
Girls – Gia, Geneva, Gretchen
I saw this online on a list of girls names and thought of this post
Should you be looking for a baby name with status, Gentry could be the gift that keeps on giving. A word that means “aristocracy,” Gentry is all about nobility, class, and high society.
I think Georgia, Grace, and Gemma are great options for girls, and I like Graham or Gideon for a boy 🙂
I love Gideon.
For boys, Graham and Garrett are my favorites from Abby’s list–and I love the earlier suggestion of Grant! All sound great with his sibling names and with your last name. Classic and cool.
For the girls, Genevieve and Gemma are lovely. Is Guinevere too much? I love it with Felicity, but it might be a bit fusty with your boys.
Oh, or Gretchen!
For a girl: Galadriel, Giana, Giselle,
Genevieve, Graciela
For a boy: Grayson, Griffin, Gavriel, Galen
Unisex: Grey, Glenn, Gwyn, Gale
Personal favorite: Griffin, Galadriel and all the unisex names above! Ps: really love Abby’s suggestion of Griffin for a boy.
I just love Gemma or Georgia with the other kids’ names! I feel like either of those would blend the styles nicely. And, for a boy, I think Graham would be a perfect fit.
Georgia
Gemma
Two of my favorites! Gotta think about a boy name…
Gabriel for a boy
My favorite options for you are Gideon & Genevieve. I also really like Grady, Gavin, Gemma, and Georgia. I never realized there were so many great options beginning with G.
Gabriella
Georgina
Glynis
I like all the boy name suggestions except Gregory and also wanted to add Grant. My fave for you is Grady.
I also like all of the girl suggestions, esp Greta and Gwendolyn. You could also consider Georgia, Georgina or Gillian.
For a boy: Gage, Gordon, Granger, Grant, Griffin.
For a girl: Geneva, Georgia, Gillian, Ginevra, Giselle, Grace
Boys: Gardner, George, Gordon, Grayson, Grant, Griffith, Guy,
Girls: Gaia, Georgiana, Georgie, Georgina, Gia, Giacinta, Gianna, Gillian, Gina, Giovanna, Grace, Gracen, Graihagh (Manx name pronounced Gray-uh), Grania, Guinevere, Gwen, Gwyneth.
Georgia, Genevieve, Gwendolen, Grant and Grady are Awesome!
Griffin would be a fun pick for a boy since this is most likely your last child because it ends with
-FIN as in “done”!
I do like how nicely Grady fits in with Abel, Carter, and Easton. It’s a nice sweet spot name like Abel but a modern surname pick with Easton and Carter. Grant would be a great choice too.
For a girl, I think Georgia sounds like a perfect fit with Felicity! I do like Grace and Gemma as well.
Girls – Grace (too obvious?)
Boys – Giles, and love the suggestion of Gideon!
I love this accidentally-alphabetical situation you have, and I vote for a G name for this baby. Gemma was my first thought for a girl.
For a boy, how about Gilbert? Not sure where you live – here in the UK it definitely has that vintage, hipster vibe that your husband might find too old-fashioned, but in North America I feel like it would be more accessible thanks to the Anne of Green Gables character? I know a young Gil and it works surprisingly well.
My other thought was Gregor. Not Gregory, but the Scottish (and I believe also Dutch and German?) version. It shares a popular sound with Carter and the Tanner/Cooper/Hunter occupation names that are fashionable now.
Gideon is one of my favourites too.
I love Gilbert! I was just thinking of that one. Gilbert is great as-is and Gil is a cool nickname.
Gabrielle
Grace
Grant
Gaspard is a guilty pleasure of mine. It feels a little like an outlier with the other boys, but I don’t think it’s too far out. It also fits in with the different endings for the boys’ names.
G-names that come to mind include Geneva, Giselle, Grace/Gracie, Grier, Gwennyth, Gannon, Gareth, Gavin, Gibson, Gideon, and Gunnar.
I think Gemma and Grady are perfect little G’s for your set, and I think a G name in ingenious and my pattern-loving heart votes YES. (Also love Griffin but nice for everyone to have their own ending, especially for the boys..) My only alternate ideas are Grace nn Gracie or Gage.
Georgia and Grant are a sibling set I know and love both of their names. My favorite G boys name is Gideon – I’ve always been drawn to it. Genevieve is the perfect sister to Felicity and a longtime favorite name of mine because of my great-aunt!
I absolutely came here just to recommend Georgia and Grant! Perfection.
I’ll add Georgia, Marigold -Goldie, and grant and Gideon.