• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Request a Name

Appellation Mountain

Where every name has a story

  • Baby Name Advice & More
  • Master List: Girl Names
  • Master List: Boy Names
  • Private Baby Name Consulting

Reader Baby Name Story: The Last-Minute Choice

July 30, 2011 By appellationmountain 6 Comments

Letter T (Silver Spring, MD)

Letter T from takoma bibelot via Flickr

Editor’s note: Long-time readers will recognize Fran from the many great Baby Names of the Day she’s suggested. This is the story of her youngest child’s lovely name – and proof that narrowing down your list can be a nine-month process – or even longer!

My youngest daughter is Matilda Winifred Jane, nicknamed Tilly. My older children are Genevieve “Neve“, Oliver “Ollie“, Tobias “Toby” and Lenora “Lena“.

Her name was literally a last minute decision, due to the fact that we could not agree on a name before hand! It wasn’t until we saw her, and my husband held her that he commented that she was a Matilda.

She was going to be Amelia or Amelie for months, so much so I was calling the bump Amy for what seemed like ages. Then she was going to be named Juliet until a friend had their baby, a surprise girl, who was named Juliet. To her credit we didn’t tell her our choices, it just seems we were on the same wavelength! Tilly was also nearly Penelope or Eugenie, both which just didn’t seem perfect enough.

I don’t know if we had as many criteria as we had with her older siblings, but we were looking for something that would fit with her brothers and sisters, plus a longer name with a cute nickname that was preferably useable on it’s own.

The whole family were involved in this, with suggestions ranging from Cordelia to Pepper! (In the extremely unlikely event we have another child at some point we now have an extensive list for girls)

The meaning didn’t really matter too much, but I do like the fact now that the name means “battle-mighty” according to my naming book. Even at 9 1/2 months old she certainly is a little fighter!

She’s the only daughter that I haven’t second-guessed her name in some way. Nobody has asked me to repeat, spell, or explain my choice – which has happened in the past. If she meets another one when she starts school then it doesn’t matter because the name suits her so much. She is just an amazing Matilda!

Thanks so much for sharing, Fran. Tilly is a great name – well worth all of the effort!

More names you might like:

  • Baby Name of the Day: MathildeBaby Name of the Day: Mathilde
  • Baby Name Matilda: Traditional and BohemianBaby Name Matilda: Traditional and Bohemian
  • Baby Name Blossom: Energetic and FloralBaby Name Blossom: Energetic and Floral
  • Name Stories from Marilyn, Part TwoName Stories from Marilyn, Part Two
  • Reader Baby Name Story: Penelope SurpriseReader Baby Name Story: Penelope Surprise

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Print

Comments

  1. Sarah A says

    August 1, 2011 at 1:53 AM

    I love all your children’s names, thanks so much for sharing! I really like the nn Tilly, it’s cute but not cutesy. And Lena for Lorena is super 😉

    Reply
  2. liz says

    July 31, 2011 at 7:32 PM

    Great names! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  3. dreadedjaws says

    July 31, 2011 at 11:12 AM

    What wonderful names! I absolutely love the combination you chose for Tilly – Matilda Winifred Jane is fantastic! Tilly is great as well! And I really enjoy the names and nns of the rest of your bunch (I have an Oliver “Ollie” too). Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Lou @ Mer de noms says

    July 31, 2011 at 7:14 AM

    Matilda is a truly fantastic name, I do love her. Although I will admit I’m not a fan of Tilly, I think she sits perfectly in the sibset you’ve created. Seeing you use Winifred has raised a smile in me, I love seeing names dubbed as unusable by some making an appearance, and Jane is one of my favourite middle names.

    Altogether, I think you did a fantastic job, and I agree, from what it seems, the more children you have, the more restrictions you put around yourself in choosing a name. One of the reasons my parents dropped Clover at the last minute for my youngest sister was because of daughter #2, named Heather. They thought I’d feel left out as the only one without a flower name, even though I’d been the one to suggest it.

    Reply
  5. rockingfetal says

    July 30, 2011 at 10:59 PM

    Gorgeous name! My last was almost Matilda. I gave a lot of thought to Matilda Jane Beatrix. I love Winifred even more. It’s one of my very favorite names.

    Reply
  6. waltzingmorethanmatilda says

    July 30, 2011 at 7:48 PM

    A Matilda! Yay!!! *dances around* And you picked Winifred as a middle name, which is one of my favourite names ever, due to it being completely adorable, yet dignified.

    A lot of people would have gone with nice plain Matilda Jane, but that Winifred in the middle just gives it something special.

    Tilly is such a cute nn as well.

    It goes beautifully with your older children’s names, which are all fantastic as well.

    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter


POPULAR POSTS

appmtn

Baby name blogger at www.appellationmountain.net. Lover of obscure gems, provider of #namehelp, and generally #babynames obsessed!

Abby Sandel
They love Kai for their son's name BUT their last They love Kai for their son's name BUT their last name is just one syllable. Should they use something longer, with Kai as a nickname? I say Kai on its own is probably their best choice. WDYT? #namehelp #babynames #namingbaby #appellationmountain
What are your favorite nicknames for Amelia? I thi What are your favorite nicknames for Amelia? I think these are the most promising choices, but there are many more possibilities ... #girlnames #babynames #namingbaby #appellationmountain
Ezra, Blaze, Dash + more trending #boynames #babyn Ezra, Blaze, Dash + more trending #boynames #babynames #namingbaby #appellationmountain
Pandora, Aurora, Dinah + more trending #girlnames Pandora, Aurora, Dinah + more trending #girlnames #babynames #namingbaby #appellationmountain
Twenty girls' names I'm watching as possible Top 1 Twenty girls' names I'm watching as possible Top 1000 debuts/returns in May. From vintage Betty to modern Rue, a mix of pop culture, style, and good ol' fashion number crunching made this list. #girlnames #babynames #namingbaby #appellationmountain
What would you name a brother for Eva Catalina + C What would you name a brother for Eva Catalina + Camila Valentina? Name must work in Spanish and English, and shouldn't be too popular (or too trendy)! #namehelp #babynames #namingbaby #appellationmountain
Load More Follow on Instagram
Visit Appellation Mountain's profile on Pinterest.

Copyright © 2023 · AppellationMountain.net on Genesis Framework · Privacy Policy · Log in