Name that baby girl!
Friday, May 29, 2015
I mentioned in yesterday's 34 week post that we are having such a hard time naming this baby girl! I started to write about it but then I realized it really should just get its own post because it started to get a little lengthy. And then! I got an email I've been waiting for from Kate of the Sancta Nomina blog. I came across her blog when she did a name consultation for one of my very favorite bloggers, Grace from Camp Patton. Grace is due with surprise gender #5 just a few days before my baby girl is due and Kate did such a fun name consultation for her! Given that we were/are in the biggest baby name rut I decided to shoot Kate an email to see if she could do a name consultation for us! She is the sweetest ever and sent me a lengthy email with so many fun name suggestions! I'll post parts of her email later in this post! But first...
When I'm asked if we have a name and I say we don't at least half the people think I'm just keeping it a secret (we sort of did that with both Jack & Phillip) but this time I swear to you we really do not have a name! When and if we do settle on a name I probably won't be sharing it publicly (social-media wise) just because I do love that element of surprise but then I will tell you that we have picked a name! I'm open to ideas, throw them out! We have a two-name list right now but I'm not sold on either of them. Jack is convinced we are using one of the names on that list and it's Tom's favorite too and so it has stayed on the list but I am not sold at all. I used to love it and then T & I found out we didn't agree on spelling and ever since then I've sort of just fallen out of love with the name. As for the second name on our list Tom only sort of likes it and I'm not totally sold either so it's kind of just hanging out on the list but it could easily get the boot any day now.
Here's a little breakdown of names we've considered so you can get a vibe for what we are going for. Loved Charlotte for several weeks and then when I found out it was climbing the charts really fast (had no idea!) I started to feel like maybe not. It was borderline being booted from the list when the princess was named Charlotte and then it was a no-brainer. Baby Girl will not be Charlotte. Forget that I thought it was climbing the charts fast before. It's about to be number 1 in no time. Not my cup of tea. But along the lines of Charlotte, I love classic, romantic names and tend to love lots of French-origin names! Lay 'em on me.
In other names...Kylie was considered for a short time. I still think it's adorable but we decided maybe just not right. I love Kenlie, Tom does not. We both like Chelsie/Chelsy/Chelsi but a) can't agree on spelling and b) again...just doesn't seem right.
And then there was Linden. She was on the list for awhile but was sort of just a guest HA. I love the idea of something so original but then I think I'm not quite brave enough for it. I don't think I would like having people always say to me "wait, what is it?" when they ask her name. Generally, Tom is not a fan of anything too original so I was pretty surprised that he agreed to Linden being on the list in the first place. It has since taken a boot but send some originals my way and we'll see how it goes.
We have one more name that we both like (and I LOVE) but it was (very) recently used by a relative and we just don't feel right "stealing" it even though we'd be using a different spelling. So we're keeping it on the list for the next girl, if there is one!
Okay, curious as to what names Kate suggested to us!? Her blog is really all about Catholic baby naming and we aren't Catholic but she was so sweet to suggest names to us just the same! I have to omit pieces of her email because while I told her the names that are currently on our short list I don't want to give them away on social media or the blog! Here's what Kate said:
We have one more name that we both like (and I LOVE) but it was (very) recently used by a relative and we just don't feel right "stealing" it even though we'd be using a different spelling. So we're keeping it on the list for the next girl, if there is one!
Okay, curious as to what names Kate suggested to us!? Her blog is really all about Catholic baby naming and we aren't Catholic but she was so sweet to suggest names to us just the same! I have to omit pieces of her email because while I told her the names that are currently on our short list I don't want to give them away on social media or the blog! Here's what Kate said:
I was chuckling to myself as I re-read your email this weekend, the fact that you love Charlotte but “dislike that it is climbing the charts so fast and becoming a very popular name” – and that was pre-Princess! Charlotte/Charley is lovely and sweet and spunky and vintage and modern all in one, it’s no wonder everyone loves it.
I think I came up with some good ideas for you though – I always shoot for three, but I came up with six suggestions and couldn’t whittle them down any further!
(1) C/Katherine nicknamed Kate
Kate was listed as a sister name for Jack, and Catherine for Philip (in the baby book Baby Name Wizard - we have the same naming book and LOVE it!!). I really like this idea for you – Jack, Philip, and Kate and Jack, Philip, and Katherine sound like a good, cohesive set of siblings.
**My notes: Jack's cousin is already named Kate so while I think the name is just darling, it's out!
(2) Caroline nicked Callie
Caroline and Charlotte are both feminine versions of Charles, so Caroline would be a nod to your love of Charlotte. But even on its own, it’s an awesome name, and the nickname Callie is what sealed it for me as a suggestion for you. Jack, Philip, and Caroline or Jack, Philip, and Callie are awesome imo.
**My notes: Love, love, love Caroline (and also Madeline, which I feel is similar!) but Tom is a no-go on both of those. I love her idea of Callie as a nickname for Caroline...how adorable is that!? Wish T was on board with this one! But...nixed.
(3) Eleanor nicked Nora or Nell or Ella
So Eleanor was a sister suggestion for **a name we like**; Nora and Nell were both sister suggestions for **another name on the list**; and Ella was a sister suggestion for Jack. Those kind of connections blow me away! Since all those nicknames are traditional for Eleanor, you’d have your pick. Eleanor has that same literary/vintage/Brit feel as Charlotte without the popularity.
**My notes: Eleanor is a name I've suggested more than once with Elle or Ella as a nickname, I'm not the biggest fan of Nora or Nell but I do love Elle/Ella! But, again...T is a no-go on Eleanor and also a no-go on Elle or Ella even though I really tried to push for either one of those for quite a long time! I really especially love Ella!
(note: this is actually an outtake from our "photo shoot" - ha! - but I included it anyway because I feel like it totally represents exactly how I feel every time I pick up the name book. I look at it for awhile and then feel like I'm getting nowhere ha!
(4) Theresa/Teresa/Therese (or Elizabeth!) nicked Tess
Tess is really the main suggestion here, it’s one of my favorite names and so sweet as a sister to your boys imo. If you just had Jack, I’d say Tess, hands down. But Philip brings a little more formality to your family, so Tess as a nickname for something made more sense to me for you. The Theresa names are the more obvious and traditional choice, and lots of good patron saints to choose from there, and Theresa was actually listed as a sister name for Philip. But I’ve also seen Tess as a nickname for Elizabeth, and that seems like an even better fit imo. Jack, Philip, and Elizabeth; Jack, Philip, and Tess. Or Jack, Philip, and Theresa. All great names.
**My notes: None of these ones are doing it for me. I wouldn't say I dislike them but they're just not quite my taste.
(5) Veronica or Genevieve or Evangeline or Evelyn
These were inspired by your love of **insert a name we love!**. If you want to save **said name!** for a future daughter, then I’d suggest not using these, just because V is a distinctive letter and these are all V-heavy names. But if you want a name similar to **insert name!....sorry guys, I'm sure this is annoying!** to use this time, one of these might do. Veronica was actually listed as similar to Philip and it has loads of nickname options: Ronnie, Nica/Nicki, Via, V.
I often see Genevieve and Evangeline grouped together, as they’re so similar in sound and length. Both can take the nicknames Evie or Vivi, which are just the sweetest, or Genevieve could be Genny and I've seen Lina for Evangeline.
Evelyn is a little bit of an outlier here – it’s listed as similar to **our loved name!**, and can have the great nick Evie, but Genevieve/Evangeline have a frillier, more sumptuous feel to them, while Evelyn is a little more grounded and pared down, a little more like Charlotte or Eleanor to me.
My notes: Veronica & Evangeline are no-go's for me. While Genevieve is cute I feel like it's just a little...formal? I'm not sure, it's just not working for me. But Evelyn? Love! I've suggested it to T more than once but, yet again, he's a no-no-go. Also, like Kate said, we still possibly want to save our loved name for the next baby girl so we may not want to use any of these as they are V-heavy like our loved name ;)
(6) Mia, Molly, Lily, Grace
Jack resulted in a lot of short-and-sweet names, names that could be nicknames or could stand on their own. Some just seemed so spot-on to me that I thought I’d list them here. If you prefer longer names, consider that Mia can be a nick for Maria (a la Mia Farrow), and Lily for Elizabeth.
Names that did well for you but that I decided not to suggest to you were Josephine nicked Josie and Georgia/Georgiana nicked Georgie. Maybe you like them? They’re beautiful, both of them. But I was kind of feeling that, since you have two boys already, maybe boyish isn’t what you’d like to do for a girl? But now, even as I’m typing this, I’m remembering that you love Charley for Charlotte. So maybe you would like Josephine/Josie or Georgia or Georgiana/Georgie? I love them all.
**My notes: Grace is a definite favorite of mine and is reserved on our lists as a possible middle name but T is not a fan of it for a first name. As for Mia & Molly - cute, but not my favorite. And I have about one thousand friends with little girls named Lily so that is out for me. As for Josephine and Georgia, T is a definite no-go on both of those so I don't even bother to have an opinion haha!
Overall, I'd say Kate suggested some fabulous names! I feel like she was able to distinguish my style pretty well and the biggest dilemma we seem to be having is that T likes so few names! Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like we'll be using any of Kate's suggestions (although I'm definitely going to reassess this list when it comes time to pick a middle name...not even thinking about that yet haha!) but she did get the wheels rolling and, as of yesterday (after I wrote the beginning of this post!) we actually have a new name on the list that is a top, top candidate and I'm actually really excited about it! It just barely made the list so we need to mull it over for a few days/weeks but it's definitely a contender!
We are still very open to suggestions so please, please send them our way! I would love to hear all of your suggestions and I'm curious to see if anyone suggests names on our list! Help us name that baby girl! - we have less than 5 weeks until my due date!
xoxo
