April baby - Middle names

Message: We are having a baby girl at the end of April and we have finally narrowed down our choices to two names... I think :).

The two names we have are Isla and Charlotte.

I would really love some suggestions on some middle names. We were initially thinking Charlotte Ann or Isla Marie. Then my mother asked what names we were thinking of and apparently she knew someone named Isla Mae and hates the name Isla. Which is fine with me she will love it if her granddaughter has the name but Isla Marie is kind of close to Isla Mae... So then I thought Isla Grace. I was trying to keep the middle names in the family (my mother is Ann and my grandmother is Marie) but I am not sure if we will now. If you could give us some suggestions on middle names for both Charlotte and Isla that would be great! Thanks so much!

Liz

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Hi Liz,

Happy to think of some suggestions for you.  I love both names Charlotte and Isla.   You might have seen a blog post I did on the name Isla; I think it is one of the most elegant of all the names. 

Firstly have you considered using both your favourites together?  Isla Charlotte has a wonderful sense of energy and balance combined.

Secondly I don't think annoying horrible 'Isla Mae' random friend of your mother whom you have never met, should put you off using Isla Marie.  Especially as you are honouring your Grandmother with that name.

Thirdly, I love Charlotte Ann, the name Charlotte is very popular lately.  It always makes me think of the Bronte sisters... of course Anne was one of the Bronte sisters too!  Very sweet.

Fourthly, my suggestions for good middle names are the timeless names.  I have done a previous blog entry about suggested middle names for Clarabelle, there I listed my favourite middle names Grace, Rose, Eve and Jane.  But some others that I love are:

• Clare - Charlotte Clare... oh the alliteration is wonderful.  What a gorgeous name.
• Celeste - Isla Celeste... has a level of elegance that overwhelms me. 
• Adeline - Goes well with both Charlotte and Isla... so does Evangeline and Angeline.

Most of all, I always say that you should go with your gut instincts on names, that way you never second guess yourself or regret incorporating other people's ideas into the name of your child.  There is nothing more special than choosing the name of you child. 

Please don't let other people influence you too much, have faith in your ideas they are personal and important to you.

Iranian - Australian Names

Tara I would be ever so grateful if you could help me!

My brother-in-law has just married an Iranian girl and they are expecting their first child soon-ish.

They are so happy but they have encountered on small problem. As he is Australian and she is Iranian they can't agree on any names!

Please could you help them find a nice name for a boy or a girl. I know they would appreciate it.

Thanks so much - I know you are busy.
Karen

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Karen,

This is a great challenge!  I haven't got a complete post for you at the moment but I just wanted to throw out some names that I found on a list of 'Iranian' names which would be easily palatable to an Aussie crowd and might convince your brother-in-law! I will come back with some boys suggestions.  My research has been VERY quick so I am not confident about the authenticity of these as purely Iranian names, the meanings might not be right either -- but hopefully your sister-in-law will know better about each name.

• Darya - means 'sea'
• Leila - means 'night' and is now commonly spelt Layla in English.
• Ava - means 'sound' or 'voice'. 
• Roxana - means 'dawn'.  I put out a vote for this name, it is fairly unusual in Australia and the nickname Roxy is just fabulous. 
• Jasmine - this flower name is the English spelling, Yasmin the Persian.  A beautiful name is just wonderful.

Let me know if we are on the right track? 

Tripp??

I have no time or inclination to post anything more than

WHAT THE?

Is this bogan, this obsession with random nouns as baby names?  I get the 'place name' thing, hell I did it myself, but just random things?  Spelt wrong? 

Argh.

Someone tell me what the idea is please?

Edward - A boys name for the Twilight - Name of the Month

When I suggested the name 'Edward' in my Interesting Boys Names post I hadn't read Twilight!  I know... I am behind the times... but I just had a baby OK?! :)

Anyway, the lovely Kir pointed out that my assessment of Edward as fresh and unusual, might not be true for much longer given the popularity of the character in the books by Stephanie Meyer.   She is probably right! 

But it got me thinking, how come Edward will be so popular and cool soon?  Is it because everyone wants to name their child after a fictional sexy vampire?  Well maybe ... but I don't think this is quite right.  I think it is because the name Edward is already cool.

And of course Edward is a cool name...my guess is the author picked it for that very reason. 

Most parents name their children as young babies before they have developed a strong personality.  The influence of a choice in name is a reflection of who the parents are and what their zeitgeist is not who the child is. The child takes time to grow up and bring their own character to the name.   The little Edwards born in 2008 will take time to develop their own suave cool vampire-ish personalities.

But an author like Stephanie Meyer gets to name an Adult character. Basically authors can cheat when they name their characters.  They don't name them names that were cool back when they should have been born.  They name them names that are cool now!

It just so happens that the character Edward is 104 years old... born at the time of what we now consider to be 'cool' old-fashioned names, the time of our grandparents and great grandparents. We as parents are turning to those names in droves these days. Yes, there is a reason Edward isn't 47 and called Roy and a reason why he isn't 180 and called Cecil or much older and called Elthelbert.  He is 104 and called Edward because names that are 100 years old are cool again now. :)

For the record, I think there is a reason that Bella is named as such as well.  I don't think Bella was a popular name 17 years ago when the fictional Twilight character would have been named if she was real.  But funnily enough it is a super popular name at the moment for little girls. 

I think Bella has a 'modern' cool name to represent inexperience, freshness, youth and innocence and Edward has an 'old fashioned' cool name to represent maturity, strength, experience and knowledge.

Anyway... I just want to say for the record.  I liked Edward way before I read Twilight. Ha!

Update on Sunday, December 21, 2008 at 08:40AM by Tara

I forgot to include some info about the name Edward. 

The Oxford Dictionary of First Names says that Edward is a name derived from Old English - ead - meaning 'prosperity, riches' and weard - meaning 'guard'.  Guardian of wealth perhaps?  This name has long been the name of Kings of England.

Eduardo, Eduard and Edvard are variant spellings from across Europe.

Mia's Mobile - Creative Neesh strikes again

I am totally enraptured by the wonderful creative force that is a collaboration between Amanda from Swish and Swanky and the fantastically talented CreativeNeesh.   The two of them have come together with spectacular effect -- a whimsical little handmade name mobile for Amanda's daughter Mia.   Nisha told me that her hand was cramping up when cutting out this creation.  You can't tell though, it looks perfect!

I particularly love the beautiful way each letter is framed in it's own border, yet each character is able to swing free and twist and turn throwing slightly warped lettering shadows on the walls. 

Once again, a beautiful name is more than just something to call out to your child, here it is a beautiful and enchanting addition to a little girls room.

I am very jealous, I wonder if Nisha's hand would hold out to make a Laura or India? :)

Sierra's Clarabelle

Hi i was searching the web and came across your wesite. I was hopping you could help me.
I'm 8 months pregnant and myself and hubby are having problems choosing the name. My other children are Elle Marie, Cooper James and Saffron May. Its a girl and we are calling her Clarabelle but we have no idea what goes with the name, any ideas?

thanks
Sierra

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Hi Sierra,

I wonder if you have had your darling bubby yet? 

I love the names of your other children.  Elle, Cooper and Saffron are gorgeous.  But Clarabelle is just divine!

I think lots of names go well with it, but my preference for a longer fancier first names are simple elegant middle names.  You have done the same with Marie and May and James.

So my suggestions are:

Grace - my second most favourite middle name.  This name is rising in popularity but I think that is because just about everyone loves this name.

Rose - my first favourite middle name.  I gave this name to my daughter.  A beautiful floral name that has elegance and a grandma fussy feeling all in one. I think this is the most popular middle name for girls.

Eve - simple, elegant, sophisticated, spiritual.  A hit name that sounds really good with Clarabelle.

Jane - this name has always been considered fairly plain.  But I think the expression 'plain Jane' is a little unfair.  Jane is a pretty name that suits being used as a middle name.

and then to be a bit more adventurous but fit with the pattern of 'M' middle names you have for girls.

March - a month name that isn't particularly popular, but also the last name of the family from Little Women.  This is a strong name that sounds good with Clarabelle and tones down the super prettiness of that name too.

I would love to hear what you chose!

Tara

Interesting Boys Names

Hey Tara ,

I am writing to you because I am need of inspiration ! My husband and I are about to have our fourth child ( A boy) and I am struggling to find a name that suits and lives up to my expectations .
Our current children are Eden Willow (girl) , Daphne Blair and William Monty . I am wanting a name that is strong , yet classy and interesting ?

Any suggestions ? It would really be appreciated !!

Thanks a lot

Sofia

*********Tara's Response**************

Hi Sofia,

I like the names of your children.  :)  Boys names are hard aren't they?  It is so hard to come up with good ideas.

I am still working on some suggestions but I thought I would put this marker here and people could comment their own suggestions in the meantime!  I will get back to this asap ok?

Tara

Update on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 07:26PM by Tara

Ok Sofia,

I have thought about possible names for you and have come up with these 6 names that I think meet your criteria.

Miles -  I love the strength yet quirky feel of this name.  It is a bit stuffy but cool.  I think the coolness comes from an association with Jazz great Miles Davis.

Archie - This short form of Archibald is becoming more commonplace and funky.  I like the kind of Scottish feel as well.

Alfie - I was going to suggest Alfred but that seems a little bid staid.  Alfie is the roguish short form and I think it is just waiting for a comeback in Australia.  Might be a bit too English Sloan Ranger though?

Edward - I feel like I suggest Edward all the time but nobody uses it.  Anyway, I love the straight-laced strong feel of this Royal name but it is so unusual for people to use it these days that I think it is interesting again. 

Walter - Oh I have such a soft spot for this name as one of Anne of Green Gables' sons.  Wally is a bit of a dodgy nickname but Walt has a great cool feel.

Wolfe - Ok this is a bit further afield but I think it would have a kind of special synergy with your other names.  This name has a certain wild feel and the relationship with the Wolf is pretty obvious.  It is a total Last names First kind of name but it has a strong association with historical military figures.

Oh and as an added extra, I always suggest James for anyone with a William.  James is just great.  Jamie, Jim, Jimmy are lively fun and cool shortforms.  It might be a good first name before any of my other suggestions?