(no subject)

[arbus.livejournal.com]

we have just started discussing names.



thoughts? please be kind if you have something negative to say. all of these names have some kind of meaning to me or to him. and most of these are names we have discussed, and that we both already love. i believe francesca and max are our current number ones. also, max could become maxwell, as its the only extended version of max that i even remotely like, and the boy really loves it.

colleen = my late mothers name
gray = my late mothers maiden name
kate = special to my side of the family
edward = my late grandfathers name
marguerite = his mothers name
bruno = special to his side of the family, and he has long wanted to pass it down
samuel = the boys initials are s.a.m. and since i am not wild about either his first or middle name, we have decided that samuel might be a nice alternative, a name i love

last name is still undecided, could be either a one syllable four letter name, which doubles as a color, or a two syllable french name that starts with m and ends with x (but with the "oo" sound)

thoughts? feedback? suggestions? alternatives? thank you in advance!

ETA: i forgot about ruby, just added it to the list. its a frontrunner. also added finn, esme, and sailor.

Comments

[elemmennope.livejournal.com]

wow, congratulations!

[arbus.livejournal.com]

thanks. we are still waiting for confirmation, but yea. kind of exciting, kind of scary.

[elemmennope.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Ruby Colleen. Francesca Colleen is also very pretty and distinctive. Tessa Colleen is probably my third favorite. Isabel and Sophie, I'm sorry, are just way too common for me to appreciate them at all. In comparison to your other choices, they have no sparkle.

All your boy choices are nice I think. Samuel Gray and August Samuel are probably my favorites, but only by a narrow margin. I'd give thumbs up to any of them.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

thank you!! ruby has some special meaning to the boy and i too, so i cant believe i forgot it. i think ruby and francesca are our top two. i am big on having a nickname, so i especially love francesca because i love the nickname frankie.

thank you for the input on the boys too. i have a question. my best friends daughter is named samantha, and we almost exclusively call her sammy. she is 7 years old and would be almost 8 by the time this baby was born. we live four hours away, but i may move to that area within a couple of years. i already spoke with my friend about it, and she was fine with it. but do you think having a little boy named samuel would be too close? too wierd? i dont think i would ever call him sammy, btw, thats a girls name, imo.

[elemmennope.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I don't think I would do it. But an original name is very important to me. I guess it depends only on you guys and how important Samuel is to you, how much you think the similar names would be an issue, and how honest your friend is about it not bothering her.

[elemmennope.livejournal.com]

sorry, inappropriate icon, lol. I sometimes forget to check which random one it has picked.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

thank you for your thoughts. i am really torn. we were talking names on the phone the other day, and i told her that i just started liking the name samuel and said to her that i almost immediately said to myself "oh i cant use sam!" and she said "you can use sam! of course you can!" i know if it did bother her, she would have said something. originality is important to me too (but not yooneekness), so yea that could definitely be an issue. its not like she is a casual friend, she has been my best friend for 15 years. i wouldnt say its an important name to the boy and i, just one we started discussing and fell in love with. hmm. i should see how he feels about that.

also, i never realized sophie was very popular. and i do love isabel, i cant help it. and i like it more than isabella, because of the popularity factor. but with a name so close, i suppose if one is too popular, it doesnt really matter, it kind of makes the other one equally popular. oh that makes me sad.

[ex-bluebonn.livejournal.com]

Tessa is another favourite of mine as well, but I don't like it paired with Colleen.

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

I love all of your boys names, but my favorites are Max and Huck. I plan on using Huck as a nickname for Henry, too! It's a great name for a little boy, and Henry/Hank works well on an adult, so it's a really age-flexible name.

Emerson and Tuesday seem too...not-name-ish for me. I don't like Emerson on girls at all, and hardly at all on boys, but it just seems...ugh. If you want to use Emmy, I'd go with Emily, Emma, or Emaline or something like that, that is more feminine and doesn't sound like a last name. Tuesday reminds me too much of Wednesday from The Adams Family, and she's forever going to be asked, "Were you born/conceived on a Tuesday?"

Pippa sounds like someone with a really thick Boston accent is saying either Piper or Pepper. I like the name Piper, but I'd definitely nix Pippa.

I love Isabel, but Isabella is too trendy and just...too much of a mouthful. Isabel is a much prettier name, I think.

I love Sophie, but I think Sophia with the nn Sophie is more sophisticated sounding. Maybe that's just me. Sophie just seems like a little kid name, and Sophia is something that could fit an adult better (although Sophie works for adults, too).

I like Kate, and I like the sound of Kaitlin Marguerite, but I'd spell it Caitlin. Caitlin-with-a-K always looks so trendy to me. Better yet, I'd go with Katherine/Kathryn/Catherine Marguerite instead, and still use the nickname Kate. Caitlin/Katelyn/Kaitlin/Kaitlyn/etc. are just WAY too trendy and seem kind of dated. Catherine/Kathryn/Katherine is more classic, I think, and timeless.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

thanks for your feedback. this is just the kind of comment i was hoping to get.

when i was born, my mother had two names picked out for me: tuesday and kaitlin. my father quickly nixed both because he was sticking with the C theme. yes, we are a 1970s family of C's - chris, colleen, chris jr, and carrie. i know. anyway, so my mother always loved the name kate and its always had a special place for me. so, we may stick with simply kate. there are a lot of kathleen/catherines in my moms family, and none of them are people i really want to name my child after, as much as i love those names.

pippa was a long time nickname of mine from my grandmother, probably not something i will end up using, but i do love it, so had to put it in there.

i love isabel too, but couldnt decide if i liked isabella better. i am leaning toward isabel, yes, definitely.

strangely, i love the name sophie, but really dont like sophia.

thank you again!!

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

Like I said, Sophie works too; I've just always thought that Sophia sounds more sophisticated. But one of my friends likes Sophie and says that Sophia sounds too stuck-up. So I totally understand:)

I like just Kate! A friend of mine from high school was named Kate - not Katie or Katherine or Kaitlin, just Kate. I've always liked Kate, but not Katie or anything like that. I think it could work.

I'm glad I could help!

[ex-bluebonn.livejournal.com]

I love the name Pippa. Not too keen on the middle name Sweet, but Pippa is definitely a favourite of mine.

I also love the name Colleen, and I prefer Maxwell to Max.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

i think youre the only person i have met who also like the name pippa. i have always paired it with sweet, but if i were to use it, i would probably pair it with colleen also. thank you for your input. :)

[ex-bluebonn.livejournal.com]

I read a book where the daughters were named Cinnamon (nn Minn) and Pippa. I'm not fond of Cinnamon (though I love to eat it), but it made me love the name Pippa.

[plaidpineapple.livejournal.com]

Love Samuel Grey, Lucas Grey, and August Samuel. Ruby Colleen is my favorite for a girl.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

thank you. what do you think of this... my best friends daughter is named samantha, and we almost exclusively call her sammy. she is 7 years old and would be almost 8 by the time this baby was born. we live four hours away, but may move to that area within a couple of years. i already spoke with my friend about it, and she was fine with it. but do you think having a little boy named samuel would be too close? too wierd? i dont think i would ever call him sammy, btw, thats a girls name, imo.

im so glad ruby colleen is getting such good reviews. :)

[plaidpineapple.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's weird at all, especially if your friend is fine with it. If you wanted to name your daughter Samantha but use "Sam" as a nickname, that might be too close/weird, but they're two completely different names for two different sexes.

It's almost name perfection, Samuel Grey. And I love the nn "Sam".

[arbus.livejournal.com]

heehee, im glad im not completely crazy by liking pippa sweet. i guess you could call it my guilty pleasure name.

i love both max and finn. the problem is that the last name may be only one syllable as well. so that sounds wierd doesnt it? either one would be like the shortest name on earth. pffft.

[kristinwitha-k.livejournal.com]

I see that the other commenter suggested Finley as a longer version for Finn, but I wanted to point out that Finian would work too, and I think it sounds more masculine.

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

I know I already commented, but I was scrolling through my f-list again and saw your ETA. Finn is an AWESOME name. It's one of my favorites, too (it's kinda scary how many of my favorites are on your list, haha). I like it as a nickname for Phineas and Finley, too. And I love Ruby, but I think Isabel (although popular), Sophie, Hannah, Kate, and Annabelle are the best girls names on your list.

If it were me, I'd go for Max Samuel, Henry Samuel, or Finn Samuel for a boy and either Kate Marguerite or Annabelle Colleen for a girl.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

thank you (again!) :)

i like finnegan too, but dont really like finley. im glad you really like finn. its one i have yet to run by the boy. i like the idea of finn samuel a lot...

also, is isabel that popular? is it growing?

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

Isabel isn't that popular, but Isabelle, Isabella, Isobel, Isobella, etc. all added together are pretty popular. Isabella is #4 for 2006, but Isabel is #87. I think it's one of those names that's going to be pretty popular no matter what, because it's a "classic" like William or James or Emily.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

good point about all the different spellings/variations. i dont mind classic popular, but do mind trendy popular, if that makes sense?

like: elisabeth, william, etc
dont like: all the -ayden names, kaelyn, etc

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

I'm the same way - some of my favorite names, like Eleanor, Madeleine, Juliet, are growing in popularity, but I don't mind, because they're timeless. Whereas a name like Madison is something I would never give to my child.

I think Isabel is classic-popular; Isobel, even though that particular spelling isn't in the top 1000, is the new "trendy" way to spell Isabel, thanks to Grey's Anatomy (I love the show, but it's effect on names is starting to bug me;)).

Plus, even though Isabel/Isabella are pretty popular, it's a name with a lot of nickname possibilities. So if she gets to school and hates being one of multiple Izzies (or however you choose to spell it), she could always choose to go by Isabel, Bella, Belle, Elle, Ella, Ellie, Isa, etc. So I wouldn't worry about it too much. Having a name that fits and that doesn't cause problems like making them sound like they're 5 when they're 30, etc. are much more important things to consider than popularity, as long as it's not trendy (which goes along with sounding like they're 5 when they're 30...).

[arbus.livejournal.com]

your philosophy is right on par with mine, so thank you so much for your thoughts. i was drawing a blank on the trendies, but yes, the madisons and mackenzies are names i wouldnt use even if i had a gun to my head.

thats a really good point about all the nickname possibilities. while i really dislike the bella/belle nicknames, i do really like ellie and isa a lot, which i had completely forgotten about. i dont like isobel one bit! i dont see the appeal of that spelling. but thats just me, i know. the more i think about it, the more i think isabel is a better classic name than isabella, less of the risk of sounding like she is 5.

(and yea i agree with you on greys anatomy...the affect on names is pretty crazy)

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

I like Ellie the best, and I'm not a huge fan of Bella/Belle, either. Isa is growing on me:)

I totally agree about Isabel being a better name than Isabella; Isabella just seems like a really cutesy/trendy version of Isabel, when the original is so much better. And Isobel is a horrid spelling, at least in my opinion.

We have really similar taste in names, haha.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

None of them really jump out negatively at me. The only ones I really don't like are Emerson and Finn. Emerson is just one of those trendier than trendy names, especially on a girl. It sounds so masculine. Finn just reminds me of a fish whenever I hear it. Tuesday is odd.

I like Tessa Colleen and Ruby Colleen.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

i like really strong names on girls, i think, so i think thats part of where my love of emerson comes from. and i like the nickname emmy a lot. is it really trendy?

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think Emerson is one of those names that will forever brand the girls who have it as being born in the 00s. It's in the same class as Madison/Addison/Peyton/etc. I like the name Emmy as well... maybe Emmeline?

[missmaxattax.livejournal.com]

I really like Francesca Colleen with the nn Frankie. That is precious to me.. and it reminds me of a little girl I used to teach that was just named "Frankie". That's definitely my favorite on your list.

My second favorite would probably be Kaitlin Marguerite nn Kate. I like the mn Collen better, though.. and would suggest Kate Collen. It sounds a little rhyme-y but I think it's a wonderful name.

I like Isabella more than Isabel.. but I don't really like either with Colleen. And I don't like the nn Issie. Same with Annabelle over Annabel.. and I don't like Collen much with that either.

I love the mn Gray.. and I really like Lucas and Oliver with it.
I also like August Bruno and Max Bruno.

=)

[arbus.livejournal.com]

yes! another vote for francesca colleen! thank you thank you!!

i like the middle name colleen better too (for obvious reasons) but thought kaitlin colleen or kate colleen sounded not quite right...all that hard "k" sound...

thanks so much for your input, and best of luck to you with your coming (very soon) baby!

[mizsfrankie.livejournal.com]

Count me as a vote for Francesca!
Its my name, and I've been called Frankie my whole life really, I love it =)

[kitchen-poet.livejournal.com]

Ditto. I vote for Francesca!! LOVE it, but love Frankie even more!

Second favorite would be Pippa or Kate Marguerite for a girl and Max Edward for a boy. But I am liking all your boy names as well.

[cherrysorbet.livejournal.com]

My favourite would have to be Kate Marguerite - I've always been a fan of the name 'Kate' just by itself and it sounds great with a longer middle name :) Esme Kate sounds nice as well.

Sophie is a favourite of mine too, and I was reading about what you said about Sophia and I feel exactly the same way! I MUCH prefer Sophie to Sophia!

I also love Tessa. Tessa Kate would sound really nice to me.

Boys wise, I like Samuel, Max (my boyfriend LOVES this name and has been trying to sway me, he's winning, hehe) and Oliver. Overall, it's a nice list :D

[solagirl.livejournal.com]

It is odd, there are a lot of my family names on your list. I love Kate Colleen or Katherine Colleen. (It is my name ;)

I also like:
Marguerite Gray
Francesca Grey
Francesca Marguerite

Samuel Bruno
Samuel Edward

[solagirl.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I didn't see your voting list - so I just made up combos. I also spelled Gray wrong and used it as a girls name. I am a mess!

I like a lot of you names and combos. I am a little concerned that Max Samuel sounds like one word - Maxamuel. I also dislke Max as a stand alone name.

I really like Kate Marguerite, Francesca Colleen, Oliver Gray and Luca.

[sarahness.livejournal.com]

I like Ruby Colleen and Oliver Gray the most.

[raptorgirl.livejournal.com]

I like a lot of the names you have individually, but sometimes the first and middle names don't flow together well. I think Colleen is a hard name to pair up, for some reason. Out of the ones you have, I quite liked Ruby Colleen (cute!) and Samuel Gray/Oliver Gray. I also like Henry Samuel, although I'm not keen on Huck as a nickname.