narrowing it down...

[chadwah.livejournal.com]

 I'm due December 22nd, and we're not going to find out the gender ahead of time, so we're trying to get a definite choice picked out for a boy and for a girl.

We've narrowed it down to just a few options, although we're not closed off to suggestions for middle names.  

For a boy:

Josiah Frost
Josiah Birch

For a girl:

Elspeth Dove
Elspeth Teshuah ("teshuah" is Hebrew for "deliverance")
Elspeth Eden

Lisbeth Dove
Lisbeth Teshuah 
Lisbeth Eden (less keen on this, as it gives her weird initials -- but so does our first daughter's name...)


Relevant info:
Our last name begins with a 'G,' ends with an 'ee' sound, and is Irish and three syllables long.  We have one daughter, 14 months, named Ezra Grace.  We're Christians, and our ethnic backgrounds include Ashkenazi Jewish, Irish, Scottish, German, and probably some other western European stuff.  

What do you think?

Comments

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

I actually really like both boy names. For a girl, I like Lisbeth better than Elspeth, and I think Lisbeth Dove sounds the best.

[chadwah.livejournal.com]

My one concern about Lisbeth is how much it may be tied to those Stieg Larson novels -- I haven't read them, and don't want people to think I named her after that character.... but I don't think it would dog the name too long.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

I haven't read them, and I didn't even know that was a character's name. I do think of literary things when I read these names, but they're obscure ones from my childhood, so most people probably won't think of them. I think you're safe :)

[chadwah.livejournal.com]

Which literary things does it make you think of? Because Lisbeth reminds me of Lisbeth Zwerger, the illustrator, and Elspeth reminds me of (and this is why we thought of it in the first place) the little sister of the main character of J.M. Barrie's Sentimental Tommy -- I was wondering if Sentimental Tommy is the obscure literary thing you're referring to...

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

Nope, to both. :)

I had a lot of audiobooks when I was a kid, so I get random lines/names stuck in my head from the books I listened to. On my recording of The Secret Garden, Martha's sister name (Elizabeth Ellen) sounds like 'lizabeth Ellen, or Lisbeth Ellen, to my ears.

As for Elspeth, it always makes me think of this one Enid Blyton book, The Island of Adventure, where the housekeeper's name is Elspeth Miggles hehe. If I remember correctly, she isn't even a character, and her name is only ever mentioned the one time, but apparently it stood out for me.

Elspeth is also the name of one of the main characters in Audrey Niffenegger's newest book, Her Fearful Symmetry.

[spaceandclouds.livejournal.com]

I have read them, and yes that was the first thing I thought of. The Lisbeth character in those novels may look weird and wild, but she's amazingly strong, loyal and caring. So in that respect, it's not such a bad thing if people link it to her.

Having said that, in five years people probably won't make the connection anymore, and besides, it's a really nice name.

[laminy.livejournal.com]

I like Josiah Birch better than Frost. For the girls, I like Elspeth better than Lisbeth, and Elspeth Dove the best out of all of them.

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

This exactly.

[sal_amanda]

I think all your choices are really cool. I'm undecided on the boy names, but maybe I like Josiah Birch better by a smidge. I think my favorite for a girl is Elspeth Eden, but like I said, they're all great.

[blosmbee.livejournal.com]

I like frost better than birch.
I like lisbeth better than elspeth, and like Eden or Dove but don't like Teshuah. I'm not familiar with the word Teshuah, but it sounds very close to teshuva, which is the Hebrew word for repentance and seems a little too somber for a baby name IMO.

[chadwah.livejournal.com]

Not being Hebrew speakers, we found teshuah in our concordance -- I'm not familiar with the word teshuva, either. *But* we had planned to ask our friend (who's fluent in Hebrew) about Teshuah or any other Hebrew name we consider, as we would be clueless about the connotations of the word.

[blosmbee.livejournal.com]

Absolutely ask your friend. It's been many years since I spoke Hebrew on a daily basis, so I'm probably just forgetting about "teshuah"- google tells me it's a real word. Teshuvah is definitely a word, and it's not that uncommon in hebrew for words that are closely related in meaning to also be close in sound or spelling. I think it says something that teshuah is the word I forget and teshuvah is the one I remember. My time at dayschool certainly emphasized one over the other! ;)

[my-little-voice.livejournal.com]

I like the way Josiah Frost sounds better, but Frost is a name I've got in my head as feminine.
I like Lisbeth better than Elspeth.

[chadwah.livejournal.com]

Frost is my husband's preferred one, I think; I like Birch a little better -- it would be only partially because of Robert Frost.

[holidaylights.livejournal.com]

I love Josiah Birch - it's very distinguished sounding.

I prefer Lisbeth, and I like Lisbeth Eden, despite the initial issue, although Elspeth Eden is cute too. Personally, I would think non-Jews using Teshuah would be a little strange, but obviously that's up to your personal comfort level.

[chadwah.livejournal.com]

I probably wouldn't use Teshuah as a first name for that reason -- it would just be a little confusing for people meeting her -- although I know a lot of little kids (maybe it's just my congregation?) who have Jewish names who aren't Jewish -- Neshama, Ariel, Simcha, Baruch, Bethany...

[a-tergo-lupi.livejournal.com]

Many (if not most) Christian names were Hebrew names first, even if they're spelled differently.

[chadwah.livejournal.com]

Yup. What I meant by "Jewish names" above is those names that are considered rather particularly Jewish -- unlike, at this point, Elizabeth and John.

[a-tergo-lupi.livejournal.com]

*nods*

[bandnerd88.livejournal.com]

I think I prefer Josiah Frost to Josiah Birch just slightly, although both are very nice.

I really like Elspeth but I think it's a little too matchy with Ezra, so I would go with Lisbeth. I did immediately think of the Stieg Larsson novels but that's because I just finished the second one. I wouldn't assume a Lisbeth was named for the character.

Lisbeth Dove is super-sweet. I really love it.

[hwar.livejournal.com]

Elspeth and Lisbeth are very close in sound to Ezra. For that reason I don't prefer one over the other. I like them as names (a lot!) but not as sibling names for Ezra. For the boy names I like the Josiah Birch combination. It's unexpected and lovely.

As for middle names...instead of Teshuah or Dove, have you thought of using Yona or Jemima (both Hebrew names meaning "dove")? I also thing Tova is a very nice Hebrew name (means "good") that kind of has the "dove" sound in it, if it's the sound you prefer over the meaning.

[chadwah.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I love the meaning of both, but I think I still prefer Dove (we were also thinking of "Dova," because it sounds both like "dove" and like my grandpa's name, Dovid).

I like Jemima okay personally (like the little girl in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), but it also makes me think of Aunt Jemima. And maybe I've read too many new age-y birth books (http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Pregnancy-Book-Nutrition-Holistic/dp/1587611783/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1278532704&sr=1-4), but Yona puts me in the mind of "yoni (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoni)."

I do like the sound of Tova a lot, and that's definitely one to consider.

Elspeth in particular is pretty close -- but it seems farther away than Esther and Esme, which we decided against for that reason :)

[hwar.livejournal.com]

I agree with you re: Yona and Jemima both. I grew up using the word yoni so it's closely tied...not for everyone though so I figured I'd throw it out there! Jemima is popular in England but I think in the US it will always be tied to the syrup lady, and the racist undertones are kinda yuck, even though the name itself is really cute. Maybe in 50 years the syrup association will wane so people can use the name again.

[nothingtolose19.livejournal.com]

I lovee Elspeth! I like Elspeth Dove the most, I think.

As for the boy's names, I think they both sound good, but I think Josiah Birch sounds a tiny bit better.

[lipsty.livejournal.com]

I prefer Elspeth. Lisbeth sounds like a pet name for Elizabeth rather than its own name. I think that Elspeth Eden flows nicely.

For your boy's name, I prefer Josiah Birch.

[cerceau.livejournal.com]

I prefer Josiah Birch; I really don't like Frost, it sounds unfriendly.

Elspeth and Lisbeth are both nice names. I find Dove and Eden boring even though their meanings are nice, but Teshuah is pretty.

[frost.livejournal.com]

Josiah Birch and Elspeth Eden are my picks. =)

[lind-saay.livejournal.com]

Josiah Birch is AWESOME. I love it.

I like Lisbeth better than Elspeth I think. Lisbeth Eden is my favorite, but Lisabeth Teshuah is nice, too.

[apathykisses.livejournal.com]

Josiah Birch and Lisbeth Dove.

[jamie-marie.livejournal.com]

I love Josiah Birch and Elspeth Dove.

I also have an Ezra. Our 15 month old is Ezra John. :) Number 2 is due on January 8th and we're thinking Levi James for a boy. No girl names though.