Hi Duana,
We recently found out we are pregnant with our third, due in the spring, and husband and I are pretty far apart on names this time around so we're going to need some help!
We already have one of each, Evey Naomi, 7, and Johnny Struan, 6. Our surname is very Scottish, three syllable, -ay sound on the end. Things to consider - the new name should 'fit' with Evey and Johnny in terms of rhythm/sounds/etc, a Biblical or Scottish connotation would be nice but is not essential (Evey and Johnny are taken from Eve and John but also work well with our very Scottish surname), and lastly I'm really interested in the origins and meanings of names, so a great meaning would be a bonus but, again, not essential if we find a name we love (my name means 'famous warrior' which, growing up, I thought was just badass). Middles will be family names, probably David for a boy and Julie or Julia for a girl, depending on which works best with the first name.
My suggestions, none of which hubs is on board with - Lila, Sylvie, Ada, Martha for a girl, Rory, James, Owen or Daniel for a boy (I also love Miles and Hugo but he is not even entertaining those). He likes Eilidh and Cara, which I really do like too but they were finalist options in both our last pregnancies so I kind of feel we should be looking for fresh names for this baby? And the only boy name he has come up with is Luke, which I like just fine, it's a perfectly inoffensive name, but I'm just not in love with it. Also I don't feel it flows well with our other two names - Evey, Johnny and Rory, or Evey, Johnny and James, those work, but I think Evey, Johnny and Luke just doesn't. It's like a glottal stop on the end of the sentence. I initially wanted another –y name to match Evey and Johnny, and to give a bit of symmetry with the –y on our surname, but so far I’ve not found one that’s grabbed me (apart from Rory).
So, can you give us a steer on any of those? Or throw out some new options we may not have considered yet? I feel I've rambled enough but I have one final bonus question - my best friend is also pregnant, expecting her first just a couple weeks after us (our babies will be besties for life!). They have narrowed down to Logan for a boy and Sanna or Nancy for a girl (Sanna as in Sanna Bay here in Scotland). Thoughts? Don't worry, I'm not going to talk her out of them, or worse, namejack them - I'm just interested to hear your opinion!
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It took me a read or two to try to see what was making me furrow my brow here, and here’s what it is. Evey and Johnny, as charming and Scottish-inspired and delightful as they are, can also be used as ‘grown-up’ names. That is, when they go out into the world, people will assume their names are Eve and John. So, for perfect balance, you need a name that can do double duty for your youngest, too.
Rory almost works, except that it’s a nicknamey type name. You could go with Ronan and call him Rory, if you didn’t think that was a total misappropriation of names (and it maybe is) but how about Davey? There’s something about it that has always felt a little gender-bendy, in the same way “Johnnie” on a girl is one of the more accepted boy-for-girls’ names. Davey and Johnny and Evey. COME ON. Then he can be David if you want, and you’ve covered your familial obligations, leaving room for something else in the middle.
Asked for a biblical boy, I always think of Simon, and I can’t help but think that works here. “Simon and Evey are at home while Johnny’s gone off to the shop." It works because each of the kids’ vowels say their own name (that’s the very sophisticated reason why). I really want to suggest Judah, but somehow the matchiness of the J-sounds highlights that they’re names of different provenance. What about Jeremy? Johnny and Jeremy and Evey?
If not, how about replicating the sound that you’re thinking of? Evey and Johnny and…Eli? (Elias/Elijah, as is your preference.) Evey and Johnny and Ivan? Evey and Johnny and Zeke? I’m not over the loss of Parenthood yet, and plus it comes from the biblical Ezekiel? I know you didn’t ask for nicknames, but I’m trying to do the two in one thing here.
Evey and Johnny and Teddy? That might be the sweet spot actually. What do you think?
Oh, and I’m calling cultural dissonance on your friends’ names. Logan is super-trendy here in the northeast right now, where Nancy is utterly out of fashion (to the point where I think it might sound completely fresh on a baby in a few years). I can buy either of them, but maybe not the two as siblings. Make sense? Sanna I love, unequivocally, but she should be ready for people to say “What? Sansa?” People don’t listen.
