Hi Duana,
My husband and I don't know the sex of the baby yet, we are still too early along. But I'm the kind of planner that as soon as we know- I want to be armed and ready to assign our baby with the perfect name. If we have a boy, we will likely name in succession, a very traditional male name. For a girl, we both LOVE the name Lainey, always have. I want to name a more traditional first name however, to allow our daughter choice if in the future she no longer loves the -ey ending. I know that Lainey is the diminutive of Elaine - which I don't mind, except the middle name will be a very old-sounding name (a deeply rooted family name). My concern is that the two names together are too old- and that my child will hate that there is no modern 'out'. I've tossed around the idea of Leighton as a first name (this has the -lay sound- so Lainey could make sense)... what are your thoughts? Our back ups are Emma and Charlotte- I already know how you feel about those. We are very picky though and don't like ultra girly/pretty names like Eliana, etc. or anything too far off the beaten path. Thanks for your help!
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I mean, I don’t choose letters because of their title potential. I didn’t. But – yeah, I don’t mind this one.
And I have to tell you that you get it! You are asking the right questions, to allow a name its full potential for your little girl. You know, if she’s a little girl.
The various Laineys that I know (ahem) use Elaine interchangeably, giving Lainey as a nickname that you earn if you’re in the inner circle. So Lainey, with a ‘mature’ middle name, is sort of a good mix of both. However, if you’re thinking about the middle name going with it – just consider how many little boys and girls are walking around these days with names like Edith and Samuel and Arnold. The ‘old’ names are the ones that their parents are wearing – nothing sounds as out of style like Justin and Ashley and Lindsay. In fact, the most old-lady person I knew growing up had what is now the fastest growing name for little girls going – Evelyn.
So don’t worry, go in peace. But don’t stress too much if people call your baby Lainey Elaine, or vice versa – she’ll learn when she wants to use each version and will let you know. So you’re all set! Unless you have a boy, in which case, hit me back. Oh – and don’t even think about Emma and Charlotte and Eliana (or Aviana, helloooo, Amy Adams). You got it in one so you shouldn’t overthink it.
