Baby naming stress!

[AngelKissedKids]

Hi all, 

Hoping you can give me some feedback.  We're sooo stuck on a girls name due in part to all the rules I'm imposing.  I don't want any of my children to have names that start with the same letter, nor me or my DH's.  We've also ruled out B names because our last name starts with M.  To add to all this craziness, I'd like all the siblings names to have different endings, so no 2 names ending in A for example.

Any advice about all my rules?  I'm 25 weeks now and feel long overdue to pick out a name!

TIA

Edited by AngelKissedKids - 7/29/11 at 5:36am

[Aliy]

never heard the name Elliot for a girl. always for a boy.

i can understand the stress that is a lot of rules and guides

[love4bob]

I remember Elliot as the girl on Scrubs, but that's the only female Elliot I've known of. I like it and think it's cute!

[the janet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by love4bob 

I remember Elliot as the girl on Scrubs, but that's the only female Elliot I've known of. I like it and think it's cute!

Yep. That's on my list of girl's names...though I don't think my husband's into it. Why not?? She could be Ellie for short.

[MrsBone]

We are considering Elliot for our girl too! I actually do like the name. The reason we like it is because DH and I both loved Scrubs when it was on and Elliot was one of the girl characters. It's also Ellie's full name on the show Chuck, another favorite of ours. So yeah, we've definitely heard it for a girl. I wasn't sold on it at first but it's really growing on me and it's the only name DH and I agree on so far :) You got my vote!

[calynde]

Well, I love the name Elliott, but for me it is firmly a boy name...especially as your DD has such a pretty, girly name...you might consider something more in line with the style of her name? If you love the nickname Ellie, you could consider Eloise or Eleanor...I think both go very well with Abigail. 

[Buzzer Beater]

Love love love the name Elliot for a girl! It's very pretty and I think it's feminine... you don't have to have the same style of name for all of your kids. 

[gumshoegirl007]

I have a friend named Ellie, but it's not short for anything.  Since you seem to like gender neutral names, Luka also works well for a girl.  My boss' daughter (age 13) is named Luka.  I really like that name for either a girl or boy.

[melon]

Originally Posted by MrsBone 

 It's also Ellie's full name on the show Chuck, another favorite of ours.

I'm pretty sure she's Elenor.

We are using Elliott for our boy, and I really wish it wasn't going the way of so many other great boy names that can't be used for boys anymore.

[MrsBone]

I recall in the first episode that they called her elliot, maybe they changed it later on to eleanor? I don't know. :)

Originally Posted by melon 

Originally Posted by MrsBone 

 It's also Ellie's full name on the show Chuck, another favorite of ours.

I'm pretty sure she's Elenor.

We are using Elliott for our boy, and I really wish it wasn't going the way of so many other great boy names that can't be used for boys anymore.

[javilu]

I like Elliott for a girl, and it actually kind of makes sense, given that George Elliott was the pen name of a woman author.  If you like the El- sound but want a more firmly feminine name, how about Eleanor or Ellison?  I think Eileen sounds really cute with your other DDs name, too.

[donutmolly]

I totally have the same "naming rules" as you!  We made a mistake with DD1's name -- it is far too similar to mine, although I still love it  -- and I vowed that my kids would not get mixed up because of shared initials, ending sounds, etc.  Which has been a good decision since they're all girls so far, and I feel like it's easier to lump siblings of one gender together.

Personally, I wouldn't choose Elliott for a girl. It's a boys' name, and I'm not fond of the gender swapping name trend.  But that's just me...

I like the suggestions of Eleanor or Eileen.  I've met a little girl named Ellison, but it's still too boyish for me.  What about Ellianna?

Or, how about giving Charlotte another chance?  I'm not sure how set in stone your "no shared initials" rule is -- but I assume you are Crystal?  Personally, I'm ok with sharing initials as long as the beginning sound is different.  Since you would have the hard <k> and the soft <sh> ... they are pretty different!  I think that Abigail and Charlotte are a great sibling combo, they are similar in style (classic, feminine) but very unique.

[AngelKissedKids]

Thanks for the feedback.  I'm really not sure about using Elliot.  Thoughts on using a name when there is already an "Aunt" in the family whom we don't want to honour with a namesake?

Thanks again for sharing your opinion!

Edited by AngelKissedKids - 7/29/11 at 5:44am

[erigeron]

I'd use Elizabeth anyway if your only reason to avoid it is because you don't want other people to think you're paying homage to Aunt Lizzie. To me, if you like the name, use it, and if people ask then just say "No, we didn't name her after Lizzie, we just really liked the name" or "It's really after Great-Grandma Elizabeth" and let them think what they want.

[Smokering]

I like Elizabeth. My sister's called Elisabeth, if you prefer that spelling. Although, I warn you, it didn't prevent people calling her Lizzie, even though my parents hated it and swore they were going to call her Beth... which they never did. You can try being more strong-minded than they are, though. :p But of course you can't control what other people call her - DH's parents were very stringent about his name being Dominic in full, but once he entered the workforce everyone called him Dom. It's just one of those things.

Also, remember, if she gets known popularly as Betty or Beth the "BM" initials will still apply. So you'd have to choose a non-B nickname. Elspeth? Eliza? Lisa? Lisbeth? Ellie is pretty, and I have a soft spot for it because of the movie "Up"... it is super-trendy right now though.

I also like Charlotte (DH vetoed it for this baby). Personally not that keen on Elliot for a girl, and I think either Elizabeth or Charlotte is a better match for Abigail, but... your kid! :)

[Peony]

I adore Elizabeth. If you know they are going to nickname the child with an "ie", maybe you can attempt to steer them away from Lizzie since "there already is one, and we wouldn't want to cause confusion".  What about Libbie, it meets the "ie" thing the family has, but is more much tolerable then Lizzie IMO. Please stay away from Elliot, I am sorry but it is really doesn't flow well with Abigail. Charlotte is beautiful as well. 

[mclisa]

I've seen Elliot used more and more for a girl lately.  I like it. 

I don't think you have weird rules at all.  My kids all have different first initials and it works out well.  They all can identify their first initial and that's how I label a lot of things around the house.  Even their Easter eggs have one letter on them and they all know if it is theirs or not.  My 2nd daughter's middle name starts with a C and DD3's first name starts with a C.  That doesn't bother me at all.

Have you thought about using  Eleanor instead of Elizabeth?  That and Abigail sound like sisters to me.

[treeoflife3]

Elliot is one of my all time favorite girl names.  Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't catch on after the show scrubs became so popular.  My husband doesn't like it for a girl though or I definitely would have it on my own short list of girl name ideas.  I keep it on the boys list though since he is okay with it there... I prefer it for a girl though!

[lillymonster]

My middle name is Elizabeth, and for a while I was nicknamed LizBeth. Not that it's all that shorter, but it's another option than Lizzie, which I don't like.

[Norabella]

Another "ie" nickname for Elizabeth is Betsy, which I like better than Betty...

I know several little girls named Elliot, so I personally would avoid it on account of trendiness. And, while I like the way it sounds as a girl's name, I am also not a fan of the girl-izing of boy names, I think one of the reasons that boy names (esp less common ones) are so hard to come up with is that so many "male" names have been used for girls so much that they become unacceptable as boy's names. (The fact that it is that way, and that it is such a negative for a boy to have a "feminine" name is of course another issue entirely, but since that is the way it is, I am not a fan of borrowing boys names to use for girls.