Baby name needed: Girl name for Tanner’s little sister

A reader named Greg wrote to me a few days ago. He’s expecting his second child — a daughter — in a matter of months, and would like some name suggestions. He says:

We have a 1-year old son named Tanner, and we are very happy with his name. It’s easy to spell, uncommon but not weird, and sounds a little modern without being too trendy.

Here are some ideas I had:

Aubrey
Audrey
Bailey
Bella
Cassidy
Cleo
Darcy
Ellery
Fiona
Greta
Harper
Jillian
Jordan
Josie
Keely
Lucy
Matilda
Maya
Miranda
Molly
Morgan
Naomi
Paige
Parker
Phoebe
Piper
Quinn
Reese
Ruby
Scarlett
Shelby
Skylar
Stella
Talia
Tessa
Willow

Do you think any of the above sound particularly good with Tanner? Are there any other name suggestions you would offer Greg?

8 thoughts on “Baby name needed: Girl name for Tanner’s little sister

  1. Hullo,
    We have the same dilemma with a baby girl on the way – our 2yo boy is called Ripley and we like names that are very unusual but not invented variations or strange spellings/pronunciations – easy to like and easy to say and easy to spell! Our longlist includes Camilla, Calliope, Bronte, Harmony, Willow, Muriel, Briony, Edith, Clementine, Hannah, Kitty, Liza, Tabitha, Cameo and Promise. I’d appreciate any input, good or bad, on these too!

  2. From Nancy’s suggestions, the names that I think sound best with Tanner, and match best in style, while meeting Greg’s preference for being easy to spell, among others, are:

    Aubrey, Paige, Quinn, Reese, Shelby & Willow.

    I would have included Phoebe on this list if I were going on sound alone, as Tanner & Phoebe sound great together, however, I would not classify Phoebe as a generally easy name to spell.

    Personally, I’d drop Quinn & Reese for their unisex nature, as Tanner’s name is most definitely male, but when said aloud, Tanner & Quinn or Tanner & Reese do both sound nice.

    I think my top choice would be Tanner & Aubrey. Funny, I don’t think that Audrey fits at all (to me, Audrey is classic, like Elizabeth, Catherine, etc). Aubrey, though just 1 letter different, has an entirely different feel, and matches the more modern name Tanner, in my opinion anyway.

    Leonie,
    I think that Ripley would go well with Willow or Tabitha. The one name that’s on your list that does not qualify for your “very unusual” preference is Hannah. It’s a great name, for sure, but extremely popular (assuming you’re in the USA); definitely not “very unusual”.

  3. We are expecting our second child and want to name him Tanner but can’t think of a good middle name. If it were a girl, we were going with Brooklyn Danielle or Brooklyn Paige. I’m still in love with the name but given this is our last child, I won’t get to use it.
    Best of luck.

  4. Leonie,
    We are going to have a son in five weeks and are stuck on the name Ripley. Can you tell me what your experience has been. My husband is worried that there will be negitive comments….Ripley’s Believe it or not, Alien, or the tallented Mr. But we can’t settle on much else and keep coming back to this name. How has it been for you guys. We love the name mostly because of two of the meanings it has 1)serene and 2)meadow down by the river….which reminds us of our favorate place on our property.

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