A reader named Jill is expecting her third child (her second girl) and is having a hard time coming up with a name. She’s looking for something that:
- Goes well with Elizabeth as a middle name,
- Is easy to spell,
- Isn’t trendy,
- Isn’t gender neutral,
- Doesn’t start with the letter “K,” and
- Doesn’t start with a letter that would cause the initials to spell something questionable. [The only letter I could come up with for this was “M,” to avoid M.E.H.]
Jill and her husband were set on the name Scarlet…until it was chosen by a family member. They also liked Bronwyn for a time, but Jill isn’t as keen on it anymore.
Here are some of the ideas I had:
| Astrid Alice Beatrice Brynn Celine Caroline Charlotte Claire | Daphne Gwen Heidi Ingrid Jane Judith Lauren Lynn | Naomi Pauline Rachel Rose Ruth Suzanne Simone Vivian |
Do you think any of the above fit particularly well with Elizabeth? What other names would you suggest to Jill?
My first thought was Violet for some reason. (Probably because it’s a color and ends in “-let”.)
Iris? Juliet? Hazel?
Elizabeth is one of those names where most anything fits. I like to call it a ‘buffer name.’ Here are a few suggestions for first names:
Grace
Sabrina
Sydney
Christina
Ashley
Sasha
Autumn
Gabrielle
Jessica
Chelsea
Good luck! Hope this helps!
I think Elizabeth goes with just about any girl’s name and adds a classiness to the entire name. In my family we have daughter Jennifer Elizabeth, her daughter Miranda Elizabeth and granddaughter Emma Elizabeth.
Although it’s very traditional, I happen to like the combination ‘Mary Elizabeth’. I see you were discouraged from ‘M’ names because of the monogram M.E.H. But that isn’t so bad is it? If anything, the reference you cited is indifferent, but not negative. In at least one language (Thai), ‘Meh’ is close to the sound of the word meaning ‘mother’, because it also resembles a baby’s cry. But I digress. Some more possibilities:
Matilda
Katelyn
Claudine
Jacquelyn
Florence
Franchesca
Emmaline
Maureen
Georgia
Annora
Lucia
Pascale
Penina
Samara
Lovely suggestions! Thank you, everyone! This might not be as daunting as I thought.
I think it should defiantly be Penn