A reader named Kendra, who has a daughter named Aspen, is now expecting a second baby (gender unknown). She’d like the baby’s first name to:
- Be “different yet familiar”
- Be easy to spell
- Start with something other than A, K or M
- End with something other than A or N
She’d like the middle name to start with J. Current favorites for the middle spot are Jacob, Johnmichael (a family name), Jenai and Jane.
For first names, I think occupational and habitational names would be a good place to start:
| Bailey Carter Chase Cooper Finley Fisher Fletcher Harper Hunter | Marley Parker Piper Presley Ridley Ripley Roscoe Ryder Sawyer | Slater Tanner Tatum Taylor Tucker Turner Thatcher Tyler Wesley |
They are rooted in the physical (as Aspen is), but they won’t lock Kendra into noun-names (as names like Sage or Willow would). Most are also theoretically gender-neutral — again, like Aspen — though in real life they tend to be used for either one gender or the other.
These names also came to mind:
- Bryce, Cody, Cole, Max, Rory, Royce, Ryker, and Ulysses for boys,
- Carley, Chloe, Daphne, and Heidi for girls, and
- Cassidy and Emery for either boys or girls.
(Daphne does refer to another kind of tree, but the connection is subtle, so I think it would be all right with Aspen.)
It’s tricky to suggest middle names without a definitive first name in place. I do really like Johnmichael and Jane, though. I also thought Kendra might find Jonah, Jett or Jude appealing, as they became fashionable (as first names) right around the same time Aspen did.
Do you like any of the above names? What others would you suggest?
Update – The baby is here! Scroll down to see what name Kendra chose.