A reader named Jessica has a son named Atticus and is expecting her second baby at the end of February. Here’s what she says:
We don’t know the gender of this baby, but we have already agreed on a boy’s name (which I can’t share–sorry!–because my husband and I have agreed not to tell anyone), but we have yet to agree on a girl’s name. We’ve come up with several ideas (Annaliese, Piper, Penelope, Evelyn), but nothing seems to fit. Generally, we like less common names with a bit of history to them. Definitely nothing trendy or “made up.” Also, no names starting with a “B” since the child’s last name will begin with a “B” and I’m not keen on the combination. We are pretty flexible on middle names, so I’m not worried about that. Hope you can help! Thanks!
Here are some ideas to kick things off:
|
Anastasia Camille Celia Daphne Genevieve Helen Imogen |
Ione Linnea Luna Millicent Naomi Phronie (Sophronia) Pippa (Philippa) |
Rhea Romy (Rosemary) Rosalind Sabine Tamar Venetia Winifred |
Do you like any of these with Atticus? What other girl names would you suggest to Jessica?
do you want to stick with a Greek set? Athena, Lydia, Fotini (a landlord once upon a time), Melissa (I know, overused, but…), plus many on Nancy’s list work.
Are you looking for a certain sound? DH and I finally figured out that we liked the emphasis on the 2nd syllable better.
C has a good point about sound and emphasis. Although all of my kids are different that way…
I love Linnea and Tamar on this list. Other ‘odd’ names that come to mind…Aelita, Pilar, Francine, Xenia, Esme, Ursula.
I think Josephine or Emmeline sound great with Atticus.
I love Sophronia! My own list has Sophonisba on it. I think Sophronia is possibly even prettier, but Sophonisba has greater personal significance, and the spouse likes the Sophie nickname option, so it won out for us.
I don’t think Atticus is really that “out there” in all locations. It’s pretty popular locally in that I’ve met multiple little boys with the name. Hermione shares the Greek and very accessible natures of Atticus, but might be too much Young Adult Literature in one go.
Daphne? Freya? Lorelei?
If you don’t mind another “A” name, I think Arden, Ariadne, or Astrid would be really lovely with Atticus. The Shakespeare reference for Arden is lovely; Ariadne and the Greek Mythology references; Astrid brings to mind the author of Pippi Longstocking and has a nice meaning.
Other names:
Freya
Clella
Sonnet
Rhiannon
Portia
Ramona
Nora(h)
Delilah
Liadan
Cosette
Isadora
Phoebe
@Maria – I almost included Astrid in the post, but ended up omitting it for that very reason–not sure if Jessica wants another a-name or not, so I didn’t want to suggest too many.
my grandmother’s name was Ione Millicent! My great grandparents let her uncle name her, and he named her after a woman he fell in love with in France during WW1. I also love Helene (my friend’s name, pronounced Hel-A-na) and Agnes pronounced the French way (An-yes). However, if you are living somewhere French is not spoken, most people will probably say Agnes with a g.
others I like: Louisa, Neva, Constance, Lucia, Ayelet, Dagmara, Lara
Also love the suggestions of Nora(h) and Linnea.
I think some of the names suggested here are just beautiful. I think Linnea, Damgar(a), Ione, and Ariadne are all just… beautiful, and would go so well with Atticus. I also like Daphne, Imogen, and Sabine, but I feel like the others just had a bit more spunk!
We have a little girl named Amelia and we’re planning on naming this baby (due any day now) Atticus for a boy or Eloise for a girl. So I think these are complementary girl names :)
I think Romy (just Romy)/Remmy/Romilly and Pippa (again just Pippa) would work really well. I would stay away from J and S names, as in the book To Killa Mocking Bird Atticus’ children are named Jem (Jeremy) and Jean Louise but she goes by Scout. Unless of course you want that connection.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions! Our beautiful baby boy was born on 2/28. His name is Zeb Smith. But if he had been born a girl, my husband and I finally agreed on the name Penelope! :)
Congrats, Jessica!