UNIsex and UNIque baby names

I LOVE your blog!! You always have such great ideas. I'm really hoping you can help me and my hubby find the perfect name for our daughter (due in Aug). We have a daughter named Evan Susanna. I absolutely love her name...and I came up with it very quickly. This baby is stumping us though. Here are some names we're throwing around (but none of them are standing out like Evan did):

Catherine "Cate"
Quinn
Finley
Mallory - horrible meaning though
Larkin
Leah
Erin - although I'm not too sure I want both girls' names starting with E.

For middle names, it will either be Catherine, Mae, or some form of Marianna / Marianne/ Maria. All family names. I can't decide if this baby girl should have another unisex name or could we give her a more traditional name. We do not like super common names. Any ideas??? Thanks in advance!

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Thanks for you email and we are so pleased to hear that you enjoy reading our posts - it's for people like you that we write them for. Congratulations on your baby, we are more than willing to help you with a name.

In this case I think it would be best to steer away from classical names, you wouldn't want to have one of your girls to feel envious of her sister's trendy name when she got the classical choice or vise versa. However, I don't think you are bound by unisex names. I have suggested some unisex and some exculsive names for girls. I like this list favourites include India, Paige and Yael.

Enjoy!

Jordan - A lovely choice for a boy or a girl. I personally prefer it on a girl. It's a Hebrew name meaning to flow down. But it's also a place name as well as the name of a river. Spelling variations include Jordyn, Jordin, Jorden and Jordon. I think Jorden is the more feminine of the lot.


Brody - This name just screams fun-loving to me. Quite a popular choice for boys at 70 and ranks below Evan at 38, but remains still unranked for girls. If current trends are any indication this one should climb up the girls ladder any time soon. You might be on the edge of a big trend here.


Peta - This fits so perfectly within the style of Evan's name. These classical masculine names turned modern feminine names are perfect for you. Seen as the feminine version of Peter this name also means Golden Eagle in Native American.


Asha - This name has the most beautiful meaning. It means Hope or Wish in Indian and also means Life in Swahili. If your looking for something unisex then this might be the go. She is unranked for girls but Asher ranks 208 for boys. Along with the popularity of Ash- girls names this is the perfect harmony between popularity and obscurity.


Scout - If 341 people we allowed to name their sons Atticus in 2008 then why not Scout? She is a darling little character in Harper Lee's to kill a mocking bird.


Elliot(t) - I have always felt that this was a little soft for a boy. For a girl however, I find it very appealing. Many male start babies behold this name, as well as Ava Elliot, Hugh Jackman's little adopted girl. I think perhaps Erin might be a little bit close to Evan whose sound is really only one letter apart. Elliot on the other hand sounds very different regardless of the beginning E sound.

Kellen - A gorgeous little boys name - on my list for any brothers Edward might have. However, on a girl it lends to the quite highly ranked Kelly (at 248) as a potential nickname. Meaning Descendant Of The Bright headed One how could you possibly go past this one?

Killian - Think Jillian with a K. Another ranked boys name that has unisex potential. It means Church or Monk's Cell. And like many popular names like Riley, Aiden, Brianna, Caitlin, Connor, Quinn, and Finley it is of Irish origin.

Yael - Pronounced exactly like the Ivy League school - Yay-el. I adore this. Probably my favourite out of these suggestions. Yael means Strength of God. A distinguished Yael's is Yael Dayan, an Israeli parliament member and author.

Paige - Before you pass of Paige as being too popular consider this. Evan is ranked 38 whilst Paige is ranked 88. This could also be seen as unisex in a way, Paige, is derived from Page Boy. This another that is fairy high ranked on my very very long list.

Presley - Meaning From The Priest's Field this on maybe a long shot with your other names but still a possibility. Is there any chance your an Elvis fan?

Harper - Recently used by David Groul for his new baby girl. This one has soared into popularity for girl since 2004 to her position at 297. This strong name has added appeal thanks to Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Ayla - I love the end in -la names and by the looks of things so do the new American parents. This name fits in perfectly with the "Ay" sounds popular in names like Aidan, Kayla, Taylor, and Ava as well as the 2 syllable nature of Evan. Very pretty meaning as well. It means Oak Tree in Hebrew and Moon Glow in Turkish.

Logan - The first Logan I ever met was a little girl. She is a stunner too. This Irish name means From The Hollow. This might be a little too highly ranked though, for boys he was ranked 19 in 2008 and for girls 430. But if you find this appealing then I wouldn't let anyone else stop you from using it.

Harlow - It's that sweet little "Oh" sound at the end. It adorable. I also like the combination Harlow Catherine. Its a nice marriage between funky and modern with timeless and classical. And unless you have been living under a baby name rock recently then you must know that Nicole Richie and Joel Madden gave their little girl this darling little name.

Pearl /Perla - We have mentioned Pearl about 100 time now. It is the middle name of Laura's little princess, Aurora. Perla however, hasn't yet been mentioned. It means Pearl in Spanish. Pearl's are often used as a metaphor for treasure in the Bible. This has to be my favourite middle name of all time. I would love too see it up front too.

Campbell - That -bell ending could be seen as feminine although all the Campbell's I have met have been boys. In 2008 this ranked 762 for girls.

India - I just adore this name. If I have a girl then at this stage, she is very very likely to be an India. I fell in love with it after reading Gone with the Wind. India and Evan are a gorgeous sibsit. What do you think of India and Edward as a sibset?

What do think? Anything grabbing your attention? If nothing we have suggested jumps out at you please feel free to tell us and we can suggest some more names that might better suit. Until we hear from you good luck. Hope we have been of assistance.

Upholding Tradition, A sister for Logan and Brianna.

Hi! I have enjoyed reading your naming blog and I'm wondering if you can give us a second opinion. I'm six months along with a baby girl. We like traditional names with traditional spellings, nothing too unique or creative. We have a son named Logan Andrew (2 years old) and had a daughter named Brianna Dawn who only lived a short time after her birth this past Valentine's Day.For this baby, we are considering the names Emily Kate and Audrey (don't have a middle name for Audrey yet) ... we prefer a girl name that doesn't end in "ana" to be a very different name from Brianna. It's so hard to pick another girl name -- Brianna was a favorite name. Can't decide if Emily is too popular... although we don't know of many in our area. Any help or advice would be great! Thanks!
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Hi Kim, we are happy to hear about your pregnancy. However, it is also sad to hear about the loss of Brianna. Valentines day will now be even more special as a result of your little angel. Best of luck with it all :). Also sorry this took a while to compose.


Oh, and glad you like our blog! Hopefully you will like it even more after we answer your query.

As for name advice for the name of your third child we would be delighted to help. I think Emily Kate is beautiful name for a little girl and I wouldn't be concerned about Emily being too popular (its for a reason you know). It is a gorgeous name and if you really love it then it is one hundred percent right to use it. Don't let what the crowd is doing effect your choice.

Audrey is also a darling name. It makes me think of Diamonds! It also shares its meaning with Brianna. They both mean Noble. Entirely appropriate. I really like the variant Aubrey too and would like to suggest a few possible middle names. Any of these name could also be sweet little first names. But in my opinion Audrey Kate does have that ring doesnt it?

Clarice- I really love the meaning of this name, Illustrious, as well as the sound. It just feels elegant. A perfect match with Audrey which is often associated with the epitimy of elegance Ms. Hepburn. Even if it is Jodie Foster's character in the Silence of the Lambs Audrey Clarice radiates class. My favourite :D!

Celeste - Another C name that puts the usual choices for middle names to shame. This Latin name meaning Heavenly kicks the pants off Audrey May!

Pearl - I have suggested this name before but for good reason, it is a really sweet middle name. I hope that Pearl will catch on as a middle name as names such as Rose, Grace, Louise and Marie have done now.

Elise - The short form of the name Elizabeth which I think, has an innocent cutesy quality to it perfect after Audrey.

Grace - A popular middle name that seems to convey rhythm with ninetynine percent of first names.

Hope you like them! Do tell us if you would like some more suggestions or advice.