Baby name consultant: Baby Borobia Take 2!

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What feels like waaaay back, in November, before Thanksgiving even, I posted a name consultation for Dwija’s eighth baby with some fun ideas for both boys and girls.

Since then, she and her husband have found out their wee one is a little lady baby! And when I saw on her IG post announcing the news in January that they were still in the *THROES* of trying to agree on a girl’s name, despite the previous solid frontrunner of Helen, I asked if I could take another shot, and, gracious as always, she said have at it!, so I’ve come up with five more ideas for Baby Borobia #8.

First though, about Helen, Dwija says,

“I guess there is no really good reason that Helen isn’t the front runner for some people ( 😉 ) anymore except that I guess none of the convos we had before the ultrasound “counted.” Lol! Which is why we always find out gender- we have a terrible time agreeing on names, clearly. Tommy says he feels like Helen is a fine name but that it doesn “go” with what we have so far and it’s just not his favorite. We love the name Margaret, but we have a niece named Margaret already and another one named Maggie, so basically we would be the third of his siblings to use the name or a variation and that might be a little much, you know? We also like Carolyn after my MIL, but that breaks the no repeat first initial rule (as does Margaret!) and it is very similar in spelling and sound to Kathryn so it might be a little awkward. Genevieve is an option that has not been struck down (that is about as good as it gets at this stage!) and the kids who really wanted Gabriel for a boy are campaigning for Gabrielle or Gabriella for a girl now, but then if we have another boy in the future, we won’t be able to use it! You see the puzzling puzzle-ness? Whew! Hope all that is a teeny bit helpful maybe? Thanks so much for letting me play along again”

So my thoughts, worth only a couple of pennies as always, are:

Helen is great, still. I won’t be at all surprised if it’s the name they end up with. I know from the last consultation that Dwija and the big girls were swoony over the nickname Nellie, which seriously is so sweet. As for it not going with what they’ve done so far, it kind of cracked me up when I looked up their beloved Margaret in my trusty Baby Name Wizard book and saw its girl style matches are Catherine, Helen, Mary, Eleanor, Cecilia, and Martha. Boy matches included Charles and Paul. If you remember, they already have a Kathryn, Mary, Elizabeth (similar to Eleanor with the El-), Cecilia, [John] Charles, and Paul. So yeah, Helen fits.

On to Margaret: I can see why they feel weird about using Margaret after two of their nieces have been so named. And that darn repeated initial! But the fact that Dwija and her hubs are still talking about it tells me they reeeaalllyy love it. And clearly, as noted in the previous paragraph, it’s an insanely good fit style-wise. One solution (which doesn’t fix the repeating-initial thing, but might help with the cousins-named-a-form-of-Margaret thing) is to name her Margaret but use a different nickname than Maggie—that way when all three cousins are together, none are called the same thing. My particular favorite recently, and one which gets away from the M initial, is Daisy. I also love Daisy with Katie, Lizzie, Ceci, and Mary—I think it totally fits! Other variants and diminutives that can be used as a nickname include Greta, Rita, and Maisie (though there’s that darn M again). I also have another idea for incorporating Margaret, which I’ll discuss more below.

Regarding Carolyn, it’s a lovely name and a lovely tribute to T’s mom. It’s very similar in sound and appearance to Kathryn, but since she goes by Katie I don’t think it has to be a huge deal. The spelling could be changed to Caroline to help with spelling/appearance, but then that might move it far enough away from Carolyn that it loses its appeal. Another important consideration is that Carolyn is one of the feminine forms of Charles, which the Borobias have already used in their little John Charles (who goes by Charlie). Ma and Pa Ingalls didn’t mind being Charles and Caroline when they got married (and babies Charles and Carrie too!), but it is the kind of thing namiacs would notice (if one should be worried about such things).

Genevieve is beautiful and another favorite of mine. I have no complaints! One could argue that it’s even less like what they’ve done so far with their other kids than Helen, but it’s saintly and classic, which is their basic style. (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—one of the very best things about Catholic naming is that there are so many names of all ethnic backgrounds and degrees of unusualness and yet they all “go together” because of the Church—just put your Catholic glasses on and you’ll see! 😀 )

Gabrielle/Gabriella now at the expense of a possible Gabriel later is a real dilemma! I addressed it in this post, and I really liked the way one of the commenters put it: “Which one would you be sadder not to use?” My sense is that Dwija and Tommy really like Gabriel, and would be pretty bummed if they had a boy in the future and couldn’t use it because they’d already used a female variant. I also don’t get the feeling they love Gabrielle/Gabriella nearly as much as Gabriel. I could totally be wrong! It’s a good conversation for them to have. (This post on name regret might also be helpful.)

Okay! So I came up with a few new ideas. First though, let me remind you of the Borobia Baby Naming Rules:

“T [hubs] does NOT like William because of William of Orange (true story. This is what I mean about all our weird rules!)

More rules include:
Must be a saint name but not a quirky one (no Scholastica or Cosmas, etc.)
Must exist somewhere in one of our families (you won’t be able to know this, but that’s okay)
Cannot start with a letter we’ve already used.
Cannot start with a B
Initials can’t make a potentially embarrassing word (MIB made it through because I don’t think her friends are going to know anything about Men in Black. Are you starting to see how crazy I am???)”

And their other kiddos’ names:

Kathryn Marisol (Katie)
Elizabeth Anne (Lizzie)
Paul Anthony
Cecilia Jean (Ceci)
Mary Isabel
Nicholas Robert (home with Jesus)
John Charles (Charlie)

And the names I suggested in my last post:

(1) Ruth, Rita, Rose/Rosa
(2) Hildi
(3) Alice
(4) Frances

I think I was a little too focused on Helen-type names in my previous suggestions, so I branched out a bit, looking for suggestions that might not be as perfect on paper but just *seem* like good ideas, and came up with:

(1) Sarah-Margaret (or others?)
I really hate when there’s a name both parents love but for whatever reason they don’t feel like they can use it—we all know how hard it can be to come to an agreement on a name! And to have other interfering factors can be so frustrating. So I love to try to come up with ideas of how that name can still work somehow. Sarah was listed in the Baby Name Wizard as a style match for Kathryn, Elizabeth, Nicholas, and John, and when I saw it—given that Margaret was heavily on my mind—I immediately remembered that actress Andie MacDowell has a daughter named Sarah Margaret who actually goes by Margaret. I love the full Sarah-Margaret (I’d probably hyphenate if it was me, but certainly not necessary), and the traditional Sarah nickname of Sadie, but Sarah Margaret called Margaret (or Maggie or other Margaret nick) takes it all one step away from the nieces Margaret and Maggie, even if only “technically.” You know?

But if they didn’t like the idea of Sarah Margaret, but did like the idea of a double first name, I also love Sarah Clare, Sarah Louise, and Sarah T(h)eresa/Sarah Tess (I know the two latter aren’t necessary to avoid repeating initials, since they haven’t use L or T yet, but how sweet are Sarah Lou and Sarah Tess?!). (Sarah’s a great name for double-naming—Harry Connick Jr. has a Sarah Kate, which I’d totally suggest if they didn’t already have Kathryn.)

(2) Lucy or Louisa (nicked Lulu)
Speaking of not having used L yet, what about Lucy? It totally fits in with sisters Katie, Lizzy, Ceci, and Mary in my opinion, and how amazing does Lucy Carolyn sound together??

Lucy, and the idea above of Sarah Louise, also made me think of Louisa. It’s so lovely and Little Women on its own, and I’ve long thought Lucy would made such a natural nickname for it, so Louisa nicked Lucy allows for two great names in one! Or Louisa nicked Lulu? I love Lulu, and it seems a lot like Helen/Nell(ie) to me.

(3) Felicity
So I wrote down all the letters of the alphabet that were still okay to use, and tried to think of names for each one (without thinking so much of the other kiddos’ names) and F was all Felicity to me—and that was before I realized today’s her feast day! Felicity’s such a pretty name and has some shared sounds with Marisol, Elizabeth, Cecilia, and Isabel, so I think there’s a pretty good chance Dwija and her hubs will like it. There are some fun nickname options like Filly and Flick(a), which a horse-loving girl might love (My Friend Flicka!), and someone on the blog suggested Lily a while ago, which I thought was brilliant (but I can’t find that comment! Gah!). A search online yields Fi/Fee, Felly, Lucky, Tilly, and Floss(y)—Floss and Flossy are so delightfully old fashioned! (I’d probably just stay away from Flissy, Lissy, Liddy, and Cici because of their similarities to Lizzie and Ceci.) AND – so weird! – in my search I found a mom who had a daughter Felicity and her final two choices for her second daughter were Helen and Harriett!

(4) Victoria or Veronica
I actually had scribbled down Veronica when I was doing my alphabet exercise—Veronica all of a sudden seemed like a name they would like! I think of it as sort of similar to Genevieve, because of the strong V and the common nickname options Vee or Vivi. I love how Catholicky Catholic it is too.

But then Victoria showed itself to be a style match for Elizabeth, Nicholas, and Genevieve, so I thought that was intriguing! It could also take the nicknames Vee or Vivi along with the more familiar Vicky and Tori, and I hope Charlotte doesn’t mind if I point out her amazing idea of Cora as a nickname for Victoria! I love the idea of Victoria for Our Lady of Victory, and Cora for the Immaculate Heart of Mary—what a lovely Marian option!

(5) Agnes nicked Aggie
Finally, one more Helen-type name. Agnes has been on my radar a bit recently—I loved when actress Elisabeth Shue named her daughter Agnes Charles several years ago, what a cool way to mix up an otherwise pretty old-fashioned name! And the nickname Aggie is so amazing, and so like Maggie, that I thought it might be a good substitute for Margaret.

And those are my new ideas for Baby Girl Borobia! What do you all think? What else can you suggest that hasn’t already been suggested and that follows all the rules?

68 thoughts on “Baby name consultant: Baby Borobia Take 2!”

  2. Hah! I was totally going to suggest Lucy before idea you’d already gotten to it. Lucy’s such a sweet name, and it really seems to go with the other children’s names. Also like Magda as suggested above.

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  3. Love these ideas! I have a cousin home in heaven already named Helen Carol (my grandmother’s name is Carol) so I thought of that…and also, I just learned that a wonderful lady I knew only as Magee/McGee is…Margaret! Perhaps a different enough nn to keep Margaret in their consideration?

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  4. I really like the Sarah Margaret combo! I think it honors their rule while still letting them use a name they love- just like Cecilia/John Charles. I also really like Lucy. I dont think you can go wrong with that sweet name, and it definitely goes well with their sibling set. I can’t wait to see what they choose!

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  5. We have a similar style. My girls are Mary Clare, Elizabeth Ann Marie, and Katherine Maria Grace. Other names on my radar are Jane Frances May (nn could be Janie, Janie May) and Theresa Rosemarie (Tess, Tessa, Rosie). I love the Daisy idea for Margaret. We considered it last time. What about Grace? With another name like Sarah-Grace or Anna-Grace? Or Clare…Anna-Clare? I can’t wait to find out what they choose 🙂

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  7. As a Victoria that goes by Tori (which I’ve always liked) I’ve been interested in other nicknames for Victoria. I have a friend’s daughter who is Victoria sometimes called Coria, which I thought of when you mentioned Cora.

    I also like the (I think) russian diminutive of Vica/Vika, though I’ve wondered if it is said VEE-ka or VIK-a.

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  8. The nickname Nellie is so sweet! My daughter just read a book about Nellie who made her First Communion at 4 years old and I keep thinking about her. Maybe there’s a backdoor way to get the nickname without using Helen as the name?

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    • I love “backdoor ways” to get to nicknames! I know a little Noelle who goes by Nellie, and I know Nell(ie) is common for Eleanor and any El- name really, though both of these ideas repeat initials. Anyone have any other ideas?

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  9. Don’t mind at all! I am still (only three-fourths jokingly) obsessed with the idea of having three girls named Loretta, Eleanor, and Victoria and calling them Lora, Nora, and Cora. 😉

    I love these suggestions, especially Lucy. Lucy (or Louise nn Lucy) fits in so nicely that I’m almost surprised they don’t already have a Lucy, haha. I also love Victoria, and while Agnes is nice, I’ve lately been obsessed with Agatha nn Aggie – saintly AND that literary flair thanks to the queen of mystery. I also agree that Helen fits in well with their other kids’ names. 🙂

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  10. I know they have Anne in the middle, but Anna just seems to fit in so well with Kathryn, Elizabeth, and Mary! Anna Borobia is a lovely name and works well with Margaret or Carolyn in the middle 🙂 (I do love Helen though!!!)

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  12. Amelia?

    Angela or Angelica.

    Claudia.

    Penelope would also give them the nickname Nell or Nellie. Poppy is a Greek nickname for Penelope.

    Melanie could conceivably be nicknamed Nellie too.

    Teresa or Tessa.

    Cornelia, nicknamed Nellie or Nella or Neely. (St. Cornelius)

    Frances or Francesca or Franciska.

    Nora (from Eleanor)

    Susannah.

    Sylvia or Sylvie.

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  13. I think they could break their letter rule for the right name.

    Also Antonia, Antonietta, Antoinette. (Annie, Tonia, Nennolina, like the nickname of little Venerable Antonietta Meo)

    Anastasia (Ana, Annie, Stacy, Tacy, Tasy, Tansy)

    Dorothy ( Dorie, Dottie, Thea)

    Phoebe.

    Regina. (Ginny)

    Stella.

    Virginia (Gigi, Ginger, Ginny)

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  15. I think I said this on their last post but I really love their kids names!

    Sarah-Margaret!!!! LOVE that!! So pretty 🙂 Or just Sarah would be pretty awesome with their sibset 🙂

    I find this no repeating initial rule frustrating because I wanna suggest Clare so badly!! Maybe as a middle??

    I know they have Anne as a middle, but I still wanna suggestion Hannah because they have both Elizabeth (First name) and Isabel (middle name) which are related, so I feel like they wouldn’t be totally against it? Hannah seems to ring the right bells for them for me.

    Also, what about Bridget? Very Saintly, it seems to go with their style, and doesn’t repeat any initials!

    Lastly, Teresa? It seems to fit the slightly dated vibe of Helen while still being super cute on a little kid! And super Catholic.

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  16. I don’t think they mind having a Caroline and a Charles. They already have an Elizabeth and an Isabel, and a John and a Jean, and a Mary and a Marisol! 🙂

    I like Rose for this family, and specially Anna-Rose. Very feminine and most people have a family member named Anne/Anna so it probably would fit the family name rule. I also thought of Annabelle as a way to get the nickname Nellie that they seem to love.

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  17. About Cora– having just named our daughter Cora Frances, I didn’t think of it as Marian, but I love the connection you’ve made. It’s a family name for us, but there is an ongoing effort to canonize a woman named Cora Evans. I called it good enough at that for a saint name (again, it being a family name made Cora an important option for us)– but I am so happy to think of the name as Marian more than anything.

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  18. Are these too obscure ?

    Gemma nn. Mimi
    Laura nn. Laury
    Isidora nn. Izzy, Zora, Dora, Dory
    Odilia : nn Odie, Lia
    Apollonia nn. Lola, Loni
    Olivia nn Libby, Livvy
    Sofia nn Fifi
    Hilda nn. Hilly
    Zita nn ???

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  19. We have a similar style, being that all 3 of my girls share a name with a Borobia! My current favs are Jane Frances and Theresa Rose (or Rosemarie Therese). I like the nicknames Janie, Tess, and Rosie! I also love double names like Anna-Clare or Sarah-Grace or Abby-Mae, and each of those seem like style matches, at least to me since I have girls with Clare and Grace as middle names 🙂 Happy naming, Dwija! Can’t wait to see what you choose!

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  20. We have similar rules and similar styles! However, I am at a COMPLETE loss on girls names. We would use Louisa if it didn’t break our biggest rule. I also tried to get Helen on our running list. I’ve had more success with Helena but it’s still just outside the list. Victoria nn Cora is lovely.
    I also like Gemma suggested by Dutch but I know my husband would nix it and I think Tommy Borobia might too.

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  21. I love the names Helen, Alice, and Agnes from what I’ve seen in this post. They may not be the best style matches for them (I’d say Margaret really is), but they’re each so beautiful.

    One of my closest friends from college is named Laura Ellen (double first name, she has a different middle name), and goes by Nell. She’s very beautiful and blonde, as well as brilliant, so it transformed the name Nell in my mind from country-granny to chic.

    Also so funny about the log post you came across with the Felicity + Helen or Harriett family! My grandmothers were named Helen and Harriett (two t’s)! I now have a niece Helen and I do love the name Harriet (one t), but I couldn’t use it unfortunately for complicated family reasons. Maybe a grandchild one day! Or a chicken! Chickens are my new way to try to use names I couldn’t use for a child.

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  24. I’m partial to Margaret myself, having one of my own (NN: Margo). I love the options for Felicity though. And you can never go wrong with Lucy.

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  25. Sanctanomina wrote : ” … Okay, my big head-scratcher isn’t name-related, but I frequently write “haha” in texts to everyone I text with, and every.single.time. autocorrect wants to change it to “Haag.” ????? …”

    Is your autocorrect set on the Dutch language, because ‘haag’ in Dutch means ‘hedge’

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    • Hahahahaha ohhhh mygosh this made me laugh so hard!! I knew it was a Dutch word but I didn’t know what it meant … and why the capital H? I don’t think my autocorrect’s set on Dutch since it changes other things to correct English words, but thanks for the thought! 😀

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