Does this change things?

[parkerbelle]

I'm here to offer constructive criticism that I hope will be helpful to you.

I'm a college professor and recently had identical twins in one of my classes named Emily and Amelia. They always sat together and often wore very similar outfits. I could never tell the apart except on paper (their writing styles were quite different). To be honest, it absolutely drove me crazy, and I would constantly wonder to myself what kinds of parents would give identical twins matching names like that. I mentioned them to a colleague once, and it turned out she also had them in class and thought the same thing.

So the point is that while you may be a fan of similar names for twins, many people will not be, and it may in fact cause them problems later in life. Consider how their names will affect their experiences as they grow up. Clearly, you have some reservations about using these names, as you have asked about alternative spellings to differentiate them.

Finally, if you are intent on using the names you've chosen, I would absolutely use the conventional spellings for all the reasons people have already stated.

Thank you for the advice but I am more concerned with how my husband and I, and our children view their names than a college professor they may never have. Of course I want my children to go to college but I cannot name them based upon what ifs. I think it if bothered those particular girls they would have used different NNs, such as Emmy and Mia, and they certainly would not have dressed alike. I always felt that I had a closer bond to my own twin because of the similarities in our names.

[parkerbelle]

Thanks (:

Aurora, Amaya and Alana are all lovely names, and I could see any combination of them being twins with no issues. If you're looking for suggestions, what about these (lots are similar, I've included variations etc. The ones in bold are the ones I think you'll like best)-

Amelie
Amelia/Emelia
Adele/Adela
Adelyn/Adeline
Auden/Arwen
Athena
Althea
Aria
Avia (ay-VEE-uh)
Anais
Anouk
Annelies
Anya
Amory
Acacia (uh-KAY-see-ah)
Arabella
Arabelle
Aurelia
Autumn
Ainsley

Anya and Autumn are lovely! I have also thought about Cascia, which is very similar to Acacia, so I think Acacia is lovely too. Aria intrigues me, I don't know why we have never considered it before but it is certainly our style. Thank you for the suggestions!

[arilee_sc]

Well, I'm not a twin either, but both mine and my brothers' names start with BR - and that can get really annoying sometimes. When we'd get in trouble, our mom would run through everybody else's name (accidentally) until she got to the right one. "Bri...Bran...BREANNA!" And if she had had another girl, her name would have been Brenna. Way too confusing if you ask me. I will definitely not be continuing the same letter trend.

Hope that helps!

[flick]

I know several children with alternative spellings and if you look at the SSA list there are tons of them! So I actually think it is just the opposite. Many people outside of Nameberry love alternative spellings, some to the point that it is hard to see what the original name even was. As I said in several of my posts, I am not normally a fan of alternative spellings, it is just that we love these names so much that we were willing to branch out and try a different spelling in order to keep both names. I have seen Addison spelled much worse than Adycen and Annistyn was just a one letter substitution. The fact is that you are not a twin and yes you can imagine what it is like to have a similar name to a sibling, but I am a twin with a similar name so I have a much better view of what is really like.

Have you ventured beyond nameberry - in terms of parenting or naming forums? Honest question - because every one that I have frequented - and I have frequented many of them - alternative spellings are not well received at all.

I'm not even against all alternative spellings or anything - my issue is when the spelling does not make sense. A Y is not a wild card that can just be exchanged for any vowel and be pronounced the same - if you don't follow the rules of phonetics, it's not going to make sense or look very good at all. Addison and Adycen would not be pronounced the same - sure, people will SAY Addison because Addie-sen, how it LOOKS like it should be pronounced, doesn't sound right, so it must be said the same as Addison. In my opinion, it doesn't look like that person has a good grasp on spelling or the English language - it's not an insult to you at all, it's my opinion. If I saw Adycen, I would assume the parents had a lack of education. Again - my opinion, it's not meant as an insult - I'm telling you what I would think if I saw a name spelled like this. It doesn't look right at all - if you want Addison - go for Addison! If you want to name your twins Addison and Anniston - go for it! But this is my opinion.

I agree with Lyricmom - It DOES feel like you have some reservations about the names. If you didn't, you wouldn't be on here asking us our opinions or for alternatives. My biggest suggestion would be to not settle. If you aren't 100% on a name, do not use it. I settled with my son's name and I can tell you - name regret is not fun. If your questioning yourself, you probably do not have the right name. I questioned myself up until my son's birth because I thought it would go away and here I am 3 years later - still questioning and now regretting.

If Addison and Anniston feel right to you and you have no reservations, then go for it, but from an outsiders point of view, it feels like you're not 100% sold on this idea.

[pixiewoo]

Wow, I'm sorry some people have been completely utterly rude for no reason, to accuse your thread of not being legit is really out of line, and so offensive to you personally so yes you have every right to be angered. To answer your question, I think that you should keep the common spelling of Addison and Anniston, no matter how you spell them they will sound the same which was the issue people were originally having, that they sounded to close. With that said, berries tend to be against twins names being similiar or rhyming, but really its a personal choice and many many parents of mulitples choose similiar names because it links the twins. I am with you on this that I prefer similiar names for twins, in fact if I were to have twin boys, I might name them Leo & Luca. With that said if you say Addison and Anniston outloud, they are borderline too similar in sound being a bit tongue twisty. Have you considered picking your favorite of the two and then choosing another "A" name? I like Addison. I will give you some varied ideas of names I think sound good together as well as some other names similiar in feel that are more matched.


Addison & Alexa
Addison & Ava
Addison & Alivia
Addison & Riley
Addison & Harlow
Addison & Harper
Riley & Rowan
Riley & Reese

[zinnia]

If you love the names Anniston and Addison so much then by all means use them. I would much rather know that my parents loved my name so much that they could not picture any other name for me than to think that they compromised because of other people's perceptions. That said, as you can probably gauge from the reaction here, you and more importantly they will have to deal with people's perceptions their whole life. Obviously there is some feeling that these names are very very close in sound and spelling. Whether you like it or even care, people will raise their eyebrows when they hear these names together. I don't think you would have asked if you were not worried about it yourself. Only you can decide if it matters enough to change them. Also, I don't think that alternating the spellings will making any difference in how people perceive these names. If I saw two twins named Adacyn and Annistyn I would automatically think that their parents were trying really hard to differentiate two names that are very very similar. I don't fancy myself smarter than the average bear, so I must assume that a lot of other people would think the same thing. As an aside, you had to have known what the nameberry reaction was going to be, especially to alternative spellings. It looks like you have been around for a while and I knew after about ten seconds on this site that most nameberries hate unique spellings. If you want more balanced feedback, I urge you to try a different name site.

[pepperingram]

I havent read the whole thread, so sorry if there is some repeats. At the end of the day, go with your gut instinct. But I definitely think changing the spellings will make their names look much, much matchier and much worse. Having to defend matchy names will be enough without having to defend any over-trendy spellings as well. Personally, I think they're too alike. But they're not my children. Just go with what suits and fits your family, and you and your husband are happy with. Worry about other people's opinions later

But here is my two cents. Names do not generally start to sound matchy until you're speaking them often. On paper, they don't look matchy (different double letters, one 'ston' ending and one 'son' ending) but try and think of it this way. At the moment, you're speaking about them, not to them. And it may be easy when they're babies. But as soon as they're running around, or at school age, and you're calling their names, and life is more frantic, it could get difficult. They have the same amount of syllables and end in the same sound. The middle of names tends to get lost when spoken from afar. When calling one of your daughters downstairs, you are more than definitely going to have them both answer. That sounds so minor, but its just one example of how it can become irritating quickly. My brother and my dad are called Luke and Bruce and they're not TOO matchy, but even that was a nightmare when their names were called from a distance or mentioned in conversation. Because people just hear the one-syllable "uu" sound.

Secondly, there is nothing more frustrating and embarrassing than not being able to tell twins apart. I went to school with three sets of girl/girl twins, two of which were identical. The non-identical twins were called Ella and Emma. The other two were called Sophie and Chloe and Stephanie and Nicola. Guess which ones people could tell apart the quickest? Yes, Stephanie and Nicola. Despite Emma and Ella not being identical, they were still siblings and looked alike, and we couldn't tell them apart. Sophie and Chloe arent too matchy but the ending sound is the same and that hinders it. For your children, at school, this will be frustrating (i am good friends now with Emma and she confirms this) and makes them feel like they are not individual. It also makes classmates and teachers frustrated because you cant differentiate as easily. Names really do play a big part in this. Maybe it didn't affect you and your sister, which is great, but you cant be sure it wont for your daughters. Do you want Addison to constantly be saying "It's Addison, not Anniston"?

Thirdly. When I say Parker and Piper over and over I have no issue. Addison and Anniston twists my tongue and I end up pronouncing Anniston without the T so its Annison. Anybody hard of hearing or mishearing their names will almost surely muddle them up. Considering other names could be a great idea. But at the end of the day, its up to you. These are just my opinions, you obviously don't have to take them on board

What about the name Adeline or Adelaide?