Just starting our search

[macaroon]

Hello, Berries! My husband and I learned just last week that we are expecting. It's still very early, but why not start the fun of the name hunt now?

My husband and I have been together for a very long time and have played "name our future babies" numerous times before, but we do tend to have divergent tastes. He tends toward occupation names and names that are conducive to nicknames that feel fresh and energetic. His favorites are Cooper, Walker, and West/Weston for a boy, and Penelope, nn Penny for a girl or otherwise any name that will get him to the nickname Ellie. What's interesting is that though I don't particularly like any of these names, I do understand and appreciate why he finds them attractive -- they sound like sunny, cheerful, easy-going, good-natured names and nicknames.

I tend toward names that read perhaps a bit older, although I admit they may be hard to wear in real life and also not liked by other people. For boys I like Silas and Jonah. For girls I like Ingrid and Ophelia.

We have such polar naming personalities; I'm the mellow cello to his bright violin . If you have any suggestions for us we would really appreciate fresh perspectives. We are wide open, so feel free to have fun with this. Thank you, Berries!

[starcatcher668]

Ingrid is my fave...but I'm a bit biased.
Anyway, How about Wesley for a compromise?

[jesba]

Silas and Jonah are bounding on up the chart, so I'm not sure how truly they're hard to wear and disliked by people : D. To me they actually both have a clear western vibe so they could fit in with the cowboy names, although the cowboy names are much more surname-y.

Wyatt came to mind for you guys immediately. Noah too. Then Nolan. Then Wesley.

Ingrid and Ophelia...rarer, but I don't think of them old and hard to wear. Ophelia maybe a little bit because it's tragic, but I do think it's very beautiful. I've always preferred Odelia. Penelope and Ophelia have a similar feel to me, you guys maybe could find common ground. How do you both feel about Persephone?

I went to nymbler and tried Silas, Jonah, Cooper, Walker, West, and Weston for boys. Some of the better suggestions and why I think they're better are:

Asher - Biblical name that works on a cowboy, sounds surnameish.
Benjamin - Biblical name that sounds cowboyish with the nn Ben. Plus if he he likes Penny, maybe he likes Benny.
Colton - surname-y name with the O from Jonah
Jude - Bible-based name that works on a cowboy. Which made me immediately think of Luke.
Levi - a cowboy name because of the jeans, but also an "old-mannish" Bible name. Because of this, maybe you'd both like Eli? Elias? Although that might rule out some Ellie names for him.
Owen - takes the O from Jonah but puts it in a surname-y name.
Wylie - cowboy name that has some sounds from Silas

Any of those sticking? There are more but that's a starting point.

For girls I typed in Penelope, Ellie, Ophelia, and Ingrid. Suggestions I liked and why included:

Adela - rare vowel name that has "el" in it.
Antonia - unpopular like your taste, feels Western because of My Antonia, vowel name and elaborate like Penelope.
Celia - similar feel to Ophelia, but the nn Celie is very cowgirl to me.
Hazel - to me has a similar vibe to Ingrid, has 'el' in it and feels like a cowgirl.
Iris - a vowel name like 3 of them, and it's old-lady-turned chic like Penelope.

I realize btw that the cowboy thing wasn't clearly stated for girls (i.e. it's not clear he likes cowgirl/western girls names. But Penny and Ellie fit that mold to me).

Also working across genders Ingrid makes me think of Ingram, which is a surname that feels cowboyish to me. The nn Ingo is wonderful IMO. Ingram makes me think of Bingham. Bing is old man because of Bing Crosby, and yet zippy and young.

Ingrid and cowgirl/Western makes me Indigo and India.

Good luck!

[lilysong]

If he loves the nn Ellie for a girl, you've got lots of more "serious" options at your disposal:
Eliana nn options; Ellie, Lili, Ana (this is #1 on my list right now for girls, my mom's name is Eleanor, goes by Ellie, and when I told her about this name, she was worried about the confusion 2 Ellies would cause in the family)
Eleanor nn options; Ellie, Lenore, Nora, Nellie etc.
Elizabeth nn options; Ellie, Liz, Lizbeth, Beth, Betty, Betsy, Elsa, Elsie, etc.
Eloise
Elodie
Elaine
These names are classic and traditional but have lots of sunny, bright nicknames associated with them.

For boys... I always find boys names a lot harder. I'll have to think about that one some more.


etc.

[macaroon]

starcatcher668 - I think Ingrid is great. If it is your given name, then hats of to the people who named you.

jesba - I'm glad Silas and Jonah aren't seen as too out there. I didn't see the cowboy/western thread between our names before, so thank you for pointing it out. The Mr. and I have a common ground after all I texted Wyatt to my husband and he is fully on board.
I think you have our tastes pegged since we did bat Cecelia/Celia around although it hasn't stuck yet, and DH did mention Bingham! Ingo is quite a bouncy little nickname. I think I'll put Iris on the "to discuss" list.

lilysong - Thank you for pointing out Lenore (what if it's spelled Leonore?). I couldn't think of much aside from Eleanor and Elizabeth as a gateway to Ellie, so thank you for the ideas!

Thank you for your help with our budding lists. Thus far, in no particular order, we have:

Boys - Wyatt, Cooper, Silas, Jonah

Girls - Ingrid, Ophelia, Iris, revisit Cecelia/Celia

Thanks again. This is a great starting point.

[sunshine.10]

Ooh, I think you might both love Eliora!

Some other ideas:
Elsa
Marta
Felicity
Avonlea

For boys:
Gideon
Charlton

[leonielee]

Ingrid is amazing! If we're ever lucky enough to have a second daughter, her name will definitely be Ingrid! I also love Silas. The only one on your list that might be "hard to wear" is Ophelia.

[llama_lord]

As far as boy's names go, I would suggest maybe finding an older name with a easy-going nickname?

Such as:
Leonard/Leonardo - nn Leo
Abraham - nn Abe or Bram

By the way, I love Jonah! Kind of goes with the western thing your husband has going!


For girls, maybe some feminine antique type names? Like:

Celia - Alot like Ophelia, but in my opinion a little more modern and easy to wear. Plus it's really cute!
Felicity - Love the nn Lissy, but Ellie would work too


Or, I was also thinking, Shakespeare girl's names? Since you like Ophelia. Personally I find Ophelia a bit too old sounding, not to mention the character met a tragic ending. I thought of the name Miranda, which is from Shakespeare's The Tempest.


But those are just some suggestions, hopefully that helps!