Baby and Jontee need names!

Well, it's 11:00 here and I've only just gotten everyone off to sleep, but all I can think about is names!

A little bit of back story is required, I think. DH and I are adopting siblings, a little girl and boy. (They are staying with us at the moment for a three night trial - it's very nerve-racking, but if all goes well then they could be living with us in as little as a month!) They are three and a half and fifteen months old, respectively, and were named Baby (by their biological mother) and Jontee (by the social workers). Neither of them have middle names, and so we have been assured by the social workers that we are allowed to change their names, as we would change their surnames after the adoption hearing, anyway.

I really think Baby deserves to have a proper name, and I have already witnessed her being teased about it, and Jontee does not fit with our naming style at all.

Our biological son's name is Raphael Cyrus Peregrine (Raffy).

For Baby, we are almost set on Ambrosia. It honours three people, (my mother Primrose, my closest friend [the mother of Posy, for those of you who followed that thread] Amanda, and DH's half-sister Amber, who was incredibly helpful throughout my pregnancy), and DH and I both adore the nn Rosie (he couldn't be swayed to Rosamund, unfortunately). It really cemented it for us when we mentioned it today, and Baby thought it "pretty".

We have asked what she would like to be called - the name she suggested was, oddly enough, not Tinkerbell, but Sofa. Yes, like a couch. I think this is probably her own variant on Sophie/Sophia ...

I am pondering Frances as a mn, as it was the real name of Baby Houseman in Dirty Dancing ... a loose connection, I know, but I think it would be wrong of us to try and wipe her slate completely clean.

Other girls' names we like :
Ruth
Claudia (for my grandfather Claudius)
Cecily
Niamh
Venetia (DH and I met in Venice)
Pomona
Clara
Margaret (DH likes, I am not a huge fan).

Names we would might use, should we have another daughter (which we plan on doing, in a couple of years) :
Dorothea
Finola
Undine.

Here was our boys' list before we settled on Raphael :
Benjamin (we adore the nn Benji, but is it too plain alongside Raphael?)
Claudius (at my mother's insistance)
Cyrano
Daphnis
Edmond (my brother's mn)
Esme (mn only)
Ezekiel (very unusual over here)
Jacob (too popular)
Jasper
Lorcan (I can't get DH on board)
Nathaniel
Theodore nn Teddy (we are already Winnie and Rupert, so this is out of the question, unfortunately)
Walter (no good nn options).

Hopefully this gives you an idea of the sort of names that we like ... Any suggestions for others, or combinations, would be greatly appreciated!

Twinkle

Ambrosia has a pretty sound to it, but (and forgive me if you already knew this and it doesn't bother you) it is the name of a popular Italian dessert made with peaches, pineapples, marshmallows, sour cream, and coconut. It's very delicious so not necessarily a terrible thing to come to mind! But, to my ears, naming your daughter Ambrosia is sort of like naming her Pudding . . .

I think for the girl Ambrosia Frances Sophia could work nicely.
Ambrosia - For you and your DH to honour all those people you care about
Frances - As the link to the name Baby to honour her original name and biological lineage
Sophia - To honour her and the name she picked (well, sort of. But I don't think you can name a kid sofa)

It would have a lot of meaning and Rosie is a cute nickname that she could use her whole life. And it goes with Raffy

Just had a second glance at the boys names and to me
Ezekiel Edmond sort of stands out but I'm not sure of another middle name from those options.

Ezekiel can be shortened to Zeke which fits quite nicely with Rosie and Raffy.

You could follow the same pattern of meaning for the girl option I gave.
Ezekiel - A name just for him, since he's too young to choose his own
Edmond - A name that represents the family he is coming into.
And maybe something linking to Jontee to represent where he is from.
John
Johnathan
Jonah
Jones
Jonaso

Ezekiel Edmond Jonaso
Ezekiel Edmond Jones
I think those two work best. After Edmond it would have to be a 1 or 3 sylabble name to flow

kiki wrote:Just had a second glance at the boys names and to me
Ezekiel Edmond sort of stands out but I'm not sure of another middle name from those options.

Ezekiel can be shortened to Zeke which fits quite nicely with Rosie and Raffy.

You could follow the same pattern of meaning for the girl option I gave.
Ezekiel - A name just for him, since he's too young to choose his own
Edmond - A name that represents the family he is coming into.
And maybe something linking to Jontee to represent where he is from.
John
Johnathan
Jonah
Jones
Jonaso

Ezekiel Edmond Jonaso
Ezekiel Edmond Jones
I think those two work best. After Edmond it would have to be a 1 or 3 sylabble name to flow

Yes I'm replying to myself. I really quite like these names.
I just noticed Ambrosia Frances Sophia and Ezekiel Edmond Jonaso follow the same pattern of sylables too. 4, 2, 3. So they match without being too matchy.

The dessert, I've heard of it, but needs also to be said - it is likely named for the original form of ambrosia, or food of the gods (to achieve immortality).
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq.html#ambrosia

Very popular in the south. My aunt makes it, but I've never tried it. I would guess the OP is aware of the ancient meanings and mythological presence of Ambrosia, though..

I kind of like it. Rosie is a good nickname to have, and Ambrosia does sound exotic and substantial. I love the name Frances and that is a cute tie-in to "Baby" and so I think the B in Ambrosia also counts her in. If she says her name shall be Sofa, maybe you can use Sophia, spelled Sofia. And when she wonders why that's her name, you can tell her she had the wisdom to think of it herself!

I have no more ideas right now, but congratulations! It must be nice to have them with you for a few days and getting them to know you and your home and Raphael, as well as you getting to know them.

If you are looking for names for Jontee, I am trying to think how you can sort of incorporate a tie-in with Jontee without resorting to John or Jonathan, which I imagine you already dismissed. J. T. Something? I think it would only be fair. How long has he been called Jontee? Have you asked him if he has any ideas you can work with in the middle?
EDIT: I think I mixed up which one is older and which one is younger! I'll still try to think of something for Jontee.

Ok this is totally my last reply.
I just realised that Raphael and Ezekiel were both arch angels and Ambrosia was the name for the food of the Gods in roman mythology. So there's another link.

What a wonderful and brave thing you're doing, twinkle!
I like Ambrosia for all the meaning it has for you and think it goes well with Raphael - and Rosie and Raffy are adorable.
For middles, I don't think I would use Frances for the Baby connection. Have you considered using baby in a different language? Maybe it's silly. Do you or DH have any non-English speaking backgrounds? Babetko is slovakian I think, for example. Or maybe add the ending to names that often means 'little one' like chen in German. Claudine perhaps for your grandfather and 'little'?
I love the idea of Sophie or Sophia for Baby's request of sofa--you could even use the f spelling - Sofie.

For boys, from your list I like Ezekial the best. Will you be moving Jontee to the middle or using something that reminds you of Jontee?
Good luck!

twinkle wrote:Well, it's 11:00 here and I've only just gotten everyone off to sleep, but all I can think about is names!

A little bit of back story is required, I think. DH and I are adopting siblings, a little girl and boy. (They are staying with us at the moment for a three night trial - it's very nerve-racking, but if all goes well then they could be living with us in as little as a month!) They are three and a half and fifteen months old, respectively, and were named Baby (by their biological mother) and Jontee (by the social workers). Neither of them have middle names, and so we have been assured by the social workers that we are allowed to change their names, as we would change their surnames after the adoption hearing, anyway.

I really think Baby deserves to have a proper name, and I have already witnessed her being teased about it, and Jontee does not fit with our naming style at all.

Our biological son's name is Raphael Cyrus Peregrine (Raffy).

For Baby, we are almost set on Ambrosia. It honours three people, (my mother Primrose, my closest friend [the mother of Posy, for those of you who followed that thread] Amanda, and DH's half-sister Amber, who was incredibly helpful throughout my pregnancy), and DH and I both adore the nn Rosie (he couldn't be swayed to Rosamund, unfortunately). It really cemented it for us when we mentioned it today, and Baby thought it "pretty".

We have asked what she would like to be called - the name she suggested was, oddly enough, not Tinkerbell, but Sofa. Yes, like a couch. I think this is probably her own variant on Sophie/Sophia ...

I am pondering Frances as a mn, as it was the real name of Baby Houseman in Dirty Dancing ... a loose connection, I know, but I think it would be wrong of us to try and wipe her slate completely clean.

Other girls' names we like :
Ruth
Claudia (for my grandfather Claudius)
Cecily
Niamh
Venetia (DH and I met in Venice)
Pomona
Clara
Margaret (DH likes, I am not a huge fan).

Names we would might use, should we have another daughter (which we plan on doing, in a couple of years) :
Dorothea
Finola
Undine.

Here was our boys' list before we settled on Raphael :
Benjamin (we adore the nn Benji, but is it too plain alongside Raphael?)
Claudius (at my mother's insistance)
Cyrano
Daphnis
Edmond (my brother's mn)
Esme (mn only)
Ezekiel (very unusual over here)
Jacob (too popular)
Jasper
Lorcan (I can't get DH on board)
Nathaniel
Theodore nn Teddy (we are already Winnie and Rupert, so this is out of the question, unfortunately)
Walter (no good nn options).

Hopefully this gives you an idea of the sort of names that we like ... Any suggestions for others, or combinations, would be greatly appreciated!

Twinkle

I really like several of your names, but I think Ambrosia is a bit too out there, especially for my taste. All I think is food and drink of the gods when I hear that one! Sorry!

Here are some that would sound lovely with Raphael:

Abilene "Abi"
Adamina "Addie"
Amaris "Amy"
Delilah "Lilah"
Keziah
Leora
Naomi
Rimona
Sarina "Sari"
Tabitha
Zipporah "Zippy"

Abraham "Abe"
Asher
Bartholomew "Bart"
Ebenezer "Eb"
Gideon
Herschel
Lazarus "Laz, Russ"
Micah
Phineas "Phin"
Reuben
Samuel "Sam"
Seth
Solomon
Tobias "Toby"
Zeke

For middle names, some of these would be cute: Esther, Jasmine, Lila, Roxanna, Yasmin, Darius, Naveed

With Raphael Cyrus Peregrine, some of my favorite combinations are:

Leora Jasmine Peregrine
Amaris Roxanna Peregrine
Sarina Esther Peregrine

Gideon Naveed Peregrine
Herschel Darius Peregrine
Phineas Naveed Peregrine
Tobias Naveed Peregrine

Good luck!

Other ideas for honoring Amber, in case you don't go with Ambrosia:

Amity
Ambrose (part of Jontee's new name)
Amandine

Primrose:

Rosalie
Rosalind
Rosaline
Rosabel
Rosamel

Amanda:

Amandine (for Amber, too)
Miranda

Less popular name for Sophia:

Sophina
Seraphina


Ruth: This has really been growing on me lately.
Claudia: I think this is so pretty...
Cecily: Ditto...
Niamh: I worry about pronunciation issues, which then again may not be an issue where you live.
Venetia (DH and I met in Venice): I think of Venetian blinds, so I like some of your other names better. What about Venice as a middle name?
Pomona: I think of the college and the city in California.
Clara: I really love this name!
Margaret (DH likes, I am not a huge fan): I like it, but like some of your others more.


Names we would might use, should we have another daughter (which we plan on doing, in a couple of years) :
Dorothea: I really love this, Twinkle!
Finola: Ditto...
Undine: I at first thought I was reading the word "undies," so I'lll vote for Dorothea and Finola.

Here was our boys' list before we settled on Raphael :
Benjamin (we adore the nn Benji, but is it too plain alongside Raphael?): I love Benjamin, and because it's Biblical like Raphael, I personally don't think it's too plain. Plainer, yes, but too plain? Not to me.

Claudius (at my mother's insistance): I think it would be cool in the middle.

Cyrano: de Bergerac (It's all I think of when I hear Cyrano)

Daphnis: It feels feminine to me, only because I think of Daphne and Delphine.

Edmond (my brother's mn): I think this is very handsome. :-)

Esme (mn only): I know this is the masculine, but the name is all girl to me for some reason.

Ezekiel (very unusual over here): I like this, too...

Jacob (too popular): I agree

Jasper: I love it!

Lorcan (I can't get DH on board): I think I'm with your husband, because I think of Dork and Mork from Mork and Mindy. (I'll work on it, though.) :-)

Nathaniel: I LOVE this name!

Theodore nn Teddy (we are already Winnie and Rupert, so this is out of the question, unfortunately): Darn! I love this name! (I love your names, too.) :-)

Walter (no good nn options): I agree...


I really like:

Edmond Claudius
Ezekiel Jasper

Other names that remind me of these:

Arthur
Arlo
Augustin
Aurelius
Byron
Barnaby
Calvin
Conrad
Conall
Clyde
Darius (reminds me of Daphnus)
Dashiell
Digby
Dorian
Franklin
Frost (as a middle)
Gideon
Hugo
Julius
Leo
Lucius
Malcolm
Magnus
Orson
Simon
Samson
Thaddeus
Victor
Willard

I apologize for repeats. I'm not sure if this was suggested, but perhaps John could be used in the middle for Jontee. (Edit: Oops! It was suggested, and I really love the idea. What about John Theodore, which would be John T?)

Good luck, Twinkle! :-)