sister for Isla Hope

Hello All! I am new to nameberry, but am finding it very fun & insightful! I saw today the blog post about all of your top 10 favorite names and saw that Isla was on a lot of lists, so I thought you might enjoy this naming challenge!

My dd is 9mo old Isla Hope, and she's as pretty as a picture, stops traffic sort of baby who has been walking since 8 1/2 months and is just the cat's pajamas! She's so much fun, we are working on another!!

If we have a boy next, he'll be Grant William (William is dh's mn, and his father's name - and it's sort of cool b/c Hope was my middle name and I gave it to Isla, so he's going to give William to Grant.)

We are pretty perplexed though on a girl's name. So here is our current list, I will * those that I like, but have yet to sell dh on. That doesn't rule it out in my book though, he didn't like Isla at first either!

My current Favorites:

Marin/Maren/Marina, possible nn Marni* - I'm really excited about this one, but dh is being stubborn about it.
Freya*
Gemma*
Cleo/Clio* - dh really hates this one, reminds him of tv psychic, also we have a male sheep named Cleo, but I love it and think it goes great with Isla
Ester/Esther*
Calla* - dh thinks this is too close to Isla sound-wise, plus his ex's ln was callahan so he thinks that's too close. *eye rolling*
Hazel
Anabel*
Camille*
Aster
Naomi
Eliza
Audrey (this is dh's favorite but I'm not into it, I used to love it but feel it's too popular and doesn't go quite right right Isla)


lol, not many names on this list dh DOES like! Well, what do you all think?

I really love the name Isla!

Marin/Maren/Marina, possible nn Marni-- I really like Marina, but I think some of your other choices go better with Isla.

Freya-- I'm not personally a fan (it makes me think of something fraying) but it's a nice name

Gemma-- This is really nice!

Cleo/Clio-- I really like Clio, and it does go well with Isla!

Ester/Esther-- I don't like it at all; it sounds lispy to me

Calla-- It is really close to Isla, since they both have the -la ending...

Hazel-- I really like this with Isla!

Anabel-- I love it spelled Annabel, and I think it's really nice with Isla

Camille-- This is nice, too

Aster-- Not really a fan...

Naomi-- I love this, especially with Isla!

Eliza-- It sounds way too similar to Isla

Audrey-- This is nice, but I like others on the list better

I love Naomi, Annabel, Clio, and Hazel. My favorite would have to be Isla and Naomi, I think they make a great pair!

Here are some others:

Alice
Phoebe
Juliet
Miranda
Sophie
Claire
Ruby
Clara
Celia
Charlotte
Maeve
Fiona
Adele
Eva

I LOVE Grant William and Isla Hope magic naming by you. Well done.

Aster and Isla is nice but not wow.

Camille is nice but with Isla there seem to be too many "l's".

Marin is pretty and keeps the sea/island theme.

I would never give a child a name that says No or Nay eg Naomi.

I like Calista but it will probably be ditched if DH's ex had this kind of name.

Otherwise

Alicia and Isla
Kate and Isla
Tessa and Isla
Chloe and Isla, not sold on Cleo
Juliet and Isla
Belle and Isla
Maeve and Isla
Deidre and Isla
Lucinda and Isla, Lucinda Caroline (or Joy meaning of Caroline)
Miranda and Isla
Cressida and Isla
Bridget and Isla
Julia and Isla

I love your baby girl's name, and your description of her made me smile. :-) She's sounds like such a sweetheart. :-)

I think that Grant William is very handsome, by the way.

From your girls' names, I think that Camille really captures Isla's exotic-yet-familiar feel.


Some more you may like (and I apologize for not paying closer attention to the previous suggestions):

Aveline (Irish name)
Aurora
Beatrix
Daphne
Genevieve (nn Evie)
Juliet
Mirabelle
Miranda
Phoebe
Penelope (nn Poppy or Nell)
Rosalie
Vivienne

Good luck! :-)

Marin/Maren/Marina, possible nn Marni*: I know a lovely Marin, and think the name works well with Isla.

Freya*: I unfortunately think of frayed fabric, but I know that a lot of people really love this name.

Gemma*: I think it's beautiful and can see it with Isla, too. I wonder if it may be mistaken with Jenna. Hmm...

Cleo/Clio* : I love it (and as a nickname for Clementine), but if you have a sheep named Cleo, I think I'd go with something else.

What about Cora?

Ester/Esther*: I think some of your more exotic names work better with Isla.

Calla*: I really love this name, but I know I'd personally mix it up with Isla, calling her Cisla (with a hard C) if I were calling them both to dinner.

Hazel: I love this name so much, I can better see some of your other names with Isla. Hazel feels a lot mustier to me than the frillier Isla.

Anabel* I love the name Annabelle/Annabel, but with only one N, I'd pronounce it Onna-bel, as opposed to Anna-bell, which may be what you're going for.

Camille*: I think this name is AMAZING, and I love it with Isla.

Aster: I think it's beautiful, but I'd personally worry about "a$$" teasing because of the name's beginning. Also, if you add a D to the end, which I can see kids doing, it sounds like two not very nice words.

Naomi: I think it's really pretty, but I can better see some other names, like Camille, with Isla.

Eliza: I LOVE this name, too, but it's too close to Isla to me because of the long I.

Audrey: I think it's so pretty, but I'm with you! I can better see some of the other names with Audrey.

I really love your list! :-)

Good luck!

kellihope wrote:Hello All! I am new to nameberry, but am finding it very fun & insightful! I saw today the blog post about all of your top 10 favorite names and saw that Isla was on a lot of lists, so I thought you might enjoy this naming challenge!

My dd is 9mo old Isla Hope, and she's as pretty as a picture, stops traffic sort of baby who has been walking since 8 1/2 months and is just the cat's pajamas! She's so much fun, we are working on another!!

If we have a boy next, he'll be Grant William (William is dh's mn, and his father's name - and it's sort of cool b/c Hope was my middle name and I gave it to Isla, so he's going to give William to Grant.)

We are pretty perplexed though on a girl's name. So here is our current list, I will * those that I like, but have yet to sell dh on. That doesn't rule it out in my book though, he didn't like Isla at first either!

My current Favorites:

Marin/Maren/Marina, possible nn Marni* - I'm really excited about this one, but dh is being stubborn about it.
Freya*
Gemma*
Cleo/Clio* - dh really hates this one, reminds him of tv psychic, also we have a male sheep named Cleo, but I love it and think it goes great with Isla
Ester/Esther*
Calla* - dh thinks this is too close to Isla sound-wise, plus his ex's ln was callahan so he thinks that's too close. *eye rolling*
Hazel
Anabel*
Camille*
Aster
Naomi
Eliza
Audrey (this is dh's favorite but I'm not into it, I used to love it but feel it's too popular and doesn't go quite right right Isla)


lol, not many names on this list dh DOES like! Well, what do you all think?

Isla is too close for Eliza, just my thinking...

I think the best name to go with Isla is Fiona! Fiona Camille would be pretty! Others I like with Isla are Blair, Catriona, Greer, Lorna, Mairi (Mary), Marnie, and Skye...

I love the names Cleo and Isla together, I think they're so cute. Hopefully you can convince your husband to use that.
I love Isla and Hazel together, I think they're so cute. They're both classic and pretty.
Maren was on my favorites for awhile, and I think that Isla and Maren go so well together.
I also like Isla and Anabel together, although personally I prefer it spelled Annabel.
Isla and Audrey would be super cute, but Audrey is a little too popular for Isla. Maybe Audra?
I love and adore the name Eliza, but I think Isla and Eliza are too similar to use :(

My favorites along with some suggestions:
Isla & Cleo
Isla & Annabel
Isla & Hazel
Isla & Audra
Isla & Eleanor
Isla & Maren
Isla & Rosalie
Isla & Olive
Isla & Juliet

Your daughter sounds adorable - you have my belated congratulations! Isla Hope is a lovely name, too.

Marin/Maren/Marina, possible nn Marni* - I think Marina goes quite well with Isla, and is very pretty.
Freya* - I adore Freya, and think Isla and Freya are just similar enough to make perfect sisters, but not too much so.
Gemma* - I personally prefer some of your other names, but Isla and Gemma do make lovely names for sisters.
Cleo/Clio* - I like this one, but I think some of your other options are better with Isla, personally.
Ester/Esther*- I adore this one, and think it goes quite well with Isla, despite their having somewhat different feels.
Calla* - this is quite close in sound to Isla ... not so close that if you both loved it it would be a huge problem, but close enough that I prefer some of your other choices.
Hazel - pretty, and very nice with Isla.
Anabel* - I feel this is too long to go with Isla, personally, but it is pretty.
Camille* - for some reason this doesn't feel right with Isla to me.
Aster - personally, I prefer Esther, especially as it avoids the 'ass' teasing. It also seems a little modern to go with Isla, but that is just my opinion.
Naomi - quite pretty, and it goes reasonably well with Isla, but it's not as stunning as some of your other options.
Eliza - I feel that this is really too close to Isla, unfortunately.
Audrey - it is quite popular but I wouldn't say it was too popular (although I don't live in the US). It is such a lovely, classic name, and I think it goes well with Isla.

My favourites would have to be :
Isla and Freya
Isla and Hazel
Isla and Esther.

Others you may like :
Clara
Nola
Poppy.

Have you thought about middle names yet? How about another virtue name? Faith and Grace are very popular at the moment, but there are some other lovely choices out there - Verity is one of my favourites, and there is also Serena/Serenity, or, if you wanted to stick to one syllable, I adore Joy and Blythe.

Good luck!

twinkle wrote:
Have you thought about middle names yet? How about another virtue name? Faith and Grace are very popular at the moment, but there are some other lovely choices out there - Verity is one of my favourites, and there is also Serena/Serenity, or, if you wanted to stick to one syllable, I adore Joy and Blythe.

Good luck!

Dh is pretty set on having a "meaning" mn, his favs are Joy and Faith - I personally think its a little too cutesy, but I'm willing to let him have his way on it. I like to pick the first name and then find a mn that goes with it, I don't understand how people do it the other way around, I think it would make the job of picking a first name a lot trickier.

kellihope wrote:

twinkle wrote:
Have you thought about middle names yet? How about another virtue name? Faith and Grace are very popular at the moment, but there are some other lovely choices out there - Verity is one of my favourites, and there is also Serena/Serenity, or, if you wanted to stick to one syllable, I adore Joy and Blythe.

Good luck!

Dh is pretty set on having a "meaning" mn, his favs are Joy and Faith - I personally think its a little too cutesy, but I'm willing to let him have his way on it. I like to pick the first name and then find a mn that goes with it, I don't understand how people do it the other way around, I think it would make the job of picking a first name a lot trickier.

What did you think of Caroline meaning Joy?