Natalie and Nathaniel?

I'm expecting my first baby, a girl, in the end of december. We're seriously considering naming her Julia Natalie (for those of you who've seen my posts in girl names). However, if I had a boy, I would name him Henry Nathaniel. Of course, we might never have a boy, so I might have nothing to worry about. But just say we name her Julia Natalie, and have a son next, would it be strange to call him Henry Nathaniel? I don't think Natalie and Nathaniel are related even though they sound similar. Both names honor family members--Nettie and Nathan. Of course, if we do go with Julia Natalie, we could always find a different middle name for a future, hypothetical Henry.

caroline wrote:I'm expecting my first baby, a girl, in the end of december. We're seriously considering naming her Julia Natalie (for those of you who've seen my posts in girl names). However, if I had a boy, I would name him Henry Nathaniel. Of course, we might never have a boy, so I might have nothing to worry about. But just say we name her Julia Natalie, and have a son next, would it be strange to call him Henry Nathaniel? I don't think Natalie and Nathaniel are related even though they sound similar. Both names honor family members--Nettie and Nathan. Of course, if we do go with Julia Natalie, we could always find a different middle name for a future, hypothetical Henry.

I personally like Henry Nathaniel better than Julia Natalie. Natalie isn't as classic as the other three names, but Julia and Henry Nathaniel are perfect! Any other family members you can honor? Or, could you choose another name ending in -nette to honor Nettie?

Some options:
Annette
Antoinette
Jeanette
Linette
Lunette
Mignonette
Nanette

Julia Antoinette, Julia Linette, Julia Mignonette, and Julia Nanette sound best in my opinion...

I love both names, but I think they are too similar. Natalie has to do with Christmas. It means born on Christmas Day. There are lots of girls' names that have to do with Christmas. One of my favorite Christmas names for girls is Clara.
Nathaniel means given by God. Theodore has a similar meaning - it means gift of God.

I personally don't see it as a huge issue. Yes, the names are very similar (you can find all the letters to spell Natalie within Nathaniel), but seeing as they honor family members and you're only planning to use them in the middle, I don't see a big problem. I think both combinations of first with middle are quite nice, so why not go for it with Julia Natalie (lovely, btw)? As you said, it's not certain you'll use Henry Nathaniel anyway.
As a side note, I do see Nathan as a little less similar to Natalie than Nathaniel is, probably because it doesn't have an "L" in it.

katherinec wrote:I personally don't see it as a huge issue. Yes, the names are very similar (you can find all the letters to spell Natalie within Nathaniel), but seeing as they honor family members and you're only planning to use them in the middle, I don't see a big problem. I think both combinations of first with middle are quite nice, so why not go for it with Julia Natalie (lovely, btw)? As you said, it's not certain you'll use Henry Nathaniel anyway.
As a side note, I do see Nathan as a little less similar to Natalie than Nathaniel is, probably because it doesn't have an "L" in it.

Yes, this is probably true. It probably is fine to use both names in the middle. I'm contradicting what I said earlier but I just had rocky road ice cream, so I'm in a good mood. JK! What I really want to say is that when you're honoring family members, the name rules can really relax.

I love Henry Nathaniel, and Nathaniel Henry, too! :-) Natalie and Nathaniel would be too close for me to use as brother and sister middles, but if it doesn't bother you, that's what matters. Like someone already mentioned (Ah! I can't recall who!), they'll be middle names, so it's not as though you'll be calling out Nate and Nattie nicknames.

Good luck! :-)

Thanks for all your helpful input. I guess the main thing I should keep in mind is who knows if I will have a boy next, if there will even be an opportunity to have a Henry! I should probably just stay focused on what to name my daughter regardless of future siblings. I really need to figure out how important it is to my husband and m-i-l to give our daughter an "n" middle name. She will definitely have the Hebrew name of her great aunt whom we are naming her for.