Mary-Kate and Ashley

The names are horribly mismatched, if you take a step back. But no one really thinks about that. With that knowledge, would you ever give twins a set of names like that -- Susie and Taylor, say, or Nancy and Lindsay? What if they were boys -- how would Johnny and Colten work, or Jerry and Kyle? For that matter, how do the names of the Olsen twins compare, in your opinion, to the monikers of Eli and Peyton Manning?

mnemosyne wrote:The names are horribly mismatched, if you take a step back. But no one really thinks about that. With that knowledge, would you ever give twins a set of names like that -- Susie and Taylor, say, or Nancy and Lindsay? What if they were boys -- how would Johnny and Colten work, or Jerry and Kyle? For that matter, how do the names of the Olsen twins compare, in your opinion, to the monikers of Eli and Peyton Manning?

I think that Eli and Peyton Manning have a good set of names. Both share a semi-feminine feel (admit it, Eli isn't the most manly name around), yet seem refreshingly cool and masculine at the same time. However, Eli is short for Elisha, not Elijah, Elias, or any of the other Eli- names. This, I'd say, is a fairly feminine name, much like the girly Alicia. Strange pick, Mr. and Mrs. Manning!

As I look at it now, the classic names Mary and Kate paired with the trendy (or it was twenty years ago) Ashley, seems ill-fitting. However, when I consider how trendy double names were and still are, it works better. If it was Mary and Ashley or Kate and Ashley, we'd have a problem, but the double name Mary-Kate, in its own way, seems right at home paired with Ashley. The weird thing is that Mary-Kate Olsen appears to be her full name, whereas Ashley is Ashley Fuller Olsen.

I am a twin, and I've always felt that my name, Lauren - an uber-popular name of the nineties - was mismatched with my sister's elegant, classic, feminine (not to mention family) name, Sarah. However, this to me doesn't seem as bad as Susie and Taylor or Nancy and Lindsay...

Most twins I've come across have fairly well-matched names: Emily and Anna, Rohan and Bayan, Taylor (B) and Barrett, Kirby (G) and Riley (B), Claire and Gregory, Michael and Patrick, and then there are my distant (deceased) twin relatives, Esther and Lester and Gary and Larry - creative!

As I've said before on here, if I every have twins, GG will be Lydia and Charlotte, BB will be Henry and Nathaniel, and BG will be Lydia and Henry - I think these names are all well-matched, yes?

I think maybe because I grew up watching them, Mary-Kate and Ashley fit well for me. It does seem odd that Mary-Kate is her full name and Ashley has a middle name.

I like Peyton and Eli together. I went to Ole Miss, so I kind of have a soft spot for the Mannings. I didn't, however, know it was short for Elisha! Not very modern for a guy's name. Their older brother is Cooper, which seems like a great southern name to me.

I could never rhyme twins like Gary and Larry. I think the ones you chose "match" well though!

Edit: Lemon, I thought you meant that Eli itself is only nickname for Elisha, which confused me. I just realized you meant that Eli's real name is Elisha! I can't believe it! Yes, it's a man's name, but it's so feminine! I had no idea that he's really Elisha Manning! Thanks for the info... :-) (Just ignore what I wrote below.Sorry about that!) :-)

Lemon, Eli isn't only a nickname for Elisha; it's a male Biblical name in and of itself. (Pam and Linda refer to it as a "solid Biblical name.") Eli and Elisha actually have different meanings, with Eli meaning "ascension" and Elisha meaning "God is my salvation."

I was always bothered by the pairing of Mary-Kate with Ashley, too! I remember the first time I heard their names, thinking, "Huh?" :-)

As for Peyton and Eli, I don't think they're a good pairing, with Eli being a clearly masculine name (not to mention a Biblical classic) and Peyton being unisex and trendy. That said, I think they're very handsome brothers! :-)

Edit: Now that I know that Eli is a nickname for Elisha Manning, I think that the feminity of both Peyton and Elisha work together, but the styles are way too different for me.

Take care!