Simple, classic, strong, and versatile, Jane has shrugged off her plain associations to become a short, punchy name with plenty of literary significance. Calling to mind Jane Austen and Jane Eyre, this charming choice is in the Top 300 in the US and The Netherlands, but a currently underused option elsewhere.
 
Ultimately derived from Iohannes and Yoḥanan, Jane is a feminine form of John that began appearing in Medieval England as an adaption of the French Jehanne. It's moved in and out of fashion over the years, competing with Joan, Jean, and Joanna as the ultimate John variant, but Jane is the one that became the generic female moniker (as in, Jane Doe or G.I. Jane).
 
A middle name favorite, because just like with Rose and Mae, it goes well with a lot of names, Jane has also appeared in various smoosh forms over the years, especially in its 20th century heyday, when Maryjane, Bettyjane and Sarajane were also in style. And that's before you consider any of its elaborate forms: Janelle, Janet, Janette, Janelle, Janae, Janey, Janice, Janetta...
 
Alongside its rich literary history, Jane also brings to mind primatologist Jane Goodall, activist and social worker Jane Addams, actress and activist Jane Fonda, and the briefly crowned queen, Lady Jane Grey. Then, there's a whole host of fictional Janes: Jane Bennet, Jane 'Eleven' Hopper, Jane Rizzoli, Miss (Jane) Marple, and Jane Porter. 
 
Definitely one to consider if you want classic, understated, timeless, and simple, Jane was given to 1180 girls in the US in a recent year. You might also be intrigued by some of its variants, including Welsh Sian, Irish Siobhan and Sinead, Spanish Giovana and Janeth, and the Slavic Yana. 
 
Many celebs have selected Jane as a middle name in recent years, with Lily Colins, Pippa Middleton, Jed Wyatt, and Hannah and Jeremiah Duggar among them. TV host Jimmy Kimmel used it as a first name back in 2014.

 Jimmy Kimmel recently named his baby girl Jane.

Jane

Among a small shower of rain-related names, this pure version can have a cool, refreshing image. 
 Richard Pryor named his now-grown daughter Rain, and Rain is also one of the nature-named Phoenix family siblings. More recently, 24 actress Marisol Nichols named her daughter Rain India.
 Rain also makes a nice nature middle name--Brooke Burke called her daughter Heaven Rain.
 If you want to embellish this simply spelling (and alter the meaning), you might also consider Raine, Raina, Rainn, Rayne, Reine or Reign, the middle name of Willow Smith. Or you could take the Holly Madison route all the way to Rainbow.

Rain

Honor is a somewhat more straight-laced virtue name than Hope or Grace, placing a high standard on any girl carrying it, but it's a goal worth setting. By choosing Honor for her daughter, Jessica Alba brought it very much into the modern world. 
 
Honor has become popular as a nonbinary name, given to nearly equal numbers of girls and boys but not ranking in the Top 1000 for either.
 
Probably the best known bearer is British actress Honor Blackman, remembered for her roles in The Avengers and the James Bond Goldfinger.
 The more feminine Honora is also pretty and a fresh route to Nora. In another variation, Honoria Blake is a character in the Dickens novel Bleak House, Honoria Brady is the hero's cousin in the 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon by W. M. Thackeray and Honoria Glossop, a character in the Jeeves stories by P. G. Wodehouse.

Honor

joanzstl@hotmail.com's list "Middle name for Savannah...." of 3 great name ideas: Jane - Honor!

Middle name for Savannah....

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