How Many of Me?

I don't remember where I found this link, but it's addicting! You can type in your first and last name and see how many people in America have your name... and the name of everyone you know!

There are 7, 899 Chantals in America. Combine that with my last name (500,000+ of those) and there are 15 people with my first and last name in America. Not bad.

So what would be ideal? Some people strive for unique. They want their baby to be one-of-a-kind. I don't necessarily think this is a good thing, and I'll tell you why.

My name is one-of-a-kind. I can pretty much guarantee that. But wait ...you say... she just said that there are 15 people in America who share her name! True, but that doesn't take into account my middle name. My middle name is so unique (why do we use that term like that anyway? Unique is unique. There's not more or less unique. It's one-of-a-kind or not!) that if you put it into google you will find:

My age, birth date, home address, what I do for a living (including my provider NPI number and place of employment), political affiliation, the date I registered to vote (including my voter identification number), and the dates I have voted. In the past I have also found my parents' names and my husband's name, but I didn't find these when I searched today.

Yikes, right? Do I really want to be that easy to find? Anyone who knows my middle name (and how to correctly spell it) can find out A LOT about me! I'm the only one, so it's all right there on the first page! I wish I would've considered this when I gave my daughter a fairly unusual middle name.

My point? It's something to think about. Maybe unique is not ideal.

Try your name! How many are there of you? howmanyofme.com


-Chantal

Middle Names for Girls

Marie, Nicole, and Danielle are the middle names of my generation. Most don't think about these coming and going in trends, but they do! The over-used middle names that you don't even realize you're over-using!

The "now" middle names are Grace and Rose. If you met a little Grace or Rose you'd think, "Oh that's a cute name!" because you don't meet all that many right now. I'd be willing to bet that you meet a whole lot of little girls with Grace and Rose in the middle though! 

Not that long ago, I suggested Rose as a girl's name to my husband. He came back with, "That sounds like a middle name!" My eyebrows shot up. That's the point! It is a "middle name" name right now. Step out of the box!

Filler middle names are everywhere. Ann, Elizabeth, and Lee... just to name a few. Think outside the box when it comes to middle names!

I would just like to add that an exception to this is family names!

Here are some replacements for Ann, Rose, Leigh, Jane, and Grace in the middle name spot:

Belle
Lark
Greer
June
Lace
True
Pearl
Quinn
Blue
Bee
Brooke
Shea
Elle
Maeve (prn "Mave")
Rue
Prim
Faye
Dove

Next are middle name replacements for the two syllable Nicole, Marie, Danielle and Renee. These names are/have been popular because of the flow that a two syllable name with emphasis on the second syllable gives to names. So here are some more:

Adele
Elise
Cosette
Brielle
Chantal (ha!)
Capri
Meadow (almost... I think it could work)
Camille
Sarai
Cheyenne
Soliel (prn "so-LAY")

My next list is multisyllabic middle names. These work best with one and two syllable first names:

Naomi
Lydia
Juliet
Olivia
Athena
Abigail
Annabel
Sophia
Temperance
Romily
Annalise
Callista
Cecily
Bryony/Briony
Magnolia
Penelope
Violet
Thalia/Talia

There are a whole lot more where that came from. This is just a concise list to give you an idea. 

As always, if you need any advice or have name questions feel free to email me! piperandposey@gmail.com

-Chantal

Exotic Boy Names

This is a continuation of the Exotic Girl Names post for my friend, Christen. To review, here is Christen's boy name list:

Cassidy
Cortez
Ezekiel
Jasper
Javier
Jeremiah
Julian
Kingsley
Kirk
Levi
Myles
Noah
Pierre
Raphael
Simeon

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that Christen finds at least one on this list that she likes! Here goes nothing!...

Alaric - all powerful ruler

Antony - priceless one

Asa - born in the morning; biblical king

August - majestic; venerable

Basil - regal

Bode

Bodhi - awakening, enlightenment (boh-dee)

Breck

Caspian - think Caspian Sea or the Chronicles of Narnia and maybe you can look past the friendly ghost similarity

Clay

Cordell

Crispin - curly haired

Crosby - village with crosses

Dante - enduring

Ezra - help; biblical

Felix - happy, fortunate

Finnian - fair

Gabriel - God is my strength

Heath

Huxley

Isaac - laughter

Ivan - God is gracious

Jacoby

Joel - Jehovah is the Lord

Julien - youthful - I think I like this spelling better than Julian. It separates it a little bit more from Julianne)

Julius - youthful

Kendrick - royal ruler, champion

Koa - strong, brave, fearless - think Noah but not as common

Luc

Lucien - light - (loo-shin)

Matteo - gift of God

Nigel - black haired

Niles

Noam - pleasantness, charm, tenderness

Pascal - easter

Remy

Rhett - advice

Rufus  - red head

Samson - sun

Sebastian

Shai - gift

Shepherd

Shia

Thad - gift of God

Tibor - sacred place

Tobiah - The Lord is good

Zeb - gift of Jehovah

I think my favorites are Koa, Noam, and Pascal. Feel free to add suggestions in the comments! What are you favorite exotic boy names? 

Email me at piperandposey@gmail.com if you have any questions.

-Chantal

An Exotic Girl Name

This post is for my friend, Christen. Christen is the pickiest baby namer I have ever met. I am NOT joking. She has shot down almost ev.er.y.thing. I've thrown out in the past, but she was stuck, and I decided that I was up for the challenge. I've decided to break this one down into two posts. I will post the girl's list first, and then the boy's.

My first task was to figure out her style of naming. Here is the list of names she gave me (I included her boy names here so that you could also get a sense of what her naming style is like):

Esther
Isla
Jasmine
Leonie
Leilani/Lani
Maya
Naomi
Ruby
Samara
Selah

Cassidy
Cortez
Ezekiel
Jasper
Javier
Jeremiah
Julian
Kingsley
Kirk
Levi
Myles
Noah
Pierre
Raphael
Simeon

Take a long, hard look. Do you see a pattern? Christen and I decided that she tends to lean toward biblical names and international names. She likes names that sound exotic because her precious babies will be nothing short of that. Anyway, to complicate things even further, her husband has said no to every single name on the previous list.

Christen has also said that meaning matters to her. Plus, her last name makes the task even more difficult. For her privacy, I am going to use Kessler as her last name because the same problems exist. Names that end in -er are obviously awkward as well as names ending in -s.

I would just like to add, Christen, that you may have to give up something. I don't think the ends in -s names are nearly as bad as you think they are with your last name, but that's just my opinion.

Okay, onto my girl name recommendations:

Agnes - Esther makes me think of Agnes. I think Agnes Kessler doesn't sound terrible at all.   Amabel - lovable

Ana - grace - I thought the names that mean "Grace" would be nice to honor the Grace in your husband's family without naming your daughter Grace.

Anastasia - resurrection

Anina - let my prayer be answered

Annemarie - grace

Annika - grace

Antonia - priceless one

Ariandne - most holy

Athena - Don't count this one out immediately. My son has an Athena at his church. I didn't like it for the first year that I knew her. It grew on me and now that adorable little brunette girl is nothing but an Athena. It's a great name, and I can't believe I was so judgmental about such a great name!

Aurelia - gold

Calista - most beautiful - I love the option of calling her Kit!

Calliope - beautiful voice (kuh-lie-oh-pee)

Callixta

Corisande - healing heart

Cosette

Cosima - universe

Daphne - bay tree

Delia

Elodie - marsh flower

Evadne - pleasing one

India

Ione - a violet colored stone (ee-oh-nee)

Josephine - Jehova increases

Katrina

Lena

Liesel - pledged to God

Linnea - twinflower

Lyra

Maeve - she who intoxicates (mave)

Margeaux/Margo/Margot - Pearl

Naima

Nala

Nalani - calm skies

Nina

Noa

Noor - light

Ottilie - prosperous in battle

Paloma - dove

Priya - beloved

Rhiannon - devine queen (welsh)

Rocio - dewdrops (ro-see-oh)

Roxana - dawn; little star - Also the name of Alexander the Great's wife.

Ruth - compassionate friend

Sabine/Sabina

Saskia - name of Rembrandt's wife

Shea

Soleil - sun (so-lay)

Thalia - to flourish (Tahl-ee-uh)

Thisbe - (thiz-bee)

Zelie

I think my favorites for Christen are Nina, Nalani, Cosima, Athena, and Anina. I also love Naomi and Selah!


Email me at piperandposey@gmail.com if you have any questions!


-Chantal

My Top 10 Girl Names

This list is far from exhaustive. These are names that I would actually consider using (and my husband, Nick, would consider as well) if we ever had another little girl. There are SO many girl names that I love, but can’t use because Nick hates them.  If I included my favorite names that Nick has said “no” to, then this list would be closer to 50 rather than 10.

We can easily agree on boy names, but we have very different styles for girls. Nick likes unisex and some surname-as-first-name names for girls. While I like some of those, I prefer old fashioned and feminine (i.e. Caroline and Violet are two of my favorites!), but Nick can’t stand those. I’m also a sucker for literary names on girls.

Without further ado, here are my top 10 girl names for a future daughter:

Lennox – This is our front runner. She would be called Leni or Lex … or just Lennox. I love this name. It makes me think of The Secret Garden.

Scarlett – This one is less The Scarlet Letter and more Scarlett O’Hara in my book.

Annabel – NOT Annabelle. This is for the Edgar Allen Poe poem, Annabel Lee. Sure, the poem is dark and describes the death of a beautiful woman, but I think it’s more than that. It’s a man that was so enamored with his wife that he imagined completely insane ways that she died. It’s a poem about love, and it will most likely be a future daughter’s middle name.

Arden – This is the magical forest in As You Like It. Some people think this name sounds masculine, but I think of Shakespeare, the word ardent, and gardens when I hear it. My only concern with this name is its similarity to the very popular Aidan. I don’t want her to be one of many, and there will surely be Aidans in her class all throughout school.

Juliet – I know, I know. I warned you though. I LOVE literary names. This one is self explanatory. I would (lovingly, but not all the time) call her Lulu, Jules, or Jet.

Posey – This is a guilty pleasure name for me. Hence, its inclusion in the blog’s title (plus I love the alliteration with Piper). I’m not sure if I would ever have the guts to actually use it though.

Reverie – I love the meaning of this name and the idea of calling a cute little girl Rev or Revi is very tempting!

Avalon – I don’t know what it is about this name that I love. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’ve liked it for a long time.

Fable – Not quite literary, but close!

Sabrina – This name is kind of surprising on my list, but I like it! It’s a recent addition.


What are your favorite girl names? Are there any names that you love, but your significant other won't even consider?


As always, email me at piperandposey@gmail.com if you have any questions!


-Chantal

My Top 10 Boy Names

My girl name list is extensive, and the idea of tackling it and narrowing it down to 10 is overwhelming, so I thought I’d start with my boy name list. Overall, my style for boy names is preppy and short. Here are my favorites that I would consider for a future child:

Beckett – This name is sitting at the top of my list for a future boy. The rising popularity of the name is my only concern; hence the rest of the list… just in case since it will be a couple of years before I consider more children.

Crew – Our daughter would’ve been named Crew if she were a boy. My concern with the name now is if he’s the last child, then on the Christmas card it will say, “and Crew” almost like we’re adding our pets instead of our youngest child. It seems like such a small con to the name though, so it’s staying on the list.

Oakley – This is my husband’s favorite name. I love it too; however, we live in Oklahoma where Annie Oakley is the first thought that comes to mind for most people. Not to mention the sunglasses. Plus, Oakley from Oklahoma might be a little much. I love the nickname Oak though. This is the only name on my list that has more than one con to it. I still can’t cross it off though because it’s my husband’s TOP name.

Kip – Short, preppy, and uncommon. This name is my idea of perfection. Some have mentioned that it sounds feminine though. While I disagree, I have to keep in mind that my son will have to wear this name the rest of his life.

Graham – I love this, but it doesn’t really fit with the spunky style I’ve used in naming my other kids. The style of sibsets is really important to me.

Jude/Judah – My husband prefers Jude, and I prefer Judah. I feel like Jude is great, but it’s kind of abrupt and sounds a lot like Jew if you say it too quickly. My husband won’t even consider Judah.

Penn – The only con of this name is that here in Oklahoma people will call him “pin.” I can’t decide if that’s a deal breaker or not.

Rowan – nickname Row. I think this is handsome and preppy, but I don’t like that it’s two-syllables-ending-in-n like my son. I really want something different. Plus, my planned middle name is two-syllables-ending-in-n too, and the middle name is set in concrete.

Rafferty – I love this name with the nickname option of Rafe, but my husband won’t even consider it. He hates it every time I mention it. *Sigh*

Theo – I love the fun of this ending in “o” name, but I think it may be a passing infatuation with the sounds in the name rather than liking the name itself.

Milo – My cousin has a little Milo, and I can’t decide if that takes it off the table or not. In all likelihood they would never meet (or maybe only meet once or twice in their life at the most), so I’m not sure why it bothers me. Hmm… writing this is making me consider moving Milo on up the list…

Yes, this is 11 names. I just couldn’t choose one to throw out. Not surprising, huh? Ha!

What are your favorite boy names? Are any of my cons deal breakers?

 

If you would like any advice or have name questions you can email me at piperandposey@gmail.com

 

-Chantal

 

A "J" Name?

This post is for my friend, Julia. Most of the names that Julia likes are J names. 

I wonder, Julia, if you used a J name for your first child would you use one for all of your children? Especially since you and your husband are both J names? It's something to think about. Would it bother you if your family was Justin, Julia, Josiah, and Charlotte? For what it's worth, I added several J names in both the boy and girl lists that I thought you might like.

The girls' names Julia mentioned that she likes are Jadeyn, Janna, Clara, Charlotte, Julianna, and Juliet (although the Jul- names are too close to Julia). Here are some other girl names:

Camilla

Carolina

Cecily/Cecelia (I love the nickname Cece)

Claire (I’m sure you've considered this, but I still love this name)

Clea

Clementine (this is probably too far out of your comfort zone, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway)

Cora

Coraline

Cordelia

Elise

Elodie

Felicity

Freya

Georgia

Jane

Jillian

Josephine (I love the nickname options of Josie and Posey here)

June

Junia (This is probably too close to Julia too…)

Juniper (think about a beautiful little toddler Junie running around!)

Lena

Lydia

Naomi

Nora

Phoebe

Rose (this is a common middle name right now, but not very common as a first name. My son has a Rosie in his class and it's surprisingly cute and different!)

Violet

And of course, the boy names. Julia liked Janson and Josiah. Here are some other great options:

Archer

Asher

August

Collier (kohl-yer)

Collis

Corin

Dawson

Ezra

Grady

Graham

Grey

Greyson

Jasper

Jonah

Judah

Jude

Lincoln

Luca

Rafferty

Reed

Sawyer

Sebastian

Silas

Soren

Thayer

Theo

Tobin/Tobias/Tobiah

I think my favorites for you are Josephine, Juniper, Naomi, Collier, Jonah, and Dawson.

-Chantal

Uncommon Names

My good friend Amanda is having a baby and asked for my advice. She is looking for uncommon names and the only names she has on her list are Maverick for a boy and Bentleigh for a girl.

Amanda - I've pulled out every fun and uncommon boy name in my arsenal that I think you might like and all of my (mostly) unisex-but-could-be-feminine names for girls.

I'll start with the boys. Maverick is pretty awesome. Enough said. Here are some that I think you might like:

Brave

Crew

Milo

Dashiell

Caspian

Sebastian

Rafferty (nickname Rafe?)

Pheonix

Zephyr

Orion

River

Lennox

Lennon

Archer

Leif

Bodhi

Grey

Kendrick

Cruz

Ledger

Knight

Ridge

Noble

Now for the girl's list:

Lennox

Bellamy

Campbell (I mentioned this one in my last post - Bellamy and Sloane too - she could go by Bell or Cami)

Sloane

Sawyer

Spencer

Winslow (nickname could be Winnie or Lo)

Elliot

Colbie

Arden

Meadow

Reverie (nickname Rev or Revi)

Lux

Sonnet

Haven

Juniper (nickname Junie? Sometimes I still wish that I would've chosen this for Piper)

Marlow

Elodie

Lake

Scout

I keep re-reading this list trying to pick out a favorite for you, and it's just not possible. I will say that I love Sawyer for you though!

-Chantal

Twin Babies!

I got this comment on Facebook from a friend. She is having twins!

"What are two girl and two boy names for us since we don't know what they are yet? We picked Levi Grayson for a boy and I like Kynleigh (no middle name yet) for a girl."

Have you thought about how you want your twins' names to "match?"  Most parents match twins by having the names start with the same letter. I'm only a fan of this if the two names are names that you would use individually too. You don't want to sacrifice the coolness of one name so that it will match the other. Here are some of the ways to match twins besides starting with the same letter:

1. Same (or similar) number of letters or syllables
2. Inverted initials. For instance, one twin could be LG and the other could be GL
3. Similar meanings. If you do this it shouldn't be completely obvious. Violet and Lavender are too much. Ayla and Lucy both have a meaning tied to "light" and are a much better fit.
4. Similar style. For instance, both names can be biblical, or trendy, or feminine, or old-fashioned. This is probably my favorite kind of twin matching (next would be having the same number of letters).
5. Some parents don't want their twins to match at all. They want them to have their own identity. I get it. That's great, but they shouldn't be as far opposite as David and Slade or Tallulah and Jane. Catch my drift?

This will be fun! I'll start with your boy name: Levi Grayson. This is a GREAT name. All of these meet at least one of the "matching" criteria above.

Levi and Grey (or Gray). This is, of course, instead of Grayson as Levi's middle name.

Levi and Graham (these both sound preppy and handsome to me!)

Levi and Noah 

Levi and Milo (this is the first one that popped into my head. I love these together!)

Levi and Jonah

Levi and Callum

Levi and Callen

Levi and Bennett

Levi and Theo

Levi and Penn

Levi and Colin

Levi and Jude

Levi and Cashel/Cash

Levi and Owen

Levi and Seth

Levi and Wyatt

Levi and Gage

Levi and Grady

Levi and Luke

Levi and Emmett

Levi and West

Levi and Griffin (you could call him Fin - which reminds me of another…)

Levi and Finn

Levi and Miles

Levi and Elias

Levi and Hudson

There are a couple that I would avoid. Levi and Eli sound too close. Levi and Liam have the same problem. 

Now for your girl name: Kynleigh. Funny, when your sister was pregnant with Livvy she had told me that she liked the name Kinley too! You have similar taste! Kinley is a name that is jumping up in popularity. I'm seeing it everywhere. One thing to keep in mind on spelling:  She will never be able to say, "Kynleigh with a y" or "Kynleigh with an -eigh" because there are two spelling variations. For instance, I love the name Avery, but I think it looks prettier spelled Averie. An Averie could easily say, "Averie with an -ie" and wouldn't have to spell out her name all the time. However, an Ayverie would. Plus, nomatter how you spell a name... it's still the same name. Being a Brittney, Brittany, Britnee, or Brytneigh doesn't make your name any different than the others. It's just what pleases the eye.

Here are some options for girls:

Emerson

Quinn (I really like Kinley and Quinn better... they look more balanced. Remember - I like a similar number of letters for twins!)

Bellamy

Tatum

Campbell (she could go by Cami or Belle)

Channing

Auden 

Arden

Meadow

Sadie

Sloane

Georgia

Maisy

Bryony

Bronwyn

Scarlett

Journey

I wouldn't advice doing two names ending in the -ley sound, but for some reason Finley strikes me as a name you might like.

For boy/girl twins, I love these combinations:

Levi and Naomi

Kynleigh and Bennett

Kynleigh and Emmett

Levi and Grace (this could be a LG/GL set!)

Levi and Georgia

Please leave a comment and let me know which ones you like/don't like. I'm fairly sure the boy list is right up your alley, but I'm not sure about the girl list. Kynleigh is one of those names that a mom that likes Kynleigh may like Hayden or may like Olivia -- which are completely different styles.

Commenters:  Feel free to contribute and add more suggestions!

The Blog: Piper and Posey

I'm kind of a name fanatic. Well, that's an understatement. I LOVE names. I love everything about them. I love the statistics and the meanings. I love researching names, and I LOVE giving baby name advice. So, that's where this blog is starting out. It might later extend to other parts of parenting, but for now it's baby names! I have several friends asking for naming advice, so here you go!