So Many Baby Girl Names!
With our two sons Fitzgerald, right, and Oliver, left. tbqh Matt and I agonized over both of their names! Photo by Lindsay Wiser
After birth of our first son, while we were all still in the hospital, a new nurse came to check on him. “What’s his name?” she asked, smiling at the baby.
“Fitzgerald!” Matt and I replied, nearly in unison, so thrilled at our choice.
“We’re going to call him Fitz,” I said.
The nurse gave us a huge, genuine smile. “That’s my dog’s name!” she blurted out.
Rather than say what I was thinking, which was some version of REALLY, LADY?, I let the resulting silence linger. The nurse bumbled, filling the space with mutterings about how much she loved the name and her dog. Absolutely nothing against dogs, but it was not what I wanted to hear in that moment.
Before becoming a parent, I’m not certain I realized how often you say a child’s name — or how often you are asked it? People everywhere want to know a baby’s name and why you, the new sleep-deprived parents, chose it. Anything slightly novel, including Fitzgerald, takes a bit of explaining and a lot of confidence (and/or clarifying that I said “Fitz” not “Vince”). When kids can talk, they have to say it themselves! Humbling to hear your choice from their little mouths! All of this is to say I am a strong believer that it’s a big deal, and such a privilege, to name someone.
I have always put a lot of, ahem, thought into our choices, which is why I was more than happy to share my naming philosophy (/naming agony!) with the folks at Nameberry. It’s a a fantastic site that tells you everything you could ever want to know about a name. They asked some very smart questions, including how Matt and I came to agree on names and whether it’s hard to name your first, second, or third.
As the time comes to name our daughter, I also asked for your input. Per usual, you sent the best suggestions via Instagram! So many of you picked up on the themes that matter to me, pairing back to our sons Fitzgerald and Oliver, as well as Matt’s last name, Stuart. It was really heartening. Among my faves: the folks who pointed out that both boys’ names have three syllables and offered up three-syllable girl names. That is my kind of attention to detail!
Below is an alphabetical list of your suggestions (apologies if I missed some!). Our frontrunner name, the one I dreamed up long before we started trying for children, is on here, which made me smile. But, as was my hope, this list gave me a lot of new ideas, too. I’ll be reading and re-reading this list before we finalize our choice, so stay tuned…
What is your approach to baby naming? Any guesses on what we’ll name our daughter? Share in the comments!
Lady Stuart Baby Names
Abigail
Ada
Addison
Adelaide
Adeline
Adrienne
Agatha
Agnes
Ainsley
Alba
Alessandra
Alice
Allegra
Amanda
Amelia
Annabelle
Apollo
Arabella
Arwen
Aubrey
Audrey
Aurora
Austen
Avalon
Avery
Beatrice
Bennett
Blake
Brooklyn
Brynn
Callie
Camden
Cameron
Campbell
Caroline
Catherine
Cecily
Celeste
Charlotte
Clara
Clementine
Clover
Constance
Cora
Cordelia
Daisy
Daphne
Delilah
Devon
Diana
Edie
Edith
Eleanor
Eliana
Elise
Elizabeth
Ella
Ellery
Eloise
Emerson
Emilia
Emily
Emma
Emmaline
Esther
Evangeline
Evelyn
Everly
Evie
Felicity
Fern
Finley
Fiona
Florence
Frances
Freya
Gemma
Genevieve
Georgia
Georgina
Grace
Greta
Grey
Gwendolyn
Hannah
Harper
Harriet
Hayden
Hayes
Hazel
Henrietta
Holly
Imogene
Iris
Isabel
Isabelle
Ivy
Jane
Jasmine
Jemima
Joan
Josephine
Julia
June
Kate
Kendra
Kennedy
Lark
Larson
Laura
Lavinia
Lawrence
Lena
Lilah
Lillian
Linlee
Lottie
Louise
Lucy
Lydia
Mabel
Madeline
Maeve
Maggie
Maisie
Margot
Marguerite
Marian
Marigold
Marissa
Mary
MaryAnn
Matilda
Maud
Melissa
Millicent
Millie
Naomi
Natalie
Norah
Paige
Paxton
Pearl
Penelope
Phoebe
Philippa
Piper
Pippa
Poppy
Posie
Presley
Quinn
Raina
Rebecca
Reese
Remy
Rory
Rosalyn
Rosamund
Rose
Rosemary
Rosie
Rowan
Ruthie
Samantha
Sarah
Savannah
Sawyer
Scarlett
Sedona
Sienna
Simone
Sinclair
Skye
Sloane
Sophia
Stella
Sutton
Sylvia
Tabitha
Tallulah
Tatum
Tessa
Theodosia
Valentina
Vera
Veronica
Victoria
Violet
Virginia
Vivian
Whitney
Willa
Wilma
Winifred
Winnie
Winslow
Yardley
Yates
Zelda