Need advice/opinions on "extra" names

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2006
Need advice/opinions on "extra" names
11
Thu, 10-12-2006 - 8:26pm

My daughter is having "our" first baby. The boy's name was a breeze for her to come up with (Joseph Riley) because the first name is after her Daddy and the second name she likes and she'll call him Riley. A girl's name is making her crazy because there are so many choices! I told her I'd post and ask here. She wants one of the names to be Rachel after her great grandmother she loved dearly. She likes the name Rachel Grace but she also likes Rachel Leigh but she thinks that's too plain so now she says she wants to name the baby Rachel-Leigh Grace or Rachelee Grace. I think that's too confusing and she wants to call her Rachel. I always feel so sorry for those kids with the terribly long or odd names to have to learn to spell and remember and to explain it all their lives. Any advice, thoughts or ideas how she could incorporate these names into one that wouldn't make the kid crazy? Any opinions about a child having a first, middle, another middle and last names?

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm more excited about this baby than I was when my own 2 were born!! This one was very unexpected and I was so disappointed when I first found out she was expecting but it gets easier every day.

Christy

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2006
Thu, 10-12-2006 - 8:52pm

I think Rachel Leigh is a great choice.

 
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-05-2006
Thu, 10-12-2006 - 9:05pm

Welcome, congratulations, and good luck to all of you!


Here are my thoughts-


Rachel is a great, strong, timeless first name. In your family, it has the added bonus of family history which also adds depth and interest to a full name!


There are some general rules of thumb in baby-naming that can be useful to go by when you are having difficulty deciding.


Generally speaking, it sounds better to vary vowel sounds.


Also, generally speaking, it sounds better NOT to run ending sounds into beginning sounds - the -l in Rachel running into Leigh...


That said, I would probably look for a new mn.


If that's not an option, I prefer Rachel Leigh to Rachel Grace. Also, years ago, Leigh was a huge "filler" mn. Today, Grace is the most popular mn for girls. If Grace doesn't have special significance, I'd eliminate it!


If she is determined to use both Grace and Leigh, I would recommend a hyphenated mn. Why? This way, her daughter still has just three initials and three names. There is not a name that is left out or leftover. Both Grace and Leigh are short enough to make into a hyphenated name.


My preference would be:


Rachel Grace-Leigh - Initials would be RGL, mn would be entered onto forms as Grace-Lee.


*This combo separates the L- sounds.


Other names she may like, that would sound

Ginger

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Thu, 10-12-2006 - 9:57pm

I'm sorry to say I don't like either mn. Besides the fact that both Leigh and Grace are very common, filler mns, neither sounds very good with Rachel (which I love, btw). Rachel Leigh runs together, thanks to the back-to-back Ls. It is also the exact name of actress Rachael Leigh Cook, and while she doesn't bother me in the least, I can't help but think of her every time I see/hear the combo. Rachel Grace doesn't work for me thanks to the long A sounds in both.

Hyphenating Rachel-Leigh so that she can stick Grace in there too doesn't make it any better, and smushing it together to get Rachelee makes it much, much worse. FWIW, trying to throw all three together doesn't make it any less "plain," since that was her concern originally. It just gives her TWO plain, common mns. If she wants something more interesting, she should just use a less common mn that she genuinely loves.

So my advice would be she keep looking.

HTH

~Kelli


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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2004
Thu, 10-12-2006 - 10:31pm

I like Rachel Leigh. I have the same middle name but spelt "Lee" and much prefer the version your daughter is considering!

HTH!

Amanda
Mommy to Ava (19 months)


iVillage Member
Registered: 12-09-2005
Thu, 10-12-2006 - 10:47pm

I definately agree that Rachel-Leigh Grace or Rachelee Grace is *way* too confusing. It butchers the name and makes it very unappealing. I think Rachel Leigh or Rachel Grace is much better.
Rachel Leigh- Keep in mind that the L's (racheL Leigh) run into one another kind of slurring it into one long name.
Rachel Grace- It sounds nice, although Grace is becoming the new filler mn- the "Lynn"(80's) of the new millenium.

How about:
Rachel Kate
Rachel Claire
Rachel Jude
Rachel Wynn
Rachel Maeve ("dave" with an m)
Rachel Shea
Rachel Sage
Rachel Brynn

-Nikki
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i318/ncochrane3/Sigs%20by%20Others/Rain.jpg


                             
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-05-2006
Fri, 10-13-2006 - 1:52pm

*** I should've said - with Rachel Grace-Leigh, mn will be entered onto forms as -


Grace-Leigh NOT Grace-Lee


Ginger

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-07-2004
Fri, 10-13-2006 - 2:28pm
hello!! well i really like joseph riley-riley was on my "list" for awhile for a boy-but i wasnt too fond of the way it sounded with my last name so i dropped it. but i like riley joseph best-my hubby has so many family members that go by their middle names and its so confusing to me-i just want to ask their parents-if you were going to call them by their middle name-why not just name them that name in the first place?? but all in all joseph riley is a fine name-i like the name rachel too-i just know too many rachels or i would probably consider using it. ive always liked the name rachel marie and calling her raymee for short...but i like rachel leigh and i like rachel grace-she could combine the 2 middle names:
rachel:
graceleigh
leagrace
or
gracelynn(its close to leigh).
or just drop 1 of them. i have no problem with 2 middle names-but it does tend to make things harder on the child-for awhile i was set on alexandra christine judith. i still love alexandra, but i think i will stick to 1 middle name-cuz the other one was terribly long!! LOL i know someone who has a dd thats named jamiesonlynn elizabeth and when i saw rachelee-it immediately had the same feel to me-way too long, way too wordy, way over-the-top. just my 2 cents. good luck!!!
joanne
maman2goons@aol.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2006
Fri, 10-13-2006 - 3:13pm

Thanks everyone for all of your help. That will give her a LOT to think about! She came home last night with the name Paisley. It's a pretty name but I sew and it just reminds me of an ugly fabric (sorry if anyone has that name) and for some reason it makes me think of the little girl on the Addams Family. I think her name was Wednesday and the boy was Pugsly but for some reason it brings that image to mind. Don't even try to figure that out. I've been going crazier every day since Amanda said she was pregnant. ONLY 201 days to go!! Give or take.....

I'm sure I'll have many more questions about everything and, if she ever slows down, I've sent her the link to this board. You've all been very welcoming and helpful. Thanks.

Christy

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-13-2004
Sat, 10-14-2006 - 1:46pm

I don't think the hyphenated name thing is a big deal. I have one. My first name is Cara-Jean, and my middle name is Elizabeth. I just go by Cara. It's never been confusing to me, but other people usually have a hard time understanding it. They assume my middle name is Jean, so I get a lot of stuff addressed to "Cara J. ____"

Anyway.. whether she decides to go with 2 names or 3, I don't think it's that big of a deal. At least the names aren't that long.

HTH!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-01-2003
Sat, 10-14-2006 - 4:24pm
Rachel-Leigh works for me!
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