I’ve been thinking a lot about naming — names too small for the people and things to which they belong (“love should be sesquipedalian!”), names made attractive by their bearers, names that don’t fit versus names that do (and perfectly), names we love for no reason, or maybe for a scant feather-like impression of a reason we can’t quite place. I am thinking of my friend Elisabeth. I know dozens and dozens of Elizabeths — I presume any girl who attended Catholic School in the 90s through early aughts does. In fact, four of my very dearest friends are Elizabeths; one of my sisters, too. It holds such important Biblical significance, and I have a special devotion to the story of the Visitation (the namesake, incidentally, of my high school!). Beyond that: I love a multi-syllabic name. It forces you to slow down; it demands your time. You take up space with a quadri-syllable name! But one of my friends spells hers with an “s” in the middle — Elisabeth. I love this secret sibilance, her hidden “s.” You would never guess it by ear, but on the page, it carries a surprising softness. I guess I also find it a perfect foil for her in particular, my wondrous and bright and cultured friend, full of warmth and charm. Her name should be marked by specialness.
Anyway, I’m nosy — let’s talk names today! Please share your thoughts in the comments…
+Name you considered for a child but didn’t use?
+Name of the nicest person you’ve ever met.
+What name do people often mistake yours for?
+Name you think should have been.
+Word that could be a pretty name (but can’t).
+Names you love.
*****
I’ll go first —
+Name you considered for a child but didn’t use? Lee. The name of most of my fictional protagonists. It’s gorgeously tomboyish, old-fashioned and modern in equal parts. I love the way it looks on paper; the openness of those two “e’s”! Like a door blown open by the wind. And its concision: abridged but sturdy. Of course this is shaped by Lee Radziwill but it was also the surname of a chic distant aunt on my mom’s side. Lastly, I lost one pregnancy and ever since, I’ve carried around this half-formed half-thought — she would have been a Lee?
+Name of the nicest person you’ve ever met. Carrie. An angel neighbor! I always think fondly on Carries because of her.
+What name do people often mistake yours for? Jen is pretty straight-forward, but I get a lot of misspellings with a double “n.” I am viscerally not a double n, and I have no idea why. But I see the name Jenn on a piece of paper and it feels like nothing could be further from who I am. Jenn might as well be Cybil or Maxine in my mind — the difference one letter can make! Lol.
+Name you think should have been. I don’t know exactly but I think I could have pulled off a Scandinavian name versus the very generic Jennifer (most popular baby name the year I was born). My maiden surname is Nurmi (Finnish) — could I have been a Lotta Nurmi? (Lotte is the name of a character in one of my fictional projects, too.) Then again: Jennifer feels just right for me. Everything is as it should be. And I like the length of my name, the shock of the “f” in the middle.
+Word that could be a pretty name (but can’t). There is a funny Reddit thread on this worth a skim for some light, ease-into-the-week reading. Celery and melancolia? Actually a lot of dark words have a strange beauty to them. (Rubella?)
+Names you love. Anouk, Annemieke, Cecily, Gracia. I love Anouk so much that I fleetingly contemplated it for Emory but felt it would be tough for her in America, and with no true relation to the French language or culture. Annemieke was the name of a Dutch friend I had my first year in college — I wonder what happened to her? — but I thought her name was absolutely gorgeous. The last two names: a Chilean family with four children attended my grade school, and two of the sisters were named Maria Gracia and Maria Cecilia. I thought they were the most beautiful, interesting girls I’d ever met, and their names felt like a prayer!
Your turn – please share! This might be helpful recon for our Magpies expecting babies soon!
Post-Scripts.
+Of course this conversation has lead me to want to re-start The Names…!
+What simple reframe has changed your outlook?
+Let people be wrong about you. So hard!
Shopping Break: Black Friday Week Begins in Earnest!
+Biggest news: Tuckernuck is 25% off sitewide with code SHOWTIME. Bestsellers not to miss: this fair isle cardigan, this velvet midi (I ordered!), this corduroy shirt-dress! I also just shared my favorite current season Tuckernuck pieces here!
+Lake is offering 25% off sitewide – their deepest sale of the year. I’ve given basically every woman I love in my life a pair of these jammies: these are ideal for moms/MILs, I live in these Relax sets (bought a pair for my best friend for her birthday this year!), and these are charming for a sis. (I own this ski set!). And of course their holiday jammies are adorable for kids. The kids sizing runs small – go up 1-2 sizes.
+Something you need to know about: these clever, ultra-light folding chairs, currently 35% off (!). I gave Landon two for Christmas last year! We first discovered them in Aspen, CO when we noticed a lot of the locals using them for outdoor activities and the Fourth of July parade. BEST gift for a husband who likes good gear. They pack up tiny, weigh almost nothing, and are perfect for soccer/sports sidelines, camping, picnics, music concerts! I can’t tell you how many parents have bought these because they saw us using them at my children’s baseball and soccer games. There is also an even lighter-weight model called “The Zero” but I’d rec the basic chair because it’s a little sturdier. (We have both models — two zeros and two ones.)
+I updated all my Amazon Black Friday deals here. I picked up a few things for my kids this week from this list while on sale: these mathematics puzzle games (recommended by my daughter’s teacher) and the box set of The Land of Stories series (my daughter has been OBSESSED with these and the whole set is 60% off! — good gift for an 8-9 year old who loves reading).
+Frame is running a sneaky warehouse sale with their flagship slim palazzo jeans as low as $107 in select washes. Go up a size in these. Also love this lace overshirt situation – 75% off?! I’d wear like a jacket over a white dress in the summer. Finally: this luxe cashmere pointelle short sleeved cardigan. Drool!
+As you may have noticed, I have a slight book problem, as in I have too many of them! I just ordered this well-priced ladder bookcase (on sale right now) to put in my studio because it’s super-narrow and takes up very little space with its footprint (and my studio is a petite gal!). I can’t wait to receive it. I have books in piles and stacks and double rows EVERYWHERE. Two other cool home finds that are also on sale there: this metal table lamp (so many fun and unexpected colors? would be so fun in a child’s room, and sturdy, too! — more fun/chic children’s room finds here, all on sale) and this travertine table lamp. Love that earthy, textured material of the base!
+While we’re talking home stuff, I did order this floor lamp for a little reading nook in our primary bedroom. I was hoping it’d be on sale but finally just ordered. It’s SO chic. I’m going to put it right beside this boucle sherpa chair I ordered for the space. Love all the textures together!
+20% off at Minnow! Use code HOLIDAY20. Great time to buy the next size up in swimwear for your kids, especially if you’re vacationing somewhere warm. I love this new pattern in the rash guard for girls, and the sibling match would be cute. Their striped knits are also incredibly well made and so classic. We own several of the pullovers and cardigans in different sizes!
+Two beauty buys you’ve been loving the past few days (both on rare sale): the Ziip Halo (20% off with code SHOOP; my full review of this gadget here) and Dr. Diamond Metacine’s plasma!
+I rounded up the Magpie bestsellers from all of these promotions that are running here. This is what the team is buying — a good shortlist of some of the best sale finds this season!
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links below, I may receive compensation.
Ooh these are such fun prompts!
+Name you considered for a child but didn’t use? Anya, Andrea, Ines/Inez/Ynez. I’ve always loved the latter and honestly wish I had used it. And also, my husband and I took a trip in CA when I was pregnant and stopped at a church in Santa Ynez.
+Name of the nicest person you’ve ever met: Coincidentally, Jen!
+Name you think should have been: Ocean
+Word that could be a pretty name (but can’t). I cannot for the life of me think of one!
+Names you love: As above: Anya, Ines/Inez/Ynez. I don’t have a boy, but if I did I really love James or the Spanish version, Jaime. James/Jaime sounds very sturdy but there’s also a gentleness to it. I also love nature-inspired names, but I don’t think they’d go with either my husband’s or my last name: Dawn or Sky, or something that references the sea: Marina, Marin
Ines is so beautiful and unique! And I love the name you think you should have been :). Reflects such a great spirit 🙂
+Name you considered for a child but didn’t use? I lean heavy into family names, so we had a short-ish list. My daughter was always Josephine, for my grandmother. There was no runner up. We considered Apollonia (Polly) which was my grandmother’s middle name and Clementine (Cleo) if my son had been a daughter. We also considered Klaus for my son, it was my maiden name and now my middle name.
+Name of the nicest person you’ve ever met. The nicest person I ever met was named Leo, who incidentally goes by Pete (a childhood nickname from playing basketball and apparently looking like Pistol Pete), and it’s my dad. I’ve never met a more generous human. He is not the logistics parent, but he puts all the color on the page if that makes sense.
+What name do people often mistake yours for? My husband is from Appalachia and often pronounces my name as Ginny. So I’ve randomly had people think it’s short for Virginia instead of Jennifer.
+Name you think should have been. Hmmm, I go by Jenny, and I used to think any name other than the ubiquitous Jennifer would have been more appropriate for me. But now I think having a very common name made me go the extra step my whole life to set myself apart. Jenny with the grades. Jenny with the gift of repartee. Jenny with the athletic accolades. And so on, and so on.
+Word that could be a pretty name (but can’t). So many beautiful words that would be lovely as a name: Solstice. Tide. Persimmon. Tempest. Arbor. Verity.
+Names you love. I love the name Ernest. For one thing I do love Ernest Hemingway, for another it’s a family name, and finally I love the idea that the name would imbue sincerity and purpose on its owner. I also adore having multiple frivolous nicknames for the people I love- I call my daughter Cupcake, Pigeon, Bunny, Pickle. I call my son Moose, Cannonball, Cookie Monster, Squirrel. The list continues to grow but they all become part of our collective family lexicon. It’s a learned family trait and I can’t even help it at this point.
!!! Jenny!!! I adored these responses. I have always loved the name Josephine, too. Not only because of the Jo March connection but it was the middle name of my niece, who passed away, and it has a deep family connection for my SIL. Just beautiful. Please tell me “Apollonia” was partly inspired by Godfather. (“Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday…”)
Your description of your dad made me choke up unexpectedly! “He puts all the color on the page.” Gosh what a beautiful description. You should email him this blurb you wrote about him 🙂
I attended school in the South and a lot of the Southerners pronounced my name “Gin,” especially the Virginians and Tennesseans. (Then you get to the deep south and it becomes a two syllable name: Gee-inn.). I thought it was charming. Somehow even more clipped / quick than “Jen.”
Solstice!!!
xx
Ha! Not exactly inspired by the Godfather but it is the only other place I’ve heard the name Apollonia.
And my dad……to know him is to love him, he is universally beloved. I could write so many things about him- but the way he makes everything (and everyone) feel special is truly the throughline.
So sweet — thanks for sharing this.
xx
Name you considered for a child but didn’t use? I named my daughters my favorite girl names: Eliza, Caroline, Colette & Genevieve but if I hadn’t gone that way, they would have been Blair, Quinn, Vance & Drew. I love those names for girls!
+Name of the nicest person you’ve ever met.
Kathleen. She was an administrative assistant in my graduate program department but really she was a mother and counselor to us all.
+What name do people often mistake yours for? I’m somehow always shocked by Brook without an e. It couldn’t possibly be me! Like Anne of Green Gables, the “e” makes all the difference to me.
+Name you think should have been. I always wanted a multi-syllabic name (hence my children’s long, romantic names) and
I envied an i that could be dotted with a heart or an ending in y that could become a signature underline. But I think I’m meant to be a single syllable girl? I think I could have been Blair or Kate or Jane.
+Word that could be a pretty name (but can’t). Latrine and Aereola! also Aubergine?
+Names you love. Clara, Audrey, Francesca and Suzanna. My best friend is Monica and I adore her name. I’m always interested in sibling sets too! Fun conversations.
I love this insight: “I think I’m meant to be a single syllable girl” — !!! Here is a woman who knows herself. Such a great detail about you.
LOLing over the names Latrine and Aereola — amazing
xx
I’m late to the party but my boy name is Patrick Andrew calling him Drew. Girls: I have two: Courtney Claire and the other is Annabella! With an A at the end. It feels very Southern and sweet to me.
Gorgeous names!!
+Name you considered for a child but didn’t use?
Jin for a boy (means true in Korean); Mari and Astrid for a girl.
+Name of the nicest person you’ve ever met.
Leslie! She was the judge in my first courtroom as a felony lawyer.
+What name do people often mistake yours for?
Ira (wut), Irish (also wut) and Isis.
+Name you think should have been.
I hated my name as a kid bc it was so unusual but it’s really grown on me and now I wouldn’t want any other name.
+Word that could be a pretty name (but can’t).
Chlorine lol.
+Names you love.
See my first answers 🙂 but also Rei (means pure heart in Japanese and what we named our daughter), August (what we named our dog haha),
Ira — I mean Irish —
(Ha)
These are so fabulous! Astrid, August — wow! I love these names! And Chlorine does have a surprising charm to it. Thanks for sharing.
xx
My esthetician is French and tells me stories of her daughter who lives in Italy. She is an art dealer with a fabulous apartment, a wealthy and handsome boyfriend whose family owns a vineyard. The daughter buys all her food fresh from market-stands daily and loves to drink wine and cook while listening to beautiful music. I love the stories and live vicariously through them. Her name is Rafaela, which feels uber glamorous. I love the biblical meaning of the name as well.
What! May we all aspire to be Rafaela. You are so right — the name, the lifestyle — so fabulous. You’re also reminding me that the elder brother of Maria Cecilia and Maria Gracia was Raoul, which also felt very chic. I’m trying to remember the fourth child’s name but drawing a blank and for some reason “Rafael” would be the perfect fourth. Lol.
Thanks for sharing!
xx
I love this!!! And I bet you can guess why 🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂
Another special Elisabeth!
xx
For the Frame Palazzo.. I have that jean in the Pixie ( petite) and just cut off the extra hem, Do you think in your opinion the regular Palazzo ( non petite) will look off on me? I’m 4’11”
Hi!! I have these in the non-petite and they work on me! I’m 5’0 and they hit just at the top of the foot. I feel like they look best styled with jeans. Definitely more of a full-length jean on us!
xx
Baby name I never used: Lois Susanna. I’ve always liked the name Lois, and it reminds me of the plucky female characters in movies that I loved as a kid. I wanted to be just like Lois Lane climbing the Eiffel Tower to get a scoop. Susanna was the name of Shakespeare’s firstborn. I’ve always found her epitaph interesting. It hints at a person who must have been interesting in her own right.
Word that could be a name: I’ll die on the hill that “Apple” was a genius name baby name, and Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow should have received zero public backlash for choosing it. The word itself sounds beautiful, and so are the images it invokes — not just about the pleasantness of the fruit itself, but also its use as a cultural symbol for wisdom and knowledge. My whole life I’ve had so many thoughts about the biblical creation story, all of them positive for Eve. When Apple Martin’s baby name was announced, I instantly loved it and was mad at the world for thinking this was weird even though we already have “Olive” and “Clementine” and “Cherry”/”Cerise” and “Candy” and even “Peaches.”
I love this take on “apple” and agree with all of its positive associations. You’re so right – why can’t they have that name when no one bats an eye at olive?
Lois and Susanna — such gorgeous names! My niece’s middle name is Susana. So gorgeous!
xx
Name I wanted to use- for a boy Elias James ( after my grandparents).. but I had three girls!!!
How sweet that you’d have honored your grandparents this way! I love when people repurpose family names / honor family members in this way.
James is such a sturdy name – I love it.
xx
+Name you considered for a child but didn’t use?
Luca (like the name but a family member had an ex with that name), Leo, Stella (that’s Skye from paw patrol in France so nope from me), Claire, Eleanor, Delphine, Vivienne, Louise, Chloe, Bonnie. I will say the wonderful new pope has bumped Leo back up the list for me!!
Some of my names have been claimed by my book characters too. Isaiah, Sidney, Rex, Nicolette, Dorothea,
+Name of the nicest person you’ve ever met.
Two: Zorica and Lillian. Complete earth angels, such calming energy!
+What name do people often mistake yours for?
Callie (though unfortunately the common misspelling here is Kally).
+Name you think should have been.
I tried to get everyone to call me Beth in 3rd grade for Little Women reasons!! My middle name is Elizabeth too, my dad still calls me Kellybeth.
+Word that could be a pretty name (but can’t).
Cauliflower (and the French chou-fleur). Intaglio. Scepter. Pensive. Margarine.
+Names you love.
I’ve always loved Cillian/Killian (not just or not entirely for Cillian Murphy reasons), Brighid, Alessio, Chiara, Finnegan, Donovan, Bridie, Adèle, Camille, Ivy, Timothy, Colette, Odette, and I’ve always loved the idea of either a Catherine or a Christopher nicknamed “Kit.” I’m generally not one for nicknames!
I’ll add names you loved as a kid you’ve gone off of: Faith was what I always thought I’d name a daughter. And I used to want to name my future sons after my brothers, simply couldn’t imagine better names for little boys.
OMG, Cauliflower / Chou-fleur! This made me also think: the word “Flaneur.” I guess there’s Flanerie O’Connor who claimed that, but it’s just not often something you hear. So gorgeous, that open and inviting “eur” sound. “Soeur” is also really pretty to my ear but would be confusing in French…
I love so many of your names — Delphine! Colette! Camille! I guess I just wish I was French. Ha! My sister had a friend named “Delfina” and I always thought she was SO CHIC just by her name alone. (Also very cute girl.)
Finally, this is such a charming and heart-warming note: “I used to want to name my future sons after my brothers, simply couldn’t imagine better names for little boys.” Names I loved when I was younger and wanted to name my kids: Gabriel (I thought “Gabe” was a really hot name), Hunter, Emilia with an E. I actually like all three still but not with enough passion to name a child.
xx
I’m sort of lucky we wound up here since I love all the French names. Interestingly, Karen is a boy’s name here! I’m lucky I picked names that work well across cultures, but Margot which feels very chic to Americans is actually an old lady name here, not that I mind. The young’uns are mostly « Margaux », but, thrillingly, picking common names means my kids can find personalized stuff at the souvenir shops, my son is getting my daughter a puzzle for Christmas and he was so tickled he’d spotted her name since we’re jusssssst starting letters.
There are several Emilia’s and Emilie’s in my son’s class! I know a surprising number of little girls called Hunter in the states. Fully agree on Gabriel or Gabe—whew! *fans self*
Karen is a boy’s name?! I’m surprised there are even common “K” names in France! That’s so interesting. The “x” in the “Margaux” spelling is implicitly chic/cool so I kind of get that one.
Gabe!!!
xx
My six-month-old is a Gabe! We weren’t clued in to what we were having, and the boy name wasn’t coming easily. We selected Gabriel to honor my husband’s brother, Michael, who had passed away – the archangels!
So beautiful – what a gorgeous tribute! And what a handsome name!
xx
As a Jennifer who only spells Jen with one n, I feel this so deeply!! It’s a completely different person.
OMG, thanks for saying this! I wondered if other Jennifers felt the same way about the Jen/Jenn difference!
xx
My 3 friends here are Jen, Jenn, and Jenny and I feel like I am so clear while speaking on who is who!! And then I’ll also mention something you’ve said that day! My husband is frequently confused, bless.
LOL. Us poor 80s Jennifer babies. So many of us!
xx
I know at least one other Jennifer who goes by Jenn and it somehow suits her but I can’t imagine using the spelling myself. My own father loves to spell my name as Jenn instead of Jen and it drives me nuts! We constantly have debates over this — he says he named me so he can spell it however he wants but I’m such a reader/English person that I have very specific ideas of what looks right to me.
OMG! So funny – I also have friends named “Jenn” and it’s perfect for them, but somehow completely wrong for me. I can’t explain. It would drive me crazy if my dad spelled my name JENN! I actually have a few friends who will occasionally write it with two n’s, and it’s no big deal — I mean, I get it. Jennifer is common and there are tons of Jens/Jenns. I actually used to have check my SIL’s name in my Gmail inbox because it’s Meagan and there are so many ways to spell that name and I developed a kind of mental block around it and would always second-guess myself. (“Wait, is there an h?”). Anyway, for that reason, I go easy whenever friends spell my name “Jenn” instead of “Jen,” but I also ALWAYS of course notice and squirm.
xx
I would not be as gracious as you since it’s in your site header!! I do occasionally second guess my friend Jenn’s because everyone else seems to write it Jen, but I’ve confirmed with her, she’s double n or bust!
Double n or bust” – LOL. “Jen with a single n” is going to be a new slogan for me.
xx
It is very Anne-with-an-e coded! I agree. My big act of preteen rebellion was to change the spelling from Jenny to Jennie–it felt different! Chic! Interesting! And I’m pretty sure my parents were like, there are so many worse things you could be doing to rebel, thank god it’s only changing the spelling of your nickname! Nowadays my mom makes fun of me by refusing to spell my dog’s name (Ozzy) with a y, and exclusively writes “Ozzie.”
HA! This is so fascinating and funny. I went by Jennie for a few minutes in elementary school, and I spelled it just like you! Different, cute! It was also my great-great aunt’s name and is actually engraved (!) on a set of silver I inherited. Literally, soup spoons and forks with the name “JENNIE” on the handle. Pretty unusual!
xx
My daughter’s name is Lee, and there are times that I question our decision as we had a difficult time deciding on a name. It is my grandmother’s middle name, and she even asked me soon after her birth what we were going to call her since we certainly wouldn’t call her Lee (middle name Catherine and perhaps a more suitable name per my grandmother).
So, all that’s to say, thank you for sharing your thoughtful connection to the name Lee. Your words are always perfect.
Oh my gosh! What a beautiful name — I love it, especially with the longer middle name. Just gorgeous. 🙂 I have name envy over here!!
xx
Hi! Is there a code for the Lake BF sale? Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Kim! Lake had told me the sale was launching today, but I am now realizing maybe they meant at 10 AM — that’s usually when they launch the promos! Let’s check back at 10 am. xx
And happy Thanksgiving!
PS – it’s live now!! xx