Family Name Quandary - DH is no help!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Norah, Cora, and Trudy are are lovely first names. I personally think Laura is the most boring name ever, but like PP, would not tell you that in person. I'd have a hard time naming someone Gertrude, but would do Trudy without concern.

Rose and Elizabeth are good middle names, but I think Ann and Marie have got to be the most common girls middle names, statistically, which makes them so bland as to be meaningless. Good first names, but as middle names, I think they must be chosen for their syllables' rhythm or something.
Together, I think the most harmonious combinations are Trudy Rose, Cora Elizabeth, and Norah Rose.

And FWIW, I think it's an awesome tradition. My kids each have a family name, though we drew from more generations. I think it anchors them and makes them feel connected to the family (I have one, too.). Plus, with 8,000,000,000 names out there, you have to narrow the field somehow.

In my extended family, it's common to give children a relative's middle name, so I have my great aunt's middle name, and my daughter has my mom's middle name, which happens to be Marie. I would have used my mom's name no matter what, but it just so happens that it was a common one. What can you do?

[Anonymous]

OP Here! Thank you all so much for your thoughtful ideas. Now my husband is liking Trudie. This is what is great about DCUM, your brains are sharp where I am so hot and tired with this pregnancy (last one I think) that I could not string anything together, and I hesitate to start a family feud by every asking the family about names!

So, now we have moved to Norah Rose, Laura (or Lauren) Elizabeth and Cora (none of the middle names appeals though) with Gertrude moving up fast. My husband is a "Monk" fan and apparently Trudie was the name of his dead wife. WTF? Oh well.

[Anonymous]

I would name her Cora Rose and call her Coco as a nickname.

[Anonymous]

Go for the big cash prize, OP. Gertrude Loranorahcora, aka "Trudie," for the win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would name her Cora Rose and call her Coco as a nickname.

LOVE IT!

[Anonymous]

Trudy/Trudie is adorable. Love the character Trudy Campbell on Mad Men.

Honestly though, with Will and John, I would do Laura.

[Anonymous]

Laura is a great name.

For a middle name, could you use a family member's surname? I know many people who have used that approach with middle names, even for girls.

[Anonymous]

I would choose one of the following:

Cora Elizabeth
Norah Elizabeth
Laura Elizabeth (if you pick this one, you might consider using middle name as the name you call the baby, or nickname for the middle name, because I do think Laura is kind of boring)

(they all rhyme! Cora/Norah/Laura)