Name Sage: Spirited Names Match Imogene
They love quirky, vintage picks with plenty of energy. Their first daughter’s name is Imogene Hazel May. Now Imogene is going to be a big sister, and they need a spirited name to match!
Jessie and Brian write:
We’re expecting a baby girl soon and are completely stuck with names! I’ve been reading the Nameberry blog and it’s super helpful, so we were wondering if you could help us out.
We both grew up with common names, and hated it.
We really want to give our daughter a unique name that will work well on both a tiny baby and a grown woman. Our first daughter’s name is Imogene Hazel May.
Imogene is perfect because it’s familiar but rare, easy to spell and pronounce, and she’ll definitely be the only Imogene in her class.
So how do we match it? We’re big fans of old vintage names, and quirky names too. We have a list, but we don’t love those names as much as Imogene.
Our current favorites are:
AMELIE – Likely to become too popular?
CARINA – But is it too long?
ZADIE – Maybe too much like a nickname?
Other names we considered are Amalia, Adelaide, Juno, Ada, Jemma, and Ever.
If you could also help with middles that would be great! For our first, we just picked names that had a nice flow but were too popular for us to use as a first name.
I hope this isn’t too much! We’ll take all the help we can get!
The Name Sage replies:
Imogene is a name with all the sounds. It bounces. It surprises.
Other names share that energy, too: Juniper. Eloise. Josephine. But they’ve far more familiar.
Imogene has the same high-energy, sparky sound, but it’s a name no one expects.
I agree that your current list doesn’t quite hit the mark. Amelie – and Amalia – are likely to be swallowed up with Top 100 favorites Emily, Amelia, and Emilia. Zadie does sound awfully brief next to Imogene. And Carina? It comes closest to a match, but maybe it’s more conventionally feminine, even demure, than bold Imogene.
Let’s look for more vintage, quirky girl names that deliver just as much oomph as your firstborn’s name!
BERNADETTE
Any name borrowed from a Big Bang Theory character ought to have potential, right? Bernadette is traditional and saintly, but also a surprising mix of gruff Bernard with that flirty –ette ending. (On the long-running sitcom, she’s the waitress-turned-microbiologist who marries Howard and ends up with the unwieldy surname Rostenkowski-Wolowitz.)
DAMARIS
A New Testament name occasionally on the fringes of the US Top 1000, Damaris is the kind of name everyone recognizes, but no one uses. That unconventional ‘s’ ending seems especially distinctive.
GUINEVERE
A legendary queen from Camelot, Guinevere’s name has long been as familiar as Arthur. But it’s never cracked the US Top 1000.
LUCINDA
You might expect there to be more Lucindas. Not so. You’re more likely to meet a newborn Ingrid, Samira, or Sevyn.
MILLICENT
Millie is racing up the popularity charts, but Millicent remains neglected. While the sound feels delicately vintage, the meaning is fierce: “strong in work.”
PRUDENCE
We’re wild for virtue names, and that seems to have raised just a little spark of interest in Prudence. It’s been out of the US Top 1000 since the 1940s, but the trippy Beatles song – along with television characters from Charmed to Downton Abbey – keep it on our radar.
SYBIL
Speaking of Downton Abbey, this tailored but feminine character name could’ve caught on. It fits with favorites like Evelyn and Charlotte. But it’s been over fifty years since Sybil appeared in the US Top 1000.
TALLULAH
Actor Tallulah Bankhead’s career spanned more than three decades, but she’s best remembered for her outspoken quips. A family name for Bankhead, it comes from Tallulah Falls in Georgia; spell it Tallula and the name is Irish instead.
WAVERLY
Waverly might not be vintage, but maybe matching Imogene’s energy requires something more modern? A surname name that brings to mind the seaside, but actually refers to a meadow, Waverly and Imogene sound surprisingly right together.
WINIFRED
Another vintage gem, Winifred means peace. Like Imogene, it’s instantly recognized but seldom heard.
My favorite for Imogene’s sister is Tallulah. I think it exactly matches the same energy. And it will almost certainly prompt lots of “oh, you don’t hear that name too often” reactions.
For middles, I’ll try just a few combinations.
Tallulah Eden SkyeTallulah Gemma GraceTallulah Maren LeighTallulah Mary BreeTallulah Piper Rose
My favorite is Tallulah Gemma Grace, but I’m sure there will be more great suggestions.
Readers, can you suggest more names – and first-middle-middle combinations – for Imogene Hazel May’s sister? There’s a spot in the forums just for this discussion.