using abbreviated names as middle names and names that 'go' together

[DevilsAdvocaat]

we have 1 ds who is called tyler james b, currently expecting dc2.

not finding out the sex so need a boy and girl name.

firstly, names that go: so far we have decided that although ds's name is a more contemporary name, we would like a more, ahem, 'normal' name for the next one. for example we are not thinking of naming the baby 'riley' or 'dexter' which would 'go' with tyler i suppose. however, we are not interested in names that are very classic like 'david' or 'christopher' which are not quite to our taste (although absolutely nothing wrong with them). does this mean that our children's names will sound weird together?

for a girl i like: imogen kit.

second question: kit was my nan's name (kathleen) but everyone called her kit. the name kathleen doesn't remind me of her but kit does. also kitty is a possibility but our surname ends with an eeee sound so i don't know if it sounds right or not. do you think it's weird to use kit or is it ok as it's a middle name?

for a boy i like charlie nick/nicholas
or benjamin nick/nicholas

same situation here with the middle name, my dad was known as nick but his full name was nicholas. also my nephew's middle name is nicholas, so do i use nick or nicholas?

also, any other name suggestions welcome as i am not 100% on any of them.

we really like elise when pg with ds but am not sure whther tyler and elise together sound a bit made up iykwim.

phew.

We went with a nn for a middle name, it wouldn't have been my first choice but I had promised df if I could choose my dd's middle name (I wanted her middle name to be Mary after my Grandmother) then he could choose our second baby's middle name. He also wanted a family connection and chose his Great Grandfathers name to use. I though struggled to like this name and in the end explained to him how I just couldn't use a name I hated, would have been fine with most names but this one I wouln't have wanted to tell anyone and I'm sure ds wouldn't like it either as he grew up.

Luckily for me he agreed to compromise on the nn and I actually love it now even though it would have never been in the running to have a nn as either name otherwise. I love the family connection and I think the name works. But I do think the names have to be of a similar type to flow nicely.

With my dd's middle name she is Mary after my Grandmother but my Grandmother was always known as Pat (Patricia) her middle name. I though prefer Mary as a name and thought it flowed better with the first name we'd picked. So even though she was never called it, it was her first name and I still feel the name is a strong connection to my Grandmother for myself and my dd.

How about Kit as a boy's first name?

yes i like kit for a boy but think it sounds too 'out there' when paired with tyler. also dh is not keen on names for boys which are not 'strong' (i guess he means manly!).

sleepisforwimps, thanks for thAT. do you think i should go with what i like best then? which would be kit, even though kit on it's own is really a boys' name?

I would definitely say go with what you like, after all it's your baby and what you think and feel is the most important.

If you want to know what I would do, I would use Kathleen as I think it's a very pretty name and of the same style as Imogen. Even though it wasn't what your Nan was known by and not overly obvious to all that knew her, it was her name so in my mind it is still naming baby after her.

I would then use Imogen Kit as an affectionate nn once she was here. I do prefer real/full names but I know for me this particular name with ds just didn't sit right in my head. I decided to go with a form of our Grandparents names that I was happy with and threw my own rules out of the window for ds's name!

I do prefer full names as first names but imho, its fine to be a little bit less "formal" with middle names and is a great opportunity to chose something a bit more personal and maybe something that is a bit too out there for you to consider as a first name

DD's mn is Scout (as you can see !). Its probably more of a nickname and it isn't one we would have been brave enough to use as a first name but we love it anyway

good point.

what about imogen kathleen and tyler though? they don't go at all, does it matter?!

also, what do you think about charlie as a birth certificate name? more established than kit but still an abbreviation.

scout is really sweet.

also imogen kathleen is a real mouthful, especially with our surname.

Ahh you see I have to say Charlie is fine as a first name as my Grandfathers name was Charley different spelling but this version is definitely a real first name.

But with Charlie I would go for Charlie Nicholas as sounds more substantial iykwim I think you can get away with one nn not two.

Imogen Kathleen and Tyler James go imo.

I think Imogen Kit or Imogen Kitty is great. Ditto nick as a mn is fine (instead of Nicholas). I know a couple of Charlie's who are Charlie on the bc.

Imogen and Tyler sound fine together imho. I do think Kathleen is a bit of a mouthful and if it doesn't remind you of your nan, then it kind of defeats the object a bit iyswim. Go for Kit/Kitty

thank you both of you!
that makes me feel loads better

now then....

what about the fact that charlie ends in an eee sound as does my surname?

i need more boys names please!

I prefer Kitty to Kit. Although Kit is a recognisable female name to you, it doesn't necessarily come across as one to others (am thinking of potential schoolfriends etc here). I think that if I came across someone with a middle name Kit, my first thought would be 'rugby kit' etc . Kitty is more feminine and more recognisable as a girls name so better IMO. Don't worry about Kitty and your surname ending in an -ee sound, I honestly don't think that matters.

As for the charlie b----ee sounds: hard to tell really - I think it does depend on your surname. Charlie Bailey wouldn't be great(I suppose that's because of the -lee sound repetition), whilst Charlie ... (struggling to think of example names)... Brooktree (making it up now) sounds fine. Can you give us a few more letters without giving your surname away?

More boys names not ending in eeee:-

George
Benjamin
Edward
William
Fraser
Sam
Oliver
Jack
Nathan
Alex

it is a 'leee' sound beaniepix.

rugby kit made me laugh out loud!

i love benjamin from your list tillyscout.

is it weird to have a first name with the same beginning letter as the surname though?

benjamin b does that sound twee?

I like alliteration in names. Never did Marilyn Monroe any harm