Trying to honor grandfather with a girl name...

avonbride · February 2013

My grandfather was named Robert. My first child is William after my husband's grandfather, so with our next child we'd like to name him after my grandfather. (We also have a daughter-Caroline).

We're a bit torn on what to do with a girl name though, if baby #3 is a girl. I don't want to do Roberta, because unfortunately that was another family member's name whose legacy is not quite as rosy. Plus I don't really like Bobbie, Bertie, etc. People have suggested Robin or Rory. I don't super love those names, and I'm not sure how they "fit" with the more traditional names our kids already have. But my dad is Gregory, so Rory would be a neat double tribute. Any advice?

Oh, we have scoured all history and there are no other names we can find that would also honor him that don't make us shudder. His middle name was Jones. To parlay that-Joan-ugh. Other family names are Mabel, Ruth, and Gertrude. Yikes! His mother's middle name was Grace but that's my niece's name. Dang it! His last name (my maiden) is not something that could be a first name.

Any advice?

526SadieSadie · February 2013

How about Robert as a middle name? Especially when its a family name, I think anything goes with the middle name.

avonbride · February 2013

Are you suggesting Robert as the girl's middle name?

AEN1029 · February 2013

I like Robin. I think that may be as close as you're going to get without using Bobbie or Roberta. That's a tough one! Good luck!

avonbride · February 2013

I know, I told DH that we're destined to have a girl just to complicate the naming process!

AEN1029 · February 2013

avonbride:
I know, I told DH that we're destined to have a girl just to complicate the naming process!

ETA: I didn't realize that my comment didn't post with the quote. lol sorry. I said, we are expecting girl number 3.. I told DH we were destined to have girls, too. lol Girl names are easy for us, though. Boy names are a pain.

526SadieSadie · February 2013

avonbride:
Are you suggesting Robert as the girl's middle name?

Yes, I am.

avonbride · February 2013

526SadieSadie:
avonbride:
Are you suggesting Robert as the girl's middle name?

Yes, I am.

Oh, I may not be that brave....lol

Manderlin923 · February 2013

I would do Rory, Robert, Robin, or Jones as a middle name- just use a feminine first name.

526SadieSadie · February 2013

avonbride:
526SadieSadie:

avonbride:
Are you suggesting Robert as the girl's middle name?

Yes, I am.

Oh, I may not be that brave....lol

My DH and his sister both have family last names as their middle names, one regular poster's son (and I apologize for not remembering your name!!) has a dinosaur as his middle name, another poster who I haven't seen in a while gave her son "Danger" as his middle name.

Middle names are free-for-alls. It's a great spot for a family tribute since for the most part, only the family will know it.

EmeraldSea · February 2013

What about Ruby or Betty? I like Rory (because I love the Gilmore Girls) and don't think Robin is too bad.

Other alternates could be Reba, Birdie (Bertie), Robbie

mrsjenni · February 2013

I would do Jones as the middle name. My DH's middle name is Jones after his grandfather/mom (maiden name) as well.

mbody · February 2013

avonbride:
526SadieSadie:
avonbride:
Are you suggesting Robert as the girl's middle name?

Yes, I am.
Oh, I may not be that brave....lol

I have a boy's name as a middle name, and I love it because of the family significance. I'll admit, I didn't like it much for a year or two during grade school, but no one really knew my middle name, and I grew out of not liking it quickly. FWIW, my middle name is Guenther.

Helenahhandbasket · February 2013

What about Rowena?

avonbride · February 2013

Rowena is a new one...maybe I should look more into the classic R names to at least use the letter. I doubt I could get DH on board with a traditional boy name/last name as a middle...but I'm willing to consider it. Rory might actually work as a middle name since our first two kids have slightly less traditional middle names, and D#1 has an R middle name. Any other R or Ro names out there? Rose is NMS... Rosaline? Roxanne? LOL

aishaweatherford · February 2013

Does the grandfather have a middle name that could be more girlie or changed into something you like better?

hmp1 · February 2013

I think Rebecca Jones LN would be great with your sibset.

avonbride · February 2013

aishaweatherford:
Does the grandfather have a middle name that could be more girlie or changed into something you like better?

His Mn was Jones...his mothers maiden name. I guess we could use Joan although that's NMS.

R names are hard! Reba, Rhonda, Roxette...why is every R name remind me of a lady from the 80's with a hairsprayed 'do?

kaylynne · February 2013

Barbara (Bobbie is an accepted nn, so the connection is there, even if you don't call her that) as mn maybe?

queenbone · February 2013

I actually really like Joan NN Joanie, but I credit Mad Men with that.

Can you pick a different FN and use Roberta or Jones or Joan as the MN?

BeckyOff · February 2013

When is Grandpa's birthday? April, May, June

What was his birthstone? Ruby, Opal, Pearl

Did he have a favorite flower? Rose, Violet, Lilly

Where was he born?

Is Grandpa still alive? Give him your list of your top 3 favorites and let him choose the winner. Or ask him for a list of his favorite names and you pick the winner.