Hubby and I are having a hard time finding a baby girl name that we like. We pretty much have it narrowed down but I just need some opinions outside my family.
Hubby likes Cara June
I like Caroline June. We could always call her Cara for a nickname right? My mom says no, if we did we would have to spell it Caraline but I think that looks a little silly. Obviously I like traditional names.
My reason is that our son is Andrew and we call him Drew so I think Caroline would fit his name nicely. These are my kids Andrew and Caroline. And when I'm calling them at the park it would be Hey Drew and Cara get over here.
What are your thoughts? It's okay to be honest ;) I've still got 10 weeks to find just the right name.
Thanks everyone for the input.
I am not trying to choose a name based on a nickname, but I really like Caroline and hubby is not sold on it. I am thinking I can talk my hubby into since he could still call his daughter Cara if he wanted to and that is a name that is on his like list.
As several have stated I like the idea of my kid having an option. On the sports field a shorter nickname seems to work better but in the corporate office a more formal name can be used. I never had a nickname growing up and my husbands name is very short so he never had one either. I guess that's why we like the idea of names that can be shortened if the child wanted to.
I don't particularly care for either but it's not about what we like. A compromise between the the two would be Caralyn June (and you could still shorten to Cara).
If you are open to other names, I like Cheyenne Nicole and you could call her Chey ("Shy").
Cara for Caroline is no sillier than Katie for Katherine. I think it works nicely. Go for it. Although I like the spelling Caraline too.
My second son is a Nathaniel, but I very rarely call him by his full name. He's Nate or Natey! As so many have already pointed out no need to spell her name Caraline. Caroline works just fine and Cara is a fabulous nickname.
In fact, I love the nickname option. My husband was very into traditional names, simply because they sound more professional when they are older. I thought they sounded like an "old man" name when they were babies. So longer names that can be shorten are an awesome compromise for us.
For the most part the first year of both my boy's life I tried to call them by their full name, just so they would respond to it. It was easier with my first son's name, but thank goodness my Mom always calls my 2nd son by "Nathaniel" so he too responds to it. This way when you're at a park, and there are other kids with the same name you can call them by their full name or nickname...and it works when you really need their attention otherwise. Good luck, great name!
I love nicknames. 3 out of my 4 kids have them. I think Caroline is just fine, spelled the way it is. The nickname doesn't have to come from the name. Our daughter is Alexandra, but we call her Ally - there's no Y in Alexandra. We like having a longer name, but shortening it. If they become a super CEO or something, and want a more sophisticated name, they can go with the longer version. My Ally can call herself Alexandra. Jay can go with Jonathan. It's their choice.
Conpratulations!!
I like Caroline June. Cara would be a cute nickname, and you wouldn't have to spell it Caraline. It doesn't matter, because it's a nickname. If your hubby doesn't mind having Cara as a nickname instead of her "official" name, just go with that. My uncle gave both his daughters nicknames that had nothing to do with their "official" names, and they just stuck in the family. Go with what you and your husband decide is right, and your mother and any other family members will get used to your decision. :-)
Congratulations!
As a C., I'm often asked if that's short for Caroline. In my case, no, it's not, but it used to be a quite common nickname for Caroline, and nobody ever spelled it Carrieline as far as I know, so you could point that out to your mom! ;-)
And I have a Sebastian whom we call Baz. I never saw any reason to change the spelling of his legal name (which he's introduced by) to fit the nickname!
My brother's name is Nicholas... but we don't call him Nich. It's Nick... My cousin Jaiden goes by Jay sometimes. MY nickname is R. (I actually answer to it. lol), no where even close to Christina! lol. My DD is Alina, sometimes we call her Ally, along with my niece Addison, aka Addy. No, names don't have to match. lol.
I like both Caroline and Cara. And of course you can call her Cara and not have to spell her name Caroline! I mean, people are named Margaret and nicknamed Peggy, right? This makes much more sense. I really like "month" names. June is pretty.
I like both names, although I do like the option of giving the longer name and using the shorter name. I like nicknames (being a person who doesn't have one, I always felt a little left out of that club).
My son is Jackson, but we call him Jax. I didn't see any reason that the two spellings had to match up. After all, Bob is short for Robert. You don't meet a lot of Boberts, do you? : )
I like your plan! You can call your kids whatever nickname you choose, no matter the original spelling of their name. (How is S. short for Susan?? for example).
We had a neighbor girl named Caroline, and while I thought it was pretty, it seemed like a lot of syllables sometimes, so Cara would be easier.
My son has the same first name, though we call him Andrew with no nicknames so far. I think Cara is a fine nickname for Caroline. One of my friends has a daughter named Juniper and they call her June which I really like. Her other daughter also has one traditional and one nontraditional name as well. I also know someone named Carol who always goes by Carrie.
I agree with the others... the nickname does not have to follow the spelling of the full name. My girls are called Maddie (Madelyn) and Katie (Kaitlyn). I like Caroline for a full name with the nickname Cara. And June is a pretty middle name. Best wishes!
Caroline was #2 on our girl list, so it goes without saying that I love it - and Cara is a fine nickname for Caroline. We have a Timothy, and call him Tim-a, because that's how it *sounds*!
sounds reasonable to me!
I like your thinking! Caroline goes well with Andrew and you CAN call her Cara without having to spell it differently :) Beautiful names!!!!
So you are wanting to choose a name, based on their nicknames and what they would be called for short? To me, that is the issue.
To me, "Cara" short for Caroline, is not really.
Caroline would be Carol, for short.
But "Cara" sounds phonetically like the short name for "Caroline."
Not per its spelling.
You seem to like Caroline.
Hubby likes Cara.
But you would be calling her "Cara" for short, if you name her Caroline.
So, Cara or "Cara" short for Caroline, is the same thing.
Do you know that Cara is a long-established name in itself? It has Irish and/or Latin roots (you know how names are) and means "beloved" or "friend." Sometimes it's used as a nickname, but it is actually a traditional name.
If you go with Caroline (not Caraline), you could call her Cara; if you go with Cara, you could always call her CJ! She may make a nickname up for herself.
Playing around with names is fun! Enjoy it.
I think you can most certainly name her Caroline and call her Cara. Lots of people have nicknames that are spelled a letter apart or so from their full name. Such as: Abby for Abigail, Maddie for Madeline.
Love Caroline June.
Have a cousin Caroline and we have always called her Carly.
I absolutely adore Caroline June!! And Cara for short is beautiful! I am a little biased with respect to June...one of our daughters has June for her middle name because in Persian (my dad is) June is a term of endearment used after one's name. So saying Cara June would be like calling her Cara dear.
...and I love the thinking process of how it sounds calling them at the park - I did the same thing!!! So funny. CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU!!!
I like both names, but honestly, I can't stand the nicknaming thing. If you know that you are always going to call her Cara, then just name her that. Caroline is a beautiful name (if this one is a girl that's what her name will be), but I would always call her Caroline. Cara and Andrew/Drew works just as well as Caroline and Andrew/Drew. I'm just really not in to nicknames versus calling a child by his/her "real" name. Both names are very nice though, and I think both are fairly classic.
Hi--congrats!
Ok, here are my suggestions:
Love Caroline June( you can call her cara you don't have to spell it the way your mom said- you do what you want!)
Here are my other names if you want more:
Coraline (call her Coral for short)
Samantha
Kayla
Katherine June
June Caroline (call her Junie for short)
Abigail June
Brianne Abigail
Layla June
Samantha May
Davina June
Darla Caroline
Caroline Grace -one of my favs
Best wishes with your choice!
Molly
I just had my first girl a month ago and I named her Kayli Rae. My oldest sons name is Noi (pronounced No-ee) and my youngest sons name is Jaden. I like uniquely different names that are spelled differently as well.
*Good Luck*
I like Caroline nicknamed Cara. Or just name her Cara/Kara.
As a former teacher - just make sure she DOES know how to spell Caroline for test days. Most teachers will be fine if she writes Cara on her papers. But some, esp in HS will make her write Caroline b/c Cara is not what's in their roll-books. Just consider that sort of thing. I know that's Yyyeeearrrs down the road.
I think it's great!
Great compromise and hubby will probably go for it.
I know many people with nicknames that do not match the spelling of their actual name, especially those with more traditional names (Margaret/Maggie, Madeline/Maddy, William/Bill, Robert/Bob) so I think naming her Caroline & calling her Cara is fine. Both are beautiful names. In the end, this is your child and you can name her/call her whatever you want, whether others like it or not! Best wishes for a safe delivery & a healthy baby girl!
