☎️ Baby Name Hotline: Bridge-the-gap Names

The Nameberry team responds to one Berry's baby name dilemma

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Lainey writes,

My current top two girl names are Leonie Maude "Leni" and Royce Harriet. I absolutely love them as a set but I can't seem to find another name that matches them. I love how Leonie and Royce aren't perfectly matched and I don't want a name that feels more stylistically close to one of the names and not the other. So far I've thought of...

Asa

Casper

Felix

Hugo

Shepherd

Simon

Flora

Imogen

Iris — not sure if Iris and Royce are too close in sound

Matilda

I'd love some more ideas as well as feedback on ones I've already thought of. Thanks in advance!

Pam: This is a fascinating puzzle, how to find a match for two names that aren’t matched? It’s like we’re looking for the purple that brings blue and red together.

I’m a bit thrown by the Leni/Leonie piece, as I think they relate to two different sides of Royce. Leni feels like the quirky androgynous side, while Leonie feels like the eccentric ancestor side. So maybe Name 3 should be a quirky androgynous eccentric ancestor name???

Emma: “Quirky androgynous eccentric ancestor” – love it!

Leonie feels a lot more conventionally feminine than Royce, so that brings an extra element to the equation for girls. Whereas for boys, offbeat vintage feels like the order of the day! 

The current list nails this: I particularly like Casper and Shepherd, which feel a little more unexpected than the likes of Felix or Simon. Leonie and Royce demand something which packs a bit of spark and surprise!

Sophie: Offbeat vintage is definitely the right style for boys! Of Lainey’s picks, I really like Casper as well. The one that works the least for me is Asa, since it has a more feminine sound, I would expect that a daughter named Royce might reasonably have a sister named Asa.

Clare: Asa I actually really like, as it’s such a different style — it doesn’t even try to bridge the gap between Leonie and Royce, but goes in its own direction.

I’m leaning away from non-traditional surnames like Shepherd: in the sibset, I’d assume Shepherd and Royce were brothers, and Leonie was their sister. (If strangers’ gender assumptions matter…which they probably shouldn’t…)

Emma: I’d agree with you on Asa, Sophie. Normally I adore it – it’s been on my own list in the past, sadly nixed by my husband — but it leans more feminine than Royce, so the set jars a little bit.  (Still, maybe the world is ready for a bit of jarring!)

Others that spring to mind for boys: Elwood, Sylvan, Augusten, Gilbert (too clunky?), Otto, Orson, Franklin, Conrad… Something like Huxley or Fletcher could make for an interesting modern/retro overlap option.

Sophie: Conrad feels like a winner, as well as Sylvan and Orson. I also like Boaz, Eero, Laszlo, Rohmer, Alvin/Alvie, Dexter, and Chester.

Clare: Sophie’s suggestion of Boaz fits this bill — perhaps even better as it’s so strongly masculine. Perhaps you’d also like light-touch biblical names like Avi, Ira, or Hiram? I’ll add Clement, Emil, Fabian, and Jago.

Emma: For girls, names like Flora and Iris feel too gentle and feminine to me. Imogen is my favourite from the current list — traditional, but unexpected in the US, and with a more androgynous sound and shape.

Matilda is great (biased — it’s my own daughter’s middle) but I wouldn’t use it with Maude in the same sibset, as they are forms of the same name.

Sophie: Like you, Emma, my favorite would be Matilda were it not for the Maude middle name. Matilda’s nicknames — particularly Mattie or Till(y) — feel on track with Leni and Royce.

Clare: I laughed when I saw that both Emma and Sophie pointed out the Matilda/Maude issue, as that’s the first thing that struck me! #namenerdproblems

Emma: I’d be tempted to look for vintagesque surnames with strong female namesakes or softer nickname options, to draw in elements of Leonie, Leni, and Royce. Examples might include Austen, Eliot or Ellis, Monroe, Marlowe, Bronte, Alcott, Jemison, Friedan, Arden, Afton, Hollis.

I also like less lacy, more punchy vintage names with Leonie and Royce. Maybe something like Honor, Sylvia, Georgia, Wallis, Vada, Ingrid, Simone, Maxine, Inez, Sibyl or Sibley.

Sophie: For a girl, I’m drawn to names that are boyish yet obviously feminine. If that makes sense? Names with boyish sounds that are overwhelmingly used for girls. That’s better.

I’d add: Noa, Alba, Ilse, Darcy, Juna, Romy (too much with Royce?), Percy. Most of these feel pretty European to me, in line with Leonie/Leni. I was going to say Elin but then I realized it’s an anagram of Leni!

Clare: To bridge the gap for girls, I’d be looking for another name with history that’s not too feminine — so not Flora or Iris, sadly — and rare in the States, but possibly better known in other countries or as a surname. Bonus points for sounding distinct from both Leonie and Royce, and for an androgynous nickname, like Leni.

From the suggestions above, my favourites are Imogen, Ingrid, Ellis, and Sibyl. I’ll throw in a few more: Avis, Ines, Manon, Seren, Tamsin. Wildcards are Dorrit and Marriott (maybe too close to Harriet).

Emma: Loving the suggestions! Inspired by some of those mentioned…

For a boy: Ansel? Ambrose? Ander/s? Marius? Roscoe would be great if it weren’t so close to Royce… Pascoe?

For a girl: Maren, Merrin, Marit? Idony? Frida? Margo? Bryony or Bryher? (Not a misspelling — Cornish and rather lovely I think!)

For either gender: August, Merritt, Perrin, Darcy?

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