Ellie or Ella? Plus need help with a middle name.?

Question

I want to name my baby after my grandmother Eleanor, but don't like that name. I like Ellie and Ella, but can't decide which one is best. Ellie sounds nice for a baby, but if I name her Ella, we can still call her Ellie for a nickname, but she will have a second option when she grows up. What do you think?

Also, I'm having trouble thinking of a middle name. Her name will be Ella or Ellie Chen. All I can think of is Ellie Ann, but I don't like it. Any suggestions? :-)

On the email update one person actually wrote not to name her Chen because it's a Chinese last name. Ummm, usually we don't pick our own last names. So to clarify, her father is Chinese. I am American. We live in China, so we will give her a complete American name and a complete Chinese name. The Chinese name is the real problem! Thanks for everyone's advice so far. I think I am leaning more towards Ella. And I really like the sound of May or Mae so far, but I'll keep an open mind for a another day or two!

Answer 1

Congratulations on your expected baby!

I think Ella is a better option. As you mentioned, you can still give her the nickname Ellie. Ella Rose Chen sounds nice to me. So does Ella Mai Chen (or you could spell it May or Mei).

Ella means "light", and Mai means "brightness". So she would be your bright light if you named her Ella Mai.

Mei means "great one", as does May.

Answer 2

Ellie Elizabeth, Ella Joelle, Ella/Ellie Victoria

Answer 3

I prefer Ella or even Elle (pronounced like the letter "L"), as Ellie sounds very nicknamish to me. Ella is a sweet name AND as you said, Ellie could definitely be her nickname.

How about:
Ella Brooke
Ella Ansley
Ella Caterina
Ella Catherine
Ella Charlotte
Ella Frances
Ella Francesca
Ella Josephine
Ella Genevieve
Ella Harper
Ella Jessamyn or Jessamine
Ella Margaret
Ella Paige
Ella Rosalind
Ella Ruby
Ella Victoria
Ella Vivian

Answer 4

Ella Marsay Chen?

Answer 5

Ella Victoria

Answer 6

Ella Raine

Answer 7

I like Ellie way better than Ella. And if she grows up actually liking Eleanor she can use that name because a lot of people shorten it to Ellie.
A middle name.....:
Ellie Rose
Ellie Marie
Ellie Jaquenetta
Ellie Sofia
Ellie Ambrosia
Ellie Grace
=)
Love,
Katryna Marie =P

Answer 8

I like both but probably Ellie best and I like Eleanor(you dont, so its out).

Some ideas:Ella Avery
Ellie Haven
Ellie Noelle, Ella May
Ella Soriah (sir eye ah)
Ellie Breanne, Ella Daisy
Ellie Briana, Ella Kaylee

Answer 9

I have the same situation with my great grandmother Eleanor.

I loove Ella, but it is also one of the top 15 names for babies now. So I may do EllaNora or Ellanora - mixing Ella and Nora, two beautiful names and calling her Ella for short.

Another opition I have thought is simply Elle - like the model Elle McPherson. Elle is not as common, but yet very chic.

If you just want Ella then why not make Nora/Norah her middle name?
Another opition with Ella that I LOVE is Ella Grace - when you say it fast it sounds like Elegance - which is what you want your daughter to be.

Congrads!:)

Answer 10

I think you should give her the full name of Eleanor, and use Ella or Ellie as a nickname. Both of these are cute, but as she matures, she might prefer a more formal name. Besides that, the more traditional names are quite in fashion these days! Many of us don't use our full given name, but an abbreviation of it, as a nickname. For example, my father is Joseph, but he goes by Joe, and my mother is Christine, but goes by Chris.

With Chen as a last name, I think Ellie is a better nickname than Ella.

There are lots of good middle names for Eleanor Chen. A few that come to mind for me are Marie, Zoe, Elizabeth, Isabelle...Or perhaps you could go with something that connects to the tradition of her Chinese (?) heritage, such as Li-Hua or Mei-Lien.