My Grandma´s name is Eleanor, but my sister named a daughter after her-should I?

Question

My sister´s daughter is Ella, named after my Grandmother. Since I like the name Eleanor too, should I name my daughter Ellie?

BTW, my sister´s other daughter is Lily.

Answer 1

Name your daughter ELEANOR. Ellie is much too close to Ella. And if you don't want to obviously name your daughter after your grandmother, make it her middle nae instead.

For example:
Hanna Eleanor _______
Jenna Eleanor _______
Brooke Eleanor _______

Answer 2

While it's true Ella can be used as a nickname for Eleanor, and your sister chose to use it in her honor, there's no reason you can't actually name your daughter Eleanor, literally AFTER your grandmother.

Now if your sister had actually used Eleanor, or you wanted to use Ella like she did, that would be a different story. Not just "stepping on her toes," so to speak, but possibly creating some unnecessary confusion with the two girls having identical names. But Ella and Eleanor are two very-distinct choices. Especially if you use a nickname like Nora, rather than Ella, Ellie or Nell. That way there won't be any confusion. ;)

Answer 3

I wouldn't use Ellie. It is way to close to Ella and Lily. It is pretty much the two names combined. What about using Eleanor as the first name and using the nickname Nora, using Eleanor as the first name and calling her Eleanor, or using Eleanor as a middle name ?

I love Eleanor by the way!

Answer 4

I like the name Eleanor, as does my husband. My dad's mother's mom's name is Eleanor and was born in September, around the time our first baby is due. Also, one of my grandmother's sisters (my favorite great aunt because I knew her the best) is named Eleanor. So, if she is born on my great-grandmother's birthday, We might name her that.

I don't think two close names in one family is too weird. What about families with John and John, Jr.? Or even John I, II, and III? My husband and I have seriously talked about naming our daughter Katherine. My sister's daughter is Caitlin and she often goes by Caity, at least from my sister and our mother. So we might refer to our daughter as Kate or Katie. Yes, that can get confusing, but unfortunately, after my husband finishes his senior year of grad school, and we know to where we're moving, the cousins may not get together often anyway.

So one of the condierations is how often the girls will be seeing each other. If they are going to be together frequently, and maybe even going to school together, it could definitely get confusing.

Answer 5

Ellie is nice but IMHO I think that you shouldn't limit yourself to a name beginning with E. Seeing that you don't want to outright name your daughter Eleanor, what about Le-Ann (if you take the letters from the middle) or Eleana (which I think is pretty) or you can also go with Elle (very pretty as well). My son has both his grandparents names as middle names Nicholas and Johann (pronounced Yohan) after my grandmother Johanna. I think you can be creative. Shuffle around the letters of Eleanor and see what you come up with. For example a friend of mine wanted to name her son after her grandfather Norman...she called her son Roman... all the letters are in there just in a different order. The most important thing is that your daughter know how much your grandmother means to your family. Good Luck

Answer 6

So you like the name Eleanor and you're going to name your baby Ellie. Is that going to be her nic name or is that the name on the birth certificate? If you like the name Eleanor so much, just use that, but I like the name Ellie too and I don't think it would cause too much confusion at all. If you loved your grandmother, this is a wonderful tribute!

Congrats!

Answer 7

No, the two names are too close! I'd be pissed if I named my child something, and then someone close to me gave their kid almost the same exact name!

I don't really like Ellie, anyway. I prefer Eleanor! I'm just not a fan of nicknames.

Answer 8

Does she have a nice middle name you could use instead? I think an Ellie and an Ella might be too confusing.

Answer 9

How about Nora... similar to the ending of Eleanor.

Answer 10

No, I wouldn't!! Way to confusing why not make it a middle name. My daughters both share their great grandmothers name as a middle name. ie. Charlotte Grace and Lucinda Grace