Another Name Question

Unless the cousins are going to grow up in the same small town, what difference does it make if they have similar, but different, names? (My family has two Ryan Scotts and they see each other once or twice a year). Besides that, you don't know if you are having a girl, right? So I'd wait until it's really a question.

It would help to know the last name, for flow purposes.
I would choose Marlene Grace

Just don't use 'Nancy Grace' ;)

I would go for something totally different from the name your boyfriend's brother has already chosen.
I think the Emma/Arlene combo is a little cumbersome anyway, don't you?
What are the odds that you'd both pick those same, somewhat unusual names?
Maybe keep Emma as a middle name?

Keep the name Emma Arlene if that is the name you selected. I don't get the need to change it since they are two similar but different names.

there are some more modern forms of Arlene-Emma is such a beautiful name-if you want it-use it.

http://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Arlene

If you still love the name you picked (Emma Arlene) then I say use it. You shouldn't have to name your child something you don't want because someone else picked the same or similar name. Besides, when their child arrives, they could change it at the last minute.

You could also go with Emma Grace so it wouldn't be quite as close to your future niece.

Emma Grace
Gracelynn Arlene
Marilynn Arlene
Emma Rose
Sophia Grace
and if you really like what you originally chose, go with it! Stick to your gut feeling about what you chose. There are many families that have several children/cousins named the same.

i like lilian grace, or sydney grace

Could you use a "Mel" name for a girl, to honor Melvin? Say,

Grace Melanie
Grace Melisande

Other possibilities using those three names:

Grace Arlynn
Mariel Grace
Aria Gracelynn
Ella Grace(lynn) (I think Ella is often used as an alternative to Emma)

Or, just to throw out a few names I personally like:

Phoebe Grace
Norah Grace
Verity Grace
Tess Arlene

Good luck! I'm sure you'll choose something beautiful.

i like lilian grace.. thats really cute.. definatley grace as the middle name and im a big fan of the ann names anna-lynn roseann maryann .. i think they all sound pretty good with grace .. as for the name issue i hear u on that one .. we had our boy name picked out from the day i found out i was pregnant.. he wouldve been anothony christoper and our last name starts with an E so his innitials wouldve been ACE.. my fiance loved that, well when we found out we were having a girl we had to find a girl name but always agreed that someday when we had a boy that would be his name ... my cousin and his girlfriend had a baby boy 3 weeks after my daughter was born and named him anthony =(

Kathleen Grace. You could call her Katie, Kate or Kat.
Lyla Arlene.
Eleanor Grace or Eleanor Arlene. You could call her Elle or Elly.
Serina Marilynn.
Margot Grace.
If you shorten Marilynn to either Lynn or Mari then you can use pretty much any first name you like.

I've never understood why cousins can't have the same basic names, and then have different nicknames.

Nancy used to be a variation of Ann (Anna, Anne). Maybe that will inspire you to further thought. Your middle name options are lovely. If you don't want to use Arlene, there are lots of first names to go with Grace. Maybe you want to look at names that end in a vowel, so that the first and middle names can flow easily together: Maria Grace, Sophie Grace, Nancy Grace. But Evelyn Grace sounds nice, even if there isn't a vowel on the end. So maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

You all could look through one of those online lists, pick out your top five favorites (that would be ten favorites altogether), and see how you like the whole name, including your last name, over the next few days. Say the full name out loud when you think about it. You will enjoy some names better than others. When you meet your new daughter - assuming you meet a daughter - you'll know which one of the choices is the best one.

Are you calling your baby Spot right now? I didn't quite understand that last paragraph. I called all my babies Whoozis before they were born. When my daughter was expecting, she didn't like Whoozis (for some odd reason!), so she alternated calling the baby Elvis and Myrtle. When he was born, they named him Ian.

Anna is a form of Nancy. Anna Grace would be beautiful. Let your child be an original and don't give her the same name as her cousin.

The name 'Nancy' actually means Grace. Although I'm biased (my grandma's name was Nancy & we used Grace as my youngest's middle name to honor her) I think Grace is a beautiful name & looks lovely w/any first name.

I wanted Emma because it's my grandmas middle name, but it was too popular the year I had my daughter. So we chose Amelia. Similar but less common. Amelia grace would be nice, I would always choose grace of the three middle names, and for other first names I like Avery, Brianna, calista, Chloe, Delia, ellery, Ellison (both could be Ellie), Emerson, Gianna, Hadley, Harper, Julia, kinley, Madeline, Norah, Olivia, Payton/Peyton, phoebe, Quinn, taryn, Victoria, Veronica. And having the same middle name as a friend or cousin is fine!