Opinion on Name Choices

Updated on September 07, 2012
S.L. asks from Lincolnton, GA
39 answers

It's been a while since I've posted anything, but wanted some opinions. Me & my hubby are having our 3rd child, a little girl to be born late Dec or early Jan. We have narrowed down our name choices to 2 names, one that he likes better and one that I like better. We have put a lot of thought and consideration into these names so I ask that you please don't be overly judgmental on our choices, but we want to know what people like better. A simple yay or nay would be fine. One is a little more unique than the other and we want to make sure that whatever we choose won't be a burden on her. Our name choices are Ellie Grace or Avalynn Grace. Thanks for your input!

Update: Avalynn would be pronounced like Ava Lynn. It is commonly spelled Avalyn which makes it look like it sounds like Evelyn with the same pronounciations. And for the person who mentioned the meaning, it means "beautiful breath of life" which is very fitting considering we had 2 late first trimester miscarriages in a row before conceiving her.

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Featured Answers

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I always prefer simple spelling for names. No one wants to grow up with a name that people are constantly mispelling, so I prefer Ellie Grace (and it's very cute!)
Have you considered Evelyn rather than Avalynn? That's a pretty alternative, and you could call her Evie :)

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I.G.

answers from Seattle on

I like both, but I HATE unconventional/"modern" spelling for names.
So for me it should be Ava Lynn Grace.
Good luck!

3 moms found this helpful
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L.R.

answers from Washington DC on

I like Ava Lynn. Avalynn will be mispronounced and misspelled and generally will mean you, and later she, will be constantly correcting people and correcting forms. If you pronounce it "Av-va-lynn" with a short A sound it will be misspelled and mispronounced as "Avalon" a lot (it's a place name but is a more familiar word for many folks, and is the name of many a movie theatre as well as a mythical place in many books).

Ava (not "av-va" but with a long "A" sound) is a lovely name in itself. Doesn't have to be attached to Lynn, I think. But Ava Lynn sounds nice and so does Ava Lynn Grace -- a child can have more than just the two names; mine does and it's no problem!

Ellie is pretty common as a girl's name lately so Ava would be more unusual but it's still a traditional name -- do you know the old-time movie star Ava Gardner?

I would not do AvaLynn with an internal capital letter like someone suggested. That seems to me to be asking for eternal misspellings!

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J.G.

answers from New York on

I'm just afraid people won't know how to pronounce "Avalynn." Like, I'm not sure how! Is it a long "a" sound or a short "a" sound at the beginning?

5 moms found this helpful
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K.R.

answers from Denver on

I like Ellie better.

2 moms found this helpful

J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

Ellie Grace. I am going to put this as nice as I can, when I read Avalynn I thought of a car. Yeah, I know it is spelled differently but that is what popped in my mind. Perhaps if you split it up Ava Lynn people would get it but even then I prefer Ellie.

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B.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

I like Ellie. But that's because it is my daughter's name :) Best of luck!

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M.P.

answers from Green Bay on

They are both beautiful! I do think Ellie is used a little more so that makes Avalynn my choice...but since you both agree on Grace, why not make that the first name?? :-) Not to make the simple yay or nay more complicated :-)

I agree with Nikki G when she says many may not be sure how to pronounce it...I personally would say "Ah-valynn" as opposed to "Ava-lynn" (prob because Ava-lynn just sounds awkward to me)...so, there's my input!! :-)

BTW...you are carrying baby, and laboring, and delivering baby...I think you get an extra vote!! :-)

1 mom found this helpful

A.S.

answers from Iowa City on

I like Ellie better than Avalynn because of pronunciation issues.

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E.T.

answers from Albuquerque on

There are a lot of Ellie's out there... it's nickname for Elizabeth, Eleanor, Isabelle, Gabrielle, etc. So I'd pick Avalynn so she won't be one of five Ellie's in her kindergarten class.

If you do go with Ellie, perhaps pick a longer name so she can use Ellie as a nickname and have a more "adult" name when she grows up?

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S.E.

answers from New York on

if you changed it to Ava-Lynn i would totally like that better but the way you have it in your question id have to say go with Ellie (i agree with penelope people are going to see it on paper and not be sure how you want it to be pronounced)

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K.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I like Ellie much more than Avalynn. I like the name Ava, but not really Avalynn. I'm more into traditional names and don't tend to like the trendier/more unique names as much.

1 mom found this helpful

N.G.

answers from Dallas on

I love Ellie.

Not such a fan of Avalynn, just because I'm not sure if it's pronounced AY-vah-lin, or Ave-ah-lin, and I imagine you'll get that a lot. Plus, I'm not a fan of the name 'Ava'.

I love Evelyn (or maybe Evalynn) though, that name is making a comeback.

Ellie is a bit overused lately, but I still love it. ;)

Congrats on your baby girl!!

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K..

answers from Phoenix on

Ellie Grace. Avalynn Grace is too much - it sounds like 3 names instead of 2.

1 mom found this helpful

S.L.

answers from Kansas City on

I like Ava or Ella with Grace for the middle name. Then call her Ellie. You could do Ava Lynn or Ella Grace which is my favorite of the two names.

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C.B.

answers from Houston on

I don't know how to pronounce Avalynn. If that is your choice, it could haunt her forever. I know hiring managers who put difficult-to-pronounce-names on the bottom of the resume pile. It is easier to call someone in for an interview when you can confidently pronounce their name when you call them on the phone. However, a slight change in spelling could solve that issue.

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K.P.

answers from Seattle on

I like Ellie Grace, it sounds sweet, and simple and not as common. Congrats!!

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M.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I agree with the difficult pronounciation of Avalynn. I read it with a soft A instead of hard so it sounded more like Avalon. I only noticed Ava at second glance. I think I like Ellie better.

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A.S.

answers from Atlanta on

both names are beautiful! we always played the name game when picking out names and Ellie rhymes with belly and smelly...just a thought. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

I think Ellie Grace sounds nicer.

How would Avalynn be pronounced? A-va-Lynn? Ave-A-Lynn?

My boss named one of his daughter's Ella Grace and the other Sofia McLean...

Congratulations!! GOOD LUCK!!!

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L.M.

answers from Reno on

I like Ellie Grace, but then, I have reason! :) My daughter is Elizabeth Eve and she goes by Ellie. Actually, Elizabeth Grace sound beautiful too! lol ;-)

So my fave of your choices is Ellie Grace.

Congratulations!

~L.

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C.M.

answers from St. Louis on

LOVE Ellie!!!! Ava is a very popular name so thinking about it that way, if you did go with that name and she shortened it to Ava, there may be several more Ava's in her class when she's older. However, Avalynn is very beautiful. If we have another girl in the future, I love the name Ellie or Ella so that is my first choice :)

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M.L.

answers from Colorado Springs on

Hooray for Ellie Grace!

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M.F.

answers from Dallas on

I have a good friend who has a 4yr named Ellie Grace and she is beautiful, me personally love Avalynn. I like different :) CONGRATS and either way you go they are both beautiful names :)

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A.C.

answers from Atlanta on

I like Avalynn because it's interesting. Also, to me, Ellie is a nickname.

J.S.

answers from Hartford on

Ellie is such a sweet nickname. What would the full form of the name be?

Aveline Grace would be lovely.

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M.G.

answers from Atlanta on

Hands down ELLIE GRACE ! Love that name.

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K.O.

answers from Atlanta on

I prefer Ellie. Not a fan of the Ava and lynn together. Now, if you separated them and called the baby Ava, then I would prefer that over Ellie.

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E.S.

answers from Atlanta on

My vote is for Avalynn! But I'm biased, reminds me of my daughter's name, Adelyn.

Congrats on your precious lil girl!

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Both names are nice.

Avalynn, might be a pronunciation issue.
Is it a long "a" or a short "a" sound?
For example.

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J.B.

answers from Boston on

They're both beautiful but I like Ellie better. I think that Avalynn would be hard to pronounce (is it like Evelyn but with a long A at the beginning - A'-va-lin or like "Ava" and then "Lynn" like two different names said together?). That's the only drawback I can see but otherwise, they're both beautiful.

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E.G.

answers from Atlanta on

I like avalynn better.

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T.A.

answers from Seattle on

I like Ava by itself but there will be problems with spelling and pronunciation if you do avalynn. So I say if you don't like Ava then go with Ellie. I like Ellie for a little girl but would prefer it to be a nickname so as an adult she has something more professional sounding or serious. I know Ellies who are Ellington, Ellison, Ellery, ella, elsa, eliza, elizabeth, names ending in elle, and just Elle.

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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

Ellie Grace or Elsa Grace. Ellie is a nickname for Elsa.

Congratulations.

Good luck to you and yours.

M.R.

answers from Detroit on

Heres the thing, I do the exact opposite that everyone wants me to do. So, Im not going to tell you which one I like better.
For me, I think the determining factor would have to be the meaning of the name. Have you looked them both up?
For my 3rd, her name was almost Cameron, until I looked up the meaning. Boo!

The kid makes the name. The name doesnt make the child. Whichever you choose, will be the right choice.

Ok, fine, I like Avalynn better. ;)

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C.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

I like Ellie better. Part of it may be I know an Ellie (nickname) that I like. But I also have concerns about the pronunciation of Avalynn. Is it a long A or short A at the beginning? Another consideration may be how it fits with the names of your other two children.

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S.H.

answers from St. Louis on

I prefer Avalynn Grace. I would spell it....AvaLynne Grace. :) Assuming you're going with a long A....as opposed to Av-a-lynn.

I think Ellie sounds like a nickname....sorry. But Eleanor Grace is lovely. :)

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K.F.

answers from New York on

Avalynn Grace

I like unique names. People usually ask how to pronounce and unusual name so it's really not that big of a deal but something she will have to deal with. I have several friends that have unique names and there really isn't a problem. Again people just ask.

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J.K.

answers from Sacramento on

I love them both. I think that there are a lot of Ellie's these days, so I lean more toward Avalynn. Beautiful choices. I love love the name Grace.
Congratulations!

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