How to Name Sisters

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How to Name Sisters

Written by Elizabeth Weiss McGolerick

Our list will help you find baby girl names that make a perfect match for sisters. You want your daughters to develop their individuality, but it’s probably safe to say that you wish to see them establish a strong and everlasting sisterly bond as well. When you’re deciding how to name sisters, choosing names that play off of each other is one way to try to promote this bond from the moment your firstborn daughter becomes “the big sister.”

sisters playing If marriage is in your daughters’ futures, they may opt to take their partner’s name after tying the knot, but it’s probably safe to say that your daughters will likely share the same last name for a good 20 years or so of their lives.

You can’t plan for what other last name might be in their future (unless, of course, you’re already trying to play matchmaker with your best friend’s sons!), so do consider the first, middle and last names as a grouping when you’re making your final naming choices.

Some questions to consider before naming sisters:

1.    What kind of message do you want to convey with your daughters’ names?
2.    Do you want your daughters’ names to sound feminine (e.g., Cecilia, Isabella, Daisy)?
3.    Strong and serious (e.g., Frances, Caroline, Margaret)?
4.    Masculine or even androgynous (e.g., Taylor, Dakota, Emerson)?
5.    Do the names you have chosen for your girls emphasize that they are sisters?
6.    If yes, is that the kind of feeling you want those names to evoke?

A word of caution: In an effort to facilitate sisterly closeness, if you dare to ask your firstborn daughter her opinion about what name her sister should have (particularly if she is still very young and wonderfully whimsical), you could open up a whole can of worms that you might regret later. It’s nice to try to include her as the big sis, but remember that the name you give your child will be hers for life – make sure the final decision is an adult one.

Consider the following ways to name sisters.

Initial by Initial

If you’re particularly enamored with your firstborn daughter’s initials, consider matching her sister(s) by choosing names that start with the same letters: Amelia Rose and Adriane Renee; Lillian Justine and Leslie Jane; Piper Mary and Paula Marie.

Other letter groupings include matching only the sisters’ middle names by initial (Olivia Anne and Joanna Alice) or even repeating the same middle name while giving the girls very independent first names (Katherine Ella and Victoria Ella).

Get more tips here on baby name initials.

Super Sweet

Because lovely little girls easily evoke sentiments of pink and nice and sugar and spice, it can be easy to fall victim to cutesy names. If you’re OK with this, then have at it. There are plenty of names that can be pulled together to definitely show that people are dealing with a set of sisters: Kristin, Kiersten, Kaylee and Kristine or Addison, Abigail, Ava, Alyssa and Ashley.

However, there are also ways for sisters to share the same first initial without going overboard on cutesiness: Diana, Deborah and Deirdre or Genevieve, Georgia and Grace.

Search baby names by letter by using our Advanced Baby Name Search.

Syllable Sidekicks

Opting for the same number of syllables for sisters’ first and middle names is one way to connect them in a subtle way through sound. It may not seem obvious that the names have anything in common, but if said side-by-side, the rhythm of the names will be clear. This is a very unique way to create a relationship between sisters without sacrificing originality. A few examples: Melissa Jean Roberts and Suzanna Kate Roberts; Olive Rae Carter and Nina Dawn Carter.

Get baby name ideas by syllable: One Syllable Baby Girl Names and Two Syllable Baby Girl Names.

United by Nicknames

Nicknames are almost inevitable, particularly if you’ve chosen very similar names for your girls or if they have easily first names that are practically screaming to be abbreviated such as Katherine (Kat, Kate, Kathy), Veronica (Vera, Ronnie, Nica) or Patricia (Pat, Trish, Ricki).

Consider whether or not the names you’re bestowing upon your daughters lend themselves to nicknames. And if so, is that what you want? If nicknames arise, do they work together and, if so, is that what you want? To maintain control over any abbreviations that may pop up once your girls reach school age, establish what you like early so that it will stick and, perhaps, create another unique link between sisters.

Check out our list of popular nicknames for traditional names.

The Original Sisters

One of the most famous sisterly quartets was the March sisters, beautifully written by Louisa May Alcott in her book Little Women. Meg (Margaret), Jo (Josephine), Beth (Elizabeth) and Amy all worked together as sisterly names, yet identified each woman – and their very, very different personalities separately as well.