baby names.

Matt and I had another conference last night and made some good progress on baby names! So here is what we have:

Emery Nolan Hales - I'm 99% sure this is the name we will stick with if it's a boy. Emery is English and means "work ruler". Nolan is Irish and means "descendant of the famous one". Nolan is a surname from Matt's Grandma Hales' family.

All of the middle names I have are somehow tied into family history. I think it's important for a middle name to reflect family history but Matt, on the other hand, thinks it's more important for a middle name to be Biblical. So I guess that's going to be our biggest hurdle. With Noah, his middle name is a family name and it's Biblical so we didn't have any issues there!

Emery William Hales - I thought I would throw this one into the mix just to have another option. For some reason, I can't just have ONE name for a boy already! William is English and means "strong-willed warrior", which I really like. William was my Grandpa Livingston's name.

I'm a pretty big "meanings person". I think it's important to consider the meaning behind a name you are choosing for your child as well as the visual/phonetic appeal of it.

Isla Catherine Hales - Isla is Scottish and means "island". Catherine is Greek and means "pure". Catherine was Matt's Great Grandma Root's name.

Isla Katharine Hales - Catherine is not my favorite spelling of the name but it's how Matt's Great Grandma spelled it. However, I thought I would have Katharine as an option because it just seems classic to me (Katharine Hepburn).

Isla Colette Hales - Colette is French and means "victory of the people". I chose it as a middle name option because Cole is my maiden name and this is just a feminine spin on that!

Isla Marie Hales - Marie is French and means "sea of bitterness". Marie was my Great Great Grandma Andersen's middle name.

Isla Corinne Hales - Corinne is a version of the name Cora, is French and means "maiden". Cora was my Great Grandma Livingston's name but it doesn't flow well as a middle name so that's why I chose to use Corinne instead.

I've covered all the same middle names that would be used for the name Lilah or Lyla instead. This gets a little interesting now because Matt prefers the spelling Lyla and I think I prefer it spelled Lilah. The interesting part is that the two different spellings are actually two different origins and, therefore, two different meanings. Lyla is Arabic and means "night". Lilah is Persian and means "lilac tree". So I definitely wouldn't shun Lyla even though I like the other spelling better. Maybe if it's a girl and she's born at night, we will go with Lyla over Lilah! lol

Lilah Catherine Hales
Lilah Katharine Hales
Lilah Colette Hales
Lilah Marie Hales
Lilah Corinne Hales

Lyla Catherine Hales
Lyla Katharine Hales
Lyla Colette Hales
Lyla Marie Hales
Lyla Corinne Hales

Chloe Marcella Hales - This might be one of my favorites just because it sounds so pretty. Chloe is Greek and means "verdant and blooming". I had originally spelled it Khloe but Matt prefers Chloe so I changed it. Marcella is Latin and means "young warrior". Marcella was Matt's Great Grandma Nolan's middle name.

And that covers it! If you want to vote on each name, click here (or on the badge to the right)! :)
OR
If you prefer it the Babynames.com way. So many options, I know.