But Olivia is My Favorite Name!
Adapted from Beyond Ava and Aiden
by Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz
h no! Ever since you watched your big sister's copy of Grease so many times the tape broke, you've always known that you would name your first daughter Olivia. But now that the time has almost arrived, you find that thousands of other mothers got there first, and Olivia is among the most popular girls' name in the country. What to do?
Well, you have two options. You can stick with your lifelong love despite the perils of superpopularity (three Olivias in each class), or you can look for a worthy substitute, a name that relates to your first choice in style or sound or ethnicity. To help you in the process, here is a selection of possible substitutes, all at least a shade more creative and crisp than the well-used original.
Girls
Instead of --- Consider
ALEXIS --- ALBANY, ALICE, ALESSIA
AVA --- ADA, AVALON, AVERY
BRIANNA --- BREE, BRYONY, BRONTE
GRACE --- HONOR, MERCY, VERITY
HANNAH --- ANYA, DINAH, SANNA
ISABELLA --- ARABELLA, MIRABELLA, RAFFAELA
KAITLYN --- BRONWYN, KEIRA, CATE
MADISON --- MAISIE, MADIGAN, MADRIGAL
OLIVIA --- OLIVE, OLYMPIA, VALENTINA
SAMANTHA --- SAMARA, MIRANDA, DIANTHA
Boys
Instead of --- Consider
AARON --- ABEL, ASA, MICAH
AIDEN --- EAMON, DECLAN, FINIAN
AUSTIN --- AUGUST, HOUSTON, AUDEN
BENJAMIN --- BENNO, GIDEON, SAMSON
DYLAN --- GRIFFIN, BRECON, GARETH
HAYDEN --- HUDSON, SLATER, GRAY
JAKE -- MOE, GUS, ELI
JOSHUA --- JOSIAH, JUDAH, JETHRO
TYLER --- TOBIAS, THATCHER, TURNER
ZACHARY --- ZANE, ZEBEDEE, BARNABY
For even more substitution ideas, check out our new book, Beyond Ava & Aiden, from which this post was adapted.
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