Coming Up with Unique Names for Twins

Naming twins is twice as hard as naming one baby. Many people decide to name their twins with names that start with the same first letter. In fact, on the Social Security Administration's website, all ten of the top ten twin names start with the same letter. Over 50% of the top one hundred twin names start with the same letter and many of the non-matching ones sound similar (like Hailey and Bailey). (1)

If giving your twins names that rhyme or start with the same letter isn't for you, try giving them names that coordinate, but in a unique way. Here are some ideas:

Same meaning, different name:
Eve and Zoe both mean "life", but one is Hebrew and the other is Greek. Hannah means "grace" in Hebrew. Nathaniel and Theodore both mean "gift of God" but Nathaniel is Hebrew and Theodore is Greek. (2) Using the website, www.behindthename.com, you can find a meaning that you like and see what other names have that same meaning. Your twins' names wouldn't sound the same, but would still coordinate.

Meanings that go together:
Brendan and Sarah mean "prince" and "princess" in Irish and Hebrew. Mia and Cara together mean "my beloved" in Italian. Melanie and Phoebe mean "light" and "dark" in Greek. (2)

Names that are anagrams of each other:
Amy and May, Dolly and Lloyd, Aidan and Nadia (Aidan is the reverse of Nadia), Johan and Jonah are all examples of names that are anagrams of each other (both names contain the same letters, just rearranged). If you find a name you like, try switching around the letters to see if you can make another name that sounds similar.

Family names:
If you want names that have significance to your family, try using names from grandparents or other family names for your twins. For example, you could use your husband's middle name and your middle name for your boy/girl twins. Or you could use a derivative of your names for your twins. Strangers wouldn't know that they coordinate, but your family would.

Names that don't coordinate at all:
Who says your twins' names need to go together at all? Some families choose to give all their children names that start with the same letter, end with the same sound or have the same number of syllables - but families who don't coordinate their children's names have children who are just as special. You've heard it before: twins are individuals. Yes, they arrived together and they may even look alike, but that doesn't mean their names have to match at all. If you like names that have nothing in common, go for it!

Naming your twins doesn't have to be as stressful as it sounds. The hardest part is probably finding names that you and your husband can agree on together. When you think you've found the names, make sure you work through every possible way a cruel child could make fun of the names so that you can protect your twins from teasing and being picked on. After all, if you pick names like Adam and Eve or Bonnie and Clyde, you are just asking for trouble.

1.http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/twins.html
2.http://www.behindthename.com/twins.php