#and I think Martyn should be either their brother or weird cousin | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

alliluyevas · 3 years

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my official rating of all the duggar grandkids names for anyone who is curious:

Josh & Anna:

Mackynzie Renee: I actually like Mackenzie even though it's not really my own style, but I don't love Mackynzie, in both spelling and pronunciation it's not as appealing imo. I like Renee even though it's a bit of a filler middle, but Kynzie shares a middle name with her mom so I'll give that a pass because I tend to give family names a lot of leeway.

Michael James: Michael and James are two of my favorite boys' names so I like this one :) They're both very simple and classic but they're lovely and so versatile. I do think James is also a bit filler-y as a middle even though it's one of my faves as a first, but presumably it's after Jim Bob so it also gets a pass (actually, I don't think choosing to name your kid after Jim Bob Duggar gets a pass really but kshdjghsf)

Marcus Anthony: I really like both of these names individually, esp Anthony, but I HATE them together because it just makes me think of Mark Antony and I don't think they did it on purpose but I think it's cheesy.

Meredith Grace: Return of the filler middle! I do like Grace although it feels more fresh as a first name. I don't love Meredith, it's fine but I prefer Mary and it definitely feels dated. Also they call her Dithy for short and I don't like that at all.

Mason Garrett: Don't really like Mason, it feels very bland and it's not my style. Garrett is also not my style but it has a bit more punch to it. It does flow well though.

Maryella Hope: I actually really like this one, even though it's def sort of old-ladyish. I like Mariella spelling better, but I know she's named after Jim Bob's mother Mary so the connection is more obvious this way. But I like all the "chunks" of this name: Mary + Ella + Hope. It sounds a little too similar to Meredith but when you're locked into the M names there's only so much you can do I guess.

overall/sibling set take: I honestly hate the matchy-sibling-initial thing and I think it's annoying as hell, and I'm glad Josh is the only Duggar kid who has chosen to continue this tradition with his own family. I also think it boxes parents into choosing names they don't really love just because it goes with the theme, and it means a lot of the names kind of clash. I don't think coherency in style for sibling names is a huge deal but they definitely don't have it. On the other hand, I really like a lot of the individual name choices here.

Jill & Derick

Israel David: I think Israel sounds really nice but I think it's almost unusuably politically and religiously loaded/controversial so I feel like I really disagree with their choice to use it. David is very handsome, nice classic.

Samuel Scott: Samuel is one of my favorite names and I'm kind of sorry I will never use it because it's my grandpa, uncle, and cousin's name and also my brother's middle name so it's kind of already taken multiple times over. Scott isn't my favorite but as a middle name it's fine and the whole thing flows well and is a good use of alliteration, which I don't always care for.

overall take: solid choices, don't love the use of Israel from an ideological perspective. Would be interested to see if they keep doing the -el thing with future kids or what style of name they would pick for a girl. I also think Jill and Derick may not have any more kids and will likely have the most limited family of any second-gen Duggars so we may not see many more names, which is a pity as a name nerd but great as someone who supports Jill making decisions about her own reproductive system and family size. My personal prediction is that Jill will eventually have a third child (I do think she would like a daughter) but that they will stop after that.

Jessa & Ben

Spurgeon Elliot: This is the only first name choice on a Duggar grandbaby that I outright hate. I think this is like Jinger-level bad if not worse. It's weird, but it's not even like an unusual name that happens to sound nice, it's SO ugly. I think of sperm, I think of sturgeon fish, I somehow think of Squidward especially since his full name is Spurgeon Seewald, it's really just bad. It's also such a pity because Elliot is a lovely name and if they'd just switched around the two I could have dealt with it, I know they wanted to reference Charles Spurgeon but they truly should have used the middle spot like they did with Henry. They absolutely nerfed this poor kid.

Henry Wilberforce: Henry is such a nice classic and I really like it. See, here with Wilberforce as a middle it acknowledges the historical figure they want to honor but it also flows nicely and doesn't hit you over the head and also Wilberforce isn't as ugly and Squidward-like as Spurgeon.

Ivy Jane: This is super cute, I really like how it has vintage charm but also feels up to date. I don't think they call her by her full name, but I also think Ivy Jane would be a cute double name. I also just realized that in addition to two Evies there is also an Ivy in this family which is just :/

overall opinion: I really don't know why they didn't swap the FN/MN on Spurgeon because Elliot, Henry, and Ivy is like a perfectly matched sibling set. That's all on that. I almost wonder if they regret naming Spurgeon that and that's why they've stuck more traditional with the other two, or if either Ben or Jessa has way more obscure taste than the other and they've been swinging both ways on that.

Joy & Austin

Gideon Martyn: Gideon is really nice, it's a more obscure but increasingly popular Biblical choice that is both handsome and a little bit fun! I like Martin but don't love this spelling, but I know it's a family name for Austin so I am going to give it a pass. Evelyn Mae: I really like this one, it's kind of like Ivy Jane in that it feels both vintage and current. I generally prefer May to Mae because it's a bit softer-looking but Mae is fine too.

overall opinion: I think the names work together but are kind of different styles, so I would be interested to see what further boys or girls wind up being named: I think some parents favor very different vibes for male versus female names.

Joe & Kendra

Garrett David: Garrett returns! IIRC this is a family name on Michelle's side but I might be making that up. I think this is a handsome combination overall but it's a little bland to me. Addison Renee: I like Addie and most of the long forms of it, so this gets a thumbs up from me. Renee is again kind of filler-y but I like it.

overall opinion: I think Joe and Kendra favor a pretty modern/trendy surnamey style that is very common in the rural South, although they don't seem to go for unusual spellings like Josh and Anna did with Mackynzie. I fully expect them to continue with this trend with later kids because they've stuck to it for both boys and girls. For the daughter they're currently expecting, I predict something like Shelby or Reagan, although since Addie uses a more traditionally feminine nickname they might not go for directly unisex again either. Maybe a Brooklyn?

Jinger & Jeremy

Felicity Nicole: Felicity does make me think overwhelmingly of the American Girl Doll, but that's not really a bad association and I like the name overall. Also they call her Lissie which I think is very cute. Nicole is a bit of a stylistic clash but it's Jinger's middle name.

Evangeline Jo: I like Evangeline, but I do think it's weird in a family where there are already cousins named both Evie and Ivy. I also prefer the -leen or -lynn pronunciation to the -line pronunciation that they're using. Plus, I think Evangeline Jo flows kind of oddly, especially with the last name Vuolo.

overall opinion: I feel like Evangeline is exactly the same style as Felicity and is a really predictable choice for them, and I also feel like Jinger has a secret Nameberry account because their style is one that is SUPER common on nameberry. Long and lacy names with more approachable nicknames and an elegant/intellectual/classy feel, which makes sense because Jeremy is a deeply pretentious person djsfkvhsdzjkfhjd. I would be interested to see what they would name a boy because their girl style is super coherent.

Josiah & Lauren

Bella Milagro: I don't love Bella: I prefer Ella, and I also feel like it's a bit nicknamey, although I don't like a lot of -bella names anyway. I think Milagro is a very cool middle name and I like that she shares it with her mom!

John David & Abbie

Grace Annette: I like Grace, it's simple and sweet and feels very versatile and classic. I think Annette is Michelle's middle name IIRC, it's definitely dated but I think it flows nicely with Grace.

#they're listed in order by the age of the oldest child in the family not by birth order of the duggar sibs themselves btw

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