Let’s FINALLY talk baby names for baby #2! We still have no news, but since baby names are something I think about all the time, let’s go for it!! It was so SO fun to hear all of your baby name suggestions on this post several years ago.
Now that we’re talking sibling baby names the biggest question is… what are baby names that go with Arlo!?!? I’ll write a bit about where we’re at with the baby name list but I’d LOVE to hear your suggestions below!!!!
And last, we’re launching a new baby name series!! Learn more about it at the end of the post. =)
Girl Names
We actually have a girl name picked out that we love. We picked it out when we were brainstorming names the last time around. That said, it was really nice to go into the hospital with a few names for Arlo just in case one didn’t feel right, and so I’d love to have some back-up girl names.
I have a huge list, but Jeff and I haven’t agreed on any top back up contenders. Looking at my said list… I tend to like sweet, shorter names that often end in vowels. Something unique but not too unique.
What are some girl names that sound cute with Arlo!?
Boy Names
We went to the hospital with three possible names for Arlo: Arlo, Luca and Milo. I don’t think we’d use Luca or Milo at this point. Those names both feel very much connected to his story now, even though we didn’t use them.
As a result, we have not a single boy name we both love. So we especially need help with baby boy names that sound good with Arlo. It feels like every unique boy name I hear is super edgy (Dash, Bowie, Onyx) or outdoors-y (West, Cedar, Oak) and we are neither of those things. Haha!
Instead, any favorite boy names that are kind of old-school and sweet, but unique?? I love the name Hugo but Jeff won’t have it and I suppose it’s a little to similar to Arlo now anyway. I also love words that become names, but have yet to think of any good ones!
Another Disney Name?
Arlo was named after Arlo from The Good Dinosaur, so a lot of people have asked us if we plan to use a Disney name again. The answer is… I don’t know!? I told Jeff we kind of set ourselves up for failure because we put so much meaning into Arlo’s name and what if we just… like another name just because we like it!?
I’d love another Disney name of course, but it certainly doesn’t have to be one at ALL. I’ve been trying to sell Jeff on Flora but he’s not having it.
Middle Names
Arlo’s middle name is Mitchell, after Jeff’s grandpa. We have a list of family/meaningful names we’d love to use for our second child as well. Here are a few of the top contenders:
- Dean
- Henry
- Herb
- Jean
- Lane
Name Requirements
After looking at my name list I’ve been amassing since high school, I definitely like shorter names that end in a vowel. That seems to be the one similarity between a lot of the names I like. Last time we did this, I said I gravitated towards names that sound kind and sweet.
As far as requirements go:
- Has to work well and make sense with Arlo
- Has to sound good with the last name Mindell
- Doesn’t start with an “A” (I don’t want to feel like if we have more that they will be left out if they don’t have an “A” name…)
- I like names that are somewhat unique but not super crazy, or maybe they are a common name used in a unique or new way? Arlo felt way more unique when we picked it than it does now… we know several Arlos and have seen so many characters/books/products/etc named Arlo!!!
- Nicknames! I love nicknames, but we didn’t really get one out of Arlo. I’d love a nickname opportunity with our next baby’s name. =)
Alright, I think that’s it!! Want to weigh in!??! I would love to hear any names you think would be cute for Mini Mindell #2!!!! Leave them below!!
And now for our new series…
And last, for a few years now I’ve been asking if you guys are interested in a baby name series and lo and behold you ARE! So we decided to finally do it. “We” meaning my best friend, Lauren, and I. I can’t say we have formal training in baby naming other than finely tuning our own baby name lists for the last ten years and making it a point to predict (sometimes accurately!) every celebrity and influencer baby name. We love the topic and you love the topic, so each post will feature a baby naming situation submitted by YOU. We’ll share our name picks based on the information provided, and then we’ll invite the rest of the community (you guys!!) to share your suggestions in the comments.
This is all just in the name of fun, because the world is rough, but babies are awesome and names are the most interesting topic of all time.
If you’re expecting or adopting and would like to apply to be a part of the series, click here to fill out this form about your situation and name preferences!!
Hah, thought someone was reading my mind! We are also searching for a sibling name to go with Arlo though we know we are looking for a boy name. It took us SOOOO long to agree on Arlo. My husband read an entire baby name book. We were thrilled to find out it was another little boy but like nooo another boy name!! Currently I like Reid and Brooks.
Haha! Yes!! This was us too. I think it was maybe two days before Arlo was born that we finally settled on a few name options we both liked.
p.s. I love the name Reid so much!!
Also and Emory has a nice ring to it. And Emory could be a boy or girl
Oh, I love love names! I also really like somewhat unique names but not too wild. I think a one syllable name, especially for a boy, could sound really nice with Arlo (which I LOVE btw).
Boys: Jude, Julian, Bohdi, Casper, August (Gus!), Elias, Nico, Indigo (Indy!), Otto, Tobias, Sage, Theo (maybe too popular)
Girls: Lark, Louisa, Calla, Willa, Thea, Audra, Mira, Luella, Talia, Clara
I’m due in August with a boy and didn’t love the name August before but with Gus as a nickname it’s so cute!!!!
I have a boy named August! It was his sister Martha who came up with that an I think it’s perfect! 🙂
August and Martha!! Love that combo!!
I love Elias! It’s Disney (Walt’s middle name) and Arlo and Eli sounds so cute, but not too matchy.
Ooh good one!!
My boys are Eli and Arlo and I’m looking for ideas on a third of it’s a boy! So I am a fan of Eli and Arlo .
HIya!
I am 5 weeks pregnant (congrats to meeeee!!) and starting this journey too.
We have a 2.5 yr old called Sean William – my husband is Irish and he choose the name and, even though i didn’t really come up with the idea, like it loads. William is the second name of all boys in my husband family, so I didn’t feel like I could break that tradition, but I actually really like both names. We nickname him Seany, which is just adorable in my book and i loev the fact that tehre are VERY FEW babies called Sean, at least written in the Irish way.
if we have a girl this time she will be called Isabel Francis.
We do not have a name for a boy but its my turn to choose 😛 Our biggest issue is that our surname is difficult to play with, albeit a great one – KING. I love names like Luke, but Luke King sounds so silly 😀
Now, thinking of the name Arlo, which is a more contemporary name, what about Albie – i knwo you said no A but i somehow ffel like they could go together – Louie, Ettore (the leader of the Trojans)?
Ah! I’m 5 months along and struggling SO HARD with coming up with a boy name. Middle name will be Peter (after my partner’s late father), last name Brown. I submitted for the series but if anyone wants to chime in here with first names that go with Peter I’d love the help!
We like names that have a nice meaning to them–nothing Biblical since Peter already is and we aren’t religious.
My partner likes Charles but then we would nickname him Charlie and his name would be Charlie Brown!!! Is that weird?!
It’s a totally different generation, but my landlord’s name is Charlie Brown. It’s silly at first, but then you just get used to it.
my name is mia and i feel like that sounds cute with arlo! my parents have lots of nicknames but mimi is always a cute one
For girls, I really like Lucy, Mia, Molly, Hattie, and Birdie with Arlo.
As far as boys names, what about Miles, John, or Ray?
When we were coming up with names for our now 6-month-old son, I made sure to look up names in the Social Security database. This allowed me to see trends to know if our name choices were getting too popular (we wanted a name that was known, but not super popular). Our son’s name is now getting more popular, but hoping he’s not one of 6 in each class he’s in once he’s that age!
Soooo smart!!
I think August (Gus as nickname) is perfect! I usually hate same letter sibling names, but I think Arlo and August are different enough that it’s not cheesy. As far as leaving out other siblings without an ‘a’ name, maybe they won’t even realize if he goes by “Gus”?
So many cute names!! But here is a few faves 😍
Boy: Nils, Noa, Emilio, Albert, Frans, Siggi, Emil, Axel, Olav, Tallak, Olav, Gard, Eilif, Loke
Girl: Kaja/Kaya, Ava/Ada, Mari, Ella, Maya, Ingrid,
Tyri, Astri, Embla, Freya
And since I’m Norwegian you might say they are somewhat Scandinavian 🙂 but that’s kinda Disney too right – with frozen and all ☺️
I love Noa and Freya!!
Taking these from my own list haha but I’m only 23 so I’ve got a long wait!
Girls names: Beatrice (Bee), Jovie, Cecelia (CeCe), Josephine (Joey), Holliday (Holly)
Boy names: Jacob, August (Gus), Remy, Spencer (Spence)
Ahhh! I have a 30-year old brother Spencer (middle name Harrison) and he does indeed get the Spence/Spen treatment. Touches a chord to see it make someone’s list…definitely a unique pick. Was always a bit jealous growing up that he got the cool name. 🙂
Enzo to go with Arlo I think
Here’s what I think!!
For boys: remy, gus, huey, seb (Sebastian), Flynn, hector,
For girls: esme, Kala, Judy, Charlie (or Charlotte), Meg, Anastasia, bonnie
These are all Disney names 🙂
I love Sebastian, nickname Bash!
And I have a Charlotte called Charlie so I’m partial to that 🙂
You’ve said no “A” names, but my name is a pretty neat girl name (or really, it’s a Japanese male name)… AKIRA!
Our daughters name is Remi, and I love it. It’s super meaningful for us, but also fits all of your criteria, I certainly think it could work for a boy and a girl! Other names that I’ve seen or heard lately that peak my interest: Thad, Kemp, Zara, Delaney (Del or Laney), Otto! Good Luck!!
I have a couple of names that are common in the [email protected] community, in case you want to go that route! My mom’s nickname is Mayi which is short for Damarys and I have a friend who has Rita which is short for Margarita! Other girls: Cari (for Caridad) or Caro (Carolina). Some boys: Nando (for Fernando) or Santi (for Santiago)
I looove Santiago/Santi! So cute.
Love Santiago too.
In the end we went with Thiago, pronounced Tiago
This is so fun! I’m liking the name Mia for a girl. Although is Mia Mitchell too much alliteration? What about Josie Mitchell?
Do you have meaningful middle names for girls? You didn’t mention above.
If you’re looking for meaningful but Disney isn’t cutting it, what about a favorite kids book? I know you’ve mentioned Julian is a Mermaid and Julian is cute for a boy or girl. Jules is a fun girls nickname.
Or Lola? Lola Mitchell is sweet.
Amelia? Amie or Lia for short?
Elle? Ella?
Brie?
Alice? Ali for short (although I love Alice)
Do you have artists you both love? That would be a meaningful way to search for names too.
Finn, Sawyer, Ace, Wilbur?
Not exactly short names but our son’s name is Bastien. Only a select few actually know it from Never Ending Story but I’ve never seen it used here while in France it’s trending. For my soon to be born girl we are going with Amelie. Some may know it from the French movie Amelie.
LOVE this series. I’m obsessed with names. We have an 18 month old Violet. We chose her name YEARS ago (like me in high school), and I’m kind of sad with how popular it became right after we had her. Oh well. It’s definitely her name, and she has some cute nicknames from it. We’re currently trying for baby #2 and I’ve been trying to think of names. Boys names seem so hard! We’ve recently started like Hugh, with nickname Hughie, but am not sure. Can’t wait to see more suggestions in this series!
Also, I come from a family of three and my sister’s name starts with a M and my brother and I have names that start with J. It was just what my parents liked. We’ve never felt like one of us was left out. So if you love another A name, I say go for it! Names have such different sounds, I’d say Arlo and Marlo would be weirder than names that start with the same letter.
How about Woody? It goes with Arlo because duh the Guthries and bonus it’s a Disney character too.
Ooops forgot to add a girl name – Phoebe.
I’ve been waiting so long for this post!!!
All of my suggestions, starred my favorites for you:
Micah
Ezra
Boaz
Mac*
Leon
Nat
Tate*
Bo
Jem
Kit
Toby*
Cal
Finn
Remy*
Jude*
Dex
Jonah
Max*
Flynn*
Gus
Stella*
Eliza
Zadie*
Mara
Clea
Tess/Tessa
Ruby*
Lena*
Bea
Edie
Nina*
Liv
Mila
This is an AMAZING list!! I love Mac!
We named our son Donald after my husband’s grandpa, and we call him Don. It’s nice to have a nickname for him…
Just a few girl names since you already have some: Effie, Lula, Kai, Miri/Mira, Elke, Keiko…
Boy ideas: Cruz, Rafe, Mac, Van, Otis, Zeke, Felix, Silas, Omri, Levi, Desi, Ezra, Henri…
Love looking at names!
Our daughters name is Madeline but we call her Mads. With our son we wanted something that would sound good with her nickname so I started saying “The Adventures of Mads and ____!” and popped in all of our name ideas. We ended up landing on Levi. It means “joined in harmony” which felt special to us since we adopted him through foster care… plus I’m Lane and my husband is Mike so all four letters, 2 Ms and 2 Ls. Levi has since become pretty popular but I don’t mind so much.
I knew a Darcy growing up and always loved how unique and old fashioned it sounded. Love the suggestions of August others have said! My brother’s name was Levi and I don’t know too many kids named that. I LOVE Flora, too bad Jeff can’t be convinced 🙂 My son’s middle name is Dean and people for some reason go crazy over his name and have always said it sounds like a movie star name (his first name is Grant). Anyway, let me make a short list of all the cute old school names I can come up with: Watson, Penny, Clementine (this one is quirky but I still love it!) June, Thatcher, Ernest, Bea, Alice, Horace, Arthur. I’m sure I could go on, but I know you guys will pick the perfect name because Arlo seems to fit your little guy so perfectly!!
I knew a guy in high school who was named Clementine and everyone just called him Clem! It was so unique and fit his personality so well.
I loveee this new series so much!
Currently, I’ve got 4 kids, and they all have pretty special, meaningful middle names, and more fun first names.
I read your whole post and my suggestions are:
Boys:
Leon, Zane, Finn, beau, crew, Jax, lane, reed, jasper, foster, broker, marshall, preston, Elijah, (eli), Flynn, Ryder,
Girls:
mila, cleo, lola, emme, stella! (arlo and stella sound SO GOOD!), remi, lena, Eva, scarlet, daisy (Disney theme!), bianca (Bebe), molly
I also forgot Poppy! Poppy Mindell is the absolute SWEETEST!
I love Poppy! And that’s what Jeff called his grandpa so it would be extra special.
Daisy is so cute too!
i love poppy!! daisy is also so adorable- stella, penny (penelope), and lucy are my other favs
Jeff loves Ratatouille, right? I love Remi for a boy or a girl! Remi Dean. Remi Lane.
Remi/Remy is definitely on the list of possibilities!!
I named my son Ben after the bear in the Teddy Bear Picnic cartoon but I also liked the names Benji or Ben Jean for a boy.
For a girl Harmony sounds pretty with your last name and so does June and Autumn.
I was almost named Phoebe so I’m partial to that name, but I’m not sure how well it goes with Arlo. I’ve also always loved the name Ezra for a boy and it would be cute with the middle name Dean or Lane!
I am so excited about this baby name series!
Arlo and Remi/Remy would be very sweet together. Possibly Augustus with the nickname Gus. Etta seems to check some of your boxes for a girl’s name.
Forgot to add: you could name her Henrietta and call her Etta for short, in honor of the Henry in your family.
I absolutely LOVE Etta. Haven’t been able to sell Jeff on it (yet) though! 😉
Me too! We plan on using Henrietta, nickname Etta, if we have a girl. My husband’s great-grandma’s name was Henrietta. Funnily enough, it’s the only girls name I’ve been able to sell my husband on! (Mae, Jane, Willa, Flora, Mari, Winifred, Alice, Thea, Ruth, and Della all shot down by the husband 😂 )
How about Willow/ Willo ? Seems to go great with Arlo!
Willo Mindell
Harry Mindell is always cute.
Aila Mindell
Darla Mindell
Stella Mindell
Selene Mindell
Hoping it’s a girl!! She’d have such a magical time with your family!
Oh here we go!
Girls:
Layla
Jane
Alina
Boys:
Jude
Wesley (Wes for short)
Adam
Carter
Mayer
Soren
Chester
Cole
Gender non-specific:
Remi
West
Marley
Indy
Shea
Do some digging into your family history for inspiration! Alden is a last name from our family tree that I have always loved as a first name (it’s an A name, but just throwing it out there as an example of finding something that’s unique but still has a personal resonance!).
Jean is a middle name that has personal meaning for me as well, so Clara Jean is a name that I have spent a lot of time considering. Clara is, of course, the little girl in the Nutcracker – which is a special connection for me and I think all little girls who grew up loving ballet. And then CJ works as a nickname!
One more suggestions just based on phonetic sibling cuteness and a love for children’s literature… Arlo and Eloise (Lane?)!
Arlo & Flora go great together! Honestly though i would just focus on a name you love, regardless of if it “goes with” Arlo. They will be together and go together as siblings anyways.
My backups/second choice boy bames were Clarence and Emery, which were actually the names of both my grandfathers! I love that they aren’t super common names, but also not weird😂
we named our son Dillinger Wolf, and any advice I can give is to think of ANY name as a possibility. I had only heard Dillinger as a last name, and one day met a little boy named Dillinger and instantly fell in love with it as a first name. It is also a band😂great names can come from anywhere!
We are currently watching „The Imagineering Story„ and one of the Imagineers was named Marty and I was immediately sold on the name in case we will have a second boy one day… Our now 4-months old is a Theo and I like the sound of Theo and Marty… similar like Arlo and Marty.
For girls I like: Ruby, Holly, Lily
I love talking about baby names! Here’s a list of she of my favorites that are shorter/ end with a vowel:
Girl:
Lucy
Maya
Ruby
Lydia
Boy:
Freddie
Billy
Eli
Gender neutral:
Charlie
Jamie (not super unique, but I think it sounds nice with Arlo)
Teddy (my husband is named Teddy and I know a super cute little girl named Teddy and think it’s the cutest thing! And I think it sounds cute with Arlo too!)
Felix, Ferris, Jude
Girl: Lydia, Tabitha, Daphne
Neutral: Sully (Sullivan)
Hi from Sweden!
I don’t know many Disney names that would work as most of them tend to sound strange to a Scandinavian ear. But the classical Daisy and Minnie are pretty! I’m all for alliteration so I think Minnie Mindell is a show stopper! Also baby clothes with daisies would be so pretty. In Sweden you could be called Mina (traditionally short for wilhelmina) also cute.
There’s a Finnish (I think) name Mika that is used for either gender, alliteration again. Sorry! But how cute?
My boy is called August but our contenders for him where Theo and Oscar. I still like them a lot.
And my favourite Swedish girl name is Saga. My ex husband was against it so my daughter is called Martha but I still love Saga.
Elsa!!
Wow.. so crazy. I have a Arlo. He just turned 5 , a Arlo Dean! Dean after my Dad ( Robert Dean)
We also haveirl and another boy.
Girl – Moxie Mae Marin ( age 9)
Boy- Ellis Wyatt ( age 7)
Boy- Arlo Dean ( age 5)
Arlo Dean is a GREAT name!! And Moxie!! So perfect.
Hi! Just wanted to weigh in on meanings behind names – our first born’s first & middle name are namesakes & cute and everything we were wanting! When number 2 came along we just…liked a name! His middle name is meaningful but his first name is just a name we liked. Turns out everyone still loves him 😂 number three will be here in a few weeks and he’s also getting “just a name” with a meaningful middle name. First kids get everything!
Currently 7 months pregnant so I am loving this series! We don’t know what we are having so have both name options prepared- we are stuck in middle names though!
Our top girl names- Margo (still not decided on spelling), Sunday, Goldie
Top boy names- Sonny, August, Malin, Julian
Mostly stuck on a middle name for Sonny!
Sunday is so great!!!!
Sonny James, Sonny Valentine, Sonny Ford, Sonny Cruz? A few random ideas that popped into my head! I love the name Sonny!
Our son is Sully! Would be perfect for a possible Disney theme!
Silo or Dax for boys names!
Names on my list that my husband won’t go for but I think sound great even if they don’t tick all your boxes!
Grady
Woods (nickname could be Woody)
Gage
Henry
Wren
Lila
Violet
Elodie
Goldie
Beatrix
Natalie
Gidget
Hallie
Ollie
Twyla
Marigold (nickname Mari)
Lovie
Sylvie
Rae
Thea
Super biased here, but I love Zane for a boy. It’s my brother’s middle name and a family name on my mom’s side going back at least to the mid-1800s. The world needs more Zanes!
Gus Henry Mindel (could go August and use Gus as a nickname). Short, sweet, different but not crazy weird. Also has a Disney connection!
I’d love to throw my own name in here. I think it’s kinda cute in combo with Arlo, it’s Eila.
Goes with a lot of middle names, mine is Marie for example.
Also there are a lot of different spellings:
Mine is the Finnish version I think.
There is Ayla, which is Turkish.
Also Aila, Eyla, Isla, etc.
We have a 9 year old Arlo ❤️ His big sister is Dita, and his little brother is Ezra. We liked unusual but familiar names, nothing too out there but not common either. Names are my favourite, I have a whole host I’m sad we never got to use and regularly joke we’ll need a menagerie so I can use them up! We loved Sadie, Dixie, Mae for girls. Rafferty was on my list for boys too x
Boys: Arlo and…
Cohen. Adler. Baker. Miller. Wells. Bodie. Hendrix. Warner. Greer. Crew. Duncan. Vaughn. Vale. Conrad. Quaid. Roux. Crosby. Ellis. Nix. Lian. Becker.
Girls: Arlo and…
Mundae. Wrenie. Lowie. Essie. Eden. Dovey. Bria. Vera. Aven. Lottie. Bea. Etta. Fleur. Magnolia. Laine. Adley.