Baby names for twins… did I miss a trick? I have disappointed many a stranger in the grocery store when they ask me “What are their names?”. For those of you dropping in for the first time from Google, my identical twin boys are called George and Arthur. Whether you like these names or not, people seem genuinely disappointed I didn’t name them Bill and Ben, or Thanks and Giving.
Although their names are now registered on their birth certificates, we have not yet got them passports, so we could always go clean slate before they start school and things get really confusing. Let’s consider our options, how do you come up with baby names for twins?
Baby Names for Twins Starting with the Same Letter:
It seems most people want to at least see my boys with names that start with the same letter. When they were about three months old I was in line at the post office and the older lady behind me asked their names. “Oh no, that’s not right at all.” she said.
“If you’re going to have George you need another ‘jah’ name. Like Geoffrey or James, or…”
“Well, they’re three months old already so I don’t think I can change their names.” I said. But she was on a mission, and just kept reeling off names. In the end I just joined in… “Well I do quite like Jackson.”
If you’re looking to browse baby names for twins that start with the same letter, verywell.com have selected two girl and two boy names for the entire alphabet. I’m particular digging:
- Fredrick and Franklin – come one, Freddy and Franky is totally cute.
- Christian and Christopher – you don’t even have to worry about which one is which.
- Xavier and Xander – it’s slim pickings with ‘x’ so these are about as good as it’s going to get.
‘Clever’ Baby Names for Twins:
Some people are sure that twins need a team name. Something that’s witty, clever and will require them to introduce themselves together for the rest of their lives. A few months ago a woman stopped me at the checkout and asked “What are their names?”. “George and Arthur.” I said. She looked blank for a few moments while she processed, and then said “oOoh… I get it.” with an over enthusiastic nod of the head. Thought to myself, really? I don’t. It has bothered me since then whether she was just saying that because she thought she was missing the wit, or whether there is actually something to their names that I’m just not intelligent enough to get. Please, fill me in if I’m missing something.
When I was pregnant, friends had all sorts of stories of these clever paired names, I’m hoping some of them are just urban myths for the sake of the children. Here are some of my personal favourites in case you’re in the market for something wacky:
- Ben and Jerry – if you do this, please don’t let them get fat, the playground torture is bad enough already.
- Romeo and Juliet – Aww… wouldn’t that be incest?
- Elsa and Ana – who’s seen Jane the Virgin… aha, brilliant!
- Pussy and Kat – I suggest Kat stays clear of Pussy, she’s got the good name.
- Thelma and Louise – let’s hope for a better ending.
- Simone and Pumba – hakuna matata.
- Georgio and Armani – for the classy choice.
- Tom, Dick and Harry – for the triplet mom.
- Mork and Mindy – just don’t do it.
- Moon and Star – They’ll probably be OK as long as you keep them on the commune.
Baby Names for Twins that Rhyme:
Who doesn’t love names that rhyme? My daughter had a pair of rhyming same letter twins in her kindergarten class last year so I have to be careful what I say. It is a popular choice, and at least once they’ve left home and are introducing themselves individually they’re not called Pussy… things could be worse. Here are some of my favourite rhyming combos:
- Jasper and Casper
- Nikki and Ricky
- Jayden and Kayden
- Elsie and Kelsie
- Benson and Jenson
- Ronald and Donald… bahaha, enough already.
For more rhyming baby names (they work for siblings too!), find an extensive list at allparenting.com.
Celebrity Baby Names for Twins:
It happens every year – a big celebrity couple name their child and we all follow suit. I was so annoyed when the Royals named their first born George… I had that one in the bank years ago. We did consider ditching it, but stuff you Kate and Wills, it was our name first. So… what celebrity twin names have swept the globe? Let’s take a look – a surprisingly tame list until you get to Michael J Fox, and not a rhyming, witty, same letter name in sight.
- Knox and Vivienne – Brad and Ange
- Christian and Edward – Mel Gibson
- Mateo and Valentino – Ricky Martin
- Nelson and Eddy – Celine Dion
- Phinnaeus and Hazel – Julia Roberts
- Aquinnah and Schuyler – Michael J Fox
- Page and Jocelyn – Ron Howard
- Bob and Max – Charlie Sheen
- Julian and Aaron – Robert De Niro
- Gideon and Harper – Neil Patrick Harris
For even more celebrity twin names, take a look at this list at sheknows.com.
That’s about all the twin action I have for you today, but do let me know your thoughts… what should we have named George and Arthur? I’m personally swaying towards Georgio and Armani – it’s not far off!!
And in case you missed it, here’s a clip of the birth (and naming) of Elsa and Anna from Jane the Virgin… bahaha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDADzb3R44w
Interesting post. As an author, I love choosing names for my characters. (I may have to steal Fredrick and Franklin lol). But in real life I would imagine it’s awful being saddled with ‘clever’ names. (Ben and Jerry!!!! No!!!!!)
As for Michael J Fox’s twins, what was he thinking? Those names wouldn’t look out of place as droids in Star Wars.
#sharingthebloglove
PS I like George and Arthur. Good solid names without a rhyme in sight 🙂
Droids in Star Wars ?? Absolutely!
Too funny! When I read the names George and Arthur, I thought you had a thing for Prince Charles. I still remember from his and Diana’s weddings when he said, “I, Charles Phillip Arthur George, …” So you can just tell the “disappointed” people you named them after Prince Charles! 😀
Ahhh…. I had no idea! Thanks for letting me know. I’m not sure this is good or bad news but it could certainly be worse ?
Also, my husband went to college with a guy named George Arthur ____ who named his first son George Arthur ____ Jr and the next one Arthur George ____!
Oh how funny! I was part of a Mom’s group when I had my first-born and there was a baby Arthur there. It was only when we had the twins and she saw their names on Facebook that her Arthur’s middle name was George! It seems they do go together afterall 🙂
Twins run in both my and my husband’ s family so I gotta be prepared. I love freddy and franky!
Haha! Oh good luck, I’m sending you twin vibes to come join the club ????
Hehe oh yes we have a couple of rhyming twins at my daughter’s school. I can’t deny that it’s cute, but I think the novelty would wear off for the name-bearers, and I think it’s good for twins to have an identity of their own. #SharingTheBlogLove
Oh dear of them… I sure they quite enjoy while they’re still little ?
Mork and Mindy! Ahahahaha! I love it! I would want to be friends with that mama.
Well I suppose I do like people with a sense of humour ?
Some of these are teetering on that fine line between ridiculous and genius – I giggled my way through this post and love your take on it. I knew a couple who named their daughter Farheda and their son (2 years younger) Farheed. I just didn’t get it? I mean there are other names. There isn’t like a name shortage or anything? Hey ho – each to their own. Personally I think George and Arthur compliment each other perfectly. Thanks for linking up to #DreamTeam x
Name shortage ? So true.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I laughed the whole way through this! As a fellow twin mom (my girls are 2 now), I have to say – what is it about twins that makes everyone think they should have a say in your kids? There’s not a boundary that won’t be crossed when it comes to twins. Lol! I don’t remember people being this nosy/opinionated when I had my son. 🙂
I salute you fellow twin mom! I share your joy in two cuties, and your pain in busy-bodies and their questions and opinions ?
hahah I can’t help but laugh at some of these…. and your comment with ben and jerry… hilarious! LOVE IT
If there’s any actual Ben and Jerry twins out there… I’m sorry. ?
Love this post as a fellow twin mama:) Our twins didn’t follow any rules, we just went with some of the names that we loved:)
Yay for another twin Mom!! And I’m glad I haven’t offended because your twins are actually called Wind and Fire. ??
Aww I like your names! While I see the appeal of something matching or rhyming, I do kinda feel bad for those kids. People have an unfortunate tendency to treat twins as one entity, and fail to recognise them as individuals with their own personalities, especially if they’re identical! I think individual names like your allows them a little more individual identity! x #sharingthebloglove
They do! I think a matching face it probably enough!
In Neighbours they had twins called Angus and Antigone because soaps have to follow the twin naming rules. Me and my husband aways used to joke we’d call twins Mambo and Italiano as it would be fun to shout at the park. #fridayfrolics
?? Loving Mambo Italiano!
I love George and Arthur – both great names! In fact, I know two siblings called George and Arthur, so they obviously do go together after all. If I had twins I’d do exactly the same and just choose two names I loved. The woman who told you you should change their names though – hilarious! Thanks so much for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
Yay for George and Arthur siblings! I’m sure they’re the coolest kids in town ?
I think your chosen names are gorgeous! I was so tempted had our Twins been a girl and boy to call them Hugo and Clara after the characters on Pigeon Street! Long distance lorry driver Clara and Chef Hugo!
#fridayfrolics
Haha! I have never seen Pigeon Street so I wouldn’t have got it. And they are good names on their own so I’ll let it pass ?
I can’t believe that people tell you that you haven’t named your twins correctly! I love the names and I would just have 2 names that I loved, surely that is one of the perks of having twins you can have 2 names that you love. Not one name that you love and then another one that just happens to rhyme with it! Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove x
Thanks Laura 🙂 It was actually quite stressful coming up with four boy names we liked (middle names too). But I’m happy with the choices in the end!
It’s so absurd what people think. Although there’s a few twins in my sons year and they have the same first letter for there names. I never realised it was a twin thing! Thanks for linking up to #FridayFrolics. Have a fantastic Christmas. Hope to see you linking up again in 2017.
First letter is fairly mild, we’ll let that one go ?
There’s a British historic mystery type book called Arthur & George, maybe that’s what grocery store lady was thinking of. I jumped stright to wondering if you just love the Weasley clan from Harry Potter – funny how the mind always wants to make connections. Lovely names!
I’ll have to look up that book, love that kind of thing to keep for them! I’m not very up on my Harry Potter but it doesn’t surprise me there’s an Arthur & George, classic British names, haha! Thanks for reading 🙂
Our twin girls are Emily and Elizabeth. That way the have the option of similar names of the want (Emi and Eli) or they can be different (my husband and Dad call Elizabeth Lizzy). I hate when people treat any multiples like one entity so I wanted to make sure they had the option to not rhyme. Even with their names having the same first letter I still hear comments about their names not being “twin enough” whatever that means.
Emily and Elizabeth are beautiful names!! I think they are just twin enough and complimentary to each other ❤️
I automatically thought of the knights of the realm – King Arthur and King George.
This didn’t come to mind when we thought of the names but it comes up all the time now! ❤️ My two little kings! ??
Our girls are Annika and Brooklyn – I intentionally did Twin A (Annika) and Twin B (Brooklyn) because I did not want their names to be too similar or rhyming, but I still wanted to acknowledge the twin-thing, lol… the nurses in the NICU told us multiple times that they loved the A-B thing (since our girls are identical) – made it easier to tell them apart!
I love these names!! And very clever on the A and B… we stupidly named our baby B ‘Arthur’ and it was very confusing for all at the hospital ??