While I’m an identical twin, I’m going to be the one in the thread to suggest something slightly silly. Family lore has it that our mum and dad argued at great length over what to call my brother and myself. What was subsequently pointed out to them - by the pair of us, years later - was they’d, apparently unconciously, managed to select the two most popular boys’ names in the country in that year. So much for their imagination and effort.
But I’m going to propose adopting an equivalent strategy deliberately. What are the two most popular new girls names in the population they’ll grow up in? For, regardless of your best efforts, throughout their childhood they’re going to be “the twins” to all your family, friends and acquaintences. Giving them the currently most unexceptional names satisfies your rules, but twins will naturally stand out during childhood anyway and you shouldn’t be wanting to emphasise that any more than is inevitable. The names will (unconciously) seem a natural pair when people want to refer to them together, but will otherwise be distinct.
[The parents did deliberately follow the Scottish tradition of giving the firstborns middle-names based on the given names of our grandparents. That’s a vaguely similar principle: nobody can resent a middle-name bestowed on that basis.]
Two of the best women I ever knew are identical twins named Pamela and Diana. The names are classic, not cutesy-poo, but dignified without being stuffy. Little girls with such names must grow up to be truly fine women. These two sure did.
BTW, they will have full Chinese names as their middle name. In Chinese, names are generational and matching anyway. Something like Jade Sky, Jade Flower, Jade Cloud. For example, my eldest is actually Jacqueline Caoyutian.
Audrey I like but it doesn’t have any real “nicknames” that go with it.
Someone mentioned Penelope and that’s one I like a lot too.
Keep the suggestions coming. Will be discussing this weekend.
One time I was watching TV and this guy (some actor/celeb being interviewed - can’t remember who) was talking about friends of his who were thinking of naming their son ‘Lucifer’ - apparently seriously
It’s a pity though because it actually is a pretty nice name IMO Shame it’s unuseable
Lucifer means “bringer of light”, which, sadly, is tarnished by a bad association. Isn’t Lucinda a derivative of the same “light” word? We are talking about girls’ names, after all.
Whatever you name them, if they ever complain about it, tell them to be grateful they’re not my kids, because boys or girls, I would’ve named twins Romulus and Remus.
Yeah. Lucille (Lucinda came later, apparently coined by Cervants) comes from Lucius, and they’ve obviously all got the same root. This from Behind the Name.
Just typing out loud here.
What about if name Audrey is one that you really want, her nick name could be her Chinese Name. Audrey Moo Goo Gai Pan Lastname. Thus concludes Shirley’s entire Chinese vernacular repetoir. Now, I am hungry. Oh, you know what I mean. Audrey Little Flower. Audrey Small Berries. Audrey Stands With Fist. Audrey Little Horse. Hey…I want to be chinese too.
Shame it’s unuseable
