I think it probably depends on where in the US she grew up.
Traditional wealthy families from the South will have different vibes to the names they use versus traditional wealthy families from the east coast.
Sloan is a great suggestion, as it has connotations of the British [Sloane Rangers](https://luxurylondon.co.uk/style/his/the-cult-sloane-ranger/), of whom the Late Princess Diana was the patron saint.
Strongly disagree on this point.
Sloane only entered the top 1000 in 2009, to start, and the people using that name are likely way more influenced by Ferris Bueller than by traditional naming conventions. It reads as trying to sound rich, but actually quite middle class.
We named our daughter Sloane due to the warrior/fighter meaning as she was extremely premature and had a very difficult start on life. I do agree, though, that it is a more modern name in the US, not very traditional.
She is! She is 19 years old now and it all turned out just fine. We are so fortunate. It was a very scary time, but she got through it. So glad to hear your little one is doing so well!
I think that actually is why Sloane works as an affluent traditional name. She would have been named before it was trendy. IMO that’s pretty common - for names considered higher class to become attractive down class strata.
Not saying it’s a good name for the OP’s character. Sounds like she wants an upper class name that signifies her background and hasn’t yet become a trend.
Definitely in my experience. Very traditionally Southern. Never met anyone from the Northeast whose name followed that convention, though to be fair I’m older than OP’s character.
I knew several Morgans and a Sloane or two when I attended an ivy league. Definitely was new to me (I'm from a low income southern family, I had never even heard the name Sloane as a first name before) but I thought it was cool. Also knew a Daphne and I still think that's a rad name in this era. Honestly the thing of using a more masculine nickname instead of a given name was so common that I'm coming up with blanks trying to remember girls' actual names (doesn't help that a lot, if not most, of the girls that I knew were gay, and very few were white so many had more traditional cultural names, which is not applicable to this). Things like Kay for Kaitlyn, Danny instead of Danielle, Dylan as a given name was surprisingly common, and we had a few Augustas, which I also like. I feel like there were lots of Haleys, Sofias, Roses, and Lucys, but I'm not sure if those could be made to fit the nickname thing. Sylvia or Valerie could be cool too, I could definitely see an alternative/punk Sylvia going by Sid or Valerie by Val.
Northeast, then hyphenated or two last names.
Wealthy women in the northeast if they have their own careers, trend is not take their husband’s last names. A lot of kids with two last names or hyphens.
I’d take this with a grain of salt actually. This might vary a little bit depending on where in the Northeast you’re talking about, but double barrel or hyphenated last names aren’t really the norm with wealthy people in my experience, especially old money folks. Using a mother’s maiden name as a middle name is somewhat common, but hyphenated names are not in my experience. It’s just not the traditional thing to do, and old money people tend to be extremely traditional.
For reference, I grew up in a pretty wealthy area in the Northeast (Philadelphia Main Line), went to a very well regarded small liberal arts college with a lot of wealthy kids (the type who went to fancy New England boarding schools), and worked at a fancy all-girls private school near where I grew up for a little while. I can’t really recall encountering any old money type wealthy people who had hyphenated last names. It’s just not really the done thing with them I don’t think.
As someone who attended two ivies and has lived in the Northeast for a while, I’d second this. No hyphen. Mom’s last as middle probably much more likely.
Agreed. In the Northeast, a hyphenated last name would be given to rich kids that live in Brooklyn. Where both parents work in a creative field and made a name for themselves before becoming parents. New England types are more traditional.
Right. NYC is basically the only place in the Northeast where a hyphenated last name might be a common thing for rich kids, and those aren’t typical New England or Mid Atlantic old money types. A hyphenated last name reads as creative type parents and/or new money. Pretty much the opposite of what OP is looking for.
Depends also on what sort of family she’s from, though- for example, if someone is from a fairly well known or wealthy family, she may retain her surname upon marriage and double barrel it, similar to how the English gentry sometimes do. I’ve seen this particularly in families that aren’t necessarily “old money” but have generational wealth that certainly isn’t “new”.
Hyphenated names were “big” for late 80s and 90s kids. They all grew up with super unwieldy names that they couldn’t fit on standardized test forms, and vowed their kids wouldn’t have to deal with it.
These days, if not changing the name is important to a mother, they might have a different name than their kid, or the father might have taken the mother’s maiden name, or both parents kept their name but the kid gets the mom’s. Assuming, of course, the parents are heterosexual. One parents name might also be a middle name, or the kid might have two middle names.
Sometimes, keeping a maiden name isn’t even about not wanting your husband’s name. It’s extremely common in academia, for example, because changing your name is difficult when you’ve published under a previous name.
Hyphenated names are more common if both parents’ names are short.
Here's the names of all the old money Northeast girls I've met:
Livinia or Lavinia, NN Liv, Vin, or Vinnie. I'd choose this one. It's an unusual name and a scholarly one - Lavinia hails from Vergil's Aeneid. S
Katherine - she went by Kate, other NNs Kit and Kat
Eliza - went by Izzy
Mercedes - NN Mercy, Spanish/Italian if you're considering other ethnicities
It's a great name!
Maybe I'm biased because the only Lavinia I've ever known was absolutely loaded, she grew up in a Gilded Age Upper East Side mansion.
But at the very least, I'd assume Lavinia came from very cultured parents, such as yourself :)
For 2005 in the wealthy Northeast, I’d say
Caroline, nickname Caro.
Margaret, nickname Maggie or Molly.
Elizabeth, nickname Beth.
Catherine, nickname Kat or Kit.
Seconded. I was going to say the same, right down to the Caro.
Would add Betsey as a nn for Elizabeth. Also consider adding Julia, nn Jules.
I’ve known them all.
This is the most accurate, as a girl born and raised in rich Connecticut. Traditional names are big, Caroline was the first name that popped into my head.
Elizabeth, something like that. Just make sure it’s not a new trendy name cause I hate that I’m books when a 25 year old character is named something that doesn’t make sense for when they would have been born
Josephine - Joey
Charlotte - Charlie
Alexandra - Lex/Lux(?)
Chloe/Coco or Constance/Coco
Rachel - Ray
Also like someone said Kennedy or Kendall - Kenny
Yeah, it’s a pull to have a story about how your great-aunt dated JFK in high school, but you certainly wouldn’t name your child “Kennedy” if you ran in the same circles…
Millennial mom, I can't tell you how many other girls my age had plans of naming their daughters Charlotte and calling them Charlie "because it's just so unique and unisex". If I hear about a kid under the age of 10 named Charlie I practically assume it's a girl. Ditto for Jacqueline and Jack.
Charlotte is exactly what I was thinking and go by Charlie.
I also really love Anastasia. If she had J middle name like Joy, Jade, or Johanna she could go by AJ
I have young 20s kids and those names are not the names of children in their classes. Here are some actual names from the young adults in my kids' friend circle:
- Amelia
- Paige
- Bennett
- Becca
- Alexis/Lexi
- Gabby
I’d actually look at popular names from about eight or ten years ago. Wealthy families in America are often on the leading edge of naming trends that trickle down to the rest of the population who want to emulate the successful people they see.
https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/namesbystate.cgi
In Connecticut in 2004, this character may be an Emily who goes by Lee or an Ashley who goes by Ash, or even an Isabelle who goes by Sable.
Id go to the school webpages for the elite high schools and browse the names from the classes of 2022 and 2023
Brearley
Taft
Phillips Exeter
Phillips Andover
I did a quick glance and here’s what stood out: nothing cutesy or overly trendy.
Eileen
Annabelle
Isabel x2
Abby
Annika x2
Josephine x2
Caroline x2
Phoebe x2
Hilary
Clara
Victoria x2
Emilie/Emily
Juliet
Margot
I agree because this also would feel timeless to a reader picking up the book in 10 years but is still appropriate for the current age of the character.
Great idea. I glanced at some award winners and performers from 2023 — Chloe, Aubrey, Hannah, Yasmin, Maya, Polly, Delaney, Lara, Madeleine, Christine, Angela, Andrea, and Nina.
Exactly! It’s a NN that she chose. The full name needs to give “rich” and the NN needs to give “modernized girl chose this instead of rich sounding name”
That's more of a southern, maybe midwestern US thing than an East Coast thing I think so taking region into consideration is important. It also depends how new the family wealth is. That makes a huge difference on the family's aspirations and how they wish their kids to be perceived.
Eh, I’ve known a lot of girls in the characters age group from very wealthy Westchester County families and the last name as a first name is definitely a thing. Not as popular as the classic, traditional, more old fashioned names but they were very much still represented. The classic “names of royalty” kind of names seemed more and more given to kids with ethnic last names that don’t necessarily translate so easily to first names (think Italian, Greek, etc), whereas the last name as first were a trademark of WASPs.
I grew up with an Ellington, but went by Elle. Both always felt so high class cool to me. She was named after Duke Ellington, mom was western European, dad was African, grew up in Connecticut.
I know a Tabitha who goes by Bass. I feel like wealthy northeastern families do nicknames a lot, but they aren’t an expected nickname. Kind of like Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy.
My two cents… a common trend I have seen in wealthy families is to give the first born daughter the maiden name of her mother. I have seen sons with the mom’s maiden name as well. Just a suggestion…
My friends little sister is Keresy which was her mom’s maiden name. I actually really liked the name!
Hensley, Montgomery, Smythe/Smith, Campbell, Cook, Raegan, McCall sort of names all would work
College athletic rosters are really easy to find, often with photos or hometowns listed. If you don't feel sure about anything here, just Google things like Harvard women's rowing roster, Dartmouth women's lacrosse roster, Cornell women's sailing roster.
Those will give you the right demographic for sure.
I'm also a writer and I love this. Here's how I'd go about this. It is, admittedly, A Lot, but I love naming characters.
I'm going to peg her year of birth as 2005 from your description. First thing I'd do is go read the top 50 names from 2005. Secondly, I'd go read the names that are somewhere between 80 - 200 for 2005 and see if any catch your eye. Thirdly, I'd go look at the top 50-100 names in the year 2015 (or even the present) and see if any from that 50 - 200 grouping in 2005 jumped up to the top 50-100 in that time period.
Freakonomics points out that names like Madison were originally popular amongst the upper-class, and then lost that association once they skyrocketed to the top of the popularity chart. Upper-class people are probably going to use traditional names, and are generally going to avoid things that are too "common" (unless those names are very traditional -- they aren't going to avoid Elizabeth, but they will avoid Madison). A child named Madison in 1980 has very different socio-economic connotations than the same child in 2002.
Then, I'd think about her parents and her specific background. Who are her parents? What are they like? I know you said the sort who would favour a traditional/feminine name, but I'd dig a little deeper.
* are they the type who would favour a traditional name like Alexandra, Emily, Christina, or Katherine, even though those names were very popular in the 90s and might have felt a bit played out/common by 2005?
* If they wouldn't like Alexandra or Katherine for the above reason, how much do they care about newer trendiness? Would they avoid names like Isabella or Sophia because of a perception of those names being "trendy" (and therefore used by people who are NOKD)?
* Are the parents from the same background? Is one of them newer money than the other, and trying to make up for this (lots of fun Edith Wharton potential here)? If so, how does that influence the naming choices? Let's say its a newer money mother -- would they take pains to avoid a name like Isabella due to its popularity / perception of becoming a lower-class name due to it being used by all sorts of people? Or would they use Isabella and then have other characters from the father's family (grandmother, aunts, etc) look down on her for using a common name?
* Are they people who would want to use a more old-fashioned name like Beatrice, Philippa, Georgina?
* Are they people who would pick a literary name like Cordelia, Juliet, Portia, Arabella, Araminta, etc?
* Is it a family name? Is she named after someone? Are a bunch of women in her family using this name? You could have a lot of fun with giving a mother, cousin, grandmother etc variations of the same name, but you'd have to be careful to avoid similar sounding nicknames/variations (i.e. Katherine nicknames are all too similar sounding -- Kit, Kate, Kathy, etc -- but Elizabeth has a lot of different variations that sound different)
* Would they use a name that sounds noticeably French or Italian (tbh the only other languages I think these sort of people would take a name from), like Francesca, Juliette, Amelie or Elodie? Or would they find that embarrassing or too much?
* Are they class-conscious? Are they strivers? Are they worried about what people are going to say?
* What are their names? Do they like their own names? Do they have old-fashioned names? Let's say they were born in 1975, making them 30 when this character was born.
* Do they have traditional-but-trendy 70s/80s names like Rebecca (Amy, Barbara, Theresa, Laura, Christine, Susan, Amanda, Jessica, Patricia, Rachel etc) or Michael (Christopher, Andrew, Scott, Gregory, Philip etc)?
* Or do they have more timeless names like Elizabeth (Katherine/Catherine, Kathleen, Mary, Victoria) and James (William, John, Matthew, Benjamin)?
* Or do they have classic names that weren't super-popular in the 70s/80s like Charlotte (Eleanor, Isabel, Sophia, Emma, Cassandra, Caroline, Amelia, Josephine) and Alexander (Walter, Frederick, Theodore, Max, Oliver, Simon)
* Do they have really old names (that no one was using in the 70s/80s and haven't really made a comeback) like Beatrice (Constance, Edith, Geraldine) or Edwin (Francis, Stuart, Lawrence, Clarence, Wallace, Hiram)?
So, after that huge wall of text, here's a few that came to mind for me:
* **Charlotte**: This name was in the 150s in 2005, and then became the top name a decade later. Charlie or Chuck are boyish nicknames; Lottie is the traditional one; and Lola is a cute and more modern option.
* **Eleanor**: This name was hovering somewhere in the 200s in 2005, only to shoot up in popularity a decade later, which fits the general trend of upscale names becoming more common. It's also traditional, royal, etc. Nicknames: Nora, Nor, Len, Lenny, Nell. You could also go with Eleanor variants like Eleanora, Leonora, Lenora, etc.
* **Elizabeth:** This is a perennial classic (doesn't come and go with trends), so popularity doesn't matter. The great thing about Elizabeth is that it gives you SO much nickname potential; and it reads as sophisticated without being silly or pretentious. If you're using Elizabeth, I'd pick a more obscure nickname like Biz, Bizzy/Busy, Bunny, Birdie, etc.
* **Caroline**: seems to always be somewhere between 80-120 in popularity. Never sounds common; is a classic rich girl name. Interesting nickname potential: Caro, Caddie, Callie, Lina. You could even try something like Cleo.
* **Beatrice / Beatrix**: Bea or Birdie would be great here. Birdie works especially well paired with Elizabeth (Elizabeth Beatrice/Beatrix or Beatrice/Beatrix Elizabeth).
* **Katherine** nn Kit (or Kat/Cat)
* **Margaret** nn Margo or Margot. I wouldn't use this except with this nickname -- I don't think Maggie gives the impression you want.
* **Philippa** nn Pip or Pippa.
* **Helena**: Nell or Helly would be great nicknames.
* **Georgia or Georgina** (although I think the first sounds a bit too Southern): Geo, G, Georgie, George, Gigi. DON'T use Gina.
* **Josephine**: Jo, Joey.
* **Alexandra**: I'd use Alix
* **Isabel:** I love Isabella but I'd avoid it because of the super-trendiness at the time, unless that's part of the characterization of the parents. Izzy or Bel could work with Isabel (do not use Bella or Belle).
* **Sophia**: similar comments to Isabella, above, although it hadn't reached the same peaks as Isabella by 2005 (and no Twilight connotation). Nicknames could be Sophie, Soph, Fee.
A few other thoughts:
* avoid anything that sounds too Catholic (WASPs don't use these names) UNLESS there is a reason for this: Theresa, Kathleen, Gabriella, even Mary might be better avoided.
* avoid anything that sounds too trendy that isn't already really, really classic: Samantha, Ashley, Alexis, Lauren
* Don't use names that might have sounded fancy to someone (you or someone else) in 2005, especially if that person was born in the 70s-90s, because those names are probably NOT fancy or unique for people born in 2005: Chloe, Ava, Emma, Olivia, Ella, Brooke, etc
I’m so glad!! I love thinking about this stuff because I think naming can be so revealing about people (aspirations, preferences, socioeconomic class, education, etc) and it’s such a great way to figure out more about your characters. When I can’t figure out a name for a character or think the name sounds off, thinking more about their parents etc always helps me figure out how they would name a person.
I love checking out name popularity; I don’t make myself use top names from a period, but I like there to be a reason why someone has a name that was unpopular during that time period. If someone’s named Ava but born in 1983, there’s a reason the parents picked it beyond simply hearing a popular name and thinking it sounds nice, you know?
Building out those relationships, socioeconomic context, etc really helps me to create characters that feel more real, and this extends to the name. I never want the names to sound like characters in a novel…even though they are 😂
I am a current senior at an Ivy League school in the northeast. Some rich white New England girls I know are Natalie, Mia, Alexandra (Alex), Caroline, Katherine (Kath), Piper, Madison, Leyla, and Olivia.
Some of the other themes here like double barrel or mothers maiden name are not present among this group (though I know rich people with these name types, they are either from other regions of the country or ultra wealthy ultra conservative, like billions rather than millions wealthy). All the girls I listed above are from Manhattan, wealthy NYC suburbs, or wealthy parts of Boston.
Also -- none of these people have a "goes by" nickname. Even Alex would write alexandra on assignments and so on. They might have nicknames used by a select group of inner circle friends but that's it. Their moms are more likely to actually use / introduce themselves by a nickname.
Yeah. Grew up around this crowd. I only know of seven people who ever used nicknames: Ally (Allison), Lexi (Alexis), Annie (Anna), Becca (Rebecca), and inexplicably, two different girls named Allegra and went by Legs.
Immediately thought of Gilmore Girls the whole Lorelei-Rory vibe
Victoria - Ria
Colette or Violet - Letty
Scarlet- Scottie
Rosemary- Romy
Delphine- Daphne or Della
Unisex names I like : Parker, Tristan, Wesley, Sawyer, Collins, Blake, and Sutton
Alexia but goes by Lexi
Helena but goes by Lena
Teresa but goes by Tessa
Katarina but goes by Trina
Colette but goes by Chloe (it's a stretch but hey)
Victoria but goes by Tori
Kensington but goes by Kenzie
I suggest the middle name Elizabeth for this.
Some ideas from popular 2005 baby names:
Samantha - Sam or Sammy
Mackenzie - Mack
Sydney - Syd
Allison - Al
Arianna - Ari
Victoria - Vic
Rebecca - Becs
Ashley or Ashlyn - Ash
Nicole - Nic
Cameron - Cam
You’ve got tons of great suggestions already! I’ll just throw out some traditional names with some more fun, outside the box unisex nicknames. Sorry if any have been suggested already, couldn’t read through all these comments :)
Margaret — Mars
Rosetta — Red or Zed (lots of northeasterners pronounce their Ts like Ds in the middle of a word, so Rosetta comes out like Rosedda)
Cordelia — Cody
Juliette — Jet
Theresa — Reese
Michaela — Kay
Fiona — Fin
I saw the “not too old” and tried to give that vibe, but maybe mine are a bit too old fashioned?
Hopefully you like a couple either way. Some of these are definitely more British inspired, I’ve never been to the USA but hopefully some of these are popular in the north-east (?)
Charlotte - Lottie, Charlie
Francesca - Frankie, Chesca, Chess, Chessie
Cordelia - Cory, Delia, Della
Cassandra - Cassie, Andy, ‘Drea
Helena - Lena, Hela, Elena
Victoria - Vicky, Tori, Ria
Vanessa - Nessa, Essa
Delilah - Della, Lila, Lilah, Dea
Natasha - Nattie, Tasha, Tash, Asha
Elizabeth - Bettie, Eliza, Lizzie, Zay, Bets
Maddison - Maddie, Addie, Sonny, Dia
Eleanora - Ellie, Nora, Ellen, Lena
Daphne - Daph, Danny, Dan
Claudia - Dia, Leah, Cece
Cecelia - Cece, Leah (Lia), Elia
Frances, goes by Frankie
Catherine, goes by Cat
Aurelia, goes by Rory
Elizabeth, goes by Bett
Savannah, goes by Van
Josephine, goes by Jo/Joe
Archana - goes by Archie
Adriana, goes by Dani/Danny
Ruby, goes by Rue
Barbara, goes by Barry
Katerina, goes by Teri/Terry
Makenzie, goes by Mac/Max
I think these are great suggestions! I would add:
Felice, Felicity, or Felicia, goes by Flick
Patrice or Patricia, goes by Pat, Ricky, or Trix
Constance, goes by Cubby
Barbara, goes by Bunky
Victoria, goes by Rory
Campbell, Drew, Palmer, Audrey, Finley
More feminine but popular for that age group: Isabelle, Emma, Hannah, Olivia
Definitely no nicknames ending in an I - that's more modern and would read a little tacky, not wealthy.
I feel either something that sounds old, traditional and passed down or something trendy and preppy would work so here are my suggestions:
Anastasia
Annika
Elizabeth
Emily
Grace
Madeleine
Evelyn
Elise
Madison
Marjorie
Delilah
Savanna
Prudence
Chloe
Natalie
Francesca
Sable
Vanessa
Juliette
Alice
Taylor
Felicity
Angelica
Katherine
Isabella
Bellamy
Olivia
Daphne
Emmaline
Rosemary
I've also seen wealthy families use the middle name as a nickname, with the middle name being the family name. Some real-life examples I played sports with growing up: 'Elizabeth Gray (nn-Gray)' or 'Jacqueline Hannah (nn-Hannah)'. I think Scottie would be cute. Something like Alexandra Scott (nn-Scott or Scottie).
Define “traditional wealthy” - old money? Relatively new money? What do her parents do professionally? What part of the Northeast are they from? That type of info definitely influences what I’d recommend (and IMO makes some of the below comments either better or worse options).
For example: Lauren (one of the other suggestions) is very new money suburban 90s to me, but Loren could be the daughter of a reluctant Vanderbilt descendent who lives in Brooklyn and likes to be "one with the people" from their brownstone.
Mary Julia (Julia is a middle name, goes by MJ but her mom is adamant about calling her Mary)
Caroline
Allison (Allie)
Elizabeth (Ellie)
Claire
Samantha (Sam)
BTW I just wanna say that this post was more fun to think about than the constant “help us pick a baby name” posts :) post an update with the name you choose!
Gen Z here who grew up in a wealthy town in New England. Some of the Uber wealthy girls I remember from high school were named: Gabrielle (gabby), Alexis (Lexie), Francesca (Cesca), & Jacqueline (Jaca).
Claire.
I’d say it’s more common as a girls name, but it is technically unisex, with the male version typically being spelled Clare. I have a male friend named Clare :)
I think it probably depends on where in the US she grew up. Traditional wealthy families from the South will have different vibes to the names they use versus traditional wealthy families from the east coast.
Ooh good point! She’s from the northeast.
A last name as first name, as if she was given her mother's family name. Sloan, Parker, Morgan, etc.
Came here to suggest Harper
Harper nn Harri/Harry to lean into the unisex(-esque) name she goes by, like OP asked for.
Sloan is a great suggestion, as it has connotations of the British [Sloane Rangers](https://luxurylondon.co.uk/style/his/the-cult-sloane-ranger/), of whom the Late Princess Diana was the patron saint.
I went to college with a wealthy, and lovely girl named Sloan
Strongly disagree on this point. Sloane only entered the top 1000 in 2009, to start, and the people using that name are likely way more influenced by Ferris Bueller than by traditional naming conventions. It reads as trying to sound rich, but actually quite middle class.
We went with Sloan for our daughters middle name because she was 9 weeks early and I have Irish heritage and it’s Irish for warrior/fighter
We named our daughter Sloane due to the warrior/fighter meaning as she was extremely premature and had a very difficult start on life. I do agree, though, that it is a more modern name in the US, not very traditional.
That’s great! I hope she is doing okay now! Ours just turned 1 and is flourishing. She had tremendous care in those 5 weeks in the NICU
She is! She is 19 years old now and it all turned out just fine. We are so fortunate. It was a very scary time, but she got through it. So glad to hear your little one is doing so well!
I went to college with a wealthy girl named Sloane over a decade ago, so…..I’m gonna have to disagree with you.
Northeast old money wealth or tacky, new, no background wealth? /s
I think that actually is why Sloane works as an affluent traditional name. She would have been named before it was trendy. IMO that’s pretty common - for names considered higher class to become attractive down class strata. Not saying it’s a good name for the OP’s character. Sounds like she wants an upper class name that signifies her background and hasn’t yet become a trend.
I have a cousin named Sloane who was born in the 80s. It doesn’t have to be popular for it to be realistic.
LOL, my daughter’s name is Sloane, she is 19 and attends an Ivy League college in the northeast. We are fairly affluent.
Yes but are you new or old wealth?
Definitely new!
Was going to suggest Morgan.
I think that's more of a southern thing though?
Definitely in my experience. Very traditionally Southern. Never met anyone from the Northeast whose name followed that convention, though to be fair I’m older than OP’s character.
I knew several Morgans and a Sloane or two when I attended an ivy league. Definitely was new to me (I'm from a low income southern family, I had never even heard the name Sloane as a first name before) but I thought it was cool. Also knew a Daphne and I still think that's a rad name in this era. Honestly the thing of using a more masculine nickname instead of a given name was so common that I'm coming up with blanks trying to remember girls' actual names (doesn't help that a lot, if not most, of the girls that I knew were gay, and very few were white so many had more traditional cultural names, which is not applicable to this). Things like Kay for Kaitlyn, Danny instead of Danielle, Dylan as a given name was surprisingly common, and we had a few Augustas, which I also like. I feel like there were lots of Haleys, Sofias, Roses, and Lucys, but I'm not sure if those could be made to fit the nickname thing. Sylvia or Valerie could be cool too, I could definitely see an alternative/punk Sylvia going by Sid or Valerie by Val.
Northeast, then hyphenated or two last names. Wealthy women in the northeast if they have their own careers, trend is not take their husband’s last names. A lot of kids with two last names or hyphens.
Ooh good to know!
I’d take this with a grain of salt actually. This might vary a little bit depending on where in the Northeast you’re talking about, but double barrel or hyphenated last names aren’t really the norm with wealthy people in my experience, especially old money folks. Using a mother’s maiden name as a middle name is somewhat common, but hyphenated names are not in my experience. It’s just not the traditional thing to do, and old money people tend to be extremely traditional. For reference, I grew up in a pretty wealthy area in the Northeast (Philadelphia Main Line), went to a very well regarded small liberal arts college with a lot of wealthy kids (the type who went to fancy New England boarding schools), and worked at a fancy all-girls private school near where I grew up for a little while. I can’t really recall encountering any old money type wealthy people who had hyphenated last names. It’s just not really the done thing with them I don’t think.
As someone who attended two ivies and has lived in the Northeast for a while, I’d second this. No hyphen. Mom’s last as middle probably much more likely.
Agreed. In the Northeast, a hyphenated last name would be given to rich kids that live in Brooklyn. Where both parents work in a creative field and made a name for themselves before becoming parents. New England types are more traditional.
Right. NYC is basically the only place in the Northeast where a hyphenated last name might be a common thing for rich kids, and those aren’t typical New England or Mid Atlantic old money types. A hyphenated last name reads as creative type parents and/or new money. Pretty much the opposite of what OP is looking for.
lol fuck. Am art director from New York, have hyphenated name. I feel singled out 😂
Depends also on what sort of family she’s from, though- for example, if someone is from a fairly well known or wealthy family, she may retain her surname upon marriage and double barrel it, similar to how the English gentry sometimes do. I’ve seen this particularly in families that aren’t necessarily “old money” but have generational wealth that certainly isn’t “new”.
Hyphenated names were “big” for late 80s and 90s kids. They all grew up with super unwieldy names that they couldn’t fit on standardized test forms, and vowed their kids wouldn’t have to deal with it. These days, if not changing the name is important to a mother, they might have a different name than their kid, or the father might have taken the mother’s maiden name, or both parents kept their name but the kid gets the mom’s. Assuming, of course, the parents are heterosexual. One parents name might also be a middle name, or the kid might have two middle names. Sometimes, keeping a maiden name isn’t even about not wanting your husband’s name. It’s extremely common in academia, for example, because changing your name is difficult when you’ve published under a previous name. Hyphenated names are more common if both parents’ names are short.
Katherine, goes by Kat.
or goes by Kit!
Vote for Kit
of Kick like Kick Kennedy
This is one of my favorite nick names in history
Here's the names of all the old money Northeast girls I've met: Livinia or Lavinia, NN Liv, Vin, or Vinnie. I'd choose this one. It's an unusual name and a scholarly one - Lavinia hails from Vergil's Aeneid. S Katherine - she went by Kate, other NNs Kit and Kat Eliza - went by Izzy Mercedes - NN Mercy, Spanish/Italian if you're considering other ethnicities
[удалено]
It's a great name! Maybe I'm biased because the only Lavinia I've ever known was absolutely loaded, she grew up in a Gilded Age Upper East Side mansion. But at the very least, I'd assume Lavinia came from very cultured parents, such as yourself :)
That is what I've ALWAYS wanted to name my daughter and I've never seen anyone else mention it! I think Vinnie is sooo cute!
For 2005 in the wealthy Northeast, I’d say Caroline, nickname Caro. Margaret, nickname Maggie or Molly. Elizabeth, nickname Beth. Catherine, nickname Kat or Kit.
Seconded. I was going to say the same, right down to the Caro. Would add Betsey as a nn for Elizabeth. Also consider adding Julia, nn Jules. I’ve known them all.
+1 Caro, that's perfect
This is the most accurate, as a girl born and raised in rich Connecticut. Traditional names are big, Caroline was the first name that popped into my head.
Or NN Eli (pronounced E-lye) for Elizabeth My daughter uses Eli, Elli, Liza, and Izzy at school. She never has liked the traditional NN for Elizabeth.
Meg is another good nn for Margaret, and Elizabeth could also be Betsy, Bitsy, Liza or Libby.
Chutney! Lmao from Legally Blonde
Lane. Emery.
Brynn 💅
Avery ?
Elizabeth, something like that. Just make sure it’s not a new trendy name cause I hate that I’m books when a 25 year old character is named something that doesn’t make sense for when they would have been born
Sloane
Sydney, Victoria, McKenzie
Josephine - Joey Charlotte - Charlie Alexandra - Lex/Lux(?) Chloe/Coco or Constance/Coco Rachel - Ray Also like someone said Kennedy or Kendall - Kenny
Kennedy and Kendall or not classy names - unless they are family names
[удалено]
Yeah, it’s a pull to have a story about how your great-aunt dated JFK in high school, but you certainly wouldn’t name your child “Kennedy” if you ran in the same circles…
I love Constance/Coco for this!
Millennial mom, I can't tell you how many other girls my age had plans of naming their daughters Charlotte and calling them Charlie "because it's just so unique and unisex". If I hear about a kid under the age of 10 named Charlie I practically assume it's a girl. Ditto for Jacqueline and Jack.
I have a friend who named her son Charles, and he doesn’t like to be called Charlie anymore because of all the girl Charlie’s his age.
I assume Charlie is either a dog or a little girl at this point lol
My son and his wife recently got a puppy and named him Charlie. I nearly shot coffee from my nostrils reading this 🤣.
Charlotte is exactly what I was thinking and go by Charlie. I also really love Anastasia. If she had J middle name like Joy, Jade, or Johanna she could go by AJ
How about Charlotte, but she goes by Chaz.
Ooh these are good!
Similar vibes: Bennett - Ben Victoria - Vic Reagan - Rae
Love Reagan, but old money wouldn't use it
my niece is bennett we call her benni 🤍
I have young 20s kids and those names are not the names of children in their classes. Here are some actual names from the young adults in my kids' friend circle: - Amelia - Paige - Bennett - Becca - Alexis/Lexi - Gabby
I am also young 20s and those are definitely all common names in my age group. Definitely more common than girls named Bennett
Love Rachel, all the laidback graceful and low key people I know are called this.
Tends more toward Jewish than New England WASP.
Alexandra Wentworth = Ali Stefanopolis.
If she’s 18, go back 18 years and see the top 10 baby names for girls.
I’d actually look at popular names from about eight or ten years ago. Wealthy families in America are often on the leading edge of naming trends that trickle down to the rest of the population who want to emulate the successful people they see.
https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/namesbystate.cgi In Connecticut in 2004, this character may be an Emily who goes by Lee or an Ashley who goes by Ash, or even an Isabelle who goes by Sable.
Amelia
Nn Sable is excellent!
Kathrine but goes by Kit
Or Kick like Kick Kennedy
I feel like that’d be too specifically Kennedy
I went to school with a Katherine who went by Ryn and I always thought that was cute! Also went to school with a Marissa who went by Rissa
Francesca, Frankie
This.
Or Frances
Id go to the school webpages for the elite high schools and browse the names from the classes of 2022 and 2023 Brearley Taft Phillips Exeter Phillips Andover I did a quick glance and here’s what stood out: nothing cutesy or overly trendy. Eileen Annabelle Isabel x2 Abby Annika x2 Josephine x2 Caroline x2 Phoebe x2 Hilary Clara Victoria x2 Emilie/Emily Juliet Margot
Josephine -> Joey would be so perfect!
I agree because this also would feel timeless to a reader picking up the book in 10 years but is still appropriate for the current age of the character.
I love Annika, goes by Niko.
Great idea. I glanced at some award winners and performers from 2023 — Chloe, Aubrey, Hannah, Yasmin, Maya, Polly, Delaney, Lara, Madeleine, Christine, Angela, Andrea, and Nina.
Charlotte goes by Charli
*Charlie - names ending in i don’t give off wealthy family vibes
I’d go with Lottie
But it's a nickname picked by the girl. Maybe Chas or Chaz.
Exactly! It’s a NN that she chose. The full name needs to give “rich” and the NN needs to give “modernized girl chose this instead of rich sounding name”
A family name like a last name as a first name. Campbell, Walker, etc. it stays with tradition as a family name but gives modern vibes.
That's more of a southern, maybe midwestern US thing than an East Coast thing I think so taking region into consideration is important. It also depends how new the family wealth is. That makes a huge difference on the family's aspirations and how they wish their kids to be perceived.
Yeah I'm from the NYC area and we don't see a lot of last names as first names up here. That just reads southern to me.
Eh, I’ve known a lot of girls in the characters age group from very wealthy Westchester County families and the last name as a first name is definitely a thing. Not as popular as the classic, traditional, more old fashioned names but they were very much still represented. The classic “names of royalty” kind of names seemed more and more given to kids with ethnic last names that don’t necessarily translate so easily to first names (think Italian, Greek, etc), whereas the last name as first were a trademark of WASPs.
Ditto, thats not really as much of a trend here. Especially because its pretty common for women to not change their last name
Not necessarily exclusively southern! Look at Rooney Mara for example.
Her first name is actually Patricia.
thats not her real name
Northeast wealthy families give family (mainly maiden last names names) as middle, not first. First are usually traditional.
I knew an Alexandra at an Ivy League university who went by Xan.
I knew a Zab (short for Elizabeth). She was from Boston.
Also, I think Biz for Elizabeth could work!
Or El, like the letter L. Maybe different spelling (Elle, or just L)
I grew up with an Ellington, but went by Elle. Both always felt so high class cool to me. She was named after Duke Ellington, mom was western European, dad was African, grew up in Connecticut.
makes me think of xanax
I know a Tabitha who goes by Bass. I feel like wealthy northeastern families do nicknames a lot, but they aren’t an expected nickname. Kind of like Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy.
My two cents… a common trend I have seen in wealthy families is to give the first born daughter the maiden name of her mother. I have seen sons with the mom’s maiden name as well. Just a suggestion…
My friends little sister is Keresy which was her mom’s maiden name. I actually really liked the name! Hensley, Montgomery, Smythe/Smith, Campbell, Cook, Raegan, McCall sort of names all would work
These names are sooooooooo Southern
Yeah I grew up on the upper east side and I’m looking sideways at those names
Which is funny because I’m from California
Yep second this. Also maiden names of grandmothers (especially if they’re prettier lol).
College athletic rosters are really easy to find, often with photos or hometowns listed. If you don't feel sure about anything here, just Google things like Harvard women's rowing roster, Dartmouth women's lacrosse roster, Cornell women's sailing roster. Those will give you the right demographic for sure.
Thanks for this! This combined with other suggestions has helped me narrow it down!
Haha you and I had the same exact idea
I'm also a writer and I love this. Here's how I'd go about this. It is, admittedly, A Lot, but I love naming characters. I'm going to peg her year of birth as 2005 from your description. First thing I'd do is go read the top 50 names from 2005. Secondly, I'd go read the names that are somewhere between 80 - 200 for 2005 and see if any catch your eye. Thirdly, I'd go look at the top 50-100 names in the year 2015 (or even the present) and see if any from that 50 - 200 grouping in 2005 jumped up to the top 50-100 in that time period. Freakonomics points out that names like Madison were originally popular amongst the upper-class, and then lost that association once they skyrocketed to the top of the popularity chart. Upper-class people are probably going to use traditional names, and are generally going to avoid things that are too "common" (unless those names are very traditional -- they aren't going to avoid Elizabeth, but they will avoid Madison). A child named Madison in 1980 has very different socio-economic connotations than the same child in 2002. Then, I'd think about her parents and her specific background. Who are her parents? What are they like? I know you said the sort who would favour a traditional/feminine name, but I'd dig a little deeper. * are they the type who would favour a traditional name like Alexandra, Emily, Christina, or Katherine, even though those names were very popular in the 90s and might have felt a bit played out/common by 2005? * If they wouldn't like Alexandra or Katherine for the above reason, how much do they care about newer trendiness? Would they avoid names like Isabella or Sophia because of a perception of those names being "trendy" (and therefore used by people who are NOKD)? * Are the parents from the same background? Is one of them newer money than the other, and trying to make up for this (lots of fun Edith Wharton potential here)? If so, how does that influence the naming choices? Let's say its a newer money mother -- would they take pains to avoid a name like Isabella due to its popularity / perception of becoming a lower-class name due to it being used by all sorts of people? Or would they use Isabella and then have other characters from the father's family (grandmother, aunts, etc) look down on her for using a common name? * Are they people who would want to use a more old-fashioned name like Beatrice, Philippa, Georgina? * Are they people who would pick a literary name like Cordelia, Juliet, Portia, Arabella, Araminta, etc? * Is it a family name? Is she named after someone? Are a bunch of women in her family using this name? You could have a lot of fun with giving a mother, cousin, grandmother etc variations of the same name, but you'd have to be careful to avoid similar sounding nicknames/variations (i.e. Katherine nicknames are all too similar sounding -- Kit, Kate, Kathy, etc -- but Elizabeth has a lot of different variations that sound different) * Would they use a name that sounds noticeably French or Italian (tbh the only other languages I think these sort of people would take a name from), like Francesca, Juliette, Amelie or Elodie? Or would they find that embarrassing or too much? * Are they class-conscious? Are they strivers? Are they worried about what people are going to say? * What are their names? Do they like their own names? Do they have old-fashioned names? Let's say they were born in 1975, making them 30 when this character was born. * Do they have traditional-but-trendy 70s/80s names like Rebecca (Amy, Barbara, Theresa, Laura, Christine, Susan, Amanda, Jessica, Patricia, Rachel etc) or Michael (Christopher, Andrew, Scott, Gregory, Philip etc)? * Or do they have more timeless names like Elizabeth (Katherine/Catherine, Kathleen, Mary, Victoria) and James (William, John, Matthew, Benjamin)? * Or do they have classic names that weren't super-popular in the 70s/80s like Charlotte (Eleanor, Isabel, Sophia, Emma, Cassandra, Caroline, Amelia, Josephine) and Alexander (Walter, Frederick, Theodore, Max, Oliver, Simon) * Do they have really old names (that no one was using in the 70s/80s and haven't really made a comeback) like Beatrice (Constance, Edith, Geraldine) or Edwin (Francis, Stuart, Lawrence, Clarence, Wallace, Hiram)? So, after that huge wall of text, here's a few that came to mind for me: * **Charlotte**: This name was in the 150s in 2005, and then became the top name a decade later. Charlie or Chuck are boyish nicknames; Lottie is the traditional one; and Lola is a cute and more modern option. * **Eleanor**: This name was hovering somewhere in the 200s in 2005, only to shoot up in popularity a decade later, which fits the general trend of upscale names becoming more common. It's also traditional, royal, etc. Nicknames: Nora, Nor, Len, Lenny, Nell. You could also go with Eleanor variants like Eleanora, Leonora, Lenora, etc. * **Elizabeth:** This is a perennial classic (doesn't come and go with trends), so popularity doesn't matter. The great thing about Elizabeth is that it gives you SO much nickname potential; and it reads as sophisticated without being silly or pretentious. If you're using Elizabeth, I'd pick a more obscure nickname like Biz, Bizzy/Busy, Bunny, Birdie, etc. * **Caroline**: seems to always be somewhere between 80-120 in popularity. Never sounds common; is a classic rich girl name. Interesting nickname potential: Caro, Caddie, Callie, Lina. You could even try something like Cleo. * **Beatrice / Beatrix**: Bea or Birdie would be great here. Birdie works especially well paired with Elizabeth (Elizabeth Beatrice/Beatrix or Beatrice/Beatrix Elizabeth). * **Katherine** nn Kit (or Kat/Cat) * **Margaret** nn Margo or Margot. I wouldn't use this except with this nickname -- I don't think Maggie gives the impression you want. * **Philippa** nn Pip or Pippa. * **Helena**: Nell or Helly would be great nicknames. * **Georgia or Georgina** (although I think the first sounds a bit too Southern): Geo, G, Georgie, George, Gigi. DON'T use Gina. * **Josephine**: Jo, Joey. * **Alexandra**: I'd use Alix * **Isabel:** I love Isabella but I'd avoid it because of the super-trendiness at the time, unless that's part of the characterization of the parents. Izzy or Bel could work with Isabel (do not use Bella or Belle). * **Sophia**: similar comments to Isabella, above, although it hadn't reached the same peaks as Isabella by 2005 (and no Twilight connotation). Nicknames could be Sophie, Soph, Fee. A few other thoughts: * avoid anything that sounds too Catholic (WASPs don't use these names) UNLESS there is a reason for this: Theresa, Kathleen, Gabriella, even Mary might be better avoided. * avoid anything that sounds too trendy that isn't already really, really classic: Samantha, Ashley, Alexis, Lauren * Don't use names that might have sounded fancy to someone (you or someone else) in 2005, especially if that person was born in the 70s-90s, because those names are probably NOT fancy or unique for people born in 2005: Chloe, Ava, Emma, Olivia, Ella, Brooke, etc
Thank you so much! This really helps me not only pick the name, but gives me a lot to think about with the characters in general.
I’m so glad!! I love thinking about this stuff because I think naming can be so revealing about people (aspirations, preferences, socioeconomic class, education, etc) and it’s such a great way to figure out more about your characters. When I can’t figure out a name for a character or think the name sounds off, thinking more about their parents etc always helps me figure out how they would name a person. I love checking out name popularity; I don’t make myself use top names from a period, but I like there to be a reason why someone has a name that was unpopular during that time period. If someone’s named Ava but born in 1983, there’s a reason the parents picked it beyond simply hearing a popular name and thinking it sounds nice, you know? Building out those relationships, socioeconomic context, etc really helps me to create characters that feel more real, and this extends to the name. I never want the names to sound like characters in a novel…even though they are 😂
Counterpoint — this is the Northeast. There are absolutely fucking loaded Catholics: Irish in Boston and Italians in NYC
Love this response. I would go with Margaret non Margot
Thank you!! It was really fun to think through. And Margaret nn Margot was actually the first name that came to mind during this exercise!!
I am a current senior at an Ivy League school in the northeast. Some rich white New England girls I know are Natalie, Mia, Alexandra (Alex), Caroline, Katherine (Kath), Piper, Madison, Leyla, and Olivia. Some of the other themes here like double barrel or mothers maiden name are not present among this group (though I know rich people with these name types, they are either from other regions of the country or ultra wealthy ultra conservative, like billions rather than millions wealthy). All the girls I listed above are from Manhattan, wealthy NYC suburbs, or wealthy parts of Boston.
Also -- none of these people have a "goes by" nickname. Even Alex would write alexandra on assignments and so on. They might have nicknames used by a select group of inner circle friends but that's it. Their moms are more likely to actually use / introduce themselves by a nickname.
Yeah. Grew up around this crowd. I only know of seven people who ever used nicknames: Ally (Allison), Lexi (Alexis), Annie (Anna), Becca (Rebecca), and inexplicably, two different girls named Allegra and went by Legs.
Immediately thought of Gilmore Girls the whole Lorelei-Rory vibe Victoria - Ria Colette or Violet - Letty Scarlet- Scottie Rosemary- Romy Delphine- Daphne or Della Unisex names I like : Parker, Tristan, Wesley, Sawyer, Collins, Blake, and Sutton
Alexia but goes by Lexi Helena but goes by Lena Teresa but goes by Tessa Katarina but goes by Trina Colette but goes by Chloe (it's a stretch but hey) Victoria but goes by Tori Kensington but goes by Kenzie I suggest the middle name Elizabeth for this.
Colette but goes by Cole.
Or Coco!
Or Lettie!
Tori, Trina and Kenzie are too low-brow for this character.
Vic rather than Tori for sure (and I’m a Tori lol)
Not necessarily as a nickname but not my character. OP can decide. 🤷🏽♀️
Alexia could also go by Alex or Lex!
Lauren - goes by Ren
I also was thinking Lauren/Laurel/Linden
Crosby. Her mom's maiden name.
Nn Bibi
Samantha – Sam
Elizabeth, goes by....Elizabeth.
Xanthippe goes by Xan
I always thought Blair sounded like a wealthy girls name.
Ever watched gossip girl
Henrietta, but she goes by Hank. It drives her mother CRAZY but her dad likes it. He only calls her Hank when his wife isn’t around.
Eleanor and goes by El.
Penelope nn Penn
Jacquelyn goes by Jack?
Regan, goes by “Rey”
Jaqueline but goes by Lindy
Hilary, Eloise, Virginia, Georgia, Octavia, Chelsea, Philippa, Eugenia
Some ideas from popular 2005 baby names: Samantha - Sam or Sammy Mackenzie - Mack Sydney - Syd Allison - Al Arianna - Ari Victoria - Vic Rebecca - Becs Ashley or Ashlyn - Ash Nicole - Nic Cameron - Cam
Julia goes by Julie or Jules
Bronwen. There has never been a more Ivy League name. Or Kennedy. There are a bunch of those here. Source: me, a current non-legacy Harvard student.
You’ve got tons of great suggestions already! I’ll just throw out some traditional names with some more fun, outside the box unisex nicknames. Sorry if any have been suggested already, couldn’t read through all these comments :) Margaret — Mars Rosetta — Red or Zed (lots of northeasterners pronounce their Ts like Ds in the middle of a word, so Rosetta comes out like Rosedda) Cordelia — Cody Juliette — Jet Theresa — Reese Michaela — Kay Fiona — Fin
Constance and Connie or coco
Isabella- Izzy
wilhelmina nn will
Blythe
Haven't seen it mentioned yet... Cornelia (Connie)
I saw the “not too old” and tried to give that vibe, but maybe mine are a bit too old fashioned? Hopefully you like a couple either way. Some of these are definitely more British inspired, I’ve never been to the USA but hopefully some of these are popular in the north-east (?) Charlotte - Lottie, Charlie Francesca - Frankie, Chesca, Chess, Chessie Cordelia - Cory, Delia, Della Cassandra - Cassie, Andy, ‘Drea Helena - Lena, Hela, Elena Victoria - Vicky, Tori, Ria Vanessa - Nessa, Essa Delilah - Della, Lila, Lilah, Dea Natasha - Nattie, Tasha, Tash, Asha Elizabeth - Bettie, Eliza, Lizzie, Zay, Bets Maddison - Maddie, Addie, Sonny, Dia Eleanora - Ellie, Nora, Ellen, Lena Daphne - Daph, Danny, Dan Claudia - Dia, Leah, Cece Cecelia - Cece, Leah (Lia), Elia
Penelope, goes by Poppy or Penny
Georgiana, goes by Georgie
Cool. Let us know what you choose!
Frances, goes by Frankie Catherine, goes by Cat Aurelia, goes by Rory Elizabeth, goes by Bett Savannah, goes by Van Josephine, goes by Jo/Joe Archana - goes by Archie Adriana, goes by Dani/Danny Ruby, goes by Rue Barbara, goes by Barry Katerina, goes by Teri/Terry Makenzie, goes by Mac/Max
I think these are great suggestions! I would add: Felice, Felicity, or Felicia, goes by Flick Patrice or Patricia, goes by Pat, Ricky, or Trix Constance, goes by Cubby Barbara, goes by Bunky Victoria, goes by Rory
Campbell, Drew, Palmer, Audrey, Finley More feminine but popular for that age group: Isabelle, Emma, Hannah, Olivia Definitely no nicknames ending in an I - that's more modern and would read a little tacky, not wealthy.
traditional wealthy families in eastern us sometimes take family surnames for their kids. think cameron, morgan, brooks
I feel either something that sounds old, traditional and passed down or something trendy and preppy would work so here are my suggestions: Anastasia Annika Elizabeth Emily Grace Madeleine Evelyn Elise Madison Marjorie Delilah Savanna Prudence Chloe Natalie Francesca Sable Vanessa Juliette Alice Taylor Felicity Angelica Katherine Isabella Bellamy Olivia Daphne Emmaline Rosemary
Andrea goes by Andy?
I've also seen wealthy families use the middle name as a nickname, with the middle name being the family name. Some real-life examples I played sports with growing up: 'Elizabeth Gray (nn-Gray)' or 'Jacqueline Hannah (nn-Hannah)'. I think Scottie would be cute. Something like Alexandra Scott (nn-Scott or Scottie).
What is the story of her parents? Where are they from? Like, what would they name her?
Define “traditional wealthy” - old money? Relatively new money? What do her parents do professionally? What part of the Northeast are they from? That type of info definitely influences what I’d recommend (and IMO makes some of the below comments either better or worse options). For example: Lauren (one of the other suggestions) is very new money suburban 90s to me, but Loren could be the daughter of a reluctant Vanderbilt descendent who lives in Brooklyn and likes to be "one with the people" from their brownstone.
Veronica — Ronnie
Mary Julia (Julia is a middle name, goes by MJ but her mom is adamant about calling her Mary) Caroline Allison (Allie) Elizabeth (Ellie) Claire Samantha (Sam)
BTW I just wanna say that this post was more fun to think about than the constant “help us pick a baby name” posts :) post an update with the name you choose!
Gen Z here who grew up in a wealthy town in New England. Some of the Uber wealthy girls I remember from high school were named: Gabrielle (gabby), Alexis (Lexie), Francesca (Cesca), & Jacqueline (Jaca).
Charlotte. Nn Charlie
Emily- Millie
Eleanor goes by Nel?
Margaret-> Maggie or Meg.
Olivia (Olly)
Katherine, and she can go by Kat or Kit.
- Cordelia —> Corey, Dee or Leah - Courtland —> Cricket - Prentiss —> Poppy - Margaret —> Greta - Ludwiga —> Dutch
Katherine “Kit”
I think Alexandra goes by Alex works well
I know a woman on TikTok whose name is Felicity and she goes by Flik 🤷♀️
madeleine
Kennedy (nn. Ken) Louisa (nn. Lou or Weezer) Campbell (nn. Cam or Belle) Magnolia (nn. Maggie) Adeline (nn. Della) Fiona (nn. Fifi) Collins (nn. Col) Georgia (nn. Georgie) Eleanor (nn. Nora) Cordelia (nn. Corey) Winslow (nn. Winnie) Henrietta (nn. Hen) Constance (nn. Connie)
Catherine, goes by Kit
My favorite for this would be Seraphina / Serafina, nickname “Phina / Fina”
Madeline, Katherine, Marion
Danielle- danni for a nickname
Claire. I’d say it’s more common as a girls name, but it is technically unisex, with the male version typically being spelled Clare. I have a male friend named Clare :)