What Should You Name Your Twins?

If you’re expecting twins, you may find that it’s hard enough for you and your partner to agree on one name, let alone two! My husband and I had a difficult time. For some reason, we agreed almost immediately on two girls’ names–Sydney and Hayley–but figuring out boys’ names was a different story. Needless to say, we soon found out we were expecting two boys! Finally, we decided we’d each pick a name, and as long as the other person didn’t violently object to it, we’d go with that. I liked the name Caleb, and my husband was okay with it, so that was a “go.” My husband liked the name Austin, but I really didn’t like the association with the Austin Powers movies, so I told him we could use Austin only if we spelled it like Jane Austen, giving it a more literary connection. Therefore, we finally settled on Austen and Caleb. As often happens, they appear now to be the perfect names for our kids, as we couldn’t imagine them being anything other than “Caleb” and “Austen.”

Another issue in naming twins is whether to give them sound-alike names or different ones. Sound-alike names can be adorable, but experts usually advise that twins have very different names in order to help them establish their own identities and not confuse people. Nevertheless, I haven’t heard of too many twins who were permanently scarred by having sound-alike names, so you and your partner should do what you feel is best!

Finally, if you’re still stumped as to what to name your twins, I suggest you check out the Social Security Administration’s list of most popular names for twins in 2005. Here it is:

1 Jacob, Joshua

2 Matthew, Michael

3 Daniel, David

4 Faith, Hope

5 Ethan, Evan

6 Taylor, Tyler

7 Isaac, Isaiah

8 Joseph, Joshua

9 Nathan, Nicholas

10 Madison, Mason

11 Hailey, Hannah

12 Madison, Morgan

13 Alexander, Andrew

14 Elijah, Isaiah

15 Jordan, Justin

16 Mackenzie, Madison

17 Alexander, Nicholas

18 Caleb, Joshua

19 Emma, Ethan

20 Jonathan, Joshua

21 Emily, Ethan

22 Alexander, Benjamin

23 Andrew, Matthew

24 Benjamin, Samuel

25 James, John

26 Matthew, Nicholas

27 Brandon, Brian

28 Ella, Emma

29 Alexander, Zachary

30 Dylan, Tyler

31 Hannah, Sarah

32 Madison, Matthew

33 Christian, Christopher

34 Faith, Grace

35 Jacob, Jordan

36 Jacob, Matthew

37 Jaden, Jordan

38 Alexander, Anthony

39 Brandon, Bryan

40 Emily, Sarah

41 Ethan, Nathan

42 Jacob, Joseph

43 Jordan, Joshua

44 Landon, Logan

45 Olivia, Sophia

46 Ashley, Emily

47 Elizabeth, Emily

48 Elizabeth, Katherine

49 Jeremy, Joshua

50 John, Joseph

51 Nathan, Noah

52 Nicholas, Noah

53 Nicholas, Zachary

54 Alexander, Christopher

55 Christopher, Michael

56 Jacob, Zachary

57 Jason, Justin

58 Abigail, Allison

59 Amy, Emily

60 Andrew, Nicholas

61 Benjamin, William

62 Christopher, Nicholas

63 Ella, Ethan

64 Gabriella, Isabella

65 Isabella, Sophia

66 Jeremiah, Joshua

67 Megan, Morgan

68 Samuel, Sophia

69 Aidan, Ava

70 Alexander, Alexis

71 Andrew, Anthony

72 Andrew, Ethan

73 Andrew, William

74 Ava, Olivia

75 Caleb, Jacob

76 Jacob, Nicholas

77 Jacob, Ryan

78 Jake, Luke

79 Jayden, Jordan

80 John, William

81 Mark, Matthew

82 Natalie, Nathan

83 Nathaniel, Nicholas

84 Ryan, Tyler

85 Abigail, Emily

86 Anna, Emma

87 Anthony, Michael

88 Anthony, Nicholas

89 Austin, Justin

90 Benjamin, Jacob

91 Brian, Brianna

92 Christopher, Matthew

93 Daniel, Samuel

94 Gabriel, Michael

95 Haley, Hannah

96 Jada, Jaden

97 Jayden, Jaylen

98 Jonathan, Joseph

99 Kyle, Ryan

100 Logan, Lucas

101 Logan, Luke

102 Matthew, Ryan

103 Parker, Payton

104 Parker, Peyton

105 Reagan, Riley

106 Tanner, Tyler

About the Author

Susan M. Heim is a writer and editor, specializing in multiples, parenting, women’s and Christian issues. A former Senior Editor for Health Communications, Inc., she specialized in the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series, as well as teen, religion and other self-help books. Susan is the author of Oh, Baby! 7 Ways a Baby Will Change Your Life the First Year, Twice the Love: Stories of Inspiration for Families…with Twins, Multiples and Singletons, and It’s Twins! Parent-to-Parent Advice from Infancy Through Adolescence. Susan's articles and essays have appeared in many books, magazines and Web sites. In addition to her own projects, Susan enjoys developing proposals and manuscripts with many high-profile authors. She is a member of the National Association of Women Writers and the Southeastern Writers Association, and has a degree in Business Administration from Michigan State University. Susan lives with her husband and four sons in south Florida.

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