Before you even know you’re pregnant, you think of names for your future children. More often than not, your partner may not agree with the names you like, which makes choosing names difficult. An even greater challenge occurs when you are having twins. The following popular strategies for choosing twin names are excellent guidelines to help parents not only discover new ideas, but also consider all of the options before making a final decision.

Tips on Choosing Names for Twins

1. Names That Match Well

Try the following linguistic strategies to create twin names that form a perfect combination.

Strategies	Examples
Same First Letter	Sarah and Sam or Connor and Chris
Same Last Letter	Ben and Kristen or Riley and Miley
An Anagram of Each Other	Adelin and Daniela
Same Number of Syllables	Hillary and Emily or Jackson and Devlin

2. Names with the Same Meaning

Many parents decide to choose names based on meanings. Some of the most popular twin names arenames related to virtues, like Hope and Faith.With the many languages spoken in our world, you can find name options with different origins for any meaning you want. For example, Nathaniel and Theodore both mean “gift of God” with Nathanial being Hebrew and Theodore being Greek. Additionally, Irene and Salome both mean “peace,” but Irene is Greek and Salome is Hebrew. Lastly, you could use Aurora and Dawn since Aurora means “dawn” in Latin.

3. Naming after Relatives

Some families are always looking for ways to keep generational links alive. This is easily done by using your relative’s names for your twins. A good place to start would be to choose one relative’s name from your side of the family, and another from your partner’s side. This could mean choosing your maternal grandmother’s name and your partner’s paternal grandmother’s name if you are having a set of girl-girl twins. The relatives you choose will be based not only on the gender of your twins, but also on the links you want to create within your family. Not to mention, the relatives of the names you choose will be deeply honored for your child to also bear their name.

4. Names That Are Unrelated

If all of the other strategies so far seem a bit complicated to you, then maybe your best option is to simply use two names that are completely unrelated from each other. By using unrelated names, you will help your twins be able to assert their independence, as they will eventually do in their adulthood. Choosing very different sounding names can also be an advantage because it will prevent your twins from being called the wrong name by accident. For example, you could use Adrian and Riley for a set of boy twins or Melissa and Jean for a set of girl twins.

5. Names with the Same Style and Popularity

When choosing names for your twins, it is important to keep them related in style and theme. If you choose a traditional style, then both children should have a traditional style name, and the same goes for popularity. The last thing you want to do deal with as a parent in the store is one child being able to find their engraved name while the other cannot. Keep this in mind when choosing names, and spellings. If one child is named Jason, and the other Corrina, you will end up with more difficulties than necessary. It may sound silly to you now, but you will be thankful when these names with the same level of popularity allow the same level of opportunity for your twins.

6. Names That Sound Cute Together

Any set of twins’ names should flow well together. When you are coming close to making a decision, say the names out loud together constantly. Any hint of stumbling or mixing of the names means they won’t sound cute together in the long run.You can also have others try the names together to make sure you still like the sound and flow.

7. Be Careful with Boy-Girl Twin Names

Even if the names do sound cute together, the names may not be the most appropriate for a set of boy-girl twins. For example, the popular name set Taylor and Tyler can be confusing since Taylor is a gender-neutral name. Additionally, other name sets, such as Addison and Aiden, may stumble across your tongue. Besides, these gender-neutral names can quickly confuse your twins’ friends and teachers, causing consistent name mishaps.

Watch the video below for more tips on naming twin babies:

Popular Twin Names

The Social Security Administration compiles lists every year of the most popular names, including list for twins. The well-organized list for twins consists of the most popular twin names for boy-boy twins, boy-girl twins, and girl-girl twins. You will see many of the strategies we have discussed, and even some we have warned against.

1.  Ten Most Popular Female Twin Names

Ella, Emma

Faith, Hope

Hailey, Hannah

Heaven, Nevaeh

Isabella, Gabriella

Isabella, Sophia

Mackenzie, Madison

Makenzie, Makayla

Olivia, Abigail

Olivia, Sophia

2.  Ten Most Popular Male Twin Names

Daniel, David

Ethan, Evan

Isaiah, Elijah

Isaiah, Isaac

Jacob, Joseph

Jacob, Joshua

Jayden, Jaylen

Jayden, Jordan

Landon, Logan

Matthew, Michael

3.  Ten Most Popular Boy-Girl Twin Names

Aiden, Addison

Aiden, Ava

Ethan, Ella

Ethan, Emily

Ethan, Emma

Isaiah, Isabella

Jaden, Jada

Jayden, Jayda

Mason, Madison

Owen, Olivia