Deciding on a baby name is tough enough without having to decide for two – twins that is… Twins are double the fun and double the trouble.
Once mom realizes that she is sporting two under the hood, the challenges of naming her unborn children becomes much more difficult. Should she just choose two distinct names, or should she choose two names that fit well together or have a relationship to one another?
If she decides to name the twins with names that fit together beautifully, then comes the question of how closely the names should resemble each other? For example, a friend of the family named her twin girls, Cindy and Mindy. Another couple named their twin boys, Bill and Will.
Other parents may choose to match the names based on a shared first letter, such as Brian and Brad, or the #1 baby name combination for twins, Jacob and Joshua. The 11th most popular name pair for twins is the girls, Hailey and Hannah.
Some parents like to choose names that have a historical relationship, like Elijah and Isaiah from the Bible (14th most popular). Other popular combinations for pseudo-Biblical names are the combination for girls, Faith and Hope, the 4th most popular; and Faith and Grace, which is the 34th most common baby name pair for twin girls.
Other popular twin names from a Biblical origin include: Isaac and Isaiah, Jonathan and Joshua, Benjamin and Samuel, James and John, Christian and Christopher, Jacob and Matthew, Jacob and Joseph, John and Joseph, and Hannah and Sarah.
The 29th most popular combination for twin names is Alexander and Zachary, an A-to-Z combination in baby names.
Some names were used multiple times in the naming pairs, which indicated that those baby names are generally popular. For boys, the favorite names are: Jacob, John, Joshua, Matthew, Joseph, Benjamin, Alexander and Andrew. For girls, the favorite names are: Hannah, Madison, Jordan, Emma, Emily and Elizabeth.
For fraternal twins, the most popular choices include (boys name first): Mason and Madison, Justin and Jordan, Ethan and Emma, Ethan and Emily, Matthew and Madison, Jacob and Jordan, Joshua and Jordan, and Landon and Logan.
Famous Twins in History
Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren were twin sisters, who both went on to write syndicated advice columns for more than 50 years.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen starred in the 1980s TV Sitcom “Full House”, as children. They remain famous for their antics as reported in celebrity magazines.
Tegan and Sara Quin are independent singer/songwriters, whose CD “So Jealous” was featured in Rolling Stone magazine in 2004, as one of the year’s top 50 best albums of the year.
Dylan and Cole Sprouse appeared as twin brothers on the shows, “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and “The Suite Life on Deck”, both appearing on the Disney Channel.
The Twins of Famous People
Elvis Presley’s twin brother Jesse Garon died at birth.
Justin Timberlake’s fraternal twin sister Laura Katherine died shortly after birth.
Kiefer Southerland’s twin sister, Rachel, is a post-production supervisor working in film and television in Toronto.
Actress Scarlett Johansson has a twin brother by the name of Hunter, who worked as a campaign organizer for the Obama campaign in Denver, Colorado.
Ashton Kutcher’s fraternal twin brother, Michael, still lives in Iowa and works as a salesman.
Jill Hennessey of “Law and Order” fame has a twin sister, Jacqueline, who is a star in her own right in Canada, hosting a current affairs television program called, “Medical Intelligence”.
Alanis Morissette has a twin brother, Wade, who blends his own music with yoga. Wade is a star in his own right in the yoga community.
Jon Heder, famous for his role as “Napoleon Dynamite”, has an identical twin brother with whom he set up a production company in the film industry. Daniel Heder worked as an animator on the movie “Monster House”.
In Conclusion
For many parents, figuring out what they will name one child is challenge enough… But preparing to name two children is always more difficult…
There is a lot to think about when selecting baby names for twins, but in the end, all new parents will do just fine with this task…
Editor’s Note: Article previously published here.
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Amanda van Hess is a freelance writer and editor who often helps friends choose the right baby name. She writes frequently about naming twins and other name topics at: http://www.babynamesgarden.com/
Read more articles written by Amanda van Hess
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