Ailsa and Tom are expecting their third child next year, who will be a brother or sister to their daughters Matilda (called Tilly) and Sophie.

If it’s a boy, Tom would love to name him Lennox, but Ailsa isn’t sure about it. If it’s a girl, Ailsa really loves the name Penelope, with the nickname Penny. However, Tom isn’t as keen on the idea.

Ailsa wonders if either Lennox or Penelope (Penny) are a good match with Tilly and Sophie’s names, and if there are any names that would work better for them?

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I have to agree with each of you, as I think both Lennox and Penelope are excellent matches with Matilda and Sophie. As you both have a favourite name you are longing to use, and as neither of you actually hates the other person’s choice, perhaps you could come to an amicable agreement?

If it’s a boy, Lennox – a name which his father loves, and his mother can hopefully accept (especially when it’s attached to her darling son). If it’s a girl, Penelope – a name which her mother adores, and which her father can hopefully learn to live with (especially as it belongs to his precious smallest daughter).

It’s a little gamble for each of you to take, but the stakes don’t seem too high, and it is entirely fair. It would mean that at least one parent will love the name, while the other one won’t really dislike it, and will have the good sportsmanship to accept the decision, knowing that it could just as easily have been their choice which was successful.

Do you think something like that could work for you both?

I don’t think there are any names you could use that are better than Lennox and Penelope, but if you wanted to consider other names, to see if you might be able to agree on one together, you could look at names that are similar to your favourites.

Matilda, Sophie and Penelope seem like a natural match because they are all popular traditional names. (With the nicknames, they all end in an EE sound as well.)

Similar sisterly sibsets could be

Matilda, Sophie and Charlotte
Matilda, Sophie and Georgia
Matilda, Sophie and Grace
Matilda, Sophie and Harriet
Matilda, Sophie and Hazel
Matilda, Sophie and Imogen
Matilda, Sophie and Lucy
Matilda, Sophie and Phoebe (this might put you off having a Penelope in the future?)
Matilda, Sophie and Victoria
Matilda, Sophie and Violet

Some of these could have a nickname like Lottie or Gracie, to continue the pattern.

If Tom loves the X sound in Lennox, he might like Alexander, Baxter, Dexter, Felix, Huxley, or Knox. Or perhaps Lennon or Leon are names that could give the nickname Lenny, if that’s what he was hoping for. He might consider other Scottish names, such as Campbell, Frazer, Jamison, or Reid.

But I’m rather hoping you decide that you can make your favourites work for you, and stick with Lennox for a boy and Penelope for a girl.

Readers, do you think Ailsa’s and Tom’s favourites work with their daughters’ names? And can you think of any names they might both love?

(Picture shows a “gender reveal” cake from Pop Sugar)