Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed.
We rely on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name choices. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight!
Lindsay writes:
We’re expecting our second daughter at the end of August and aren’t certain about her name yet.
Big sister is Lowen Leone. We loved the meaning — Cornish for joyful and German for lion. She’s kind and fierce. The middle name Leone honors her maternal great-grandmother.
Our top choice for this baby girl is Margot Quinn, but we worry Margot may be too familiar. Including Quinn somewhere in the name is important to us.
We’d like the name to have a meaning tied to sunshine/light and/or eagle/hawk to reflect family connections. We’re drawn to surnames and gender-neutral names.
Her last name will sound like Shell, but with a long “e” sound.
Please read on for my response and leave thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Dear Lindsay —
Margot Quinn is a lovely, solid name.
But compared with Lowen Leone, it feels stylistically different. Lowen Leone is unexpected, lyrical, and carries a striking double-meaning with lion and family history. Margot Quinn leans more traditional and clearly feminine; Quinn is commonly used for girls as well.
My suggestion is to pause on Margot Quinn not because it’s a bad name, but to consider options that better echo Lowen’s rare, slightly whimsical tone while still matching your desires for light or raptor imagery.
It’s wonderful that Lowen and Leone both relate to lions — that layered meaning is meaningful and memorable. Below are name ideas grouped by the meanings you asked for, with some combinations that include Quinn if you want to keep it in the name.
NAMES RELATED TO LIGHT
There are many names that mean light or convey brightness. I’ll highlight ones that feel like a good stylistic match for Lowen.
Clytie — In Greek myth, Clytie loved the sun so deeply she became a heliotrope, a flower that turns toward the sun.
Eirian — A Welsh name meaning bright or beautiful; it pairs well with Lowen’s Celtic flair.
Lumi — Finnish for snow but evocative of the Latin lumen, meaning light; short and modern.
Lux — Direct Latin root for light, bold and minimalist.
Soleil — French for sun, pronounced soh-lay; poetic and luminous.
Zahara — From Hebrew roots meaning shining or brilliant; warm and distinctive.
NAMES RELATED TO HAWKS AND EAGLES
Aquila — Latin for eagle; it also echoes the “qui” sound in Quinn, which may create a subtle link.
Circe — From Greek kirkos, meaning hawk; it’s classical and evocative.
Keaton / Keats — Surname-style options that feel hawk-adjacent (kite is a bird of prey); they have that surname vibe you like.
Vega — A bright star in Lyra; the Arabic root evokes a swooping or falling eagle and gives a celestial, luminous quality.
COMBINATIONS
If keeping Quinn is non-negotiable, fitting both light and raptor meanings into one name is tricky without adding a second given name. But some choices touch both themes or complement Lowen nicely:
Lowen Leone and Vega Quinn — Vega brings brightness and the eagle association; it pairs easily with Quinn and mirrors Lowen’s cadence.
Lowen Leone and Clytie Quinn — Clytie brings the sun myth and pairs with Quinn for a sisterly alliteration-like echo (C/L sound pattern similar to Lowen Leone).
Other possibilities that keep Quinn as a middle name: Eirian Quinn, Lumi Quinn, or Aquila Quinn. Each balances rarity, meaning, and the surname/middle-name emphasis you prefer.
Ultimately, the best choice will feel like part of the same world as Lowen Leone: uncommon, evocative, and meaningful. Margot Quinn is beautiful, but if you want a closer stylistic match and to honor the light/eagle themes, consider the names above or use Quinn as the middle name to preserve that family tie.
Readers, over to you — what would you name a sister for Lowen Leone, prioritizing meanings of light and eagle, and likely keeping Quinn as the middle name?