BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Baby Names Ruby & Kennedy - is one high-class, one low-class?

Hi all!

A reader named Emy needs some help naming her triplets. Her top choices so far are:

Ruby Camilla
Parker Benjamin
Kennedy Larissa (or Kennedy Serena, or Serena Kennedy, or Larissa Kennedy, or Serena Lorelei)

Kennedy's name is the one Emy and her husband are having a hard time with.

She says that many people are telling her Kennedy just doesn't match up with Ruby -- that Ruby Camilla is "pretty and feminine and classy" and that Kennedy is "a low-class, unfeminine name."

Emy really likes the name Kennedy, but is wary about giving her daughters the names Ruby and Kennedy if they give people such different impressions.

What is your take on Ruby and Kennedy -- do they strike you as being very different, in terms of class? What are your impressions of the names?

(Emy also mentions that she's interested in name suggestions, so if you have any other name ideas, she'd like to hear them!)

Kennedy always reminds me of the Kennedys and Massachusetts - not low class at all. But - political and not always everyone's favorite.

I love both names. Ruby Camilla could have a certain aristocracy surrounding it (Camilla Parker Bowles).

it's weird, but i would think of the two names in exactly the opposite way.

Emy posted about this in the 'Daughters' forum. I commented there, but I will here as well.

I don't think Ruby and Kennedy differ in class, but they do differ in the theme of the names. They come from different eras, categories, etc. I first suggested she find a gem/floral name to replace Kennedy; but I did come back to recommend she change the Ruby name. Parker and Kennedy can/are also surnames, so I recommended a name more like Madison. This gives all three names the same 'weight'.

Thanks, GrannyH! Here's the link: Baby names HELP. Emy's post is the very same message she send to me via e-mail, in fact.

Here are some of my impressions:

I don't really see a class difference between Ruby and Kennedy. Kennedy is trendier than Ruby, so it sounds younger to me. Ruby sounds older/more mature. Also, as GrannyH mentioned in the other thread, Ruby is clearly feminine and Kennedy is unisex. But those are the biggest differences to me -- time period and gender.

I think using Serena Kennedy or Larissa Kennedy would solve the problem nicely. Kennedy is still in the mix, but it comes after a first name that's clearly feminine and therefore more on par with Ruby.

I personally wouldn't go in the other direction (make all the first names surnames) because that could end up causing a lot of gender confusion.