Names with "an"

I recently got an email from a reader asking for some naming inspiration.

Fiona writes:

My first 2 children both have a theme of "an" - Marianne and Kassandra. It happened accidentally, but the more we think about future names, the more we seem attracted to this sound. It would be great to have some help and inspiration please! 
Our second child was only born this year, so we are jumping the gun a little but we do plan a 3rd child (hopefully, as obviously thanks to mother nature's blips, having a child is not in our complete control!) and our experience is that it is never too early to start thinking about names.

With many thanks,
Fiona 

Past the page break I have put together an exhaustive list of names with -an in them. I've italicised the ones I think work best with Marianne and Kassandra. Feel free to leave your thoughts or suggestions for Fiona in the comments. If you have a naming question that you would like me to post on the blog, feel free to email me at skihm (at) hotmail (dot) com. 

July Names

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Tomorrow is the first day of July, a month that can be rather hot and unbearable here in Chicago. However, it is a month that offers a lot of inspiration in the baby name department. Whether you want your baby's name to subtly or obviously honor his or her birth month, this list can give you plenty of ideas.

Birthstone:
Ruby- A cute name on the rise, perfect for any time of year.

Birth Flower:
Larkspur- If Larkspur seems like too much for you, Lark or Larkin would be just fine.
Water Lily- This one offers so many options. From the water part you can get names like Sea, Lake, River, and Bay. From Lily you can use Lilia, Lillian, Lilith, or even Shoshanna. If you want, go all the way with this one and call her Oceane Liliana.

Birth Colors:
Green- So many shades of green make great baby names. The most useable ones are Olive, Fern, Forest, Hunter, India, Paris, Pine, and Sea (another great reason to use Sea).
Russet- What a cool name for a boy. He's perfect to honor a Russell, plus you can call him Russ.

Star Sign:
Leo- Late July babies will be Leos, which offers great options such as Leo, Leonardo, and Leopold for boys, and Leona, Leonie, or even Cleo for girls.

Related to July:
4th of July- Having a July 4th baby? Some parents like to go with the obvious connection and choose America or Liberty. Want something a little more understated? Try Justus.
Jul Names- Of course you can always go for the names that sound like July, including Julia, Juliette, Julian, and Julius.
Seven- July is the seventh month, and Seven is one of the few numbers that really seems to work as a baby name.
Summer- Summer is in full swing in July, so she makes perfect sense as a name.