Most of us can remember cute "twin set" names of kids we knew growing up. In my hometown, alliteration seemed to be the way to go. We had pairs named Tim/Tom, Deborah/Diane, and Sharon/Sondra. Other parents choose rhyming names, like Sarah/Tarah, Randy/Andy, or Ben/Ken. Still other parents choose names that are related to one another in literature or music, like Jack/Jill, Tristan/Isolde, or Johnny/June.

Current experts in this area suggest that parents give twins distinct names that don't sound alike, to encourage twins to develop their own identities. With that in mind, here are some possibilities for you to consider.

1. Family Names

This option only works if you have two family names you really like, and they match the gender(s) of your twins. It's not fair, in my opinion anyway, to give a family name to one twin and not the other. You also might want to consider family politics and choose a name from both sides of the family tree. To research this option, get out both of your family trees and start trying out combinations.

2. Names that mean the same thing or related things

This involves some research (see links to the right of the article).

Here are some examples:
Boy/Boy:
Tryg (Scandinavian-True) and Leif (Scandinavian-Love)
Jeffrey (English-peace) and Axel (Germanic--peace)
Tavis (Gaelic--twin) and Maslin (French--twin)

Girl/Girl
Celeste (French-Heaven) and Terra (Latin-Earth)
Blithe (Welsh-Happy) and Jocelyn (Latin-Happy)
Angela (English-Angel) and Muriel (Hebrew-Angel)

Girl/Boy
Gemma (Latin-precious stone) and Peter (Hebrew-stone)
Brynn (Welsh-hill) and Landon (English-hill)
MacKenzie (Irish-handsome) and Kevin (Irish-handsome)


3. Names of places

Again, you might need to do some research for this one--or think of places you and your significant other enjoyed together.

Examples:

Boy/Boy
York and Devon (both places in England)
Montana and Dakota (both states in the US)

Girl/Girl
Kendall and Shannon (both names of rivers)
Carolina and Georgia (both states in the US)

Girl/Boy
Helen (mountain in the US) and Denali (mountain in US)
Christi and Dallas (both cities in Texas)

4. Names of people you and your spouse admire

You can name your twins after friends who introduced you or others to whom you remain close. Be cautious if choosing to name your children after living celebrities or sports figures. You never know what that person will do or be accused of in the future (think Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson, or Paris Hilton), and you don't want your children to have to live down their name for the rest of their lives.

5. Names of flowers, spices, etc.

This option is usually reserved for girls, though I suppose you could name boys after a masculine category of some kind.

Girl/Girl
Lily and Rose
Daisy and Violet
Cinnamon and Chamomile
Peach and Apple (Gwyneth Paltrow recently named her daughter "Apple")