The Fun in Naming a Home

For my family, a house doesn’t feel like ours until we give it a name. My husband and daughters have a little friendly competition to see who can come up with a name that is most fitting for a new property. This tradition stems from the early days of my relationship with Danny when we had few resources and a car with a bum headlight. It looked a little goofy, but we loved it nonetheless. Because of this, I affectionately called the car Banguela, the Portuguese word for a person who is missing a tooth. 

Getting to know a new house takes time and personalizing the decor and attributes makes it feel like yours. But, for us, giving our house a name really makes it feel like a home. Here are a few of our homes and the names we identified for them:

Bubbly

There's a bubbling brook behind our new home in Highlands and the house is very tiny, so we wanted something cute. For Bubbly, Danny threw out this name initially and easily won the competition.

Woody

Woody was the nickname for the Highlands, NC house on Smallwood Street. The stained teak-colored exterior influenced the name and the house quickly became Woody. Stella, my youngest, came up with this name. We even had a little playhouse in the backyard that we called “Little Woody” :) 

The Lakehouse

Our Charleston house on the lake had a picture-perfect view and easily influenced the name of this property. Pictured here, the Lakehouse is covered in a rare blanket of Southern snow!

Hilly

Our first house in Highlands, NC was named Hilly. My oldest daughter Juju came up with the name for this house on the hill and it stuck! It also somehow set the tradition to put a “y” at the end of our mountain homes. 

Dalton

Our most recent home on Daniel Island was named Dalton. This home was named based on the fact that Dalton is so Southern and we were on the corner of Dalton Street. We loved to say “We are the Dalnekoffs on Dalton”. 


The Treehouse

The Treehouse is new to our family and my daughter Juju named this home for the trees that surround the backyard. The home is elevated so we really feel like we are in the trees. Our renovation includes an elevated pool. We can’t wait to make it all happen and will make sure to share all the progress with you!

Lastly, it can also be advantageous to brand your house for short-term rentals. Giving your house a name adds a little bit of your personality to the home! This is a fun way to make your home memorable to potential and past renters and is especially popular in beach and mountain towns!