The Baby Name Wizard

Jennifer -- I agree with hyz that Alexander and Miranda sound very good together. I don't get an over-matchy vibe from those two.

Valerie -- Jayden and Jaylen, that's funny. There goes the nn Jay, I guess.

My MIL makes a point in front of the family to say that I am not comfortable enough to call her mom (even though every other SIL law does and there are 5 of them!) But, I don't care if she wishes I would. I have a mom, and she is not my mom. I can't wait til we can call her grandma.

I won't expect my DIL & SIL to call me mom, it's weird to my ears.

Sorry to take so long everyone! Thanks for all your comments on Dorothea Lisette. Strangely enough, Theodora seems much more fusty to me then Dorothea. I see D as unpretentious, down to earth, while Theodora is an old woman who looks like one of the ladies from Golden Girls... strange the different associations people have.

Jennifer- I think Alexander and Miranda are fine together, especially since there are more than two children. Good luck. The amount of work you're putting in is quite commendable.

Jennifer See-I love your names of your other children, I think you've done a fine job with your tough LN. I like the suggestions made of Rebecca, Caroline, and Patrick. It is difficult however trying to think of NN's Becky, Carrie, and Pat don't really work wel IMO. Oh well, i'll think and get back to you.

On the formality issue, I grew up in the Northeast. I was raised with many options-FN, Mr/Mrs LN, and Aunt/Uncle FN. It didn't mean a respect thing to me. That was how they were introduced to me so thats who they were. In elem school teachers were Mr/Mrs LN but by college it was mixed and again whatever they introduced themselves as. We were called FN by most but occasionally Mr/Miss LN. When working in day care I was always Miss LN-I thought it was too cute. The other adults often referred to each other by Miss LN too! In fact some friends I still do this. My kids do mostly FN's now because it seems silly to say Mrs. SOSO while I call them Susan. The friends mom's don't seem to mind.

Not sure on Pitt twins-I will think and get back on that one!

Great discussion! Interesting to hear how many of us teach at the university level!

another amy, I appreciated the link. A thought-provoking article!

I teach at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where use of first names is the norm, at least in the Humanities. I like that it fosters a personal and egalitarian sense in the classroom. I believe students are more likely to come to me for help and advice if we're on a first name basis.

Nevaeh's rise is linked to the appearance of a Christian Rock singer Sonny Sandoval who appeared on MTV in 2000 with his daughter who was named Nevaeh because it was heaven spelled backwards. Nothing to do with Nivea hand lotion.

Apparently alot of parents to be thought this was a totally cool and original name...In 2001 it leaped into the top 1000 names.

I see that Nevaeh again made it into the top 1000... now at 891 up from 992. More new parents who can't spell backwards...

whoops! That should be Neveah is at 891.

Caren -- Thanks for the reminder about the link to the article another amy posted earlier. I had meant to read it, forgot, and then got back to you after your comment. I agree, very thought-provoking. Thanks, another amy!

Grrr. That should have been "got back to it after your comment."

Jennifer: Vanessa? Okay, this is really hard! And I thought I had it bad trying to stay away from -a names! It seems like longer names are better right? I think because the boundaries of the first name become clearer and the two names together are less likely to sound like a word. -a names seem to work great for you too. I'm jealous!

Jennifer: Amber? Liana? Christina? Tamara? Elena? Elaina? Christopher? Michael? Abigail? Josephine?

hi all

i so enjoy the witty banter of this blog.

i(we) are having a baby girl in june..finally..
yay!!!!

how do everyone feel about the name
georgianna...or georgiana..is the nn george
to cutesy or not appealing for a girl?

is georgia better?

my home and my life are quite spare..zen like

but luxurious... do you think geogianna fits

better half ..or other half of the equation
doesnt care as long as it is a g name
(jewish tradition)

thanks
gabi

Re awkward (more or less) family name issues--

My name is Miriam, but I have been called Mimi since birth. I did not even know my name was Miriam until I entered school, at which time the revelation of my name came as a horrid shock, and I wept bitter tears.

I am waiting and hoping--and hinting (actually it goes beyond hinting to nagging)--for a grandchild. Much as I disapprove of small children calling adults by their given names, I am thinking that if I am ever blessed with a grandchild, I will encourage the use of Mimi rather than granma, nana, the New Orleans standard maw-maw, or, heaven forfend, bubba. Or maybe Oma Mimi....

My DIL, with my blessing, calls me Mimi as does the rest of her family including her 8 year old nephew Joseph Isaiah (I think that's a splendid name btw). The latter makes me grit my teeth, but I keep silent. Peace in the house....

However, if my son called me Mimi, I would thump his head (well, metaphorically). I sign correspondence addressed to both of them Mommy/Mimi, and they collectively call me Mommy/Mimi when they write/email back.

My son calls his father Dab, a childhood nickname that stuck. I considered it a bit of an affront, because Edward never made a cute nickname for me, hence the "mommy" (as cute as it's gonna get), although sometimes I am just plain mom.

Gabriella, I think Georgianna is a lovely name, but I certainly wouldn't call it "spare" or "zen"--more flowery and effusive. For "spare" with a similar feel, I might go for Gia, or something to that effect. I could see George on a girl as a NN, but I'd be much more likely to do Georgie/Georgy--both because it's tomboyish without being gender-bending, and because of that charming Seekers "Georgy Girl" song which I've always enjoyed.

Hmmm, but on the other hand if you describe your own style as "spare and zen," your daughter might well enjoy a more baroque name that's clearly her own, in contrast to all that. There are a lot of nickname possibilities in Georgiana (one N is fairly standard): George, Georgie, Gia, Giana, Gina, Anna, Jory, and hey, for her goth-girl phase, "Gory," of course!

Sparer G names for a girl might include Grey, Grania, Glenna, Gem, Greta, Gwen, Gita...

I'm with hyz--Georgianna makes me thing of debutants (sp?) and flowery dresses. A mix of Victoriana and the deep South. I like George on a girl, or Georgie (Nancy Drew anyone?).

I'm glad some of you got reminded to read the article!

I've also remembered this week of a day when I was 13 and was introduced to the family of a friend of mine. Her mother wanted me to call her by her first name and I recall my father (a left wing radical by local standards) and I just looking at each other like, is she nuts?

Miriam--Mimi is a very cute grandma name!

I always call my in-laws by their fn's. They are definitely not parents and it would be weird to use Mom or Dad.

Ok, a little random here, but Jennifer's comments about matching FNs with LNs got me going on this topic again.

I love the name Hyacinth. I really do. I don't know if I could get DH to agree to it, but even if I could, is Hyacinth Soh too much of a tongue twister? Heaven forbid the child had a lisp, right? What do you guys think? And beyond the pronunciation issue, is it just too out there? Would my young Hyacinth grow to hate me? lol.

Unrelated question--Ivy is currently back in position as our frontrunner. So, I'm wondering--what image do you get in your mind when you think of an Ivy? What kind of a girl/woman is she? I have my own ideas of course, but I'm wondering how it strikes others.

Thanks for humoring my perseverations! :)

Miriam- If you don't mind we asking...Why did you cry when you found out it was your real name? Because you where in shock? Or did you not like it?

Also, what do you think of your name now. I am asking because I really like the sound of it and the Biblical story, but can't get past the meaning of 'bitter'. Does the meaning bother you?

My Biblical name means bound. Though it is not a nice meaning it is not horrible either. But in naming my children I see the meaning of their names as very important. sigh.....so many M names Iike have horrid meanings.

On the topic of first names verses last names. I live in casual southern Cali where first names is the norm. Though I like the old customs of last names as a sign of respect. Especially for children. My children are introduces to adults by their last name only. Most adults seem surprised at first but like it after they get use to it. The problem I run into is when I introduce myself to other people's children. They seem uncomfortable with me wanting to be called Mrs. LN. Also, I get really irked when they refer me to their children by my first name. Not because I think I am high above them and need to be put on a pedestal, but I do think children need to have some sort of respect for adults. I can even notice the difference in respect with children that refer to adults by their last name than the other children who just use first names. Their is a sense of casualness that they are on the same level as me or other adults.

I know a George (from Georgianna) who is a very funny grandmother-y type of about 60. She is charming so I think the name is as well. I do agree with hyz that it seems more Victorian than Zenlike. What about Gretel? Or Greta? Gianna? Gillian? Guinivere? Gwen?
Luckily, you can't go wrong; there are loads of great G names, including George.

Georgiana/Georgina make me think of the Duchess of Devonshire and Upstairs Downstairs. It became a popular upscale name in Georgian England--for obvious reasons. I never ran across the name in the part of the deep south with which I am familiar, perhaps because it is, well, not French.

As for Hyacinth, I would never get Hyacinth Bucket out of my mind. I have already seen the episodes enough times that I can just about recite the dialogue by heart, and PBS shows every inclination of re-running and re-running until the end of time. Hyacinth Bucket looks like she'll be around for a looooong time.

I meant to include that I have a great aunt whose grandchildren call her Mimi also and they are the kindest, wittiest children I have ever met. Excluding my own, naturally.

hyz - Hyacinth Soh actually flows well to me but I do see the potential for enunciation issues. It is out there but it isn't uncommon either. I think it would always be considered unique but not weird. Does that distinction make sense? Maybe only in my mind!

To me Ivy has dark hair and is very independent. She's sharp and takes a while to get to know but once you are in her circle, she is very loyal.

Re: in-laws, I have always used FN. I actually had a hard time writing To: Mom on a gift from DH and I recently because she isn't my mom, even though she is great and I have known her for years. So I understand why people balk on calling a MIL Mom.

Thanks everyone for the fascinating discussion about formality and honorifics. What diverse and interesting perspectives! I don’t really have anything to add that hasn’t already been said. Add me to the tally of college-level instructors though. I’d be very interested to see some demographic data on the readers of this blog. We now know that professors are overrepresented, but it would be fun to see the break-down for things like age, location, the popularity of one's own name, etc. Maybe Laura could post an anonymous survey. :)

Gabriella – I’ve always liked Georgia. Like other posters, I think that Georgiana sounds more flowery than Georgia. The other thing I noticed, which you may or may not care about, is that Georgiana seems more similar to Gabriella.

Re: a much, much earlier post – The actress Rachel Griffiths (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0341737/bio) has a son named Banjo Patrick. She also has a daughter named Adelaide Rose. Ms. Griffiths is Australian and I am curious as to whether that makes her daughter’s name more or less unusual given the city of Adelaide, Australia.

hyz - I think Hyacinth Soh just doesn't work. I think that it is proximity of the th and s sounds.

I have just been reading (yet another) baby name book. This one is called The Perfect Baby Name: Finding the Name that Sounds Just Right. Anyway, it is all about choosing complementary sounds so that names flow. I'm not sure I buy the authors' whole system, but they do have a section about similar ending sounds and beginning sounds - how some are harder than others.

They would suggest that you look at the phonemes in your last name and pick names that repeat some of those phonemes, so you would look for names with an s sound (but not at the end) or with a long O. So you would get names like Olivia Soh or Violet Soh or Rosamond Soh. Their lists are arranged by phonemes.

ANyway, it's an interesting concept when so many people here are more interested in meaning or personal significance of names.

In response to rjoy--

On the first day of school, the teacher asked those who could write their names to come to the board and do so. So Miss Smarty-pants went up and wrote Mimi, and the teacher just erased it/me and wrote this strange glyph that I had never heard of before in any context. I went home crying my head off, and my parents said, "Well, we didn't want to tell you, but that's your name."

Naturally I didn't much like my name and used it only on formal occasions. And, yes, I resented the meaning of "bitter." My sister's name is Suzanne (Sheine Liebe--"pretty love"), and I was sure I had gotten the fuzzy end of the stick and that our parents loved her more.

Further complication--I was named after my mother's father who died when I was in utero, and my mother felt obligated to renew his name. She had had a rather vexed relationship with her father, and I always felt that some of that rubbed off on my name.

Now I think it is a splendid name, well suited for a Lady Professor--or a Supreme Court Justice, but I still use Mimi for all informal, non-professional, non-business purposes. There are a few people who call me Miriam because they like the name or because they want to indicate distance (that would be the horrid woman called Liz whom I always addressed as Elizabeth and she returned the favor), and one weird former colleague who called me Miriam when speaking to me and Mimi when speaking of me. Go figure....

38 couples called their twins Madison and Morgan, 35 Landon and Logan, etc.

Actually, an acquaintance of mine named her twins Mason Landon, and Morgan Logan, so I guess she was covering all her bases!

I second the curiousity about the demographics of this group!

Add me to the list of PhD's, though I am currently in industry, not academia. I suspect the quantitative aspects of the NameVoyager appeal to those of us who might be considered "grossly overeducated."

My husband and I also enjoyed 'The Perfect Baby Name: Finding the Name that Sounds Just Right.' Of course, we have d, l, f, m, and s in our last name, so matching consonants was not terribly constraining! (We eventually picked Stefan and Amelia.)

Valerie - even worse than Madison and Morgan (but as bad as Jayden and Jaylen), I have a friend who has a 2yo Kaylee and will be naming the one due this summer Katelyn. Kay and Kate. And older brother Cameron. She doesn't think she'll have any problems keeping them straight.

To those who asked, Alexander or Alexandria have always been favorites on my list, except that my sister chose the latter for her daughter already.

HYZ- Hyacinth Soh is too lispy for me, although the name is lovely. I suppose we could have it worse - a friend of mine has the unfortunate last name of Ho, also Korean. Perhaps you would like something equally soft but without the lisp, such as Aurora Soh? Also, MIL/FIL for us is Ama/Ankong and her sisters are all Lola/Lolo FN, except the formal godparents, Ninang and Ninong FN.

RobynT - Vanessa was on my list. Christine is my daughter's middle name. Patrick/Patricia results in patsy, which is quite unfortunate as I plan to use Patricia in the middle after my grandma. It's not very usable as a first name, though.

Gabriella - Georgia is a turnoff for me due to our beloved president. Georgiana would be my presumed spelling if I heard someone say it, and it is really flowery. I really like Greta or Gail or Gianna if you're looking for something a bit more zen.

I have been married for 1.5 years and have tried my best to avoid addressing my in-laws. I definitely don't want to call them Mom or Dad but it doesn't feel quite right to call them by their first names, and I think calling them Mr. and Mrs. LN is way too formal. I think my best bet is just to get comfortable enough to call them by their first names. Maybe I will try to practice it this weekend, ha! The only difficult thing is my husband and father share the same name which in my opinion makes it a little more difficult!

I have a friend who calls her in-laws M-I-L and F-I-L which I think is very cute.

Yeah, Australian families generally choose Banjo as a reference to Banjo Patterson (1864-1941), a famous Australian writer best known for writing the lyrics to "Waltzing Matilda":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjo_Paterson

It's sorta like Americans using the names Lincoln, Emerson, or Whitman.

Gabriella,

I love the name georgianna/georgiana! I'm not having kids yet, but it's a name I want to consider (although the way things are going I will end up with a two-syllable Irish last name and I'm not sure it will sound good together...)Anyway, for a nickname I would definitely go with Georgia, although Georgie/ Georgy would probably work too. If I were to see the name George or hear George without knowing she was a Georgiana I would always assume we were talking about a boy!

To jump into the honorifics conversation I grew up and went to college in the Northeast and have been through all different situations. When I was little I went to private schools that emphasized a family atmosphere with FN's for teachers and students, then I went to public school and students were FN and teachers were Mr./Ms.LN except for one teacher in High School who called us Miss/Mr.LN. At the time I thought it was fun and I guess it made me feel more grown-up, but it didn't bother me that other teachers didn't do it. When it comes to respect I think ultimately actions matter more--I had both teachers who I knew by FN's and by Mr./Ms.LN that I have no respect for because they weren't good teachers! And the reverse is true as well. At college we called teachers Prof./Mr./Ms.LN just cause eveyone did and they called us by FN's. I was always fine with that and was pretty friendly with many of them.

On a side note as a reader, but first-time poster to this blog, I'm one of the many many Jennifers of the '80s (my parents are not name junkies) and I've never minded it. They gave me Jenny as a nickname and I haven't actually known that many Jennys. The most confusing name problem I've had was working often with a Ginny. I've been a reader of this blog for awhile and I just want to put in a good word for Jennifer. I think it gets a bad rap pretty often, but I've always liked it. You really never know how many kids will end up with your child's name, I guess I ended up in the classes with all the Jessicas from the 80's so I got to be the Jenny! Could help that I have an unusual last name though.

hyz -- When I try to picture a hypothetical Ivy, I can only think of Ivy in the Ivy + Bean books. A slightly bookish, but very clever girl who is quite loyal to her friend. A very positive association.

Count me among those who find Hyacinth Soh a bit too difficult with the -th and the S- right next to each other.

Miriam -- My great aunt is called Mimi by her grandchildren. I think it's quite nice.

I, too, struggled with what to call my in-laws. My mother died when I was 10 so I think my mil thought I would *want* to call her mom, which I didn't. This was eventually solved when my sil's first husband began calling her by her initials. Now this is what everyone calls her -- grandchildren, her own children, in-laws.

I think my fil, too, wanted to be called dad, which I wasn't comfortable with, but it became easy to call him by his fn once he remarried and we called his wife by her fn.

As for my dad, for the longest time my husband referred to him by his whole name (Hello, FN LN). Now I think he feels a bit better calling him by his fn, but probably more often than not, opts not to address him by name.

I would love to see demographics for this group, too. A survey, Laura, do a survey!

Gabriella -- I forgot to mention that I would prefer Georgia to Georgian(n)a. I know a couple girls with this name and really like it.

Sorry in advance for the long post

I was brought up calling adult friends and relatives of the family "Auntie" and "Uncle", while adults in any other setting were "Mr." and "Mrs." or "Miss". It wasn't until college that I had all of my professors ask me to call them by their first names. None of this was ever a problem for me, nor did I blink an eye, since they were all different settings. (somehow I rationalized that I was an adult in college and they wanted to impart that notion on me.)

The funny thing is that the FN only business only became a problem when I was introduced to Italy and Italian culture. All of the adults asked me to call them by their first name and use the informal sentence forms with them. And not just me, they asked young children too. Somehow it seemed like such a breach of etiquette and it really made me ponder this notion of respect - was it really somehow given just by using a formal title with adults?

My conclusion - I actually don't think so. I feel it is essentially a superficial form of respect. It never meant that I actually respected the person, it just showed their age and relation (or not) to me. But as someone raised in that environment, I can understand how it feels like a breach of etiquette. Doesn't mean much, but it is still something I do to this day by default. I will change my default behavior based on others' preferences, but I always start out with Uncle and Auntie for adult family friends and Mr. Mrs and Miss for people with no relation to me.

My husband in turn, from a mostly informal environment, found it very strange that I would use formal titles with adults. He has insecurities to this day on how to address my parents. I have given him the only options my parents will find acceptable - either Mom and Dad or Mr. LN and Mrs. LN. He really really wants to just call them by their FNs, but I have to tell him he can't.

Have to add that the adult family friends and relations also gave titles to the children too. Not always but a lot. I was "Miss Tiff" quite frequently and boys were "Mas FN". These where titles you could give to peers and children.

Thanks for the thoughts so far, guys!

Miriam--I agree that Hyacinth Bucket comes to mind, at least for avid PBS watchers like myself. It's not a positive image exactly, but it doesn't detract from my liking of the name, and at least it puts the name (somewhat) into the American consciousness.

jen--thanks so much for the thoughts on Ivy--I love hearing your impressions! And as for Hyacinth, I also think it flows really well until you get to that pesky -th at the end. Actually, the -th is part of why I love it, but it's pesky in combination with the LN. Hmph.

C&C's mom--I think I agree with you on the -th/s combination--I guess I was hoping I was being too picky about it and overanalyzing, but I don't think I was. Alas. That book sounds interesting--I'll look for it next time I'm in the stores. Rosamond (or Rosalind, or even Rosalie) are all on my list, but I couldn't get DH to bite. In the continuum of naming priorities, I think I privilege meaning over sound (or else I wouldn't even give Hyacinth a second thought, I guess), but I do think both are important. I do want a name that's at least comfortable to say and somewhat harmonious. So much to consider!

Jennifer--Aurora is a good suggestion--I actually did consider it seriously, although I have too much of a dramatic/princessy association with it to use it, I think. I really do like soft-sounding names--unfortunately, so many of them end in -th or -s! Grrr. DH's LN is great and everything, but it would've been so much more convenient if he were a Kim or a Park! lol. Although, Hyacinth Park has issues of its own--it sounds like a lovely place for a picnik. :)

I was just commenting to my boyfriend, actually, that it seemed like everyone on this blog besides Harriet and me are college professors! I know Harriet's a teenager, and I'm a year out of college.

Regarding the honorifics question, at my school (Pomona), a lot of the professors in the humanities chose to go by their FNs. It seems like the ones in math and sciences are more likely to go by "Professor LN" - though I had a geology assistant prof, Bob, whose last name I actually had to look up to write him an email. As others have remarked, the older professors in any discipline are more likely to be called "Professor LN." We have one interesting case where you can't actually call this teacher Professor, as he isn't technically one - he's David Foster Wallace, writer of Infinite Jest, and the advanced creative writing "professor" at Pomona, but he isn't a trained professor. However, due to his fame, kids will often call him Professor Wallace out of respect. You're supposed to just call him Dave, but it's hard when he's a slightly scary and imposing figure about the department.

Amy3--oops, missed your post before I wrote my last one! I didn't know about the Ivy & Bean books--thanks for the mention! I just looked them up, and they seem charming. And re: Hyacinth, I think it's becoming clear that I should drop the denial and again place the name back on the "I love it but can never use it" shelf with Silas. Sigh. :)

The survey does sound like a fun idea!

I forgot to say that every single professor at my school that I ever had called every student by their FN. The only time I've ever had a teacher that didn't was in high school, an adorable southern gentleman math teacher who called everyone Miss LN and Mr. LN. Oh, and a gym teacher who will have both me and my sister K-12 (she's 6 years younger, still there), and often taught both of us in the same day - he just called us Miss LN, where he usually used FNs round the room.

Hyz: I love Ivy. It's one of my top two choices for a girl (the other being Calla, which was weirdly also mentioned in this thread). I see Ivy as a sweet, petite girl with dark hair and long curly eyelashes. She could either go shy and demure or sassy and spunky. I actually know an Ivy Morgan, who's white blond and a very tall elementary schooler, which is exactly the opposite of my image, but it works for her as well, which is a good sign for the versatility of the name.

Speaking of Ivy Morgan, I swear her parents got more and more "unique" with each child. Watch this - Ivy Morgan T-- is the oldest, followed by Raven (something) T--, (keep in mind these girls are white blond lanky surfer type children), and the most recent one is Veruca Nancy T--. I thought Raven was strange, but Veruca is....well, not my style. Very interesting names though!

Veruca? as in nasty wart thing on one's foot that has to be frozen off. Are you sure??

Or Veruca as in Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (or the band of the same name). I actually kind of like Veruca, but -ca endings don't work with our surname, and my husband can't abide by the U.

Absolutely positive. We have her birth announcement on our refrigerator. I think they must have gotten the idea from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in which a very nasty little girl is named Veruca Salt. There's a band with the same full name as well. And yes, Roald Dahl knew that it meant wart - that's why he named this bad kid this.....which I think may have flown over these parents' heads? Who knows. My mom thought their first name choice was strange back when - Ivy seems so normal to her in comparison now!

Amy3, beat me to it! The name has a cute rhythm, admittedly. Not the greatest origin.

Given the ongoing discussion of academic formality, some of you might appreciate this comic:

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=227

And, by the way, I am also very impressed with the number of professors and advanced degree holders commenting on this board. I'm thinking that may be a contributing factor to the unusually high level of discussion here. Or does the high level of discussion draw folks with a lot of education? A case of reciprocal causation, perhaps? I *love* the idea of an anonymous demographic survey—it would be great to see what names are represented here, what names people are using for their kids and how that holds up statistically against the general population, along with gender, age and education. (For the record—I'm not one of the professors/PhDs, though up until fairly recently I thought I wanted to be—I work at a university in a different capacity. Katie, I'm probably just a couple years older than you).

hyz—I see Ivy as a very independent, strong-willed young woman who always speaks her mind. She is a leader, probably quite charismatic, and occasionally gets herself and others into trouble with daring schemes (which she can't be talked out of). I have to say, I agree that Hyacinth Soh doesn't work, it's a bit of a tongue twister. It's a shame, hyacinths are beautiful.

gabriella—Georgiana immediately makes me think of Georgiana Darcy, Mr. Darcy's little sister in Pride and Prejudice. So, Regency England, a lot of pomp and circumstance and formality. Georgia is more Southern Belle.

Too bad Veruca is the name of a wart. I agree it's got a nice rhythm and sounds so name-like.

I like Hyacinth, but I can't get over the greeting "Hiya Hyacinth!", which she is sure to get a hundred times in her life. Also, for better or worse, it doesn't lend itself to an easy nickname. Once a name reaches 3 syllables, I personally think it's nice to have one.

Is it possible that there are so many professors on here since this blog is a great procrastination tool? (I'm not a professor, just partnered to one, but I'm self-employed, so I know I jump on here a lot when I'm putting something else off!)

Re: picking a good name using phonemes. I think about this a lot, I've always love internal rhymes. I have one in my name now, which I lucked into when I got married (although I'm now divorced, I kept his name because I hated my birth name. My real first name isn't Rachel, by the way). Now I'm having a baby with my current partner, who has a long 'o' in his last name, so I find myself really drawn to names with long 'o's, like Zoe or Noah.

On the topic of the name Zoe, I've recently realized how much I like this name for a girl, but I'm afraid it's too popular/date stamped/trendy since it rose sharply in popularity in the last few years. But I love how it sounds with the last name (the long 'o' is in the first syllable). I like Zoe Bella, since the middle name could be after my great Aunt Bertha, who, bless her heart, was incredibly beloved in my family but no one has named anyone after her, not surprisingly. But I've been trying to come up with a good B name since. Unfortunately, I'm not the hugest fan of names that start with B.

I like the meaning of Zoe too. And even though I have no Greek heritage (I'm Jewish), I just read somewhere that Jews in Alexandria started using the name Zoe as a greek translation of the name Chaya, so there is a weak ethnic connection there.

Rachel--

I suggested to my son the name Zoe Irene if he should ever have a daughter and wish to name her after my grandfather Schlomo Chaim. Zoe is, as you noted, an appropriate translation of Chaim/Chaya (life) and Irene of peace (Schlomo). Zoe would also work for my grandmother Tzviya Chaya. The Greek scriptures are full of Jews living in the Greek-speaking Roman province of Palestine who have Greek names in addition to their Hebrew names (Miriam/Maria, Jacob/James, Joshua/Jesus, and so on), so a Jewish child named Zoe/Chaya would not be outside the customs of Jewish naming practices. Zoe and Irene go together because they are both names common among Byzantine empresses. Our surname is as plain vanilla as it gets, so just about any given name(s) will go with it.

Rachel--

Further thought--

If you don't like B names (or Bertha for that matter), what was Aunt Bertha's Hebrew/Yiddish name? The English name doesn't have to have the same initial; it can also have a similar meaning or some other connection.

As for Bertha, I am reminded of Bertha Bigfoot (an unfortunate epithet that), wife of Pepin le Bref and mother of Charlemagne, who seems to have overcome the handicap of a mother with big feet and a short father. I am also reminded of Emma Bovary who agonized (like a true NE) over what to name her daughter and finally came up with...Berthe. Berthe btw was not unheard of in New Orleans.

Tirzah--

A possible nickname for Hyacinth--Cindy which is established as a nickname for Cynthia. I suppose no one wants to nickname a daughter Cyn (Sin).