Little girl may be here in a couple of weeks, and I still need naming help!
Hi everyone,
We are expecting our 4th child and we thought we had until mid June to lock in the perfect name, but now due to some problems she is likely to be delivered in the next 2-3 weeks. Now the pressure is on, and I'm feeling very emotional about picking a name for her... Plus (and this may sound weird) I'm worried that because I won't have a chance to really "know" her like you would your term baby, and she may look different due to being premature, I won't be able to see if she "looks like" one of our top choices. We've got some top contenders, but I'd like to play with more options, in case someone mentions THE PERFECT NAME and puts me out of my misery :P
We already have a Matilda, a Philip and a Theodore (called Teddy.)
We live in the UK, but I am Greek and my mother lives with us. We speak both english and greek in the house. So the name doesn't need to be greek in origin, but must work and appeal in both languages.
Our last name is a word (Good)
I'd prefer a more unusual name, ideally outside the top 100 but the less common the better (without being too weird... does that make sense?)
The possible names we have at the moment are:
Ramona (but for some reason I can only imagine it on a dark haired child, in my eyes it doesn't suit a blonde)
Penelope (LOVE it but I don't like it so much in greek... which we do speak in the house. Unsure if I should/would just go ahead and use it and hope a £greek language" nickname we like develops naturally when she's here. We're not too keen on any of the obvious nns for it.)
Alice (have liked this name since our first child 7 years ago. My drawback is that it's nr 43 in popularity. Matilda is similarly popular but it became so after we named her, so we had no choice, plus most Matildas are a few years younger and go by Tilly. Alice would be hearing her name a bit more than that I imagine.)
Other names we have toyed with but are not sold by are Stella, Laura, Louisa (I really like this but have surname issues with it, Louisa Good sounds like an unfinished sentence) Roberta, Violet -to give you an idea of style. But they're not quit "right" somehow. Middle name will probably be Joy.
Can you brainstorm with me?
Sat, 04/14/2012 - 11:22am
Replies
lately, i have been in love with Calista, works in both languages. my Mom put in her vote for Calliope. my friend here has thrown in the suggestion of Artemis, which is a little exotic to me. Adrianna is beautiful too, but not sure what the name origin is. All of these are pretty pronouncable though, don't you think? any of these appeal?
LOL we actually have and Artemis AND a Calliope in the family, and Adriana is the girl version of my brother's name... so not really keen on using any of them. Callista I can mention to DH, I suspect it won't be his style though. Serafina is another one I mentioned he didn't like, now I remember.
I went to school with a lot of classmates from Greek families. One of my classmates, Socrates, had a sister named Despina, and I always liked her name. Others were Georgia and Chrissada (which I assume is the same name as Criseyde/Cressida, who admittedly doesn't have the best literary reputation). Also Petra, Demeter/Demetria, and Eurydike/Eurydice. My son went to school with twins Athena and Aphrodite. I assume that Alexandra is too popular, but what about Helen(a)/Elene(i)? Cora/Corrina? Melina? Irene? I am assuming that Chloe and Zoe are also too popular. Others that come to mind: Olympia, Selene, Sibyl(la), Xenia, Althea/Alethea, Anthea, Clio, Thalia, Cynthia, Daphne, Ariadne, Delia, Dione, Ione, Hero (I had a student with that name--or Hera), Cassandra, Iris, Leda (I went to school with a Leda). Maia, Phoebe, Pandora (one of my best students was named Pandora), Phyllis/Phyllida. These are all names of Greek origin that I think will work in English. In almost all cases I know or know of a person born in the US or UK with that name. OTOH I have no idea of what English names of non-Greek origin will work in Greek (well, except for the names of Hebrew origin in the Greek scriptures).
Thanks Miriam! Quite a lot of these are very popular in Greece (which is probably more people will have met someone with those names.)
I do like Leda and Phoebe quite a lot but our last name rules them out :( Daphne is tentatively on the list, Ariadne I suggested buut was nixed by DH. Pandora is too similar to Theodore for me (both have the root "doro" which means gift.) I don't care for the other ones that much.
I don't worry too much about finding greek origin names (unless there are specific suggestions you love,) neither Matilda or Ramona or Alice (2 of our 3 top contestants) are greek in origin... I guess I just mentioned that it should work in both languages to explain why I'm likely to be turning my nose up on some perfectly nice name suggestions people may make *LOL*
I'm dreaming of a name that is a bit oldfashioned/retro, and spunky rather than frilly/beautiful. Think slightly nerdy but cute girl with quirky charm rather than Jane Austen flowy dress charm.
I don't know how any of these names will sound in Greek, so take this with a grain of salt, but have you thought of Amalia or Linnea? When I saw you had a Matilda, I immediately thought of my family tree, which is rich in Mathildas and Amalias. Linnea comes from a series of books I loved as a kid with a spunky heroine who loves to garden.
Lorelei, thanks! Amalia is lovely and would actually work well in greek, *but* it's very close to Amelia wich is SUPER popular here so no. Linnea is interesting... and I like the book connection (Matilda was named after the Dahl book, and Ramona came from the Beverly Cleary series -heheh.) I'll share it with DH... Is it pronounced Lee-NEH-ah? LEE-neh-ah? or LEE-nee-ah?
I think it varies by country - I always pronounced it Lin-AY-ah (I'm in the USA) , but I think in Swedish its "Lin-EEa." Someone posted this on it's namipedia page to hear a swedish pronunciation http://www.forvo.com/word/linnéa/
That being said, it's so uncommon that I think it'd be easy to set the parameters yourself and give the first syllable an "ee" color - as an American so many things end up as a schwa sound that you might want to run it past other people in your area.
I am laughing at myself, because your adjectives old-fashioned, retro, spunky, nerdy, cute and quirky brought to mind the characters Zelda on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and Velma on Scooby-doo. As it happened, Zelda was contrasted with the beautiful gold-digger Thalia (!) and Velma with the prettier Daphne (!). Interesting that both the more "glamorous" characters had specifically Greek names. Another literary character that fits that definition is Harriet the Spy.
Being as I am an American grandma, my idea of what is old-fashioned/retro is going to be different from what currently expectant parents will think. If I think of the names in my mother's and grandmother's generations, many of them have been or are in the process of being revived: Emma, Emily, Sophie, Sadie, Molly, Sylvia, Eleanor, Rose, Evelyn, Florence, Lillian, Louise, Josephine, Ruby, Grace, Hazel, Lucille, Clara, Julia, Eva, Viola/Violet, Stella, Amelia and so on. Some names from that era that haven't been revived and might fit your adjectives: Ida, Agnes (both Greek), Lena, Irma, Mavis, Frances, Thelma, Pauline, Betty (not Elizabeth), Marjorie, Ber(e)nice, Lois (think Lois Lane--also Greek), Vera, Alma, Minnie, Barbara, Wilma, Norma, Verna, Della, Fern, Cleo, Nancy (Drew). These are all certainly retro, but whether any of them read spunky, cute, nerdy, quirky to today's mom/dad-to-be I couldn't begin to say. And, of course, except for the ones of Greek origin, I have no idea how they will work with Greek-speakers.
Well, if you love Alice, I wouldn't rule it out because of its popularity. It makes for a very nice set, and my personal theory is that a classic name never seems too trendy, even if it's popular.
I also think Louisa is just fine with your ln. Actually, it's an appealing combo. for me, with the ring of a solid, distinguished family.
Stella and Violet do seem on the verge of becoming rather fantastically trendy, especially Stella/Estelle/Estella. I do agree with you on Ramona as a dark-eyed child. I Loove the suggestion of Daphne.
At any rate, I don't know a thing about Greek names, but I'll just shoot a handful of ideas that remind you of others you've mentioned:
Harriet
Agnes
Lucille/Lucinda/Lucia
Clementine
Cecily
Veronica
Verity
Thanks! I know what you mean about Alice... I'm so undecided about what the popularity importance actually is for me!
Actually, out of interest, I wonder what others think about "Louisa Good" as well. I asked several people, about 50% didn't think it was a problem.
Of your suggestions I love Verity (DH nixed on grounds that Verity Good is too close to Very Good. Gah I'm really starting to hate our last name) and Clementine but after "Walzing Matilda" I don't think we can brave a "Darling Clementine" in the same family! *LOL* I like Harriet, dh doesn't. The others are not doing it for me :)
Oh, quite right on the issue of Verity Good.
Could I interest you in Dinah?
I don't see a problem with L0uisa Good, although maybe it's an accent issue. It took me awhile to get, but I take it you are worried about it sounding like Louie's a good....? Because of where I place emphasis on the syllables (standard US accent), I think it's a non-issue.
I also think Ramona would be fine on a light- or dark-haired child.
Go with Ramona. It will suit a blonde when it is the name of your blonde baby!
How about Elise as an alternative to Alice?
For what it's worth, I think that Ramona is an adorable name - LOVED the books - and don't have the feeling that a Ramona needs to be dark-haired. Growing up, I watched the Canadian TV production in which Ramona was played by the relatively fair Sarah Polley. If that name feels right to you, the need for a Ramona to look a certain way will dissolve once you associate the name with your baby, whatever she looks like.
Ditta-I really believe that she is most definitely Anastasia! Anastasia Joy G-d sounds so beautiful.
On the worrying part of your post, I totally understand the not being ready thing. Our son was born 6 wks early. We were able to "get to know" him through continous ultrasounds though. Originally we picked a longish name (Zachary). Once this little peanut came out he was definitely not fitting that name and we picked 3ric instead. Hopefully there will no no further complications. Even if she does come out early you will be able to see her if not hold her within a day or two. I think it is acceptable to wait until then to finally decide. Best wishes!
Miriam, thanks for that long list! :D From it, I quite like Lena (english speakers would pronounce that with a long e, Like Leenah, right?) and Thelma... Pauline or even Paulina which I think I prefer, and would work in greek... Must run that past DH. I quite like it, actually. I had a brief fling with Berenice which sounds lovely in Greek and would honour FIL (his middle name was Bernard) until I realised it is pronounced Berry-Nicey.
Zoerhenne, funnily enough Anastasia is my mum's middle name! So we have thought about it, although it's not really doing it for us. Thanks for your input as a preemie mum; I like the name Eric! :D
I like Ramona for you and think it should fit your daughter however she looks. A lot of the "classic storybook heroine" names you and others have suggested fit the bill to my ear: Harriet, Fern, Frances, Violet. To my ear Alice, Louisa and especially Laura don't pack quite as much personality as your other kids' names do, with their stronger consonant sounds, though any of them would work.
How about:
Adria, Agatha, Ariadne, Carlotta, Cecily, Cleo/Clio,
Damaris, Deirdre, Edith, Hazel, Lydia, Nanette, Olive,
Paulette, Phoebe, Rhoda, Rita, Rosalie, Ruth, Talullah, Tessa ... ?
Petra and Thekla are two more Greek names that are less common in English but which I like for their crisp sound and ancient roots - do they do anything for you? Calliope is also fun.
Oh, and I agree with zoerhenne - take time if you want after you meet her to pick a name. She may very well "suggest" one herself.
I'm reluctant to suggest my own name for a couple of reasons. It is long out of favor, if it ever was in favor, and it is somewhat sibilant, however it could work for a child with a Greek background. My name is Constance. I have always been called Connie. We have several families in our neighborhood whose ethnic background is Greek. The father in one family is named Kostantine. He tells me my name is the Greek feminine counterpart of his: Kostantina. I know of a young child with this name, and because of the Greek pronunciation of the letter "T", which sound like a combo of "T" and "D" to my ear, this little one is called Dina. I like Dina very much. It's feminine and has, I think, a pleasant sound. Somewhat like Dinah, without the baggage.
Persephone? A little different from Penelope...
Has anyone suggested Cecelia? I just feel it has to be a longish name to go with your surname.
Hi all,
I wanted to give an update since you all were so helpful :)
My little girl was born at almost 38 weeks, but is tiny (smaller than they were suspecting she'd be.) She is healthy though, and appart from staying in hospital for a week due to having trouble breastfeeding, we're home now. We named her Ramona Bernadette Joy. :) Oh and she's not dark -she has light brown/dark blond hair, but she does have really big dark eyes. It took a day to settle on a name for her, but in the end we got there and I'm happy that she's a Ramona now :)
Thanks everyone!
Anna (mum to Matilda, Philip, Teddy and baby Ramona)
Hi all,
I wanted to give an update since you all were so helpful :)
My little girl was born at almost 38 weeks, but is tiny (smaller than they were suspecting she'd be.) She is healthy though, and appart from staying in hospital for a week due to having trouble breastfeeding, we're home now. We named her Ramona Bernadette Joy. :) Oh and she's not dark -she has light brown/dark blond hair, but she does have really big dark eyes. It took a day to settle on a name for her, but in the end we got there and I'm happy that she's a Ramona now :)
Thanks everyone!
Anna (mum to Matilda, Philip, Teddy and baby Ramona)
Love her name! Congratulations!
Great name! So glad to hear you and your little baby are doing well!
Beautiful! Congratulations!!
Congratulations!! Lovely name and it goes beautifully with your other kids. Enjoy your new baby :)
Congratulations!