I have a 4mo girl named Harriet - on I think of as unusual but British-sounding. The reaction to her name has been fantastic! i feel a lot more freedom to get unusual with the next one. Two I love for boys: St. John (Sinjin) and St. Claire (Sinclair). DD's mn is Claire, so St. Clair is a definite no no. But you might not find anything weirder British.
I'm amused that June keeps coming up! Harriet June and Harriet Jane both were on the long brainstorm list. We crossed of June because it came from the person who suggested Harriet and we didn't want to let her come up with the whole name. Jane we crossed off because I had an evil Aunt Jane. It's just interesting to see the similarities in what people think sounds good.
I'm curious to know if everyone thinks the repeating "air" sound is harsh in Harriet Claire/Clare. One of our earlier short list names was Nora (nn for Eleanor) George.
My late father's name was George. For years, I've wanted to name my first child that - especially a girl. As a girls name, George has a spunky, tomboy vibe. I think of Nancy Drew's best friend or George Eliot, who used a male pen name to ensure her work was treated seriously. While I can't name my child into the personality I want her to have, I hope she lives her life just a teensy bit outside the lines.
Alas, I'm expecting my first in August - and, yes, it's a girl. We stumbled on the perfect name for her and it's just not George. Maybe George will pop up as a middle name; maybe it'll resurface when we have baby #2. It's still my favorite, though.
I'm in a region where it's very common to use a family surname as part of the name. Typically it's traditionalfirstname oldfamilysurname lastname. I've always liked that tradition. However, now so many surnames are given as first names even if it's not a family surname. It didn't really bother me until I married my DH and took his name, which is growing in popularity as a first name. Pull a cool surname from your own family tree, don't just grab it because it sounds cool.
Just as an aside, I'm Elizabeth and have always used my full name. I was born in the early 80s so I'm one of ten billion Elizabeths. Along the way, various friends have given me pet names (Liz, Lizzie from my dad, ebeth) but everyone knows it's really Elizabeth. It just felt weird to change along the way. On the other hand, my sister is Margaret but has always been nn Maggie. She doesn't want to change either. I think what you start with sticks most often - even if other people come up with their own pet names for your daughter.
Thanks for the ideas. I can't post our chosen first name, but my dad's name was George. (His mn doesn't work at all.) We had originally planned to go for a more feminine first name - so, FeminineFirstName George Fin. I'd rather hold the name intact than change it to something like Georgia. The first name we've picked is old-fashioned and not terribly girly. (Maybe on par with my name - Elizabeth - in terms of girliness. Definitely a girls name, but it's never felt as girly to me as a Jessica or Emily, perhaps because it ends in a consonant.) While we're intentionally trying to avoid a super girly name, we're hesitant to go with a NotFeminine-masculine combo. The previous first name front-runner is my mom's mn.
I have a 4mo girl named Harriet - on I think of as unusual but British-sounding. The reaction to her name has been fantastic! i feel a lot more freedom to get unusual with the next one. Two I love for boys: St. John (Sinjin) and St. Claire (Sinclair). DD's mn is Claire, so St. Clair is a definite no no. But you might not find anything weirder British.
I'm amused that June keeps coming up! Harriet June and Harriet Jane both were on the long brainstorm list. We crossed of June because it came from the person who suggested Harriet and we didn't want to let her come up with the whole name. Jane we crossed off because I had an evil Aunt Jane. It's just interesting to see the similarities in what people think sounds good.
I'm curious to know if everyone thinks the repeating "air" sound is harsh in Harriet Claire/Clare. One of our earlier short list names was Nora (nn for Eleanor) George.
I appreciate the help! Keep it coming!
My late father's name was George. For years, I've wanted to name my first child that - especially a girl. As a girls name, George has a spunky, tomboy vibe. I think of Nancy Drew's best friend or George Eliot, who used a male pen name to ensure her work was treated seriously. While I can't name my child into the personality I want her to have, I hope she lives her life just a teensy bit outside the lines.
Alas, I'm expecting my first in August - and, yes, it's a girl. We stumbled on the perfect name for her and it's just not George. Maybe George will pop up as a middle name; maybe it'll resurface when we have baby #2. It's still my favorite, though.
I'm in a region where it's very common to use a family surname as part of the name. Typically it's traditionalfirstname oldfamilysurname lastname. I've always liked that tradition. However, now so many surnames are given as first names even if it's not a family surname. It didn't really bother me until I married my DH and took his name, which is growing in popularity as a first name. Pull a cool surname from your own family tree, don't just grab it because it sounds cool.
I have known a few Catherines with no nn.
Just as an aside, I'm Elizabeth and have always used my full name. I was born in the early 80s so I'm one of ten billion Elizabeths. Along the way, various friends have given me pet names (Liz, Lizzie from my dad, ebeth) but everyone knows it's really Elizabeth. It just felt weird to change along the way. On the other hand, my sister is Margaret but has always been nn Maggie. She doesn't want to change either. I think what you start with sticks most often - even if other people come up with their own pet names for your daughter.
We're also in the South, so the -addie/-attie names are the same for us. Thanks for pointing out that accents matter. :-)
(Side note on the same principle: We crossed Anne off the list - even though I love it - because down here it's pronounced A-yun.)
Thanks for the ideas. I can't post our chosen first name, but my dad's name was George. (His mn doesn't work at all.) We had originally planned to go for a more feminine first name - so, FeminineFirstName George Fin. I'd rather hold the name intact than change it to something like Georgia. The first name we've picked is old-fashioned and not terribly girly. (Maybe on par with my name - Elizabeth - in terms of girliness. Definitely a girls name, but it's never felt as girly to me as a Jessica or Emily, perhaps because it ends in a consonant.) While we're intentionally trying to avoid a super girly name, we're hesitant to go with a NotFeminine-masculine combo. The previous first name front-runner is my mom's mn.