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alizarin: I really like Penelope, nn Penn. However - and I really hate to say it - to me "Penn Pricherd" sounds just like "Pimp Richard", especially in southern accents where pen and pin are homonyms.
Sol's_mom: I knew a little boy named Oaks/Oakes (never saw it spelled). It fit him amazingly well.
Mash-up with my grandfathers' names: Grarl. (My grandmothers have the same name, so no change there.) Mash-ups with my name and my partner's: Jamie and Ai (pron. "eye"). Not bad! If it's not clear, I'm an Amy and he's a J@i. When friends refer to us in tandem, they call us "giant Amy" (that is, J@i-and-Amy).
Just for fun I'd like to post the name-related dream my boyfriend had last night. He met a family with many kids. The oldest was named James. The second was named "Two of Six" (as in, second kid out of six total). Then followed "Three of Six", "Four of Six", "Five of Six", " and "Six of Six". The seventh kid - yes, there were more - was named "Toseven" (as in, "we are going to extend this list to seven"). The last and final kid was named John.
"Fwendy-wendy" = Wendy Smiley = Miley (Cyrus) Do any other names come from baby talk?
I'm not sure Barrie actually created the name Wendy; I think it appeared about a century before the Peter Pan story, and only became well-known as a woman's name after Barrie's publication. I would be interested to know where it first appeared, though.
Crystal: I do like Elsa - but if you still have doubts, might I suggest Ilsa/Ilse? Very similar, and much more "sophisticated European" to my ears. (sorry to chime in late)
Mrs. D: Liesl: Adore it. Of course it could always be a nickname for Elizabeth - very classic and beautiful, but I know it doesn't fit your length criteria. Siebe: Having studied German, I would be inclined to pronounce this See-beh or Zee-beh. Is Dutch pronunciation significantly different from German? Is this a family name? I'm intrigued! Navy: Not my cup of tea. My given name is Amy, which has similar vowel sounds, and I've always found it oddly hard to pronounce. Too many "tight" sounds. Will Navidson, a character in the cult fiction novel "House of Leaves," was called Navy, so I think of it as a male name. Cleo: Love it, and I don't think Miss Cleo will be a problem. If you're really worried about that connotation, you might consider Clea, like the actor Clea Duvall. Maeve: Reminds me of May/Mae; beautiful, simple, and underused.
Chiming in on Elsa: I think it's sweet. Ilsa and Ilse both give it a fresh new twist. In Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Emily" series, Ilse Burnley, the beautiful and spirited friend, was my favorite character. On a related note, I knew an Ildi once. I always assumed it was somehow related to Hilde; a quick google reveals that it's a diminutive of the Hungarian Ildiko, which may indeed be related to Hilde/Hilda. It was also the name of Attila the Hun's wife.
Upon further reflection, perhaps that's because cats are rather wriggly things.
Wrigley to me says chewing gum. It also seems like a good name for a cat. If I ever met a little boy named Fenway, I might be tempted to call him Frank.
According to a quick Google search, there were about 4,315,000 babies born in 2007... I would assume that 2008 is not far off that number. It's not exact, but should give you a general starting point. Also, if I remember correctly, about 75% of babies are given names that fall in the top 1000 list.
Circe: Simone Leonora/Lenora Simone Elena Simone Elisa Simone Adela (I know the initials are no good, but it's so pretty!) Simone Theresa Simone Thalia Simone Valerie Simone Camille Simone Francesca It's hard to find longer names that still have a "light" tone. In general I think anything with a French sound would go well with Simone. What a pretty name!
PunkPrincessPhd: although Aoibheann sounds like "even", it also sounds like a name! Consider Evan, Eva, Yvonne... she'll fit right in. If the name itself bothers him, that's fine - but if he's only worried about teasing, I don't think it would be a big problem. No more so than most names, I would guess.
Laura, I just want to thank you for taking the time to post so much recently. You've been so prolific! It's such a pleasure to check back to this site and find a fun new entry.
How is Aloysius pronounced?
Philippa: I cannot express how much I love Sylvia/Sylvie! I knew a Sylvi once - I think it was an ethnic spelling (I want to say Finnish?) rather than a made-up one. Regarding Freya: I respectfully disagree with those that think it will be too unfamiliar. I think these days most kids have at least a quick unit on European (including Norse) mythology. It's a familiar enough name that I wouldn't worry too much about mispronunciations or misspellings. On two different notes: 1. Did anyone notice that in the SSA 2008 rankings, #403 is Kobe and #404 is Bryant? How weird is that? 2. I know a lot of NEs have misgivings about traditional male names being co-opted by girls (e.g. Eliott). Any thoughts on Dale for a girl? It's my dad's name, so there's a family precedent at least.
Amy3 - I, too, have been resisting the lure of Twitter, but this might just be enough to get me on board. Name alert: I just found out my sister goes to high school with a H@yleyem. Maybe the parents assumed there were so many Hayleys that she would always be known as Hayley M. and named her accordingly.
toothfairy - I like Amelia, it's sweet. You might also consider Amalia - similar, but much rarer. It hasn't been in the top 1000 since the forties. I know a beautiful Amalia who goes by Mali (pron. Molly) once in a while - I like it much better than Amelia's counterpart nickname "Meelie".
Jessi Ronan's Mum: I went to undergrad with an Aoife ("Eee-fa"). Of course she had to pronounce it a couple of times on the first day of every class, but after that it was fine. I never knew her very well but I always remembered her (fondly!) because of her name. I'd say, go with Caoimhe. I'm sure your daughter will be as beautiful as her name is. That said, I think non-intuitively-spelled names definitely need a solid tradition/history behind them to stand strong. Otherwise they're just ridiculous - you can't name your kid Loibve and pronounce it "Lee".