I recently had a thread open with a bunch of boys names, trying to go from a lot to 12.
I haven’t been able to do that, but all the comments, opinions, associations and such really helped me think about the names, evaluate my style, find out I was rooting for some… It was really helpful to sort through things like that!! I have a much better grasp on boys names now, and it feels amazing, all tidy up in my head ^^
Rather than further reduce the boys to 12 (I don’t think I have it in me!), I have decided to ask for the same kind of feedback with the girls names.
What I’m asking for is a little helpful insight, your personal experiences, imagery, any associations I might be unaware of, difficulties with some of the names, any and all comments would be welcome! I’m going to list the 12 I have now, along with the ones I might want to add.
If you could create your own top 12 perhaps and give reasons why, or comment on all of them marking some as definite keepers and others as the ones to toss that would be very helpful to me.
And I will of course welcome any and all suggestions with open arms!
The original 12:
[name_f]Maeva[/name_f]
Everild
[name_f]Rosa[/name_f]
[name_f]Lileas[/name_f]
Nimue
[name_f]Ondine[/name_f]
[name_f]Ana[/name_f]ïs
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Clio[/name_f]
[name_f]Nona[/name_f]
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f]
[name_f]Lux[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosa[/name_f] - [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f], [name_f]Rosine[/name_f], [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] - love all of these
[name_f]Cora[/name_f] - vintage elegance along with [name_f]Clara[/name_f]
[name_f]Elsa[/name_f] - love it but worry it would date due to Frozen
Inés - beautiful short and sweet, love [name_f]Agnes[/name_f] too.
[name_f]Louisa[/name_f] - ageless and pretty
[name_f]Margot[/name_f] - elegant and spunky, a def fav of mine.
[name_f]Maud[/name_f] - simple and classy
[name_f]Olivine[/name_f] - sounds much fresher and spunkier than [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]. Pretty name
[name_f]Seraphine[/name_f] - prefer [name_f]Severine[/name_f]
[name_f]Tessa[/name_f] - Lie it but no in love with it.
[name_f]Una[/name_f] - love this gorgeous name, also love [name_f]Anja[/name_f] too.
I have chosen the above as to me they are either classic or spunky. I have put other suggestions relating to each name.
The others on your list were a little too much for me and not my style.
@gertielee - Thank you for your thoughts, especially since the names aren’t really your style. It’s a long list to go through if they’re not really for you, I’m not sure I would have bothered myself… ! ^^
I love that you like Inés. I too love [name_f]Agnes[/name_f], but some Norwegians have a dialect where it is pronounced in a way I hate (ANG-nes rather than [name_f]AG[/name_f]-ness), so I wouldn’t really use it. (Same with [name_m]Magnus[/name_m], he becomes Mangnus. )
When I was going through the long list I felt like I couldn’t write both [name_f]Seraphine[/name_f] and [name_f]Severine[/name_f]. [name_f]Seraphine[/name_f] wins on meaning alone (I love fire related names). I love them both equally if I’m being honest.
Most of the names you like would be the ones I would put together in a sibset because they are all short with a vintage vibe!
Thanks again for your thoughts!
[name_f]My[/name_f] favorite 12 are:
[name_f]Cora[/name_f]
Esmeray
[name_f]Eulalia[/name_f]
[name_f]Helena[/name_f]
[name_f]Isolde[/name_f]
[name_f]Maud[/name_f]/[name_f]Maeva[/name_f]
[name_f]Olivine[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f]
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]
[name_u]Valentine[/name_u]
[name_u]Hero[/name_u]
I would probably add somewhere [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] if it was in the [name_f]Lovisa[/name_f] form.
Also, I wanted to mention that Rusalka is the exact word for mermaid in Russian, so it’s a strange name to my ears.
Your current top 12:
[name_f]Maeva[/name_f] - I dislike because, even though I know it is an actual name, it still looks like an Anglicisation of the Irish name [name_f]Meabh[/name_f]
Everild - it doesn’t have a great meaning and it doesn’t sound particularly attractive to me. Ev/[name_f]Eve[/name_f] could make a nice nn though
[name_f]Rosa[/name_f] - very pretty, for some reason the a at the end makes it so much more magical that [name_f]Rose[/name_f]
[name_f]Lileas[/name_f] - It always makes me think [name_f]Lilias[/name_f] - as in, several people called [name_f]Lilia[/name_f]. I think it’s a bit strange
Nimue - quite magical
[name_f]Ondine[/name_f] - sounds lovely
[name_f]Ana[/name_f]ïs - I think it is really pretty but it doesn’t sound as good in an English accent
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] - yes, the character is a bit tragic but it’s still a great name
[name_f]Clio[/name_f] - it looks a bit incomplete
[name_f]Nona[/name_f] - I have known people call their grandmother ‘[name_f]Nona[/name_f]’ so it sounds a bit strange as a name
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f] - love it
[name_f]Lux[/name_f] - I sooooo want to like it as a full name, but I can only picture it as a nn
Names you are considering that I like/would add:
[name_f]Ariadne[/name_f]
[name_f]Alma[/name_f]
[name_f]Cora[/name_f]
[name_u]Demeter[/name_u]
[name_f]Elsa[/name_f]
[name_f]Eimear[/name_f]
[name_f]Eulalie[/name_f]/[name_f]Eulalia[/name_f] - I prefer [name_f]Eulalia[/name_f], whenever I say [name_f]Eulalie[/name_f] I find it hard to stop - I always want to add that last syllable!
[name_f]Evanthe[/name_f]/[name_f]Evadne[/name_f] - I think I like [name_f]Evanthe[/name_f] more, the sound is less harsh
[name_f]Helena[/name_f] - I love that it is such a pretty name by itself but there are quite a few nn options - [name_f]Nell[/name_f], [name_f]Lena[/name_f] etc
[name_f]Isis[/name_f]
[name_f]Isolde[/name_f] - I really like this but prefer [name_f]Iseult[/name_f]/[name_f]Yseult[/name_f]
[name_f]Juna[/name_f]/[name_f]Junia[/name_f]/[name_f]Juno[/name_f] - [name_f]Juna[/name_f] sounds a bit weird and [name_f]Junia[/name_f] sounds too much like [name_m]Junior[/name_m] for me but I really like [name_f]Juno[/name_f]
[name_f]Louisa[/name_f]
[name_f]Margot[/name_f]
[name_f]Olivine[/name_f] - this should be too frilly/over the top for my taste but it just flows off the tongue and [name_f]Olive[/name_f] would make a nice, more simple, nn
[name_f]Phaedra[/name_f]
[name_f]Pomeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] - [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] nn [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] and then you can have 2 names you love!
[name_f]Seraphine[/name_f]
[name_f]Tesla[/name_f]/[name_f]Tessa[/name_f]/[name_f]Thekla[/name_f] - [name_f]Thekla[/name_f] made me think of heckler and tickler, it’s quite strange sounding but [name_f]Tesla[/name_f] and [name_f]Tessa[/name_f] are great
[name_f]Una[/name_f]
[name_f]Zosia[/name_f]/Zosime - [name_f]Zosia[/name_f] is nice, Zosime is very unusual and intriguing
All the others I would chuck, mainly because they are just a bit too much for my taste and I can’t picture them being wearable.
Names I would chuck that I have comments for:
[name_f]Audra[/name_f] - I only cut this one because I hate [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] with a passion (it’s a bit irrational really) and [name_f]Audra[/name_f] sounds too much like it
Annevieve - is this a smoosh? it looks a bit strange
[name_f]Dido[/name_f] - the association with the singer is much too strong
Emerence - it doesn’t sound like a name
[name_u]Echo[/name_u] - too wordy
[name_f]Enid[/name_f] - dated and harsh sounding
[name_f]Vera[/name_f] - see [name_f]Enid[/name_f]
@sorceress - I’m very plesantly surprised to find someone who likes so many of the names, wonderful! Thank you!
@handsallover - I love [name_f]Lovisa[/name_f], but not the English pronunciation, or it would be on the list I also like that [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] fits in with [name_f]Helena[/name_f] and [name_m]Edmund[/name_m]. I need more ‘normal’ names ^^
I wasn’t aware of the Rusalka/mermaid thing, that’s an awsome word for mermaid!
@kirstenlouise - Thank you for your thoughts! Can I ask why you like [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] but not [name_f]Maeva[/name_f]?
@potofgold - You rdid the work with the list, I really appreciate it!!
I agree about [name_f]Rosa[/name_f], it’s amazing what one letter can do! [name_f]Ana[/name_f]ïs is a little troubling, I don’t like the Americanized pronunciation a-nays. It’s the kind of thing people get used to quite easily though… Is [name_f]Anona[/name_f] better than [name_f]Nona[/name_f] for you?
[name_f]Nell[/name_f] is my favourite nickname for [name_f]Helena[/name_f], I love the idea of [name_f]Helena[/name_f] and [name_m]Edmund[/name_m] called [name_f]Nell[/name_f] and [name_m]Ned[/name_m] ^^
[name_f]Iseult[/name_f] is too much like assault for me, so I’m sticking to [name_f]Isolde[/name_f]. Usually, I choose one variant over another for a reason ([name_f]Clio[/name_f]/[name_f]Cleo[/name_f], [name_f]Lileas[/name_f]/[name_f]Lilias[/name_f])
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] nn [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] is one to consider, but [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] fits with a whole different sibset from [name_f]Rosa[/name_f], so using [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] would mean eliminating many of the names I would but [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] with, so it’s not so simple…
[name_f]Olivine[/name_f] is very musical, I love it! And [name_f]Olive[/name_f] is so sweet ^^
Annevieve is a smoosh, I think I’m going to have a hard time finding someone who appreciates it!
Thanks again, your thoughts are much appreciated and very helpful so far!
I saw you have Betsabé on your list! I know a girl named Bersabhe (prn. Brrr-Saw-bee) (Brrr like brrrr it’s cold out!) which I thought you might like!
Your style is a bit too out there for me, but I love [name_f]Maeva[/name_f], [name_f]Audra[/name_f], [name_f]Esme[/name_f] (you have Esmeray), [name_f]Elsa[/name_f], [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] & [name_f]Tessa[/name_f]!
Oh, these are great. I’m a big aesthetics person, so I mainly judge names based on sound and look, but pretty much all of the names on your list (even the ones I don’t like) are interesting. Congrats.
[name_f]My[/name_f] top 12:
[name_f]Ondine[/name_f]
[name_f]Clio[/name_f] - Although I prefer the [name_f]Cleo[/name_f] spelling (it looks more substantial and elegant [name_f]IMO[/name_f])
[name_u]Echo[/name_u]
Esmeray - I’m also a big fan of [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] and Ismeria
Oenone
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f]
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Mireia[/name_f] - You might also like the Mirelha spelling
[name_f]Fiammetta[/name_f]
Nimue
[name_f]Isis[/name_f]
[name_f]Phaedra[/name_f]
Honorable mentions: [name_f]Lileas[/name_f] (I love the [name_f]Lilias[/name_f] spelling), [name_f]Ana[/name_f]ïs, [name_f]Audra[/name_f], [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f], [name_f]Cora[/name_f], [name_f]Fiora[/name_f], [name_u]Hero[/name_u], Inés, Iscah, Niniane, [name_f]Niobe[/name_f], Rixende, [name_f]Sancia[/name_f], [name_f]Sabine[/name_f], [name_f]Seraphine[/name_f]
@aym - Thank you for your reply! Esmeray is very interesting, I’m glad you like her!
@waverly - I haven’t heard about Bersabhe, she’s sweet! But I do think it’s the [name_f]Bets[/name_f]- part of Betsabé I like most, it feels very crisp to me, and another favourite of mine had the very same [name_f]Bet[/name_f]- beginning, Betony.
I’m happy to see some love for [name_f]Audra[/name_f] ^^
@[name_f]Gwen[/name_f] - Thank you so much! I’m so happy with the names I have collected and fallen in love with ^^ Going through all these names and your comments and such, I’ve had to speak them aloud to fully take into consideration how usuable they are in real life. Some names I adore until I say them with intent, pretending I’m speaking to my own child with that name. (it’s how I eliminated [name_f]Susannah[/name_f]! I was playing house with some girls at work (daycare) and suddenly I had a baby I needed to name, landing on [name_f]Susannah[/name_f]. The girls loved it, but I realised I could never have a daughter actually named [name_f]Susannah[/name_f]. The name looks more fabulous than it sounds!)
I have [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] and Ismeria on my list as well, but I never connected them to Esmeray The confusingly similar sounding vowels in the English language will probably never make sense to me. [name_f]Every[/name_f] Norwegian vowel has its own unique sounds (and we have three and a half extra), it’s very rare to mistake one for another.
I’m not sure about Mirelha (was it supposed to be [name_f]Mirella[/name_f]?). I like the simplicity of [name_f]Mireia[/name_f].
[name_f]Cleo[/name_f] was my cat, but I love the name still so [name_f]Clio[/name_f] is a way to distance it from the family pet
I’m happy to see you like Oenone, [name_f]Fiammetta[/name_f], Nimue and Esmeray, they’re among the more unusual on the list. Also Iscah, [name_f]Niobe[/name_f], Rixende, [name_f]Fiora[/name_f], Niniane and [name_f]Sancia[/name_f].
I love [name_m]Prosper[/name_m], [name_m]Sirius[/name_m] and [name_u]Zephyr[/name_u] from the boys list in your signature, they’re all on mine as well, along with [name_m]Augustin[/name_m]
Thanks again!
@Freddiethepink - Thank you! I think they’re gorgeous as well! ^^
Stelian from your siganture is intriguing, I really like it! Also [name_f]Antonia[/name_f]. She would have been on this list, but I love so many An- names it’s almost embarrassing… I had to choose some…
The middle name only thing is sort of new concept for me, but I’m starting to notice how some of the names I love seem to always fit better as middle names (Bloom being the first one I noticed). I’ll have to look into that with my own lists I think. ([name_f]Tesla[/name_f] might be getting that status!)
Awesome that you love [name_f]Eimear[/name_f] and Ferelith! [name_f]Eimear[/name_f] is so wonderful! I’m sadly not as sure about Ferelith anymore, but we’ll see. I have a lot of work to do still
Thank you for your help! It is much appreciated!
I love [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] by the way! [name_m]How[/name_m] is it perceived in Norway? In [name_u]Sweden[/name_u], it’s a over-the-top cow name:(
Suggestions:
[name_f]Inanna[/name_f]
[name_f]Isaura[/name_f]
Ysaline
[name_f]Anemone[/name_f]
Liselle
Roshilde
[name_f]Ingela[/name_f]
[name_f]Elysia[/name_f]
Alvi
[name_f]Inga[/name_f] (I love [name_f]Inga[/name_f]! [name_m]How[/name_m]'s the relationship between [name_u]Inge[/name_u]/[name_f]Inga[/name_f] in Norway? I always thought that sisters [name_f]Elsa[/name_f], [name_f]Inga[/name_f] & [name_f]Greta[/name_f] would make an adorable sibset!)
Villemo
Pilvi
[name_f]Ingeborg[/name_f] (love this one, but it might be completely off in Norway)
[name_f]Vilhelmina[/name_f]
Hillevi
Milvia
[name_f]Hedvig[/name_f]
Jag älskar din lista, men är inte riktigt lika modig som du:)
Thanks a lot [name_f]Svea[/name_f]!
I must admit that some of these names are completely unrealistic if I want my dad to be able to pronounce them (and I do!) XD But I like to dream as much as the next person ^^
[name_f]Rosa[/name_f] is not cow related in Norway, but it is the word for ‘pink’ although I like to imagine one has slightly more emphasis on the -o- sound than the other (there’s a woman named [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] Bleie which translates to ‘[name_f]Pink[/name_f] Diaper’ which is sort of troublesome, but nothing to really worry about unless you have a word-y surname). Dagros is the go-to cow-name in Norway, along with Litago (which is mostly associated with kids yoghurt). [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] is unusual, but I think most people would easily get used to it.
[name_f]Inga[/name_f] gets no love from me sadly, [name_u]Inge[/name_u] is very common among my dad’s generation, [name_f]Inga[/name_f]/[name_f]Olga[/name_f]/[name_f]Helga[/name_f] are probably never coming back in style, they’re the wrong kind of vintage. There were 25 girls named [name_f]Inga[/name_f] last year, she’s about as used as [name_u]June[/name_u], [name_u]Kari[/name_u] and [name_f]Annika[/name_f], neither of which are poised for a comeback. Also, considering the 100-year-rule, if [name_f]Inga[/name_f] were coming back we would be able to see signs of it already as she last peaked around 1900…
Of your suggestions I really like [name_f]Inanna[/name_f], [name_f]Isaura[/name_f], Ysaline, [name_f]Anemone[/name_f], [name_f]Elysia[/name_f] (I absolutely adored this a couple of years back, I think I ended up struggling with the similarities with [name_f]Alicia[/name_f]), Alvi (I wish [name_u]Alva[/name_u] were less popular! [name_m]Alvar[/name_m] or Alvarin for boys are also favourites), Vilhelmine (my great-great-grandfather was [name_m]Franz[/name_m] [name_m]Wilhelm[/name_m] which is really cool!), Hillevi and [name_f]Hedvig[/name_f]. [name_f]Anemone[/name_f] is so sweet, but it’s used only to describe sea-anemones here, and I’m not sure I could use it because of that. Your suggestions reminded me of Vivendel (Norwegian for Honeysuckle) and [name_f]Verbena[/name_f] (which I mentioned to my mum and she actually liked it better for a Norwegian girl than an English one, I was stunned! I have an amazingly open-minded mum when it comes to names, she likes [name_m]Emrys[/name_m] and [name_f]Tessa[/name_f] as well).
I like the sound of Villemo, but I don’t like that it was invented for a book-series. I sometimes work at the library, and those book-series have very low status :S
I also like Roshilde, I’ve never considered it before. [name_f]My[/name_f] grandmother is Ragnhild (my aunt Gunhild, my mother [name_f]Hilde[/name_f], great-grandmother Ragnhilda called [name_f]Hilda[/name_f], cousin Ragnhild, I’m Åshild, it’s a thing so to speak :)). I’ve been looking for a more creative way of honouring that, having landed on Everild. Roshilde is very sweet as well, I’ll have to seriously mull it over! I like that it repeats the R from my grandmother’s name (she is one of my favourite people in the world).
Elskar [name_m]Imre[/name_m] frå di liste! Og [name_f]Lovisa[/name_f] og [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] og [name_m]Angus[/name_m]! Har truffe sysken [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] og [name_f]Leandra[/name_f] i Norge, veldig vakkert ^^
I wrote a long reply and it all disappeared:( I’ll shorten it a bit. I talked with some friends about [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] and they thought it was all cow! I really like [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] and I think I could have pulled it of. [name_f]Rosa[/name_f], [name_f]Inga[/name_f] and [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] would be an adorable sibset (but maybe not in Norway then;))
I’ve liked Vivendel since the first time I heard it. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think it’s all girl or could it be unisex?
I have read Sandemos Isfolket-series and there is a reason why they are loved, even if they are not that well-written But there are some nice names in there! There’s a poem by [name_u]August[/name_u] Strindberg about a couple called Hillevi and Villemo from early 20th century, but I believe Villemo is male in that story.
The Hild-connection is a nice thing you’ve got going. Roshilde could be a pretty alternative:) If I called my daughter Roshilde people would look quite strangely or think of me as a complete hipster unfortunately.
Norske navn ær greit! Ni använder fortfarande namn som är väldigt traditionella och som jag antar använts i Sverige med tidigare. Exotiskt på ett väldigt bra sätt! Förmodligen kommer vi börja härma er inom en snar framtid!
From your long list I like:
[name_f]Audra[/name_f]
[name_f]Ariadne[/name_f]
Annevieve - Ooh this one is unique. I’ve never hear of this one.
[name_f]Cora[/name_f]
[name_f]Elsa[/name_f]
Esmeray
[name_f]Eulalie[/name_f]/[name_f]Eulalia[/name_f] - I like both.
Inés
[name_f]Isolde[/name_f]
[name_f]Margot[/name_f]
[name_f]Saskia[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabine[/name_f]
[name_f]Seraphine[/name_f]
[name_f]Tessa[/name_f]
[name_f]Vera[/name_f]
[name_f]Vevina[/name_f]
[name_f]Zosia[/name_f]
