I need a feminine, lyrical, sophisticated, strong girl name that is 3 syllables and does not end in -a. Should not be made up or too trendy. Should also not be super common (not in top 20).
Middle name will be [name_f]Maya[/name_f]…
We have tossed around:
[name_u]Everly[/name_u] - love it but too trendy
[name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] - love it but a bit too french and we don’t want to sound pretentious (we are not [name_m]French[/name_m])
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] - can’t, family has already used it twice
[name_u]Eloise[/name_u] - again, love it, but don’t want to be pretentious and too french like [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] above…
I don’t think that [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] or [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] seem pretentious to use. They’re mainstream enough that it’s completely acceptable. I particularly adore [name_u]Eloise[/name_u]. It has such a sweet sound, but is also sophisticated. Good call on not using [name_u]Everly[/name_u]. It’s way way trendy. And too bad about [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. That’s my favorite!
I was going to suggest [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] but it is obviously [name_m]French[/name_m] which you don’t want. I don’t think [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] or [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] are at all pretentious though, nor too [name_m]French[/name_m] to use. But this is coming from someone who named her daughter [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] despite not being [name_m]French[/name_m] so I’m biased [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is so beautiful, it’s a shame you can’t use it. Some others (sorry for any repeats):
[name_m]How[/name_m] are you pronouncing [name_f]Maya[/name_f]? Because I’d say [name_f]May[/name_f]-uh but I know lots of people say My-uh.
Out of your choices, the only one I don’t like is [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]. It’s just too outdated and I agree a little pretentious.
[name_u]Everly[/name_u] is gorgeous but very popular at the moment, the same with [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] (although I don’t think this is too pretentious and it’s popular enough to not be ‘too [name_m]French[/name_m]’). [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is sweet, but a little lacking compared to [name_u]Everly[/name_u] and [name_u]Eloise[/name_u].
[name_m]How[/name_m] about
[name_f]Imogen[/name_f]
[name_f]Elodie[/name_f] (perhaps too [name_m]French[/name_m] for you? Or maybe too popular. But similar vibes to [name_u]Eloise[/name_u])
[name_f]Amelie[/name_f]
[name_f]Verity[/name_f]
[name_f]Cecily[/name_f]
[name_f]Emmeline[/name_f]
[name_u]Juniper[/name_u]
[name_f]Leonie[/name_f]
[name_f]Eleni[/name_f]
[name_f]Amity[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f]
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f]
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f]
[name_u]Delaney[/name_u]
[name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] (similar to [name_u]Everly[/name_u] but less trendy, more feminine)
[name_f]Annalise[/name_f]
[name_f]Emily[/name_f]
[name_f]Tallulah[/name_f]
[name_u]Bellamy[/name_u]
I like the name [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] a lot. There’s [name_f]Melanie[/name_f], which is more used but still pretty. [name_u]Vivian[/name_u], [name_f]Coralie[/name_f]. My irl name is [name_f]Cecily[/name_f] and I would recommend that too. It’s also literally melodic via St. [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f], saint of music. She said she always heard music praising god in her head.
I like the suggestions of [name_u]Ellery[/name_u] and [name_f]Cecily[/name_f]. [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f], [name_f]Harriet[/name_f] and [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] are cute, too.
Ideas (some are probably too pretentious, just thought I’d include anyway):
[name_f]Alison[/name_f]
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f]
[name_f]Marjorie[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilias[/name_f]
[name_f]Galilee[/name_f]
[name_f]Thessaly[/name_f]
[name_f]Cicely[/name_f]
[name_f]Dolores[/name_f]
[name_f]Lavender[/name_f]
[name_f]Leonie[/name_f]
[name_u]Damaris[/name_u]
[name_f]Dimity[/name_f]
[name_u]Marion[/name_u] or [name_f]Marianne[/name_f]
[name_f]Adelais[/name_f]
[name_f]Magdalen[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] (’[name_u]Romy[/name_u]’? or [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f])
[name_f]Madelief[/name_f]
Merewyn
Merope
Alifair
Clarimonde
[name_f]Corisande[/name_f]
[name_f]Irene[/name_f] (older pronunciation = “eye [name_f]REE[/name_f] nee”)
[name_f]Marguerite[/name_f] (’[name_f]Meg[/name_f]’, ‘[name_f]Maggie[/name_f]’, etc?)
[name_f]Mercedes[/name_f]
[name_f]Jessamy[/name_f]
Kilmeny
[name_f]Albanie[/name_f]/[name_u]Albany[/name_u]
[name_f]Temperance[/name_f]
Not quite sure why you think [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] or [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] are pretentious?? I don’t think they are at all. Both would sound so pretty with [name_f]Maya[/name_f], too! I would seriously reconsider.
Other options (consider repeats as another vote for the name):
[name_u]Vivian[/name_u] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Annabel[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Elodie[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Leonie[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Adeline[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Ariane[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Evadne[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Anneliese[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Jillian[/name_f] [name_f]Maya[/name_f]
I don’t think [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] sounds pretentious or “too french”. It’s very up and coming in the US. I don’t think of [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] as french at all.