Hello, I just joined Nameberry in hopes of finding the perfect name for our baby girl. I apologize in advance for the long post, but I’ve got a lot to explain.
We’re adopting her through an open adoption, and the birth mother is letting us choose the name! [name]Even[/name] though she’s letting us choose the name, we want her to be a part of it as well. We’ve found a name that everyone loves for several reasons, but one thing about it keeps bothering me. It doesn’t flow great. It’s not completely aweful, but it’s not the best.
The name we’re highly considering is [name]Mireille[/name] [name]Elena[/name] (meer-ray ell-lay-nuh). We discovered the name [name]Mireille[/name], a French name, a few months ago, and I can’t get it out of my mind. We love it for many reasons. The birth mother’s family is French, and, although they’ve lived in the States for three generations, they are very proud of their French heritage. [name]Every[/name] member of their family has a French first name, and we would love to continue it. We’ve become very close to the birth family, and they will still be a huge part of her life even after we adopt her. Another reason we love it is because my grandmother’s name is [name]Mira[/name], so it honors their French heritage and my grandmother. [name]Elena[/name] is the birth mother’s middle name, and the name [name]Elaine[/name] is a common middle name for girls in my husband’s family. So it honors the birth mother, and my husbands family.
So, as you can see, even though it bothers me that they don’t flow great together, they both have meaning to us. I don’t think we could find any other names that we love as much, or one that honors as many people as these two do. We did look at [name]Helena[/name] instead of [name]Elena[/name], but we’re not fond of the ‘Hel’ part. We’re also a little concerned about pronunciation and spelling issues, but we’re not worried enough to not use [name]Mireille[/name].
We’d love to hear your opinions on the name. Thank you for taking your time to read this long winded explanation!
Thanks for you’re responses. I’m glad to know that others don’t think it’s that bad. I guess it’s not the flow itself, but maybe just how we say it. It just sounds like the names run into each other.
What a special name - its terrific - how it has meaning for the baby’s birth family and the one she will grow with. Please, do use it.
Its also beautiful, and I think - does flow. together
I think it flows very well! Try saying it with your last name as well, it often flows better when you say the full name and [name]Mireille[/name] is absolutely stunning!
[name]Mireille[/name] [name]Elena[/name] is a beautiful combination with a great significance. The flow is fine. [name]Mira[/name] or [name]Miri[/name] would make nice nicknames. [name]Mireille[/name] was our runner-up name so I love seeing others use it.
Congratulations on you upcoming adoption and bringing home your baby girl.
Thanks everyone! I’m feeling much more confident with our choice after hearing that it doesn’t sound bad like I thought. This will most likely be the name we choose.
I love the soft and pretty name of [name]Mireille[/name]. Since “special meaning” always overrules “flow”, I think you should keep [name]Elena[/name]. Most people are called by their fn and surname anyway.
[name]Mireille[/name] is one of my favorite french names, and I love [name]Elena[/name] (as well as [name]Elaine[/name], [name]Alaina[/name], [name]Helena[/name] and the list goes on… lol).
I think it sounds beautiful! And I think that your daughter will love that her name has such a deep meaning and connections to bothe families. I say go with it
Congratulations, I think it’s great that you included the birth mother in the naming process and found a name that’s meaningful to you both. Honestly, I think the flow is lovely.