[name_f]My[/name_f] wife and I hope to start a family soon and have been discussing names for a hypothetical family of 1 boy and 1 girl (not necessarily in that order).
Factors influencing our choice of names include the following:
I have Italian heritage and my wife has Korean heritage. We would like to choose names that have some degree of meaning to both cultures, and preferably that are easy to pronounce for both our families (consonant blends being quite difficult for Koreans).
I have a long surname comprising two words, both ending in the letter A. We think that a short first name is a good idea to balance out the long surname, and that a name ending with A may create too much assonance of the A sound (a shame because there are many nice names ending in A).
We would like to choose first names that are relatively traditional yet not too common or old-fashioned. The uniqueness will come from the Korean middle names that we also plan to choose for them
So, the names that we have come up with are as follows:
[name_m]Leo[/name_m] has meaning to us as it is similar to her father’s name and also to my grandfather’s, as well as having a [name_m]Roman[/name_m] origin and being used by a number of popes. It’s also nice and easy for everyone (Koreans sometimes struggle with the pronouncing of ‘L’, but we don’t mind if they pronounce it as ‘[name_u]Rio[/name_u]’).We are quite strong on this name.
It was more difficult for us to think of a girl’s name. We came up with [name_u]Ariel[/name_u] (first syllable pronunciation of ‘A’) on the basis that day to day we would call her [name_u]Arie[/name_u]. The short version is close in sound to a traditional Korean folk song called Arirang and the full name has a Biblical origin. We note that it’s meaning in Hebrew is “[name_m]Lion[/name_m] of God”, which has an overlap with [name_m]Leo[/name_m].
So, if you would be kind enough to offer your thoughts, it would be greatly appreciated if you could advise us of the following:
What do you think of the names [name_m]Leo[/name_m] and [name_u]Ariel[/name_u] as a boy/girl combination?
Which other girl’s name would you recommend to go along with [name_m]Leo[/name_m]?
Any thoughts on our baby naming thought-process are welcome. Thanks for your help!
I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_m]Leo[/name_m]. I think [name_u]Ariel[/name_u] goes fine with [name_m]Leo[/name_m], though it’s not my favorite. I think [name_u]Arie[/name_u] is really sweet. I would almost just go with [name_u]Arie[/name_u] without [name_u]Ariel[/name_u]. But if you want to have a longer version, [name_u]Ariel[/name_u] is fine. The only issue would be the overlap in meaning. That is totally your call. If you love it and that doesn’t especially bother you, I think it’s fine. I didn’t know [name_u]Ariel[/name_u]'s meaning before. You will have your own little pride.
[name_m]Leo[/name_m] is a lovely name and sounds like it has a lot of great meaning with it.
[name_u]Ariel[/name_u] is pretty, [name_u]Ari[/name_u] is very cute.
What about?
[name_f]Miriam[/name_f]/[name_f]Miri[/name_f] - great Biblical name with a great cute nn
[name_f]Esther[/name_f]/[name_f]Tess[/name_f]/[name_f]Essie[/name_f]
[name_f]Heidi[/name_f] - I like the idea of this one with [name_m]Leo[/name_m]
[name_u]June[/name_u] - pretty and simple
[name_f]Maren[/name_f] - classy name that’s easy to pronounce
[name_f]Cindy[/name_f] - not everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it’s lovely and fun with [name_m]Leo[/name_m] so I’m listing it anyway, [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] of course is the more trendy option now
The overlap in meaning between [name_m]Leo[/name_m] and [name_u]Ariel[/name_u] certainly wasn’t intended, but was uncovered after we delved a little deeper into the background of the names. Yes, we would have our own little pride of lions!
I also like the name [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] and it’s short version of [name_f]Miri[/name_f]. I will ask my wife if [name_f]Miri[/name_f] has any meaning in Korean. [name_f]Mimi[/name_f] could also be used as a short version. Thank you for this suggestion!
Also, what are your thoughts on this girl’s first name: Hanul
It’s a Korean word meaning “sky”. The pronunciation is “Huh-Nool”, and we could use [name_f]Hanny[/name_f] (pronounced more like “[name_f]Honey[/name_f]”) as a shortened version. I am quite fond of its meaning and sound, and it would match up nicely with a Korean middle name for a boy that we have picked out. The only concern I have is that it may be difficulty for people to spell and pronounce, and unfortunately it is quite close to an unpleasant anatomy-related word so it may be subject to teasing.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you like this name and the proposed spelling?
I think [name_u]Ariel[/name_u] and [name_m]Leo[/name_m] are a gorgeous little sibset. I am not so keen on the name Hanul, but maybe because it is like nothing I have heard before. [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] is very sweet, too. You have great ideas!
I love the name [name_m]Leo[/name_m] and [name_u]Ariel[/name_u] is very cute, but remember that she will be constantly reminded of the mermaid and I’m sure it will get old.
When I read Hunul I pronounced it as rhyming with funnel
The “little pride of lions” thing is absolutely adorable! If you want to stick with that, here are some other names that man lion:
Yes, the [name_m]Little[/name_m] Mermaid connection is an issue with the name [name_u]Ariel[/name_u]. We have no strong connection with [name_u]Ariel[/name_u], other than it being the full version and perhaps a slightly more feminine and traditional form of [name_u]Arie[/name_u].
Perhaps simply [name_u]Ari[/name_u] or [name_u]Arie[/name_u] as the formal given name would be enough, and do away with the longer version. This would bring it into line with [name_m]Leo[/name_m] (both being short, two syllable names).
There are also some nice lion names in the list above
The pronunciation of Hunul as rhyming with “funnel” is correct. I do like this name, but perhaps we will keep it as a unique middle name that can double as her Korean name (rather than as a given first name): [name_u]Arie[/name_u] Hunul
I know [name_f]Hana[/name_f] is a Korean name, adding the characters Ha and Na together. (It’s probably the most multi cultural name there is. It’s Japanese, Hawaiian, Arab, Hebrew, Somali, Indonesian, Malay and many more. Including English!)
Thank you for the suggestion of Marion. My wife and I didn’t consider this name before but it combines well with Leo and can form the basis for Arie as a nickname.
I also like the idea of a universal name such as Hana. That’s part of the reason why we are attracted to short, relatively simple names like Leo and Arie. Hana means “one” or “first” in Korean, so maybe we can use it if the girl comes first
Some very nice suggestions from this board. Thanks to everyone!
[name_f]My[/name_f] wife and I also discussed the spelling for Hunul and agree that this is the best spelling. We prefer this more phonetic but less conventional spelling (compared to something like Hunnel), as English speakers are more likely to recognise it as a non-English word/name from its spelling. If they see ‘Hunnel’ or something similar, they may be confused by its conventional English-style spelling. Also the u-n-u combination in the middle is quite nice and fun to handwrite!
Quick question…ignoring the above paragraph, how would you pronounce the following names? From their spelling, would you recognise these as made up names, foreign-origin names, or something else?