We already have a short list with a few well loved names. But I just keep thinking we might be missing some great name that we never considered. Plus I just like reading the baby name book! I made a list of all the names that kind of jumped out at me for one reason or another. I tend to like names of different styles, but my main criteria is a name that’s somewhat familiar feeling but also unexpected. So, what do you think of these?
[name]Adria[/name] (I’m saying it with a long A at the beginning, as in the word ate, is this correct?)
[name]Arielle[/name] (I like the are-ee–[name]ELLE[/name] pronunciation)
[name]Corinna[/name] (rinna, not reena)
[name]Estella[/name]
[name]Irene[/name]/[name]Irena[/name]
[name]Laurel[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] (I say lay-luh is that correct?)
[name]Lorraine[/name] (I like the nn options - Lor, [name]Lora[/name], [name]Raine[/name], [name]Rainie[/name], etc)
[name]Liana[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Raquel[/name] (does this work for a non-Hispanic family?)
[name]Reva[/name] (not sure how to pronounce this. [name]REE[/name]-vuh or [name]RAY[/name]-vuh?)
[name]Serena[/name]
[name]Shana[/name] (pronunciation?)
From your list, these are my favorites:
- [name]Corinna[/name]
- [name]Laurel[/name]
- [name]Lydia[/name]
- [name]Serena[/name]
I love [name]Corinna[/name], [name]Lydia[/name], [name]Serena[/name], [name]Raquel[/name]. [name]Irene[/name] is growing on me, too!
[name]Lorraine[/name] really jumped out at my from your list. I agree with you that it has a lot of cute nicknames, and it is also such a great name for a woman - I foresee a comback for this name!!
[name]Adria[/name]: AY-dree-ah is how I would pronounce this, which from how you worded it is how you are pronouncing it. It is pretty but seems a little incomplete. Like there should be an -na after it. [name]Adriana[/name].
[name]Arielle[/name]: I love that pronunciation, it reminds me of how [name]Sebastian[/name] says it in The [name]Little[/name] Mermaid. Very pretty.
[name]Corinna[/name]: This is [name]Cor[/name]-ee-nah to me. No one will ever say it corectly, fair warning. But I feel like a lot of yours are like that, so perhaps you don’t mind!
[name]Estella[/name]: Pretty, but I prefer [name]Estelle[/name] or [name]Stella[/name].
[name]Irene[/name]/[name]Irena[/name]: [name]Irena[/name] would be my preference, but it is still a little bit old ladyish to me.
[name]Laurel[/name]: Very pretty, I love the nature reference. A great update on [name]Laura[/name].
[name]Leila[/name]: [name]Lay[/name]-lah is, I believe, the correct pronunciation. Pretty as well.
[name]Lorraine[/name]: I am biased on this name because I know someone with it, so to me it belongs to an 80 something year old woman.
[name]Liana[/name]: [name]Lee[/name]-ah-nah? That is pretty, but another that may have pronunciation issues.
[name]Lydia[/name]: Very nice, reminds me of a great book I read in school.
[name]Raquel[/name]: To me this is a French name. I’m from Northern [name]New[/name] Hampshire and am very French and know French women with this name, though typically spelled [name]Raquelle[/name].
[name]Reva[/name]: Which pronunciation do you prefer? I would be inclined to pronounce it [name]Ree[/name]-VAH.
[name]Serena[/name]: [name]Love[/name].
[name]Shana[/name]: Shah-nah. This is the only one I really don’t like. It reminds me of [name]Shannon[/name], which I don’t care for.
Top picks: [name]Serena[/name], [name]Laurel[/name], [name]Arielle[/name]
Low on the totem pole: [name]Irene[/name]/[name]Irena[/name], [name]Corinna[/name], [name]Shana[/name]
I love…
[name]Corinna[/name] - I love the “rinna” pronunciation too!
[name]Estella[/name] - I love the Dickens literary connection.
[name]Leila[/name] - I pronounce it “lay-luh” as well.
I like…
[name]Adria[/name] -“AY-dree-uh” is the way I pronounce it. I prefer [name]Adrienne[/name] myself.
[name]Arielle[/name]
[name]Irene[/name]/[name]Irena[/name]
[name]Laurel[/name]
[name]Lorraine[/name]
[name]Liana[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Raquel[/name] (does this work for a non-Hispanic family?) - I don’t see why not but it does depend on the last name
[name]Serena[/name]
I dislike…
[name]Reva[/name] - I would pronounce it “[name]RAY[/name]-vuh”. [name]Riva[/name] would be “[name]REE[/name]-vuh”. [name]Reva[/name] means “one that moves” in Sanskrit.
[name]Shana[/name] - I pronounce it “[name]SHAN[/name] -uh”. I prefer [name]Shannon[/name] or even the Yiddish name [name]Shaina[/name] ([name]SHAY[/name]-nuh).
[name]Adria[/name]: Makes me think of the boys name [name]Adrian[/name], don’t like it.
[name]Arielle[/name]: I prefer [name]Ariane[/name].
[name]Corinna[/name]: Not fond of it.
[name]Estella[/name]: I like it, it’s more sophisticated than [name]Estelle[/name].
[name]Irene[/name]/[name]Irena[/name]: [name]Don[/name]'t like it.
[name]Laurel[/name]: I’ve never understood the immense love for this name.
[name]Leila[/name]: I personally pronounce it Ley-lah, it’s alright, nothing special [name]IMO[/name].
[name]Lorraine[/name]: Too mum-ish for me.
[name]Liana[/name]: I don’t really like it.
[name]Lydia[/name]: Very beautiful name.
[name]Raquel[/name]: I prefer [name]Rachel[/name].
[name]Reva[/name]: I would pronounce it [name]Ree[/name]-vuh.
[name]Serena[/name]: [name]Don[/name]'t like it.
[name]Shana[/name]: Makes me think of [name]Kristen[/name] Wiig’s Sexy [name]Shana[/name] from SNL
[name]Adria[/name]: I say it the same way. I really like [name]Adria[/name], it has a strong sound, but is feminine and uncommon.
[name]Arielle[/name]: I like [name]Arielle[/name], but I don’t love it. I still think of the [name]Little[/name] Mermaid. I love [name]Arianna[/name],
[name]Corinna[/name]: I like it, but it will get mispronounced a lot. I could be wrong, but I think the reena pronunciation is more common.
[name]Estella[/name]: I am not a fan.
[name]Irene[/name]/[name]Irena[/name]: I like [name]Irena[/name], but not [name]Irene[/name]. [name]Irena[/name] sounds musty and middle aged.
[name]Laurel[/name]: Although, I prefer the ever popular [name]Lauren[/name], [name]Laurel[/name] is still pretty.
[name]Leila[/name] (I say lay-luh is that correct?): I like the spelling [name]Layla[/name]. Nice and sweet.
[name]Lorraine[/name]: Quite popular and middle aged where I live. Boring mom-name.
[name]Liana[/name]: I prefer other similar names [name]Eliana[/name], [name]Arianna[/name] etc.
[name]Lydia[/name]: I love [name]Lydia[/name], classic and beautiful. My favorite on your list.
[name]Raquel[/name] (does this work for a non-Hispanic family?): I prefer [name]Rachel[/name] and that is saying something because I hate [name]Rachel[/name]. [name]Raquel[/name] sounds ethnic to me.
[name]Reva[/name] (not sure how to pronounce this. [name]REE[/name]-vuh or [name]RAY[/name]-vuh?): Interesting.
[name]Serena[/name]: I prefer [name]Selena[/name]/[name]Celina[/name].
[name]Shana[/name] (pronunciation?): Boring.
Re: [name]Raquel[/name]. I know a lot of Jewish people who pronounce the name [name]Rachel[/name] this way, so I do think it’s definitely valid if you’re not Latino. The Q spelling clarifies pronunciation.
Of your list, I really like [name]Laurel[/name] and [name]Lorraine[/name]. Those are very beautiful, underused names. [name]Arielle[/name] is also sweet, and I think [name]Irene[/name] is ready for a comeback. I really like your list overall!
I knew a [name]Leila[/name], from Belarus, and she pronounced it the same way you are.
Really like [name]Corinna[/name] pronounced Co-[name]RIN[/name]-na.
My favorites:
[name]Lydia[/name] because I love Groucho [name]Marx[/name]'s version of “[name]Lydia[/name] the Tattooed Lady.” Watch it.
[name]Laurel[/name] for the botanical imagery and the clear, round sound.
[name]Corinna[/name] because it’s spicy and gives you a great built-in lullaby to sing to your daughter ("[name]Corinna[/name], [name]Corinna[/name]")
[name]Serena[/name] is classic, elegant, and lovely.
[name]Irene[/name] because it’s strong, has great namesakes like the Greek goddess of peace, and has a fun vintage flavor ala [name]Dot[/name].
Top 5…
- [name]Irena[/name]: I think this is such an underused gem! Somehow the -a ending for me makes such a difference, making [name]Irene[/name] a little more modern, a little more global…I love it.
- [name]Laurel[/name]: I feel like I say this too often, but [name]Laurel[/name] is perfect. It’s a non-flowery floral name, sweet without feeling fluffy or overly perfumed, another favorite.
- [name]Raquel[/name]: I don’t think I’d ever use it, but it’s spunky and fun and I’d [name]LOVE[/name] to meet a little [name]Raquel[/name]. I don’t think you need to be Hispanic to pull this off at all.
- [name]Leila[/name]: I love [name]Leila[/name] (yes, said [name]Lay[/name]-luh), but with all the little Lilahs and [name]Lilas[/name] and Lillys, she does lose a little something if youre looking for an “unexpected” name (personally, I dont think it bothers me).
- [name]Lydia[/name]: I used to love [name]Lydia[/name], but for some reason I know more little Lydias than little Sophias at the moment, again, only a warning if youre looking for less common, I have a feeling she may be on the rise. I do still like the name though!
From your list I like:
[name]Estella[/name]-underused and stylish
[name]Irena[/name]-I like [name]Irene[/name] also but [name]Irena[/name] is a bit more contemporary
[name]Laurel[/name]-Pretty and spring like
[name]Lorraine[/name]-Classic and not used often enough, also like the [name]Laraine[/name] spelling
[name]Lydia[/name]-Beautiful but has gotten steadily more popular over the past few years.
[name]Serena[/name]-Have always loved this, it has a wonderful calm sound, never understood why it isn’t used more.
I like these the best:
[name]Corinna[/name] - so beautiful, I really like this. Makes me think of poetry…
[name]Estella[/name] - Would prefer [name]Estelle[/name] or [name]Stella[/name] ([name]Estella[/name] makes me think of Great Expectations) but still lovely.
[name]Irene[/name] - The personification of peace, how lovely is that! Beautiful name as well.
[name]Laurel[/name] - I love [name]Laurel[/name], one of those names that makes me happy saying it and looking at it. And I love laurels…
[name]Lydia[/name] - I’ve always likes [name]Lydia[/name], it’s so stong and calm and beautiful. An ancient kingdom in [name]Asia[/name] [name]Minor[/name].
[name]Raquel[/name] - First I thought no, but the more I look at it the cooler it seems. [name]Raquel[/name] would be really amazing on a little girl. Especially if she’s a little firecracker.
[name]Serena[/name] - Gorgeous, simply gorgeous. Very calm and clean.
I think my top three would be [name]Laurel[/name], [name]Corinna[/name] and [name]Raquel[/name].
My fav is [name]Estella[/name]
[name]Adria[/name] (I’m saying it with a long A at the beginning, as in the word ate, is this correct?) I like it.
[name]Arielle[/name] (I like the are-ee–[name]ELLE[/name] pronunciation) [name]LOVE[/name]
[name]Corinna[/name] (rinna, not reena) That’s the first pronunciation that came to mind, “[name]Cor[/name]-[name]RIN[/name]-uh”.
[name]Estella[/name] - Meh.
[name]Irene[/name]/[name]Irena[/name] - Too old lady-ish
[name]Laurel[/name] - [name]LOVE[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] (I say lay-luh is that correct?) - Yes, that’s right.
[name]Lorraine[/name] (I like the nn options - Lor, [name]Lora[/name], [name]Raine[/name], [name]Rainie[/name], etc) - See [name]Irene[/name]
[name]Liana[/name] - Seems like it should be [name]Elliana[/name],
[name]Lydia[/name] - This used to be one of my favorites.
[name]Raquel[/name] (does this work for a non-Hispanic family?) - It depends…
[name]Reva[/name] (not sure how to pronounce this. [name]REE[/name]-vuh or [name]RAY[/name]-vuh?) - Meh.
[name]Serena[/name] - Meh.
[name]Shana[/name] (pronunciation?) - I would be inclined to pronounce it “[name]SHAY[/name]-nuh”".
I really love [name]Lydia[/name]!! It sounds so worldly and exotic but has rich history.