Amity, Artemis, Amaryllis..? Back to the drawing board and need HELP please!

Girl Names
1

I’ve posted twice or thrice before - of most relevance when it looked like my husband and I were choosing between [name]Xanthe[/name] and [name]Artemis[/name] (he chucked my [name]Xanthe[/name] out and I came round(ish) to [name]Artemis[/name]) and once when we thought we’d decided on [name]Pearl[/name]. The Nameberry community has been incredibly helpful so I thought I’d turn to you again if you’re not tiring of me too much.

We are now completely and utterly stuck with no out-and-out favourite at all, no names we both unreservedly love and I have 10 weeks left… So I’d appreciate some blue-sky thinking and honest opinions from you.

What are your favourite names within these rough boundaries?

  1. I suspect we tend to both like Ancient Greek and [name]Roman[/name] names, vintage names and Pilgrim names (this last is a real rarity in [name]England[/name] where we are from). Certainly names with history. I do worry some vintage names are getting overly popular (see below)

  2. As parents we both have unusual names and would like our second daughter to have a name which ideally means she just has to say “[name]Hi[/name], it’s [name]Xanthe[/name]” (or whatever) safe in the knowledge that she’s probably the only [name]Xanthe[/name] the other person knows. Definitely want to avoid names which are moving up rapidly so that there could be multiples in a school year.

  3. Our last name is [name]Irwin[/name] and to my ear this has caused problems with some vowel endings (a endings in particular which rules out a veritable host of names) and some rhyme problems (this last is one of the reasons we rejected [name]Pearl[/name] - [name]Pearl[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] had a bit of a difficult ‘err’ roll to it).

  4. I’d prefer either one/two syllables (though have drawn much of a blank finding ones we both like) or if more that the nickname potential is good or at least not too hideous. Or indeed the same as a million other children - e.g. While I love [name]Amaryllis[/name] I think the potential nicknames - [name]Lily[/name] or [name]Amy[/name] - are going to point to less unusual names.

Also of note - our eldest daughter is [name]Iris[/name] (chosen for its Greek history, rainbow and flower associations, vintage associations, two syllables and it sounds strong somehow).

And for those worried about possibly pretentious names leading to bullying this child will probably (I’m trying to afford it as hard as can be!) be educated privately. In [name]England[/name] this means her school year will have more Aramintas, Persephones and Agathas than you’d expect.

These are the names we can roughly agree we both like but not unreservedly:
[name]Amaryllis[/name] - [name]Love[/name] the sparkling meaning, the pastoral history, the unusualness. [name]Don[/name]'t love the length and possible nicknames.

[name]Clemency[/name] - Like rather than love from us both for sound and meaning. Works but doesn’t inspire a lot of reaction from either of us.

[name]Amity[/name] - Like. Possibly not as pretty a sound as [name]Clemency[/name]. Very unusual in [name]England[/name].

[name]Clementine[/name] - [name]Love[/name] this. Not loving how popular it is getting. Not loving “[name]Clemmie[/name]” (clammy) as a nickname. Ditto re nickname for [name]Clemency[/name].

[name]Pearl[/name] - [name]Love[/name] the image and the vintage feel. Not loving the ‘earl’ sound problem above. Could this name be ugly depending on pronunciation?

[name]Artemis[/name] - This was our frontrunner despite a worry it might be a tad pretentious! [name]Love[/name] its fierce goddess associations and strength. Unseated by the nickname issue (we agreed on [name]Mimi[/name] though it’s a long way away from [name]Artemis[/name]) and the possessive “[name]Artemis[/name]'s” - sounds a bit too hissy and would be used a lot presumably? Also applies to [name]Amaryllis[/name].

[name]Ivy[/name] - not good with [name]Iris[/name]. Not as good a name as [name]Iris[/name] either (imo).

Am I just being way too picky? I think the problem is I don’t [name]LOVE[/name] any of them any more. Not in the way I loved my first daughter’s name, [name]Iris[/name].

ps I also [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Delilah[/name] (a cousin’s name. Could get away with it, just but there’s that ‘a’ ending) and we’d have called her [name]Violet[/name] but it’s her first cousin’s name and it would have started an all out war! He was all for [name]Lark[/name] but it feels a bit too cool for us tbh and lacks that history I really wanted.

(ps I’d go for [name]Xanthe[/name] in a heartbeat. He won’t.)

Help!!! Please!!!

2

I like all of your names. I think my favorites are [name]Artemis[/name], [name]Amity[/name], and [name]Pearl[/name] (doesn’t sound ugly to me, but my aesthetics are not everyone’s). [name]Iris[/name] is awesome! Bummer that [name]Xanthe[/name] got nixed - they’d make great sisters. Really, though, you can’t go wrong with any of your choices…but it’d be nice to actually find one you love instead of just like! Some ideas:

[name]Laurel[/name] (reminds me a bit of [name]Lark[/name], but a bit warmer and perhaps with a bit more history? I feel like it has the same vibe as a lot of your names, and I think it’d sound good with sister [name]Iris[/name] and ln [name]Irwin[/name])
[name]Verity[/name] (Puritan-virtue-y, nn option could be [name]Vera[/name]? I think it’s prettier than [name]Clemmie[/name] and certainly less plain than [name]Amy[/name] or [name]Lily[/name])
[name]Olive[/name]
[name]Felicity[/name]
[name]Virginia[/name]
[name]Wren[/name]
[name]Beryl[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Opal[/name]
[name]Dahlia[/name]
[name]Magnolia[/name]
[name]Juniper[/name] or [name]Junia[/name] or [name]Juno[/name]
[name]Daphne[/name]
[name]Claudia[/name]
[name]Althea[/name] or [name]Anthea[/name] or [name]Athena[/name]

3

Here are some great, underused Greek names:

[name]Alethea[/name] (Nickname [name]Thea[/name] or [name]Lettie[/name] instead of [name]Allie[/name])
Anjeliki (Nickname Jelly or Li)
[name]Zephyrine[/name] (nn [name]Zeff[/name])
[name]Philippa[/name]
[name]Eleni[/name]
Kyveli
[name]Selene[/name]
[name]Timothea[/name] (NN [name]Thea[/name], [name]Tia[/name], or [name]Timmi[/name])

Greek/[name]Roman[/name] Mythology names:

Aether or Aethra
Alycone (All-see-on-ee)
Chione (Key-oh-nee)
Alecto
Amazon
Anteia
[name]Antigone[/name]
[name]Astraea[/name]
[name]Auster[/name]
[name]Calliope[/name]
[name]Calypso[/name]
[name]Calisto[/name]
[name]Ceres[/name]
[name]Circe[/name]
[name]Clio[/name]
[name]Cybele[/name]
[name]Rhea[/name]
[name]Danae[/name]
[name]Daphne[/name]
[name]Echo[/name]
[name]Electra[/name]
[name]Eos[/name]
[name]Eris[/name] (I actually know a little girl named this and it is beautiful! Her family says it [name]Air[/name]-iss)
[name]Eurydice[/name]
[name]Gaia[/name]
Hecate
[name]Hera[/name]/[name]Juno[/name]
[name]Hero[/name] (F)
[name]Hestia[/name]/[name]Vesta[/name]
[name]Lavinia[/name]
Leto/Latona (story isn’t the best namesake)
[name]Leda[/name]
[name]Lucina[/name]
[name]Maia[/name]
[name]Minerva[/name]
[name]Niobe[/name]
[name]Nyx[/name]
[name]Nona[/name]
[name]Pandora[/name]
[name]Phaedra[/name]
Polyxena
Sileni
[name]Terra[/name]
[name]Thalia[/name]

4

Thank you both so much!

egilona - [name]Daphne[/name] my husband loved but I nixed after long consideration. Might reconsider. [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Claudia[/name] ([name]Cloud[/name]-ia) but wonder if the ending goes with [name]Irwin[/name] - [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] (you sort have to pause I think?). Like [name]Verity[/name]. [name]Athena[/name] would have been on the list but for the a ending and a massive chain of poster shops (now defunct) which were huge here in the 80’s and 90’s. Maybe that doesn’t matter anymore.

aurra - Wonder if I could convince husband on [name]Zephyrine[/name]? It was however the name of my horse when I was a child! (very cool horse!) Greek and [name]Roman[/name] names are so brilliant though I do struggle with the negative stories attached to a lot of them (in the same way I don’t think I’d ever call my daughter [name]Ophelia[/name] or [name]Cordelia[/name] because they are unusual enough to be strongly attached to their plays, unlike, say [name]Juliet[/name]). I adore [name]Calliope[/name] and the nn [name]Callie[/name] or [name]Cal[/name] is good. [name]Love[/name] [name]Calypso[/name] but husband has knocked it out of the court a few times. [name]Will[/name] keep nagging on that one. It was also the name of dashing heroine in a bestselling book here - The Camomile Lawn. [name]Eris[/name] appealed instantly then I remembered [name]Iris[/name]! Wouldn’t Amazon cut a dash? Shame about the web-giant. So many classical names have that problem though - lots of people have pointed out our original choice [name]Artemis[/name] is a software system!

5

[name]How[/name] about names based on ivy,
[name]Iona[/name]
Ivis
[name]Irina[/name]
Iria
Iviola

Or more jewel names
[name]Garnet[/name]
Amazonite
[name]Diamond[/name]
[name]Crystal[/name]

If you like calliope how about [name]Calista[/name].

6

I think [name]Amity[/name] or [name]Artemis[/name] are both great with your last name and follow your description of either kind of historic or pilgrim names. I think in USA [name]Amity[/name] is more rare but it could just be by my area.
I don’t think [name]Pearl[/name], [name]Ivy[/name] or Celementine go great with your last name.

7

Sad you can’t use [name]Xanthe[/name], I love that name. [name]Pearl[/name] is a lovely name, but I don’t think it works well with [name]Irwin[/name], and would avoid ‘err’ sounds.

Here are my suggestions:
[name]Thisbe[/name] (sigh… love this one as much as [name]Xanthe[/name]). Has Greek and Shakespearean associations…
[name]Zenaida[/name] (there are several spellings/possible pronunciations on that, but such a lovely name), it means “life of [name]Zeus[/name].”

Also, I love [name]Claudia[/name] and [name]Leda[/name] which have already been suggested.

A couple of other suggestions- how about [name]Agate[/name] instead of [name]Pearl[/name] for a gem-type name? It’s a bit more under the radar than [name]Ruby[/name] or [name]Emerald[/name]…

What about [name]Magnolia[/name] instead of [name]Amaryllis[/name]? It has some great nickname options. It maybe doesn’t have the mythological history of some of the other names, but it also stays away from the difficult territory that comes with that (a lot of nymphs run into trouble…).

Best of luck and let us know what you choose!

9

I hope I can help you find a name as stunning as [name]Iris[/name]. I’ve always found [name]Iris[/name] to be gorgeous!

[name]Antigone[/name] (daughter of [name]Oedipus[/name]. Perhaps not the greatest meaning/story. But the name is extraodinarily pretty spoken.)
Astyoche/Astyocheia (name of many from Greek mythology.)
Euphrosyne (name of an [name]Empress[/name], princess, actress, saint, and more. The name is grounded in history and literature & art surrounds it.)
[name]Evadne[/name] (Greek like [name]Ariadne[/name], but more unusual. A daughter of [name]Poseidon[/name] and bore [name]Apollos[/name] son, Iamus (“son of the violets”).
Henioche (means charioteer. found in Greek Mythology.)
[name]Iphigenia[/name] (daughter of Agamemnon & Clytemnestra. Agamemnon was forced to sacrifice her to allow ships to sail to [name]Troy[/name].)
Loveday (Old English name for children born on Loveday. It was used as a boys and girls name)
Orithyia (daughter of [name]King[/name] Erechtheus of Athens. Was abducted by the [name]North[/name] Wind and written of by [name]Plato[/name]. Greek Mythology.)
Pelopia (Greek mythology: daughter of Thyestes, daughter of Pelias, daughter of Cycnus and one of the Niobid.)
Perimele (Greek myth: daughter of Hippodamas. Loved by Achelous and was pushed of a cliff for it. Achelous prayed to [name]Poseidon[/name] to keep her safe. She floats on the waves and eventually turns into an island, known today as Perimele.)

[name]Virtue[/name] names:
Agape (both Greek & virtue)
[name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Clarity[/name] (nn. [name]Clare[/name])
Desire
[name]Felicity[/name]
[name]Liberty[/name]
Lucidity (nn. [name]Lucy[/name])
Merit
Mirth
Revere
[name]Serene[/name]
Swift
[name]Verity[/name] (one of my very favorite virtue names. Though I prefer [name]Vesper[/name], the star.)

10

First of all let me say that I love your eldest daughter’s name. Its so pretty.

I like all the names you have picked out, you cannot go wrong with them. Though [name]Ivy[/name] does seem to close to [name]Iris[/name].

Here are a few more suggestions: (sorry for any repeats!)

Greeek/[name]Roman[/name] Mythology:

Aella
[name]Clio[/name]
[name]Medea[/name]
[name]Melia[/name]
[name]Nephele[/name]
[name]Phaedra[/name]
[name]Pomona[/name]
[name]Vesta[/name]

Others:

Betony
[name]Sela[/name]
[name]Alba[/name]

11

[name]Lark[/name] made me think of [name]Calandra[/name] for you? Seems more your (gorgeous) vintage/mythical speed, with the lark connection. And [name]Callie[/name] is rather sweet and not TOO popular.

I like [name]Amaryllis[/name] a lot. [name]Amy[/name] doesn’t bother me as much as it sounds like it would bother you, though.

[name]Clemency[/name] - [name]Don[/name]'t like, sorry, much prefer [name]Amity[/name] or [name]Verity[/name]. Or… [name]Clarity[/name]? [name]Cicely[/name]? [name]Coralie[/name]?

[name]Amity[/name] - Like this one very much.

[name]Clementine[/name] - Rather popular for you, isn’t it? I like [name]Minnie[/name]/[name]Min[/name] which I’ve heard bandied about as a nickname for it… but vastly prefer [name]Araminta[/name] or [name]Minerva[/name] for that.

[name]Pearl[/name] - [name]Pearl[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] sounds funny to me, sorry. Imagery is nice but this is where I would turn to [name]Marguerite[/name] or similar.

[name]Artemis[/name] - I like this a lot, but I’m the sort of person who had [name]Artemisia[/name] on their own list at one point. (I liked the goddess connection, artist [name]Artemisia[/name] Gentileschi connection, and the botanical thing because I’m a plant nerd).

[name]Ivy[/name] - I love [name]Ivy[/name] but it doesn’t have the history/weight of [name]Iris[/name] and also sounds very similar.

Other ideas:
[name]Andromeda[/name], NN [name]Romy[/name]
[name]Laetitia[/name] - I sort of like my [name]Greco[/name]-[name]Roman[/name] goddesses this way best: there enough to ground the name and give it history, and yet spared from the wealth of R-rated myths and overshare-details of more famous deities. :wink: Oh, and as a power-set goes “joy” is one of the more innocuous ones to have to deal with, I think.
Khione/Chione - snow goddess.
[name]Circe[/name] - Bold choice, but I really like it.
[name]Demetria[/name], [name]Demeter[/name] - [name]Demi[/name]? Not too common but not too hard to explain. I sort of love the non-occupational [name]Demeter[/name] as an uncommon -er name.
Hesper/Hespera/Hesperia/Hesperis - one of the nymphs of evening, counterpart of [name]Eos[/name] of the dawn. Oddly, I like Hesper a lot but dislike [name]Harper[/name].
[name]Luna[/name]
[name]Phoebe[/name] - To me, the most reflective of the multi-faceted appeal of [name]Iris[/name]. [name]Phoebe[/name] - goddess, [name]New[/name] Testament character, songbird, vintage quirk and accessible sound. The one downside of otherwise likable choices like [name]Andromeda[/name] etc. is how they are so long and so “statement” uncommon compared to the relatively familiar (I don’t mean trendy) [name]Iris[/name], and I think [name]Phoebe[/name] is maybe a better match in that regard.

12

Well, I think everyone has pretty much covered a wide array of Greek suggestions and other good suggestions too. So I won’t overwhelm you. You said you liked [name]Amaryllis[/name]. It’s one of my favorites. [name]Don[/name]'t like the nn options [name]Amy[/name] or [name]Lily[/name]? I always thought of using [name]Amari[/name] or [name]Mari[/name] (uh-mah-ree or mah-ree) Think about it.

“Call me [name]Phil[/name].”
shaking hands

“[name]Amari[/name].”

“[name]Amari[/name]? What an unusual name!”

“It’s short for [name]Amaryllis[/name] actually.”

“Oh, wow. [name]How[/name] beautiful!”

Since the nn is unusual, the unusual full name can still be recognized. I think it works splendidly!

Good luck!

13

I’ve only just come back to look at this thread I started owing to Nameberry’s prediction of Ancient names being the “next big thing” (eeeek!) and looking for the tag in forums so many apologies for my non-responsivenes to your considered and helpful ideas. THANK YOU!

I wish I loved [name]Phoebe[/name] more as you are right - it does go well in terms of mythological/vintage-‘normal’ with [name]Iris[/name]. My husband loves [name]Daphne[/name] which probably shares this trait but to me has too ‘dappy’ a sound (does dappy mean dizzy/silly in American slang too?). And there’s [name]Phyllis[/name] (pastoral, like [name]Amaryllis[/name]) but that’s - at the moment - still too ‘granny’ according to my straw poll of friends the other day.

You’ve confirmed my fears re [name]Pearl[/name]. Definitely not right with the ur of [name]Irwin[/name] (though poss still as a middle name? I like it as a single syllable middle and don’t think the rhyme matters so much as it will be said aloud so very little). Though according to Nameberry’s predictions again a non-name middle (ie a noun - [name]Lark[/name], [name]Bear[/name], [name]Rose[/name]) is another big trend… not that I care much re. middle names. Except for [name]Rose[/name] - literally every single little girl I meet nowadays is ‘something’ [name]Rose[/name].

[name]How[/name] fabulous is Loveday? Loveday - Wikipedia I’m English (and studied Old and Middle English at University) and have never heard of it!

I do like [name]Charis[/name] (k-aris) - great suggestion. And I looked up some ancient Greek names yesterday on wikipedia (great list! List of Greek mythological figures - Wikipedia - scroll right down the page for names of individual nymphs and strange deities etc) and found [name]Chloris[/name] Chloris - Wikipedia who is the Greek version of [name]Flora[/name]. Also there’s [name]Calliope[/name] and I really like [name]Circe[/name]. Oh and [name]Calypso[/name]. And [name]Clio[/name].

I also liked [name]Thisbe[/name] from the suggestions above…

But… I guess I’m cheating a bit with my ‘no vowels’ rule with these ‘e’ endings (inc my original fave [name]Xanthe[/name]). And I should rule out [name]Calypso[/name] and [name]Clio[/name] on those grounds too. “[name]Thisbe[/name]/[name]Calliope[/name]/[name]Circe[/name] [name]Irwin[/name]” Requires an uncomfortable shift from e to ur? I am probably being fussy as I find my own ‘e’ end first name tricky with my married surname. I’ve ruled out huge swathes of names on the basis of a endings (most girls names seem to end in a) which is possibly silly too…

I’m so glad a few of you like [name]Amaryllis[/name] - I’ve liked that name for years and am only put off by the length of it.

As the weeks tick by though I’m getting more and more settled into [name]Artemis[/name]. I know there’s going to be a bit of a “that’s pretentious” from some when I announce that but I think i can live with it.

Though you’ve all given me some other options to think on… Thank you once again. I so truly appreciate it. And will definitely tell you what we eventually plump for!

ps [name]Pomona[/name] - doesn’t meet my no vowel ending but love it.

14

I love many of your list, especially [name]Clemency[/name] (as you can see it’s on my personal list, but I like [name]Clementine[/name] too), [name]Amaryllis[/name], and [name]Amity[/name] (You’re right, it’s kinda rare). [name]Xanthe[/name] is very pretty too but I think I slightly prefer the similar [name]Ianthe[/name].

[name]Reading[/name] your post, I suddenly think about [name]Arcadia[/name]/Arcadina. [name]Just[/name] an idea :slight_smile:

Amaltheia- like [name]Zeus[/name]’ nurse goat.
[name]Thalassa[/name]
[name]Alethea[/name]
Bellona

15

I like both [name]Amaryllis[/name] and [name]Artemis[/name], I think both are useable at least on this side of the pond. :slight_smile: [name]Amaryllis[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] and [name]Artemis[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] both sound lovely to my ear, and in the middle position [name]Pearl[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] is less troublesom.

Have you considered nn [name]Riley[/name]/[name]Rily[/name] for [name]Amaryllis[/name]? To be fair, [name]Riley[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] has that same sort of pause that [name]Claudia[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] has…

16

I had a look for nicknames for [name]Amaryllis[/name] and yes, [name]Riley[/name] came up. Quite like that after (don’t laugh) [name]Buffy[/name] the Vampire Slayer’s beau! But also found this nickname - Amary ([name]Amory[/name]) which though it is a boy’s name (I guess? From [name]Scott[/name] [name]Fitzgerald[/name]?) I quite like. I think possibly a nickname is less important to nail on the no-vowel-ending front as if you are saying your last name then more likely you’d use your full name.

Current sway in favour of [name]Amaryllis[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] after reading The Song of [name]Achilles[/name] this week and getting very upset about the goddess [name]Artemis[/name]'s insistence on poor [name]Iphigenia[/name]'s death/sacrifice! But then most of those gods have pretty unsavoury activities!