To me, [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] doesn’t scream “Ancient [name_u]Rome[/name_u]” – it’s more of a bright, feminine, international choice, a more unusual alternative to the likes of [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] and [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]. So I really think you can go either way here.
Seraphina would be a perfect sister name: equally beautiful and underused, and doesn’t feel like it’s backing you into any particular theme. But if you’re not loving the nicknames, some girl ideas that give me similar vibes as [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] and [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f] include…
I’m also really liking [name_u]Abby[/name_u]’s suggestions of [name_f]Octavia[/name_f] and [name_f]Valentina[/name_f] for you.
For a boy, I think [name_m]Marcellus[/name_m] really does set a precedent, and despite the similar origin, it feels way more “out there” than [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] to me. Despite its uncommonness, [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] has a lot of very fashionable sounds, whereas [name_m]Marcellus[/name_m] seems to make much more of a style statement.
Lucian, on the other hand, is gorgeous and I think strikes the same modern-yet-traditional balance as [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f].
Therefore I should probably add [name_m]Alaric[/name_m], [name_m]Tobias[/name_m], [name_f]Estella[/name_f] and [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] to [name_f]Katinka[/name_f]’s list.
We had [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] on the longlist for our fourth, who is an [name_f]Estella[/name_f], but in the end didn’t want an initial repeat and we already had an [name_m]Alaric[/name_m]
If they like [name_m]Marcellus[/name_m], I think another variation could work for a boy or girl
[name_u]Marcell[/name_u]
[name_f]Marcele[/name_f]
[name_m]Marcelo[/name_m]
[name_f]Marcella[/name_f]
These are less dramatically roman but still have a nice old feel to them, I like the simple [name_u]Marcell[/name_u] best
For a boy, I think Marcellus really does set a precedent, and despite the similar origin, it feels way more “out there” than Aurelia to me. Despite its uncommonness, Aurelia has a lot of very fashionable sounds, whereas Marcellus seems to make much more of a style statement.
I agree with this! [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] doesn’t automatically make me think “ancient [name_m]Roman[/name_m]” – it sounds similar to [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Arabella[/name_f], [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f], and other popular frilly girl picks.
If you went with [name_m]Marcellus[/name_m] for #2, I would recommend keeping up the trend of longer, elaborate names for future kids, but even then I wouldn’t say you had to stick to [name_m]Roman[/name_m]. For instance, [name_u]Abby[/name_u] gave [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] as an example of a name that would seem odd next to [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] and [name_m]Marcellus[/name_m] – but I wouldn’t bat an eye at [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] “[name_f]Poppy[/name_f]” in that set.
[name_f]Seraphina[/name_f] is gorgeous and a great fit with [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]. For NNs, what about [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_u]Seren[/name_u], Phia, or even [name_f]Sadie[/name_f]? ([name_f]Sadie[/name_f] works in my mind because it’s a traditional NN for [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]). If you don’t mind stretchy NNs – [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f] [name_f]Belle[/name_f] nn [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]?
*ETA: I agree that [name_m]Lucian[/name_m] is perfect with [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]! I love that [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] means “gold” and [name_m]Lucian[/name_m] is “light.”
I like [name_m]Elio[/name_m], [name_m]Prosper[/name_m], [name_u]Laurence[/name_u] or [name_m]Emilio[/name_m] for a boy.
And a girl maybe something like
[name_f]Valentina[/name_f], [name_f]Minerva[/name_f], [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]
I think [name_m]Lucian[/name_m] is just perfect with [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]. I don’t think I could do better but here are some other names, both ancient and more modern, that might go well with [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] (sorry for repeats):
I just wanted to add that, like @katinka I don’t at all think you need an ancient name. In saying that, there are plenty that go well with [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f], but to me something like [name_m]Marcellus[/name_m] is a bit too much. [name_m]Felix[/name_m], [name_m]Atticus[/name_m] and [name_u]Milo[/name_u] are, for example, ancient names that are also very fresh, contemporary options. I would personally be going in that direction.
My favourites for a girl with Aurelia are Clementine, Beatrix, Rosalind, Antigone, Paloma and Saskia. I also love Abby’s suggestion of Claudia.