Hey guys, I’m not pregnant, just a name nerd but wanted some input or suggestions. My grandmother’s middle name is Gay. She hates it now but I’ve always wanted to honor her in some way of i ever have a girl. Is there a name that could honor the middle name ‘gay’? Probably the closest in meaning may be joy, and ive thought about gayle but neither of those really seem to honor her. My mom suggested gaylee but its not really a name and still has the same teasing potential as Gay. This will be for the middle name. I could use her first name, but its equally hard to find a variation of, Sandra. Does anyone know any names that could honor either of those? Alexandra/Alessandra are not possible options, and i dont want to go with just Sandra or Sandy. Thanks in advance!
[name_u]Sasha[/name_u] could work, it sounds similar to [name_f]Sandra[/name_f] and they both derive from the same name/have the same meaning. I’m not sure if [name_f]Alessia[/name_f] / [name_f]Alessa[/name_f] are ruled out for you, but that could be an option too, as well as any [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] / [name_f]Alessandra[/name_f] diminutives, such as [name_f]Lexa[/name_f] or [name_u]Lexie[/name_u].
[name_f]Joy[/name_f] feels like a good option to honour [name_u]Gay[/name_u], it’s similar visually and meaning-wise. However, something visually very similar, such as [name_f]Fay[/name_f] or [name_f]May[/name_f], could work too. [name_u]Or[/name_u] something else that literally means “joy”, like [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] or [name_f]Blythe[/name_f].
Honoring your grandmother is a beautiful idea. Here are some suggestions:
Names that means joy/ happiness
[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] / [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]
[name_f]Laetitia[/name_f]
[name_u]Hilary[/name_u] / [name_f]Ilaria[/name_f]
[name_f]Felicia[/name_f]
Names close to [name_f]Sandra[/name_f]:
[name_f]Alexa[/name_f]
[name_u]Alexis[/name_u]
[name_f]Alessia[/name_f]
Gala/Galatea?
[name_f]Corisande[/name_f]?
Corisandre?
Corisandra?
[name_f]Cassandre[/name_f]?
[name_f]Cassandra[/name_f]?
Our family has a [name_f]Sara[/name_f] to honour a [name_f]Sandra[/name_f].
Could you use [name_f]Gaia[/name_f] as an honour for [name_u]Gay[/name_u]?
[name_u]Or[/name_u] is that to much of a stretch?
What about your grandmother’s first name? [name_u]Or[/name_u] maiden name?
love the idea of joy as an honour for gay!
and to honour sandra i really like sasha, sara/sarah, lexie/lexi/lexa or any alex- name!
I would say [name_f]Joy[/name_f] or [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] but could [name_f]Gail[/name_f] / [name_f]Gayle[/name_f] / [name_f]Abigayle[/name_f] be a contender at all?
Combining the sounds of [name_u]Gay[/name_u] and [name_f]Sandra[/name_f], maybe [name_f]Sadie[/name_f]?
Is there something you associate with your grandmother that could inspire an honour name? Like her favourite colour, flower, book, film, hobby etc?
[name_u]Shura[/name_u], [name_f]Zandra[/name_f], [name_u]Sanya[/name_u] are other [name_f]Sandra[/name_f] variants?
[name_f]Sanna[/name_f], [name_u]Sunny[/name_u], [name_f]Susanna[/name_f], [name_f]Lysandra[/name_f] and [name_f]Leandra[/name_f] came to mind as other [name_f]Sandra[/name_f] honours.
[name_f]Gaya[/name_f], Grayce/Grace, [name_f]Gaenor[/name_f], [name_f]Galya[/name_f], [name_f]Geila[/name_f] for [name_u]Gay[/name_u]?
[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there.
What about using her initials? If her name is [name_f]Sandra[/name_f] [name_u]Gay[/name_u], maybe you could do [name_f]Susanna[/name_f] [name_f]Georgia[/name_f], [name_f]Sofie[/name_f] [name_f]Gwendolen[/name_f], [name_f]Salome[/name_f] [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f] ( 
)
Other than that, I think that [name_f]Cassandra[/name_f] is a really good option.
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps. 
Her maiden name is S T A L L I N G S, which i don’t think works well as a first name. And first name is [name_f]Sandra[/name_f].
Thanks so much for the help and ideas you guys, i loved a lot of these options!!
Im really interested in [name_f]Salome[/name_f] and getting a lot of conflicting info online. [name_m]Can[/name_m] you tell me how you pronounce it?
I say it Sal-uh-may…I think Sal-uh-mee might be used sometimes too.