So dh and I were throwing around the idea of using “[name]Willa[/name]”. We think “[name]Willa[/name]” is cute, but incomplete as a full name. We don’t see it as a name that can grow with a woman through the stages of life. However, the obvious longer version, Wilhemina (sp?) does not appeal to us at all. We like [name]Willa[/name] and we like [name]Mina[/name], but put them together and it sounds much too “old lady” for our liking.
Are there any other names that could yeild “[name]Willa[/name]” as a nn?
[name]Both[/name] of us had dear grandfathers with [name]William[/name] as a middle name, so it would be great to have that connection. Also, the grandmother I was closest to went by the nn “[name]Billie[/name]”. There is so much I like about using “[name]Willa[/name]”, I’d like to try to make it work somehow.
Any thoughts or ideas?
Thank you.
We are also considering the names [name]Eloise[/name] and [name]Clara[/name] at the moment.
I actually think [name]Willa[/name] ages fine, and I’m usually really picky about nicknames as given names. It’s definitely not on the same level as [name]Maisie[/name], [name]Molly[/name], [name]Kate[/name], or [name]Annie[/name]; it’s much more of a name in its own right. I adore [name]Eloise[/name] and [name]Clara[/name], though, and prefer them to [name]Willa[/name] personally. [name]Eloise[/name] [name]Clara[/name] is divine!
I think [name]Willa[/name] is fine as a complete name, it’s a favorite of mine actually. I don’t think it’s any more incomplete than [name]Clara[/name], they’re the same length and have the same ending. It’s not any shorter than [name]William[/name]. (Most people say [name]Wil[/name]-yum instead of wil-ee-am.) I don’t think there’s a longer form of [name]Willa[/name] other than [name]Wilhelmina[/name], which I sort of like because I like both [name]Willa[/name] and [name]Minnie[/name] as nicknames, but I agree it’s not a great name in and of itself. I think [name]Minnie[/name] is too cutesy to use on it’s own, but I think [name]Willa[/name] works on a little girl, a teenager, an adult woman, and an old lady.
[name]Willa[/name] is my favorite, with [name]Clara[/name] as a close second. I’ve never been an [name]Eloise[/name] fan myself, although there’s nothing wrong with it. Actually I think [name]Eloise[/name] is the name that’s hardest to picture a girl growing with. I can’t see it on a woman since it just makes me think of the little girl in the hotel.
Thanks for your input. I guess [name]Willa[/name] just sounds incomplete to us. It might help to know that our other daughters’ names are [name]Adelaide[/name] and Aila. So, maybe I’m thinking of [name]Willa[/name] as being incomplete when I compare it to those names.
I hadn’t thought of putting [name]Eloise[/name] and [name]Clara[/name] together. [name]Both[/name] of our daughters have 2 middles, so we’d probably keep that going with our third child. And the second middle would likely have some family connection so . . . [name]Eloise[/name] [name]Clara[/name] [name]Isabel[/name] (or [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Grace[/name], [name]Margaret[/name] . . .)
I guess I’m not yet sold on [name]Eloise[/name] or [name]Clara[/name], though they are both still under consideration.
Can you see [name]Eloise[/name] as a sibling of [name]Adelaide[/name] and Aila?
Thank you for your thoughts. It’s not necessarily the length (letters or pronunciation) of [name]Willa[/name] that makes it incomplete to me, it just sounds (at least to my ears) cute and nicknamey.
I don’t have the same association of [name]Eloise[/name] at the Plaza because I never read those books, though I do know of them.
Or (and some of these are a bit of a stretch, but hey, Pegge is used for [name]Margaret[/name] so…)
[name]Avril[/name]
[name]Havilah[/name]
[name]Twila[/name]
[name]Liliana[/name] – probably the most likely to have the nickname [name]Willa[/name]
[name]Willa[/name] feels complete to me on its own; to me it is just as complete as Aila. I do think it ages very well, it is really cute as a child, yet sophisticated for an adult. I see it as a strong name that is still very sweet, beautiful, honest and wholesome. But, I can understand your feelings.
I like the suggestion of taking a name like [name]Liliana[/name] or [name]Eliana[/name] and using nn [name]Willa[/name]. Yes, it is a stretch, but you can call her whatever you like
Maybe stick the ‘W’ in as a middle name – like [name]Liliana[/name] [name]Wren[/name] or something like that, so you can use a combination of her middle name and first name to get to [name]Willa[/name]? Or give her a completely different first name and use [name]Willa[/name] as a middle name, yet call her [name]Willa[/name]. I have never been a fan of giving a child a first name with no intentions of using it (and planning to call them by their middle name from the beginning), but it would be an option in this case.
FWIW, I like [name]Eloise[/name] but I don’t care for the nn [name]Ellie[/name] – it is way overused in my area. I am also a little tired of hearing [name]Clara[/name]/[name]Claire[/name], but I love the names. Some find them boring, but I like the simplicity of [name]Clara[/name]/[name]Claire[/name]. I like [name]Willa[/name] much more than both of those options, though!
I adore the name [name]Willa[/name] just as it is. I like [name]Wilhelmina[/name] quite a lot, too, but I like [name]Willa[/name] best. I think it sounds perfect on its own without being a nickname. God bless
I can see how [name]Wilhelmina[/name] could seem old ladyish, but the Scotttish varaint [name]Williamina[/name] is sweet and charming to me. [name]Willa[/name] on it’s own is my favorite form but if you don’t feel comfortable with it solely as a fn, there are also variants [name]Willamine[/name],[name]Willabelle[/name],[name]Wilmina[/name]
perhaps other names with a W and L could have [name]Willa[/name] as a nn?
[name]Whitley[/name]
[name]Waverly[/name]
[name]Winola[/name]- this is new to me, it is [name]German[/name] like [name]William[/name] and means “charming friend (!)”
[name]Eloise[/name] and [name]Clara[/name] are great to, [name]Eloise[/name] having a slight edge over the latter
