I had said earlier, I adore [name]Aster[/name], and [name]Blythe[/name] is pretty good. I don’t dislike [name]Blythe[/name] by any stretch, but it seems you have fixed on [name]Aster[/name], which just sounds brighter and clearer to me. [name]Blythe[/name] is sort of gauzy and soft. I don’t mean that it’s insubstantial in a mousy way, it just sounds quieter. So, to me, two different names. [name]Aster[/name] is the more boisterous one of those two names.
I did not address [name]Lark[/name]. I do not feel comfortable with this name for some reason. It’s a pretty bird, happy kind of name. But it has the most hard sound of the 3 names. [name]Aster[/name] is the median to me. [name]Lark[/name] is hard like [name]Mark[/name] or [name]Locke[/name]. It is hard to put into words just how this name “feels” as if a co-worker had this name, I would not think this fits an adult and was some sort of whimsy. I think hard but weak is a difficult combination to achieve, but [name]Lark[/name] feels so to me. [name]Wren[/name], to me, is just not there either. These names are kind of hard to say, short, odd, and seem more faddish. Maybe I just don’t like birds? Besides being happy as a lark, people often do zany things or out of their usual routines “just for a lark.”
[name]May[/name] be a sign of courage, fearlessness, flouting the rules for good reason, or just being irresponsible. I may never know what to expect from someone with that name, or just be too prejudiced against it - if not me, others. Teachers, co-workers, employers. If perhaps it is tease-proof in school age among her peers, how well does it serve the grown woman among adults, or even the child against a teacher? It seems the kind of name teachers would feel uneasy about, and expect to act up, keeping the tone down in the room by singling out [name]Lark[/name] instead of [name]Ellie[/name] or [name]Cady[/name].
Teasing is inevitable, but what is being rejected from employment opportunities than teasing where it really counts and hurts the chances of success? She may be very well socialized to be un-[name]Lark[/name]-like (which to me, makes the name lose if it’s not desired to fit the personality), or be [name]Lark[/name]-like in an artsy atmosphere where people feel more comfortable with Larks than your typical office. Being a baby or a small girl in pretty dresses charming everyone, with her happy happy name is cute, but this sort of name, to me, prescribes a definitive expectation among adults, which she herself may not like, and may count against her. It is not just kids who make dumb associations and remarks. Teasing in the school days is not the be-all and end-all of a name’s effect on the world.
I say this all to get to an idea I just had - one of my classmates in elementary school had the last name of “[name]Larka[/name]”. I believe she was of Swedish descent, but of course, I can’t call her and check. I have also heard of [name]Larkin[/name] (not sure spelling). [name]Both[/name] of these, but especially [name]Larka[/name] make an enormous improvement to the name [name]Lark[/name] to my ears and eyes, as well as imagery. Again, difficult to explain, and possibly subjective. I think [name]Larka[/name] is more like [name]Aster[/name]. It’s unusual, but it sounds more name-like than word-like. Where the word lark has some disposition to it as an expressive word in our language, [name]Larka[/name] escapes it for me. It sounds like a person who may be happy and curious, but can also be trusted to get the job done, and cooperate. Pretty, personable, smart, interesting, unexpected, yet balanced and responsible. She has an unusual name with just enough buffer from the zany world of [name]Lark[/name], while retaining the positives of the name.
I said I don’t like [name]Wren[/name] that much either. I think it has more to do with its sound like rend or wrench. It’s also, among a theme of birds, per se, as if a bird was chosen at random, like liking a name’s meaning and disregarding the sound and appearance of it. It’s just abrupt in a way that, say [name]Lauren[/name] (or [name]Karen[/name]) or [name]Renee[/name] isn’t.
You have a lot to consider, and it seems to weigh more and more the longer this indecision goes on. I think [name]Aster[/name] is the right name. I think being cautious is one thing, and over-thinking it is another (like I should talk!) It is appealing to adults in a healthy and positive way, an individualistic name without bouncing off the walls, pretty and also mature sounding. I like [name]Blythe[/name] too, I think [name]Larka[/name] may be quite an excellent name if you are still considering [name]Lark[/name].