My Grandmother passed away 1 day before I found out I was pregnant. She asked me in the hospital when the baby was due, but we thought she confused me with my sister - now I think she knew. Anyway, long story short, I adored this woman! Her name, however, left a LOT to be desired. She HATED her name. I would love to honor her some how, but I am not sure what to do with the name. Here it is:
Rogene (prn ROW [name]Jean[/name]) [name]Ellen[/name]
What can we do??
Thanks
I would use the “[name]Gene[/name]” part of Rogene - maybe [name]Geneva[/name] or something like that? Possibly [name]Jean[/name] as a middle name?
You could also use [name]Ellen[/name] or any variation thereof- [name]Elena[/name], [name]Helena[/name], [name]Elle[/name], [name]Ella[/name], etc…
I’m so sorry to hear about your grandmother’s passing. 
Perhaps you could use an alternate form of [name]Ellen[/name] - [name]Helena[/name], [name]Elena[/name], or [name]Eleni[/name], maybe. [name]Rowena[/name] shares the first syllable of Rogene as well - just something to consider.
Good luck! 
Perhaps you could use [name]Jean[/name] in the middle and an R name in front? Something like [name]Rowan[/name] [name]Jean[/name], [name]Romilly[/name] [name]Jean[/name], [name]Rosemary[/name] [name]Jean[/name], [name]Rosalind[/name] [name]Jean[/name], or [name]Romola[/name] [name]Jean[/name]? Or you could use [name]Ellen[/name] or one of its many variants ([name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Helen[/name], [name]Helena[/name], [name]Elena[/name], etc.) in the front and Rogene or another R name in the middle?
geneva, genevieve, elena, elle, ella, ellie are all thoughts. or use the initials R and E. then you can have lots of options. or just use [name]Ellen[/name] as the middle name - it is not my favorite name but it is a simple one and nice for a middle
If your grandma hated her name, then I wouldn’t use it since she probably wouldn’t appreciate that. It’s kind like how my grandpa hated his name so much, which is [name]Donald[/name], and so he named his first born son [name]Ronald[/name]. He goes by his middle name [name]Gene[/name].
I’m guessing she hated Rogene? so [name]Ellen[/name] would be usable.
Other options:
[name]Jean[/name]
[name]Rowena[/name]
[name]Regina[/name]
[name]Rowan[/name]
[name]Eliana[/name]
[name]Elise[/name]
[name]Evelyn[/name]
I would use [name]Jean[/name], [name]Ellen[/name], or a variant of [name]Ellen[/name]. [name]Geneva[/name] is a great suggestion too. Maybe [name]Romilly[/name]? It’s a bit of a stretch, but it incorporates the [name]Ro[/name]- from Rogene and the [name]Ellen[/name]/[name]Ellie[/name] element.
I agree with others if she hated her name then a good idea is to use a variation, if there isn’t one you like you could always use something you associate with her. Maybe a personality trait and a name with that meaning, a person from the bible or a book that she admired or even a name she liked (if you know of one)?
I agree with catloverd, you shouldn’t name your baby Rogene if your grandmother disliked it. There are other ways to honor her. You could…
Use a name that has to do with something your grandmother liked.
This may sound stupid of me, but for example, you could use the name [name]Juniper[/name] if your grandmother loved nature, or something literary like [name]Matilda[/name] if your grandmother loved books.
Use [name]Ellen[/name] or a variation ([name]Elise[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Melissa[/name], etc.)
I am sorry for your and your family’s loss. Congratulations on your pregnancy, and that is a very nice anecdote.
You have many good suggestions here.
You could also consider her initials (R.E.) but take freedom in a broader range of names.
Rogene reminds me a bit of [name]Regina[/name].
Also given your anecdote, you could look for names that have to do with foresight or knowledge.
Oh also, names with meanings relating to “day” or “one” would touch on that story, I think.
So sorry for your loss. My first thought was of [name]Roisin[/name], the Irish name meaning “little rose”. Its pronounced Row-sheen, which is almost identical to the pn of your grandmas name. I think it’d be a nice way to honour her
That is an incredibly touching story, and I love that you’re naming the baby after her, but I agree that you shouldn’t use her name if she hated it. My grandmother was the same way, so we have used variants of her name.
I am going to be the odd man out here, though, and say that I love the idea of using [name]Ellen[/name]. [name]Just[/name] [name]Ellen[/name], as it is – no variation. I’m guessing that’s not the part of her name that she hated, and I think it’s classic but also fresh and would be beautiful on a little girl. And there are nice nn possibilities too ([name]Elle[/name], [name]Ellie[/name], [name]Lenny[/name], depending on your style) if you want to use a nn.
Another option would be to use her last name or her maiden name as a middle name (or first name depending on what they are). I’m a big fan of family names as middle names to honor past generations. And this works whether the baby is a girl or a boy.
Congratulations on your little one! Good luck with the name challenge!
What about [name]Regina[/name]? Seems like a more modernized version of her name. Also, [name]Ellen[/name] is fantastic [name]IMO[/name]. If you don’t like it, you can always use a variant- [name]Helen[/name], [name]Helena[/name], [name]Elena[/name], etc. Or you can always just use the same two initials- R.E.
I’m so sorry for your loss. The first thing that came to mind when I read your post was [name]Helena[/name] [name]Jean[/name].
Congratulations on your pregnancy and good luck!
There are a lot of great suggestions! I think a name that uses similar sounds or letters would honor her very well.
[name]Ella[/name]
[name]Eleanor[/name]
[name]Ellenorah[/name]
[name]Helen[/name]
[name]Honorine[/name]
[name]Imogene[/name]
[name]Rose[/name]/[name]Rosalie[/name]/[name]Rosemary[/name]/[name]Roselind[/name]/[name]Rosellen[/name]
[name]Gabriellen[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Geneva[/name]
[name]Margene[/name]
[name]Jeanette[/name]
[name]Genesis[/name]
[name]Ruby[/name]
[name]Rihanna[/name]
Oh! You could use [name]Elle[/name] in place of [name]Ellen[/name]! ([name]Just[/name] an idea that popped into my head)
Sorry about your grandmother. Everyone has nearly suggested everything I would suggest except maybe that you could find out what Rogene means and use a name that has the same meaning.
I’m sorry to hear about your grandmother, but congrats on your pregnancy and that is a very touching story. The only name I can think of that hasn’t already been suggested (I think) is [name]Eugenia[/name]/[name]Eugenie[/name] NN [name]Jean[/name]. I also think just plain [name]Jean[/name]/[name]Jeanne[/name] would be beautiful and unexpected as a first name.
What about using a name that has a similar meaning to your grandmother’s name?
[name]Ellen[/name] means “light” or “bright shining one” -this gives you many many many options since many names have a similar meaning including:
[name]Lucy[/name]
[name]Eleanor[/name]
[name]Helen[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Elena[/name] etc.
Rogene means “white spear” according to several websites, but I found one site that says it means “wisdom”. http://www.yourbabynames.org/name/rogene that would touch well on the story of your grandmother seemingly knowing about your baby before you did. 
names that mean wisdom:
[name]Sophie[/name] (and all its variations)
[name]Minerva[/name]
[name]Dara[/name]
[name]Wisdom[/name] has been used as a name as well
There are also many names that mean white or pure:
[name]Kathryn[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name] or [name]Guinevere[/name]
[name]Jennifer[/name]
[name]Bronwen[/name] or [name]Bronwyn[/name]
[name]Gwendolyn[/name] or [name]Gwen[/name]
etc.
I also like the pp’s suggestion of naming your baby after something that your grandmother loved or give her a name with the meaning of something she loved, like naming her [name]Melody[/name] if your grandmother loved to sing.