We are new parents of a baby girl and are seeking a first and middle name for her. I love the name [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] and my spouse loves the name Zenith. There are no other names that we like near as much as these. We agree that [name_f]Anne[/name_f] would make a nice middle name for either, but in order to use both [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] and Zenith we are thinking of using one as the first and the other as the middle. So it would be either “[name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] Zenith” or “Zenith [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f]”. We do not want to abbreviate either name as her official name.
We would love to hear thoughts on the following:
Name popularity shows “Zenith” to be used three times as frequently for boys than for girls, and Zenith makes some people think of the old television set brand. Is Zenith a high risk choice?
Which sounds better, “[name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] Zenith” or “Zenith [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f]” ?
In the case of one as the first and one as the middle name, I likely would use the name [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] and my spouse likely would use Zenith, perhaps using [name_f]Zee[/name_f] as a nickname. Would we be creating confusion by using both [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] and Zenith on a daily basis?
Looking forward to everyone’s thoughts and opinions!
I think Zenith sounds better on a boy. I don’t think that people will think of the brand. [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] Zenith sounds the best to me. It would be a bit confusing to most people if you called her by both names, I would just call her by her first name.
I like Zenith alot but then I normally gravitate to less girly,common names. So no, I don’t see it as high risk, and Zen is a cool nickname option.
I don’t find it confusing using both names.
I don’t think using both is a real problem. Whichever is her first name will most likely what others will call her but I wouldn’t think it was weird or anything if you used both.
Not totally the same but we call our daughter [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] by her full name, [name_f]Vivi[/name_f], [name_f]Viv[/name_f] or Vee. All interchangeable. My in-laws were obsessed on getting us to choose one name that we were going to call her and to their dismay, we didn’t. And guess what - it’s not a big deal!
The only time I met a woman named Zenith, the brand name did come to mind, but not in a detrimental way. In fact, it made it easy to remember her name.
Perhaps the use of Zenith as a girl or a boy name depends on the pronunciation. The American pronunciation where the first syllable sounds like “zee” seems feminine to me, whereas the British pronunciation where the first syllable sounds like “zen” sounds more masculine.
I agree that [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] Zenith does flow better. With that order, with first names tending to be used more often than middle names, she may be called [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] more often than Zenith, like on a school roster. In family settings, perhaps the middle name Zenith might be used more since one parent prefers it. It would be hoped that the young girl would be adaptable enough to understand that both names refer to her. Perhaps experienced parents can chime in on that one.
Sorry, but I would suggest that you keep looking to find a name that feels right to both of you as being called by two very different names isn’t ideal, and I do really think it would create confusion. I’m sure it is difficult for either of you to give up your favourite name but not agreeing and each calling her by their “own” name isn’t in the best interests of your daughter. Does either [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] or Zenith flow better with your last name? Maybe save one of them for a possible little sister in the future?
I think [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] Zenith flows best. In the case of Zenith [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f], the ‘th’ bumps into the harder sound of ‘cl.’ I think having nicknames is fine! [name_f]Zee[/name_f] is super cute. You may even find yourselves each using both. Ppl use nn’s interchangeably all the time!
I have a student (?) who’s name is Lyanna [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] (fake names used). First name is unusual, but very similar too a more common name in [name_u]Brazil[/name_u] (I’m going to use the example of [name_f]Lillian[/name_f], but the actual names have one-letter difference); second name is a traditional one. I took 1 day to understand that [name_f]Cate[/name_f] and Lyanna are the same person (and that LYANNA and NOT [name_f]Lillian[/name_f]). For me, it was not hard to accept it - she is both Lyanna and [name_f]Cate[/name_f] interchangeably. It kinda reminds me of my uncle saying “every group needs a [name_m]Chico[/name_m]”. [name_m]Chico[/name_m] is a traditional nickname for [name_m]Francisco[/name_m], but I have met many Chicos who were [name_u]Jo[/name_u]ão, [name_m]Pedro[/name_m], [name_m]Jos[/name_m]é and [name_m]Eduardo[/name_m] formally.
[name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] Zenith called [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] and [name_f]Zee[/name_f]/ Zenith is completely acceptable. I prefer [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] Zenith, because of the flow and I also like to put the gender-obvious name first, and the more familiar name in the first spot. But Zenith [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] is also beautiful.
So it seems that [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] Zenith is the better sequence due to a smoother flow and for using the clearly feminine name as the first name and the unisex one as the middle name.
Agreed that the use of separate first and middle names by each parent would not be a good idea, but comments suggest that nickname variations used by both parents can work. [name_f]Zee[/name_f] as a nickname indeed is super cute, and for a longer nickname, [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] [name_f]Zee[/name_f] is a wonderful option.
To the extent that Zenith is a stronger name than [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f], I see how it could be better to go with Zenith [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f]. So there are valid reasons to make either the first name. Perhaps in such cases the name that is expected to be used more should be chosen to be the first name.