Our FN is set in stone if it’s a girl, has been since before our first baby was born-- Mayna. It’s a very significant name for us, especially with it’s Chinese meaning, which uses one Chinese character that represents my heritage, and one that represents my wife’s Naxi (Chinese ethnic minority) heritage.
However, for the MN, I just can’t be convinced to like any of our options. We’d like to use a name that has family significance, and these listed names all have that. Can you help convince me to use one of them? Or is there a way that a family member with one of these names could be honored with a different MN that you can think of?
[name]Rose[/name] (would sound nice with Mayna, but it just feels so much like one of those modern day filler MNs)
[name]Lee[/name] (too boring for me)
[name]Hazel[/name] (I like this name, but again this side of the family line was honored already with our first son’s MN)
[name]Kathryn[/name] (it’s my mom’s name, but I feel like my mom already ‘owns’ it, and I’d prefer a family link from a generation or two older than my mom’s generation)
[name]Pauline[/name] (just can’t be convinced to like it)
[name]Phyllis[/name] (kind of wish I could be convinced to like it, but my grandma doesn’t even like her own given name)
[name]Ruth[/name] (too boring for me)
[name]Betty[/name] (just can’t be convinced to like it)
[name]Virginia[/name] (don’t like the double ‘a’ ending with Mayna)
[name]Vera[/name] (same as above)
[name]Wilma[/name] (same as above)
Can you convince me to like one of these as a MN option? Or can you come up with a way to honor any of these family members with another MN option?
Or would it be strange to choose two middle names, just to have some variety? What about Mayna [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Rose[/name]. I’ve never been a fan of double MN, but maybe that would help me like the MN options better. Mayna [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Rose[/name] would also honor two side of the family, how do [name]Hazel[/name] and [name]Rose[/name] sound together as a double MN?
For [name]Pauline[/name], try [name]Paulette[/name]. For [name]Phyllis[/name], try [name]Felicity[/name]. For [name]Ruth[/name], try [name]Truth[/name].
[name]Rose[/name] - I love [name]Rose[/name]. I know it’s often a filler, but it’s so beautiful. [name]Rosalie[/name], [name]Rosa[/name], Rosea, [name]Rosine[/name], [name]Roselle[/name], Royse, [name]Rosita[/name], Rohese
[name]Lee[/name] - I see what you mean… [name]Lee[/name] (the surname) derived from the word [name]Leah[/name].
[name]Hazel[/name] - Aha, well then it’s out. If not, do the two middles thing you suggested.
[name]Kathryn[/name] - I agree with you. [name]Kate[/name], [name]Katell[/name]?
[name]Pauline[/name] - I agree with you. Russian [name]Polina[/name] is adorable though.
[name]Phyllis[/name] - Hmmm. Well, tragic myth behind it, but she turned into an almond tree… I know this is out there, but Philmomene?
[name]Ruth[/name] - I like [name]Ruth[/name] but I agree it’s not for you. It means friend, as does (haha) [name]Philomena[/name]. And [name]Philomela[/name].
[name]Betty[/name] - Hmmm. No I agree with you. [name]Babette[/name]? [name]Elle[/name], [name]Lison[/name], [name]Liesel[/name] are all diminutives from [name]Elizabeth[/name] as well.
[name]Virginia[/name] - Aha. [name]Virgine[/name], the french version.
[name]Vera[/name] - [name]Veer[/name], Veerke, Verusha (ok, that doesn’t help with the -a ending, but it’s pretty!)
[name]Wilma[/name] - It’s the short version of [name]Wilhelmina[/name] so, [name]Wilhelmine[/name], Willemijn (so cute!), Mimmi, [name]Minnie[/name], Helmi.
@andi- I really like the suggestion of [name]Felicity[/name]. I think I’ll have to ask my grandmother if she feels like that honors her name. If so, this would definitely be a strong possibility.
@alphabetters- We have actually strongly considered [name]Rosalee[/name] or [name]Rosalie[/name] to combine those two family names. It’s definitely a possibility, but I just can’t bring myself to feel solid about it. I had thought about [name]Verity[/name], but I’m feeling it’s a bit of a stretch from [name]Vera[/name] (especially since [name]Vera[/name] is already just a bit further off on the family tree itself than some of the others— it’s my grandma’s sister’s name).
@ottilie- Some great suggestions in there. I’m gonna need to sit on some of them for a little while. Some of those [name]Rose[/name] variations we have considered, especially [name]Rosalie[/name]. Some of the ones that end with the ‘a’ sound I’m afraid wouldn’t work well together with Mayna. [name]Kate[/name] is another viable option, one my mom would really appreciate. [name]Polina[/name] is really nice, but again, that ending ‘a’ sound. [name]Philomena[/name]/Philomila are great names, but I feel it’s a bit of a stretch for family honoring purposes. [name]Wilhelmine[/name] is another one I really like a lot. I might have to let this possibility float around a bit.
I might suggest Mayna [name]Willow[/name]. This alludes to the meaning of your grandmother [name]Phyllis[/name]’ name (“green bough”) and the willow tree is a meaningful subject in Chinese art & poetry. It also incorporates the name [name]Wilma[/name], with the first syllable in the middle and the second syllable in the first name.
@peanut- Very interesting indeed. It may be a bit loose on the connections to family, but it is cool that there are two connections. I’ll have to keep that one in mind. Very well thought out possibility. And it sounds great together with Mayna.
I have a grandmother [name]Phyllis[/name] as well and we plan to use [name]Felicity[/name] to honor her. It just feels like a more modern spin on the name. I think Mayan [name]Felicity[/name] would be stunning. Maybe [name]Rue[/name] as a more modern spin of [name]Ruth[/name]? Or [name]Verity[/name] for [name]Vera[/name] the meanings are extremely similar as is the sound but it would get rid of the double a sound. Good [name]Luck[/name]!
@dillonsfan- Yeah, I’m really leaning more and more towards [name]Felicity[/name] the more I think about it. It has the sound of [name]Phyllis[/name] right inside of it, but I like it a lot more. If my grandma feels happy about the idea of us using this as a MN, and feels honored by it in some way, then it’s probably the strongest possibility. We’ve thought about [name]Verity[/name] as well, but I just can’t bring myself to like it with Mayna and our last name ([name]Luckie[/name]) enough.
What about using [name]Elizabeth[/name]? We are using [name]Elisabeth[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] as a middle name to honor a [name]Betty[/name] [name]Lou[/name], my husband’s grandma. Mayna [name]Elizabeth[/name] is so pretty! Mayna [name]Elise[/name]?
[name]How[/name] about [name]Rosaleen[/name] ("[name]ROZ[/name]-ah-leen") to honor [name]Rose[/name] and [name]Lee[/name]? Has a little more bite than [name]Rosalie[/name], and there’s a great poem about “my dark [name]Rosaleen[/name]”
[name]Rosalind[/name] has an incredible Shakespearean namesake.
I love the Welsh [name]Catrin[/name] ("[name]CAT[/name]-rin") - could be an unexpected way to use [name]Kathryn[/name].
Thanks for the further replies! Lots of good ideas in here.
@ [name]Libby[/name]- I think we’re gonna shy away from the name [name]Elizabeth[/name], mostly because it was the name of an ex from college that was quite a serious relationship.
@ [name]Emma[/name]- [name]Rosaleen[/name] and [name]Rosalind[/name] are both great suggestions, and have been put on the short list. [name]Catrin[/name] is pretty cool too, but sounds perhaps too much like a mispronunciation to my mom’s ear (and since she’d be the one being honored with this MN, it’d be strange if she didn’t like it).
@ [name]Kala[/name]- Thanks for the suggestions! I have never thought of combining [name]Vera[/name] and [name]Lee[/name]. My grandma would probably love that as it’s be a combination of honoring both her and her sister. I’ll have to keep that one in mind.