[name_m]Hi[/name_m] Nameberry; it’s been awhile!
My husband are the closest we’ve ever been to actually attempting to conceive a real baby, so we’ve been chatting about names. I haven’t posted in a long time so want some fresh feedback on my current favourites!
The surname would be @rch!b@ld; my name rhymes with [name_f]Leela[/name_f] but starts with “Sh”; his is [name_m]Christopher[/name_m]-with-a-K; our cat is [name_f]Meadow[/name_f] and our dog is [name_f]Bonnie[/name_f]. For the longest time I planned that if we ever had children they would get a first name we just liked, then one family-related middle name and one just-because-I-love-it middle name; however there have been some deaths in our families in recent years and we’re leaning more toward using two family-related middles instead (much as it pains me). Names being versatile is important to me/us - anything we use will have to pass the President Or [name_m]Rock[/name_m] [name_f]Star[/name_f] Test.
One middle name I’d love some feedback on is how to honour my beloved grandmother [name_f]Verna[/name_f], who was my absolute favourite and who passed away a couple of months ago. I’ve considered a few variations on [name_f]Verna[/name_f] and find myself second-guessing whether they sound enough like [name_f]Verna[/name_f] - [name_f]Veronica[/name_f] is the one my husband likes best, and there’s also [name_f]Verena[/name_f]. Probably I would not use [name_f]Vera[/name_f] as it used to frustrate my grandmother when her name was mistaken for [name_f]Vera[/name_f].
The shortlist right now is:
[name_f]Linnea[/name_f]: we both really love the sound of this. I also enjoy that it has the possible nickname of [name_f]Lea[/name_f] (which I’d pronounce as [name_m]LAY[/name_m]-uh). I know it’s quite popular in the Scandinavian countries but we live in Atlantic [name_f]Canada[/name_f] and I don’t think I’ve ever met a [name_f]Linnea[/name_f]. It strikes the balance between serious and fun as well as uncommon but not ([name_f]IMO[/name_f]) too far out-there. Maybe [name_f]Linnea[/name_f] [name_f]Veronica[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] @rch!b@ld? ([name_f]Jane[/name_f] is also a family name.)
[name_f]Lila[/name_f]: I’ve loved [name_f]Lila[/name_f] for several years now. I’m not delighted with its popularity (I know that [name_f]Lila[/name_f] + [name_f]Lyla[/name_f] + [name_f]Lilah[/name_f] + [name_f]Lylah[/name_f] + [name_f]Isla[/name_f] + [name_f]Delilah[/name_f] can combine forces to look and sound like the same name) but this concerns me less than I used to since I sat my husband down to examine the many difficulties that being “[name_u]Chris[/name_u] A.” in every class through school had caused him, and to my surprise he seemed completely untroubled by it. I like that [name_f]Lila[/name_f] feels feminine but sharp, and I don’t mind that it has the same second syllable that my name does. (I might have grown fond of it while watching Friday [name_m]Night[/name_m] Lights?) I always used to pair it with my #1 guilty pleasure name, [name_f]Ismene[/name_f]; however if I were to try to incorporate a [name_f]Verna[/name_f] name into the combo, that might get a bit cumbersome - [name_f]Lila[/name_f] [name_f]Ismene[/name_f] [name_f]Veronica[/name_f] @rch!b@ld? [name_f]Lila[/name_f] [name_f]Veronica[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] @rch!b@ld?
The longer list:
[name_f]Clara[/name_f]: we both read The House of the Spirits recently and loved the [name_f]Clara[/name_f] character in it. I had never considered [name_f]Clara[/name_f] before that! I can’t decide whether [name_f]Clara[/name_f] @rch!b@ld sounds too… musty, maybe?
[name_f]Maia[/name_f]: just a name I continue to love seeing/hearing places. I like the warmth of the M, and its brevity, and I like it with @rch!b@ld. I think I prefer this spelling to the [name_f]Maya[/name_f] spelling - since a trip to Mexico, [name_f]Maya[/name_f] feels like it belongs there, if that makes sense.
[name_f]Helena[/name_f]: my husband’s late grandmother was [name_f]Helen[/name_f], so I had always imagined this as a middle name. I do love it, though - it feels very graceful and lends itself well to several nicknames. I’m undecided as to whether [name_f]Helena[/name_f] @rch!b@ld still feels like somebody else’s name. Also I’m undecided as to whether I’d go with the HEL-en-uh pronunciation or the huh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-na one, which seems important.
Other girl names I/we like include [name_f]Georgia[/name_f], [name_u]Keeva[/name_u], [name_f]Ramona[/name_f], [name_f]Serena[/name_f], [name_f]Norah[/name_f] (already in use in our family) and [name_f]Lucia[/name_f] (which would be on my shortest list but which unfortunately was used by an estranged relative recently, breaking my heart just a little). The boy names we’re most fond of right now are [name_u]Barrett[/name_u] and [name_u]Robin[/name_u].
(Also if anyone is dying to hear any of my other probably-destined-to-languish guilty pleasures, they include [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f], [name_f]Miriama[/name_f], [name_f]Galatea[/name_f], [name_f]Celeste[/name_f], and [name_f]Niamh[/name_f].)
