Feminine vs. frilly

Yesterday we told my mom that we are naming our daughter [name_f]Chloe[/name_f]. She was pretty disappointed as she said it was too girly-girl for her taste and she likes stronger names. I knew she would react like that so I’m not too upset about it but it started me thinking, what makes a name go from just feminine to frilly or uber-girly? To me [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] is definitely feminine but doesn’t feel too froufrou, like it does to my mom. One of the other names we were considering was [name_f]Anabelle[/name_f] which to me borders on frilly but my mom actually liked it, which totally surprised me.
So berries, what are your most froufrou girl names and what makes them, not merely feminine, but soooo girly?

To me pretty much any name ending in the -ana trend seems very frilly. [name_f]Liliana[/name_f], [name_f]Ariana[/name_f], [name_f]Eliana[/name_f] etc. Probably because most of these names have a “root” name that can stand alone so adding -ana to the end seems unnecessary to me. Two girly names put together as a double barrel also strike me as frilly and/or cheesy: [name_f]Lilly[/name_f]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f]-[name_f]Sophia[/name_f]. I’m a pretty harsh judge of over-the-top frilly names and although I wouldn’t personally use [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] I don’t think it fits into this category at all.

There’s nothing girly-girl about [name_f]Chloe[/name_f]! It’s definitely a strong name while remaining destinctly feminine!

There aren’t many names I consider frilly. [name_f]Arabella[/name_f], [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], etc.

I think any name that ends in -ella -elle -bella or -belle is almost always frilly. Personally, my only problem with [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] is the popularity of it. I think its actually quite strong.

Some of my favorite ‘frilly’ names:
[name_f]Arabelle[/name_f]- the -belle ending definitely pinpoints the femininity in this one
[name_f]Valentina[/name_f]- the connection to love and Valentines [name_u]Day[/name_u] makes this very frilly
[name_f]Juliette[/name_f]- the -ette ending is another thing that makes names frilly, not to mention the [name_m]Romeo[/name_m] and [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] reference
[name_f]Aeliana[/name_f]- it’s very long and ends/starts with ‘a’. Also, the ‘li’ in the middle makes it girlier.
[name_f]Delphi[/name_f]- [name_f]Delphi[/name_f], along with other names that end in ‘i’ or ‘ie’ are in the frilly zone to me (EX [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_u]Julie[/name_u], [name_f]Lilli[/name_f])
[name_f]Alouette[/name_f]- I absolutely love this one! It’s so [name_m]French[/name_m]-sounding though, which makes it pretty girly.
[name_f]Alyssa[/name_f]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f]- both are girly names, and the hyphenation usually makes a name more feminine.
[name_f]Seraphine[/name_f]/[name_f]Serafina[/name_f]- These are just pretty outright feminine. I’m not really sure why.

These are my frilliest names! :slight_smile:

[name_f]Anabelle[/name_f] is feminine but not frilly. [name_f]Anabelle[/name_f] sounds strong. She can be [name_f]Ana[/name_f], [name_f]Annie[/name_f], or [name_f]Belle[/name_f]- none of which I consider frilly. [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] is very girly-girly.
Names that end in ‘ee’ tend to sound nicknamey and less mature ([name_f]Chloe[/name_f], [name_f]Hailey[/name_f], [name_f]Kylie[/name_f])
Names that end in -iana and -ella sound like they were dipped in pink and glitter ([name_f]Eliana[/name_f], [name_f]Arabella[/name_f])

I think [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] is soft and sweet and feminine, but I don’t think frilly at all. [name_f]Annabella[/name_f] would be frilly to me. [name_f]Anabelle[/name_f] is better, but all belle names are a bit frilly imo. [name_f]Annabel[/name_f] is the least frilly spelling and therefore my favorite.

Anyway, I think [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] is lovely. Your only mistake was telling her ahead of time! :wink:

On a side note, [name_f]Cleo[/name_f] is a stronger alternative.

To me it’s usually the longer names with -elle/-ella, -ette/-etta, -ana/-ane and -ina/-ine endings that I think are frilly, which I don’t think is a bad thing at all. (: I love quite a few frilly names.

[name_f]Chloe[/name_f] to me does not fall into the frilly cathegory, it’s more cute and sweet to me.

The feminine vs. frilly question is very subjective. For me, it has to do with sound (some names just sound softer to the ear), length (eg. the more syllables usually means more frills) and ending (elle/ella, ana/anna etc). To me, [name_f]Anabelle[/name_f] is frillier than [name_f]Chloe[/name_f], [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] is more girly than frilly and the similar [name_f]Zoe[/name_f] is spunky. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t let your mother’s opinion cloud your judgment or diminish the love your feel for the name [name_f]Chloe[/name_f]. Your perception different from hers and that’s fine.

For me, it’s how I view the name. There are a number of names I like (and do not consider “frilly”) that I know others see as frilly because they contain “ella” or “bella.” I know my personal distinction between feminine and frilly isn’t consistent and therefore can’t be based purely on the way a name sounds.

I find [name_f]Ariella[/name_f] to be a non-frilly, strong name because of its meaning and its heritage, and I like that it has a feminine sound in spite of its strength. On the other hand, I find [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] to be exceptionally frilly-sounding. And while I find [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] to be arguably the most substantive-feeling names available to girls, there’s nothing inherent in their meanings or sounds that should elevate them far above [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] or [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] and yet my view of [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] and [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u], while not negative, is that those names don’t carry the gravitas of [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] or [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]. Maybe it’s the history behind the names, but there is something other than sound and meaning that operates to form my view of a name’s relative femininity or frilliness.

[name_m]Just[/name_m] to clarify, I take my mother’s opinions with a grain of salt and have no intentions of changing [name_f]Chloe[/name_f]. It’s just interesting to me that she sees it as almost offensively girly whereas I don’t feel that way at all. It’s not surprising to me though as she never let me wear anything pink or remotely girly as a child (but that’s a whole other story!) and has a very negative attitude towards anything very feminine.
To the poster who suggested [name_f]Cleo[/name_f], we love the name. We actually named our first kitty [name_f]Cleo[/name_f]. She passed away last year so it still has a strong association for us. Otherwise it would definitely have been in the running.
I’m just really interested in how we almost instinctively put names into categories such as frilly, spunky, sporty, etc… and what the factors are that help us decide.

I agree, [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] doesn’t seem frilly at all, but is definitely feminine. [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] on the other hand is quite frilly in my opinion.
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f] seems like it is in between [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] and [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] in terms of frilliness.
.
Names I consider frilly: [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], [name_f]Angelina[/name_f], [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f], [name_f]Anastacia[/name_f], and [name_f]Clementine[/name_f]…oh, and [name_f]Elizabetta[/name_f].

[name_f]Non[/name_f]-frilly but feminine: [name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_u]Everly[/name_u], [name_f]Eva[/name_f], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], and [name_f]Juliet[/name_f]

No frills, no fuss, fun, at least a touch of girliness: [name_f]Faye[/name_f], [name_f]Neve[/name_f], [name_f]Raquel[/name_f], [name_f]Bree[/name_f], [name_f]Ruth[/name_f], and [name_u]Gwyn[/name_u].

[name_f]Chloe[/name_f] is beautiful & feminine not girly to me. The same with [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]. Best.
[name_f]Tiffany[/name_f] is girly, frou frou & frilly I think - but I like it !

I wouldn’t consider [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] or [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] frilly! They are both beautiful names.

Names I consider frilly (I personally love frilly names!)

  • [name_f]Arabella[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Lucinda[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Georgina[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Valentina[/name_f]