See the results of this poll: Which do you prefer
Respondents: 28 (This poll is closed)
- Thea Miriam: 8 (29%)
- Blythe Miriam: 20 (71%)
Ohhh, I was really torn what to vote here, knowing your story. On the one hand, I think [name]Thea[/name] is gorgeous and as you say, has a lovely meaning and history, and you and your husband have loved it for a long time. On the other, [name]Blythe[/name] really is the perfect compromise between [name]Lark[/name] and [name]Thea[/name], and I don’t think it’s a grey compromise name - it really is one of my favourites. In the end, I have voted for [name]Blythe[/name], for 2 reasons. First, if I was choosing for my own baby, I would choose [name]Blythe[/name]. And second, I remember you said [name]Thea[/name] was the name you first went for, and it didn’t stick, and you say here that [name]Blythe[/name] seems to fit your daughter the best. Yes, neither of you would get your first choice, but I don’t think that’s a problem (the same happened with my parents, and I much prefer my name to the ones they each picked out). But it’s tough, because as I say, I do think [name]Thea[/name] [name]Miriam[/name] is lovely. So I’ve just gone for my personal choice.
You asked why we love [name]Blythe[/name]. Well, for me, it’s one of those perfect names - unusual but familiar, feminine but cool. I love how it’s a vintage take on the current word name (like [name]Lark[/name]) trend. Like [name]Lark[/name], I love how I get a feeling of freedom and happiness from it. Plus, for me it has a lot of positive associations. I think of the [name]Shelley[/name] poem “To a Skylark” (another [name]Lark[/name] link!) - “Hail to thee, blithe [name]Spirit[/name]! [name]Bird[/name] thou never wert!”. I also think of [name]Gwynneth[/name] Paltrow’s mother, [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Danner[/name], and how she’s beautiful and feminine and elegant, but strong.
To answer your initials query, I think because you have the extra initial in between B and J and in the middle of BMW, it’s not enough to worry about.
[name]Hope[/name] that helps at all! 
[name]Thea[/name] [name]Miriam[/name]: I love [name]Thea[/name], and think the flow of this name is fantastic! That said, I’ve heard [name]Thea[/name] pronounced as thee-uh and thay-uh, and I know that the tay-uh pronunciation exists, too, bringing potential pronunciation issue into play. (It may not bother you, but I thought I’d mention it because it may help you decide between [name]Thea[/name] and [name]Blythe[/name].)
[name]Blythe[/name] [name]Miriam[/name]: I love [name]Blythe[/name], and it’s one of my favorite names. I love [name]Blythe[/name]'s meaning (What’s better than happiness?), its sound, its timeless feel, and its elegant simplicity. To me, [name]Blythe[/name] is joyful human emotion, charm, and elegance all packed into one little name.
When I say “[name]Blythe[/name],” I feel happy and can’t help but smile. I love [name]Thea[/name], but it doesn’t make me feel happy or cause me to smile like [name]Blythe[/name] does. [name]Thea[/name] feels more serious and dramatic to me, and while that’s not a bad thing, I personally prefer names that embody cheerfulness.
Like you said, [name]Thea[/name] has deep historical roots, but [name]Blythe[/name] isn’t a new name, and human emotion has been around since the beginning of time.
[name]Miriam[/name] means “wished-for child,” and paired with [name]Blythe[/name], the full name means “happy and wished-for child.” I honestly can’t think of a more beautiful meaning if I tried! I think that [name]Thea[/name]'s meaning, goddess, is beautiful, too, but “goddess and wished-for child” doesn’t have the same sentimental meaning to me.
While I think that [name]Thea[/name] [name]Jackson[/name]-[name]Ford[/name] has a slightly better flow than [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Jackson[/name]-[name]Ford[/name], I’m voting for [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Miriam[/name], not only because I think [name]Blythe[/name] is an elegant, timeless, cheerful name, but because of its meaning and the fact that I’d love it as my own name.
I love [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Miriam[/name]!
Best wishes to you!
I can only echo what Lamps and [name]Jill[/name] have said. [name]Both[/name] [name]Thea[/name] and [name]Blythe[/name] are gorgeous.
[name]Thea[/name] [name]Jackson[/name]-[name]Ford[/name] has the better sound, but I think my vote goes for [name]Blythe[/name].
It’s classy, unexpected, soft, elegant, and with a strong back-bone. The meaning is also beautiful and makes me smile
I voted for [name]Blythe[/name]. It seems to be a fair compromise for both of you and it is a lovely name. I do like [name]Thea[/name] but [name]Blythe[/name] is also a fresh start. If you absolutely want to go back to [name]Thea[/name], the end of [name]Blythe[/name] with -the might be able to make [name]Thea[/name] work as a nn. [name]Just[/name] a thought.
Everyone has put it so beautifully and I fully agree with everything they said.
If it was my beautiful child I too would choose [name]Blythe[/name], it is more my style as I feel [name]Blythe[/name] has a beautiful free spirit vibe to it, It is a beautiful classic too, feminine, full of sweetness and classiness and not only that it is an interesting name.
[name]Blythe[/name] is the perfect fit and I hope that you feel that too.
One more vote for [name]Blythe[/name] (although not really a vote against [name]Thea[/name]). [name]Both[/name] beautiful names! I prefer [name]Blythe[/name] because I personally wouldn’t like the pronunciation questions with [name]Thea[/name] and because like one pp said, when I say [name]Blythe[/name], it makes me feel happy. I see it as feminine and strong, calm and dignified. [name]Thea[/name] has more drama, perhaps, but [name]Blythe[/name] is bliss, for me.
I’m not voting; I think either name would be wonderful. I just want to say that it doesn’t sound to me like [name]Blythe[/name] is really a compromise name. It may have started out that way, but it sounds like you really love it. If you had thought of [name]Blythe[/name] earlier, it might have been at the top of your list all along. So if you go with [name]Blythe[/name], I wouldn’t feel like you are simply “compromising”. You found a name you love, and that both you and your husband can accept as “right”. [name]Thea[/name] could also be the right name. Go with what your heart is telling you.
Thank you all so much for your eloquent responses. I’m feeling very peaceful about [name]Blythe[/name]. It is the first name that hasn’t been “not-[name]Thea[/name]” if that makes sense.
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Thea[/name] as a name. But something about it just isn’t doing it for my DD. Perhaps it is the dramatic flair and darker feel some of you mentioned. The multiple prounounciations also gives me [name]MAJOR[/name] pause. Regardless, as silly as it may seem, my DD isn’t [name]Thea[/name]. She could BECOME [name]Thea[/name], but she’s not [name]Thea[/name] right now… kwim? She does seem like [name]Blythe[/name].
One lingering doubt- she was named briefly both [name]Jewel[/name] and [name]Lark[/name] because she “felt” like those names. and then we un-named her them, when we realized they were rather silly. Looking at it now, both of those are more pet names, reflecting her sweetness. But she’s a four month old baby, of course she’s sweet! [name]Blythe[/name] is DIFFERENT than that, right? I haven’t just found another pet name for her, have I?
Thank you for the beautiful thoughts- curious (not doubting) where you find [name]Miriam[/name] meaning “wished for child”. I’ve always grown up thinking it meant “sea of bitterness” and, that’s all I can find in my references. She’s getting it as a tradition of women on my maternal side (myself included) having variants of [name]Mary[/name] as a mn…
wished for child is MUCH better than sea-of-bitterness (and, as a side note, how in the world does [name]Mary[/name]/[name]Miriam[/name]/[name]Maria[/name], etc… mean sea of bitterness?? This one, I’ve never understood)
[quote=“babygrey”]
Thank you for the beautiful thoughts- curious (not doubting) where you find [name]Miriam[/name] meaning “wished for child”. I’ve always grown up thinking it meant “sea of bitterness” and, that’s all I can find in my references. She’s getting it as a tradition of women on my maternal side (myself included) having variants of [name]Mary[/name] as a mn…
wished for child is MUCH better than sea-of-bitterness (and, as a side note, how in the world does [name]Mary[/name]/[name]Miriam[/name]/[name]Maria[/name], etc… mean sea of bitterness?? This one, I’ve never understood)[/quote]
oh! forgive me, THIS site lists it as “wished for child”… beautiful! I hadn’t even looked, since her mn was decided on long ago. (however, it does link it back to [name]Mary[/name], bitter… hm…)
one more question about [name]Blythe[/name]… I’m not into the lastnames as first names trend… does [name]Blythe[/name] fall into that category for you? For me, it doesn’t, but I’d also forgotten it was a lastname until we started seriously considering it (I first think happy, light, then [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Danner[/name])
I do hope you will save copies of these discussion board discussions for your daughter’s baby book. One day she may be interested in the story of how you chose her name, and these posts are one piece of it.
Also, one last thought. You said earlier that you were worried that if you went with [name]Blythe[/name] over [name]Thea[/name], you would be losing the history & meaning associated with [name]Thea[/name]. I wouldn’t worry about that, as your chosen middle name, being a variant of [name]Mary[/name], has as much history and meaning as any name out there. This is especially true, since you are following your family tradition in choosing a [name]Mary[/name] variant as middle name.
Saving them is a great idea! I hadn’t thought of that! I’ve been writing for her in a journal since I was pregnant, and I’m going to print these discussion and add them. Great idea.
and, that’s a great point about [name]Mary[/name]… you’re right, that name has as much history and meaning as any I can think of. Thanks!
I don’t think [name]Blythe[/name] is a pet name the same way [name]Lark[/name] or [name]Jewel[/name] might be. Although it’s a virtue name, it’s not even really a real word (variant of blithe, but it’s very firmly a name). If it’s not a name, then neither are [name]Grace[/name], [name]Hope[/name], [name]Faith[/name], [name]Verity[/name], etc. And I didn’t even know it was a surname, so I don’t have that association.
Your daughter is going to love how much thought you have put into this! Great story!
[name]Blythe[/name]!
So, my mom HATES [name]Blythe[/name]. 
I know she’s my DD and I am the one naming her, but mom thinks it is an ugly name, sounds like ‘blahh and blight’. To me, [name]Blythe[/name] sounds pretty and breezy. I don’t want my DD to have a name that sounds ugly to others. boo. I’m not going to eliminate [name]Blythe[/name] because of my mom’s opinion (she’s not fond of [name]Thea[/name], either- she LOVES [name]Jewel[/name]) but is my mom alone in thinking it is ugly? I reminded her of [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Danner[/name] and she said she’s always thought that was a weird name. She says my DD is going to hate her name if we name her [name]Blythe[/name].
[name]Just[/name] venting, sorry. I know I can’t please everyone. Thanks for listening.
Thank you so much for all your thoughts- those sentiments (both about how it is not a pet name in the same way [name]Jewel[/name] and [name]Lark[/name] can be) and how it isn’t a traditionally thought of surname turned name are how I feel, too.
[name]Hi[/name] there! To echo Lamps, [name]Blythe[/name] is not a last name to me at all. Granted, it was [name]Gilbert[/name]'s last name in [name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables, but that was an isolated case for me, much like [name]Grace[/name] in the actor [name]Topher[/name] [name]Grace[/name]'s last name.
[name]Both[/name] may be used as last names, but to me, they’re first and foremost virtue names. The same goes for [name]Hope[/name]. [name]Bob[/name] [name]Hope[/name]'s last name being [name]Hope[/name] doesn’t make me put [name]Hope[/name] into the “last names first” category.
I’m glad you saw the meaning of [name]Miriam[/name] on Namberry. For some reason, I’ve always known that [name]Miriam[/name] means “wished for child” (I may know this because I went to camp with a [name]Miriam[/name] growing up). I’ve read that [name]Mariel[/name]/Mariell means the same thing, yet I’ve also seen the “[name]Mary[/name]” definition attached to both names. (I choose the happier meaning.)
I also don’t think of [name]Blythe[/name] as a pet name at all, not even one bit.
I’m so sorry that your mom doesn’t like the name, but I have to respectfully disagree with her about [name]Jewel[/name]. (On Nameberry, [name]Pam[/name] and [name]Linda[/name] call it a generic gemstone name, without the modern style of a [name]Ruby[/name] or [name]Pearl[/name].) In my humble opinion, [name]Jewel[/name] doesn’t have the elegance of [name]Blythe[/name], and I guess I think of it as I do a name along the lines of [name]Tiffany[/name].
I can see [name]Jewel[/name] (or [name]Jules[/name]) as a nickname for [name]Julia[/name], [name]Juliet[/name], or [name]Juliana[/name], but I’m personally not a fan of it on its own.
To me, [name]Jewel[/name] and [name]Blythe[/name] are polar opposites stylistically, so I guess it depends on what you’re looking for.
(And I don’t mean to knock your mom or anything, but am just trying to point out that perhaps she prefers a different style of name than you do. I guess I feel that your mom had her chance to name her babies, and this is your time to shine.)
I guarantee you that we name nerds on Nameberry wouldn’t have voted for [name]Blythe[/name] if we thought it was ugly, but in the end, what you think is what matters.
If you’d like to start from scratch with new names, I know we’d be more than happy to help you!
Your baby girl will get a name, so don’t worry!
Hugs to you!
The more people who enter the mix, inevitably the more difficult it will be to agree. Given the angst you’ve already gone through on this, I’d limit the people who have veto-power over a name to you & your husband.
If your mom absolutely hates [name]Blythe[/name], you could suggest that she call your daughter by her middle name, [name]Miriam[/name]. I understand she (your mom) is happy with that choice of name. [name]Bonny[/name] could also be a nickname for [name]Blythe[/name]; the two names just seem to go together to me. [name]Blythe[/name] and [name]Bonny[/name]. [name]Bonny[/name] and [name]Blythe[/name].