full names for Ellie and Lily

See the results of this poll: Lilian/Lily or Elowen/Ellie

Respondents: 39 (This poll is closed)

  • Lilian/Lily : 17 (44%)
  • Elowen/Ellie: 22 (56%)

I love them both, but I actually prefer [name_f]Lily[/name_f] on its own. [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] nn [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] is a favorite of mine:) So I voted [name_f]Elowen[/name_f].

I know two [name_f]Lilian[/name_f] “[name_f]Lily[/name_f]” girls who were born in the past two months. I think she may end up having to go by [name_f]Lily[/name_f] B or [name_f]Lily[/name_f] with the curly hair in class.

[name_f]Elowen[/name_f] on the other hand is absolutely unique and very beautiful. I knew one [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] in my whole life and she was a doll. I think that’s a great nickname.

I love both [name_f]Lilian[/name_f] (have always prefered the one L spelling as well) and [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]. While [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is certainly more rare than [name_f]Lilian[/name_f], the nickname [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] is very popular. We call our [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] “[name_f]Ellie[/name_f]” and “[name_f]Ellie[/name_f] [name_u]Lou[/name_u]”. But I have been looking at the 2015 SSA data for the U.S. And the name [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is rising rapidly and in multiple spellings (with all the spellings I counted 144). The most used variant is Elowyn followed by the original [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] and then the variants Ellowyn and Ellawyn. We pronounce [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] ([name_f]EL[/name_f]-oh-wen) with the emphasis on the first syllable which I know is incorrect in Cornish. We have less spelling/ pronunciation problems with [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] than [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] though! :slight_smile:

They are both beautiful choices and have great nickname options. [name_f]Lilian[/name_f] is classic and [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is whimsical but it is catching on. I don’t think you can go wrong whatever your choice!

[name_f]Lily[/name_f] with the curly hair haha :slight_smile:

I was concerned about [name_f]Lily[/name_f]'s popularity.

Thanks for sharing the information. Interesting that there was 144. It must be 144 parents who frequent name forums :slight_smile: I’d be okay if [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] got a little more popular but I do hope it stays relatively unique and doesn’t take off to the point of being trendy.

If you don’t mind sharing what reaction do you get when you tell non names your daugther’s name is [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you introduce her as [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] or [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]?

Bumping for more votes ”

Well against my better judgment I told my mom while I was pregnant and she cried! Obviously she’s good with it now! :slight_smile: When we tell non-namers her name we usually say [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]. In fact when you ask her her name (she’s almost 3) she exclusively calls herself [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]. If you call her sissy or something else, she will say “NO it’s [name_f]EL[/name_f]-LOW-WEN!” :smiley: So I am glad she loves her name! People usually think her name is pretty or they don’t comment (probably because they are not sure what it is exactly).

[name_f]Elowen[/name_f] has loads going for it. When we were looking for a name for her, I did find [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] here on Nameberry because I was looking for nature names. [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] as I am sure you know means [name_u]Elm[/name_u] Tree. Our oldest daughter’s middle name is [name_f]Hazel[/name_f], so I like the nature/tree link between them. I asked my husband what he thought of [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] when I found it and he immediately loved it (which doesn’t happen often!). We thought it sounded so sophisticated yet whimsical. It has an exotic and even medieval feel to it as well. It is easy to spell and relatively easy to pronounce. But it has 3 lovely syllables the are melodic when said aloud. The fact that it is a nature name makes it very appealing too. It has so many great nickname options and is a great alternative to [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] (which is #60 now). And like I mentioned before, I think a lot of people like the Cornish/Welsh/Elvish feel and “-wen/-wyn” ending of it without actually naming their daughter [name_f]Arwen[/name_f] or [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] (which are both beautiful as well). So I do think it will continue to rise but I can’t see it becoming a top 100 name. Especially since I think people “hear” the name and are spelling it phonetically (or maybe they think it is “unique”) and these variants are rising as rapidly or more even rapidly than the original [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]. With all the variant spellings, the original [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] will still be a beautiful and distinct name for us name nerds out there! :slight_smile:

With all that said, I do have some slight name regret only because there is a name that is more personally meaningful to us that I wished we had used instead. So if [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is the name you love I think you should absolutely use it!

[QUOTE=kelchristmas;3310111]Well against my better judgment I told my mom while I was pregnant and she cried! Obviously she’s good with it now! :slight_smile: When we tell non-namers her name we usually say [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]. In fact when you ask her her name (she’s almost 3) she exclusively calls herself [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]. If you call her sissy or something else, she will say “NO it’s [name_f]EL[/name_f]-LOW-WEN!” :smiley: So I am glad she loves her name! People usually think her name is pretty or they don’t comment (probably because they are not sure what it is exactly).

My mom is not too fond of [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] either but she still likes top 10 names from the 80s and 90s :slight_smile: so I don’t take her disapproval too seriously. My husband also loved [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] immediately. He hates [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] when I suggested it so go figure.

I hate that people are spelling it Ellawyn and Ellowyn UGH!

So cute that your [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] insists on going by her full name :slight_smile: [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] and [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] are just gorgeous together!

I love both options: [name_f]Lilian[/name_f]/[name_f]Lily[/name_f] are timelessly beautiful, and [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is so unique and whimsical. I voted for [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] because I think unique beats out trendy in this case. There will be a lot of little Lilys ([name_f]Lilies[/name_f]?) running around, but not as many Elowens! [name_f]Lilian[/name_f]/[name_f]Lily[/name_f] are lovely too, just a bit more conventional. So I’d say you should go with [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] nn [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] :).