[name]Hi[/name] there, my daughter is due in a few weeks and we are still undecided on a name. I would love your opinion on girls names that end with an “ie” sound such as [name]Naomi[/name], [name]Sophie[/name], [name]Maisie[/name]. I love them for a baby/child/teenager but am concerned they might sound too girly for an adult woman?
If you yourself were given a more “nickname sounding” name how have you found it as you became an adult?
[name]Do[/name] you think it makes a difference to how girly a name seems if it is the original spelling that has the “ie” sound (such as [name]Naomi[/name], [name]Zoe[/name]) or if its a nn form like [name]Maisie[/name], [name]Katie[/name]?
[name]Hi[/name], my name is [name]Jacqueline[/name], but growing up everyone called me ‘[name]Jackie[/name]’. Now that I’m entering the adult world (I’m 23) I am sooo glad that I can shed the diminutive [name]Jackie[/name] and use [name]Jacqueline[/name]. This is just my experience, but it’s nice to have the option of dropping the cutesy ‘ie’ name.
I think it makes a difference if it’s the actual name ([name]Emily[/name], [name]Zoe[/name], [name]Bethany[/name], [name]Mary[/name] for example) or a diminutive like [name]Katie[/name], [name]Maisie[/name], [name]Jackie[/name] (as pp mentioned). I don’t think the ending sound -ie is automatically childish but diminutives usually are dropped once the girl grows up.
I know plenty of grown up Katies and Sadies, and they all seem very grown up to me, and I think names like that are perfectly fine for adults.
Names like [name]Naomi[/name] aren’t nicknames and so I think they always sound appropriate (I love [name]Naomi[/name]!). Same with [name]Emily[/name]! And I like the name [name]Kylie[/name] a lot and I know several [name]Kiley[/name]/Kylies that are grown ups and I dont think its a problem at all.
So bottom line, if you love a name with an ‘ie’ ending, go for it!
My name is [name]Carie[/name] and although I didn’t care for it as a child I have come to love it as an adult. I do know that it can be used as a nickname for [name]Caroline[/name] and even [name]Carol[/name] (I would prefer [name]Caroline[/name]). As mentioned above I think it just depends on the name. But if you like it then I say go for it!!! I like my ie ending!!!
As others have said, not all ee-ending names are created equal. There is a huge difference between [name]Naomi[/name] and [name]Maisie[/name]. And, it has little to do with the ee sound and everything to do with the “formality” of the name. A traditional proper name like [name]Naomi[/name] is beautiful and sophisticated and ages brilliantly. A nicknamey name like [name]Maisie[/name] is cute on a small child, but sort of ridiculous on a grown woman. As a general rule, I think it’s always best to use a full formal name as the official first name, and if there’s a diminutive name you really love, make it the nickname. So, if you love [name]Naomi[/name], go for it! If you love [name]Maisie[/name], try [name]Margaret[/name] and use [name]Maisie[/name] when she’s little . . .
Ditto what everyone said about nns vs full names. Newer names like [name]Kaylee[/name] also sound little girlish. My grandmother’s full name is [name]Patsy[/name] and she hates. She wishes she had been named [name]Patricia[/name]. Same with her sister [name]Peggy[/name] [name]Sue[/name] who went by [name]Sue[/name].
My name is [name]Katie[/name], without a long form. I didn’t really think too much about that until I graduated from college and started working. It just doesn’t look as good on a resume. But i suppose I could always put whatever long form on my resume I wanted, no one but the hr person would know