My husband and I are expecting our first child, a baby girl, in [name_u]January[/name_u] and naturally, baby names are very much on our minds.
We’re both half European (me: Greek/American DH: Norwegian/American) and since I’ve always loved Greek mythological names, we’ve agreed on our daughter having a Greek/Greek mythological first name and a Norwegian middle name (or the other way around).
I’ve totally fallen in love with the name [name_u]Penna[/name_u]. It’s a variant of [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] and, in my opinion, super cute and feminine. DH doesn’t agree but says that he would be okay with [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] which I don’t like nearly as much.
Other Greek names we like include:
[name_f]Gaia[/name_f]
[name_f]Aura[/name_f]
[name_f]Calliope[/name_f]
[name_f]Daphne[/name_f]
[name_u]Nike[/name_u] (I know - not the most charming associations - but still cute in my opinion)
[name_f]Selene[/name_f]
[name_f]Iris[/name_f]
[name_f]Clio[/name_f]
[name_f]Ariadne[/name_f]
[name_f]Athena[/name_f]
But I just don’t [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] any of them, so I wanted to hear if you guys had any suggestions for Greek mythological/Norwegian names or combinations of the two?
And what do you think of [name_u]Penna[/name_u] as a first name to a girl?
I agree! [name_f]Liv[/name_f] [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f] is a beautiful name - will be telling my husband about this one! I can’t believe I hadn’t thought about the combo!!
[name_u]Damaris[/name_u] is also a very pretty name - hadn’t heard of that one. [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f] [name_u]Damaris[/name_u] maybe? Or [name_u]Damaris[/name_u] [name_f]Liv[/name_f]?
Not so fond of [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] - can’t keep myself from automatically thinking about telephones
I also like [name_f]Matilde[/name_f] but DH has two family members on the Norwegian side with the name so we don’t want to add another one
[name_f]Clio[/name_f] [name_f]Matilde[/name_f] is very cute though!
There are so many beautiful Greek names out there, I’m sure you have no trouble finding Greek names that you like. Norwegian names are names that I find harder because I’m not sure which names are considered Norwegian. I love [name_f]Calliope[/name_f], [name_f]Clio[/name_f], [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f], [name_f]Athena[/name_f], [name_f]Liv[/name_f] and [name_f]Frida[/name_f] for first names on your list.
Other Greek names I like are [name_f]Calista[/name_f], [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f], [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], and [name_f]Thalassa[/name_f].
I think [name_f]Freya[/name_f] is the most beautiful name and it’s Norse.
I also love the suggestion of [name_f]Liv[/name_f] [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f].
There’s also [name_f]Penthia[/name_f] that can give you the nickname [name_u]Penna[/name_u].
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] is so sweet but (much to my surprise) apparently not used very commonly in Norway ??! Also, it’s spelled “Frøya” in Norwegian which I think would be a bit too weird. I’d rather not give my child a name with letter in it that isn’t in the English alphabet haha
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] (if DH were to agree to the Americanized spelling) could be paired with so many gorgeous mn’s though:
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] [name_f]Callista[/name_f]
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] [name_f]Thalassa[/name_f] (love this one!!)
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f]
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] [name_f]Iris[/name_f]
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] [name_f]Calliope[/name_f]
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] [name_f]Athena[/name_f]
… basically all of the Greek names that we’ve though about!
[name_f]Penthia[/name_f] is lovely as well and I like the [name_u]Penna[/name_u]-possibilities!
Perhaps [name_f]Penthia[/name_f] [name_f]Liv[/name_f] or [name_f]Penthia[/name_f] [name_u]Malin[/name_u]?
Another Greek name is [name_f]Maia[/name_f] which I think sounds really nice with [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f]. I also like [name_f]Calliope[/name_f] [name_u]Malin[/name_u].
It’s true that Frøya isn’t used much in Norway, I think a big part of the problem is that our best chocolate brand is called [name_f]Freia[/name_f], pronounced almost exactly the same, so it feels more like a brand name than a child’s name (it’s the best milk chocolate in the world if you ask me!). The same is true with Idunn, it’s the most common ketchup brand
There’s a resurgence of Old Norse names these days though, people are getting more creative and looking to the past for inspiration, and I think Frøya will climb a little in the following years, as will Idunn.
Other Nordic/Norse/Norwegian suggestions:
[name_f]Nanna[/name_f] - wife of Balder, god of poetry
[name_f]Eira[/name_f] or [name_f]Eir[/name_f]
[name_f]Elida[/name_f]
[name_f]Signy[/name_f] or [name_f]Signe[/name_f]
[name_u]Tora[/name_u] or [name_f]Thora[/name_f]
Ellisiv - Old Norse form of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]
[name_u]Alva[/name_u] or Alvilda
Vorin
Duva - one of the billow maidens from myth
[name_f]Liva[/name_f]
Vivendel - Norwegian for Honeysuckle
[name_f]Lovisa[/name_f]
Soleia / Soleie - Norwegian for [name_f]Buttercup[/name_f]
[name_f]Syrin[/name_f] - Norwegian for [name_f]Lilac[/name_f]
Symra / Symre - Norwegian for [name_f]Anemone[/name_f] or [name_f]Primrose[/name_f]
