Help for name with our strange surname

So I am certainly looking for people’s opinion on our name choices. Unfortunately, our surname (Jelly) is a little strange, and it makes selecting a name a little bit harder. [name]Both[/name] DH and I have first names that begin with L, so we’d like to avoid that, but… Would it be cruel to name the baby a J name? Okay… Opinions please… [name]Feel[/name] free to be totally honest, and we are certainly open to new suggestions.

[name]Julia[/name] Jelly ( I love this name, but does it sound like a cartoon character?)
[name]Stella[/name] Jelly ( too many LLs?)
[name]Tea[/name] Jelly (pronounced [name]Tay[/name]-a)
[name]Violet[/name] Jelly
[name]Reese[/name] Jelly
[name]Avery[/name] Jelly
[name]Eloise[/name] Jelly
[name]Rebecca[/name] Jelly
[name]Beatrice[/name] Jelly

Oh, and I forgot to mention… We’re having a girl… Due in [name]March[/name].

I would avoid any noun names, so [name]Violet[/name] and [name]Reese[/name] (due to the candy) are out. This is going to be hard.

I think a classic, strong name would be best. I like [name]Julia[/name] Jelly- it flows off the tongue well and sounds nice. It could be a cartoon character, but any combo with the surname being Jelly has that issue. [name]Stella[/name] Jelly does sound more cartoony than the others, but that’s probably because of a personal association.

[name]Eloise[/name] Jelly, [name]Beatrice[/name] Jelly and [name]Julia[/name] Jelly are my favorite choices from your list.

Suggestions:

[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name] ([name]Just[/name] don’t call her [name]Genny[/name])
[name]Erin[/name]
[name]Jennifer[/name]
[name]Amanda[/name]
[name]Miranda[/name]
[name]Mira[/name]

I think [name]Julia[/name] Jelly somehow lessens Jelly. [name]Stella[/name] Jelly emphasizes the LL sound so I would avoid that. My pick is [name]Julia[/name]! Good luck!

[name]Julia[/name] Jelly- Unfortunately, I agree with you. Cartoon character. [name]Julia[/name] is such a pretty name too. Maybe use it as a middle name?
[name]Stella[/name] Jelly- The mathcing number of syllables and the similar placing of the double "l"s throws this name off.
[name]Tea[/name] Jelly (pronounced [name]Tay[/name]-a)
[name]Violet[/name] Jelly- I would be careful with color names. It sounds like you are describing the color of some type of jelly.
[name]Reese[/name] Jelly- I like this name and [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Reese[/name] on a girl.
[name]Avery[/name] Jelly- Third best name option on your list, though I prefer [name]Avery[/name] on a male.
[name]Eloise[/name] Jelly- My favorite. Such a pretty name and it doesn’t sound awkward with your last name!
[name]Rebecca[/name] Jelly- Doesn’t sound bad, but be careful. Many people probably would want to give her a nn (I never liked nns haha) and would either call her [name]Becky[/name] or [name]Becca[/name]. [name]Becky[/name] Jelly… [name]Becca[/name] Jelly.
[name]Beatrice[/name] Jelly- I never liked the name [name]Beatrice[/name]. So I can’t judge this name too fairly.

I like these 3 syllable names that end in “a”
[name]Christina[/name] … Miss [name]Christa[/name] Jelly
[name]Cynthia[/name] … Miss [name]Thea[/name] Jelly (tay-a)
[name]Francesca[/name] … Miss Chessa Jelly
[name]Sabrina[/name] … Miss [name]Brina[/name] Jelly

of your list I like [name]Rebecca[/name]… Not sure if you would want to use [name]Becky[/name] as nickname… I’d stay with [name]Becca[/name]… Miss [name]Becca[/name] Jelly is cute to… Congrats !!

I think you could use [name]Julia[/name], [name]Avery[/name], [name]Eloise[/name], [name]Rebecca[/name], [name]Beatrice[/name]. I really like [name]Beatrice[/name] and [name]Julia[/name]. Good luck! I don’t think you should use:

[name]Stella[/name] (yes, sorry too many L’s)
[name]Violet[/name] (descriptively sounds like “grape jelly”)
[name]Tea[/name] (even pronounced [name]Tay[/name]-a, it still looks like the word “tea”)

That is a tough last name.
I think [name]Rebecca[/name] and [name]Beatrice[/name] work best by far!
I would stay away from names with a strong “el” syllable like [name]Eloise[/name] or [name]Stella[/name] or ‘y’ endings like [name]Avery[/name] or noun names that sound like food. Thats a lot of restrictions so I feel for you!

[name]Rebecca[/name] Jelly
[name]Beatrice[/name] Jelly
[name]Catherine[/name] Jelly
[name]Louisa[/name] Jelly
[name]Susannah[/name] Jelly

[name]Julia[/name] Jelly is fine. I love [name]Julia[/name], but the best names are the names that have NO sounds in common with Jelly like fairchild suggested. Sadly, that would mean no y endings, no Ls and no Js. :frowning: Many of my favorite names have those sounds so I would go with a name you love rather than a name you love less but sounds better.

[name]Vivian[/name] Jelly
[name]Marguerite[/name] Jelly
[name]Alice[/name] Jelly

[name]Julia[/name] Jelly I don’t think it’s terrible but not ideal. The J & the L are shared so it’s beyond alliteration
[name]Stella[/name] Jelly ( too many LLs?) Yes! Rhymey.
[name]Tea[/name] Jelly (pronounced [name]Tay[/name]-a) At a glance this could be on a grocery list.
[name]Violet[/name] Jelly grapes come to mind. I would avoid colors or food names
[name]Reese[/name] Jelly Reeses peanut butter & jelly
[name]Avery[/name] Jelly sounds a bit like savory
[name]Eloise[/name] Jelly a bit overly cute sounding with the shared L but it’s the best one so far
[name]Rebecca[/name] Jelly yes! This longer classic name tempers your short/word name surname!
[name]Beatrice[/name] Jelly yes! I like this more than [name]Rebecca[/name]

I think longer, more serious names that avoid the J & L work best.

[name]Juliette[/name] or [name]Julianne[/name] or [name]Juliana[/name] might work better than [name]Julia[/name] cause they add an un-repeated consonant into the mix. [name]Julia[/name] isn’t awful, but [name]Beatrice[/name] & [name]Rebecca[/name] do work better

Here are the ones I’d avoid:
[name]Julia[/name] Jelly – Very cartoony. Like a little carton girl that they use to advertise jelly
[name]Stella[/name] Jelly – [name]WAY[/name] to cartoony as well! I’d avoid ALL ella/elle names
[name]Tea[/name] Jelly – While it’s not pronounced that way, I’d avoid food names
[name]Violet[/name] Jelly – [name]Fancy[/name] way of saying grape jelly?
[name]Reese[/name] – [name]Just[/name] because it’s another word

The rest are fine. Of all of your options, the more and more (strong) syllables the names seem to have make it sound better. Meaning:
[name]Rebecca[/name] and [name]Eloise[/name] sound better than [name]Beatrice[/name] and [name]Avery[/name] (both which have a very silent third syllable in some pronunciations)

If you like [name]Tea[/name] and [name]Julia[/name] but both are a tad unusable, so what about [name]Talia[/name] Jelly?
I do like [name]Beatrice[/name] Jelly as well, but I think [name]Talia[/name] is a good mix of unique but not comic book-ish

Actually, I love the double J idea. I’m just not sure [name]Julia[/name] is the right way to go – I agree with pps that it sounds a little cartoonish. [name]Juliet[/name] Jelly, though, sounds amazingly stunning to me. Also [name]Josephine[/name] Jelly is a great, great name. And [name]Josie[/name] Jelly is super cute. Personally, I’d stay away from the “a” names (something about the way they sound with Jelly doesn’t sit right with me) and stick with names with either hard consonants or the “een” or “ee” sound at the end. I also agree with pp that noun names are out, and I’d stay away from [name]Tea[/name] too, since that could be read as tea (as in the hot liquid) jelly.

My overall vote goes to [name]Josephine[/name] Jelly. But from your list, I like [name]Beatrice[/name] the best by far.

I like the suggestion of [name]Miranda[/name] Jelly best; although, the nn [name]Mandy[/name] would not work well. I love [name]Julia[/name], and I usually like alliteration of consonants, but I don’t like the sound of [name]Julia[/name] Jelly. [name]Rebecca[/name] Jelly is a nice option… also [name]Josephine[/name].

I can’t thank everyone enough for all of the honesty and beautiful suggestions!!! DH and I are doing some baby-name brainstorming on [name]Monday[/name] night… And I will definitely be well-equipped now. Please feel free to keep the opinions and suggestions coming. I feel like I actually have a chance of finding a name thanks to the help here!

Oh, you do have a challenging surname! First, my take on your ideas:

[name]Julia[/name] Jelly–to be brutal, your surname has a somewhat comic flavor to it. Although [name]Julia[/name] is a gorgeous name, the alliteration just reinforces the effect. So, yes, it does sound like a cartoon character.
[name]Stella[/name] Jelly–yes, too many l’s. I would avoid all names that have an ‘el’ in them. The repetition of sound is too much, and it will just invite the nickname Stelly Jelly. Or [name]Melly[/name] Jelly, [name]Elly[/name] Jelly, [name]Nelly[/name] Jelly, Belly Jelly.
[name]Tea[/name] Jelly–as others have said, regardless of the pronunciation, this looks like a grocery list
[name]Violet[/name] Jelly–and, yes, this looks like you are describing a type of jam
[name]Reese[/name] Jelly–I just don’t like the way this sounds–to abrupt.
[name]Avery[/name] Jelly–I don’t like the repetition of the ‘y’ at the end.
[name]Eloise[/name] Jelly–[name]Elly[/name] Jelly again
[name]Rebecca[/name] Jelly–I think you are on the right track here, but if I were you I’d make sure she never became [name]Becky[/name]. [name]Becca[/name]? Maybe, but I’m not crazy about it.
[name]Beatrice[/name] Jelly–My second choice, but I’m looking for something a little stronger in sound.

So, I think you need to avoid J-names, anything with an ‘el’ in it, and anything that ends in a ‘y’ (or -ie, -ee). And, just to make it harder, I think I’d also avoid K-names and Y-names, just to ward off middle school embarrassment.

What I think would sound best are names with 3 or more syllables with some hard consonant sounds–a name that will, through its sounds, sort of push itself in front and not let the surname stand in the spotlight. But at the same time, I think the name needs to be at least somewhat classic and solid. I’m afraid a too frilly, girly name ([name]Larissa[/name] Jelly) will just sound lightweight and silly.

In addition to [name]Rebecca[/name] (which I like more and more) and [name]Beatrice[/name], how about:

[name]Cassandra[/name] Jelly
[name]Erica[/name] Jelly
[name]Delilah[/name] Jelly
[name]Veronica[/name] Jelly
[name]Abigail[/name] Jelly
[name]Sabrina[/name] Jelly
[name]Catherine[/name] Jelly
[name]Susannah[/name] Jelly

I think the names that sound best with your LN would be longer ones. My two favorites from your list would definitely be [name]Beatrice[/name] and [name]Eloise[/name]. I’d cut out [name]Julia[/name] Jelly (sounds very strange to me) and even more so [name]Stella[/name] Jelly (the double ‘ell’ sound sounds especially strange). I’d also cut out [name]Tea[/name] (because in writing it looks like a type of tea), [name]Violet[/name] (because [name]Violet[/name] Jelly sounds like a kind of purple candy), and [name]Reese[/name] Jelly (also sounds like the name of a candy, plus [name]Reese[/name] feels very much like a male name to me). [name]Avery[/name] and [name]Rebecca[/name] sound just fine with your last name, but I’m not such a fan of the names. But [name]Beatrice[/name] and [name]Eloise[/name] (or other names like these that are long-ish (3+ syllables) and have a very refined feel to them, definitely help make the name feel really nice overall.

I know an [name]Eva[/name] Jelly, [name]Oliver[/name] Jelly and a [name]Grace[/name] Jelly (siblings) and they all sound fine and the kids think it’s brilliant there last name is Jelly lol.

I think either 1 syllable or 3 syllable first names work best, and I wouldn’t use anything with an ‘ee’ ending so I’d leave [name]Avery[/name]. [name]Violet[/name] Jelly is basically like saying ‘purple jelly’ so I veto that one, as well as [name]Reese[/name] because of the sweets/chocolate.

My worry with [name]Eloise[/name] is that the nickname [name]Ellie[/name] is likely and that rhymes with Jelly, and [name]Stella[/name] Jelly is way too many L’s and it’s only the ‘a’ ending that makes it not rhyme. [name]Tea[/name] Jelly doesn’t work and you’d be asking for jokes about ‘cups of tea and jelly’ etc.

So that leaves [name]Rebecca[/name] Jelly, [name]Beatrice[/name] Jelly and [name]Julia[/name] Jelly, the latter is my least favourite of the three.

Other ideas…
[name]Grace[/name] Jelly
[name]Sophia[/name] Jelly
[name]Francesca[/name] Jelly
[name]Josephine[/name] Jelly (sounds better than [name]Julia[/name] Jelly)
[name]Vivienne[/name] Jelly
[name]Michaela[/name] Jelly
[name]Olivia[/name] Jelly
[name]Harriet[/name] Jelly
[name]Charlotte[/name] Jelly
[name]Madeleine[/name] Jelly