We are pregnant with our first child and have had no trouble agreeing on a shortlist of boys names but struggling with girls names. The middle name will be [name_u]Lee[/name_u]; this is non-negotiable, family name which will be this spelling, no variations. Our surname is a one syllable name, also beginning with L. The only name DH and I can agree on is [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] BUT she would be [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] L___ which DH thinks is fine but I think may be a little too much with all the Ls and a bit of a mouthful. [name_f]My[/name_f] mum thinks it’s a soap opera name. Other than that, DH likes [name_f]Victoria[/name_f], [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] and [name_u]River[/name_u] and I like [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f], [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] and Meika/[name_u]Mika[/name_u] but neither of us like each other’s choices. We both don’t mind [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], [name_f]Norah[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] but can’t use those for various reasons.
What are your thoughts and opinions on [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] L____?
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you have any suggestions for other names we might both like?
Thanks
Edited to add: If we use [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f], she will be called by her full name as well as most likely being nicknamed [name_f]Lori[/name_f] and [name_f]Lola[/name_f]
If you love it, go for it. [name_m]Just[/name_m] be aware that the flow isn’t the best, particularly with the double ‘lee’ sound of [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] and [name_u]Lee[/name_u]. It does sound really pretty when you say it out loud though, even if it is a bit of a tongue twister.
I love alliteration. [name_f]My[/name_f] son’s name has the initials L.L. Alliterative names are catchy and memorable. I do prefer alliterative names that don’t rhyme and are not matchy.
That being said [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] L… is overkill in my opinion. With the first name having two Ls in it, it’s too much. The first and middle name don’t go well together either.
[name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] essentially contains ‘[name_u]Lee[/name_u]’ (Lei/[name_u]Lee[/name_u] have the same origin and meaning), so I’d just pick a different middle name and still be covered for family honoring obligations. Or better yet, make [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] the mn, so you don’t have the fn/ln alliteration.
[name_f]Lorelai[/name_f] [name_u]Leigh[/name_u] is the name of the daughter from [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls! I love [name_f]Lorelai[/name_f]/[name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] and generally I’m a fan of alliteration. I’ve long puzzled over whether I thought that was too many "L"s.
I do sort of think [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] L_____ has too many "L"s in theory. However, the middle name doesn’t actually see the light of day all that often, so practically speaking I’d be more concerned about whether [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] L_____ was too “L”-heavy. Are there any other "L"s in your surname? Does the surname share any other sounds with [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f]? To me there’s a big difference between [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_u]Lawrence[/name_u] or [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] Lively and [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_m]Lindbergh[/name_m] - the first two sound kind of like tongue-twisters to me and the last absolutely does not. Not trying to pressure you to reveal the surname if you’re not comfortable doing it - these are questions you can ask yourself. [name_m]Say[/name_m] just “[name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] L_____” out loud a few times and see how it sounds.
I’m also intrigued by a PP’s suggestion that the “lei” in [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] might kind of cover “[name_u]Lee[/name_u]” for you, allowing you to pick a different middle name.
[name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] is pretty but the 3rd L from your last name just pushes it too far.
Here are some other ideas based on your naming style…
[name_u]Vivian[/name_u] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_u]Meredith[/name_u] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Isla[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] (contains the L sound without having it as the first letter)
[name_f]Madeline[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] (adeline alternative)
[name_u]Arden[/name_u] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] (nature feel like [name_u]River[/name_u] but traditional sound like [name_f]Adeline[/name_f])
[name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] ([name_f]Victoria[/name_f] and [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f] alternative)
[name_f]Briar[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] (river alternative)
Three “L” initials is a bit much for my taste. I was wondering why [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] sounded so familiar to me and then I remembered that it was the name of [name_f]Marilyn[/name_f] [name_u]Monroe[/name_u]'s character in the film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”. You stated that your husband liked [name_u]River[/name_u] and you didn’t. What about [name_f]Rivalee[/name_f]? There are also options like [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] and [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] to incorporate the “[name_u]Lee[/name_u]” family name.
Three Ls is too much. You said the surname is only one syllable so it’s already clunky against mn [name_u]Lee[/name_u]. I wouldn’t add another L name as a first. The fn and surname are said together way more often so I’d avoid two Ls. But again, it really depends on what exactly the surname is. [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_m]Long[/name_m] is okay. [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] Lau is awkward.
I say you both go back to the drawing board and come back to each other with new suggestions. Try to pick something consonant heavy, especially if the last name is vowel heavy.
I just read through all the posts and really wonder how people are pronouncing [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f]. Especially when suggested that [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] had too many -lee sounds. I’d pronounce it LAWR-e-lie, but lawr-e-LIE appears to be correct as well. In which case that -lee sound feels mute.
I think that this comment is very apt.
It was my thought as well. It really depends on what your last name is.
I’d also suggest that you google [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] - I found [name_f]Marilyn[/name_f] Monroes’ character, a pro wrestler and a porn star by that name (all on the first page). If [name_f]Lorelai[/name_f] [name_u]Leigh[/name_u] was [name_u]Rory[/name_u]’s “real” name on GG then that spelling might prove to have more hits as well.
I was also wondering how you feel about using double names… for example, I’d assume you eliminated all -lie/ -lee ending names because of the redundancy. But if you generally like [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] or [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] etc why not call your daughter "[name_f]Cora[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]”. Maybe [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] could be [name_f]Ama[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] or even [name_f]Emma[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] etc. [name_m]Just[/name_m] a thought.
I was going to mention this as well – it’s the first thing I thought of. Personally, I love the sound of it and I am a huge fan of the name [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] (being a [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls fan, how can I not be?). I am a huge fan of alliteration, so I have no problem with LLL. The problem for me is the one syllable middle and last name because it seems to stunt the flow of the name. Since you must incorporate [name_u]Lee[/name_u], I like the pp’s idea of doing a shorter double name, like [name_f]Cora[/name_f]-[name_u]Lee[/name_u] (doesn’t have to be hyphenated; I’m just doing that for clarity that it’s one name), then using a different, longer middle name to counteract the one syllable last name. Like [name_f]Cora[/name_f]-[name_u]Lee[/name_u] [name_f]Victoria[/name_f] L___, or [name_f]Cora[/name_f]-[name_u]Lee[/name_u] [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] L___.
Or maybe if [name_u]Lee[/name_u] has to be the middle name and can’t be part of the first name, you could use a shorter first name because it seems to flow better with the one syllable last name – [name_f]Cora[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] L__, [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] L__. The three syllable first name throws things off in my mind.
I think if you love it, you should go for it. I’m using [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] as a stand-in surname, and while [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] isn’t exactly ideal, it isn’t horrible, either (at least, I’ve heard much worse), and how often will her full name be said? [name_f]Lola[/name_f] [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] and [name_f]Lori[/name_f] [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] are sweet, and perfectly fine. Same with [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] [name_m]Lewis[/name_m]. If your surname is more L-heavy than [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] (like [name_m]Llewellyn[/name_m], for example!), I would definitely axe it, though.
I like [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f], and [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] from your options, as well, but if they’re all out for some reason or another (and you can’t get convinced of [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f]), what about:
Annelies [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Elodie[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] (maybe not ideal, but I still like it!)
[name_f]Edeline[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Camille[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Georgia[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Tabitha[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Flora[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Cecily[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] (although that’s a bit “lee” heavy)
[name_f]Violet[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]/[name_f]Viola[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]
And ohmygoodness, I didn’t really realize how hard it would be not to suggest “L” names… I wanted to suggest [name_f]Leonie[/name_f]/[name_f]Leona[/name_f], [name_f]Lotte[/name_f], and [name_f]Lucilla[/name_f], all of which I could maybe see suiting you, but I feel like if you’re going to go with an “L” name, you should go with what you both really love ([name_f]Lorelei[/name_f]) rather than searching for ANOTHER “L” name you like even more (that is, unless you do like one of those more. I think they’re cool. haha).
I’m pronouncing [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] like the character on [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls - [name_f]Lore[/name_f]-eh-lie (where the end sounds like eye). I think you’re fine to use it because the middle name isn’t often used and if she has a nickname then, depending on your last name, [name_f]Lori[/name_f] or [name_f]Lola[/name_f] L___ will flow.
