Hey there! My husband and I have been debating names for months, and I’m 8 1/2 months pregnant now, so we have to choose sometime soon! We tend to like more unusual names, like [name_f]Reverie[/name_f] and [name_f]Elora[/name_f], and we don’t want her name to even be in the top 500 or 1000 census names or anything. We love nature, so most of our names that we like are nature names. So we finally have it nailed down to our top two names, and they both happen to be flowers! For pronunciation context, our last name is two syllables and rhymes with [name_m]Harold[/name_m], starts with a hard “C” sound.
The names are:
[name_f]ZINNIA[/name_f]
potential middle names are Brave, or [name_u]True[/name_u], or >>Insert other one-syllable name here<<
and
AZALEA
potential middle names are Joy, June, Brave, or True.
Can you guys tell me which first name you like better, and if you have a favorite middle to go with either one? Thanks so much for your help!
I like [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] better. You might also like [name_f]Camellia[/name_f]?
[name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f] is my favorite from your list
[name_f]Camellia[/name_f] [name_u]True[/name_u]
[name_f]Camellia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f]
Thanks, @emersonwildwood! [name_f]Camellia[/name_f] is pretty, but we already have a friend with a daughter named [name_f]Camellia[/name_f]. She goes by [name_f]Milly[/name_f]. If our girl was [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f], her nicknames might be Zin, Zinny, [name_u]Zia[/name_u], [name_f]Nia[/name_f], or [name_m]Little[/name_m] Z. If she were an [name_f]Azalea[/name_f], her nn’s might be [name_m]Zale[/name_m], Zales, Zalea, [name_f]Lea[/name_f], or [name_m]Little[/name_m] Z.
It’s funny @emersonwildwood, I looked at your signature and [name_u]Everly[/name_u] was another one of our favorite girl names, as well as [name_u]Juniper[/name_u], for a girl. And our top choice for a boy was [name_m]Ransom[/name_m]! With [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] being on of my favorites for a boy middle name. I like your taste!
I prefer [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] ( Although I believe it is in the top 1000).
I also like the suggestion of [name_f]Calla[/name_f].
[name_f]Amaryllis[/name_f], [name_f]Linnea[/name_f], and [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] are other options.
At this point, we’ve narrowed it down and are just choosing between [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] and [name_f]Azalea[/name_f]. [name_f]Calla[/name_f] [name_f]Lilly[/name_f] is pretty though!
My husband liked [name_f]Amaryllis[/name_f], @rgp19, before we narrowed down to azalea or [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f].
I’m feeling a leaning towards [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] the past day or two also, but also really love [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f]. If anybody can think of any reason why one or the other of them might be a bad choice (i.e. mean nicknames teasing or something like that), that might be helpful, because we like both of the names so much, and they have so many similar positive attributes, it’s hard to find a reason to dislike one of them!
I’d pick [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] just because where I am (Southeastern US) people tend to say [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] as ZEEN-ya (I can hear my Grandmother now!). Of course, [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] often comes out [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-ZAY-ya… But I think people would be more careful/specific with the pronunciation of [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] as a first name. They are both beautiful, underused flower names though! Can’t wait to hear what you pick!
My only problem with [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] is that there is a female rapper by the name [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] [name_m]Banks[/name_m] who is becoming more and more popular. Within her next couple of records in the next few years, she could be nominated for a Grammy and be as big as [name_f]Nicki[/name_f] Minaj. I’m saying could be, because she may not sell out the way [name_f]Nicki[/name_f] did, and her lyrics are VULGAR. She is pretty popular even among hipsters who don’t even listen to rap as a habit. Definitely popular with teens.
[name_f]Azalea[/name_f] is also becoming a more popular name due to the pop star [name_m]Iggy[/name_m] [name_f]Azalea[/name_f]. I think it’s popularity will continue to grow over the next few years.
I’d definitely pick [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] (actually ZEEN-ya is a cute pronuniciation anyways), and I like [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] [name_u]True[/name_u] or [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u]. ‘[name_f]Joy[/name_f]’ has a bit of an ‘ee’ sound that Zinn-EE-uh already has, so the ‘oo’ sound in [name_u]True[/name_u] and [name_u]June[/name_u] seem to compliment and flow better. [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] Brave sounds a bit like a character, though I do like it.
I love both options. I actually like [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] more but I know it’s on the radar for most people now as an unusual yet acceptable and accessible flower name. I don’t think it will become “popular” but I think there will be more [name_f]Azalea[/name_f]'s born in the next few years than [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f]'s. So my final vote goes to [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] because it is a little less common and doesn’t have the fleeting pop association of [name_m]Iggy[/name_m] [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] or [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] [name_m]Banks[/name_m].
I love [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] [name_f]Joy[/name_f].
