I have never really been one for giving a child another person’s name (I like the idea of a fresh start with a new name) but after my mother passed away unexpectedly I can’t imagine not including her somehow. I figured I could honor her memory through a middle name for our baby.
[name_f]My[/name_f] mother’s name was [name_f]Mayra[/name_f] (pronounced [name_f]Myra[/name_f]). She was never a huge fan of her name and despised her middle name ([name_f]Marcela[/name_f]). I tried looking for similar alternatives but haven’t found anything I like.
I adore the name [name_f]Pilar[/name_f] (as a middle) which is the name of the main character in a poem my mother used to read to me. I just want to do right by her memory but also don’t want to give my baby a name I don’t love.
I have run into the dilemma of wanting to honour family members with names they themselves didn’t like! However I have not yet had my own child so I don’t have a lot of wisdom.
Some potential name ideas:
Mira
[name_f]Mirabelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Mirielle[/name_f]
Pilar is a beautiful honour too, perhaps as a middle?
What about [name_f]Myrena[/name_f]? I also love [name_f]Pilar[/name_f]— if you’re not sure about it, try [name_f]Stellina[/name_f], they have the same meaning.
I second the suggestion of [name_f]May[/name_f]/Mae or [name_f]Maya[/name_f]. [name_f]Pilar[/name_f] is lovely too. Whatever name you like the most and has the most connection to your mom for you would be the way to go. Whether it’s something very similar to her name like [name_f]May[/name_f] or something that reminds you of her like [name_f]Pilar[/name_f]. Or both if you can work with a two middle name combo!
First Name [name_f]Maya[/name_f] [name_f]Pilar[/name_f] or First Name [name_f]Pilar[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] could be sweet.
I’m sorry for your unexpected loss. [name_f]Mae[/name_f] or [name_f]May[/name_f] and [name_f]Maya[/name_f] also came to my mind first. Also [name_f]Mara[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Martha[/name_f] and [name_f]Marsha[/name_f]. [name_f]Marsha[/name_f] comes from [name_f]Marcela[/name_f] and [name_f]Martha[/name_f] is similar to [name_f]Marsha[/name_f]. Or what about names linking to [name_f]Mary[/name_f] - [name_f]Miriam[/name_f], [name_f]Marisol[/name_f], [name_u]Maria[/name_u], [name_f]Maren[/name_f] and [name_f]Polly[/name_f]? Or names starting with may, mae or mar such as [name_f]Marigold[/name_f], [name_f]Margot[/name_f], [name_f]Marina[/name_f], [name_f]Maris[/name_f], [name_u]Marlowe[/name_u], [name_f]Maybelle[/name_f] (or [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] perhaps), [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] or [name_f]Maelys[/name_f]?
[name_f]Pilar[/name_f] is a lovely name for you, personally I would use it as a middle though. I also like how it is actually a double honour name because [name_f]Pilar[/name_f] is a variation of [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Mary[/name_f]’s letters can be found in [name_f]Mayra[/name_f]. Or how about [name_f]April[/name_f] as it is a jumbled spelling of [name_f]Pilar[/name_f]? I’ve also seen same initials as a way to honour a loved one. An example would be [name_f]Marigold[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] or [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]. Maybe you could even honour your mum’s birth month, birth stone or birth flower?? For example, if she was born in [name_u]June[/name_u], you could use [name_u]June[/name_u], [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] or [name_f]Rose[/name_f] in your daughter’s name.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I think [name_f]Pilar[/name_f] is an absolutely beautiful honor name since it’s so connected to something you used to do together!
I’m sorry for your loss.
I love [name_f]Maya[/name_f] and [name_f]Lyra[/name_f], as others have suggested
[name_f]Amaya[/name_f] is very pretty and also similar.
I think [name_f]Ayra[/name_f] could work. Or Kayra/Kyra.
[name_f]Mireya[/name_f] or [name_f]Mariah[/name_f] also remind me of [name_f]Mayra[/name_f]
Rearranging [name_f]Mayra[/name_f] can also get some pretty names:
[name_f]Amyra[/name_f] (you could pronounce this like [name_f]Amira[/name_f]/Ameera or with the “my” sound)
Rayma (As [name_u]Ray[/name_u]-ma this sounds really nice to me. I also like [name_u]Ray[/name_u] as a nickname. Could also work with the “ry” sound but then it sounds like the word ”rhyme”)
Marya
I love [name_f]Marcela[/name_f] myself, but I can understand not wanting to use it since your mom didn’t like it. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think she would have liked [name_f]Marceline[/name_f] or [name_f]Marcelina[/name_f]? or simply [name_f]Marcie[/name_f]?
[name_f]Pilar[/name_f] is beautiful and very much in honor of your mother—it still passes on a treasured memory of her, although it wasn’t part of her name.
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] you like some of these ideas <3
Thank you all for your responses! I truly appreciate it. So many beautiful options and many that I’ve never seen or thought of. You are all gems, thank you thank you! <3
I am so sorry for your loss. I think honouring you’re mom is a beautiful way to commemorate her. You will start a new life but be able to have a little piece of her in your own customized way.
I think that honouring someone does not have to be a direct name if you don’t want to be as long as it holds significance for you .
Pilar is a beautiful name so I think that would definitely work if it is a name you love. The nameberries have made some great suggestions so I don’t have many new to add except maybe
I’m so sorry for your loss. I love the idea of using [name_f]Pilar[/name_f] as a subtle way to honour your mother. I think that’s such a beautiful idea.
I had the exact same problem as you. I wanted to honour my father, who passed away years ago, when I named my daughter but like you, I didn’t like the idea of reusing names, especially when his name wasn’t one I necessarily loved.
I spent a lot of time looking for names with the same meaning or thinking of ones that might relate to him in some way and ultimately decided to go with his birth month. Considering he’s no longer with us, I thought using [name_u]June[/name_u], when he was born, was a nice way to celebrate his life.
It’s a less obvious way to honour someone who’s passed but I still think it works. You might also think about the birthstones/flowers related to your mother’s birth month.
But still, I think [name_f]Pilar[/name_f] is a lovely way to honour her.
If she had a favourite name you could try that, or you could try anything she liked
A name she may have like for other grandchildren/suggested to a friend
Her favourite character
A person she admired
Her role model
A meaning she liked
Her favourite plant/season
A place she would have loved to travel to?
Her mother’s name
A name with a simmilar meaning as hers
Or do you have a particular memory of her that could be easily translated in a name (i.e. happy [name_f]Summer[/name_f] holidays, sitting under a [name_u]Willow[/name_u] tree, her reading to you a book by a female author etc.)