This is my very first post here, but I’ve been reading for a while. My DH and I have recently begun TTC and despite how easy it was for for us to agree on a boy name, it’s been difficult to find a girl name we love. Here’s what we’ve come up with:
We both like [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] and [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] a little bit more. I just worry about how popular they’re becoming (though maybe that shouldn’t be a concern).
I would love to honor my grandmother, [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f], in some way. The name has been growing on us and we don’t hate the name [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f], but let’s just say that if it weren’t a family name, it wouldn’t be anywhere near the list. DH suggested Phyllisa, which I’m not a fan of.
We’ve also considered [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] (my mom’s name is [name_u]Joan[/name_u]). Again, we like it, but not sure we love it.
At one point I came up with Julielle out of nowhere, which he loved, but then my [name_m]SIL[/name_m] said it sounded like “joo-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-uhl” and I haven’t liked it since.
Any suggestions, berries? Middle name will be [name_f]Mae[/name_f], after DH’s sister. Last name is Dutch and pretty long.
Other names we both like but aren’t soon on are [name_u]Meredith[/name_u], [name_f]Clara[/name_f], [name_f]Holly[/name_f], [name_u]Elliott[/name_u], and [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] (which would rhyme with the last name).
I love [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f]. [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] and [name_f]Clara[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] are cute too.
I like all of the names on your list. I think I like [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] the best especially with the MN [name_f]Mae[/name_f]. [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f] is such a sweet name too! If you’re not sure about [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f] what about: [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] or [name_f]Felicity[/name_f]?
I really like [name_f]Hazel[/name_f]. [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f], [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] [name_u]Joan[/name_u], [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] Julielle, and [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] could all work.
Is [name_f]Philippa[/name_f]/Phylippa to big of a stretch from [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f]? [name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] nn [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], [name_m]Pip[/name_m], [name_f]Pippi[/name_f] could be sweet.
I love [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f]! I really like all of your choices except I am not quite ready for the return of [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f]–but seeing it on a darling baby girl could change that.
Thank you, everyone!! I love [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] but DH hates it. I would absolutely do [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f], but my brother and [name_m]SIL[/name_m] have a dog named [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], so I think that’s out.
Seems like [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] is definitely the front-runner, I worry [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] is becoming really popular (although I probably shouldn’t let that be a factor).
You have great options. [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] is my favorite. [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f] I honestly don’t love, but since it’s meaningful I think she’s probably enjoy having the name and I’m sure she’ll make others warn up to it!
It sounds like [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] would be your favorite if it weren’t for popularity. I’ve yet to meet a [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] so I don’t think it’s outrageously popular. I understand popularity being a factor in your decision making, but don’t make it your main concern. Because where a name ranks on national charts often doesn’t correlate with who you’re going to encounter in real life. My son’s name was in the 600s for popularity when he was born and a couple months after he was born another little boy was born locally with the name. And I live in a very rural area, not many people being born. So if you love [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] for example but settle on [name_f]Joanna[/name_f], consider, will I wish we went with [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] if in 6 months a baby in her daycare is also [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]? (So that you don’t feel bad for me I’ll mention we didn’t chose [name_u]Lennon[/name_u] based at all on popularity ranking so it was in no way crushing to us when we found our about new baby boy [name_u]Lennon[/name_u]. )
I looked up the meaning of the name [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f] & according to Behind the Name it means “foliage.” There aren’t many variants of [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f]—[name_f]Phyllida[/name_f] was about it—so then I searched for names that mean “green,”“foliage,” or “leaf.” Most of them are [name_f]Asian[/name_f] & don’t seem to translate well into “Western,” so to speak; the only one that might is [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] & I’m not sure if that’s too popular for you or just unattractive. So then I wondered if a name—like [name_f]Hazel[/name_f]—that refers to nature & greenery might be of interest:
I love [name_f]Clara[/name_f], [name_f]Hazel[/name_f], [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] and [name_f]Holly[/name_f].
They are all gorgeous.
I love [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] as well but if it rhymes with your surname it might not be the best choice.
You’re trying to honour 3 people: [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f], [name_f]Mae[/name_f], and [name_u]Joan[/name_u]. That’s a tall order!
Maybe just choose one person to honour. Two at a push
Personally, I only honour dead people! It’s to prevent the living from feeling left out if their name isn’t chosen
[name_f]Mae[/name_f] is a great second name but it doesn’t sound good followed by [name_u]Joan[/name_u] (sounds like [name_f]May[/name_f], [name_u]June[/name_u]) or [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f] (may fill us)
llbaby22, I really appreciate what you said about popularity. I’ve only met one [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] in real life and she was in her 60s.
As much as I would love to honor my grandmother, I just don’t think I’m totally in love with the name [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f], and honestly she would probably understand that. I’m not even sure how she felt about her name. I also feel like a [name_u]Jo[/name_u]/[name_u]Joan[/name_u]/[name_f]Joanna[/name_f] would honor her and my mom (my grandmother used to call my Mom [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] even though that’s not her name…she also called her [name_f]Lucille[/name_f] sometimes for some reason, haha).
At this point I think [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] and [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] are the front-runners, and the favorite changes day-to-day, so I guess we’ll decide when/if we ever meet her (taking a test in a week!). If it turns out we have a boy this’ll all be for nothing since that one’s pretty much set in stone.
