Help with Name/Spelling for A French-American sister for Liora

Girl Names
1

We’re expecting our second baby girl and are struggling a bit to come up with a somewhat unique and beautiful name we love as much as [name_f]Liora[/name_f] (our first), and which seems to “go with” it in terms of style.

[name_f]Reina[/name_f] is our current top choice - as we see it as a strong, feminine, modern, and relatively uncommon choice that also has Hebrew/Yiddish origins.

However, I’m struggling a bit with the spelling choice ([name_f]Raina[/name_f], [name_f]Reina[/name_f], [name_f]Rayna[/name_f], or [name_f]Reyna[/name_f]) as I think the y versions are perhaps more recognizably Hebrew, but our last name rhymes with [name_u]Berry[/name_u] (and includes a Y) - so I don’t know if the double y will bother me.

Would love thoughts on this, as well as any other names that you think might work well with our older daughter’s name. The first name must be pronounceable in both [name_m]French[/name_m] and English (husband is [name_m]French[/name_m] and baby will be dual citizen). We’re also looking for a [name_m]French[/name_m] middle name (big sister is [name_f]Liora[/name_f] [name_f]Aliz[/name_f]ée for reference) if any come to mind – for [name_f]Reina[/name_f] or others.

Given the thoughtfulness and creativity of everyone on here, we’d love any suggestions or ideas!
Thank you!

2

I like the [name_f]Rayna[/name_f] spelling if you are going for the Hebrew connection. I think a double Y is fine. [name_f]Reina[/name_f] is the Spanish word for queen so I think of that meaning with that spelling. I also think [name_f]Eliane[/name_f]/Éliane would go well with [name_f]Liora[/name_f].

[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] [name_f]Isaline[/name_f]
[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] [name_f]Juliette[/name_f]
[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] [name_f]Lise[/name_f]
[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] [name_f]Lucienne[/name_f]
[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]
[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] [name_f]Maelys[/name_f]
[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] [name_u]Simone[/name_u]

3

I’m not sure how well these names carry in each culture, but here are some names that seem to have a Hebrew/[name_m]French[/name_m] crossover AND also seem like they would work well in the U.S. AND go well with [name_f]Liora[/name_f]…

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_u]Ariel[/name_u]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Ada[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Annette[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Babette[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Bella[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Bette[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Bettine[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Danette[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Esther[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Elise[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Eveleen[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Gallia[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Iva[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Jocelyn[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Joella[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Josephina[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Josette[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_u]Josie[/name_u]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Lise[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Maia[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_u]Marian[/name_u]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Marie[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Marietta[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Maureen[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_u]Michele[/name_u]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Mimi[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Minnie[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Nan[/name_f]/[name_f]Nanette[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f]/[name_f]Sidonia[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_u]Simone[/name_u]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Suzanne[/name_f]/[name_f]Suzette[/name_f]

[name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Zara[/name_f]

5

Thank you all so much for the thoughtful suggestions so far! This has proved so much tougher than naming my first! But [name_f]Liora[/name_f] was a gut choice and I think [name_f]Rayna[/name_f] is too - I haven’t yet found anything else that feels right.

I’m particularly loving these combos at the moment. I STILL can’t get attached to one spelling but I’m between these two.

[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] [name_f]Margot[/name_f]
[name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Juliette[/name_f]
[name_f]Rayna[/name_f] [name_f]Aveline[/name_f]

My husband is suddenly on a bent to incorporate what would have been our boy middle ([name_m]Mael[/name_m]).

He’s gunning for [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Maeva[/name_f], but I’m concerned about the double A ending. Should I be or do you think it works?

I hadn’t thought of the female version [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Maelys[/name_f]. I think it would have to be [name_f]Reina[/name_f] in this case, as a y in the first, middle, and last may be too much for me.

Any other thoughts are welcome, and thank you again for responding!

6

I love [name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Reina[/name_f]/[name_f]Rayna[/name_f]! [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Maelys[/name_f] is my favorite. It has a beautiful flow and it incorporates the [name_m]Mael[/name_m] sound that your husband wants.

7

I personally prefer the [name_f]Raina[/name_f] spelling, but [name_f]Rayna[/name_f] is nice too. I prefer the ‘a’ spellings over the ‘e’ ones.

8

I like [name_f]Reina[/name_f] better than [name_f]Rayna[/name_f], I think it looks a bit sleeker, but both spellings are just fine, and I adore the name! People have already suggested most of what I would have suggested, but you could maybe consider [name_f]Aviva[/name_f]? And maybe [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] instead of [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Maeva[/name_f]?

9

Thank you all again for the wonderful input. So interesting to see the diversity of preferences on how to spell [name_f]Reina[/name_f].

As of now, we’ve landed on [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Maelys[/name_f] as our name for little sister.

We looked at a number of other options, but both felt like [name_f]Reina[/name_f] held up best against [name_f]Liora[/name_f] and like that it shares a connection to hebrew/yiddish. I wouldn’t have found [name_f]Maelys[/name_f] on my own, so thanks berries! We know the middle will be a bit tough for english speakers to pronounce, but we’re OK with that (she is half-french, after all).

Thanks again!

10

[name_f]Raina[/name_f] [name_f]Chantal[/name_f]
[name_f]Raina[/name_f] Thylane
[name_f]Raina[/name_f] [name_f]Therese[/name_f]

11

[name_m]Just[/name_m] wanted to add that I really like the sibset of [name_f]Liora[/name_f] and [name_f]Rayna[/name_f]/[name_f]Reina[/name_f]! And [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Maelys[/name_f] is quite beautiful.