My husband and I have been having a serious struggle to pick out a name for our second daughter due in 8 weeks. Many names have “come close” but we always seem to get hung up on small detail (the alliteration, how common it may be, mispellings, or mispronounciations, etc).
We’ve currently been hovering around the name Maeven (Pronounced [name_f]May[/name_f]-[name_m]Venn[/name_m]), a derivative of [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] the [name_f]Queen[/name_f] of the Faeries in Irish lore.
If I were to introduce you (awesome volunteer you are) to my child “Maeven”, what would be your first impressions of the name?
Like it? [name_u]Love[/name_u] it? Makes no difference? It’s god awful - please don’t traumatize your child so?! Be honest please - we want to know whether the mass public, other parents she’ll encounter at play groups or school or future employers might react to seeing the name.
Maeven is a beautiful name. I personally prefer the spelling as [name_f]Maven[/name_f] …however I love your inspiration for the name so if you feel more connected to it with the extra E then leave it as is. I adore reading about the fae (; beautiful name choice. I’d really like to hear your middle name choice!
Maeven sounds too made-up for me. Sort of like one of those pageant-girl names: [name_u]Paisley[/name_u], [name_f]Essence[/name_f], Daylee, [name_f]Elexis[/name_f], [name_f]Destiny[/name_f], [name_f]Alaska[/name_f]…
Sorry if I sound overly harsh! [name_m]Just[/name_m] being honest with my opinion.
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is lovely though. I love [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] and would have a great impression of the parents’ taste in names upon meeting a little [name_f]Maeve[/name_f].
I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] but admittedly dislike Maeven / [name_f]Maven[/name_f]. To me it cheapens it a bit and makes it sound trendy rather than classic. [name_f]Do[/name_f] I think it’s a terrible name that will make people think you must have wanted to punish her by giving her such a name? Not a bit. I tend to associate it with the noun/title, which kind of bothers me. And for some reason it brings to mind the whole [name_u]Aiden[/name_u], [name_u]Jayden[/name_u], [name_m]Caiden[/name_m], [name_u]Haven[/name_u], [name_u]Raven[/name_u], trending thing. There’s something about it that is trying to be unique without any real imagination or exploration involved. Does that just sound awful? I think Maeven will invite spelling issues but not so much wrong pronunciation. I would spell it [name_f]Maven[/name_f] to save the trouble and make it less yuneek.
There is also [name_f]Maeva[/name_f], which I think is quite charming if you’re looking for a twist on [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]. Some only see it as [name_f]Ava[/name_f] with an M, but I think [name_f]Ava[/name_f] is quite lovely and that M takes it to a whole new level. I would so love to meet a little [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] though. Is there a reason you don’t want to use [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]?
I also love [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] but don’t like Maeven. If you named your child [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] I would think you put a lot of thought into it and the fact [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] was the queen of the fairies makes the name even cuter. If you named her Maeven, I just think you were trying to hard to make her the only one in her class (and let’s face it, a little [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] would most likely be the only one in her class, possibly school… I only know one [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]).
I love [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], but Maeven rubs me the wrong way - it makes me think of the word “maven”, which feels like a really pretentious name to give a child, but “creatively” spelled. (Related: I expect it would be misspelled a lot of the time.) I don’t think it would be a traumatic name for a child to have, but I wouldn’t think highly of the parents’ naming style.
I agree with the others, I like [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] but am not crazy about Maeven. I think [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] on its own is unique, strong and fun sounding.
I agree with those who said that they feel like you’re saying [name_f]Maven[/name_f].
What if your daughter isn’t such a maven? I’d feel like it’s a really high goal to set for a person. [name_f]Maven[/name_f] is different than [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Faith[/name_f], or other virtue names because it isn’t as common and recognized as a name.
I feel like I’m the opposite of most PP’s actually… I really dislike [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] alone, but I don’t mind Maeven/[name_f]Maven[/name_f] at all. But if you’re concerned about it sounding trendy, which it does a little now that [name_f]Ava[/name_f]/Aven are popular, you could try [name_f]Mavis[/name_f].
I dislike [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], but really like [name_f]Maven[/name_f]. I’ve never heard of [name_f]Maven[/name_f] as a term for an expert, I think that meaning is confined to American English. Maeven is an unusual spelling, but if it has meaning to you I would go with it.
I actually have never been a fan of [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] as it sounds incomplete to me. I really like Maeven, though! I think it is more straightforward spelled [name_f]Maven[/name_f], but Maeven is fine. I really like the cute, spunky nickname [name_f]Mae[/name_f]. Maeven reminds me of maiden, so it sounds whimsical, soft and delicate. Very pretty!
I like the name. I slightly prefer [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] just due to familiarity. The name Maeven reminds me of the word haven which has a nice connotation.
Oh my, I may be in the minority, but I truly adore the name Maeven! I’ve had it on my signature for awhile already! It doesn’t sound made up to me. I feel like it’s one of those names that is similar with other trends (i.e. [name_u]Haven[/name_u], “-[name_f]Ave[/name_f]-” names), but still stunningly unique. A little girl Maeven would be adorable!
I don’t have a strong opinion about Maeven as a name. I think it means something to you, which is an important consideration. It may be confused with [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] or [name_f]Maven[/name_f] but those things are fixable with a small correction. The only comment I have that hasn’t really been mentioned is that while I understand how you arrived at the Maeven spelling it is confusing without the backstory. When I look at Maeven without thinking of [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] first, I see the “-even" before the “Ma-". That may lead to some issues. All in all it is a fine name with strong meaning and if you are willing to correct a few issues that arise, it is a great choice!
ps. I would much prefer to wear Maeven than my name which is a common [name_m]John[/name_m] feminization along the lines of [name_f]Jeanne[/name_f], [name_u]Joan[/name_u], [name_f]Joanne[/name_f].
I agree it sounds rather made up (and looks more so. It sort of looks like a smoosh of [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_u]Evan[/name_u], and even the word [name_m]Even[/name_m]…), although I like [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] a lot–why not just that? I also really love the sound of the similar variant, [name_f]Maeva[/name_f] (which is receiving quite widespread usage in [name_f]France[/name_f]). I would be delighted to meet a little [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] or [name_f]Maeva[/name_f], but I feel like I’d be indifferent to Maeven. I wouldn’t be excited about it, really, but since I have grown to like [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]/[name_f]Maeva[/name_f] so much, I am not sure I’d dislike it, either. Honestly, I’ve seen such a variety of names of kids I know, that I can pretty much accept just about anything. Not that that’s reflecting negatively on Maeven–I’m just saying that it would have helped me to not react negatively to Maeven, even if I did hate it.
I agree with @eoxima that [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is rare enough as it is–I feel like Maeven takes away from the [name_f]Queen[/name_f] of the Faeries association, rather than add to it. I’d be tickled pink to meet a little [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], and in this case, I think keeping it simpler is better, but it’s your choice, ultimately.
