[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f]! I’m obsessed with this name at the moment with the nickname [name_u]Zia[/name_u].
What are your thoughts? Does she remind you of the word Xenophobia? ”
I love combos
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f]
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Olive[/name_f]
And
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Lavender[/name_f]
Which of these is your favourite… What else would you pair her with?
And lastly does she sound [name_m]WAY[/name_m] out if place with siblings [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] and [name_f]Aurora[/name_f]? I know it’s not the most obvious pairing but could it work?
It reminds me of the made up country in [name_f]Princess[/name_f] Diaries – Genovia
It does seem very out of place with [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] and [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], as those are both very recognizable if not common names.
Are you pronouncing [name_u]Zia[/name_u] as zee-uh or z’eye’-uh? 1st syllable rhyming with sea or with eye?
Cons:
It’s definitely weird
You’ll be asked how to pronounce it, how to spell it, where you got it, etc. all the time.
It’ll be hard to live with
It doesn’t match with sisters
Pros:
There’s definitely worse names out there.
It’s a real name,
It’s not spelled weird,
It’s pronounced the way it looks,
It has a lot of nickname options
There won’t be anybody else around with the same name
Personally, I wouldn’t use it, but if you love it, then go for it, it’s your kid!
If it’s the cadence/sound you like then my suggestion would be something like Xinnia or [name_f]Serafina[/name_f] or [name_f]Rosalina[/name_f].
Thanks for your honestly.
I’d pronounce [name_u]Zia[/name_u] ([name_f]Zee[/name_f]- uh) like [name_f]Gia[/name_f]. I think a big p[name_m]Art[/name_m] of my attraction is this Zippy little nickname.
It could definitely work for [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] too…thanks for that suggestion!
I also really love the name [name_f]Seraphine[/name_f] (without the a in the end) but there’s limited nickname options… Not a fan of [name_f]FIfi[/name_f]!
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] strikes me as a really spunky name, especially with the nickname [name_u]Zia[/name_u]. I didn’t think of Xenophobia at all until you mentioned it.
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Olive[/name_f] is my favorite off of your list. [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] would be my favorite name, but something about the z and s throws the combo off. I think [name_f]Lavender[/name_f] might be a bit too long and unusual to pair with [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f].
Some other pairings I thought of:
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Violet[/name_f]
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Estelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Fern[/name_f]
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Lucille[/name_f]
I think [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] with [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] and [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] could work. They all strike me as spunky, vintage names with easily identifiable nicknames. (I’m not sure if you are considering nicknames for [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] and [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], but I think it would help [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] fit in a bit better.) I would be a bit surprised to see [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] after [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] and [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], but, somehow, I don’t think it would sound as strange if [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] was the oldest girl. ([name_f]Zenobia[/name_f], [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], and [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] sound better to me than [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], and [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f].)
This is probably my greatest reservation about using it! However though it’s definitely much more unusual than the other two girls names I feel that they all have a common thread in that it ticks the boxes for the reasons I picked the other girls names… A strong name with a long history and an admirable namesake. They also (to me at least) all have a sort of ‘bad ass’ princess feel… Feminine and regal yet also spunky and a cute spunky nickname ([name_f]Tilda[/name_f]/[name_f]Tilly[/name_f], [name_f]Aura[/name_f]/[name_u]Rory[/name_u], [name_u]Zia[/name_u]) also because [name_f]Aurora[/name_f]'s middle is [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] all three girls would have a feisty warrior queen as a namesake ([name_f]Queen[/name_f] [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] , [name_f]Queen[/name_f] [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_f]Queen[/name_f] [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f])
These are the reasons she is compatable to me but I realise to most people she meets who are not privy to this info she will sound a little strange/ surprising next to her sisters! While it is important to me to have a name that compliments the others I’d really like to have a choice that is a little unexpected this time round…
[name_u]Zia[/name_u], [name_u]Rory[/name_u] & [name_f]Tilly[/name_f] totally work.
And I didn’t know [name_f]Aurora[/name_f]'s MN was [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] but that totally spunks her up.
I think if [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] went mostly by [name_u]Zia[/name_u] I could see her fitting in more.
Thank you so much for this feedback it was very insightful and I really agree with everything you’ve said here especially regarding the middle names. I also agree with you about the ordering of the names which weird as it seems does work better with [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] as the first child to me too…Unfortunately this will lot be the case though as [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] and [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] are already here!!
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Lucille[/name_f] is absolutely gorgeous and I love [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Violet[/name_f] too.
I love Zenobia. I think it’s sweet and spicy at the same time, and I love its quirkiness. Unfortunately, I cannot use the name myself as my own name is Zenobia. I’m not sure though, just how having my own name plays into my opinion of Zenobia, both names being so very similar - I do love my name. Zenobia is definitely more unusual/quirkier than Zena, but I do think it would work well in the real world. I think the nickname of Zia is great - short and spunky.
As for Zenobia as sister to Matilda & Aurora, I do think it’s a little off stylistically, but hey, style-matching isn’t everything. I actually think the growing quirkiness through Matilda>Aurora>Zenobia is all kinds of cool.
Also, I think the Xenophobia thing would be strong for some, but not at all there for others. That said, before I added Zenobia to my dictionary, the name was automatically being changed to Xenophobia with auto-correct and online spell check - not sure if it does the same for everyone, but that may not be a great thing…
*Oh, and my favourite of your combos is Zenobia Olive.