Honoring a Clover

Girl Names
1

I’d like to come up with a girl’s name that works as a tribute to my lifelong best friend. Her real name is [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], but I’ve called her [name_f]Clover[/name_f] for many years. No one else calls her by this name (in HS, everyone did, but now that we’re in our professional years, it only survives through me).

I don’t really mind whether the tribute part is the first name or a middle name.

Obvious choice is [name_f]Chloe[/name_f], which I actually do like - it has a lovely meaning and some history, but it’s just gotten so popular. It feels trendy, you know?

I don’t like [name_f]Cleo[/name_f] or [name_f]Clementine[/name_f]. [name_f]Clotilde[/name_f] just seems odd.

A spin on [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] could work for me too; I just can’t think of any that I like. [name_f]Aisling[/name_f] is pretty, but the spelling is misleading, and it’s too modern for me.

I like established but somewhat less common names, like… [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]May[/name_f], [name_f]Adele[/name_f], [name_f]Helen/name_f, [name_u]Marion[/name_u], [name_f]Josephina[/name_f], [name_u]Meredith[/name_u], [name_f]Lena[/name_f], [name_f]Rosemarie[/name_f], etc. Ideally recognizable in English, but I also like Germanic, [name_m]French[/name_m] and Gaelic names.

For first names, I prefer it to be fairly short and easy to spell, since our last name is cumbersome. [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] would be okay but [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] (lovely as it is) would not. And I love nicknames!

Thanks for any suggestions! In case it wasn’t clear, I’m hoping for first + middle combos.

2

[name_f]Ashlyn[/name_f] [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]
[name_f]Vera[/name_f] [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] (clo[name_f]VER[/name_f])
[name_u]Meredith[/name_u] [name_f]Love[/name_f] (cLOVEr)
[name_f]Helena[/name_f] [name_u]Clove[/name_u] ([name_f]CLOVEr[/name_f])
[name_f]Helena[/name_f] [name_m]Cove[/name_m] ([name_f]ClOVEr[/name_f])
[name_u]Sasha[/name_u] [name_f]Rosemarie[/name_f] ([name_u]ASHley[/name_u])
[name_f]Ashanti[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f]

3

Why not just use [name_f]Clover[/name_f] as a middle? It’s spunky and fun and cute. I think [name_f]Adele[/name_f] [name_f]Clover[/name_f], [name_f]Josephina[/name_f] [name_f]Clover[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] [name_f]Clover[/name_f], [name_f]Lena[/name_f] [name_f]Clover[/name_f], etc. are all really sweet and unexpected, and honor your friend in a special way.

I had a friend with a similar circumstance: her name was [name_f]Amelie[/name_f], but her grandfather called her [name_f]Fleurette[/name_f]. Flowers meant a lot to her, as well as the name [name_f]Fleur[/name_f], so I feel like while I never called her [name_f]Fleur[/name_f], it’s a great way to honor her (and her [name_m]French[/name_m] heritage). I feel like straying too far from [name_f]Fleur[/name_f] (like something that sounds similar, like [name_f]Florence[/name_f], or even a flower name, like [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f], [name_f]Violet[/name_f], or [name_f]Lily[/name_f], doesn’t really honor her, because it doesn’t have anything to do with her. It’s just one step too far removed for me. I do like the suggestions of [name_u]Clove[/name_u] and a name containing [name_u]Ash[/name_u], like [name_f]Asha[/name_f], [name_f]Natasha[/name_f], [name_f]Aislinn[/name_f]. I think something like [name_f]Zosia[/name_f] [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] could work, as a huge stretch, since you have the “A” and the “sh” sound in [name_f]Zosia[/name_f], and the “ley” sound in [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f].

If you’re not set on sticking to [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] and [name_f]Clover[/name_f], you could probably branch out into her birthstone, birth flower, and if she took language classes in high school/college, she might have had to take on a “[name_m]French[/name_m] name” or a “Spanish name” or a “[name_m]German[/name_m] name” or whatever. That might be a nice way to honor her. I remember my sisters have been [name_f]Elodie[/name_f], [name_f]Magdalena[/name_f], and [name_f]Sofia[/name_f], so I’d consider all of those to honor them in roundabout ways. Or maybe you could work with her middle name?

Good luck!

4

Claire Vera

Coralie Victoria

or I agree with just finding a first name you like and using clover as a middle name

5

I think honor names only work if you use the name itself or a recognizable variation on it. For instance, honoring [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] by naming your daughter [name_f]Greta[/name_f] works perfectly; naming her [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] is a bit of a stretch yet still makes sense; but naming her [name_f]Jewel[/name_f] – because Pearls are jewels! – is so much a reach the connection ceases to be meaningful. So I would suggest using [name_f]Clover[/name_f], [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], or a recognizable variation of [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] ([name_m]Asher[/name_m] or [name_f]Aisling[/name_f], for instance) instead of, say, [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] (the ‘Cl’ in [name_f]Clover[/name_f]!) or [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] (it starts with an ‘A’ like [name_u]Ashley[/name_u]!). That said, if you’re looking for a subtler homage, [name_u]Shannon[/name_u] might be the perfect name.