My grandmother meant the world to me. Her name was an ethnic variant of [name]Helen[/name] [name]Esther[/name].
Can Berries help me generate a list of names that would honor her? (she’s why [name]Helena[/name] and [name]Elena[/name] are on my short list with other names, and I’d like to expand and mix it up some, with a combo that alludes to both name). I am fine with names that allude to the meanings, too, which separately are light ([name]Helen[/name])and star ([name]Esther[/name]), and together is basically starlight (light + star), which I think is awesome, too.
What about Hester? It’s a form of Esther and perfectly combines Helen and Esther!
Assuming you do like Hester you could use a combo such as Hester Esme (which means loved) or Beatrice Hester (brings happiness) to honor her and how you feel about her.
I love [name]Phoebe[/name]! Kind of forgot the tie in to light. I don’t think my husband likes it though, but maybe I could win him over.
[name]Hester[/name] is nms on a first read, although I do like the idea of tying the names together. And I like that it’s literary. It actually is a good idea since [name]Esther[/name] in the middle spot so often bumps against names endings in vowels that I tend to like (a la [name]Lily[/name] [name]Hester[/name] or [name]Johanna[/name] [name]Hester[/name] or something). [name]Worth[/name] thinking about, thanks!
And I do like the idea of taking other names and working with them in honoring ways. [name]Beatrice[/name] is very nice and my husband has come around to liking [name]Beatrix[/name]. [name]Esme[/name] could grow on me too (and it’s cool how it kind of sounds like [name]Estee[/name] which would touch on [name]Esther[/name]).
Alternatives with the same/similar meaning to: [name]Helen[/name] (light)
[name]Phoebe[/name] (greek)
[name]Dawn[/name] (english)
[name]Aurora[/name] (latin)
[name]Zoe[/name]/y (greek - meaning life/light)
I also like [name]Aurelia[/name] (meaning golden) as a potential alternative to [name]Helen[/name].
Alternatives with the same/similar meaning to: [name]Esther[/name] (star)
[name]Astra[/name] (greek)
[name]Estelle[/name] (french/english)
[name]Stella[/name] (latin)
[name]Estrella[/name] (spanish)
[name]Etoile[/name] (french)
I really like [name]Helen[/name] [name]Esther[/name]. ([name]Helen[/name]/a is on my favorite list). To really honor your grandmother it would be nice to keep either her fn or mn intact. Alternatives that I like that would follow that model include. [name]Helena[/name] [name]Estelle[/name] (star light), [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Hester[/name] (morning star), or maybe [name]Aurelia[/name] [name]Hester[/name] (golden star).
What about [name]Helena[/name] prn huh-[name]LAY[/name]-nuh? It is so pretty, it has the [name]Elena[/name] sound you like and [name]Helen[/name] in it. [name]Helena[/name] [name]Esther[/name] or [name]Helena[/name] [name]Estelle[/name](both star light) are beautiful.
[name]Clara[/name] means clear and bright. [name]Stella[/name] means star. Either of those would be lovely. Got to tell you though, I think [name]Helen[/name] is really great!
If you chose [name]Esme[/name], which I think is exquisite, you’d have to be tolerant of the potential Twilight relation. I think the name is beautiful, though, and a divine tribute to [name]Esther[/name].
Thanks all! I hadn’t seen [name]Zoe[/name] associated with a meaning of light before! Good to know! The meaning of “life” is associated with another family member’s name : D.
[name]Love[/name] the [name]Lucy[/name] names and have Lucys in the family tree too.
[name]Helene[/name] and [name]Helena[/name] are both pretty great, definitely.
Yes, both the “classic” forms of the names themselves and the ethnic variations that actually were her names are themselves on and off my lists at times. I do like the idea of direct honoring (which the ethnic forms would do best). But I quite like indirect honoring as well, and with our Anglo surname I’m not sure her exact names work. Maybe in the middle though.
I could definitely deal with the Twilight reaction with [name]Esme[/name]. It might be going on the list. While I quite like it, I don’t think I could see myself using it in the first, so in the middle I’d think the Twilight reaction would be a lot less (and dont’ worry, first name wouldn’t be [name]Renee[/name] : D).
I thought of the connection to [name]Clara[/name], already on the list for other reasons, after posting this : D.
I do love [name]Lena[/name] but it does feel a little incomplete to me…I think. Could consider it though.
[name]Love[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] and [name]Aurelia[/name] : D. Didn’t think about that connection either.
All the star names are good to think about too! [name]Stella[/name] has never inspired me the way it does many, but it could grow on me, especially in the middle.
@aguafresca I’ll message you privately. It’s pretty unique so for privacy purposes I’m trying to keep it off of here (although it’s not the end of the world if someone inadvertently guesses or something : D).
[name]Isis[/name], [name]Marabel[/name], and [name]Sidra[/name] could grow on me especially from list 1. None are quite my style exactly but they appeal.
[name]Eliora[/name] and [name]Solenne[/name], among others from list 2, really stand out too.
I saw [name]Hestia[/name] recommended on another thread today and instantly thought of this thread. I like it so much better than [name]Hester[/name] (which is too tied to Prynne for me) but it still has that He- -est.
[name]Hadassah[/name] is the Hebrew version of [name]Esther[/name], so maybe [name]Eleni[/name] [name]Hadassah[/name]? And I too am curious about your grandmother’s name. Though if you don’t want to share, I definitely understand.
[name]Hadassah[/name] is pretty cool, however we are not Jewish and I’m not sure how strange it would be on a not-Jewish girl. In the middle spot it could work though.
[name]Hestia[/name] is intriguing, thanks for thinking of me : D.
[name]Beatrice[/name] [name]Helene[/name] - tres elegant! : D.
Thanks all! I’ve kind of gotten interested in Hesper and [name]Vesper[/name] too…again more middle name territory!
