Honoring Mary Helen...

Hubby and I are 99% sure we will name our baby [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] if it’s a girl. I would absolutely love to honor my aunt by using a name inspired by her’s as a middle. I was extremely close to her & she passed away from cancer not too long ago. Her name was [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Helen[/name_f], the problem being, I don’t like the names [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or [name_f]Helen[/name_f], nor do I think they fit with [name_f]Fiona[/name_f]. I don’t really like the typical subs for [name_f]Mary[/name_f] either like [name_f]Marie[/name_f], [name_f]Maria[/name_f], [name_f]Maura[/name_f] and so on.

The sound and flow of the names together is important to me. Any ideas on how I can honor [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or even [name_f]Helen[/name_f] in a middle spot for [name_f]Fiona[/name_f]?

There are sooooo many names based off of [name_f]Mary[/name_f] (either etymologically or religiously):
[name_u]Meredith[/name_u]
[name_u]Marion[/name_u]
[name_f]Manon[/name_f]
Marlise
[name_f]Marisol[/name_f]
[name_f]Mamie[/name_f]
[name_f]Miriam[/name_f]
[name_f]Marta[/name_f]
[name_f]Molly[/name_f]
[name_f]Mimi[/name_f]
[name_f]Meryl[/name_f]
[name_f]Maren[/name_f]
[name_f]Moira[/name_f] (maybe the most Irish version which links into [name_f]Fiona[/name_f])
[name_f]Mira[/name_f]
[name_f]Virginia[/name_f]
[name_f]Mae[/name_f]
[name_f]Mia[/name_f]
[name_f]Mitzi[/name_f]
[name_f]Dolores[/name_f] (and related name [name_f]Lola[/name_f])

There are also some names based off of [name_f]Helen[/name_f]:
[name_f]Helena[/name_f]
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]
[name_f]Leona[/name_f]
[name_f]Lena[/name_f]
[name_f]Ella[/name_f]
[name_f]Helene[/name_f]
[name_f]Aileen[/name_f]
[name_f]Eileen[/name_f]
[name_f]Ellen[/name_f]
[name_f]Eleni[/name_f]
[name_f]Iliana[/name_f]
[name_f]Olena[/name_f]

It really needs to fit with [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] so to me that means no -a endings, I think it would be too much. I also don’t like cutesy names like [name_f]Molly[/name_f], [name_f]Mimi[/name_f], and [name_f]Mitzi[/name_f]. The problem is, I know there are many relatives, but I don’t like their sound. The best out of that list to me is [name_f]Mae[/name_f], but I’m still looking.

[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] is gorgeous.

[name_f]Marnie[/name_f], [name_f]May[/name_f]/[name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_f]Maren[/name_f], [name_u]Marlowe[/name_u], [name_u]Marley[/name_u], [name_f]Hayley[/name_f], [name_f]Helena[/name_f], [name_f]Heloise[/name_f], [name_u]Hadley[/name_u], [name_f]Hattie[/name_f].

What about [name_f]Maren[/name_f]?

[name_f]Edit[/name_f]: Saw this was included in someone else’s post - however, it’s still the first one that came to mind! Good luck!

Marielena is the Spanish version of [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Helen[/name_f], but it might be a lot when paired with [name_f]Fiona[/name_f]. I second [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Miriam[/name_f].

I love the name [name_f]Fiona[/name_f]. What about:

[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Maris[/name_f]

I think this one hits the mark.

[name_f]Helen[/name_f] is Greek for “[name_u]Bright[/name_u], shining one” and I think that the best way to proceed is to choose a similar meaning. [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is the Latin version of [name_f]Helen[/name_f] and it has some nice variations such as:

[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Lenore[/name_f]
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] Liore
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_u]Lior[/name_u]

Another name that means “[name_u]Bright[/name_u]” is [name_f]Claire[/name_f]/[name_u]Clare[/name_u]. What about:

[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Claire[/name_f] ?

I really adore [name_f]Mamie[/name_f] ([name_f]Mae[/name_f]-mi) and think [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Mamie[/name_f] is gorgeous… Similar to [name_f]Mae[/name_f] but a little less common. I also like [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_u]Marion[/name_u] or
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]
If you can’t find a name you love related to [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or [name_f]Helen[/name_f] What about honouring your aunt some other way… Her favourite flower, her favourite place, a gem stone she loved or that of her birth sign, A literary/song reference that was special to her or another personal reference.

I know it was suggested at least twice already but I’d like to also suggest [name_f]Marin[/name_f]. This is my favourite name to honour [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Marin[/name_f] sounds beautiful.

You can’t go wrong with [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] – how very lovely!

I live in the Midwest and have only met one [name_f]Fiona[/name_f]. She is in kindergarten and has unruly, curly blonde hair and the cutest little munchkin voice. I am a big fan of [name_f]Fiona[/name_f]!

Other possibilities for you to consider with a connection to [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or [name_f]Helen[/name_f] or possibly both:

[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Marielle[/name_f], [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Mariel[/name_f] (I pronounce both Mah-REEE-[name_f]Elle[/name_f])
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_u]Meredith[/name_u]
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Maureen[/name_f], [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Maurine[/name_f]
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Maria[/name_f] (It sounds very Catholic and both names end in the letter A, but somehow, I think this combination works!)
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Marisol[/name_f]
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Helene[/name_f]
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Aileen[/name_f] (I believe that is the Scottish version of [name_f]Helen[/name_f].)
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Eileen[/name_f] (Irish version of [name_f]Helen[/name_f])

Best of luck! Be sure to post in announcements once your little one arrives. I am loving [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] more and more – such history and class! [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Aileen[/name_f] is another strong choice. It sounds European and spunky.

[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Magdalene[/name_f]? This is my favourite. A bit unrelated, of course. But it has the -len sound from [name_f]Helen[/name_f] and is related to [name_f]Mary[/name_f] in a religious way. Otherwise, I second [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Miriam[/name_f]. :slight_smile:

Well other variations of [name_f]Helen[/name_f] are [name_f]Ellen[/name_f], [name_f]Elaine[/name_f], [name_f]Eileen[/name_f],[name_f]Ilene[/name_f] (still pronounced the same as [name_f]Eileen[/name_f]),[name_f]Elena[/name_f], [name_f]Alayna[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f],[name_f]Eleanora[/name_f], [name_f]Lenore[/name_f]…

Variants of [name_f]Mary[/name_f] : [name_f]Malia[/name_f], [name_f]Mara[/name_f],[name_f]Moira[/name_f],[name_f]Marla[/name_f],[name_f]Marlene[/name_f],[name_f]Marilyn[/name_f],[name_f]Marietta[/name_f],[name_f]Marianne[/name_f],[name_f]Molly[/name_f],[name_f]Marilla[/name_f], [name_f]Polly[/name_f]…

Or you could always choose to honour her by a choosing a name that represents her birth month, or favourite flower…something like that.

[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Marys[/name_f]?

I agree with the suggestion to choose a way of honoring here besides her name. Think about her distinct features or something that was special between the two of you and go from there.

[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Nell[/name_f] would be lovely in my opinion.

[name_f]Do[/name_f] you like [name_f]Mariel[/name_f]? It’s another version of [name_f]Mary[/name_f], but maybe not so obvious? Also, I like how the -el is reminiscent of the beginning of [name_f]Helen[/name_f]. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Helen[/name_f] --> [name_f]Mariel[/name_f] seems like it could be a smoosh that’s not really a smoosh. Maybe? Also, I think [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Mariel[/name_f] sounds sweet.

Is there any other way to honor her? Perhaps through her birthstone or something along those lines.

I love the suggestion of [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Claire[/name_f].

Thanks for all the suggestions! I do like the idea of using a different way to honor her other than her name, it wasn’t something I thought about. Her favorite flowers were daisies, she was born in [name_u]June[/name_u], and one of the birthstones associated with that month is [name_f]Pearl[/name_f].

It looks like [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] is the most popular so far but I’m not sure, I’ll have to run it by DH. [name_f]Maris[/name_f], and [name_u]Lior[/name_u] are interesting choices to think about.

So far I’m liking [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f], but I wonder if it’s too abstract in honoring her.