[name_f]My[/name_f] partner doesn’t like my grandmother’s name, [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], due to a personal experience with someone with the name (unrelated to my Nana). I would love to find a way to honour her. I’ve suggested [name_f]Audra[/name_f], but it felt too close.
Our top name for a girl is [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]. We also like [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f], [name_f]Alma[/name_f], [name_f]Francine[/name_f], [name_f]Maude[/name_f], [name_f]Sabrina[/name_f] and [name_f]Claudia[/name_f].
We could use [name_f]May[/name_f] as a middle name, but it is quite common and has started to feel a bit like a ‘filler’ middle name.
Maybe [name_f]Autumn[/name_f]? It shares similar letters without being too close, and I think it fits well with your other names. [name_f]Aubrey[/name_f] would also work, though it’s a bit different in style from most of your choices, and if [name_f]Audra[/name_f] is too close then [name_f]Aubrey[/name_f] may be too.
As far as [name_f]May[/name_f], maybe [name_f]Mabel[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], or [name_f]Mavis[/name_f] as a middle name instead? So you can keep the “May” sound but not the ‘filler’ feeling of [name_f]May[/name_f].
[name_m]Or[/name_m] even something like [name_f]Alma[/name_f] [name_f]Maude[/name_f], using names from your list, and she could share her initials with your [name_f]Nana[/name_f]!
Lastly, is there anything unrelated to your Nana’s name that could make a good honor name for her? Maybe she had a flower she loved, or you could use her birth month or birthstone if it makes a nice name?
[name_f]Adele[/name_f] (similar meaning and sounds to Audrey)
[name_f]Autumn[/name_f] (blend of Audrey and May)
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] (shared first letters)
[name_f]Adelie[/name_f] (similar sound and meaning)
[name_m]Remy[/name_m] (from [name_f]Aud[/name_f]rey and May)
[name_m]Auden[/name_m] (from the sound)
[name_f]Rey[/name_f] (end of [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], sound of May)
[name_f]Maura[/name_f] (blending the sounds)
[name_f]Arya[/name_f] (blending the letters)
[name_f]Maya[/name_f] (from May)
[name_f]Amy[/name_f] (anagram of May)
[name_f]Reya[/name_f] (from [name_f]May[/name_f] and [name_f]Aud[/name_f]rey)
[name_f]Maisy[/name_f] (from May)
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] (from [name_f]Aud[/name_f]rey and [name_f]May[/name_f])
I do think [name_f]Maude[/name_f] could work as an honour too. Based on [name_f]Aud[/name_f]rey May
[name_f]Rey[/name_f] would be a nice middle name! You may also consider [name_f]Reyna[/name_f].
[name_f]Claudia[/name_f] and [name_f]Maude[/name_f] share letters with [name_f]Audrey[/name_f]. They could work as honor names, too.
Seconding @Estrela’s suggestion of [name_f]Freya[/name_f] as it also shares part of Audrey’s meaning.
Some other letter ideas from Audrey’s meaning & sharing letters from [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f]:
[name_f]Ada[/name_f]
[name_f]Adalia[/name_f]
[name_f]Adalind[/name_f]
[name_f]Adamarie[/name_f], [name_f]Adamary[/name_f],
[name_f]Adara[/name_f]
[name_f]Adela[/name_f]
[name_m]Amari[/name_m]
[name_f]Della[/name_f]
[name_f]Dellamae[/name_f]
[name_f]Valentina[/name_f]
[name_f]Valerie[/name_f], [name_f]Valery[/name_f]
Another thought is that [name_f]Amy[/name_f] is an anagram of [name_f]May[/name_f] - perhaps that would make a nice middle?
[name_f]Love[/name_f] the previously suggested idea of [name_f]Maude[/name_f]!
[name_m]Noble[/name_m] (I see this as more masculine, but I think it could work for either gender, and [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] [name_m]Noble[/name_m] [name_m]James[/name_m] is lovely! [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] means “noble strength” so I think this would work well (or any other name meaning “noble” or “strength”)
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f] or [name_f]Esme[/name_f] (or any other name with the [name_f]May[/name_f] sound!)
[name_f]Alma[/name_f] [name_f]Maude[/name_f] (or any other double middle that uses the initials AM?)
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f] or [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] (traditionally the names that [name_f]May[/name_f] gets a full name for)
[name_m]Or[/name_m] maybe there was some aspect of your grandmother through her personality or life experience that could give you a touching tie to her? [name_f]My[/name_f] grandmother’s middle was also May/Mae and pretty much half the girls in the family got named either her first name or Mae… I was not keen to follow suit (although I love her first name now lol). Two of my favorite ways to honor her were [name_f]Lily[/name_f] (at her funeral I was given a lily and it felt like her last gift to me, I love lilies because of this!) and [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] (her first name was [name_f]Ruth[/name_f], and I like the tie to the Bible story). I love these names because they feel like a special tie to her, but not one half the others in my family will have! Maybe something like that could work for you?
You could have [name_f]Maude[/name_f] as the middle name as it shares the same sound as [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] and begins with M like [name_f]May[/name_f]!
Hoping for some brainstorming and ideas!!