The only name that seems/feels right to me is [name_f]Lola[/name_f]. DH is hung up on the meaning since it literally means lady of sorrows. Does that have to be a deal breaker? Would it be for you? We have been through soooo many names and nothing else fits.
[name_u]Truly[/name_u], I think your child will find out what her name means someday, maybe have some angst about it, but really not think it’s a big deal in the grand scheme of things. She might even laugh about the irony of it, depending on the kind of person she is.
I don’t think you should get rid of a name you love just because of the meaning.
[name_m]Hi[/name_m] @tiffntobysgirl,
Name meanings used to be a deal-breaker for me, but Nameberry creators [name_f]Pam[/name_f] and [name_f]Linda[/name_f] taught me that a name’s image is more relevant in modern times.
I wouldn’t get hung up about it. If it’s the only name that works, you should use it regardless of meaning.
Personally, I have yet to consider the meaning of a name in any of my favorite name list-making decisions. Some may call it shallow, but I only go by how a name looks and sounds to me.
When my son was in elementary school he had to “research” the meaning of his name and write a paragraph or two on it. it’s non impressive at best and he was disappointed. His paper ended up being very sarcastic about how awesome he thought it was and how well it suited him. To be honest I didnt know what it meant before that, I just liked it the best but we still joke about it every once in awhile. For the record, he likes his name and he has made it his own.
For me, name meanings aren’t all that important. It’s a bonus if a lovely name has an equally lovely meaning, but not a deal breaker if it doesn’t. I’m more concerned with the sounds in names, how they flow with middle and surnames, number of syllables, etc.
I’ve never payed attention to name meanings because I’ve never really thought it was of much importance. My thoughts about I are that your name is your name, and you’re not going to tell every person you meet the meaning of your name as you introduce yourself. To me it’s just kind of a background plus if it’s a cool meaning. I’m not superstitious, so I don’t think a name meaning could mean bad luck or anything to the child’s future.
I think [name_f]Lola[/name_f] is a beautiful name! It has been a favourite for a long time.
I honestly don’t even look up the meanings of names I like. My name means pretty much nothing and I never think about it. It has nothing to do with me or who I am. Name meanings are just not important to me or my family. I look at it as being a plus of the name I like has a great meaning! I wouldn’t overthink it!
I seem to be in the minority on this matter, but for me, the meaning is extremely important. I am a bit of a linguistics // philology enthusiast and I suppose that makes a difference, but the way I look at it is that the meaning is the intention the name was originally given with, and it still is relevant for people today. My parents chose a name for me that had an extremely positive and poetic meaning both etymologically and for them at that point in their lives, and it is important for me that one day I will do the same thing for my own children.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use [name_f]Lola[/name_f], however, as the sentiment was in reference to the Virgin [name_f]Mary[/name_f] in a way that was very dear to Spanish Catholics. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if you are not religious, the original meaning of the name was in a positive context, so I think [name_f]Lola[/name_f] is a good name for a baby and for a woman.
My name means ‘man’ and I’m the furthest from it! So I don’t think name meanings a big deal. It’s just always been something I laugh over. I think why I was named it is more important (after my grandad)
I like your approach and I agree. Names have roots, and discovering and contextualising those roots makes them all the more special. I kind of think that if you go by an agreeable-sounding collection of syllables, you may as well just make up words.
Learning the meaning of a name should be a more involved process than reading a two-word entry in a database. As you pointed out, there are reasons behind the past use of names like [name_f]Lola[/name_f]/[name_f]Dolores[/name_f], which have nothing to do with anticipating having a miserable child. It’s a pet peeve of mine when people read these short meanings completely out of context. Names connect us to culture and to history, and resources like this website should be an opportunity to make those connections, more than just being a vast repository of pretty syllable strings.
Current meanings and associations are important, since the history of names is a process which we ourselves and the people we know are a part of, but it annoys me to see the roots of a name completely dismissed.
Technically, [name_f]Dolores[/name_f] is the name that means “lady of sorrows”, while [name_f]Lola[/name_f] is a traditional nickname for [name_f]Dolores[/name_f]. Opinions will vary on this, but I don’t think of nicknames actually meaning the same thing as the formal name. For example, my formal name is [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], which comes from the Greek word for pearl “margaritári”, but my nickname is [name_f]Meg[/name_f]. What does [name_f]Meg[/name_f] have in common with the Greek word “margaritári”? An “M” and a “G”? It certainly looks nothing like “margaritári”, so why would it have the same meaning? Instead, I would say [name_f]Meg[/name_f] is basically meaningless, and I would say the same for [name_f]Lola[/name_f] (which can also be a nickname for [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], and [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] if you like any of their meanings better). Another example is Isabella, which is an Italian form of Elizabeth, meaning “pledged to God”. However, a lot of people shorten it to Bella, which means “beautiful”. In that case, the nickname does have a meaning, but it’s totally different from the formal name.
Anyway, I think name meanings are interesting, but shouldn’t be taken too seriously. A lot of times, name meanings are more…poetic, maybe?..instead of literal anyway.
It matters not one whit.
Only nameberries go around saying Ooh your name means Lady of Sorrows. The rest of the world just responds to the name.
Put it this way - there are some lovely names with ugly meanings and some ugly names with lovely meanings.
Pulchritude means beauty, but I’d choose your name favorite over it any day!