[name]Hi[/name] All,
I am really liking the nickname [name]Lainey[/name] (spelling undecided) for a girl, however I prefer more formal/traditional full names. Can you provide some suggestions for how to get to this nickname? The obvious choice of [name]Elaine[/name] I think is pretty, but I can not get past thinking of Seinfeld (and I am concerned everyone will feel the same).
I can not wait to hear your suggestions.
Thanks so much!!
Elymayday
I work with a [name]Laini[/name], and that’s her full name. Is there a reason you feel it’s only a nick name?
Perhaps [name]Delaney[/name] or [name]Alaina[/name].
[name]Elaina[/name]
[name]Elaine[/name]
[name]Elena[/name]
[name]Ghislaine[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
H”l”ne
[name]Marjolaine[/name]
?
It’s great to see all of your suggestions so far.
Braveangel2 - There is no particular reason for using [name]Lainey[/name] as a nickname other than my preference for having a more formal first name. I prefer using more traditional full names and not ones that sound diminutive in form (ending in a Y or IE sounds). For example, I prefer [name]Sophia[/name] to [name]Sophie[/name] as the full name, even if I used [name]Sophie[/name] as a nickname.
I like the eh-lay-nah sound significantly more than eh-leh-nah or eh-lah-nah. It seems that spelling and pronunciation get really confusing with this handful of names, which I consider a drawback. If I wanted the eh-lay-nah pronunciation, what is the least confusing spelling while still properly spelling the name?
For the spelling/pronunciation reasons, I would not mind using a name totally outside this group that still gets the [name]Lainey[/name] nickname (even if it’s a bit of a stretch) 
I adore the nn [name]Lainey[/name]. Here are some ideas!
[name]Emmaline[/name]
[name]Eleanor[/name]/[name]Eleanora[/name]
[name]Elaine[/name]
[name]Alana[/name]/[name]Ilana[/name]
Evangaline
[name]Helen[/name]/[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Lillian[/name]
Wilhemina
[name]Lana[/name]
You can do a double barrel or fn and mn and just call her [name]Lainey[/name]
[name]Lucy[/name] [name]Nora[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name] [name]Ann[/name]
[name]Loretta[/name] [name]Natalie[/name]
[name]Lily[/name] [name]Annora[/name]
[name]Laurel[/name] [name]Nanette[/name]
[name]Lila[/name]/[name]Layla[/name] [name]Jane[/name]
[name]Madelaine[/name]: like [name]Madeline[/name], except the last syllable is laine. Someone suggested this to me probably a year or so ago, and I thought it was a really cute way to get the nickname [name]Lainey[/name].
[name]Milena[/name]: pr. muh-lay-nuh. I think it’s very pretty and a unique way to get the nickname [name]Lainey[/name].
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Delaney[/name]
I know this is a short list, but I tried to avoid repeats.
[name]Jelena[/name]
[name]Leonora[/name]
[name]Melanie[/name]
[name]Marlena[/name]
[name]Milena[/name]
I definitely think that the “[name]Elaina[/name]” spelling is the least confusing. “[name]Elena[/name]” is the “latin” spelling in my experience, so people in [name]Texas[/name] know it is pronounced the same as “[name]Elaina[/name]” but that might not be the case everywhere. I went to school with a girl named [name]Alana[/name] for 10 years and never really knew how to pronounce her name because half the time it was pronounced “A-lah-nah” and have the time it was pronounced “A-lay-nah.” You could always go with [name]Alaina[/name], too… I think that looks pretty and less related to the dated “[name]Elaine[/name].”
[name]Lane[/name]
[name]Delaina[/name]
[name]Adelaine[/name]
[name]Yelena[/name]
[name]Melaine[/name]
[name]Melaina[/name]
[name]Linnea[/name]
Besides [name]Elaine[/name]…
[name]Olena[/name], [name]Helen[/name], [name]Helena[/name], [name]Helaine[/name], etc.
[name]Lane[/name] (think [name]Gilmore[/name] Girls)
[name]Alayna[/name] (and I steal the following list from a previous thread:
Have fun. It’s actually pretty hard! I think my favorites were [name]Helaine[/name], [name]Alayna[/name], [name]Lane[/name] and M”laine, though I could get used to [name]Adalane[/name].
Wow. I love all these suggestions. I am going to have to run them by DH to see what he thinks. I think we have some real winners here Thanks for all of your help.
Lorrelaine popped into my head as well as others mentioned (elaine etc)
[name]Alane[/name] is another name I have seen a couple places but I think it is slightly “made up”… I still think its pretty though.
I think [name]Melaine[/name] could work, btw I have a little 6 month old cousin called [name]Lainey[/name] [name]May[/name] and the name really suits her.
[name]Elaina[/name] would be your best bet. I would stick with this spelling and not [name]Elena[/name], as it can be prn multiple ways. [name]Elaina[/name] is very pretty and [name]Lainey[/name] makes for an obvious nn.
Btw, my sister was going to use [name]Lainey[/name] 10 years ago when her first son was born had he been a girl. I think it can stand on its own but I prefer it as a nn for [name]Elaina[/name].
I love the idea of [name]Marlena[/name] (mar-[name]LAY[/name]-nuh) nn [name]Laney[/name]! Super cute. It’s less popular than [name]Elena[/name]/[name]Alaina[/name] and has less spelling issues.