We are ttc and considering using a middle name spot to honour husband’s grandma [name]Thelma[/name], a tough lady who raised 7 kids on her own after she lost her husband. Anyway, DH already has a cousin named after her: Th3lma J3an L0uise, who goes by [name]Jean[/name] or [name]Jeannie[/name]. But trying to come up with a reasonable alternative to [name]Thelma[/name] is proving elusive. The closest we could come to something we liked is [name]Thessaly[/name], but it seems tangential and it doesn’t work well with our favourite girls’ name. Any thoughts or suggestions beyond [name]Thea[/name] or [name]Theta[/name], et al?
This probably doesn’t help you in the slightest, but I adore Thelma Jean L*ouise!
Did his grandma have a middle name you like? Or is her maiden name usable in the middle (or even first)? Her place of birth? I’m sort of grasping at straws here, but if you want to honour her rather than just her name, so to speak, there are other things which you could use.
I think [name]Thelma[/name]/[name]Velma[/name]/[name]Salma[/name] ect are so awesome. But maybe her surname, maiden name, middle, birth month, ect are more your style?
[name]Selma[/name] and [name]Anselma[/name] sound a bit less musty than [name]Thelma[/name], and are both close enough to count as inspirations, I think? [name]Alma[/name] seems like a good option too- in the ‘spirit’ of [name]Thelma[/name], anyhow (er, too late for puns?).
As for tangential associations, I like [name]Cecilia[/name] in part because my mother defended her music doctorate on the 22 [name]November[/name] many years ago, and despite the fact that my family is in no way Catholic (or high Anglican for that matter), the coincidence delighted her and the name does therefore hold some meaning for me (and a future daughter) that way. Ditto [name]Barbara[/name], which is both a family name and has the bonus of referring to my geologist sibling. And [name]Jerome[/name] in a family of archivists and language hoarders? Favourite boys’ name for that an a few other reasons. I’m not religious and my family’s not RC, but I do [name]LOVE[/name] digging through old hagiographies for new names and new associations, references, and connotations. Maybe there’s something in that vein (not necessarily saints, but a more personal connection than re-arranged letters) that might work to honour grandma? A favourite character, a favourite flower, her maiden name?