If you had to name daughters after women you found inspirational - they can be real or fictional - what would you name them, and who would they be after?
Merit… presumably first woman in science.
[name]Morgana[/name] - (I know she was evil, but at first she was good, healing fairy ([name]Morgana[/name] [name]Le[/name] [name]Faye[/name]))
[name]Brunhild[/name]
[name]Freya[/name]
[name]Brigita[/name]
[name]Melusine[/name]
[name]Daphne[/name]
But some of these are not my first pick.
[name]Beatrix[/name] – My favorite children’s book writer, she also became one of the first female experts on botany.
[name]Thea[/name] – After the witch character named [name]Thea[/name] [name]Harman[/name] from L.J. [name]Smith[/name]'s Nightworld series. This character has always stayed with me through the years.
[name]Jane[/name] – For [name]Jane[/name] Goodall and [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austin[/name]
Let’s see!
[name]Cecilia[/name], after [name]Cecilia[/name] [name]Payne[/name], a brilliant scientist not given nearly enough credit for her discoveries. Also, perhaps, [name]Helena[/name], as that was her middle name.
[name]Rosalind[/name], after [name]Rosalind[/name] [name]Franklin[/name], another brilliant scientist not given nearly enough credit.
[name]Mary[/name], after the Mother of God, or [name]Dolores[/name], [name]Soledad[/name], [name]Marian[/name], [name]Mairwen[/name]
[name]Harriet[/name], after [name]Harriet[/name] Tubman
[name]Ida[/name], after [name]Ida[/name] B. [name]Wells[/name]
IDK, there are many to choose from!
I would use the names of my mother and my boyfriend’s mum. They are both very inspirational and strong women who I adore. Their names are [name]Mary[/name] [name]Teresa[/name] and [name]Helena[/name] [name]Maria[/name] [name]Christine[/name].
So if I only had one daughter, I would easily name her [name]Teresa[/name] [name]Helena[/name].
[name]Amelia[/name]- after [name]Amelia[/name] [name]Earhart[/name], she had spirit and ambition but she was still a kind person
[name]Florence[/name]- after [name]Florence[/name] Nightingale
[name]Eleanor[/name]- After [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Roosevelt[/name]
[name]Abigail[/name]- after [name]Abigail[/name] [name]Adams[/name]
[name]Joan[/name]- after [name]Joan[/name] of [name]Arc[/name]
[name]Agnes[/name]- after [name]Agnes[/name] [name]Randolph[/name], also known as [name]Black[/name] [name]Agnes[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]- after [name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Bronte[/name]
[name]Betty[/name]— my mom
[name]Lucille[/name]— my grandmother
[name]Florence[/name]— my grandmother, also [name]Florence[/name] Nightingale
Tywla—Tywla Tharp
[name]Martha[/name]— [name]Martha[/name] [name]Graham[/name]
Loiuse— [name]Louise[/name] [name]Brooks[/name]
I named my oldest daughter after St. [name]Clare[/name] of [name]Assisi[/name] a contemporary of St. [name]Francis[/name] and my younger daughter after the American philanthropist St. [name]Katharine[/name] Drexel. We’re considering naming a future daughter Grace after Our Lady of Grace (a title of the Virgin Mary) or after another American saint St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
I want my future daughter’s middle name to be Annelies after Annelies “[name]Anne[/name]” [name]Frank[/name].
[name]Mary[/name], [name]Leire[/name], [name]Luz[/name], [name]Mercedes[/name] - The Virgin [name]Mary[/name]
[name]Eulalia[/name] - Martyr
[name]Genevieve[/name] - Patron [name]Saint[/name] of [name]Paris[/name]
[name]Zoe[/name] - Martyr
And then, of course, any other inspirational saint (are there any other kind?)
Our daughter’s name, [name]Maura[/name], is an Anglicized version of [name]Maire[/name]/[name]Muire[/name], the Irish form of [name]Mary[/name]. [name]Muire[/name] is the name of the Blessed Mother, whereas [name]Maire[/name] is used as a given name.
If we ever have another daughter, my husband wants to name her [name]Brigid[/name] after St. [name]Brigid[/name] of Kildare, one of the patron saints of [name]Ireland[/name].
(Yes, he’s very into his heritage and religion. I’m not Catholic myself, and I’m not even sure if I’m Irish, but my maiden name does sound like it.)
The middle names, [name]Lucille[/name] and [name]Helen[/name], are our grandmothers’ names.
[name]Josephine[/name] - from the character [name]Jo[/name] in [name]Little[/name] Women.
[name]Ada[/name]… Lovelace, the first computer scientist (She was born an [name]Augusta[/name])
[name]Josephine[/name]… [name]Clara[/name] Goldmark, an advocate for child labor laws and the [name]Empress[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Matilda[/name]… so many! The character, [name]Matilda[/name] of [name]England[/name] (and the first queen of [name]England[/name] was [name]Matilda[/name]) and [name]Matilda[/name] [name]Gage[/name], 19th Century feminist and freethinker are the first that come to mind
[name]Madeleine[/name]… Albright, the first female Secretary of State in the US
[name]Victoria[/name]… Woodhull, the first woman to run for president in the US (nearly 30 years before women had the right to vote)
[name]Eleanor[/name]… [name]Roosevelt[/name] and [name]Eleanor[/name] of [name]Aquitaine[/name]
[name]Lyra[/name]… Bellacqua, the heroine of the His Dark Materials series
[name]Nellie[/name]- [name]Bly[/name], who founded investigative reporting, and had herself committed to a mental institution in the 19th century to do it, then sailed around the world. (She was born an [name]Elizabeth[/name])
Obviously I’ve thought about this a lot… I definitely want to give my daughter a strong role model somewhere in her name. So I love this thread!
[name]Katherine[/name] after [name]Captain[/name] [name]Katherine[/name] Janeway of the USS Voyager… yeah a [name]Star[/name] Trek character. lol
Aiblieen after Aiblieen [name]Clark[/name] from The Help. [name]Love[/name] that woman. Nickname “Aibee” is wicked!
[name]Teresa[/name] for Mother [name]Teresa[/name] would be nice. I really like the name [name]Thais[/name], which is different, but the connection is nice.
I also always thought if I ever adopted I would name a girl [name]Josephine[/name] or [name]Mia[/name] or [name]Mia[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] perhaps! For [name]Mia[/name] Farrow & [name]Josephine[/name] [name]Baker[/name] who both adopted many children. I guess I could add [name]Angelina[/name] into the mix now!
The most awesome namesake I have come across is Hypatia. (Love that it is a feminist/intellectual/agnostic hero for those who research it) Unfortunately, I just don’t think that is usable because it’s so different that I imagine people would have difficulty remembering exactly what the name is. (“Ah, what was her name…it was really odd, but I can’t remember…”)
I love the Greek goddess names but am too chicken to use them myself: Andromeda (LOVE LOVE), Aphrodite (love), Athena (like), Venus (too bad it rhymes with penis)
Genevieve is so beautiful! And a wonderful namesake as well.
I also love Portia, don’t like the connection people make to Porsches, but I like the Shakespearean connections.
Clara Barton is a nice namesake, too.
Most of my favourite girls’ names have an inspiring woman connected to them (one but obviously not the only reason I love them):
[name]Portia[/name], [name]Cordelia[/name]- characters from [name]Shakespeare[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name]- [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Bennet[/name], [name]Queen[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] I and II
[name]Victoria[/name]- [name]Queen[/name] [name]Victoria[/name]
[name]Scarlett[/name]- [name]Scarlett[/name] O’[name]Hara[/name] (some may argue she’s not a very good character, but despite her flaws I do admire her)
[name]Georgiana[/name]- [name]Georgiana[/name] [name]Darcy[/name]
[name]Diana[/name]- [name]Princess[/name] [name]Diana[/name] and a woman I know
You just gained about 394923845794353 awesome points! In the same way, I’ve always liked [name]Leonard[/name] because of Dr [name]Leonard[/name] “Bones” [name]McCoy[/name] from The Original Series.
[name]Rosalind[/name] - [name]Rosalind[/name] [name]Franklin[/name]
[name]Hadley[/name] - my mother
[name]Lyra[/name] - Belacqua
[name]Beatrice[/name] - Much [name]Ado[/name] About Nothing
Agree! I adore everything about [name]Hypatia[/name]. I tested the waters with friends and family some time back when I got a kitten, and asked what names they liked (I gave them a list of some of my favorites). [name]Hypatia[/name] wasn’t liked by any of them, and I found out that most of them were saying it wrong, which may have factored into it. Shrug. I love it, but now I know most people do not. They all loved [name]Pandora[/name], however, which made me happy.
Anyway.
If I didn’t give a hoot what the world thought of my daughters, I’d use the name of a woman from long ago:
[name]Boudicca[/name], the queen
[name]Hildegard[/name], the poet
[name]Hypatia[/name], the philosopher
[name]Sappho[/name], the poet
or fictional inspirational females:
[name]Anne[/name], from [name]Green[/name] Gables
Eilonwy, from The Prydain Chronicles
[name]Eowyn[/name], from [name]Lord[/name] of the Rings
[name]Imogen[/name] “Idgie”, from [name]Fried[/name] [name]Green[/name] Tomatoes
[name]Jane[/name], from [name]Jane[/name] [name]Eyre[/name]
[name]Josephine[/name], from [name]Little[/name] Women
[name]Lyra[/name], from His Dark Materials
[name]Melanie[/name], from Gone with the Wind
[name]Scarlett[/name], from Gone with the Wind
[name]Viola[/name], from Twelfth [name]Night[/name]
or personal heroes/favorites, most of which would make for an easier name to carry:
[name]Alice[/name] [name]Walker[/name], the author
[name]Amelia[/name] [name]Earhart[/name], the aviator
[name]Ani[/name] DiFranco, musician
[name]Aretha[/name] [name]Franklin[/name], musician
[name]Billie[/name] [name]Holiday[/name], musician
[name]Blanche[/name], my ancestor
[name]Christine[/name], my mother
[name]Ella[/name] [name]Fitzgerald[/name], musician
[name]Etta[/name] [name]James[/name], musician
[name]Ida[/name] [name]Forest[/name], my ancestor
[name]Janis[/name] [name]Joplin[/name], musician
[name]Joni[/name] [name]Mitchell[/name], musician
[name]Lucille[/name] Ball, the comedian
[name]Maya[/name] [name]Angelou[/name], the author
[name]Octavia[/name] [name]Butler[/name], the author
[name]Shirley[/name] [name]Jackson[/name], the author
[name]Tori[/name] [name]Amos[/name], musician
What a fun thread. 
I could go on and on! I’d use any of these names except [name]Shirley[/name] and [name]Melanie[/name], which I don’t care for, but I’m such a fan of the namesakes that I had to include them.