I'm stuck on Opal.

So my husband and I are expecting our second child (a girl) to arrive in about a month. We are still with out a name. It seemed so easy to pick a name when we were expecting our son ([name]Oliver[/name]). My husband doesn’t seem interested at all in girls names, in fact he said to me once that he didn’t like any of them. I took that as free reign on choosing one. I started with a list of over 50 names in the beginning and narrowed it down to 3 a couple of weeks ago. Last week I finally decided on [name]Opal[/name] and I thought that was that. I told my DH that I decided on one, thinking that he would be indifferent, but he said he didn’t like it. He thinks it’s too old sounding. I chose [name]Opal[/name] because it is my deceased grandmother’s birthstone. I didn’t want to use her real name ([name]Marilyn[/name]) because it means “bitter”. Anyway, with only a month to go I’m freaking about going back to the drawing board. I don’t think I can move on from [name]Opal[/name]. Any suggestions??

I’m sorry your husband doesn’t like [name]Opal[/name]. :frowning: I think it’s spunky and sweet, and I love its offbeat charm. :slight_smile: I really love [name]Oliver[/name], too!

Instead of [name]Marilyn[/name], what about using her initial? There’s [name]Margaret[/name], [name]Matilda[/name], [name]Marielle[/name] (bitter meaning, though), [name]Maeve[/name], [name]Mirabelle[/name], [name]Mabel[/name], etc.

[name]Marigold[/name] is [name]October[/name]'s flower (unless my source is wrong), and I think it’s a darling name, either as a first name or in the middle.

[name]Edit[/name]: Calendula, the [name]October[/name] flower, is more commonly known as “marigold.” Some sites list marigold as the [name]October[/name] flower, others list calendula, and others list both. Hmm…

Names that remind me of [name]Opal[/name]:

[name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Cordelia[/name]/[name]Cora[/name]
[name]Clementine[/name] (nn [name]Cleo[/name])
[name]Evangeline[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Frances[/name]
[name]Fiona[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Hollis[/name]
[name]Ivy[/name]
[name]Iris[/name]
[name]June[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name]
[name]Matilda[/name]
[name]Nola[/name]
[name]Nora[/name]
[name]Phoebe[/name]
[name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Ruby[/name]
[name]Stella[/name]
[name]Tess[/name]
[name]Viola[/name]
[name]Willa[/name]

Best wishes to you! :slight_smile:

[name]Opal[/name] is cute, it’s a pity you can’t use it. I really like [name]Oliver[/name], too!

The name [name]Marilyn[/name] (and other variants) has several debated meanings, if it makes you feel any better about it…

“Usual English form of [name]Maria[/name], which was the Latin form of the New Testament Greek names ??? ([name]Mariam[/name]) and ??? ([name]Maria[/name]) - the spellings are interchangeable - which were from the Hebrew name ??? ([name]Miryam[/name]). The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including “sea of bitterness”, “rebelliousness”, and “wished for child”. However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from mry “beloved” or mr “love”.”

You could also use [name]Rosemary[/name] to honor a [name]Marilyn[/name].

[name]Freya[/name]
[name]Gemma[/name]
[name]Mabel[/name]
[name]Paloma[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Ianthe[/name]
[name]Lynette[/name] (also could honor [name]Marilyn[/name])
[name]Odessa[/name]
[name]Delia[/name]
[name]Carys[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Maren[/name]
[name]Nerissa[/name]
[name]Elodie[/name]

Ok, I see your dilemma. The only way I can think of helping is [name]October[/name] related names. Here’s a list:

[name]Autumn[/name] - [name]October[/name] is the month in the middle of this season
Calendula - The birth flower of [name]October[/name]
[name]Octavia[/name] - Variation of [name]October[/name]
[name]Ottaline[/name] - Meaning eight, [name]October[/name] used to be the eighth month

Since there wasn’t much I just thought I should add that you could use [name]Marilyn[/name] as a middle name or, and this was the first thing I thought of when I saw the name, you could use [name]Monroe[/name]. [name]Just[/name] an idea. Also the meaning of [name]Marilyn[/name], bitter, can be interpreted to mean bitterly wanted as in desperately wanted or passionately wanted, which is a nice thing to bare on your child.

Anyway, hope this was slightly useful and good luck naming your baby!

Thank you all so much!! Your posts have been very helpful. You all have given me some really good names to mull over :slight_smile:

I love [name]Iris[/name]'s idea of [name]Rosemary[/name] to honor [name]Marilyn[/name]!
Also love the name [name]Oliver[/name]. To me, [name]Oliver[/name] is offbeat and kind of popular at the same time.
[name]Oliver[/name] and…
[name]Andrea[/name] - Greek
[name]Anthea[/name] - Greek
[name]Ardith[/name], but it isn’t popular at all.
[name]Beatrix[/name] nn [name]Bea[/name] - will get more popular
[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Claudia[/name]
[name]Daphne[/name]
[name]Delphine[/name] nn [name]Della[/name]
[name]Eleni[/name] - Greek
[name]Eloise[/name]
[name]Freya[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Gemma[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Henrietta[/name] nn [name]Hattie[/name]
[name]Hermione[/name] nn [name]Hermie[/name] - Greek
Holllis
[name]Iris[/name] - Greek
[name]Josephine[/name] nn [name]Josie[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name] - Greek
[name]Melina[/name] - Greek, just like [name]Oliver[/name]
[name]Nora[/name]
[name]Penelope[/name] nn [name]Penny[/name], [name]Nell[/name], [name]Poppy[/name], Greek, just like [name]Oliver[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] - Greek
[name]Phaedra[/name] - Greek
[name]Phoebe[/name] - Greek
[name]Rose[/name]
[name]Sabrina[/name]
[name]Susannah[/name]
[name]Veronica[/name]
[name]Vivian[/name]
[name]Zoe[/name] - Greek

I love Greek names, and [name]Oliver[/name] is a Greek name. So cool for his sister to have a Greek name, too! I would pick [name]Phoebe[/name] if it sounds great with your last name. I also love, love [name]Daphne[/name] and [name]Melina[/name]. Not too common. [name]Penelope[/name] is adorable, but I sense it will get very popular.

To clear up some confusion:

Calendula is a type of marigold, but the plant most of us think of as marigold is not the same as calendula, if that’s clear. I think [name]Marigold[/name] is still a valid choice here. Calendula might have some variations to work with. I think Calendula itself might sound a little much for a child, a little too much like Caligula, or if you are a goth, it reminds me of cauldrons, and the name of someone who might make potions in one. I mostly feel if someone doesn’t like the name [name]Opal[/name], their brain will hurt over the suggestion of Calendula.

I also like [name]Marilyn[/name], and to honor [name]Marilyn[/name], other names referent to [name]Mary[/name], of which there are many, and not all of them mean “bitter.” My particular favorite is [name]Mariana[/name] or [name]Marian[/name]/[name]Marion[/name] - although nameberry does say these mean bitter and ultimately derived from the Hebrew [name]Miriam[/name].

I would not avoid [name]Marilyn[/name] simply due to the meaning - your grandmother had that name and you want to honor her; I would generally be able to think more of the person than what their name means, for my own child, and to be honest, I think [name]Marilyn[/name] sounds nicer than [name]Opal[/name] also. Opals are pretty stones, but the word doesn’t sound that nice to me, despite having some mystique as a word and a gem.

I tried to find another word for the same stone, like I would for a flower - science you know, digs up a lot of great root words for things or local common terms, but I couldn’t find anything. I also couldn’t find another way to acknowledge [name]October[/name] in a nice way. I think names that reference 8 by [name]Octavia[/name], etc. sound too much like [name]Oliver[/name], personally. What was your grandmother’s maiden name or middle name? [name]Just[/name] other options.

[name]Maris[/name] means “of the sea” in Latin, and has a few variations. [name]Maren[/name]/[name]Marin[/name] also means “sea.” I know [name]Marisa[/name] and [name]Marina[/name] are not very popular very now - I did know a [name]Marina[/name] when i worked in the daycare a long time ago, but that’s the place where people dock their boats too. Nameberry says it’s Shakespearean; I’m no scholar, but that gives it some credential, and it sounds like a nice word name. I love the sea and names that remind me of the sea, so particularly recommend more research into this category.

I like [name]Mariana[/name] in this category as well, for the [name]Mariana[/name] Trench, the deepest known part in the oceans, and the deepest location on the earth’s crust. Named for the location near the [name]Mariana[/name] Islands, which wikipedia says were named after [name]Queen[/name] [name]Mariana[/name] of [name]Austria[/name] in the 17th century. It has a few other references, including a very sad [name]Tennyson[/name] poem, but that doesn’t really convince me it’s not a great name. Other sources relate [name]Mariana[/name] to [name]Marius[/name], which is a [name]Roman[/name] God of War (hmmm), but which also relates this God back to having a name that means “of the sea.”

[name]Margaret[/name] and [name]Margaret[/name]-related names might also be good for a tie to [name]Marilyn[/name].

I also thought of [name]Marlene[/name] -not the most “hip” choice (still pretty, I like it), but it relates to a form of [name]Madeline[/name]. Names like [name]Marla[/name], [name]Marlo[/name], [name]Marleah[/name], [name]Marlena[/name], [name]Lena[/name], and [name]Malina[/name], all seem appropriate to me, in relation to [name]Marilyn[/name].

As also to be near [name]Marilyn[/name] without a [name]Mary[/name] (“bitter”) name, names that end with lyn or line, like [name]Caroline[/name] (“free man”, or woman, in this case), the aforementioned [name]Madeline[/name] (“high tower” - I know, really popular), or [name]Adeline[/name] (“noble; nobility”).

I like other names in this category, such as [name]Jocelyn[/name], [name]Rosalind[/name], [name]Evelyn[/name], [name]Gwendolen[/name], etc., but they don’t seem as close to [name]Marilyn[/name] as the others. I really look forward to what you choose.

Ultimately, I would still take [name]Marilyn[/name] - it’s a beautiful old name that I would like to see revived.

I totally feel your pain! its stressful thinking of your baby’s name. Im sure you have already fallen in love with the name [name]Opal[/name] and have imagined calling your baby that. Maybe by your hubby saying, “I don’t like any of those names” he meant I don’t want the baby to be named any of those names. Could you have him look over your list or bring you some names he likes to you? Keep us updated and good luck.

Here are some names from our original list:

[name]Pearl[/name]

[name]Opal[/name]

[name]Violet[/name]- this was on both our lists, I think I took it off towards the end because I felt it might be getting too popular. It is listed as a good sibling name for [name]Oliver[/name].

Liffey [name]Rose[/name]- as in the river Liffey in [name]Dublin[/name], my DH is 60% Irish with family in [name]Dublin[/name].

[name]Edith[/name] nn [name]Edie[/name]

[name]Evelyn[/name]

[name]Clementine[/name]- I like it, but I think it sounds kind of long compared to [name]Oliver[/name]'s name. Also, I’m not a big fan of C names.

Meaning aside, [name]Marilyn[/name] is a pretty sounding name. I may consider it for a middle name instead of a first because I haven’t been fond of first names beginning with M.

Having carried her now for eight months I’m getting a sense of her personality. I feel like she may be somewhat demure. My son is lively, very chatty and out going…I definitely felt some of that energy while I was carrying him. With her I feel more feelings of calm, relaxed and easy going. She may be a very quiet and thoughtful person.

Also, based on her family genes she will most likely have light hair and be fairly petite in stature. My DH is a redhead (along with his whole family) and I’m more of a dishwater blond. [name]Oliver[/name] is a mix of the two with very light blue eyes like me.

Thanks again for everyones help. I’m feeling better about starting this process over, even though it’s week 35 :slight_smile:

I love [name]Edith[/name] nn [name]Edie[/name] and [name]Evelyn[/name] so much!

I’m not fond of the name [name]Opal[/name] b/c of a girl I knew growing up. [name]Opal[/name] is not the only birthstone for [name]October[/name], there is also Tourmaline. I know that you probably wouldn’t name your daughter Tourmaline, but I was thinking maybe you could use that as a base and play with names the are similar to Tourmaline. [name]Karen[/name] suggested [name]Marina[/name], and that is the first name that came to mind when I looked at the “maline” part of it. “[name]Maline[/name]” also reminds me of [name]Melina[/name], [name]Melaina[/name], [name]Malaine[/name], [name]Malania[/name], [name]Malanie[/name]. “[name]Maline[/name]” also is close to [name]Marilyn[/name]. However, nameberry doesn’t say [name]Marilyn[/name] directly means bitter, it says its a combo of [name]Mary[/name] (bitter) and [name]Lynn[/name] (lake). You could also use a variation of [name]Marilyn[/name] (though it might have the same meaning).
[name]Hope[/name] this helps.

I have lived in the same place for more than 4 years and I am always still noticing things that have been there all this time:

There is a hair salon near me called Marilda’s. So that is close to [name]Marilyn[/name]. Nameberry does not have an entry for Marilda, so I don’t know what it means. The closest is [name]Marilla[/name]. Latin for “shining sea.” It is similar to [name]Matilda[/name], also, but it is not listed as a variant ([name]Mahilda[/name] and [name]Makilde[/name] are, though). It also resembles [name]Esmeralda[/name], i.e. (es)Meralda – Marilda somewhat.

The entry for [name]Marilla[/name] says that it is a real “fiiting in-standing out” kind of name that is derived from [name]Amaryllis[/name]. I think it is very pretty and love the meaning, although on the minus side (for me), it rhymes with Gorilla or Vanilla. Like I said, I don’t know what Marilda means - may be related to [name]Marilla[/name] or not, possibly an invention or portmanteau-style combo itself - but [name]Marilla[/name] and Marilda may be options for you re: [name]Marilyn[/name].