I wondered if anyone could help with my middle name choice? My husband and I have FINALLY agreed on [name]Iris[/name] (after many a pitched battle!) but now need a great middle name. Our last name is [name]Irwin[/name], which was an influence on the first name (in that a vowel ending to a first name, and a vowel beginning to a second can be a tricky pronounciation… does that matter as much with a middle name? I don’t think so). What do you think of:
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Clementine[/name] (wrong to have a flower and a fruit?!)
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Angelica[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Amity[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Artemis[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Amaryllis[/name] (I’m sure this is wrong - two flowers - but what do you think? [name]Amaryllis[/name] also means ‘sparkling’ and is a traditional name for a shepherdess in pastoral poetry)
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Clemency[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Beatrice[/name]
Many thanks for any thoughts!
Oh, and any other lovely middle name suggestions? All these names were on my first name list so perhaps with the criterion changed I should widen the net?
My favourite middle name is [name]Evangeline[/name]. It just rolls off the tongue. Congratulations. I’m proud another baby [name]Irwin[/name] is about to come into the world.
Oh I love [name]Iris[/name]! She’s subtle yet got a whole heap of old-ladyish quirk behind her, [name]IMO[/name]. I was drawn to her because she feels light and carefree as well. I’m just a tad biased though - my DD is [name]Iris[/name] [name]Emilia[/name] [name]Belle[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name] - [name]Iris[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] is very floaty and pleasant, but it’s just a bit too ‘vowelly’ to me? I feel the presence of a hard consonant sound in the mn could give it a bit more balance?
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Clementine[/name] - I don’t think so! I adore the combination of [name]Iris[/name] [name]Clementine[/name], and kind of wish we’d have thought of it when naming miss thing last year. [name]Clementine[/name] brings buoyancy and pep to [name]Iris[/name].
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Angelica[/name] - I find [name]Angelica[/name] to be overly frilly for my tastes, so in my eye she almost overpowers [name]Iris[/name].
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Amity[/name] - Similar to [name]Iris[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name], I’d like a harder consonant sound in there.
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Artemis[/name] - it’s a bit too ssss-y for me!
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name] - This one is lovely. I’m not usually a fan of [name]Rosalind[/name], but she compliments [name]Iris[/name] well, bringing a stately, sophisticated feel to the subtle, carefree [name]Iris[/name]!
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Amaryllis[/name] - I adore [name]Amaryllis[/name], but I think two flower names is a bit much in all honestly. I also find it very sss-y
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Clemency[/name] - much prefer [name]Iris[/name] [name]Clementine[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Beatrice[/name] - [name]Lovely[/name] to look at, and she has a lovely feel, but again it’s a bit too sss-y for me!
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name] - pretty!
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Clementine[/name] (wrong to have a flower and a fruit?!) - I like it pronounced [name]Iris[/name] clem-en-[name]TINE[/name].
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Angelica[/name] - my first impression is that it feels awkward.
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Amity[/name] - don’t like [name]Amity[/name] because of the horror film.
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Artemis[/name] - I like this!
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name] - a bit awkward to my ear.
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Amaryllis[/name] (I’m sure this is wrong - two flowers - but what do you think? [name]Amaryllis[/name] also means ‘sparkling’ and is a traditional name for a shepherdess in pastoral poetry) - doesn’t seem right.
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Clemency[/name] - I like the sound of it.
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Beatrice[/name] - too rhyme-y for me.
[name]Love[/name] [name]Sophie[/name]'s ideas.
Other middle name suggestions:
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Virginia[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] Madalena
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Mauve[/name] - so hushed and soft! [name]Love[/name] it!
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Millicent[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Melisende[/name] - not sure how to pronounce [name]Melisende[/name]. Might love this a lot.
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Laurenza[/name] - so lovely and unusual!
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Delphina[/name] - flowery and so lovely, too.
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Drusilla[/name] - beware, [name]Drusilla[/name] was one of [name]Cinderella[/name]'s stepsisters. But it is a lovely name.
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Leonida[/name]/[name]Leonora[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Theodora[/name]/[name]Theodosia[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] - love the rhythm so much!
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Parisa[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Cordelia[/name] - stunning!
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Amelia[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Taliesin[/name] - couldn’t resist putting this in. I love it!
Obviously, I love the name [name]Iris[/name]. I am wild about it.
I really love [name]Iris[/name], too, but have to share that I had a hard time saying [name]Iris[/name] [name]Irwin[/name]. It’s really tongue twistery for me, but maybe it’s just me!
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name]: I really love this combo…
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Clementine[/name] (wrong to have a flower and a fruit?!): I prefer [name]Iris[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name], although I do love [name]Clementine[/name].
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Angelica[/name]: The S in [name]Iris[/name] attaches to the A in [name]Angelica[/name], making it sound like Iri Sangelica to me…
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Amity[/name]: Same thing…
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Artemis[/name]: Ditto, plus the repetitive is ending doesn’t sound right to my ear…
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name]: Too R heavy for me…
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Amaryllis[/name] (I’m sure this is wrong - two flowers - but what do you think? [name]Amaryllis[/name] also means ‘sparkling’ and is a traditional name for a shepherdess in pastoral poetry): The A issue, plus the iss sound…
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Clemency[/name]: Too much sss here, too…
Thank you so so much everyone. I know [name]Iris[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] might be too ‘two syllable/ two syllable’ but I can’t find anything else I like more with the consonant ending need to define [name]Irwin[/name] (which is oddly a really difficult name to pronounce - do you find that kaiajade?). Hadn’t thought about the predominance of ‘sss’ sounds in my middle names… and the blending of the s of [name]Iris[/name] with the A of most of the middles… Really useful stuff. Thank you.
Think the middle name needs 1 or 3+ syllables…
Narrowing it down to [name]Clementine[/name] and [name]Evangeline[/name] ([name]Clementine[/name] pronounced the English way rather than the O My Darling song way!) and may well take on board some of those fabulous name suggestions! [name]Love[/name] the outlandish girlishness of some of them. Perfect for a middle name which you know won’t be shortened (e.g. [name]Clementine[/name] and [name]Evangeline[/name] would immediately become [name]Clemmie[/name]/[name]Eva[/name] as a first)
Am VERY jealous of [name]Iris[/name] [name]Emelia[/name] [name]Belle[/name] - that is a fantastic combination. [name]Love[/name] [name]Emilia[/name] as opposed to [name]Amelia[/name].
For me, the problem isn’t so much that both [name]Iris[/name] and [name]Irwin[/name] have two syllables, as much as it is that when I say [name]Iris[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] aloud, the S attaches to [name]Irwin[/name], making me hear [name]Ira[/name] Sirwin. I have to pause after [name]Iris[/name], before saying [name]Irwin[/name], to separate the names. This may just be me, but I thought I’d mention it.
I think [name]Evangeline[/name] and [name]Clementine[/name] sound great next to [name]Irwin[/name], though.
I know! I hate the name [name]Irwin[/name] - it does funny things to so many names, not least of all names with vowel endings (both my husband and I have vowel endings and pronouncing our names is a pain - we have to pause between words). I thought a consonant would be better than a vowel? E.g. [name]India[/name] [name]Irwin[/name] is worse than [name]Iris[/name] [name]Irwin[/name]?
[name]Do[/name] you think it is a big problem? Because it has been such a struggle to agree on this name and I’m loathe to open up the debate again!
I think your last name is cool! Seriously! I totally get what you’re saying about a consonant versus an a before [name]Irwin[/name], but I think it depends on the consonant. S is one that attaches to [name]Irwin[/name], but like you said, [name]Iris[/name] is really pretty and you love it. It’s not a horrible combo or anything, but I just thought I’d mention it before you named your baby, as opposed to after, in case it bothered you.
[name]Just[/name] for fun, here are some names I can say quickly with [name]Irwin[/name] without having to pause:
