A majority or the names on our boys’ list are classic-rock-related ([name_u]Jagger[/name_u], [name_m]Sabbath[/name_m], [name_u]Jude[/name_u], [name_m]Zeppelin[/name_m], [name_u]Lennon[/name_u], [name_u]Page[/name_u] and [name_m]Hendrix[/name_m] as middle names, we’ve also been noticing [name_m]Bowie[/name_m] lately, as well as a few more modern rock-related names like [name_m]Cooper[/name_m], [name_m]Jacoby[/name_m], & Brixton.)
Right now two of our top girls’ names are [name_f]Nirvana[/name_f] and [name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f], but we’ve also been looking at some of my rock idols for girls’ name inspiration, especially in the middle name category…
[name_u]Joan[/name_u] or [name_m]Jett[/name_m] or maybe [name_u]Larkin[/name_u] (for [name_u]Joan[/name_u] [name_m]Jett[/name_m] obviously)
[name_f]Janis[/name_f], [name_u]Lyn[/name_u], or [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] (for [name_f]Janis[/name_f] [name_m]Joplin[/name_m])
McCartney or [name_f]Starr[/name_f] ([name_m]Paul[/name_m] McCartney and [name_m]Ringo[/name_m] [name_f]Starr[/name_f])
[name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] or [name_f]Mae[/name_f] (Lzzy [name_m]Hale[/name_m] from Halestorm)
[name_u]Page[/name_u] ([name_m]Jimmy[/name_m] [name_u]Page[/name_u])
Halen for a first name ([name_u]Van[/name_u] Halen)
Also, [name_f]Ann[/name_f] & [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] for the [name_m]Wilson[/name_m] sisters from Heart. I’ve been lucky enough to see them twice within the last year, have read their book, and am extremely inspired by their story. They’d be awesome namesakes, but here’s my problem… my mother’s full name is [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] [name_f]Ann[/name_f]. [name_m]Long[/name_m] story short, my mother is NOT the type of person I want my daughter named after, or to even be around. I know that if I chose [name_f]Ann[/name_f] or [name_f]Nancy[/name_f], family and friends wouldn’t see the connection to Heart and would assume it was after my mother. Now, I can’t decide whether this connection is worth ditching [name_f]Ann[/name_f] & [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] or not. What do you think? Thank you so much!
Quick comment on the [name_f]Nancy[/name_f]/[name_f]Ann[/name_f] dilemma: [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] and [name_f]Ann[/name_f] both come from the exact same name: [name_f]Hannah[/name_f]. I think it’s interesting your mother was [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] [name_f]Ann[/name_f]; I wouldn’t even recommend using [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] in one name and [name_f]Ann[/name_f] in the other! Since N.A. is your mother, I think the blaring connection will override the more subtle and esoteric connection to the [name_m]Wilson[/name_m] sisters from Heart. (I’m not even sure who they are!)
Now on to the other names…
To be extremely blunt, I find [name_f]Nirvana[/name_f] to be tacky and not as graceful and cool a reference as [name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f]. This is just my personal opinion so feel free to disagree. The connotation it gives off is pretentious and a bit pompous. Maybe too obvious? Like it’s sort of unoriginal IMHO. I think a cool [name_f]Nirvana[/name_f] reference name would be something like [name_f]Polly[/name_f], and then pair it with something more loud like [name_f]Janis[/name_f] (which is so so cool).
On the flip side of things, [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_u]Lyn[/name_u], [name_u]Page[/name_u], and [name_f]Mae[/name_f] are so ubiquitous that they absolutely do not hold the same special reference quality that [name_f]Janis[/name_f], [name_f]Starr[/name_f], [name_u]Joan[/name_u], [name_m]Jett[/name_m], and [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] have. [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_u]Lyn[/name_u] sounds like a standard boring name, not a cool reference to musical geniuses.
I would caution against Halen because so many people would think “Oh its a misspelling of [name_f]Helen[/name_f], let me correct that!”.
I think Heart is a perfectly usable middle name. Anyone who knows your family would probably assume [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] or [name_f]Ann[/name_f] is for your mom, and anyone who doesn’t know your family probably wouldn’t notice either name much at all since they’re both pretty common for middles.
I like [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Pearl[/name_f], [name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f], and [name_u]Page[/name_u].
If you really aren’t fond of your mother and don’t want it to appear like an honour name, I would try [name_f]Hannah[/name_f] or [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]. You can also find a name that has the same meaning as [name_f]Ann[/name_f] or [name_f]Nancy[/name_f]. They both mean grace, so you could simply go with [name_f]Grace[/name_f]. There is also [name_f]Lucia[/name_f], [name_u]Ray[/name_u], [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f], [name_f]Susannah[/name_f], and [name_f]Willow[/name_f] that have the same meaning.
correct me if i’m wrong, but it doesn’t seem like you’re really in love with nancy or ann. if that’s the case, and it certainly is the case that you don’t have the kind of relationship with your mother where you feel comfortable even seeming to name your child after her, it absolutely is reason enough to just move on from them both. i would also agree with previous commenters that the connection to rock would really only be there for you — which is fine, it’s just not nearly as bold as, say, nirvana.
of the options you listed, i like rhiannon, janis, and larkin the most. jetta is a cool take on jett (as in joan), which is not completely unheard of as a stand-alone name or as a nickname for something like juliet. pearl is also rad. and i think hendrix and lennon could just as easily work for a girl as a boy!
If you don’t have a good relationship, I would ditch the name. I would avoid tacky, over the top names like [name_f]Nirvana[/name_f]. [name_m]How[/name_m] about [name_u]Stevie[/name_u]? It fits with edgy style you are going for with the rock connection.
I love a ton of your options but I would definitely steer clear of [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] and [name_f]Ann[/name_f]. I have the same issue with my mother and have ruled out names because of her. It really sucks but for me, it’s not worth the headache. I agree with a previous poster that Heart would make an awesome middle name.
Also, I know a guy named Halen and it may be one of the coolest names I’ve eve actually heard on a real person. He is a successful 28 year old and nobody has confused his name with [name_f]Helen[/name_f].
I agree that Heart would make a cool middle name. And to those who’ve taken it upon themselves to tell the OP how tacky Nirvana is, please reread the first post and notice that the OP did not ask for your thoughts on Nirvana.
I’m a major rock chick. [name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f] is gorgeous. [name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] could work.
A lot of girls have the middle name [name_f]Ann[/name_f]. I don’t think it would be bothersome.
Yes, everyone would assume [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] or [name_f]Ann[/name_f] were to honour your mother, and since [name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f] contains the ‘an’ sound anyway you would be better off going with that.
(I’m not going to join the hatefest for [name_f]Nirvana[/name_f] but I do think it would be better kept as a middle.)
I agree with most of the people here. [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] and [name_f]Ann[/name_f] are such common names no one would really get the reference, and anyone who knows your mother would assume a connection to her. You don’t want that, so I would stay away from those names.
good luck though!