My husband and I have different styles. He mostly likes names he’s heard of, but that don’t sound old fashioned, foreign, or too popular to him. He also doesn’t like any word names.
His favorite name is: [name_f]Athena[/name_f].
We are both okay with but not in love with:
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f]
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]
[name_f]Anastasia[/name_f]
[name_f]Daphne[/name_f]
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]
[name_f]Scarlet[/name_f]
[name_f]Isla[/name_f]
[name_f]Cora[/name_f]
My taste is a little different. My favorites, which he has nixed are:
[name_f]Gwyneth[/name_f]/[name_f]Gwen[/name_f]
[name_f]Elise[/name_f]
[name_f]Celia[/name_f]
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]
[name_f]Lorelei[/name_f]
Autumn
Aveline
Ivy
Wren
The only one we both like is: [name_f]Norah[/name_f]
but we wish it wasn’t so poplar…
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you not like [name_f]Athena[/name_f]? Until I met my sister in law, I had never met an [name_f]Athena[/name_f] in real life, and she is a beautiful, lovely woman, and I really like the name on a person!
Personally I love [name_f]Norah[/name_f] and think it’s a great name, but f you’re worried about the popularity here are some other options that may work for you.
Thank you for all the suggestions! I added some to his list to go thru. @withinreason:
I’m not sure about [name_f]Athena[/name_f] myself. I’ve never heard of anyone with that name. All I think of is the Greek goddess. The sound itself is nice. Thank you for telling me you’re experience with the name! Is your sister in law Greek or are her parents Greek literature fans or did they just love the name? Just wondering if it’s strange to use it without a personal tie to it…
Thank you all again!
Thought I’d add on then about my experience with an [name_f]Athena[/name_f]. I know a girl who has a daughter named [name_f]Athena[/name_f]. She’s only a year old. Her mom’s half Greek, so the baby only has 1/4 of Greek in her, and it isn’t spelled the Greek way, which is [name_f]Athene[/name_f]. I don’t think you need a personal tie with the name. It’s a beautiful name!
[name_f]Athena[/name_f] is a very beautiful name with a lot of history. The only [name_f]Athena[/name_f]'s I know, though, are Greek. Some names that are either similar sounding or have a similar amount of history:
[name_f]Anthea[/name_f]
[name_u]Artemis[/name_u] (a goddess like [name_f]Athena[/name_f], but a much more spunky name)
[name_f]Diana[/name_f]
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f]
[name_f]Florence[/name_f]
[name_f]Annika[/name_f]
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]
[name_f]Helene[/name_f] (either hel-ayne or hel-een)
Amaranth
[name_f]Helena[/name_f]
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Celine[/name_f]
[name_f]Arcadia[/name_f]
I really love [name_f]Norah[/name_f] (though I prefer the spelling [name_f]Nora[/name_f]) and I don’t think it’s that popular. [name_f]Nora[/name_f] is also a pretty well established name- she’s the protagonist of A [name_m]Doll[/name_m]'s House, a play a lot of people study in high school. I think it great as a stand alone, but you could also have it as a nickname for [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] or [name_f]Eleonora[/name_f].
