Make an old name new!

Hi Folks,
I’m searching for a perfect name for my babe due in Nov. I’m wondering if any of these names could be made ‘new’ again. They are all family names that would be used to honour special people in our lives, but I’m hoping for a fresh update or unique spin on them…

Shirley
Howard
Mavis
John
Margaret
Vilda

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Hmm…I have 2 ideas that come to mind
[name_f]Mavis[/name_f] —> [name_u]Maven[/name_u]
[name_m]John[/name_m] —> [name_u]Jonah[/name_u] or [name_m]Jonas[/name_m]

I love [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] and Mavis,especially [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] like they are.

Margaret:Maggie
John:Jonah or [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m]
[name_f]Mavis[/name_f]: maybe [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] or [name_f]Mae[/name_f]

[name_f]Margaret[/name_f]- [name_f]Margot[/name_f], [name_f]Maggie[/name_f], [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], [name_f]Daisy[/name_f], [name_f]Greta[/name_f]- all diminutives of [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]

What fun!

[name_f]Shirley[/name_f] ------ [name_u]Anne[/name_u] (as in A of G Gables), Shireen, [name_u]Temple[/name_u]
[name_u]Howard[/name_u] ----Howe, [name_m]Howell[/name_m], [name_m]Ward[/name_m], [name_m]Howie[/name_m]
[name_f]Mavis[/name_f] ------Maeve, [name_f]May[/name_f], [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Mayberry[/name_f], [name_f]Morven[/name_f]
[name_m]John[/name_m] -----Jack, [name_m]Johnny[/name_m], [name_m]Jon[/name_m], [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m], [name_u]Jonah[/name_u], [name_m]Jonas[/name_m], [name_m]Ian[/name_m], [name_m]Juan[/name_m], [name_m]Giovanni[/name_m], [name_u]Jackson[/name_u]
Margaret–Margot, [name_f]Marguerite[/name_f], [name_f]Pearl[/name_f], [name_f]Daisy[/name_f], [name_f]Meg[/name_f], [name_f]Peg[/name_f], [name_f]Pegeen[/name_f], [name_f]Margarita[/name_f], [name_f]Magritte[/name_f]
Vilda------Velma, [name_f]Vita[/name_f]

Shirley means bright meadow. Maybe Meadow itself, or names related to this: Lucy, Clara, Kinsley, Marley, or Presley.

Maybe Howie, which feels a lot more youthful. Howard’s meaning relates to a brave guardian, so maybe some other names with similar meanings might be your style: Lewis, Duncan, Ansel, Alexander, or Finley.

Mavis means songbird, so some other avian names might impress you: Avis, Birdie, Lark, Wren, or Dove. Maybe you’d even go with a Mae- sounding name, like plain old Mae/May.

Oh my, there are endless forms of John out there. Jack and Jackson come to mind as some of the most popular.

There are lots of variants of Margaret too, like Margot, Maggie, Greta, Maisie, and Meg.

Maybe similar sounding Hilda, Willa, Wilma, Zelda, or Tilda

I think [name_f]Mavis[/name_f] sound fresh as it is! But [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] or [name_f]May[/name_f] are other options. I also like [name_m]John[/name_m] and [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] as is, but Jack/Jackson, [name_u]Evan[/name_u], [name_f]Margo[/name_f] and [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] would work, too.

[name_u]Vida[/name_u] could work for [name_f]Vilda[/name_f]. I don’t think [name_f]Shirley[/name_f] or [name_u]Howard[/name_u] are ready for revival.

I love [name_f]Mavis[/name_f] but [name_f]May[/name_f] and [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] are also great. Maybe [name_f]Shira[/name_f] for [name_f]Shirley[/name_f]. For [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] I love the suggestion of [name_f]Margot[/name_f] or [name_f]Maggie[/name_f].

[name_f]Shirley[/name_f] — [name_f]Shira[/name_f], [name_f]Carley[/name_f]
[name_u]Howard[/name_u] — [name_m]Howie[/name_m], [name_u]Holland[/name_u]
[name_f]Mavis[/name_f] — [name_f]Maelys[/name_f], [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], [name_u]Davis[/name_u]
[name_m]John[/name_m]— [name_u]Jonah[/name_u], [name_m]Jonas[/name_m], [name_m]Jack[/name_m]
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f] — [name_f]Meghan[/name_f], [name_f]Megara[/name_f], [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], [name_f]Margot[/name_f], [name_f]Marjorie[/name_f]
[name_f]Vilda[/name_f] — [name_u]Vida[/name_u], [name_f]Tilda[/name_f], [name_f]Zelda[/name_f]

[name_f]Mavis[/name_f] - [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_f]Avis[/name_f]
[name_m]John[/name_m] - [name_m]Jack[/name_m], [name_m]Jonas[/name_m]
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f] - [name_f]Margot[/name_f], [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Maisie[/name_f]
[name_f]Vilda[/name_f] - [name_u]Vida[/name_u]

[name_f]Shirley[/name_f] -Harley, [name_u]Shiloh[/name_u], [name_u]Hadley[/name_u], [name_u]Shay[/name_u]

[name_u]Howard[/name_u] - [name_m]Ward[/name_m], [name_m]Woody[/name_m], [name_m]Edward[/name_m], [name_m]Howie[/name_m], [name_m]Horatio[/name_m], [name_m]Hardy[/name_m], [name_f]Haddie[/name_f]

[name_f]Mavis[/name_f] - [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_f]Avis[/name_f], [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_u]Issy[/name_u], [name_u]Maven[/name_u]

[name_m]John[/name_m] - [name_m]Jonty[/name_m], [name_u]Joni[/name_u], [name_m]Jonny[/name_m], [name_u]Jonah[/name_u], [name_m]Jonas[/name_m], [name_u]Jo[/name_u]

[name_f]Margaret[/name_f] - [name_f]Margot[/name_f], [name_u]Merrit[/name_u], [name_f]Greta[/name_f], [name_f]Mara[/name_f], [name_u]Marley[/name_u], [name_u]Marlow[/name_u], [name_m]Garrett[/name_m], [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], [name_f]Etta[/name_f]

[name_f]Vilda[/name_f] - [name_f]Hildie[/name_f], [name_u]Vivian[/name_u], [name_f]Viviana[/name_f], [name_f]Vera[/name_f], [name_f]Vita[/name_f]

Thank you all so much for the suggestions. Here are my thoughts so far…

I also love [name_f]Mavis[/name_f] just as it is, but know another family who recently used this name. [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is also great but has become popular in my community as well. Alternatives I’ve also considered are [name_u]Maven[/name_u], [name_f]Maren[/name_f], or [name_f]Moira[/name_f]

I want to love [name_m]Howe[/name_m] or [name_m]Howie[/name_m], but I just don’t know if it will work for me… [name_u]Howard[/name_u] might end up being a middle name if we have a boy.

Most [name_m]John[/name_m] alternatives I don’t love, but maybe I could just go with [name_u]Jay[/name_u]?

I also love [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] but my husband has a crazy cousin that goes by that name. [name_f]Mae[/name_f] is lovely though. We may do [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] as a middle name to honour his grandmother.

Not sure what to do about [name_f]Shirley[/name_f] or [name_f]Vilda[/name_f], they seem too old lady to be ready to be revived! Maybe ‘Lee’ as a short for [name_f]Shirley[/name_f].

Any other ingenious ideas are welcome!

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I’ve often though about ways to modernise Shirley. It was my nana’s name and I would have loved to have honoured her somehow, but I think we’ll use her middle name June now as that was my SOs nana’s name too. Here’s what I came up with for Shirley though:

Shiri (like the actress Shiri Appleby)
Meadow (to tie in with the meaning of Shirley)
Temple (as in Shirley Temple)
Shiloh (although it bothers me that the Shi- sound isn’t the same)

That’s about it though. It’s a tough one!

[name_f]Shirley[/name_f]- [name_f]Leah[/name_f]
[name_u]Howard[/name_u]- [name_m]Warden[/name_m]
[name_f]Mavis[/name_f]- Maelee
[name_m]John[/name_m]- [name_m]Jennings[/name_m]
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f]- [name_f]Retta[/name_f]
[name_f]Vilda[/name_f]- [name_f]Veda[/name_f], [name_f]Vera[/name_f]

[name_m]John[/name_m] : [name_f]Jonquil[/name_f]
[name_f]Vilda[/name_f] : [name_f]Viva[/name_f], Viridia, [name_f]Viridiana[/name_f]
[name_f]Mavis[/name_f] : [name_u]Davis[/name_u]?