I had a thread posing this question in the general baby name board but since I wanted to make my question more specific I decided to move it to the girl name board.
My husband and I are expecting our second in [name]August[/name] (gender so far unknown). We are always united with boys’ names, but when it comes to girls my husband is very choosy and vetoes almost everything I suggest. The only name I have gotten him to say “okay” to is [name]Cora[/name], which we both like a lot. I wanted to go with [name]Cora[/name] [name]Margaret[/name], but when I said that was the middle name I had in mind, he grimaced and said, “Ehhhhh” (his usual response to names he doesn’t like :D). If it turns out we’re having a girl, when it comes down to it he’ll probably just give me full middle-naming emergency power, but in the meantime I’m wondering if I might find another MN I love just as much that he will like too.
Here are some of the ideas I had. Please let me know your favorite, and if you have any new suggestions I’d love to hear them!
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Margaret[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Felicity[/name] (the odd one out, I feel, but a favorite)
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Celestine[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Hermione[/name] ([name]LOVE[/name] [name]Hermione[/name] and would totally use it as a FN, except everyone’s immediate association is [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name])
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Melisande[/name] (totally going out on a limb with this one…love the name but highly doubt hubby will)
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Rosemary[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Louise[/name] (not sure on this one…I’m annoyed because I prefer [name]Louisa[/name] and double A endings is too frilly for me)
Notes:
our last name starts with J and is two syllables
due to #1, my husband will probably veto any names with J or J sounds in them anywhere
I think my girl name style wavers between fairy-tale sweet and vintage spunk
I would prefer a longer middle name, ideally with 4 syllables, as all of my favorite boy middle names are 4 syllables
Wow! Okay, I really love [name]Cora[/name] [name]Melisande[/name]! Cute. I wonder if it has any relation to [name]Millicent[/name]? it doesn’t matter, I like [name]Mellisande[/name] better. :] how about [name]Cora[/name] [name]Isolde[/name], [name]Cora[/name] [name]Ariadne[/name], [name]Cora[/name] [name]Persephone[/name], or [name]Cora[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name]?
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Margaret[/name] - I still like this, but I bet we can find something that wows your husband.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Felicity[/name] - [name]LOVE[/name] it, [name]Vera[/name] [name]Felicity[/name] is one of my favorites and this is quite similar (did I say that already : D? [name]Love[/name] the short-long).
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Celestine[/name] - like it quite well but not as well as some others.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Hermione[/name] - I can’t get into it, it’s the herm syllable, I think.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Melisande[/name] - really like it! [name]Melisande[/name] is not usually in my comfort zone but it pairs well here
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Rosemary[/name] - lovely! Maybe a lot of R close together though?
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Louise[/name] - yeah, 2-2-2 rhythm won’t be the best, and the styles feel differently…
Sorry for others I’ve suggested before
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Dianthe[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Penelope[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Verity[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Violette[/name]
I like [name]Cora[/name] [name]Rosemary[/name] the best from your options. My first ideas were [name]Cora[/name] [name]Rachel[/name] and [name]Cora[/name] [name]Violet[/name]–I’m not sure they really suit your style, though?
Thanks, everyone! Wow, there is a lot of delight here over [name]Cora[/name] [name]Melisande[/name], which I just randomly popped in there because I thought it sounded pretty. Ooooh, I wonder if my husband will be okay with that? It’s similar to names like [name]Melinda[/name] and [name]Melissa[/name], which I’ve always liked although they feel too “contemporary” for my naming taste. In answer to Lovejaybayy’s remark, I do think it’s related to [name]Millicent[/name] - but way prettier. [name]Millicent[/name] makes me think of a snooty old lady, but [name]Melisande[/name] is a princess with long golden hair. (She really is!..it’s a fairy tale picture book by E. [name]Nesbit[/name], which I’ve always loved.)
Heehee! I just discovered that “[name]Melisande[/name]” means honeybee - almost a tribute to my mom, whose name means “bee”. I’m liking this option more and more…very different from [name]Margaret[/name], but I think it’s prettier. [name]Margaret[/name] feels more down-to-earth, which I thought was nice, but then again [name]Cora[/name] isn’t a flighty name, so I feel like it grounds [name]Melisande[/name] enough.
I really do like [name]Evangeline[/name], as a couple of you suggested, but does anyone else find the transition between the A at the end of [name]Cora[/name] and the E at the beginning of [name]Evangeline[/name] to be difficult to say? I find they sort of run together…or you have to pause there to set the two names apart… It’s the same but worse with [name]Adelaide[/name], another name I love.
So, I ran a few of these by my husband this evening…
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Felicity[/name] - He said no!! sadness I had hope that one might be okay for him…
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Rosemary[/name] - Another no.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Hermione[/name] - I forgot he didn’t like this one either.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Melisande[/name] - He was playing with our son at the time and didn’t say anything! Hehehehe. He probably just didn’t hear that one…I’ll run it by him again later.
In the meantime I’m searching for other ideas, since most of my favored ones went out the window. I’ve weeded out [name]Louise[/name] (too bland and short) and [name]Celestine[/name] (I decided it was too frilly for me, although gorgeous). So, assuming my husband continues to dislike [name]Margaret[/name], the only one left from my original short list is [name]Melisande[/name]!
So having to pretty much start from scratch, I’ve made this new list of possible combinations…some which I like more than others. Thoughts please!
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Melisande[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Beatrice[/name] ([name]BEE[/name]-uh-triss)
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Valentine[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Briony[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Damaris[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Marion[/name]/[name]Marian[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Mehitabel[/name] (am I crazy enough? Bwaha…I love the “bel” ending, and it’s Biblical like my favorite boy MN’s, buuuut…)
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Lavender[/name]
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] (MAYBE, if hubby will accept a J middle name)
I’m going to run that list by him tonight. In all likelihood he will dislike all of them, so if you have any suggestions don’t hesitate to add them to my list!
I am definitely favoring names ending in E or gentle consonants (hard consonants like T, D, etc. tend to clash with our last name’s J). No names starting with the hard K/C sound or vowels, or ending in A. I definitely favor names starting with M, although it’s in no way a must. And generally, if it’s a fairly well known name ([name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Annabelle[/name], [name]Catherine[/name], etc.) it’s not unusual enough for me.
[name]Charles[/name] and [name]Cora[/name] are two of my favorites! [name]Cora[/name] will certainly need a middle name as cool as [name]Theophilus[/name]. I think [name]Cora[/name] [name]Melisande[/name] and [name]Cora[/name] [name]Mehitabel[/name] do the trick. Good luck!
I’m sorry your husband vetoed so many of your beautiful names! You have some lovely new choices, too, though. I love [name]Cora[/name], and so many middle names sound great with it.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Melisande[/name] - I think this combination is very pretty. I’m not completely sure on the pronunciation of [name]Melisande[/name], though – is it “[name]MEL[/name]-ih-sahnd”?
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Beatrice[/name] - [name]Love[/name] this.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Valentine[/name] - Not too keen on [name]Valentine[/name].
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Briony[/name] - I like this. A lovely combination.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Damaris[/name] - I don’t find [name]Damaris[/name] to be very pretty sounding, but it still flows nicely with [name]Cora[/name].
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Marion[/name]/[name]Marian[/name] - I prefer the [name]Marian[/name] spelling, but this combo almost has too many “R” sounds to me.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Mehitabel[/name] - I agree that the “-bel” ending is gorgeous, but this one is a bit too out there for me.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Lavender[/name] - Very pretty, but almost a bit too sweet.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] - I love this, but probably not with your surname.
Overall, any of the names you have listed would be a wonderful choice. By the way, I completely agree that [name]Cora[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name] and [name]Cora[/name] [name]Adelaide[/name] don’t flow well together at all. That’s one of my ultimate name pet peeves. Which is a shame, because those are both such gorgeous names!
I wish you luck finding a name you and your husband can both agree on!
I love the name [name]Cora[/name]! [name]Cora[/name] [name]Margaret[/name] is nice, but it doesn’t jump out at me. [name]Cora[/name] [name]Lavender[/name] is beautiful and [name]Cora[/name] [name]Beatrice[/name] is sweet as well.
My favorite [name]Cora[/name] combos are [name]Cora[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name] and [name]Cora[/name] [name]Sophia[/name].
I love the suggestions of [name]Cora[/name] [name]Vivienne[/name] and [name]Cora[/name] [name]Isabelle[/name]. I might prefer the spelling [name]Isabel[/name] with [name]Cora[/name] though.
On the pronunciation of [name]Melisande[/name] - I always thought it was “[name]MEL[/name]-ih-sand”. I suppose it could also be “MEL-ih-zhand”. Now that I think about it, it violates my rule of having no hard consonants at the end…but I love it so much!
Hmm, not seeing any that really work for me in these suggestions so far…
[name]Jessamine[/name] is gorgeous, but unfortunately it starts with a J, so I can’t use it.
I played with the idea of [name]Cora[/name] [name]Melusine[/name] for awhile yesterday, but it’s not in the database on Nameberry or my other favorite name site, BabyNames.com. [name]Even[/name] on BabyNameWizard it has no pronunciation or meaning listed. That tells me it’s not REALLY a name, or is at least almost completely unheard of, and even though I like rare names I’d rather a name “really exist”.
I pretty much have my heart set on [name]Melisande[/name] at this moment, although it doesn’t necessarily flow with our last name. Last night I realized that I absolutely LOOOOVE the meaning (“strong and industrious”, or alternately “honeybee”). In addition to that, it sort of has a tribute to each of our mothers in it! My mom’s name means “bee”, so it has the same meaning, and if you look at the name itself it has my husband’s mom’s name - [name]Lisa[/name] - embedded in it! That’s so awesome to me!
I think I’m all set with [name]Cora[/name] [name]Melisande[/name]. My husband says it’s “growing on him”, which is definitely a good sign. If he changes his mind I’ll probably be back, but in the meantime, thank you so much for your help, everybody!!
Whenever I hear [name]Cora[/name] I always think [name]Lucile[/name] or [name]Heather[/name]. I prefer [name]Heather[/name] and I think it’s vintage spunk and nature-y at the same time. Good luck!
but in the meantime I’m wondering if I might find another MN I love just as much that he will like too.
[name]Millicent[/name] makes me think of a snooty old lady, but [name]Melisande[/name] is a princess with long golden hair. 
(She really is!..it’s a fairy tale picture book by E. [name]Nesbit[/name], which I’ve always loved.)
sadness I had hope that one might be okay for him…