I posted about the name [name]Saoirse[/name] as a possible sister for [name]Phoebe[/name] the other day and thanks to everyone’s positive feedback, [name]Ben[/name] and I have decided that if the baby is a girl [name]Saoirse[/name] will definitely be her first name!! YAY! Now all we need to do is choose a middle name. We are open to all suggestions but we do have some ideas in mind that I wanted to get some opinions on.
It might be nice to use my maiden name ([name]Kelly[/name]) as her middle name ([name]Saoirse[/name] [name]Kelly[/name]) but is it too much Irish compared to our daughter [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] with no Irish in her name?
Or it may be nice to honor a childhood friend of mine who passed away whose name is [name]Elana[/name] (pronounced as [name]Elena[/name]). If we did these do you think we should keep the original name and spelling or use a different form of [name]Elana[/name]…if so what?
Any other suggestions would be much appreciated! We want the name to have a really pretty flow and we want the middle name to be something she could possibly go by if the pronunciation and spelling of [name]Saoirse[/name] becomes too much of a problem for her (God forbid).
Thanks everyone!
I like [name]Kelly[/name]! Especially because it’s a family name, and to me it does ring nearly as American as Irish because it’s been so popular here, so I don’t think that’s too much contrast with your other daughter. I guess if you want to be really balanced about these things you’ll want to think about whether one of [name]Phoebe[/name]'s names is a family name and whether you care about the difference if it’s not. But I also think with [name]Saoirse[/name] (beautiful!) being so uncommon, you have a solid reason to go different here.
I like [name]Elana[/name]/[name]Elena[/name] too! Personally, I think the question of whether to honor those who have passed away (and sorry to hear of this : ( ) with the exact name or an adaptation is a very personal decision. For what it’s worth I usually side strongly with altering the name a little or even a lot, but I know others feel differently and can understand their viewpoint completely. I like that this name (and especially altered to [name]Helena[/name]) gives a bit of a Greek feeling to tie in to [name]Phoebe[/name], though of course that’s not essential. [name]Aileen[/name] gives an Irish feel, but again like [name]Kelly[/name] is familiar enough here that it’s not so overwhelming with [name]Saoirse[/name] (to my ears), so another thought if you like it.
I think you should choose [name]Saoirse[/name] [name]Kelly[/name] . Your more familiar and easy to pronounce maiden name [name]Kelly[/name] would offset the more exotic and uncommon [name]Saoirse[/name]. I also really like the way it looks written down and the way if flows. [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] and [name]Saoirse[/name] [name]Kelly[/name] are a great pair of siblings. The fact that your second daughter has a completely Irish name doesn’t bother me at all. The important thing is that you and your DH love it and [name]Phoebe[/name] & [name]Saoirse[/name] look and sound good together which they certainly do! All the best!
[name]Saoirse[/name] is a beautiful name, and it will go wonderfully with a sister [name]Phoebe[/name]. Although, personally I am not so keen on [name]Kelly[/name]… I prefer [name]Elana[/name]/[name]Elena[/name] as a middle name choice, but I really like the name ‘[name]Helena[/name]’ suggested by Jesba…the Greek tie in with [name]Phoebe[/name] is a lovely thought and still would honour your friend in a very personal way.
I really like your choice of names Saorise and [name]Phoebe[/name], they do sound gorgeous!
I really like your two options. I am always inspired by names that are new, interesting and hold meaning. I’ve used my maiden name as my son’s middle name (mainly because it sounds more masculine). And, for my daughter I had a similar predicament. We easily chose the first name, then knew we wanted a middle name that was simple and that sounded good with the first name. However, I also wanted to honor a dear friend who is very inspirational. Since I couldn’t decide between the two names for the middle, we went with both. But, what I did was take a variation on her name so that there would be a better flow.
Basically what I’m suggesting is, if you feel strongly about [name]Kelly[/name] and [name]Elana[/name], you could find a way to include both of them. And, if you need to alter them you could. Nameberry is great for looking up variants of a name. Or you could look up the meaning of [name]Elana[/name] and choose a name that also carries that meaning. The options are endless. Good luck!
No we haven’t decided on boys names yet. We kind of waver back and forth between [name]Jasper[/name], [name]Theo[/name], [name]Ezra[/name], and [name]Desmond[/name] but arent completely sold on any of them yet.
I really like the idea of using a family name for the middle name, so I’d personally go with [name]Saoirse[/name] [name]Kelly[/name]. Combining two ethnic names from very different ethnicities does not appeal to me. [name]Saoirse[/name] and [name]Elana[/name] clash to my ears. You should either continue with the Irish theme, or go with a bland English name as a middle name IMHO.
btw, I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]. Good Choice!
I love [name]Saoirse[/name]! [name]Saoirse[/name] [name]Kelly[/name] is a nice combination and I like the idea of using your maiden name as the middle name. I don’t think it’s a problem that [name]Saoirse[/name] [name]Kelly[/name] is so Irish and [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] (which is also a beautiful name!) is not Irish at all. [name]Elana[/name] is a pretty name and I like the idea of honoring your friend, too, but I don’t like the flow of [name]Saoirse[/name] [name]Elana[/name]. I think that a middle name beginning with a consonant would flow better. Good luck, I love your name choices!