I’m pretty much settled on the first name “[name]Viola[/name]” after my grandmother but am having some issues with picking the right middle name. The two options I’ve narrowed it down to are [name]Viola[/name] [name]Jean[/name] and [name]Viola[/name] [name]Elaine[/name]. [name]Jean[/name] is my other grandmother’s name so I like the idea of honoring both of them. [name]Elaine[/name] was my middle name before I got married and dropped it (keeping my maiden name as my middle name). [name]Elaine[/name] was also my mother’s middle name before she got married and dropped it and kept her maiden name as her middle name. I kind of like the idea that she gave it to me and I would then give it to my daughter.
Anyway, I’m pretty torn on these two and DH says he likes both and it is up to me. So what does everyone think?
I love [name]Elaine[/name], and dislike [name]Jean[/name]. But it’s not my [name]Baba[/name], and both sounds lovely with [name]Viola[/name]. [name]Do[/name] you want more children? It could be a good idea to save [name]Jean[/name] for the next one, if you have another daughter.
I’m not a fan of [name]Elaine[/name] as a middle name for [name]Viola[/name] because the “a” to “e” thing sounds awkward to me. I think [name]Viola[/name] [name]Jean[/name] flows better.
I think it depends on how you pronounce [name]Viola[/name]. To me it all comes down to the emphasis. The middle names flow differently and I like one better for one and the other for the other.
vie-O-lə [name]Elaine[/name]
VYO-lah [name]Jean[/name]
Side thought: By choosing your moms mn you are still honoring your grandmother who obviously loved the name enough to give it to her daughter. Her name might not show up in this daughters name but you could always use it for a second child later. The great thing about [name]Jean[/name] is that you can also honor it if you have a boy by using it’s homophone [name]Gene[/name].
[name]Viola[/name] and [name]Elaine[/name] are both favourite names, but I don’t think they sound great together - although it depends how you are saying [name]Viola[/name] (vye-OH-luh or VYE-oh-luh as someone has previously said). I am also not so keen on [name]Jean[/name], but the whole flow is better as [name]Viola[/name] [name]Jean[/name] (the way I say it) - however, [name]Viola[/name] [name]Elaine[/name] would be my choice, despite it not sounding as ‘flowy’. I think it is lovely that you are honouring your family with your name choices though, either way. (Sorry if this post is a bit confusing - I’m having trouble trying to work out what I mean myself while reading it back, so good luck!)
I would modernise [name]Jean[/name] to [name]Viola[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name] not sure about how to go with [name]Elaine[/name], maybe [name]Viola[/name] [name]Adelaide[/name]?
I prefer [name]Viola[/name] [name]Jean[/name] better for flow reasons (I say V-eye-oh-la). But if you pronounce it like the instrument (V-ee-oh-la), I think [name]Elaine[/name] could work too. [name]One[/name] way to kind of use both would be [name]Viola[/name] [name]Marjolaine[/name].
[name]Jean[/name] sounds dated not very interesting, and [name]Elaine[/name] sounds vintage-y and exotic. [name]Jean[/name] flows better, but [name]Elaine[/name] is more intriguing. Also, though, I’d really like to see [name]Elaine[/name] as a first, so maybe you should save if you’re planning on more kids.
