My shortlist for baby #1 - opinions?

These are all names that both my husband and I love, but we don’t really have a favourite:

[name]Mila[/name] [name]Valencia[/name] (mee-luh)
[name]Mila[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] Am”lie
[name]Viviana[/name] Aur”lie “[name]Viv[/name]”

[name]Lila[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] / [name]Bellatrix[/name]
[name]Lila[/name] [name]Viviana[/name]

What do you think?
I’d really love some other names to throw around aswell - something along the same lines.
I’m after underused names that aren’t overtly girly, but soft and feminine.
I like them to end in -ia and -a, but not limited to that at all.
Our surname is one syllable, so want first names to be between 2 and 4 syllables.

[name]Mila[/name] [name]Valencia[/name] (mee-luh) - I feel there might be pronounciation issues with [name]Mila[/name] (my-la), and I am not as fond of this name as some of your others. However, I think this has good flow.
[name]Mila[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name] - [name]Charlotte[/name] is such a lovely classic, but the flow could be better … the repeating ‘ah’ and ‘l’ sounds make it a little tongue twister-esque.
[name]Iris[/name] Am”lie - both are beautiful names, and the flow of this is perfect.
[name]Viviana[/name] Aur”lie “[name]Viv[/name]” - I feel that they blend together a little … but both are beautiful names.

[name]Lila[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] / [name]Bellatrix[/name] - I adore the flow of both of these options, especially [name]Bellatrix[/name], and the constellation connotation of [name]Bellatrix[/name].
[name]Lila[/name] [name]Viviana[/name] - very nice, although the repeating endings are perhaps a little too much.

My favourites from your options are [name]Isis[/name] [name]Amelie[/name] and [name]Lila[/name] [name]Bellatrix[/name].

Names that you might like :
[name]Liliana[/name]
[name]Rosa[/name]
[name]Rosetta[/name]
[name]Seraphina[/name]
[name]Rosanna[/name]/[name]Roseanna[/name]
[name]Leah[/name]
[name]Venetia[/name]
[name]Angelica[/name]
[name]Isis[/name]
[name]Isla[/name]
[name]Esme[/name]
[name]Serena[/name]
[name]Loretta[/name]
[name]Honora[/name]
[name]Verity[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Eulalie[/name]
[name]Amandine[/name]
[name]Cassandra[/name]
[name]Nola[/name]
[name]Sorcha[/name].

[name]Mila[/name] [name]Valencia[/name] [name]Lovely[/name] names, good combo

[name]Mila[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Don[/name]'t like but like [name]Mila[/name] [name]Cadence[/name], [name]Mila[/name] [name]Violet[/name], [name]Mila[/name] [name]Sophia[/name], [name]Mila[/name] [name]Victoria[/name]

[name]Iris[/name] Am”lie Prefer a more French name with [name]Amelie[/name], and a more English one with [name]Iris[/name]

[name]Viviana[/name] Aur”lie Pretty, do you like [name]Vivienne[/name] [name]Aurora[/name]?

[name]Lila[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] Good combo
[name]Lila[/name] [name]Viviana[/name] Prefer to above combo

[name]Francine[/name] [name]Valencia[/name]
[name]Sabina[/name] [name]Amelie[/name]
[name]Bianca[/name] [name]Caroline[/name]

[name]Brigitte[/name] [name]Sabine[/name]
[name]Brigitte[/name] [name]Amelie[/name]
[name]Brigitte[/name] [name]Louisa[/name]

[name]Love[/name] [name]Valencia[/name]
[name]Valencia[/name] [name]Katherine[/name]/[name]Catriona[/name]
[name]Valencia[/name] [name]Eugenie[/name]

I do have concerns about pronunciation mix ups with [name]Mila[/name]. My husband has suggested naming her [name]Milena[/name], and calling her [name]Mila[/name] for short - but I just don’t like the name with the middle names.

[name]Love[/name] [name]Sorcha[/name], we had it on our longer list - but spelt the Gaelic way, [name]Saoirse[/name], but of course the whole pronunciation thing… :frowning:
Also, I’m quite in love with the suggestion [name]Brigitte[/name] [name]Amelie[/name] :slight_smile:

All of these are so pretty! I especially adore [name]Iris[/name] [name]Amelie[/name], [name]Mila[/name] [name]Valencia[/name], and [name]Viviana[/name] [name]Aurelie[/name]. I love your name style!

Combos…

[name]Viviana[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Iris[/name] [name]Viviana[/name]
[name]Amelie[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Mila[/name] [name]Aurelie[/name]

Other names you might like…

[name]Valentina[/name]
[name]Elodie[/name]
[name]Mireille[/name]
[name]Giuliana[/name]
[name]Clemence[/name]
[name]Isadora[/name]
[name]Livia[/name]
Tulia
Liviana
[name]Cordelia[/name]
[name]Lyra[/name]
[name]Leonie[/name]
[name]Cressida[/name]
[name]Alma[/name]
[name]Paloma[/name]
[name]Pomona[/name]
[name]Cecile[/name]
[name]Celine[/name]
[name]Coralie[/name]
[name]Eloisa[/name]
[name]Violetta[/name]
[name]Tatiana[/name]
[name]Silvia[/name]
[name]Ophelia[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Sophronia[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Caterina[/name]

If you want middle names for [name]Milena[/name]…

[name]Milena[/name] [name]Valentina[/name]
[name]Milena[/name] [name]Coralie[/name]
[name]Milena[/name] [name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Milena[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name]
[name]Milena[/name] [name]Ivy[/name]
[name]Milena[/name] [name]Ophelie[/name]

[name]Mila[/name] [name]Valencia[/name] (mee-luh): I think this is really pretty. :slight_smile:
[name]Mila[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name]: I love [name]Charlotte[/name], but I guess I picture something more exotic with [name]Mila[/name].
[name]Iris[/name] Am”lie: I love both names, but the names blend together when I say them out loud, sounding like [name]Ira[/name] Somalie. (It may just be me, though!)
[name]Viviana[/name] Aur”lie: I love both names, but not together because the back-to-back vowels break up the flow.

What about using [name]Mila[/name]'s sound to create [name]Viviana[/name] [name]Camille[/name]? [name]Viviana[/name] [name]Mireille[/name] also comes to mind.

[name]Lila[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] / [name]Bellatrix[/name]: I think this is beautiful…
[name]Lila[/name] [name]Viviana[/name]: I really like this, too.

My apologies for repeats :slight_smile: :

[name]Aurelia[/name]
[name]Calla[/name]
[name]Cora[/name]/[name]Cordelia[/name]
[name]Camille[/name] (nn [name]Mila[/name], with [name]Camille[/name] to fall back on)
[name]Camilla[/name]
[name]Dahlia[/name]
[name]Delphine[/name]
[name]Eleanora[/name]
[name]Elodie[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Francesca[/name]
[name]Georgiana[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Liliana[/name]
[name]Mirabelle[/name] (nn [name]Mira[/name])
[name]Scarlett[/name]
[name]Talia[/name]
[name]Viola[/name]
[name]Violette[/name]
[name]Zara[/name]

Good luck! :slight_smile:

I love [name]Mila[/name] [name]Valencia[/name]–I think it sounds both exotic and refined, but is also sort of Mediterranean and breezy. I adore the name [name]Valencia[/name] and I also think that [name]Mila[/name] is way overlooked and deserves more recognition. [name]Love[/name] how you’ve put them together!
After that I like [name]Lila[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] (but not as much as [name]Mila[/name] [name]Valencia[/name]). I would not use [name]Bellatrix[/name] however. I think it’s a really cool name, but the incredibly evil [name]Bellatrix[/name] Lestrange from [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] has taken it out of the realm of possibility for me. Though of course you may not care about the influence of [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name]. Still, I think [name]Mila[/name] [name]Valencia[/name] is so great you don’t even need to think about it : )

[name]Just[/name] so you’re aware, '[name]Sorcha[/name]" and “[name]Saoirse[/name]” are two completely different names, with separate histories, etymologies, and meanings. [name]Sorcha[/name] is pronounced “SOR-ha” or “SOR-Ka”, and means “clarity”, while [name]Saoirse[/name] is pronounced “SEER-sha” and means “freedom”. [name]Sorcha[/name] is a mythological name with its highest usage in early modern and medieval times, while [name]Saoirse[/name] is a word that only gained usage as a name in the early 20th C (tied to the independence movement and Gaelic Revival of the 1890-1923 period). As you might be able to tell, both are on our top % list for baby girl due in early [name]November[/name] (Irish history is my research area, so apologies for the history lecture!)

As to the names on your short list, I love [name]Mila[/name] [name]Valencia[/name] - very elegant, but to me [name]Mila[/name] is also a little spunky and spirited :slight_smile:

I don’t think the pronunciation is that big of an issue (although I’m biased, dealing with ungainly Irish spellings all the time). [name]Lila[/name] (as “[name]Leela[/name]” or “[name]Lyla[/name]”) has the exact same ambiguity, and it hasn’t hindered its rise to popularity. [name]Mila[/name] also has stars [name]Mila[/name] Jovovich and [name]Mila[/name] Kunis to commend it, so it should seem familiar without being over-done.

Thanks Punkprincessphd, I had no idea [name]Sorcha[/name] and [name]Saoirse[/name] were different - I thought [name]Sorcha[/name] was just an Americanisation.
[name]Mirabelle[/name] is gorgeous [name]Jill[/name]! Also, hubby loved [name]Calla[/name] and [name]Talia[/name] :slight_smile:

Also - what do you think of [name]Ruby[/name] [name]Serafina[/name]??

My 3 1/2 year old daughter is [name]Mila[/name]. She absolutely loves her name! My husband is the one who chose it. When she was a baby we called her [name]Mimi[/name] for short and now she corrects us and says I not [name]Mimi[/name], I [name]Mila[/name]. I love the name because it’s unique but not weird. I get compliments on this name all the time. I have only had a few people call her My-La but it rarely happens. The middle name we chose was [name]Michelle[/name]. Good luck!

What about [name]Mia[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name]?

My favorites are [name]Iris[/name] and [name]Viviana[/name]. I would probably love [name]Valencia[/name] except there is a cookie-cutter suburb of L.A. called [name]Valencia[/name] that bores me.

I think [name]Milena[/name] is a very pretty name!

What about [name]Lila[/name] Am”lie?