Name Epiphanies

General Name Discussion
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I was catching up on the Name Rants thread and @handlion 's post from a few days ago reminded me that I had thought about making this thread months ago and forgot. We have the Name Rants thread for things we are annoyed/frustrated/upset about but there isn’t really a spot (that I’m aware of) for those times where something just suddenly clicked and now your entire world has shifted on its axis and you need to share, especially for more positive/neutral things.

So, [name_u]Welcome[/name_u] to Name Epiphanies, the thread where we can share sudden realisations, lightbulb moments, facepalm-why-didn’t-I-realize-this-years-ago-moments of the postive, negative, and anything in between variety.

Here’s mine that inspired this thread:

Regarding [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] and Why It Never Quite Made it to [name_f]My[/name_f] Top 10:

[name_f]Matilda[/name_f] has been lurking around on my list for about a decade and gets added to sibsets when it’s the best fit but was never really my first choice or the one I felt the most excited about.
On paper it is 100% my style and absolutely should be one of my favorites but something just wasn’t quite right.
[name_f]My[/name_f] intended nickname had always been [name_f]Tillie[/name_f]. Again, on paper absolutely perfect and even had a cool personal connection to some family history. Absolute 10/10 choice but somehow [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] nn [name_f]Tillie[/name_f] was just one of those names for me where you have no idea why but it just isn’t working. None of the other options I could think of were my thing at all except for maybe [name_u]Mattie[/name_u] which I didn’t go for or really think about much because of several Matt/Matthews in my life and the similarity to the extremely popular [name_f]Maddie[/name_f].

But then I was filling out one of those “Our Initials, Your Names” threads that were popular last spring and needed an M name with an M nickname so I wrote down “Matilda nn Mattie” and not to be dramatic, but it felt like I suddenly knew all the secrets to the universe or something. That felt right. I remembered that there were several characters named [name_u]Mattie[/name_u] in holiday story books my mom used to read to me at [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] time and that powerful cozy nonstaliga feeling outweighed my hesitations I had had with it. Now [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] with [name_u]Mattie[/name_u] as the nickname actually does feel like something that could be in my top 10 and actually be a contender for real future kids.

Now that its been several months and I’ve sat with this longer, I do still really like [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] nn [name_f]Tillie[/name_f] and occasionally that option feels more right and my original hesitations about [name_u]Mattie[/name_u] are still there, but this realization was a game changer and made [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] feel much more sparkly and special for me. I’ve since learned that [name_f]Maudie[/name_f] is also a nickname for [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], which I also like, so if I ever did use [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] I would probably just have to wait and see which of those three ended up suiting the kid best.

But yeah, I’d never had a name related lightbulb moment that strong before and had really wanted to share but there didn’t seem to be a thread for that kind of thing. It took me like 6 months to actually make one for it, but here we are!

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Lol I think this was me and [name_f]Daphne[/name_f]

I always knew [name_f]Daphne[/name_f] was a name that I should like - it fit my vibe, style, and was similar to other names I loved, but I found I just couldn’t love it for some reason.

Then one day I discovered the boy’s name [name_m]Daphnis[/name_m], and everything just changed.
I adored the sweet sensitivity of [name_m]Daphnis[/name_m] and just thought he was so handsome, and when I looked at [name_f]Daphne[/name_f] again I understood!

She wasn’t the clunky ditzy girl I had originally thought, rather she was soft, sweet, and so :deer: :leaves: :purple_heart: :honey_pot: :dove: !!

I still think I’m 10000 times more likely to use [name_m]Daphnis[/name_m] over [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], but I do think she’s so sweet now!!

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Fun thread idea!!

@sammaegre [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] ‘Mattie’ is lovely! I knew a [name_u]Mattie[/name_u] growing up and always thought [name_u]Mattie[/name_u] was just so cool as a name!

Mine recently has been [name_u]Adair[/name_u]! It’s sort of sat on my radar but recently, I went to a cemetery and a gravestone simply had ‘Adair’ written on it as the person’s name, and something clicked. (I am aware this is weird and slightly morbid).

I’d been looking for more unisex names that gave me the same feel as [name_f]Waverley[/name_f], Marlo/we, [name_u]Merritt[/name_u], [name_u]Everett[/name_u], [name_u]Tay[/name_u], [name_u]Rowan[/name_u], [name_m]Tallis[/name_m], and [name_u]Adair[/name_u] fits that perfectly! Currently a bit obsessed with it :grin:

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I absolutely love this idea! So [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] was never a name on my radar, but I suddenly decided I HAD to have a H name on my list (all the usuals were used already in my family - big families am I right?)

I saw [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] and had always been aware of the name but never really paid much attention. It never stood out. But I decided to google the name meaning/symbolism/associations and found this on a Celtic (Druid? I think) website:

Witch [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] brings light and hope into dark places and dark times

Ok so why did this resonate? First, when I was making my current list of baby names, I was in the grips of what I call - a depression session (also known as depressive episode but that’s not as fun sounding). Second, I am currently experiencing health issues and my fertility is under threat. I’m not sure how much but it seems very possible I might struggle to conceive. So as I was crying about potentially struggling to experience the one thing I’ve always wanted (motherhood), I found this, and realised that yes, if I were lucky enough to have a daughter, she really would be my light and hope from dark times.

So now, [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] is at the top of my list.

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Okay, okay, can I just say… your [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] story is delightful and I have gone back to look and found that the thread you wrote “Matilda nn Mattie” on was the one I made about my childhood best friends! I’m real excited about this, and I’m happy you found your [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]. :star_struck:

I realized in the past year or so that my sibsets don’t have to “match” or stylistically coordinate. It’s been a game changer. The names I love go together because… I love them, and (9 times out of 10) they mean something important to me.

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Thank you so much for making that post :heart:
Now that the weather is finally turning colder and I’m looking ahead toward the holidays I’m getting really excited about it again imagining a little Mattie curled up with hot coco being read the same Christmas stories I was :face_holding_back_tears: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: :christmas_tree:

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