Name Hunt - Girls Edition - Episode 1

For the girls list, I’m going to take a “his and hers” approach and see what you brilliant Berries can help me come up with. I’m always putting together massive lists of names to be shot down, so this time I’m going to start with HIS list and see if we can come up with something that I can love instead.

DAD LIKES:
[name_f]Emily[/name_f]
[name_f]Kathleen[/name_f]
[name_f]Rose[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f]
[name_f]Astrid[/name_f]
[name_u]Dagny[/name_u]
[name_f]Daphne[/name_f]
[name_f]Aria[/name_f]
[name_f]Aurora[/name_f]
[name_f]Seraphina[/name_f]
[name_f]Hazel[/name_f]
[name_u]Seren[/name_u]
[name_f]Alice[/name_f]
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f]
[name_u]Ruby[/name_u]
[name_f]Violet[/name_f]
[name_f]Celeste[/name_f]
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]

also likes but says they are inseparable from their book/source:
[name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f]
[name_f]Hermione[/name_f]
[name_f]Zelda[/name_f]

MOM LIKES:
[name_f]Georgiana[/name_f]
[name_f]Georgia[/name_f]
[name_f]Iolanthe[/name_f]
[name_f]Oriana[/name_f]
Iselda
[name_f]Unna[/name_f]
[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]
[name_f]Roxanne[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f]

From his list, I like [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f], [name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f], [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], [name_u]Dagny[/name_u], and [name_u]Ruby[/name_u], but there’s a reason they lost out last time we had a baby girl. I was really hopeful about [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f] because I thought it might bridge the gap between our styles, but he HATED it. He thinks that [name_f]Georgia[/name_f] might grow on him in time, though. He says [name_f]Iolanthe[/name_f] is alright but would have to have a less complicated nn, and “not Io who got turned into a cow.”

Our other girls are E v e A n a s t a s i a (nn E v i e) and D u l c i n e a T e s l a (nn D a i s y). When we named them, well for the first one I just happened to nominate a “normal” name and then we magically found a middle name we both loved as soon as we picked up the name book. The second girl’s naming was ceaseless drama and we ended up compromising with a name from my list with a name from his as the nn; and then we searched ad nauseum until we came up with a middle we both loved. We also have three boys named C a s p i a n, Z e p h a n, and P e r e g r i n e (nn P i p p i n).

Help? I don’t know how to reconcile these differing styles a third time. EDIT: We may have happened upon the real problem. He says my names are “just too much.” Aha! Well, intricate names are my favorite, and I tend to think most of his names are boring. Maybe the challenge is to find “interesting” in less than four syllables?

EDIT: Thanks to Berry suggestions, these names have been approved by both Mom and Dad to go on the “consider” list.
Constance, possibly with nn Annie (props to @davisellu) (nn props to @auroradawn, via email)
Petra (@ciottolo)
Delphina (@larkub101)
Katya (@jj1010)
Rilla (@mousehouse7), possibly as nn for Marilla or Amaryllis

Along with:
Georgia
Amaryllis

I just have to say, your kids’ names are really awesome. Unusual but not crazy and with a touch of whimsy! Anyway, I’ll dish out my best suggestions to compromise between your husband’s favorites and your favorites. Here goes…

[name_f]Ingrid[/name_f]
[name_f]Flora[/name_f]
[name_f]Avalon[/name_f]
[name_f]Blythe[/name_f]
[name_f]Kerensa[/name_f]
[name_f]Laurel[/name_f]
[name_f]Lavinia[/name_f]
[name_f]Marguerite[/name_f]
Xylia
[name_u]Waverly[/name_u]
[name_f]Thea[/name_f]
[name_f]Signe[/name_f]
[name_f]Sedona[/name_f]
[name_f]Opal[/name_f]
Hesper
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f]
[name_f]Carlotta[/name_f]
[name_f]Apolline[/name_f]
[name_f]Francisca[/name_f]
[name_f]Laelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f]
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f]
[name_u]Holland[/name_u]
[name_f]Lisette[/name_f]
[name_f]Vita[/name_f]
[name_f]Twila[/name_f]
[name_f]Soleil[/name_f]
[name_f]Coraline[/name_f]
Lucinda (nickname Lucy)
Karina
Aurelia
Emerald
Ariana (Aria+Oriana)

That’s all I have for now, I think you have lots of room to choose whichever style you want. Your boys have names more on the fantasy side but [name_f]Eve[/name_f] grounds the bunch so something more classic is still conceivable. I hope you don’t have as much trouble with this little girl’s name as you did with [name_f]Daisy[/name_f]!

What about one of the longer [name_f]Rose[/name_f]-names-- [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f], [name_f]Rosaline[/name_f], [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f], [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f], [name_f]Rosemarie[/name_f], [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f], Rosebeth, etc. nn [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_f]Rosie[/name_f]? What about [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] or [name_f]Isadora[/name_f] (nn [name_u]Izzy[/name_u]?)-- these might fit for both of you. I really like the suggestions of [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f], [name_f]Lavinia[/name_f], [name_f]Delphine[/name_f], and [name_f]Lucinda[/name_f] above.

Some other possibilities:

[name_f]Amethyst[/name_f]
[name_f]Araminta[/name_f]
[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]
[name_f]Bettina[/name_f]
[name_f]Clementine[/name_f]
[name_f]Claudia[/name_f]
[name_f]Constance[/name_f]/[name_f]Constanza[/name_f]
[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Cressida[/name_f]
[name_f]Edwina[/name_f]
[name_f]Emmeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Frederica[/name_f]
[name_f]Gwendolen[/name_f]
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f]
[name_f]Letitia[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucretia[/name_f]
[name_f]Mirabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Miranda[/name_f]
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Pamela[/name_f]
[name_f]Pauline[/name_f]
[name_f]Rowena[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabrina[/name_f]
[name_f]Susannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Sybilla[/name_f]
[name_f]Tabitha[/name_f]
[name_f]Tatiana[/name_f]
[name_f]Theodora[/name_f]/[name_f]Theodosia[/name_f]
[name_f]Valencia[/name_f]
[name_u]Valentine[/name_u]/[name_f]Valentina[/name_f]
[name_f]Vanessa[/name_f]
[name_f]Veronica[/name_f]
[name_f]Virginia[/name_f]
[name_f]Winifred[/name_f]

What about using one of his as a fn and one of yours as a mn, the opposite of your last daughter?

From your lists:
[name_f]Seraphina[/name_f] [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]
[name_u]Dagny[/name_u] [name_f]Roxanne[/name_f]

Other suggestions:
[name_f]Zinnia[/name_f]
[name_f]Zosia[/name_f]
[name_f]Thisbe[/name_f]
[name_f]Yvaine[/name_f]
[name_f]Isaura[/name_f]
Rosha
[name_u]Luca[/name_u]/[name_m]Luka[/name_m]
[name_f]Gretchen[/name_f]
[name_f]Hester[/name_f]
[name_f]Aura[/name_f]
[name_f]Azura[/name_f]
[name_f]Ophelie[/name_f]
Olivie
[name_f]Cecily[/name_f]
[name_f]Ramona[/name_f]
[name_f]Matilda[/name_f]
[name_f]Miranda[/name_f]
Merinda
[name_f]Marina[/name_f]
[name_f]Davina[/name_f]
[name_f]Daria[/name_f]
[name_f]Zanna[/name_f]
[name_f]Christabelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Linnea[/name_f]
[name_f]Indira[/name_f]
[name_f]Opal[/name_f]
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Thea[/name_f]
[name_f]Tabitha[/name_f]
[name_u]Eden[/name_u]
[name_f]Eris[/name_f]
[name_u]Aspen[/name_u]
[name_u]Auden[/name_u]
[name_f]Afton[/name_f]
[name_u]Arden[/name_u]

It’s here!! :o Interesting to see your husband’s list, and [name_f]Luciana[/name_f] (loo-chee-AHN-uh I think) nn [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] was my immediate thought if you wanted to do the same long name nickname compromise as with [name_f]Dulcinea[/name_f]/[name_f]Daisy[/name_f] (or equally Iselda nn [name_f]Zelda[/name_f]?), but that might not work for various reasons (you might not even like [name_f]Luciana[/name_f], for one!). [name_f]Magdalena[/name_f], [name_f]Agata[/name_f], [name_f]Roxana[/name_f] (for a [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f]-feeling form of your [name_f]Roxanne[/name_f]), [name_f]Esmaria[/name_f] (form of [name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f]) or [name_f]Honoria[/name_f]/[name_f]Honora[/name_f] are my thoughts for now, but I’ll see what else springs to mind.

[name_f]Unna[/name_f]! I forgot to add it to my list! I found it awhile back, but never mentioned it to Hubby because I try not to drag the poor guy into name discussions unless we actually NEED to talk about it. I ran it by him this morning before he left for work and he said it was okay – but in the tone that means “I haven’t heard it before but I kinda like it!” and not the dreaded “I’ll give it a chance for your sake” tone, ha ha! We seriously talked about [name_f]Luna[/name_f] last time, and I forgot all about it because we finally decided that [name_f]Luna[/name_f] T y l e r was just unpleasantly reminiscent of “lunatic.”

I’ve never quite gotten on board with the spelling [name_f]Una[/name_f] because it looks like you-na to me. I found [name_f]Unna[/name_f] as being from an Old Norse word meaning “to love,” and I super love that because of both the meaning and the Old Norse cred. Meaning, origin and history of the name Unnr - Behind the Name It’s pronounced basically the same, at least by Americans, though I get it that people might mistake it for uh-nuh. Still a better mistake than you-na to my ear. But even [name_f]Una[/name_f] has cred because of being from the Irish word, and Hubby’s side is Irish.

Anyway, I’m kind of excited about this one and it’s definitely going on the list.

I’ll look over all the new suggestions and be back to post about them later today when I have some more time! Thanks so much for all the ideas thus far, I see that there are quite a few.

These are the names from your lists that I like and think would go well with your other children’s names:

Daphne
Aurora
Seraphina
Hazel
Celeste
Georgia
Roxanne

I also suggest:

Iris
June/Juniper

Iris is my top suggestion for you based on your lists. I tried to think of others for you, but I kept coming back to Iris.

[name_m]New[/name_m] nameberry noun/adjective: “shpunky”; ‘short and spunky’.

Fairly Well-Known Shpunkies:
[name_f]Petra[/name_f]
[name_f]Julia[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosa[/name_f]
[name_f]Maris[/name_f]
[name_f]Lara[/name_f]
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
[name_f]Alba[/name_f]/[name_u]Alva[/name_u]
[name_u]Hero[/name_u]
[name_f]Eira[/name_f]
[name_f]Orla[/name_f]/[name_f]Olwen[/name_f]
[name_f]Clea[/name_f]/[name_f]Clara[/name_f]
[name_f]Leda[/name_f]
[name_f]Anya[/name_f]

Slightly More Exotic Shpunkies:
[name_f]Ishbel[/name_f]
[name_f]Kasia[/name_f]
[name_f]Edita[/name_f]
[name_f]Ismay[/name_f]
[name_f]Cleora[/name_f]
Laufey
Aisla
Malla/[name_f]Malva[/name_f]
[name_f]Minka[/name_f]
[name_f]Thora[/name_f]
[name_f]Liora[/name_f]
[name_f]Prisca[/name_f]/Priska
[name_f]Sancia[/name_f]
[name_f]Sidra[/name_f]/Isidra

Unusual but not Too Outré:
[name_f]Perdita[/name_f]
[name_f]Allegra[/name_f]
[name_f]Angelica[/name_f]
[name_f]Consuelo[/name_f]
[name_f]Saskia[/name_f]
[name_f]Noemi[/name_f]
[name_f]Carmela[/name_f]
[name_f]Clemency[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabina[/name_f]
[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Tatiana[/name_f]
[name_f]Verity[/name_f]
[name_f]Cosima[/name_f]
[name_f]Viviana[/name_f]

Easy to Pronounce but Fairly Rare:
[name_f]Felicitas[/name_f] (grittier than [name_f]Felicity[/name_f], but still delicate, also love nn Fliss/[name_f]Flick[/name_f]/Flicka)
Caieta
[name_f]Kerensa[/name_f]
[name_f]Caitria[/name_f]
[name_f]Tamara[/name_f]
[name_f]Letizia[/name_f]
Lisanor
[name_f]Senara[/name_f]

Scandi:
[name_f]Annika[/name_f]
[name_f]Betina[/name_f]
[name_f]Mariota[/name_f]
Ilsabeth/Ilsabe
Regitza
[name_f]Viveca[/name_f]
[name_f]Ingrid[/name_f]
[name_f]Corinna[/name_f]
[name_f]Eliska[/name_f]/Elska
[name_f]Idony[/name_f]

International:
[name_f]Elettra[/name_f]/[name_f]Electra[/name_f]
[name_f]Catalina[/name_f]
[name_f]Annora[/name_f]
[name_f]Katarina[/name_f]
[name_f]Annika[/name_f]

[name_f]Victoriana[/name_f]:
[name_f]Sophronia[/name_f]
[name_f]Philomena[/name_f]
[name_f]Marcella[/name_f]/[name_f]Marcia[/name_f]
[name_f]Ilaria[/name_f]
[name_f]Eulalia[/name_f]/Euthalia
[name_f]Antonia[/name_f]
[name_f]Idalia[/name_f]
Coppelia
[name_f]Astraea[/name_f]
Seraphia
[name_f]Gwyneira[/name_f]
[name_f]Zenobia[/name_f]
[name_f]Leocadia[/name_f]

Mythological:
Sunita
[name_f]Ziva[/name_f]
Marzanna
[name_f]Melaina[/name_f]
Medina
Caelia
[name_f]Acantha[/name_f]
Calistra
[name_f]Ianthe[/name_f]

I hope something strikes a balance - I really like [name_f]Unna[/name_f]!

Thanks for the suggestions! I went through all of the ideas so far. There were some good ones, and it seems like everyone is on a pretty good “train of thought.” Some of the suggestions have been on my list, some on his list, some that we’ve talked about before, some new. They all got jumbled together though so sorry for not calling out each contributor for the ideas.

[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] was mentioned a few times and I really wish I could love this one because objectively, it fits really well. That “[name_f]DEE[/name_f]” syllable just irritates me, and it’s so annoying because I love [name_f]Della[/name_f], [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], [name_f]Daria[/name_f], but the [name_f]DEE[/name_f] makes me crazy and I’m not willing to fight for a “cor-[name_u]DELL[/name_u]-iya” prn.

We’ve tried to come up with a [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]-elaboration compromise before, but I just can’t stand [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]. It’s that sound that’s in “goose.” You might as well scrape fingernails on a chalkboard.

Many of the [name_f]Rose[/name_f] elaborations do work, but it’s not our favorite because we already have a [name_f]Daisy[/name_f], and (if this one is a girl) they would be pretty close in age, so that seems kind of theme-y. [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] is special because it’s my mom’s favorite flower and we wanted to honor her. I COULD get on board with the theme if roses were the [name_f]MIL[/name_f]'s favorite, but they aren’t, she likes the [name_f]Pansy[/name_f] which you can’t use as a name (and besides, she names all her dogs flower names so she really wouldn’t understand that as an “honor” at all!). And to beat it down completely, with our surname, you have a [name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who companion. And we like her, don’t get me wrong, but it seems rather overkill.

Alright, now onto the rest:

[name_m]New[/name_m] suggestions we will consider:
[name_f]Esmaria[/name_f]
[name_f]Petra[/name_f]
[name_f]Opal[/name_f]
[name_f]Cosima[/name_f]
[name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]
[name_f]Emerald[/name_f]
[name_f]Electra[/name_f] (I super like this but I think he won’t and forgot to put it on the list for him to look at)

Names that have been on the list before and we will take another look at:
[name_f]Constance[/name_f] (I absolutely want this for an honor name for my dad. Another [name_u]Berry[/name_u] friend suggested nn [name_f]Annie[/name_f] for it and I am loving that)
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f] (we didn’t love the meaning so it probably won’t win out again)
[name_f]Della[/name_f] (because [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] makes me remember how much I like [name_f]Della[/name_f])
[name_f]Annika[/name_f] & [name_f]Anya[/name_f] (we ruled them out since we already have mn [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f], but we’ll take one more look)
[name_f]Viveca[/name_f]
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f] (maybe as a middle)

I like but I ruled out because I don’t love the history and/or meaning:
[name_f]Cressida[/name_f], [name_f]Cecily[/name_f], [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f]

These names have been on my list before and I’ve never gotten Hubby on board, or else I have suggested them as “similar alternates” to his with no luck: [name_f]Roxana[/name_f], [name_f]Sophronia[/name_f], Gwyniera, [name_f]Gwendolen[/name_f], [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f], [name_f]Zanna[/name_f], [name_f]Verity[/name_f], [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f]

HIS list but he can’t get me on board: [name_f]Julia[/name_f]

These have been under consideration before but didn’t quite win out: [name_f]Valencia[/name_f], [name_f]Veronica[/name_f], [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], [name_f]Nadia[/name_f], [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] (and this one is SO annoying because it’s “My Fair Lady” that made him veto it)

Annnd honorable mention to [name_f]Linnea[/name_f], I really like it, but it seems too matchy with [name_f]Dulcinea[/name_f].

Thanks again for all of these great ideas. The girl names had me SO discouraged, but I have hope now that we can find something.

From your lists I love

[name_f]Georgia[/name_f] [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f]
[name_f]Seraphina[/name_f] [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]

My suggestions:

[name_u]Malin[/name_u]
[name_f]Violaine[/name_f]
[name_f]Vendela[/name_f]
[name_f]Melania[/name_f]
[name_f]Annora[/name_f]
[name_f]Katya[/name_f]
[name_f]Iona[/name_f]
[name_f]Sigrid[/name_f]

I love the name [name_f]Una[/name_f] and it makes perfect sense to me the way it is pronounced. But that may be because Spanish is my strongest non-native language. There is also [name_f]Oona[/name_f], like [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] [name_m]Chaplin[/name_m]'s granddaughter. Your husband’s taste seems similar to mine, minus the nit-pickiness about associations. What’s wrong with [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] Doolittle? It’s hardly an overwhelming association either. I love [name_f]Della[/name_f].

[name_f]Seraphina[/name_f] [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] is exquisite.

@jj1010 - I’m going to see if he likes [name_f]Katya[/name_f]. Thanks!

@anaxandra - He’s a [name_m]MAJOR[/name_m] musical theater geek. [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], [name_u]Marian[/name_u], [name_m]Marcellus[/name_m], [name_m]Barnaby[/name_m], Corneilus – all were vetoed for being too obvious musical character names. I’m pretty sure I only slipped [name_f]Dulcinea[/name_f] in because The [name_m]Man[/name_m] of LaMancha is so obscure. He put [name_m]Colm[/name_m] on the boys list because of [name_m]Colm[/name_m] [name_m]Wilkinson[/name_m], who was the original [name_u]Jean[/name_u] Valjean ([name_u]Les[/name_u] Miserables) in [name_u]West[/name_u] End and Broadway. I kid you not.

@rkrd - You posted while I was composing another reply! Sorry to miss you. Thanks for the idea.

Saracita!! Tell me you’re having the twin girls I predicted! :slight_smile: Congratulations! Wow - you are busy! For a girl I love [name_f]Unna[/name_f] - seems lovely! [name_f]Unna[/name_f] [name_f]Roxanne[/name_f] would be gorgeous. I also notice your hubby likes [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f], which seems a bit dated, but the [name_m]French[/name_m] original version Catheline seems gorgeous. [name_f]Unna[/name_f] Catheline! [name_f]Unna[/name_f] [name_f]Cate[/name_f] is awfully cute for short, too.

I’ll just jump back on to add I also love [name_f]Katya[/name_f] [name_f]Seraphine[/name_f] - swoon!

Ooh, also [name_f]Electra[/name_f]! Look up [name_f]Electra[/name_f] Havermeyer [name_m]Webb[/name_m] - super cool lady/namesake!

@mousehouse7 - Blah, I’ve had enough drama for more than one ultrasound already and there’s only one little critter in there. If it’s a girl I feel like it almost might as well BE twins considering how close this pregnancy is to the last one. Can we say, “surprise?” I’m ridiculously sick, which is why I have been hanging around here getting the name research done. I know, my husband’s taste is all over the place without rhyme or reason. The sources I’m looking at are calling Catheline an English derivative of [name_f]Katherine[/name_f]. I’m pretty sure that I want to use [name_f]Constance[/name_f] as one of the middles if it loses out in first place. [name_f]Electra[/name_f] Havermeyer [name_m]Webb[/name_m] looks like an interesting lady, thanks for the tip.

@ciottolo - Hubby likes [name_f]Petra[/name_f].

@larkub101 - Hubby thought [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] was supposed to be pronounced [name_f]Delphina[/name_f], and he liked that, so I put it down as [name_f]Delphina[/name_f] on the list.

Sorry you’re sick…that means it’s a girl, though:)

Okay- so it seems like your naming styles aren’t too different. From what I can gather, your names are long and feminine. His are shorter and spunky. Practically none of his names end with an -a sound. Practically none of yours don’t.

Personally, I think all of your naming are lovely. And I’m not just saying that! But I think his style is a little closer to mine…

  1. If he liked [name_f]Iolanthe[/name_f] but not the spelling, how about [name_f]Yolanda[/name_f], [name_f]Jolanta[/name_f], or [name_f]Yolande[/name_f]. All are related and mean “violet.” Speaking of meanings, why not [name_f]Violet[/name_f] itself? It fits into your list well among [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] and [name_f]Rose[/name_f]!

  2. If he dislikes [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f], sort of likes [name_f]Georgia[/name_f], and you love both, are [name_f]Georgina[/name_f] or [name_f]Georgeta[/name_f] options?

  3. I see that you like [name_u]Dagny[/name_u] from his list, but not enough to name your previous daughter that… I highly suggest [name_f]Signe[/name_f] (also spelled [name_f]Signy[/name_f]). [name_f]Signe[/name_f] is pronounced [name_m]SING[/name_m]-neh in Swedish, but could be anglicized [name_m]SIG[/name_m]-nee, especially if spelled [name_f]Signy[/name_f]. This is a family name, and I really like it.

  4. Since he likes [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f], and based on your style, [name_f]Catriona[/name_f] makes sense.

  5. You both like old, long Greek names ([name_f]Penelope[/name_f], [name_f]Hermione[/name_f], [name_f]Iolanthe[/name_f]). What about [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f], [name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f], [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], [name_f]Andromeda[/name_f], or [name_f]Nephele[/name_f]? These seem more your style, but maybe they’d appeal to your husband as well.

Sorry for any repeats! I hope this helps. :slight_smile: