How much do name meanings matter to you? Many saint names don’t have the best meanings but people all over the world choose them for the saint’s heroic virtues, rather than the name’s meaning. @ashthedreamer shared a great explanation for why she finds beauty in the meaning “blind” for the name Cecilia.
Do you have any similar explanations? Does the meaning itself matter more or what the name symbolizes personally for you? For instance, Emilia means “rival” but if there were someone special in your life with that name, would that outweigh the meaning? )Or would you create a combo like Emilia Dolores (rival of sorrows)?
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Honestly, I can’t say that I care 
[name_f][/name_f] [name_m]Or[/name_m], if I’m being more accurate: a beautiful meaning is a small bonus, and could make me like a name slightly[name_f][/name_f] more than I did before. But an unattractive, negative meaning won’t matter to me at all and won’t affect how much I like a name or if I would use it. I don’t like the meaning of my name, but it’s never bothered me! The average person doesn’t know what their name even means.
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I love searching name meanings, but when determining if a name goes onto my list, they don’t matter as much as other criteria.
I really like the idea of taking two names with negative meanings and making a positive combination like you did in your example with Emilia Dolores. While it wouldn’t be an obvious thing to most people, it is a really sweet sentiment.
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Personally meanings are really important to me and I wouldn’t choose a name for an actual child that doesn’t have a positive meaning attached. I have lots of names that I love and a large list however if the name doesn’t have an overtly positive meaning for me I would not choose for my child.
I think names like Emilia Dolores playing on the overall meaning are nice of course both names are beautiful however I personally wouldn’t choose a name where the each individual name doesn’t have a positive meaning.
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For me, a positive meaning is plus, but not a necessity; sound, feel, and my associations with the name mean more to me (mostly) - meaning is just one element.
I find name meanings fascinating; I enjoy researching them; they are an additional, cool feature, but some of it is just I like the fact there is a meaning - I don’t know, separate for being positive or negative, just the fact it’s there is interesting to me.
What the name symbolises and sound like it definitely more important for me, though I do think it’s fun to come up with combos that balance out meaning/mean stuff all together - but it’s not a necessity when I make a combo of my own.
Side note: the only time meaning matters to me apparently is when people put two names with the same meaning together - but usually that’s when one’s a word name and the other is a ‘name-name’ (like Anna Grace, Nadia Hope, or Susannah Lily) - I don’t know why this bothers me particularly 
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for the most part, name meanings are not a huge factor to me. a nice meaning (or one which resonates with me) can be the reason a name I really like becomes a name I love, but a negative meaning won’t necessarily do the opposite.
[name_f][/name_f]the exception would be names with meanings that go against my values or beliefs. im not religious, and my experiences from when I was religious were generally negative (if not harmful), so I intend to raise my children without religion. as such, meanings about faith or god go against my values, so I try to avoid them.
I have eight kids and have always loved name meanings, but in practice they weren’t as important. For one or two names, we chose a name based on its meaning. For most of the others, we chose a name for another reason and the meaning was a bonus. With my oldest, I remember nixing at least one name option because of the meaning Lorelei.
My older four have beautifully flowing first+middle meanings — pure joy, man of the white fields, zealous fire of the Lord, the God of Jacob has heard — and the younger four are less so — beloved drawn out of the water, kingly defender [actually that one’s great, but the meanings are stretchy], dedicated to God in faith, joy of her merciful father.
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Meanings are meaningless to me
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Name factor is important to me, but I think a family name would trump that. For example, my mom’s name is [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] which means “bitter”. I love my mom and her name that I would name my daughter [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] despite the meaning. If a name with a poor meaning didn’t have a family connection, I would probably avoid it.
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I’m drawn to names primarily for their sounds and the enjoyment I get out of saying them, and then the imagery they conjure up. Their actual meanings are not nearly as important.
[name_f][/name_f]Having said that, if I loved a name and its meaning was pretty awful, I think I’d only choose it if this meaning were not well-known and the name had some other positive m association (eg an honour name, a movie or literary reference, a historical figure etc), I wouldn’t go ahead and try to cancel the meaning with a positive or cancelling out second name because for me that would draw more attention to the “bad” meaning and its importance.
[name_f][/name_f]I do think if I had a few top names, I’d definitely chuck the one with the off meaning first, if not an honour name. It’s nice for a kid to have a sort of personal [name_m]North[/name_m] [name_f]Star[/name_f] with a good meaning. I’m not saying it counts for a lot but I do think it has an effect, telling your child what their name means.
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Interesting question. I think first you have to consider that a lot of the “meanings” on baby name sites and books are often dubious. The etymologies of many names from the ancient world are uncertain or debatable now. E.g. the meaning for [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is given as “bitter” almost everywhere, even though name experts know this is debatable. I find that often with names that have supposedly “negative” meanings, when you research it deeper, usually there is more than one possible possible origin for the name.
[name_f][/name_f]Also, when it comes to honour names, I’m not bothered by etymological meanings, because I would be using the name to honour a family member, not because of the meaning.
[name_f][/name_f]Personally, I would also consider a name’s wider history, e.g. cultural and religious associations, to be a part of its wider meaning as well.
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I think there is literal meaning vs poetic or implied meaning. Either can trump the other on occasion, depending on what is more important for you. Our baby’s names doesn’t have the best literal meaning, but the implied meaning for us is much more important.
[name_f][/name_f]It’s also worth keeping in mind that very few people outside the name nerd community know the meaning of even very common names. Only worry about meaning if it matters to you because it won’t matter to 98% of everyone else.
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For me, meanings are a nice bonus if they’re nice, or especially if I find a meaning that I relate to religiously (like Cecilia!). [name_f][/name_f] I also love [name_f]Arabella[/name_f], [name_m]Declan[/name_m], [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], [name_f]Liliana[/name_f], [name_f]Tess[/name_f], etc. for either their meaning or their symbolism.
[name_f][/name_f]Something like [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] is fine for me because I love [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] and like the tie to A Comedy of Errors and it is a soundalike to a family name (Amelia). [name_f][/name_f] Plus, her meaning is similar to Jacob’s and [name_m]Jacob[/name_m] hasn’t fared any worse for having a not-great meaning.
[name_f][/name_f]I think a lot of what I find appealing in a name is some connection to something meaningful to me in some way, whether it’s a family name, has ties to a story that means a lot to me, has ties to Scripture and my faith, etc. [name_f][/name_f] There are very few names I would reject due to the meaning (although [name_m]Hayden[/name_m] and [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] might be examples [name_f][/name_f]- I don’t love the meaning of [name_m]Hayden[/name_m] at all and all the men in my family are bald and don’t want to make my son’s name a self fulfilling prophecy 
), but I am much more likely to reject a name because it has ties to a religion I don’t believe in, like [name_f]Freya[/name_f] or [name_f]Persephone[/name_f]. [name_f][/name_f] But even then there are exceptions; I would use [name_f]Xanthe[/name_f] to honor my sisters; [name_f]Iris[/name_f] to honor my grandma; etc.! [name_f][/name_f] If there’s a strong enough tie to something that I value immensely, I will overlook the more unsavory tie that doesn’t thrill me.
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I deeply value the meanings of names. After their sound, this is the aspect that enchants me the most. I often find myself falling in love with the meaning of a name before getting excited about its pronunciation or spelling, especially if it’s a name in a language I’m not very familiar with. I believe this is why most of my favorite names are word names. Obviously, meanings are not everything and I consider all the other aspects about a name before adding them to my list. Still, I want the meaning to be, at the very least, neutral. I would never use names meaning “miserable”, “monster”, “looser” or “unfortunate” for real children. Nevertheless, I admite that they could be interesting for characters.
If I ever have children, I want their names to carry a positive energy. Somehow, it comforts me to think that, even if they don’t like their names, they can at least be certain that the name I chose to define their identity was carefully considered and that I wished positive things for them and their future.
Personally, since I’m not religious, most religious names don’t appeal to me. Although many of them are classic, the majority don’t have meanings that stand out, from my perspective. One of the best exceptions for me in that category is Isaac – “laughter.”
When it comes to honoring someone, I generally prefer subtle or original ideas. I like tributes as middle names or fun twists if used as first names. For example, I love to consider variants, names with shared letters, or something meaningful that I associate with the loved one (a nickname, birthplace, favorite color, flower, birthstone, a song or movie that reminds me of them, etc.). However, I definitely enjoy searching for names with identical or similar meanings. If the original name had a great meaning, that would be awesome! But, if the name in question had a less positive meaning, I think I would opt for an alternative way to honor the nearest and dearest. There are many cool ways to honor someone! Still, I understand those who are determined to use the exact name. For many, the most direct connection is the one that makes the most sense to them. We all value different things and have different perspectives.
I never considered something like Emilia Dolores, but that sounds awesome! It’s fascinating how two controversial meanings create such a strong and powerful full name when put together in a combo.
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FWIW, we don’t know the etymology of [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] for sure, but the most likely theory is that it comes from an ancient Egyptian name meaning ‘beloved’!
I adore name meanings and consider them important. I wouldn’t want to saddle a child with a name with a negative meaning like blind or lame.
[name_f][/name_f]For me names are something I study and I enjoy them. I am highly unlikely to have a baby, as I’m a grandmother now! I was young when I had my son and meaning wasn’t important to me then. I wanted a classic name and chose [name_m]Philip[/name_m], which means lover of horses, and while he likes them as animals, he has never ridden one in his life! 
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For me the meaning has never been much of a factor when it comes to the names I love and what I would choose when the time comes. If it’s a positive meaning it’s a huge bonus but I don’t think choosing a name with a negative meaning means you’re setting your kid up for that fate
[name_f][/name_f]I see it as one of those things where way back in the olden days the name got its meaning because someone decided that’s what it meant, or something happened to lead it to that meaning, and if circumstances were different the name could’ve ended up meaning something totally different. It’s just not one of those things I worry about
[name_f][/name_f]That said with female names rather than male, I do have a few saint names I like and would possibly use as middle names for my future daughter/s as I grew up in a Catholic/Christian household. But even then the names I love have a certain level of significance for me or I just find them beautiful, so I’m not choosing them on the saint or meaning solely
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] is actually my saint name funny enough. And for those who don’t know, when you get “confirmed” (I was in grade 7 so 12-13ish) you choose a saint you identify with and that saint will lead you down the right path and guide/protect you. I chose [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] at the time because she’s mostly known as the saint of musicians. The year before I was confirmed my grandpa, who was a musician had passed away. I was extremely close to him so it felt right to choose her as my saint
[name_f][/name_f]Had the saint of music been a name that I didn’t like or didn’t find as beautiful as [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f], I’m not sure if I would’ve chosen it. It just worked out that a name I loved had that connection o my grandpa
[name_f][/name_f]Sorry for the ramble! Would you also be able to link the post about [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] by @ashthedreamer[name_f][/name_f] if you have the chance? I would love to check it out!
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[name_m]Hi[/name_m] @chelsia[name_f][/name_f], I love sharing my perspective on [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]! [name_f][/name_f] What a beautiful name; if I had grown up Catholic, I probably would’ve picked her name too!
[name_f][/name_f]Here’s[name_f][/name_f] the link to the thread where I shared my thoughts on [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f], it should be near the bottom of that thread. [name_f][/name_f] 
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I’ll have to check it out! Thanks
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