We’re expecting again! Yippee! We’re all settled on the boy name - [name]Marcus[/name] [name]Ebenezer[/name]. I like many girls’ names, but my husband is quite picky…he has however, agreed that [name]Cora[/name] is nice. I’ve been thinking [name]Cora[/name] [name]Margaret[/name]…but I don’t feel “set” on it. I keep imagining greeting a baby girl with completely different names! So I’ve taken that as a sign that I’m not quite ready to commit to [name]Cora[/name] [name]Margaret[/name] for this baby, as much as I love the name. Another factor for me is our son’s name, [name]Charles[/name] - although I don’t mind a few children sharing first initials, I don’t really want two C names in a row, because it looks like a trend and isn’t going to be (if that makes any sense).
I was wondering if any of you Berries could help me out. Another girl name I have “waiting in the wings” is [name]Sylvia[/name] [name]Pearl[/name]. Sadly, my husband HATES [name]Sylvia[/name], much as I love it! I’m holding out hope that we have more than one daughter and he finally lets me name one on my own because he can’t find any more names he likes, but if not I’d like something similar.
So here are my questions:
Can you think of any alternative middle names for [name]Cora[/name]? Maybe it’s just [name]Margaret[/name] I’m not sure about, since I love [name]Cora[/name] so much.
Can you think of any names similar to [name]Sylvia[/name]? For example, I also like the similar-sounding names [name]Cynthia[/name] and [name]Sonia[/name].
Other similar-style names to these are welcome too! For girls, I like vintage names that sound both sweet and intelligent (some favorites: [name]Sylvia[/name], [name]Cora[/name], [name]Alice[/name], [name]Delia[/name], [name]Margaret[/name], [name]Clara[/name], [name]Rosemary[/name]). With middle names I am willing to go for more unusual names, verging into ancient or almost steampunk (some favorites: [name]Miranda[/name], [name]Hermione[/name], [name]Beatrice[/name], [name]Anthea[/name], [name]Theodora[/name], [name]Aletta[/name], [name]Cornelia[/name]/[name]Cordelia[/name], [name]Aurelia[/name], [name]Oria[/name]).
Similar to [name]Sylvia[/name]
[name]Cordelia[/name]
[name]Agatha[/name]
[name]Ophelia[/name]
[name]Cecilia[/name]
[name]Cecily[/name]
[name]Thalia[/name]
[name]Lilia[/name]
We clearly have similar taste : D. [name]Feel[/name] free to look at my list, although it has a lot of overlap with other suggestions above!
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Naomi[/name] is one I often imagine, although that’s maybe more Biblical than you usually go.
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Verity[/name] also strikes me as nice and maybe goes with that steampunk thing for you?
[name]Sylvia[/name], besides the suggestions above, [name]Sylvie[/name], [name]Simona[/name], [name]Sidonia[/name], [name]Livia[/name], [name]Lavinia[/name].
You Berries have thrown some really nice ones out there! I go back and forth about [name]Cora[/name] [name]Louise[/name]. It sounds nice, but I like [name]Louisa[/name] much better than [name]Louise[/name], and [name]Cora[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] doesn’t work.
Sadly, all J names are out because our last name starts with J (and sounds similar to “lemmings”, just for future reference). I like [name]Cora[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] a lot, though. Hmm.
jesba - We [name]DO[/name] have similar taste! I like the name [name]Naomi[/name] a lot, and actually I was planning to do all Biblical names for sons, but for daughters I was going more vintage. Re: [name]Flavia[/name]/[name]Fulvia[/name] - I like [name]Flavia[/name], but I have the feeling my husband would despise it. [name]Fulvia[/name] looks too much like “vulva” for me…
[name]Naomi[/name] is so pretty : D. But I hear you. [name]Joseph[/name] and [name]David[/name] are my top two for boys and if I ever have 2 boys and then any girls go I don’t know that I want a full Biblical hand.
[name]Cora[/name] has been on and off my top 10. I hear you on liking [name]Louisa[/name] more than [name]Louise[/name]. What about [name]Cora[/name] [name]Eloise[/name], or [name]Corinne[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] nn [name]Cora[/name]?
[name]Glad[/name] you like [name]Flavia[/name], but sorry it probably won’t work. It does make me think of Flava beans, although I do like it. I hear you on [name]Fulvia[/name] too, in a way, I think in my accent, those two u’s are very different vowels, but I can imagine that’s not the case for everyone!
What do you all think of [name]Cora[/name] [name]Celeste[/name]? It just occurred to me. I’m not usually bit on alliteration but the “S” sound of [name]Celeste[/name] softens the similarity to me. The only problem is that I feel the “T” sound at the end collides with the J of our last name. [name]Cora[/name] [name]Celestine[/name]? Too much? Or pretty? I kinda like it…
[name]Stella[/name]? [name]Amelia[/name]? [name]Olivia[/name]? Those are somewhat similar to [name]Sylvia[/name], in my opinion. Also, I love [name]Lydia[/name].
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Celestine[/name] I don’t think is too much, actually! It’s very pretty. And with a brother [name]Charles[/name] [name]Theophilus[/name], I don’t think it could be too much. I love your style.
I like [name]Cora[/name] [name]Celeste[/name]! [name]Cora[/name] [name]Celestine[/name] is good, do you like [name]Cora[/name] [name]Celine[/name]/[name]Cora[/name] [name]Selene[/name]?
[name]Stella[/name] - I love this one!
[name]Olivia[/name] - has occurred to me, but I already know an [name]Olivia[/name] and it would feel weird naming my child the same name
[name]Amelia[/name] - I would TOTALLY use [name]Amelia[/name], except she’s my husband’s younger sister
[name]Lydia[/name] - I can’t shake the Pride and Prejudice association of the ill-behaved younger sister, plus [name]Lydia[/name]'s also a relative
Jesba - I like [name]Celine[/name] (also as an alternative for [name]Sylvia[/name]!), but for some reason it feels too French to me - I know that’s odd, coming from someone who just suggested [name]Celeste[/name], but it’s true! Maybe it’s because I associate [name]Celine[/name] with [name]Celine[/name] [name]Dion[/name], and I associate [name]Celeste[/name] with the queen elephant in the kids’ book “Babar”, who has nothing to do with [name]France[/name].
east93 - I like [name]Sylvana[/name], but I feel it lacks the innocent sweetness of [name]Sylvia[/name]…it feels very grown up in comparison, and I like the bouncy youth of [name]Sylvia[/name].
not that i like sylvana, (my hubby’s boss’ name, always thought it was kind of yucky), but when i read your take on sylvia i was struck by how we all personify names so differently. i see just the opposite when i imagine a sylvia; a 60 year old woman with a grey perm and slacks playing bridge so i see where your husband is coming from.
i love love cora celeste though!!!
[name]Sylvana[/name] was the first name that came to my mind. It sounds a lot fresh and more youthfu than [name]Sylvia[/name]. What about just [name]Sylvie[/name]? Sylvianna, [name]Sloane[/name] (on my list), [name]Serena[/name], Sye/Sigh (Sye [name]Margarete[/name] is definately a unique twist which combines today’s trend and tradition), Syla…
Names that remind me of [name]Sylvia[/name] (I think most of these aren’t repeats, but I’m not sure):
[name]Evelyn[/name]
[name]Silver[/name]
[name]Vivian[/name]
[name]Cecily[/name]
[name]Agatha[/name]
[name]Lillian[/name]
[name]Julia[/name]
[name]Eleanor[/name]
[name]Abigail[/name]
[name]Lucille[/name]
[name]Bianca[/name]
I like many girls’ names, but my husband is quite picky…he has however, agreed that [name]Cora[/name] is nice. I’ve been thinking [name]Cora[/name] [name]Margaret[/name]…but I don’t feel “set” on it. I keep imagining greeting a baby girl with completely different names! So I’ve taken that as a sign that I’m not quite ready to commit to [name]Cora[/name] [name]Margaret[/name] for this baby, as much as I love the name. 
but if not I’d like something similar.