Names my husband actually likes. (Gulp.)

Girl Names
1

So recently I posted my list of faves for girls. They included names like [name]Zara[/name] and [name]Roxana[/name] and [name]Sybilla[/name] and [name]Beatrice[/name]. I finally went down my list - part of it anyway, because it devolved into an argument halfway down when I started yelling “WHY? WHY [name]DON[/name]'T YOU LIKE THAT?” - and eventually decided to just start naming some names to see if I could identify a style for him.

Here are some names - some of them are on my list and some arent - which my husband DOES NOT like:

[name]Sybilla[/name]
[name]Roxana[/name]
[name]Zara[/name]
[name]Edith[/name]
[name]Calla[/name]
[name]Mabel[/name]
[name]Julia[/name]
[name]Seraphina[/name]
[name]Sylvie[/name]
[name]Jane[/name]
[name]Luna[/name]
[name]Winter[/name]
[name]Snow[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Laura[/name]
[name]Monica[/name]

Here are some names he said “Maybe” to (what does that even mean?)

[name]Eloise[/name]
[name]Beatrice[/name]
[name]Vivien[/name]
[name]Coraline[/name]
[name]Fiona[/name]
[name]Diana[/name]
[name]Virginia[/name]
[name]Theresa[/name]

Now here are some he LIKES:

[name]Matilda[/name]
[name]Wilhelmina[/name]
[name]Clementine[/name]
[name]Eva[/name]
[name]Alice[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Miranda[/name]
[name]Tabitha[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Lena[/name]
[name]Victoria[/name]
[name]Claire[/name]
[name]Corinne[/name]
[name]Eve[/name]
[name]Rachel[/name]

So what do you think? What do you call that style? [name]Do[/name] any of those sound good with mn [name]Emerald[/name]? [name]Do[/name] any of them sound as good as my faves - [name]Sybilla[/name], [name]Roxana[/name], [name]Zara[/name], [name]Beatrice[/name]? Can you think of any names that might fit both our styles, whatever they may be? Also, why don’t I like [name]Matilda[/name]?!

Last thing - BONUS question - do you see [name]Alice[/name] and [name]Violet[/name] ending up in the top 10? And if so, when?

Thanks a million, y’all!

2

I think your styles are pretty similar… I love [name]Miranda[/name], [name]Tabitha[/name], [name]Claire[/name] (on your list too!), [name]Corinne[/name], [name]Alice[/name] and [name]Eva[/name]. I’m not crazy about [name]Matilda[/name] either… don’t know why!

And no, none of them sound as good as [name]Beatrice[/name] and [name]Roxana[/name]!!!

Suggestions:
[name]Amabel[/name]
[name]Aurora[/name]
[name]Cecily[/name]/[name]Cicely[/name]
[name]Clarissa[/name]
[name]Emmeline[/name]
[name]Estella[/name]
[name]Gemma[/name]
[name]Hermia[/name]
[name]Miriam[/name]
[name]Rosina[/name]
[name]Thomasina[/name]
[name]Vanessa[/name]

3

Of his picks, [name]Alice[/name] is the only one that comes close to [name]Beatrice[/name] in both style and beauty, for me (though I have an [name]Elisabeth[/name] and love that name). I’d say he likes older, staid names. Your names seem to have more spunk.

4

Hmm…
I think you have a similar taste. Expect your at the ‘extreme’ end of spectrum whereas he’s at the more commonly used/know end of the spectrum. I would say your tastes are interesting vintage classics/intriguing names. I think you both have the ‘nameberry’ head on but he’s more the Violet end of the ‘nameberry’ head whereas you are the ‘Melisande’ end of the nameberry head. If that makes sense.

Concerning the list I would put the ‘maybes?’ with the ‘no’s’ as people tend of say maybe but actually mean no. Well in my experience anyway…

From the names you love, he hates I like…
Zara, Edith, Calla, Sylvie, Jane, Luna, Winter, Lydia (it’s growing on me a lot), Helena, and Laura.
From the names that he gave the maybe answer to I like…
Eloise, Beatrice, Vivien, Coraline, and Fiona
From the names that he loves, and which seem to be on a similar wavelength to the names you love; I like literally all of them excluding Lena. My personal favourites which I think meet both your styles are…
Clementine, Violet, Miranda, Victoria (it’s my name), and Eve.

If I was you guys I would narrow the choices down to Clementine, Violet, Miranda, Victoria and Eve just because their beautiful choices, makes great compromising choices as well and seem to suit your naming style down to a tee.

Out of those I love Violet Emerald (too much colour though?!), Miranda Emerald and Victoria Emerald. I adore Eve, she’s one of my favourite girl’s names at the moment; my top three are Jane, Rosalie & Eve but she doesn’t work with Emerald. Neither does Clementine.

I think a lot of the names that hubby likes are just as good and as interesting as your choices especially as I dislike Sybilla and Roxana. I don’t know why you don’t like Matilda I think she’s beautiful, she has a range of great nicknames such as Mattie, Tilly and Tilda. Maybe the Roald Dahl connection is too much?! I also see Alice and Violet entering the UK top ten just because Alice is already popular in the UK and their seems to be a lot of stars using the name Violet or names similar to Violet which ultimately could see a rise in people using the name within the UK. But I don’t know about the elsewhere like the states for example.

Finally some suggestions:
Willow Emerald
Isolde Emerald
Freya Emerald
Alessandra Emerald
Elisabeth Emerald
Cordelia Emerald
Clara Emerald
Louisa Emerald
Marisol Emerald
Juniper/Juno/June/Junia
Delphine Emerald
Olivia Emerald
Penelope Emerald
Amabel Emerald
Charlotte Emerald
Elena (eh LAY nuh) Emerald
Juliet Emerald
Katherine ‘Kit’ Emerald
Annelies Emerald
Rebekah Emerald
Zuzana Emerald
Theodora Emerald
Dorothy Emerald
Ayelet Emerald
Persephone Emerald

Hope this helped x

5

I love these:

[name]Alice[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]
[name]Miranda[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]
[name]Victoria[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]
[name]Corinne[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]
[name]Eve[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]

And no to [name]Alice[/name] and [name]Violet[/name] entering the top 10. I don’t think that will ever happen unless some unexpected major pop culture figure named [name]Alice[/name] or [name]Violet[/name] comes along.

6

[name]Alice[/name] and [name]Violet[/name] would be really cool sibling names. But I definitely see [name]Violet[/name] ending up in the top 10.

7

I think both [name]Alice[/name] and [name]Violet[/name] could come in to top ten, in maybe ten years or less. (Not within the next the two years).I think particularly [name]Alice[/name] is likely to end up there when people decide to the Alisons of our generation as well as having more international appeal.
I would say your style is quirky and vintage.
His is classic and slightly german.
[name]Rachel[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] (biased about [name]Rachel[/name]) I think this sounds really good. It’s a classic name. I think the ordinariness of [name]Rachel[/name] is balanced out by [name]Emerald[/name]. I really like this one.
[name]Corrine[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] I think this one is sweet. I think the name is relatively uncommon which I like.
I don’t like [name]Violet[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] too many colors.
I like relatively simple and short names with middle name [name]Emerald[/name].
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]
[name]Fiona[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]
[name]Diana[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]
I do like [name]Victoria[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] even though its longer.
[name]Matilda[/name] might sound a little dated, or you don’t like the nicknames. Since your favorite nickname for a girl is the old classic [name]Billie[/name] (which could be used for [name]Sibyl[/name], [name]Sybilla[/name] or [name]Wilhelmina[/name] and which I like also on it’s own) I think you are worried your husband will try to appease you with [name]Matilda[/name] nn [name]Tillie[/name]. [name]Tillie[/name] may not have as much meaning as [name]Billie[/name] and may feel like a poor substitute.
I like [name]Theresa[/name] nn [name]Tess[/name] or [name]Tessa[/name]. [name]Tessa[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] sounds nice and [name]Theresa[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] is ok.
Good [name]Luck[/name]!

8

emily and tori described both of your styles perfectly.
sidenote: sad to see he doesn’t like [name]Helena[/name]. that name is amazing, imo!

From the ‘no’ list I like:
Helena - love actually
Sylvie
Roxana
Seraphina
Calla

‘Maybe’
[name]Eloise[/name] - cute
*[name]Beatrice[/name] - fantastic
[name]Coraline[/name] - love

‘Like’:
[name]Violet[/name] - nice, prefer [name]Viola[/name]
*[name]Alice[/name] - lovely
[name]Clementine[/name] - nice, prefer [name]Clemence[/name]
[name]Mathilda[/name] - cute, but perhaps you’ll like [name]Mathilde[/name] better. It’s softer and prettier than [name]Mathilda[/name].
Miranda

I wouldn’t use [name]Violet[/name] with the mn emerald–too much color. [name]Alice[/name] and [name]Beatrice[/name] are starred because they sound nice with [name]Emerald[/name]. I also like [name]Eloise[/name] with [name]Emerald[/name]. The alliteration is nice. What do you think about [name]Esmeralda[/name]? I prefer it over [name]Emerald[/name] and it’s better for flow.

Also, I do see [name]Alice[/name] and [name]Violet[/name] rising in popularity.

9

A blending of your two styles might come up with
[name]Juliette[/name] (instead of [name]Julia[/name] and similar to [name]Violet[/name])
[name]Elizabeth[/name]/[name]Eloise[/name]/[name]Eve[/name] - [name]How[/name] about [name]Eliza[/name], [name]Ellis[/name] or [name]Evelyn[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]/[name]Lena[/name] - Maybe [name]Elena[/name]
[name]Callista[/name] - nn [name]Calla[/name]

What about:

[name]Tessa[/name]
[name]Virginia[/name]
[name]Cleo[/name]

10

I am very, very jealous - your husbands taste is SO much better than what I get to deal with.

I think the middle ground here will be finding something that has strong roots and a history (not made-up) but that is not completely unfamiliar to most people but still has a spunky and unusual feel. What about suggesting slightly different alternatives to ones he likes? Things like [name]Violetta[/name] / [name]Viola[/name] instead of [name]Violet[/name] or [name]Talitha[/name] instead of [name]Tabitha[/name] - just some examples of what I’m getting at.

I [name]DO[/name] think [name]Violet[/name] may crack to the top ten, I feel as though it has that broad appeal that people from all different naming styles like and it is a sweet vintage choice which is also very popular at the moment. I do not see [name]Alice[/name] crossing into the top ten, but I [name]DO[/name] see it in the top 25 or so.

11

Firstly, it takes an adventuresome dude to love heavy old-lady names like [name]Clementine[/name], [name]Matilda[/name] and [name]Wilhelmina[/name]. The last one especially. So how those three can make the list but something like [name]Julia[/name] or [name]Roxana[/name] gets the axe… fascinating.

I do NOT see [name]Alice[/name] and [name]Violet[/name] in the top 10, since they aren’t anywhere near frilly enough.

[name]Miranda[/name] and [name]Victoria[/name] sound wonderful with [name]Emerald[/name], imo. No rockabilly nicknames spring to mind though.

12

I think "maybe’ means he’d agree to it as a MN.
I like most of his choices- lots to work with.

I don’t see either making the top 10.

14

Thanks for all your replies and suggestions! I appreciate them very much. And will reply in more detail shortly.

Meanwhile, my husband surprised me yesterday by telling me he likes one name more than any other - [name]Fiona[/name].

Not sure what to do with this new information. I guess [name]Fiona[/name] could grow on me? I like that it’s got the Scottish background, like our last name. And I like the nn [name]Fia[/name] a LOT. And I think [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] sounds quite pretty. It’s #267 and that’s post-Shrek bump. It is a bit yupster and I even know a very punk rock couple with a cat called [name]Fiona[/name]. Heh. But I am not worried about it creeping into the top 50. And higher than that I don’t really mind.

Any thoughts on [name]Fiona[/name]? Is it tired? Is it special? Is it a lady ogre to you?

Thanks some more!

15

I quite like [name]Fiona[/name]. Like you said, [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] is very pretty, and the nn [name]Fia[/name] is cool.

I don’t immediately think lady ogre, but it’s not a bad association.

16

@blade- don’t even ask me, dude. I think he thinks his testicles shrink every time he talks about baby names. I asked him, “[name]Will[/name] you be more forthcoming when I’m actually pregnant?” And he said, “[name]Baby[/name], don’t count on it.”

He just really really hates talking about names. So we limit it to one-word answers in about 30 second spurts every few days. It’s like trying to train a ferret.

He totally does not have terrible taste. But don’t ask me why [name]Wilhelmina[/name] gets an “I like that” and [name]Roxana[/name] gets a curt "no.

Actually I do know why. He likes [name]German[/name] stuff. He is a military history expert, in fact one of his BFFs is on the [name]History[/name] channel all the time - they used to reenact together; yes, I married a nerd - and my husband is just as knowledgeable as that guy. And he loves all the [name]German[/name] crap. Of course he most decidedly does not love what the Germans did or fought for or represented. But he loves the style of their [name]Hugo[/name] [name]Boss[/name] uniforms and the art of their propaganda posters, etc. Aesthetically, he just digs [name]German[/name] stuff. And he speaks [name]German[/name] pretty well.

So that probably explains [name]Wilhelmina[/name] and [name]Matilda[/name]. Although [name]Fiona[/name], I have no idea. He likes [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Apple[/name]'s music. And he named his son [name]Sean[/name] [name]Killian[/name], also v. Scots-Irish. Maybe that’s it.

17

Oooo I quite like [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]. I’ve been crushing on both names lately. I do get the image of [name]Fiona[/name] from Shrek in my head with that combo, which I think is because I visualize green with the name [name]Emerald[/name]. That may just be me, and I really don’t think it’s a problem.

18

[name]Fiona[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] is amazing. She could be a judge, a super hero, a writer, an artist, a doctor, or perhaps a woodland sprite or a forest warrior queen :). I would love for that to be my name, great choice. [name]Even[/name] if [name]Fiona[/name] gets a little more popular, I doubt there would be other [name]Fiona[/name] Emeralds out there. The combo seems so fresh and nature-y but also romantic and strong. [name]Fiona[/name] is a favorite of mine too. I love that it has a pretty meaning, is easy to spell, familiar, but still uncommon.

19

Well, [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Apple[/name] rocks! [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Emerald[/name]'s got something… and what Cygnus said :wink:

(You’ve also got names that sound like [name]Fiona[/name]: Finvola, [name]Finola[/name], [name]Fionola[/name], [name]Finella[/name], [name]Fionnuala[/name]. Nickname [name]Nola[/name]?)

20

[name]Alice[/name] is my favorite classic name ever. [name]Alice[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] is really pretty.

21

Cygnus, for real: [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] does sound like she could be anybody, a judge or a forest sprite.

Sweetpeacelove: I hadn’t thought of that, the green ogre thing. Crap! Hopefully no one else will make that connection.

Meetcute- I think [name]Alice[/name] [name]Emerald[/name] sounds so beautiful. I love the double vowel. But I just really see [name]Alice[/name] heading to the top 25. I really do. And idk if I feel ok with that.