Names you love but couldn't/can't use?

Girl Names
1

I’d love to hear those names you still have a soft spot for but have had to give up on. I’ve been interested in names since I was a kid, but don’t want to burden my own children with anything too ‘out there’, and also have a partner whose tastes are very ‘classic’ compared to mine: only options he suggested himself for our daughter were [name_f]Alice[/name_f] or [name_f]Sarah[/name_f].

Names that I’ve loved and lost:
[name_f]Athena[/name_f] - [name_m]How[/name_m] cool is the goddess of war AND wisdom? But partner vetoed as too ‘girly/weird’
[name_f]Ida[/name_f] - [name_m]Just[/name_m] gorgeous [name_f]IMO[/name_f], and also the character from [name_u]Maurice[/name_u] Sendak’s “outside over there” (that the movie ‘The Labyrinth’ was based on)… but partner and Mum say it sounds like “I’d a…” (e.g. I’d a bag of lollies but someone ate them), and with the current zooming popularity of [name_f]Isla[/name_f] I don’t like how it’s too similar and might also get misheard.
[name_f]Helena[/name_f] - I [name_f]ADORE[/name_f] the hell-[name_f]AYN[/name_f]-a pronunciation and would love to name a second daughter this so badly, but everyone would no doubt assume HELL-ehn-a, and partner’s vetoed regardless.
My M-names: [name_f]Margot[/name_f], [name_u]Meredith[/name_u], [name_f]Merida[/name_f], [name_f]Maren[/name_f], [name_f]Miriam[/name_f]. I think one of these would really suit a curly red-head, but partner’s vetoed all.
[name_f]Ruth[/name_f] - I think it’s gorgeous, cute for a little girl and will probably come back in. Plus [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] [name_m]Bader[/name_m] Ginsburg is awesome. But partner thinks it’s a horrendous old lady name :frowning:
[name_f]Willa[/name_f], [name_f]Iris[/name_f], [name_f]Greta[/name_f], [name_f]Olive[/name_f] - all ruthlessly vetoed by partner.

What names have you had to give up on?

2

[name_f]Emilia[/name_f] has been on my list for a girl for a few years now. One of my close friends recently told me that she and her fiancé have picked that for their first daughter, so that’s out. [name_m]Damien[/name_m] is another favorite of mine, but my cousin used it for his first son.

It’s a shame that they’re no longer available to me, but I’m glad someone is getting to use the names.

3

I’d always wanted to name a daughter [name_f]Larissa[/name_f], but my ex has a niece [name_f]Marissa[/name_f] & thus he vetoed [name_f]Larissa[/name_f]. He didn’t really like any of the names I suggested, to be completely honest…I remember him saying that couldn’t I just pick something normal like [name_f]Susan[/name_f]. :slight_smile:

4

My hubby has vetoed [name_f]Marie[/name_f] and I’m at a loss for finding another name I will love as much </3

5

I have so many!

[name_u]Hero[/name_u], [name_f]Cleo[/name_f], [name_f]Sappho[/name_f]: Too matchy with my older daughter’s name

[name_f]Katya[/name_f], [name_f]Kitty[/name_f]: Ditto but with my son

[name_f]Delphi[/name_f], [name_f]Saskia[/name_f]: Already “taken” by family members

[name_f]Ismay[/name_f]: [name_u]Love[/name_u] it, but with an [name_f]Esme[/name_f] and an Estée already in the immediate family, it’s probably too much of a good thing. Also J. [name_m]Bruce[/name_m] [name_f]Ismay[/name_f].

[name_f]Nell[/name_f]: Is this out now that I’ve used [name_f]Helena[/name_f] as a middle?

[name_m]Sol[/name_m]: It’s a brand of lager here, plus a friend now has a [name_f]Solstice[/name_f].

[name_f]Merryn[/name_f]: [name_u]Love[/name_u] this bright, cheery Cornish name, but hate how people who haven’t heard it before assume it’s made up/a creative spelling.

[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f], [name_f]Ines[/name_f], [name_f]Manon[/name_f], [name_f]Magali[/name_f]: Either really popular or really dated in [name_f]France[/name_f], where we have family.

[name_f]Ramona[/name_f]: We so nearly named [name_f]Anouk[/name_f] this that I think it would just feel wrong now. Also, my eldest daughter has since named most of her toys [name_f]Ramona[/name_f] (the ones who aren’t [name_f]Ella[/name_f]-[name_f]Bella[/name_f], [name_f]Isabel[/name_f] or [name_m]Paul[/name_m]!)

[name_f]Liv[/name_f]: The ubiquity of [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] has put this one out of the running for us.

[name_f]Vita[/name_f], [name_f]Iona[/name_f], most/all botanical names: Out with our surname

[name_f]Astrid[/name_f]: My mum despises it! I adore it, but there are so many other names I love that she likes too, that I decided to put this one aside.

[name_f]Paloma[/name_f], [name_f]Capucine[/name_f], [name_f]Sahar[/name_f], [name_f]Noor[/name_f], [name_f]Rafaela[/name_f], [name_f]Ziva[/name_f], Sóley, Iskra, Sveva, [name_f]Ivalo[/name_f], Pipaluk and loads more: Too tied to a cultural heritage we have no link to

[name_u]Vesper[/name_u], [name_f]Sunday[/name_f], [name_f]Tuesday[/name_f], [name_f]Holiday[/name_f], [name_m]Pippin[/name_m], Kestrel, Larkspur, [name_f]Endellion[/name_f], [name_f]Tigerlily[/name_f], [name_u]Pepper[/name_u], Loveday, [name_f]Madelief[/name_f], [name_f]Demelza[/name_f] and many more: GPs

6

[name_f]Astrid[/name_f], [name_f]Juno[/name_f], [name_f]Olive[/name_f], [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], [name_f]Zella[/name_f], [name_f]Violet[/name_f], [name_f]Alba[/name_f], [name_u]Sage[/name_u], Eleanor, [name_f]Pearl[/name_f], [name_f]Willa[/name_f] and [name_u]Lennon[/name_u]/[name_f]Leni[/name_f] all vetoed by my fiancé for this baby!

7

[name_f]Winifred[/name_f]- was vetoed a long long time ago by my partner because it always makes him think of Hocus Pocus. He was cool with using it as a middle but it just isn’t quite right with any of our favorites now.

[name_f]Philippa[/name_f]- I had a major crush on this name and had it in my top 5, with the intention to call her [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], but I had a good friend name her baby girl [name_u]Pepper[/name_u] last summer and that’s too close for my comfort. And unfortunately I didn’t like [name_u]Phil[/name_u], [name_u]Philly[/name_u], or [name_f]Lily[/name_f] as nicknames.

[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]- I loved [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] when I was kid. I literally knew no one with the name, I’d only ever seen it in a book. All the way into highschool I really thought someday I was going to have a little [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]. And then I started to hear it everywhere. Multiple people in my social circle have daughter’s named [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] now. And while I still think it’s a lovely name it just doesn’t have the same magic for me anymore.

[name_f]Imelda[/name_f]- I already get asked more frequently than I anticipated if my son [name_m]Archimedes[/name_m] was named after a Disney character, now imagine if I used the name of one of the primary characters from a major hit like [name_f]Coco[/name_f]? I’d never heard the end of it.

[name_f]Eudora[/name_f]- same problem as [name_f]Imelda[/name_f].

[name_f]Rowena[/name_f]- this one was a change of heart on my part when I learned how to pronounce it. For years I thought it was similar to [name_f]Helena[/name_f] and when someone explained that it was a “wee” sound in the middle, well it just knocked the wind out of my sails.

Mnemosyne- I love this name but it was the first one I scratched off my original long list because not one person I’ve encountered has the faintest idea how to say it when they read it or how to spell it when they hear it.

[name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f]- was another veto by my partner because of an association he couldn’t shake; the [name_m]Fleetwood[/name_m] [name_m]Mac[/name_m] song of the same name.

[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]- I really seriously considered it for a long long time but ultimately I don’t want my kiddo to have to share their first initial with me.

[name_f]Brunhilde[/name_f]- like [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f], only even more matchy because of that Br-

[name_f]Elowen[/name_f]- this was my top contender for a girl when I was pregnant with [name_m]Archimedes[/name_m] and I’ve since dropped it completely because while it’s pretty and I do like the nature meaning, there is just way too many Ellies out there. Being named [name_f]Brittany[/name_f] that level of playground saturation is something I really want to avoid.

[name_f]Hildegarde[/name_f]- I love it but [name_f]Hildegarde[/name_f] [name_m]Harris[/name_m]? Not so much. Basically all H names are out for me, though there are a few like this one that I nearly made an exception for.

8

My favorite name of all time is [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], but my bf does not like it at all. His first reaction to it was “is that even a name?” (he’s clearly not a Shakespear-fan).

9

[name_f]Luella[/name_f]/[name_f]Lucia[/name_f]/[name_f]Lucy[/name_f]/[name_f]Talullah[/name_f]/any [name_f]Lu[/name_f]- name really - too close to my cousin’s name

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]/[name_f]Eleanora[/name_f]/potentially [name_f]Elora[/name_f] - my middle name is [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and I think it would be pretentious to use it

[name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]/[name_f]Adele[/name_f]/[name_f]Adelia[/name_f] - too close to my brother’s name

[name_f]Fern[/name_f]/[name_f]Poppy[/name_f]/[name_f]Daisy[/name_f] - have had guinea pigs with these names

[name_f]Leandra[/name_f]/[name_f]Cressida[/name_f]/[name_f]Amelie[/name_f] - used them on characters

[name_f]Farrah[/name_f] - love it but I have no cultural heritage to it

11

[name_f]Every[/name_f] SINGLE name in my list unfortunately… They are completely unusable in Greece.

13

Growing up I always really liked the name [name_f]Giana[/name_f]. My name is [name_f]Jena[/name_f] (pronounced [name_f]Jenna[/name_f] not [name_f]Gina[/name_f]). It sounds too similar so I could never use it. In hindsight, I probably liked it so much because it sounded like a “better” version of my own name.