Has anyone done this? Did you find it difficult? Did you love the name itself or more the meaning behind it? Were you happy with the decision?
[name]One[/name] of my best friends, [name]Holly[/name], passed away in [name]June[/name] after a long battle with cancer. At the time, I didn’t know if I was having a boy or a girl, but during her memorial service, I got a strong feeling that the baby was a girl and that we should name her [name]Holly[/name] after my dear friend. [name]Baby[/name] was indeed a girl, due 12/5/12. Only problem is that I’m not sure if I love the name. It’s also a little bittersweet… all I can think of when I hear the name is my friend, and that makes me both happy and sad… [name]Will[/name] I get over the sad connotation?
It might be easier to make [name]Holly[/name] a middle name, but we can’t find a first name that goes with [name]Holly[/name]. Suggestions welcome! (something classic but not in the top 25-50).
My niece named her baby [name]Leon[/name] after her father [name]Leo[/name] and she loves it and it makes her feel good. That’s whT matters good or bad feelings. [name]Hollis[/name] is a great classic 1st name.
I like the idea! I would stick to [name]Holly[/name] as a middle name though, as a child, i wouldn’t like that my first name is after someone who passed away, not pleasant. but for sure as a middle name!
My mother in law died about 2 months before I got pregnant with DD. There was really no questions about naming my DD after her, I loved her even though I really disliked her name, [name]Bonnie[/name]. We used it as a middle name but it really took alot of my favorite first names off the table since they sounded horrible with [name]Bonnie[/name]. But I am SO happy we named dd [name]Claire[/name] [name]Bonnie[/name], it makes her feel closer somehow and gives her name so much meaning. Plus my FIL started dating someone within 3 months of her death was engaged again before the year anniversary of her death. It is like he erased all traces of my [name]MIL[/name] which was very hard on the family so [name]Claire[/name] brings her back.
So I think naming your DD after friend would be lovely and she would have her own personal angel. I would use is as a middle name and it also is great for a [name]December[/name] Bday!
I would use [name]Holly[/name] as your sweet girl’s middle name. I would avoid an “ee” sound at the end of her first name, one syllable first names, and nature names (ie: [name]Juniper[/name] [name]Holly[/name] sounds like a plant) … here are some suggestions:
[name]Amelia[/name] [name]Holly[/name]
[name]Julia[/name] [name]Holly[/name]
[name]Savanna[/name] [name]Holly[/name]
[name]Clara[/name] [name]Holly[/name]
Obviously, I have no idea about your style, but hopefully this might spark some ideas for you. Good luck! I think it’s very sweet that you want to honor your friend. We will do this some day, but are planning on using the friend’s middle name as our son’s first name. Maybe that would be an option for you?
To me, it’s pretty normal to name a child after someone who has passed away, but i can definitely see how its a bittersweet thing to do. Putting [name]Holly[/name] in the middle (esp for a late [name]December[/name] baby) is a great idea, and i agree with marissalou’s advice on what kinds of names to put first.
Another way to remember your friend (either in place of her name or to inspire a first) is to think of things she loved, things that remind you of her, and see if that sparks any ideas. If [name]Holly[/name] loved a certain book or song, for example, maybe there’s something there you can work with that will also be reminiscent of her name.
emilyhart - [name]Glad[/name] to know you like the name [name]Holly[/name]!
katie8765 - I am a little worried about this… I wouldn’t want my daughter to feel weird about being named after someone who’d died, but maybe it will help that my friend was smart, beautiful, kind, courageous, loving, creative, etc. She lived her live to the absolute fullest… I really would want my daughter to aspire to live her live the same way.
marissalou - I like [name]Julia[/name] [name]Holly[/name], [name]Clara[/name] [name]Holly[/name], or [name]Amelia[/name] [name]Holly[/name]. Thanks! Unfortunately I am not a fan of her middle name, which was [name]Martha[/name].
spring13 - yeah, I think I am perhaps more comfortable with [name]Holly[/name] as a middle name. Another good thing about using [name]Holly[/name] is that it also sort of honors my grandmother, [name]Mary[/name], who loved everything [name]Christmas[/name]… so with that connotation, it sort of honors two people in the way you were saying… I adored my grandmother, but she always hated her name, so that is why I haven’t considered [name]Mary[/name].
Kala_way - [name]Glad[/name] you like the name [name]Holly[/name]. Part of me really wants to use it as the first name, since it’s less common, but I worry that people won’t like it!
Kyesma - I’m considering that - though if I go that route, I sort of would like to use my maiden name as the second middle. So it wouldn’t solve my [name]Holly[/name] problem unless I dropped the maiden name.
I love the idea of [name]Holly[/name] as the middle name. As for the issue of being named after someone who passed away, well, I don’t really see it as an issue at all. Many people are named after deceased family members. I was given my great-great-grandfather’s middle name as my middle name, and I have never felt weird about sharing a name with a man who died even before my grandfather was born.
PS. [name]Do[/name] you mind sharing your maiden name? Could it work as a first name?
Southern.maple - Thanks for your help. I’d rather not post my exact maiden name because it’s super rare/would be identifiable in a Google search, but it’s pronounced “Froot-chee” (though spelled differently). It wouldn’t work for a FN. My married last name is pronounced “Nav-a-lynn” (though it’s spelled -line). So, I dk if it makes sense to put my maiden name in there at all… it might just be way too long.
[name]How[/name] does it work with a second middle name… would it have to go on everything, or could she just have it on her birth certificate and driver’s license??
