**This is a new question continuing from the thread “New Name Ideas for [name]Baby[/name] Kick”. There were too many responses to get through, and thought a new post may be easier!
So my pregnancy-influenced brain just threw a wrench into my short list! I just woke up from a very vivid dream where I was talking to my great-grandmother, whom I grew up being very close to and who passed away only 2 years ago. Now I’m thinking I should honor her in naming my daughter.
Here’s the problem (and I’ve posted on this topic before): my GG’s name was [name]Elinor[/name], which she absolutely despised. She went by [name]Babe[/name], the name her father called her in childhood. I know that if she were here now, she would probably tell me to NOT name my daughter [name]Elinor[/name]. What to do?
I have considered variations on the name: [name]Nora[/name]/[name]Norah[/name], [name]Ella[/name]/[name]Ellie[/name], even [name]Helen[/name] (same root), but none seem right. (And [name]Babe[/name] is just not an option as a real name!) Does anyone have any suggestions or wisdom for this situation? Should I simply remember her in other ways, and not worry about naming a child after her?
Or you could use something meaning “honor” or “beloved” since you’ll be honoring your great grandma
[name]Honora[/name]
[name]Annora[/name]
[name]Briana[/name]
[name]Carita[/name] - Meaning: “beloved”
[name]Esme[/name] - Meaning: “esteemed, beloved; or emerald”
[name]Imogen[/name] - Meaning: “beloved child”
[name]Kalila[/name] - Meaning: “beloved”
[name]Priya[/name] - Meaning: “beloved”
[name]Carys[/name] - Meaning: “love”
Or something similar to the meaning of “babe”
(side note: [name]Frances[/name] is conected to [name]Baby[/name] for me from “dirty dancing”)
[name]Carina[/name] - Meaning: “dear little one”
[name]Cara[/name] - Meaning: “dear”
[name]Evelyn[/name] - Meaning: “dear youth” (stems: [name]Evelina[/name] or [name]Aveline[/name])
Maybe you could just nickname her babe/baby or use it as a term of endearment to honour her.
Or if that was her prefered name over [name]Elinor[/name] you could give her a name that sounds like [name]Babe[/name].
Maybe [name]Bay[/name] (which would make a nice mn)
Baylene/Baylin
[name]Bayla[/name]
[name]Bayley[/name]
[name]Babette[/name]
Like the previous poster, my thought was also that you should give her a name that easily lends itself to the nn [name]Babe[/name], so that your daughter could use your grandmother’s nn. |
The first thought for me was [name]Barbara[/name].
I read the posts in your original thread. For what it’s worth, I really love [name]Cecelia[/name] Kick and [name]Celia[/name] Kick…so sweet!
Here’s a few more ideas with meanings that you may like:
[name]Evangeline[/name] - Meaning: “bearer of good news”
[name]Lucy[/name] - Meaning: “light” (very close to “bright/shining”)
[name]Leora[/name] - Meaning: “light”
[name]Nora[/name] - Meaning: “light” (I love it by the way
[name]Gemma[/name] - Meaning: “precious stone”
[name]Annika[/name] - Meaning: “grace” (little K heavy with Kick though, huh?)
[name]Milena[/name] - Meaning: “love, warmth, grace”
[name]Finlay[/name] - Meaning: “fair-haired hero” (cause she is your hero?)
[name]Willa[/name] - Meaning: “resolute protection”
[name]Celine[/name] - Meaning: “heaven”
And just to follow up here from the original post, my understanding is that [name]Cecilia[/name] also does not literally mean blind, but means “a way for the blind” (not unlike the idea of blind faith). [name]Saint[/name] [name]Cecilia[/name] was also known as the saint of music, so this name actually has some really great positive associations. I think it’s unfortunate that people misunderstand and interpret it literally as “blind one.”
Thanks for all the suggestions! I’ll have to read through them carefully and consider each one.
Ricamaca - One that popped out at me was your suggestion of [name]Finn[/name]/[name]Finlay[/name] - I love it! It’s my son’s name!
My great-grandmother’s middle name was [name]Louise[/name], and frankly, I hate that name. I know I’m probably in the minority here, but I just don’t see the charm in it. For me, it’s flat and boring.
I did talk to my mom today about the idea of naming my daughter after GG (my mom’s grandmother), and she thought that GG must have had personal reasons for not liking her name, but that giving my daughter the name [name]Elinor[/name] would still be a great honor. Everyone in our family would still associate the name with GG and would welcome having another “bright, shining one” in the family.
Thinking about this some more…I never was the biggest fan of my name (never “hated” it though) and I would be very honored if someone chose to use my name to honor me. Regardless of my feelings to the name, it shows how you feel about the person.
Oh! I’m only abbreviating to GG for the sake of typing quickly! We all know GG by the name Grandma [name]Babe[/name], from her own children down to the great-great grandkids!
Well, if you like the name [name]Elinor[/name], then you should go ahead use it. Because quite frankly, if your great-grandma is dead, she’s not going to care what you name your daughter.
Well my great-grandmother hated her name, but when my mom was pregnant she joked that she was going to name me [name]Ruby[/name] [name]Ruth[/name] after her 2 grandmothers. And although I like the name [name]Ruby[/name], my last name also starts with Ru, so my mom thought it was obviously a joke. But when I was born my great-grandma was upset that I wasn’t being named after her all along.
Also if I had a twin she would have been [name]Betty[/name] [name]Betty[/name] after my fathers 2 grandmothers…
And finally I think [name]Elinor[/name] is really pretty.
Well, if you like the name [name]Elinor[/name], then you should go ahead use it. Because quite frankly, if your great-grandma is dead, she’s not going to care what you name your daughter.[/quote]
You have a very valid point! One that I really should keep in mind. Naming the baby [name]Elinor[/name] would serve more to remind those of us who knew Grandma [name]Babe[/name] of what a wonderful person she was, and perhaps inspire my daughter to become a wonderful person herself. Thanks for the reminder!
I missed the posts by Unicorngirl and [name]Devon[/name]…
Unicorngirl - your suggestion is a good one! I’ll give it some thought, especially since [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Erin[/name] were on our short list to begin with!
[name]Devon[/name] - great anecdote! That’s pretty funny! Thanks for the laugh!
