Naming our multi-cultural little girl :) Please help!

Girl Names
1

[name]Hi[/name] there ladies! My name is [name]Whitney[/name]. I have always been a name nerd, and since discovering this site earlier in the year it has become my absolute favorite! Thank you for that, [name]Pam[/name] and [name]Linda[/name] :slight_smile:

My husband [name]James[/name] and I are expecting our first child, a little girl whom we are over-the-moon ecstatic for. My naming style is completely all over the place, but we both have the same goal in mind: we want to honor our respective heritages. I am of distant Romanian descent, and Iā€ve thusly been obsessed with anything and everything Romania for the greater portion of my life. [name]James[/name]ā€ family hails entirely from [name]France[/name], and we have a very, very French last name.

Probably the neatest thing about our melting pot of cultures, though, is that we have some honorary Italian thrown into the mix! [name]James[/name] was actually born in [name]Milan[/name], [name]Italy[/name]; his parents and brothers were on summer vacation there and he decided to come join the fun two months early. I have always found the story positively adorable and have long-wondered if we could commemorate the tale with our childā€s name. It is also tradition in [name]James[/name]ā€ family to have two middle names, and I would like to continue that :slight_smile:

Without further adieu, I present to you all our shortlist! Any help ā€ opinions on present names or suggestions for more ā€ would be so greatly appreciated. On some of the more blatantly foreign names that most of you have probably never heard of, I tried to elaborate with origins, pronunciations, etc. :slight_smile:

[name]Angelique[/name]
[name]Apolline[/name]
Bā€line
[name]Bianca[/name]
[name]Capri[/name]
Cosmina (Romanian name pronounced [name]Cos[/name]-me-nah)
Crina (Romanian name pronounced Cree-nah)
[name]Dominique[/name]
[name]Elisabeta[/name] (Romanian form of [name]Elizabeth[/name] pronounced Ee-lis-ah-bet-ah)
[name]Eloise[/name]
Esmā€e
[name]Etoile[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Giovanna[/name]
[name]Italia[/name]
[name]Jacqueline[/name]
[name]Jessamine[/name]
Luminita (Romanian name pronounced Loo-me-nee-tah)
[name]Milan[/name]
[name]Mirabelle[/name] (Hubbyā€s favorite; he loves the nickname [name]Bella[/name]! If anyone knows of any other ways to get to it outside of the trite [name]Isabella[/name], please speak up!)
[name]Romany[/name]
[name]Sicily[/name]
[name]Siena[/name]
[name]Venice[/name]/Venizia
[name]Verona[/name]
[name]Victoire[/name]

2

As an alternative to [name]Mirabelle[/name] and a way to get the nn [name]Bella[/name], [name]Arabella[/name] comes to mind.

3

[name]Angelique[/name]- this name is trying too hard
[name]Apolline[/name]- dont like
Bā€line- i like this one as a mn
[name]Bianca[/name]- nice
[name]Capri[/name]- my least favorite italian city name
Cosmina- [name]Love[/name]
Crina- dont like the sound
[name]Dominique[/name]- i think im just not a fan of the -ique ending sorry
[name]Elisabeta[/name]- [name]LOVE[/name] [name]LOVE[/name] [name]LOVE[/name] pls use this for at least a mn
[name]Eloise[/name]- cute
Esmā€e- love
[name]Etoile[/name]- not sure
[name]Genevieve[/name]- [name]LOVE[/name]
[name]Giovanna[/name]- I have a friend w this name and i have always liked it
[name]Italia[/name]- to literal
[name]Jacqueline[/name]- nice
[name]Jessamine[/name]- seems made up
Luminita- fairytailish
[name]Milan[/name]- like as mn
[name]Mirabelle[/name]- i like this name but dont like nn bella as its super common
[name]Romany[/name]-no
[name]Sicily[/name]- like as mn
[name]Siena[/name]- very nice a lil pop though
[name]Venice[/name]/Venizia- cute
[name]Verona[/name]- my fav italy name
[name]Victoire[/name]- if you give her this name she will be called victoria her entire life

good luck

4

Congratulations :). I love a lot of the names on your list!

[name]Angelique[/name]: Prettyā€¦
[name]Apolline[/name]: I think itā€™s beautiful!
Bā€line: It seems like itā€™s cut off of a longer name, somehowā€¦
[name]Bianca[/name]: Nice name, but Iā€™ve never really been a fan
[name]Capri[/name]: Reminds me of capri pants, and itā€™s an islandā€¦ I donā€™t like it at all
Cosmina: It sounds very pretty!
Crina: Interestingā€¦
[name]Dominique[/name]: Not a fan, personally
[name]Elisabeta[/name]: Such a pretty name!
[name]Eloise[/name]: I [name]LOVE[/name] this!
Esmā€e: Very pretty, but may become trendy due to Twilightā€¦
[name]Etoile[/name]: Itā€™s a French word, not a nameā€¦
[name]Genevieve[/name]: I absolutely love this, too!
[name]Giovanna[/name]: I have a bad association with this name
[name]Italia[/name]: It would be ridiculous if she ever moved to [name]Italy[/name]-- like being named [name]America[/name] or [name]France[/name]ā€¦
[name]Jacqueline[/name]: Seems a little dated
[name]Jessamine[/name]: I adore this name!
Luminita: [name]Lovely[/name] sounding name
[name]Milan[/name]: Itā€™s a place, not a nameā€¦ doesnā€™t sound very classy to me at all
[name]Mirabelle[/name]: I really like this. [name]Arabella[/name] or [name]Gabriella[/name] could also be nn [name]Bella[/name].
[name]Romany[/name]: I really donā€™t like thisā€¦
[name]Sicily[/name]: Another place nameā€¦ I love [name]Cecily[/name], though
[name]Siena[/name]: Ditto
[name]Venice[/name]/Venizia: Ditto again
[name]Verona[/name]: Thereā€™s a town near where I live called [name]Verona[/name], so I canā€™t really see it as a name.
[name]Victoire[/name]: I love it!

You have some place names/words in other languages in your list that I donā€™t think fit with the other names you have. To me, these kinds of ā€˜namesā€™ are part of a trend, and wonā€™t serve your daughter very well later in life. My favorites of your list are [name]Genevieve[/name], [name]Apolline[/name], [name]Jessamine[/name], and [name]Eloise[/name]-- all such gorgeous names! Here are some combos using your names and other that fit:

[name]Genevieve[/name] Crina [name]Victoire[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name] [name]Esme[/name] [name]Bianca[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name] [name]Luisa[/name] [name]Beline[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name] [name]Mira[/name] [name]Celeste[/name]
[name]Apolline[/name] [name]Esme[/name] [name]Victoire[/name]
[name]Apolline[/name] [name]Jessamine[/name] Cosmina
[name]Apolline[/name] [name]Claire[/name] [name]Angelique[/name]
[name]Jessamine[/name] [name]Alessandra[/name] [name]Victoire[/name]
[name]Jessamine[/name] [name]Cecily[/name] [name]Eloise[/name]
[name]Jessamine[/name] [name]Elisabeta[/name] [name]Bianca[/name]
[name]Eloise[/name] [name]Jessamine[/name] [name]Eve[/name]
[name]Eloise[/name] [name]Angelique[/name] Luminita
[name]Eloise[/name] [name]Maia[/name] Evangelie

Names you might like:

[name]Elodie[/name]
[name]Cosima[/name]
[name]Ottavia[/name]
[name]Elettra[/name]
Casimira
[name]Mireille[/name]
[name]Selena[/name]
[name]Paloma[/name]
[name]Adele[/name]
[name]Aurora[/name]
[name]Viviana[/name]
[name]Aurelia[/name]
[name]Evelina[/name]
[name]Lilia[/name]
[name]Cecily[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name]
[name]Coralie[/name]
[name]Catalina[/name]
[name]Florence[/name]
[name]Ginevra[/name]

5

Cosmina
[name]Elisabeta[/name]
[name]Eloise[/name]
Esmā€e
[name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Giovanna[/name]
[name]Mirabelle[/name]
[name]Romany[/name]
[name]Verona[/name]

These are my favourites.

[name]Elisabetta[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Eloise[/name] [name]Verona[/name]
Esmee Cosmina
[name]Mirabelle[/name] [name]Romany[/name]

For [name]Genevieve[/name] are you pronouncing this [name]Jahn[/name]-vee-ev? I love this prononciation! If soā€¦

[name]Genevieve[/name] [name]Eloise[/name]

[name]Do[/name] you like [name]Romy[/name]? I love [name]Romy[/name], itā€™s so cute, and I love [name]Romy[/name] Cosmina.

6

Yes, we are pronouncing it [name]Jahn[/name]-vee-ev; it was my hubbyā€™s late grandmotherā€™s name, and thatā€™s how she pronounced it :slight_smile: I love [name]Romy[/name]! [name]James[/name] loves it as a nickname for [name]Romany[/name], but I love [name]Romy[/name] Cosmina as well. I love all of your combinations, actually, and yours as well, irisrose. I will admit to you that word and ESPECIALLY place names are a weakness of mine; they always have been, and I guess itā€™s because of my longtime love of them that they donā€™t seem too trendy to me.

Thank you all for your help thus far :slight_smile:

7

[name]Angelique[/name]: I know a sweet [name]Angelique[/name], so I have positive associations with the name. I love French names, but for some reason, the ique ending isnā€™t one of my favorites. (Thatā€™s just me, though.) :slight_smile:

[name]Apolline[/name]: I think this is beautifulā€¦

Bā€line: I think itā€™s pretty, but I have to admit that I think of a Baleen whale when I hear this name. (Iā€™m really sorry!)

[name]Bianca[/name]: I think itā€™s prettyā€¦

[name]Capri[/name]: I only think of the [name]Isle[/name] of [name]Capri[/name] and [name]Capri[/name] pants, so I have a hard time picturing this as someoneā€™s name.

Cosmina (Romanian name pronounced [name]Cos[/name]-me-nah): I want to like this name so much, but it reminds me of the word ā€œcosmetics.ā€

Crina (Romanian name pronounced Cree-nah): I like some of your other names more.

[name]Dominique[/name]: I love French names, but I love your non -ique names moreā€¦

[name]Elisabeta[/name] (Romanian form of [name]Elizabeth[/name] pronounced Ee-lis-ah-bet-ah): I [name]LOVE[/name] this! I think itā€™s just beautiful! :slight_smile:

[name]Eloise[/name]: [name]LOVE[/name]!!!

Esmā€e: I think itā€™s beautiful, although destined for popularity due to Twilight.

[name]Etoile[/name]: I want to like this, but I canā€™t help but think of toile wallpaper and fabric.

[name]Genevieve[/name]: [name]LOVE[/name]!!!

[name]Giovanna[/name]: I like some of your other names moreā€¦

[name]Italia[/name]: At first glance, I thought this was a typo of Italian or Italic, so I prefer some of your other names.

[name]Jacqueline[/name]: I think itā€™s beautiful, but at the same time, it feels a bit dated to me and not as fresh as some of the other French names on your list.

[name]Jessamine[/name]: [name]LOVE[/name]!

Luminita (Romanian name pronounced Loo-me-nee-tah): It reminds me of Lumiere, the candlestick from Beauty and the Beast, as well as the Illuminati.

[name]Milan[/name]: I like some of your other choices better. I guess it feels trendy to me, like [name]Paris[/name] or [name]London[/name].

[name]Mirabelle[/name] (Hubbyā€s favorite; he loves the nickname [name]Bella[/name]! If anyone knows of any other ways to get to it outside of the trite [name]Isabella[/name], please speak up!): I love [name]Mirabelle[/name] so much! You may also like [name]Annabelle[/name], [name]Christabel[/name], or [name]Rosabelle[/name]/Rosabella.

[name]Romany[/name]: You may also like [name]Romilly[/name] (nn [name]Romy[/name] or [name]Milly[/name]), which is a French place name.

[name]Sicily[/name]: I only think of the place, but I do love [name]Cicely[/name] and [name]Cecily[/name].

[name]Siena[/name]: This feels very trendy to meā€¦

[name]Venice[/name]/Venizia: [name]Venice[/name] reminds me of trendy place names like [name]Paris[/name] and [name]London[/name].

[name]Verona[/name]: I think this is pretty, and it feels less trendy to me than the other place names on your list.

[name]Victoire[/name]: I love [name]Victoire[/name]!

My favorites: [name]Elisabeta[/name], [name]Eloise[/name], [name]Genevieve[/name], [name]Jessamine[/name], and [name]Mirabelle[/name].

You may also like:

[name]Amandine[/name]
[name]Amelie[/name]
[name]Annabelle[/name]
[name]Arabelle[/name]
[name]Allegra[/name]
[name]Camille[/name]
[name]Cosette[/name]
[name]Delphine[/name]
[name]Emmanuelle[/name]
[name]Estelle[/name]
[name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Lilou[/name]
[name]Leonora[/name]
[name]Luciana[/name]
[name]Lucia[/name]
[name]Lucienne[/name]
[name]Marielle[/name]
[name]Romilly[/name]
[name]Raphaelle[/name]/[name]Raphaela[/name]
[name]Seraphine[/name]
[name]Veronique[/name]
[name]Violetta[/name]
[name]Viviana[/name]

Good luck! :slight_smile:

8

This is a very interesting list. I think with 3 names and to honour 3 heritages (Italian, French and Romanian) it would make sense to have one of each.

On the [name]Bella[/name] nn front, here are some more names that you can get [name]Bella[/name] from.
[name]Arabella[/name]
[name]Abelle[/name]
[name]Arbelle[/name]
[name]Adabelle[/name]
[name]Anabelle[/name]/[name]Anabella[/name]
[name]Elizabelle[/name]
[name]Clarabelle[/name]
[name]Christabelle[/name]
[name]Maebelle[/name]
[name]Robelle[/name]
[name]Rosabelle[/name]
[name]Sabelle[/name]

I also like [name]Romy[/name] more than [name]Romany[/name] although itā€™d be a good nn for [name]Romany[/name]. It sort of kills two birds with one stone too because it can refer to [name]Rome[/name] in [name]Italy[/name] or the begining of the word Romania. [name]How[/name] about [name]Florence[/name] too? Thatā€™s an Italian place name after all. You could also have [name]Mila[/name] as a short version of [name]Milan[/name].

[name]Angelique[/name]
Bā€line
[name]Bianca[/name]
[name]Capri[/name]
Cosmina
Crina
[name]Dominique[/name]
[name]Elisabeta[/name]
[name]Eloise[/name]
Luminita
[name]Mirabelle[/name]
[name]Romany[/name]
[name]Siena[/name]
These are my favourites of your list.

Crina [name]Mirabelle[/name] [name]Romy[/name]
[name]Capri[/name] [name]Beline[/name] [name]Eloise[/name]
[name]Siena[/name] Cosmina [name]Beline[/name]
[name]Florence[/name] [name]Eloise[/name] [name]Romy[/name]
[name]Mila[/name] [name]Bianca[/name] [name]Dominique[/name]
Luminita [name]Maebelle[/name] Cosmina
[name]Sabelle[/name] [name]Angelique[/name] Crina
[name]Robelle[/name] [name]Dominique[/name] [name]Mila[/name]

9

My first thought for you was [name]Milena[/name] (mee-lay-nah) which is the feminized form of [name]Milan[/name]. Also I thought it was Romanian but it turns out itā€™s more Czech, Serbian, etc. So not sure if that will work for you after all. But it is beautiful, I think, and has adorable nickname [name]Mila[/name] (mee-lah) which also means ā€œdear oneā€.

10

Yes, we are pronouncing it [name]Jahn[/name]-vee-ev; it was my hubbyā€™s late grandmotherā€™s name, and thatā€™s how she pronounced it :slight_smile: I love [name]Romy[/name]! [name]James[/name] loves it as a nickname for [name]Romany[/name], but I love [name]Romy[/name] Cosmina as well. I love all of your combinations, actually, and yours as well, irisrose. I will admit to you that word and ESPECIALLY place names are a weakness of mine; they always have been, and I guess itā€™s because of my longtime love of them that they donā€™t seem too trendy to me.

Thank you all for your help thus far :)[/quote]

[name]Romy[/name] would be a really cute nickname for [name]Romany[/name], I never caught on to that before!

I also forgot that you said you wanted to middle names, so I revise my list toā€¦

[name]Romany[/name] ([name]Romy[/name]) [name]Elisabeta[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name] - maybe too long? I kind of like just [name]Romy[/name] [name]Elisabeta[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name] too, because the first is shorter than the two middles. But these are my three favourite names from your list. Maybeā€¦
[name]Romany[/name] [name]Elisabeta[/name] Esmee
[name]Elisabeta[/name] Esmee Cosmina
[name]Genevieve[/name] [name]Romany[/name] [name]Eloise[/name]
[name]Mirabelle[/name] [name]Verona[/name] [name]Eloise[/name]

I feel like with three names, there should be one in each combination with just one (maybe two) syllables. [name]Do[/name] you like any one syllable names?

11

Iā€™ve never heard this before but I love it. And I [name]LOVE[/name] the name [name]Mila[/name] SO MUCH.

12

Thank you all so very much! Your outpouring of suggestions has been not only helpful, but also heartwarming :slight_smile: It is so nice to know there are people out there like you all willing to take your time and help the rest of us! I know to some people it may seem like no big deal, but this is our precious baby girlā€s nameā€ it is a HUGE deal! We sincerely thank you!

I think we have all but decided upon [name]Romany[/name] [name]Elisabeta[/name] Esmā€e (nickname [name]Romy[/name]) for our little angel. I love that it honors both Romania and [name]Italy[/name] in one foul swoop, whereas [name]James[/name] loves the nickname [name]Romy[/name]. My only concern is our 8-letter, 3-syllable tongue twister of a last name, which Iā€m not super comfortable giving out on the internet (itā€s very, very rare here in the U.S.) but it begins with the same ā€[name]Jahn[/name]ā€ sound as [name]Genevieve[/name], and ends with something of a ā€dayā€ sound.

13

Yes, we are pronouncing it [name]Jahn[/name]-vee-ev; it was my hubbyā€™s late grandmotherā€™s name, and thatā€™s how she pronounced it :slight_smile: I love [name]Romy[/name]! [name]James[/name] loves it as a nickname for [name]Romany[/name], but I love [name]Romy[/name] Cosmina as well. I love all of your combinations, actually, and yours as well, irisrose. I will admit to you that word and ESPECIALLY place names are a weakness of mine; they always have been, and I guess itā€™s because of my longtime love of them that they donā€™t seem too trendy to me.

Thank you all for your help thus far :)[/quote]

If you live in the state I DONT think you should go with this pronunciation unless you will have an easy nn. You will only be making your childs life very difficult.

14

[name]Romany[/name] [name]Elisabeta[/name] Esmā€e I love this name! If you are worried of having a super long last name you could remove one of the middle names.

15

[name]Love[/name] your choice of [name]Romany[/name] [name]Elisabeta[/name] Esmee. And of course, I [name]LOVE[/name] the nn [name]Romy[/name].

I wouldnā€™t be too worried about your long last name either, as for the majority of her life sheā€™ll just be [name]Romany[/name] ------, and the long middles name wonā€™t be used very often, so I donā€™t think thereā€™s any need to worry! The name is sooooo beautiful, unusual but not weird, and so lovely. Good luck!

16

The ones I like:

[name]Angelique[/name]
[name]Capri[/name]
Cosmina (Romanian name pronounced [name]Cos[/name]-me-nah)
[name]Elisabeta[/name] (Romanian form of [name]Elizabeth[/name] pronounced Ee-lis-ah-bet-ah)
[name]Eloise[/name]
Esmā€e
[name]Giovanna[/name]
[name]Jessamine[/name]
[name]Mirabelle[/name] (Hubbyā€s favorite; he loves the nickname [name]Bella[/name]! If anyone knows of any other ways to get to it outside of the trite [name]Isabella[/name], please speak up!)
[name]Sicily[/name]
[name]Siena[/name]
[name]Victoire[/name]

17

I hate reading negative posts and so I apologize in advance for making negative comments, I really do. I believe that if you love a name then you should go with it. But I also think that you should consider backgrounds and context, soā€¦

[name]Romany[/name] sounds like a pretty name when viewed from the US. But it is one of the preferred terms for ā€œgypsiesā€ (which I think is considered an outdated, insulting term, but I am no expert on this). The [name]Romany[/name]/Romani/Rom people face fierce discrimination throughout Europe. Iā€™m most familiar with Italian culture and I know the Rom people there are, by and large, truly and thoroughly hated by the general population.

Iā€™m sorry to be negative about your leading choice. Since youā€™re looking for a multicultural name, and presumably someday your daughter will travel and perhaps explore her roots, itā€™s something to consider.

Since Iā€™m being negative already Iā€™ll just push ahead and say Iā€™m not a big fan of place names, and that Italians tend to think that Americans are odd for naming their kids names like [name]Capri[/name] and [name]Sicily[/name]. Also, ā€œVeniziaā€ is a misspelling of [name]Venezia[/name], the Italian word for [name]Venice[/name]. [name]Milan[/name] is a manā€™s name (think of the author [name]Milan[/name] Kundera).

Iā€™m really sorry if I sound like a jerk. I am facing a similar dilemma and am looking for an Italian name for my daughter who is arriving in the spring. You have lots of beautiful names on your list!

18

[name]Hi[/name] there, [name]Elle[/name]! Please donā€™t apologize for negativity; I am the one who made the choice to turn to a public forum for opinions, and it would be ignorant of me to condemn you for yours :slight_smile:

I am actually very aware of the [name]Roma[/name] [name]Gypsy[/name] connotation with [name]Romany[/name] (though Iā€™ve ever seen it spelled [name]Roma[/name] or Romani), because my Romanian heritage is, in fact, mixed with the Romani. It has never been an offensive term in my family, more of a thing of honor, so the potential negativity never really occured to me. I appreciate your outlook on it, though :slight_smile: I also appreciate your input as far as place names are concerned. I seem to be in the minority, especially on this site, but I do love place names. I guess you could say they are my guilty pleasure ā€“ and [name]Venezia[/name] was, in fact, a typographical error on my part :slight_smile: