Need opinions on our top 4........feeling more uncertain than ever! HELP!

Girl Names
1

My baby girl is due any day now, and I am feeling so much stress over her name! I just don’t feel like I am certain about anything anymore; I keep going back and forth, I don’t know what my “gut feeling” is telling me anymore.

Please help me gain some perspective on our short list. We haven’t shared our list with friends/family this time, so I feel like I need some outside input! Please give me your impressions on these names.

[name]Marta[/name] – I love it, although after reading some comments online, I have my doubts that it will be well received in the real world. This is the only name on our list that would be pronounced/spelled correctly the majority of the time, which is a huge plus for us (our last name gets mispronounced a lot, so I don’t want to give my child a first name that is hard to live with regarding pronunciation. Although, ease of pronunciation aside, do you think [name]Marta[/name] itself be a hard name to live with?)

[name]Marit[/name], or maybe [name]Maren[/name] – (mah-rit) one of my favorite Scandinavian names, I simply love it, but I fear it might be too “different” for people to grasp. Pronunciation will be an issue (we like ‘mah-rit’, but I have heard others pronounce it ‘mare-it’), and I also fear it might sound masculine/unisex with all the popular “–it/–ett” boys names out there right now (ie: [name]Emmett[/name], [name]Bennett[/name], [name]Beckett[/name], etc). An alternative we also love is [name]Maren[/name], but I fear it would be a pain correcting people all the time (we would pronounce it “mah-ren”, not “mare-in”)

[name]Sonja[/name] – (sone-yuh) We both really like this, but again there are pronunciation issues. This would fit well in our family and age well, but I don’t love it as much as others on our short list. [name]Just[/name] curious to hear opinions on this one.

[name]Annika[/name] – (ahn-ick-uh) This has been on our short list with every pregnancy, so it has been a long time fave. I think it is beautiful, and a name I wouldn’t mind having myself. If I started a poll, I think this name would get the most votes, it seems to have the most mass appeal.
Things holding us back – pronunciation issues, popularity (in my area of the midwest, it is heard fairly often – I know 5 [name]Annika[/name]'s). It also feels a little princessy to me, which I don’t like.
And most of the [name]Annika[/name]'s I know go by “[name]Ani[/name]” (ah-nee) for a nickname, which is nails-on-chalkboard to me for some reason. I do like [name]Ana[/name], however.

Could you give me your honest thoughts on these names? We are struggling!

Current middle name options (in order from favorite to least favorite): [name]Annelise[/name] (or [name]Anneliese[/name]), [name]Caroline[/name], [name]Johanna[/name], [name]Emmeline[/name], [name]Annika[/name]. We honestly haven’t spent much time discussing middle names, because we are so stuck on a first name!
Many thanks in advance. :slight_smile:

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I like [name]Annika[/name] and [name]Marta[/name] (tied for first), then [name]Maren[/name], [name]Marit[/name], and [name]Sonja[/name] (in that order). I don’t dislike any of them though! I think [name]Annika[/name] and [name]Marta[/name] are very easy to pronounce and very cute, but also would work well for adults. I say go with [name]Marta[/name] if that’s the name you’ve loved so long! I can’t think of any problems with it. I worry about people mis-pronouncing [name]Sonja[/name] the most. I feel like most people are going to say Sahn-yah.

[name]Hope[/name] that helps!

Also, just happened to think of [name]Anja[/name] or [name]Anya[/name]-- seems like that name is of a similar style?

3

I really like the suggestion of [name]Anya[/name]! I actually like [name]Marit[/name] a lot.:slight_smile: You seem to love [name]Annika[/name] since it was a top contender on the list when [name]Elsa[/name] was born. Maybe this one is a [name]Annika[/name]? :slight_smile:

4

Thank you both!
I really do like [name]Anja[/name]/[name]Anya[/name] a lot…but my husband thinks it sounds “nasally” and he thinks of onions for some reason sigh

5

I live in an area with a large Hispanic community and I know several Marthas.

When I hear [name]Marta[/name] I think of Sound of [name]Music[/name] and [name]Martha[/name], so though the name isn’t as snazzy/modern/funky etc. as a name like [name]Annika[/name] or [name]Sonja[/name] it’s definitely usable and pretty in my opinion.

Also, you could use the nn [name]Marty[/name], which is super cute.

As much as I like [name]Annika[/name] and [name]Sonja[/name] ([name]Maren[/name] is only so so for me, and I would confuse [name]Marit[/name] with merit or ‘mar it’), I think your worries are well founded about have a first and last name that is hard to spell and pronounce.

I think [name]Marta[/name] is lovely.

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I’m not such a fan of [name]Marta[/name] but [name]Annika[/name] and [name]Sonja[/name] are both beautiful names.

As for which you should choose, I say go with [name]Annika[/name]. The fact that it keeps ending up on your short list has to be a sign. I think it’s strong, distinctive, and (at least to my ear) sounds like a more exotic, rebellious form of [name]Anastasia[/name].

7

I like [name]Annika[/name] and [name]Sonja[/name] the best.

8

[name]Love[/name] [name]Marta[/name]! If pronunciation is an issue I’d go with this. I think of soft-spoken little [name]Marta[/name] from The Sound of [name]Music[/name]

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[name]Marta[/name] and [name]Maren[/name] are my favourites. I love them both. [name]Marta[/name] is on my long list, and [name]Maren[/name] would be too, if it weren’t my cousin’s name (only he name is spelled [name]Merryn[/name]).

[name]Marta[/name] sounds sweet, innocent, shy and smart, while [name]Maren[/name] has a more sleek, sophisticated and feminine feel to me. [name]Both[/name] are fantastic names. You can’t go wrong.

Your other choices are lovely too.

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Edited for privacy.

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I love [name]Annika[/name]! Or how about [name]Greta[/name], instead of [name]Marta[/name]?

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[name]Annika[/name] is a really beautiful name. It’s definitely my favourite!

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All of the names on your list are great, but some are better than others. [name]Marta[/name] and [name]Annika[/name] are my favorites. I agree that the other names will have pronunciation issues. Given that [name]Annika[/name] is more popular in your area than you would like, [name]Marta[/name] is a winner. [name]Marta[/name] wouldn’t be hard to live with at all, it’s strong beautiful and feminine. I also like [name]Martina[/name]. [name]Marta[/name] [name]Annelise[/name] is very nice.

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My first daughter’s name is [name]Greta[/name], LOL!
Which also makes me question – do you think [name]Marta[/name] and [name]Greta[/name] are too close?

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I think [name]Marta[/name] and [name]Sonja[/name] are quite nice. [name]Annika[/name] is also nice, although I too know quite a few, mostly children of friends whose grandparents emigrated from Northern Europe. I agree with your assessment of the pronunciation issues with [name]Marit[/name] or [name]Maren[/name]. That may be a can of worms you don’t want to open.

[name]Marta[/name] [name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Marta[/name] [name]Johanna[/name]
[name]Sonja[/name] [name]Caroline[/name]

are the combinations that seem to me to flow best. If you go with [name]Annika[/name], because the syllables are all pronounced, you could go with a shorter middle name -
[name]Annika[/name] [name]Selene[/name]
[name]Annika[/name] [name]Martine[/name]
[name]Annika[/name] [name]Jane[/name]

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I like the name marit but there is the association with the Cigarette brand Merit… [name]Annika[/name] is pretty

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[name]Greta[/name] & [name]Marta[/name] make sense. My second choice, [name]Annika[/name], doesn’t work as well with [name]Greta[/name] [name]IMO[/name]

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I love [name]Marta[/name] and [name]Sonja[/name]! I like [name]Marit[/name] the way you pronounced it, but when I first saw it I said mare-it. [name]Annika[/name] is just not my style. [name]Kinda[/name] harsh sounding to my ears. I’ve also seen [name]Sonja[/name] spelled [name]Sonya[/name] and [name]Sonia[/name], if it helps. It’s a name I’m really surprised isn’t more popular, especially with its similarity to [name]Sophia[/name]. I knew a little girl with that name and she was so pretty and sweet. [name]Marta[/name] is really sweet sounding and unexpected. [name]Mary[/name] would also be a nice easy nick name for her. Good luck! You have 4 really nice names to choose from. Maybe when you meet her, you’ll know which name is right :slight_smile:

[name]Edit[/name]: I just thought, [name]Sunny[/name] would be an adorable nn for [name]Sonja[/name] :slight_smile:

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That is quite a coincidence! [name]Marta[/name] and [name]Greta[/name] are not too close, but have the same sound when I say them outloud, if that makes any sense.

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Saw the name [name]Saskia[/name] today and thought of your post… for some reason that seems to fit too. Or maybe as a middle name.

I don’t think [name]Marta[/name] and [name]Greta[/name] are too close at all! I think they fit nicely together without being “matchy.”