New name and/or combo suggestions? Aveline, Maeve, Aerin, Sylvie?

We are aiming on TTC later next year (assuming things have calmed down a little pandemic wise), and I’ve been revisiting my favorite names from my lists in anticipation. I’d appreciate some feedback on my favorite firsts and middles, plus new combinations or suggestions for the list! I’m pretty settled on boy names but girls names are a bit harder for me.

I like names that are unusual but while I love me some out-there mythical names, I do know I need to keep things more grounded. I also love [name_u]French[/name_u] names that aren’t already super common in Anglo countries. Celtic names I love but know that many are hard to pronounce/spell.

Here are my favorite firsts possibilities:

[name_f]Aveline[/name_f] - I’ve loved this name for years. I pronounce it Uh-vuh-leen. It’s unusual but not out there, [name_u]French[/name_u] but not too flowery or pretentious.

[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] - this name is sweet, but wonder if it’s too cutesy ala [name_f]Evie[/name_f] and [name_m]Archie[/name_m] neither of which I like for full names (and I don’t really like [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]). Still, I love the silvery:summery vibe, of [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] and the nickname Syl! (A nod to my favourite book series). I do think it is maybe about to have a big popularity boost however.

[name_f]Maeve[/name_f]/Maeva - I love [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], but feel like it may be rising fast in popularity. I also don’t really like it’s meaning, and the mythological figure ([name_f]Queen[/name_f] [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]), isn’t a good one if I remember correctly (would love to be proven wrong tho!). [name_f]Maeva[/name_f] has a similar sound, but a different meaning (“welcome” which is far nicer than “intoxicating”) and leans more [name_u]French[/name_u] because of its [name_u]French[/name_u] Polynesian roots. Could potentially still call her Maev/Maeve for short.

[name_f]Aerin[/name_f] - she is a LOTR namesake, but a very little known one (so should receive few eye-rolls) and her character has good qualities. It’s also very similar in sound to the well known (but not too common) [name_f]Erin[/name_f], but with a slightly more ethereal quality (I pronounce it with a slightly more drawn out first syllable, more like [name_f]Air[/name_f]-in, than the more clipped [name_f]Erin[/name_f]. It roughly means “ocean” in Elvish.

Middle names:

[name_f]Morwenna[/name_f]
Éowyn
[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Serena[/name_f]
Sola/Solana
[name_f]Carys[/name_f]
[name_f]Niamh[/name_f]
[name_f]Alda[/name_f]
[name_f]Elinor[/name_f]
[name_f]Ondine[/name_f]
[name_f]Morgana[/name_f]
[name_f]Anwen[/name_f]
Linnéa

I also love the idea of the meanings of the first and middles complementing each other. For example, “[name_f]Aerin[/name_f] [name_f]Serena[/name_f]” would mean “ocean, serenity” which evokes a calm ocean. It would also be a nod to my faith, referencing [name_m]Christ[/name_m] stilling the waters of [name_f]Galilee[/name_f]. “[name_f]Maeva[/name_f] [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]” would be “welcoming heart” though the sounds don’t flow that well. So bonus points for combos like these!

[name_u]New[/name_u] name suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks!

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Of your first name options, I personally prefer [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] and [name_f]Aveline[/name_f]! [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is more intuitive to me than [name_f]Maeva[/name_f] and I love the “intoxicating” meaning.

I like [name_f]Aerin[/name_f] in theory but worry that it would be a nightmare spelling/pronunciation-wise and would perpetually be mistaken for [name_f]Erin[/name_f]. I would consider using [name_f]Aerin[/name_f] as a middle name, where you could appreciate it but where it wouldn’t get butchered by the masses.

I think I’m in the minority on NB but [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] and [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] haven’t come around to appealing to me - they still sound kind of clunky to my ear.

I actually also love a couple of the names from your middle name list and would be jazzed to see them used as first names - [name_f]Serena[/name_f], [name_f]Carys[/name_f], [name_f]Linnea[/name_f], [name_f]Elinor[/name_f], and [name_f]Niamh[/name_f]!

A few combos you might like:

Aveline [name_f]Carys[/name_f]
[name_f]Aveline[/name_f] Sola

Maeve [name_f]Serena[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f] [name_f]Solana[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f] [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]

Sylvie [name_f]Ondine[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] [name_f]Linnea[/name_f]

And for fun:

Linnea [name_f]Anwen[/name_f]
[name_f]Carys[/name_f] [name_f]Morgana[/name_f]
[name_f]Niamh[/name_f] [name_f]Solana[/name_f]
[name_f]Elinor[/name_f] [name_f]Aerin[/name_f]
[name_f]Elinor[/name_f] [name_f]Carys[/name_f]

Aerin [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] or [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] [name_f]Carys[/name_f]!

Thanks for your feedback! I do also love [name_f]Aveline[/name_f] and [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] the most tbh. (I actually think they would sound nice as sister names too). I also prefer the sound of [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] to [name_f]Maeva[/name_f], just to me “intoxicating” evokes something like a temptress or some chick who poisons people haha. Would love my perspective to be changed on the meanings and or historical figure/connotations with [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] though, as it’s the one thing that really makes me hesitate to use it. I guess pairing it with a middle with a good meaning may help.

I like your suggestion of [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] [name_f]Serena[/name_f]! That actually flows quite nicely, and the lovely meaning of [name_f]Serena[/name_f] kinda balances out the meaning of [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]. I suppose at a stretch I could look at “intoxicating” as “loving life” or something - along with the tranquility of [name_f]Serena[/name_f] that may work.

The only reason why it’s unlikely we would use [name_f]Serena[/name_f] as a first is that husband isn’t really a fan. I love [name_f]Niamh[/name_f], but that would absolutely get butchered (we don’t live in the UK or [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] where it may be more recognizable). [name_f]Adore[/name_f] [name_f]Carys[/name_f], but I don’t like the American pronunciation of “care-iss” (prefer ca-riss with the a as in cat). And I feel like she’d end up being [name_f]Carrie[/name_f] or something which I dont like. [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] is a little too common too, and our last name begins with [name_f]El[/name_f], so it would be a little too alliterative as a first. Linnéa could work as a first though! If I happened to have girl twins (honestly pretty likely with my family history), Linnéa & [name_f]Aveline[/name_f] would be really pretty, and both subtle nature names.

Totally understand your point on [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f]/Sylvia! [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] has been on my list a long time as it was one of the few girl names I liked, but it is somewhat losing its luster to me and it’s probably unlikely we will use it now that I’ve found other options like [name_f]Aveline[/name_f] and [name_f]Maeve[/name_f].

Of your combo suggestions I like the most:

Maeve [name_f]Serena[/name_f]
[name_f]Aveline[/name_f] [name_f]Carys[/name_f]
Linnéa [name_f]Anwen[/name_f] (this is actually super beautiful!)

Niamh [name_f]Solana[/name_f] is also stunning! Still don’t know about [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] as a first but the combo is lovely. Especially since together, [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] [name_f]Solana[/name_f] means “bright sunshine”.

Aerin [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] is lovely, thanks! Both ocean related names too

I don’t have a great sense of the historical aspects of [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], but I’ve always interpreted the “intoxicating” meaning to be more “bewitching”, “intriguing”, if that helps!

Personally I also love [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] but it would also get butchered badly where I live too, so I’ve always figured that if I ever decided I really wanted to use it as a middle name I’d keep the [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] spelling, but as a first name I’d use the anglicized [name_f]Neve[/name_f] spelling, which might or might not appeal to you. The other way of getting to the [name_f]Neve[/name_f] sound that I thought of a while ago was as a nickname for [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f].

Linnea and [name_f]Aveline[/name_f] would be gorgeous together!

I don’t usually pay a ton of attention to meanings but yeah, “bright sunshine” does stand out, haha.

I love [name_f]Aveline[/name_f] and [name_f]Maeva[/name_f]! I think these would be lovely:

Maeva [name_f]Ondine[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeva[/name_f] [name_f]Elinor[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeva[/name_f] [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeva[/name_f] [name_f]Anwen[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeva[/name_f] [name_f]Linnea[/name_f]
[name_f]Aveline[/name_f] [name_f]Niamh[/name_f]
[name_f]Aveline[/name_f] [name_f]Elinor[/name_f]
[name_f]Aveline[/name_f] [name_f]Linnea[/name_f]
[name_f]Aveline[/name_f] [name_f]Cerys[/name_f]
[name_f]Aveline[/name_f] [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f]
[name_f]Aveline[/name_f] [name_f]Anwen[/name_f]

I think [name_f]Aveline[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] would be really pretty, too!

Good luck!