See the results of this poll: Which is your favourite name to get to the nickname Bea?
Respondents: 20 (This poll is closed)
- Bria: 2 (10%)
- Bridget: 5 (25%)
- Bryony: 3 (15%)
- Sabina: 7 (35%)
- Tabitha: 3 (15%)
[name]How[/name] about [name]Ruby[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name] (if she can be called [name]Beth[/name], why not [name]Bea[/name]), [name]Bernadette[/name],or [name]Brenna[/name]?
good luck
Thank you! I’d never thought of [name]Ruby[/name], unfortunately it’s the number 1 name here in [name]Wales[/name] and it’s not my favourite.
I like [name]Brenna[/name] but it’s my ex-boyfriends sisters name so that seems odd! Lol. [name]Bernadette[/name]'s not my style and [name]Elizabeth[/name] is too common. I have thought of names like [name]Bryony[/name] or [name]Brianna[/name] but they’re not really my style and I think I’d be using them purely to get the nick name [name]Bea[/name] out of which seems silly.
I love where you’re going with [name]Ruby[/name] though, that seems to be the right track as it’s the right style of name and like [name]Phoebe[/name], I love that the nn [name]Bea[/name] isn’t so obvious!
Any more suggestions?
[name]How[/name] about [name]Shelby[/name] or [name]Bianca[/name]
[name]How[/name] about:
Abeba - I can’t tell you much about this name, I’m afraid. I’ve seen it said twice that it means ‘flower’ in Amharic, which I believe is an Ethiopian language. Initially I presumed it was pronounced a-[name]BEE[/name]-ba, but when I googled it it became clear that Abeba is an alternate spelling of Ababa (as in [name]Addis[/name] Ababa), which I’ve always pronounced a-BA-ba. Of course, as I am totally unfamiliar with Amharic pronunciation, I can’t tell you if any of my pronunciations are correct, but a-[name]BEE[/name]-ba would be perfect for you!
Abeni - another African name, this time Yoruban (from [name]West[/name] [name]Africa[/name], spoken in Nigeria, amongst other places). I love this one, because it means roughly ‘we asked for her, and behold, we received her’. The only pronunciation guide I can find says it is said a-beh-NEE.
[name]Abia[/name] - a-[name]BEE[/name]-a, the Greek and Latin form of [name]Abijah[/name], an ancient Hebrew name meaning ‘God is my father’.
[name]Abilene[/name] - a-bih-[name]LEE[/name]-nee, a Biblical place name which might have originally meant ‘grass’; a Muslim legend says that [name]Abel[/name] was buried nearby. Abila, the principal town in this region at the time, is also an option.
Abira - a-BEER-a, a Hebrew name meaning ‘strong’.
[name]Cybele[/name] - [name]SIB[/name]-a-lee, the lovely name of an ancient goddess of nature and fertility.
[name]Hebe[/name] - so close to [name]Phoebe[/name], but I’ve actually known several Hebes and they’ve never seemed to have any problems with confusion. She was the Greek goddess of youth, and is also quite a pretty plant (would this be too theme-y with [name]Ivy[/name]?). There is the heebie jeebies connection to consider, of course.
Iambe - YAM-bee, another name for Greek mythology - she was famed for having cheered up [name]Demeter[/name] as she wandered in search of her daughter, [name]Persephone[/name], with jokes and dancing, and gave her name to the iambic poetry meter. Iambic pentameter is the line rhythym used in sonnets, which I think is a pretty lovely connection.
[name]Niobe[/name] - n[eye]-OH-bee, a lovely name, which is why I mention her, but an extremely tragic character. She appears in [name]Ovid[/name]'s Metamorphosis, which describes how all of her fourteen children were killed because she boasted how she was better off than the goddess Leto, who only had two children (twins [name]Apollo[/name] and [name]Artemis[/name]), and the story culminates in her being so overwhelmed by grief that she turns to stone “and even now, tears trickle from her marble face” (to quote the Penguin translation). In addition, her father was Tantalus, who is the one condemned to spend eternity standing in a pool of water which vanishes when he tries to drink it, just below a branch laden with fruit that, similarly, disappears when he tries to eat it. So, yes, maybe not.
Querube - kay-ROO-bay, I believe. This is a fairly rare, but occasionally used, Spanish name, which comes from their word for cherub (as in the Biblical angel sort, as opposed to chubby, winged babies who hang around [name]Venus[/name]), querubin. There’s a lovely old Spanish song by Los Condes called Querube, you can find it on Youtube.
[name]Tabitha[/name] - ‘gazelle’, Aramaic.
[name]Thisbe[/name] - THIZ-bee, the earliest [name]Juliet[/name]-figure I’ve ever heard of (her [name]Romeo[/name] was Pyramus).
Also, I think pretty much any B name could work. Some ideas:
[name]Belinda[/name]
[name]Bellatrix[/name] (perhaps the [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] reference can be overlooked? I don’t know, but it’s so pretty. Although, I’m not sure how likely it is that your partner will like it, if he isn’t so fond of [name]Beatrix[/name].)
Bellona (another goddess, this time a the [name]Roman[/name] goddess of war)
Benigna
[name]Benita[/name]
[name]Bernadette[/name]
[name]Bettina[/name]
[name]Bibiana[/name]
[name]Blanche[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name]/[name]Blithe[/name] (I suppose it might be strange to have a nickname for a one syllable name, but [name]Blythe[/name] does sound more complete than [name]Bea[/name] to me)
Boadicea
[name]Bonnie[/name]
[name]Briar[/name]
[name]Bronwen[/name].
[name]Auburn[/name]
Any B name can work since [name]Bea[/name] sounds like the letter B. I knew a [name]Bethany[/name] with the nickname B/[name]Bee[/name]/[name]Bea[/name].
Triceratops is spot on; any name that starts with a B could lend to the nickname “[name]Bea[/name]” or “[name]Bee[/name]”. I’m assuming [name]Beatrice[/name] isn’t an option, if your partner doesn’t like [name]Beatrix[/name].
B names:
[name]Bianca[/name]
[name]Belle[/name]/[name]Bella[/name]
[name]Bedelia[/name]
[name]Bernadette[/name]
[name]Bridget[/name]
[name]Brooke[/name]
[name]Briar[/name]
[name]Brie[/name]
[name]Blanca[/name]
[name]Bronte[/name]
[name]Bronwen[/name]
[name]Brighton[/name]
[name]Brynna[/name]
Other less expected derivations:
[name]Kirby[/name]
[name]Kolby[/name]
[name]Ashby[/name]
[name]Darby[/name]
Maeby
[name]Tabitha[/name]
[name]Fabiana[/name]
[name]Zenobia[/name]/[name]Xenobia[/name]
[name]Jubilee[/name]
[name]Cybil[/name]/[name]Sybil[/name]
Nubia
I agree that any “B” name can work. In the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series one character, [name]Bridget[/name], is called “[name]Bee[/name]” by her friends. There are a ton of great “B” names out there, though I think these ones go best with [name]Claudia[/name], [name]Pen[/name]”lope, [name]Mirabelle[/name] and [name]Ivy[/name]:
[name]Bianca[/name]
[name]Bridget[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Briar[/name]
[name]Bronwyn[/name]
[name]Hope[/name] that helps!
i love the name verbena with the nn bea!
also, my son is named beckett and we call him “bee” quite often. so i agree that any B name would work too!
Thanks guys! My favourites are:
[name]Abilene[/name]
[name]Tabitha[/name]
[name]Bibiana[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Briar[/name]
[name]Bridget[/name]
[name]Brooke[/name]
[name]Brie[/name]
[name]Bronte[/name]
[name]Colby[/name]
[name]Ashby[/name]
[name]Darby[/name] (love this but there’s a baby [name]Darby[/name] in my family!)
Others I’ve found:
[name]Bryony[/name]
[name]Bria[/name]
[name]Brianna[/name]
[name]Belia[/name] (bay-lee-uh I believe?)
Beila
[name]Bridie[/name]
[name]Sabina[/name]
I’d appreciate some opinions on these names and which work best with my other names?
Thank you all 
I love [name]Blythe[/name], [name]Bridget[/name], and [name]Bryony[/name].
Thanks Triceratops I think I’ve narrowed it down to the following:
[name]Bria[/name]
[name]Bridget[/name]
[name]Bryony[/name]
[name]Sabina[/name]
[name]Tabitha[/name]
I’ve edited my original post to include a poll with these 5 names in to see which are people’s favourites! Most importantly, which do you think go best with [name]Claudia[/name], [name]Penelope[/name] and [name]Mirabelle[/name]? I quite like that [name]Bridget[/name] has a different ending to the others but I don’t want to tie myself to that anyway cos [name]Ivy[/name]'s still in the picture and [name]Ivy[/name] and [name]Penelope[/name] both have “ee” endings. [name]Tabitha[/name]'s been a long time favourite of mine but my partner didn’t like it last time I asked so that may be out. I like [name]Sabina[/name] but would it just get mixed up with [name]Sabrina[/name]? Does [name]Bryony[/name] sound too much like [name]Brian[/name] to sound feminine? Although my grandfather and my father-in-law’s middle names are both [name]Bryan[/name] so that could be a nice little connection too. Then are [name]Bryony[/name] and [name]Penelope[/name] too rhymey? I think [name]Bria[/name] or [name]Bridget[/name] might be my current favs, hmmmm.