[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there! We are expecting a baby girl and would like to name her after our mothers. The name we are considering is “[name_f]Irene[/name_f] Popwell [our surname].” We dislike the name [name_f]Irene[/name_f], so we are trying to think of nicknames.
[name_f]Poppy[/name_f]? I think this name is adorable on a child but difficult to take seriously on an adult. Thoughts?
[name_f]Elle[/name_f]/Ellie/Ella - too much of a stretch?
Any other ideas, thoughts, or suggestions are very welcome!
Poppy - so cute! Not ridiculous on an adult at all. There’s a celebrity named [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] Delevigne if it’s help to see it on a grown woman.
Ella and variants - none of them feel like a stretch, but they’re not my personal favourite.
Other suggestions:
[name_f]Polly[/name_f]
[name_f]Pella[/name_f]
[name_f]Willa[/name_f]/Willie
We would like to honor our mothers, and [name_f]Irene[/name_f] is my mother’s name. Popwell is the maiden name of my MIL. We can’t seem to make any other combination work.
I think both [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] and [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]/Ella work.
Maybe you would like [name_f]Irina[/name_f]/Irena or [name_f]Iris[/name_f] (another Greek goddess). They still seem to clearly honor.
I don’t think you should choose a name you don’t like even if it’s to honour someone but that’s definitely your decision.
I would love honouring my mother but I dislike both her first and middle so instead I have asked her favourite names so I can consider them for when I have a child, even as middles.
You can still have a different first and two middles. I don’t think your kid will feel good about their name when their parents don’t. You sound reluctant/forced to use the name(s). You can honor the mothers another way.
I think [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] would be so cute as a nickname (or honestly a first name). I agree with other posters that you should not choose [name_f]Irene[/name_f] if you’re not in love with it. Perhaps consider your mother’s middle name, or other names with the same meaning as [name_f]Irene[/name_f]. Since [name_f]Irene[/name_f] means peace, this list might help https://nameberry.com/list/411/Baby-Names-That-Mean-[name_u]Peace[/name_u]/all
Not sure of your naming style but [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] Popwell or [name_f]Mira[/name_f] Popwell would be so sweet in my opinion. There are other lovely options if this is a route you’d consider. Good luck!
Why don’t you use something with the same meaning as [name_f]Irene[/name_f], like [name_f]Paloma[/name_f] or [name_f]Olive[/name_f]? I don’t think you should use a name you don’t like for your child and there are so many other ways to honour someone.
If you want to stick with [name_f]Irene[/name_f] Popwell, I think [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] would work well as a nickname and can absolutely work on an adult.
I think [name_f]Irene[/name_f] Popwell is absolutely gorgeous, but if you don’t love [name_f]Irene[/name_f], why not make the whole thing a middle and choose a first name you just love? I have two middles, as does my husband, and it’s never been an issue for us. That would feel like a fairer split between the two honour names as well, rather than one a first name and one a middle.
But if you do want to stick with Irene Popwell (which is lovely, IMHO), I think Poppy or Ellie work. Maybe also…
Ren or Wren (from Irene)
Rea or Ria
Nina
Ila or Isla
Pippa
Polly or Pola
Willa or Willow
Some of these are a bit (or a lot!) of a stretch but the sounds are there.
How do you feel about [name_f]Eirene[/name_f] (eye-reen-ee), the original version of [name_f]Irene[/name_f]? She was the greek goddess of peace, and is, to me, slightly more modern and delicate, whilst still being an obvious honour.
I would really encourage you to find a name that you both love as opposed to giving a name that you dislike… in the Nameberry community “name regret” is a genuine thing that pops up occasionally and this name is a lifetime commitment. There are many ways to honor someone…
Name variations (Ex. [name_f]Rena[/name_f]); her middle name; a usable birthstone or birth month (like [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] or [name_f]April[/name_f]), etc etc
ETA: I just remembered I have a cousin whom to honor our grandma named her daughter after my grandmas favorite literary character Hadley. So their truly are endless options!
I will say I don’t think [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] is that far out there on the nn’s Inthink it could even be a name in itself. Good [name_m]Luck[/name_m]!
But I agree with pp’s suggestions of using both grandmothers’ names as middle names, and choosing a first name you love.
Or, would [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] [name_f]Irene[/name_f] be an option (I’m assuming you don’t want to use Popwell as a first name)?
Or, perhaps you could change [name_f]Irene[/name_f] in a similar way—[name_f]Iris[/name_f], [name_f]Eileen[/name_f], [name_f]Isla[/name_f], Aylet all start with the same sound.
Or you could use the second syllable: [name_f]Rena[/name_f], [name_f]Renata[/name_f], [name_f]Renee[/name_f]
Or a rhyming name:
[name_f]Serene[/name_f], [name_f]Marine[/name_f]
I hope you’ll be able to find a name that honors your girl’s grandmothers and that makes your heart sing when you use it. Best of luck and congratulations!
I imagine that a child might feel some type of way about having a name that her parents did not like. I like pp’s suggestion of using one of your mother’s favourite names instead.
If you don’t like [name_f]Irene[/name_f], will your little girl like it?
I would use a variation on [name_f]Irene[/name_f] or use it as a middle.
[name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I have been in a similar dilemma with the name [name_f]Rita[/name_f] as a middle. It just doesn’t seem to fit with our first name choice and although it would honour my Grandmother we would rather choose a name we love and that she will hopefully love too. [name_m]Just[/name_m] food for thought, but of course you have to be comfortable and happy with your decision. If using [name_f]Irene[/name_f] as a first name is really important to you then go for it
I adore [name_f]Poppy[/name_f]! I find it easy to envision her on an adult because of the actress [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] [name_u]Montgomery[/name_u]. Other cute floral names–like [name_f]Lily[/name_f] and [name_f]Daisy[/name_f]!–age well, so I think it’s just the novelty of [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] and the current attention it has for this generation that it only seems childish and not really a name that grows up. I’m sure that people said the same about other names from our generation that are now adults–if you like [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] I honestly wouldn’t worry about it?
I do like [name_f]Ella[/name_f], and I don’t think it’s a stretch at all! That would’ve been my second idea.
The only other idea I can think of is [name_f]Willa[/name_f], or maybe [name_m]Wells[/name_m] if you want a more unisex/masculine option, but this seems very boyish to me…
That being said, I agree with the others. I think family is so important, and want to honor my own family with all my kids’ names myself, but calling your daughter something you don’t even like doesn’t seem fair to you–or her! There’s got to be some alternative that would work. I think “[name_f]Irene[/name_f] Popwell” as middles works really well, as others have suggested, and then pick a first you really love, or other suggestions to pick names related to [name_f]Irene[/name_f]. I personally adore [name_f]Irene[/name_f], probably born from its pronunciation in Spanish (ee-reh-neh) and [name_u]French[/name_u] (ee-REHN), but I understand that [name_f]Irene[/name_f] is still not everyone’s cup of tea. I think there are lots of ways to honor family without outright using names you dislike (initials, names based on their interests, more appealing variants (like [name_f]Irina[/name_f] instead of [name_f]Irene[/name_f], etc.), etc.)–it depends on your comfort level, but I just figured I’d chime in with the others. (Although, I personally adore [name_f]Irene[/name_f] Popwell–it’s so unexpectedly lovely and they work so well together; I adore [name_f]Irene[/name_f] and the nn potential with Popwell… I even think Popwell [name_f]Irene[/name_f] nn [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] or something would be lovely, if you plan on calling her a nickname based off of Popwell anyway.)
