I’ve been having the hardest time coming up with a single combo I love, and I’m trying to take a step back and analyze why.
Almost all my top choices for a girl’s first name end in -a or -ia. A large portion of the names I have pegged as “middle-name only” choices begin with vowel sounds. A large portion of the rest of the names I would consider as middle-name choices also end in -a or -ia (with some overlap in the venn diagram of
First-name-ending-in-A AEIOUYH-beginning-middle-also-ending-in-A. Most of the combos I like have some version of alliteration, assonance, rhyming (usually not at the end), or some mixture of all of them.
Where is the fine line between when these combos sound great and when they sound immature or unfinished or pretentious or just too clunky? I find that even the same exact types of sounds can come off entirely different. An -a ending followed by a long EE can sometimes work and sometimes sound awful.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think a name’s general recognizability plays a role? As in, when [name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Eavan[/name_f] or [name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Yvaine[/name_f] feel weird but [name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Eve[/name_f], [name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Evie[/name_f], or even [name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_m]Even[/name_m], [name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_u]Evan[/name_u], or [name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Eve[/name_f]-lyn feel more doable?
With a 2 middle name combo, where does alliteration tend to work best?
As in, if the combos could be:
MMJK
MJMK
KJMK
MKJK
MJKK
MMMK
Etc.
I’m going to try not to include too many actual combos here as I’m not particularly looking for feedback on specifics (though please tell me if you love something), but as examples to illustrate what I’m talking about… I’ve been trying to work with [name_f]Minerva[/name_f] and [name_f]Olympia[/name_f]:
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Violet[/name_f] Geneviève
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Viola[/name_f] Geneviève
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Antigone[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] Arsinoë [name_u]Jule[/name_u]
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Marigold[/name_f] [name_u]Jule[/name_u]
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Chamomile[/name_f] [name_u]Jule[/name_u]
[name_f]Olympia[/name_f] [name_f]Opal[/name_f] [name_f]Minerva[/name_f]
[name_f]Olympia[/name_f] [name_f]Rosmerta[/name_f] [name_f]Lenore[/name_f]
[name_f]Olympia[/name_f] [name_f]Aster[/name_f] [name_f]Celestine[/name_f]
[name_f]Olympia[/name_f] [name_f]Viola[/name_f] [name_u]Lumen[/name_u]
Etc.
What is it about these combos that makes them work or not work? Please include your own flow combos for illustrating the effects of what you’re talking about when applicable.
Of course there is also the messy business of length and syllable stress, and all that. I feel like I more or less have a sense of what my style is for those elements. It’s these other pieces I feel I’m struggling with.
What is wrong with my combos that nothing feels right even when three amazing names I love are in combination and conversation with one another? Apart from some spark or lightning strike, what is it?
[name_m]Even[/name_m] if I somehow manage to play by all my own rules and avoid all of the trappings above with names I love, something is still wrong. I’ve been sitting with one combo on paper that I thought I would love more than I do.
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] Líadan [name_u]Jule[/name_u]
What is wrong that nothing is right?