Opinions on girls names as a sibling for Elias: Merida, Vivia or Verity?

Girl Names
1

Hello and a very [name]Merry[/name] [name]Christmas[/name] to all!

Following a very friendly and welcoming response to my boy’s name thread (we are expecting a new baby next [name]Spring[/name]) we have decisively chosen the name [name]Inigo[/name] [name]Gabriel[/name] if our yellow bump turns blue. I love it :slight_smile: here’s the thread if you’re interested:

However now I feel sure that with this PERFECT boy’s name ready to go, we will have a girl and we are in much more of a mess!!

Here are our ideas so far, to go with lovely son whose name I adore, [name]Elias[/name] [name]Michael[/name] (occasional nn [name]Eli[/name]):

[name]Merida[/name] [name]Nell[/name]
[name]Vivia[/name] [name]Isis[/name]
[name]Verity[/name] [name]Meredith[/name]

Possibility but an outlier at present:
[name]Romilly[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]

Other names I like but not properly considering:
[name]Ophelia[/name] (but too sad re: [name]Hamlet[/name])
[name]Elodie[/name] (but don’t want another E name)
[name]Coraline[/name] (but [name]Cora[/name] doesn’t go with our surname which starts with an O)
[name]Seraphina[/name] - something I’m not sure of for us but I do like it a lot!
[name]Hermia[/name] - but too much like Hernia…
[name]Hero[/name] - love but too much confusion re boy/girl name

I love [name]Merida[/name], and am at one with the Brave connection as I feel that film is not going to be the massive hit that something like The [name]Little[/name] Mermaid was, so shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Anyway, it’s a sweet film and the character is a strong female lead which I like! There is something about the middle name we are not sure of and I think we could make [name]Merida[/name] the winner if we could fix this! Originally we loved [name]Meredith[/name] but we have decided [name]Merida[/name] is more in keeping with [name]Elias[/name] as it’s very unusual as is [name]Elias[/name] in the UK.

[name]Vivia[/name] I love too - and love the nickname of Vivvi but not sure about [name]Viv[/name] which I think I would have to be okay with as it might become inevitable post-teenage years! Again I love [name]Isis[/name] and there is a connection (indirect) with where we met so the MN is good but not set in stone if something else could bring [name]Vivia[/name]'s best qualities out even better…

[name]Verity[/name] is an old favourite and was what we thought we would call the first bump when it was briefly yellow! But since then my husband has gone off it a little and I’ve had my head turned by the above two names! Would love feedback on all three :slight_smile:

Wow, what a ramble! Open to other lovely suggestions and have included a short list of other names I have a strong liking for to give ideas if anyone has any thoughts! [name]One[/name] thing I don’t like personally is unisex names…

Many thanks for reading and for any ideas you can offer :slight_smile:

xx

2

Re: [name]Merida[/name] and [name]Verity[/name], I also love the potential NNs of [name]Meri[/name] and Veri :slight_smile:

3

I think each of your top three could pair well with brother [name]Elias[/name], but I agree with your analysis.

[name]Merida[/name]: I agree, [name]Nell[/name] really makes it fall flat. Why not pair it with some of your other favorites-- something long, elegant and ending on a consonant sound?

[name]Merida[/name] [name]Vivienne[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Coraline[/name]

As you seemed to like saints’ names in your boys’ post:

[name]Merida[/name] [name]Sylvaine[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Bernadette[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Cecile[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] Euphrosyne
[name]Merida[/name] Endelyn
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Florentine[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Helene[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Julianne[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Lucienne[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] Petronille
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Sabine[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Therese[/name]

As [name]Vivia[/name] shares the same phonetic qualities as [name]Merida[/name] (three syllables, ending in -a, accent placed on first syllable) any of the above names would work well with it, too. You might also lengthen [name]Isis[/name] into [name]Isadora[/name]/e (“gift of [name]Isis[/name],”) as [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Isadore[/name] seems a bit more polished.

I personally love the name [name]Verity[/name], too. You might consider the original Welsh female name Mererid as a middle, but I think that might repeat the -er sound too much. All of your “rejected” names ending with -a work well with [name]Verity[/name]-- i.e.

[name]Verity[/name] [name]Seraphine[/name] / [name]Seraphina[/name]
[name]Verity[/name] [name]Ophelia[/name]
[name]Verity[/name] [name]Elodia[/name]

4

I like meridia and vivia, i like vidia too liek the fairy on tikerbell! :slight_smile:

5

Yay, I had been waiting for this post!

[name]Merida[/name] [name]Nell[/name]- I really, really love the name [name]Merida[/name]. Generally speaking, this is my favorite name out of the 4 choices (especially because of Brave, though you’re right I don’t think it will ever become more popular than it was when it came out) and I think it would go pretty well with [name]Elias[/name]. I’m not sure that it matches up perfectly, but they don’t sound unusual together. I especially like that they both contain E-I-A in the same order, very cute! But yes, I do agree that [name]Nell[/name] is not enough mn for [name]Merida[/name]. Perhaps something longer? (Another thought is that an E middle might be cute to give the opposite initals of [name]Elias[/name] [name]Michael[/name]. [name]Elodie[/name] shares a lot of the same sounds but could possibly still work? [name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Elaine[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Evangeline[/name], [name]Evelyn[/name]… [name]Merida[/name] [name]Elaine[/name] is quite pretty if you ask me).

[name]Verity[/name] [name]Meredith[/name]- [name]Verity[/name] has become one of my new favorities, it is such a rich name with different but equally strong vowel sounds, mirroring [name]Elias[/name]. It has a great meaning and I like the idea of another middle name that starts with M, but [name]Meredith[/name] is a little bit rhymey with [name]Verity[/name] and sadly [name]Merida[/name] would have the same issue. [name]Do[/name] you happen to like any other feminine M names? [name]Mirabel[/name], [name]Miriam[/name], [name]Magnolia[/name], [name]Mila[/name], [name]Marina[/name], [name]Melissa[/name]. ([name]Verity[/name] [name]Mirabel[/name] is lovely, and [name]Verity[/name] [name]Matilda[/name] could be cute, I was trying to think of the ones with 7 letters…)

[name]Vivia[/name] [name]Isis[/name]- [name]Vivia[/name] is great due to the 5 letter connection, but I am not the biggest fan of this one. I think it too may need “just a little more” to it. If you don’t mind adding a letter, [name]Vivian[/name] [name]Isis[/name] flows a bit better due to breaking up the vowel sounds and makes it a bit easier to say. I also like the suggestion of [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Isadore[/name], but again that might be kind of a mouthful. I was going to suggest a few more middle name options at the end, but looking through your other choices, [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] would be great and [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Coraline[/name] sounds gorgeous to me, but you would have to judge it and see how it sounds with your last name. Maybe you’d like it with one of the great Saints names that [name]Blade[/name] listed?

[name]Romilly[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]- [name]Romilly[/name] is a beautiful name, and I really like this combo with [name]Josephine[/name], but I think the other names “match” [name]Elias[/name] a little bit better. It is 7 letters long though, so it might be a nice choice for a middle. What about [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Romilly[/name]?

My other thought was to find a few new mn options that you might not have considered that are Hebrew in origin like [name]Michael[/name]. A few of my favorites that I found were: [name]Naomi[/name] (meaning “my joy, my delight”), [name]Odelia[/name] (less tragic than [name]Ophelia[/name]… Hebrew for “I will praise the lord”), and [name]Shira[/name] (this one is gorgeous, it means “my song”). Let me know if you like any of these, or I can help you keep looking. =]

6

Yay, I had been waiting for this post! =]

[name]Merida[/name] [name]Nell[/name]- I really, really love the name [name]Merida[/name]. Generally speaking, this is my favorite name out of the 4 choices (especially because of Brave, though you’re right I don’t think it will ever become more popular than it was when it came out) and I think it would go pretty well with [name]Elias[/name]. I’m not sure that it matches up perfectly, but they don’t sound unusual together. I especially like that they both contain E-I-A in the same order, very cute! But yes, I do agree that [name]Nell[/name] is not enough mn for [name]Merida[/name]. Perhaps something longer? (Another thought is that an E middle might be cute to give the opposite initals of [name]Elias[/name] [name]Michael[/name]. [name]Elodie[/name] shares a lot of the same sounds but could possibly still work? [name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Elaine[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Evangeline[/name], [name]Evelyn[/name]… [name]Merida[/name] [name]Elaine[/name] is quite pretty if you ask me).

[name]Verity[/name] [name]Meredith[/name]- [name]Verity[/name] has become one of my new favorities, it is such a rich name with different but equally strong vowel sounds, mirroring [name]Elias[/name]. It has a great meaning and I like the idea of another middle name that starts with M, but [name]Meredith[/name] is a little bit rhymey with [name]Verity[/name] and sadly [name]Merida[/name] would have the same issue. [name]Do[/name] you happen to like any other feminine M names? [name]Mirabel[/name], [name]Miriam[/name], [name]Magnolia[/name], [name]Mila[/name], [name]Marina[/name], [name]Melissa[/name]. ([name]Verity[/name] [name]Mirabel[/name] is lovely, and [name]Verity[/name] [name]Matilda[/name] could be cute, I was trying to think of the ones with 7 letters…)

[name]Vivia[/name] [name]Isis[/name]- [name]Vivia[/name] is great due to the 5 letter connection, but I am not the biggest fan of this one. I think it too may need “just a little more” to it. If you don’t mind adding a letter, [name]Vivian[/name] [name]Isis[/name] flows a bit better due to breaking up the vowel sounds and makes it a bit easier to say. I also like the suggestion of [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Isadore[/name], but again that might be kind of a mouthful. I was going to suggest a few more middle name options at the end, but looking through your other choices, [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] would be great and [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Coraline[/name] sounds gorgeous to me, but you would have to judge it and see how it sounds with your last name. Maybe you’d like it with one of the great Saints names that [name]Blade[/name] listed?

[name]Romilly[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]- [name]Romilly[/name] is a beautiful name, and I really like this combo with [name]Josephine[/name], but I think the other names “match” [name]Elias[/name] a little bit better. It is 7 letters long though, so it might be a nice choice for a middle. What about [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Romilly[/name]?

My other thought was to find a few new mn options that you might not have considered that are Hebrew in origin like [name]Michael[/name]. Let me know if you like any of these, or I can help you keep looking. A few of my favorites that I found were:
[name]Naomi[/name]- meaning “my joy, my delight” (I really like [name]Merida[/name] [name]Naomi[/name] or [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Naomi[/name])
[name]Odelia[/name]- an option that is less tragic than [name]Ophelia[/name]… Hebrew for “I will praise the lord” ([name]Verity[/name] [name]Odelia[/name] sounds great!)
[name]Shira[/name]- gorgeous and means “my song” ([name]Verity[/name] [name]Shira[/name] is pretty and would have a wonderful meaning…‘Song of truth’ how cool is that??)

7

Yay, I had been waiting for this post! =]

[name]Merida[/name] [name]Nell[/name]- I really, really love the name [name]Merida[/name]. Generally speaking, this is my favorite name out of the 4 choices (especially because of Brave, though you’re right I don’t think it will ever become more popular than it was when it came out) and I think it would go pretty well with [name]Elias[/name]. I’m not sure that it matches up perfectly, but they don’t sound unusual together. I especially like that they both contain E-I-A in the same order, very cute! But yes, I do agree that [name]Nell[/name] is not enough mn for [name]Merida[/name]. Perhaps something longer? (Another thought is that an E middle might be cute to give the opposite initals of [name]Elias[/name] [name]Michael[/name]. [name]Elodie[/name] shares a lot of the same sounds but could possibly still work? [name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Elaine[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Evangeline[/name], [name]Evelyn[/name]… [name]Merida[/name] [name]Elaine[/name] is quite pretty if you ask me).

[name]Verity[/name] [name]Meredith[/name]- [name]Verity[/name] has become one of my new favorities, it is such a rich name with different but equally strong vowel sounds, mirroring [name]Elias[/name]. It has a great meaning and I like the idea of another middle name that starts with M, but [name]Meredith[/name] is a little bit rhymey with [name]Verity[/name] and sadly [name]Merida[/name] would have the same issue. [name]Do[/name] you happen to like any other feminine M names? [name]Mirabel[/name], [name]Madison[/name], [name]Miriam[/name], [name]Magnolia[/name], [name]Mila[/name], [name]Marina[/name], [name]Melissa[/name]. [name]Verity[/name] [name]Matilda[/name] could be cute (I was trying to think mainly of names that had 7 letters…)

[name]Vivia[/name] [name]Isis[/name]- [name]Vivia[/name] is great due to the 5 letter connection, but I am not the biggest fan of this one. I think it too may need “just a little more” to it. If you don’t mind adding a letter, [name]Vivian[/name] [name]Isis[/name] flows a bit better due to breaking up the vowel sounds and makes it a bit easier to say. I also like the suggestion of [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Isadore[/name], but again that might be kind of a mouthful. I was going to suggest a few more middle name options at the end, but looking through your other choices, [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] would be great and [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Coraline[/name] sounds gorgeous to me, but you would have to judge it and see how it sounds with your last name. Maybe you’d like it with one of the great Saints names that [name]Blade[/name] listed?

[name]Romilly[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]- [name]Romilly[/name] is a beautiful name, and I really like this combo with [name]Josephine[/name], but I think the other names “match” [name]Elias[/name] a little bit better. It is 7 letters long though, so it might be a nice choice for a middle. What about [name]Vivia[/name] [name]Romilly[/name]?

~My other thought was to find a few new mn options that you might not have considered that are Hebrew in origin like [name]Michael[/name]. Let me know if you like any of these, or I can help you keep looking. A few of my favorites that I found were:
[name]Naomi[/name]- meaning “my joy, my delight” (sounds great with either [name]Merida[/name] or [name]Vivia[/name])
[name]Odelia[/name]- an option that is less tragic than [name]Ophelia[/name]… Hebrew for “I will praise the lord” ([name]Verity[/name] [name]Odelia[/name] would sound great)
[name]Shira[/name]- gorgeous and means “my song” ([name]Verity[/name] [name]Shira[/name] is pretty and would have a wonderful meaning…Song of truth, how cool is that??)

8

[name]Hi[/name]. Firstly I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Merida[/name]. You should choose that (fingers crossed) However I am not too keen on either [name]Verity[/name] or [name]Vivia[/name].
Possible Middles for [name]Merida[/name]:

[name]Merida[/name] [name]Coraline[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Hermione[/name] (a bit like [name]Hermia[/name] but without the hernia connection)

Other suggestions:
[name]Hermione[/name] (see reason as above)
[name]Indigo[/name] (a bit like [name]Inigo[/name] but for a girl) Use a girlish mn to balance it.
[name]Nella[/name] (Like [name]Nell[/name])

I also like [name]Ophelia[/name] and [name]Hero[/name] as middle names for your child.

[name]Hope[/name] that helps!

9

I [name]ADORE[/name] [name]Merida[/name] :slight_smile: ! I also think [name]Vivia[/name] is sweet too. However I agree with some of the other comments that [name]Merida[/name] [name]Nell[/name] just kinda falls flat. I love whirligig’s suggestion of [name]Merida[/name] [name]Hermione[/name]. Here are some suggestions…
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Hermione[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Coraline[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Hero[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Romilly[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Seraphine[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Isis[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Willow[/name] (my favourite combination of [name]Merida[/name])
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Isabeau[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Vivienne[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Estelle[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] Bohème
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Imogen[/name]

10

[name]Merida[/name] is pretty but it seems very trendy to me. I don’t think it has the depth and dignity of [name]Elias[/name] at all. [name]Vivia[/name] seems like a nn for the Italian [name]Viviana[/name]. I do think [name]Verity[/name] is the best of your choices and would probably sound better with your “O” surname. [name]Even[/name] though it sounds contemporary, it has a certain vintage charm that [name]Elias[/name] has in spades. I love [name]Meredith[/name] but not with [name]Verity[/name]. [name]Verity[/name] [name]Josephine[/name], [name]Verity[/name] [name]Blithe[/name], [name]Verity[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] or [name]Verity[/name] [name]Louisa[/name] would be lovely.

11

Wow amazing ideas and responses, you guys are super inspiring! It’s late on [name]Christmas[/name] [name]Eve[/name], we have finally got everything ready fit our 2yr old tomorrow and made the cake etc and so I will sleep on the ideas and reply again soon - there are some coincidences with other names I love but didn’t mention (like [name]Elodie[/name] and [name]Cecily[/name]) which is great, you guys seem very in tune with my tastes! Also think you are so right re [name]Nell[/name] and [name]Isis[/name] not helping the first names and I love the idea of an ‘ine’ ending to go with these choices…

I don’t feel clear at all though… It’s not so cut and dried with the girl choice, finding it much harder!

I did have another thought, if I’d come on here with no first name suggestions but you had seen the link to my boys’ name taste what kind of things would you suggest up perfectly complement [name]Elias[/name] [name]Michael[/name]? I know some of you have part answered this with your great ideas but wondered if there are any ideas I haven’t thought of that fit my pink brief of beautiful, rare, [name]Elias[/name]-matching, elegant and classic/vintage rather than v modern… Not asking for much huh??

Thanks again and merry [name]Christmas[/name] to all x

12

OK can’t stop thinking even though I’m tired so here’s some more thoughts re the wonderful ideas provided above - I need to talk to DH first as he is confusing me with his preferences! I’m going to stick to [name]Merida[/name] and [name]Verity[/name] as I feel [name]Vivia[/name] is becoming the poor relation of the three…

[name]Merida[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Seraphine[/name]
(No [name]Merida[/name] [name]Coraline[/name] as feels very animated movie with that combo! Same issue kind of with [name]Merida[/name] [name]Hermione[/name] which also was vetoed by DH)
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Cecily[/name] - slightly tweaked - what do people think?

[name]Verity[/name] [name]Coraline[/name]
[name]Verity[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]

Ok now my eyes are closing as I type so I will finish here but thanks so much again for your expertise, you are all very talented!

13

Like [name]Verity[/name] [name]Ophelia[/name] too as the tragic element is less of an issue as a MN…

14

I’d like to cast another vote for [name]Merida[/name] [name]Josephine[/name].

15

I’ll vote for [name]Verity[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]. [name]Elias[/name] and [name]Verity[/name] would be lovely together.

16

i [name]LOVE[/name] romilly! i’ve had it on my list for awhile!! Good luck naming!!

17

I love [name]Merida[/name] and also the connection it has to [name]Mary[/name] so this would be my favourite.

18

[name]Merida[/name] I think is the best of the three, and I also think that it goes the best.

As for middle names, I would probably go down the shorter route due to [name]Merida[/name]'s three-syllables. I might incorporate some of the other names, too like:

[name]Merida[/name] Vivvi (or [name]Merida[/name] [name]Viv[/name], if you warm up to that)
[name]Merida[/name] J

Other ideas I like:
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Sage[/name]
[name]Merida[/name] [name]Lark[/name]

19

[name]Romilly[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] would be my first pick. I love [name]Romi[/name] as a nn.

[name]Merida[/name] would be my second pick.

20

[name]Verity[/name] is easily my favorite from your list!