I have recently fallen in love with these traditionally ‘plain’ names. I know they are also considered very common ‘filler’ middle names too, but I think they are so refreshing and pretty in the fn spot! So, are they pretty, or dull?
Also, what do you think of the middle names I have paired with them; I thought they would suit longer, slightly mre whimsical middles since they are short, and to some people, plain names. (suggestions for new mns welcome!):
[name]Rose[/name] [name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Anne[/name] [name]Penelope[/name]
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name]
[name]Grace[/name] [name]Penelope[/name]
[name]Rose[/name] - very, very nice, but to me it retains the most “old lady” feeling of this list. I still like it though, and it’s not strong. [name]Rosa[/name]?
[name]Anne[/name] - to me, the plainest on the list, but I do like it. It helps if your last name is something longer. [name]Anna[/name]?
[name]Mary[/name] - My favorite on this list. I heart [name]Mary[/name].
[name]Grace[/name] - very lovely, can’t really go wrong.
[name]Rose[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] - very pretty, just a tad on the strongly romantic side for better or worse?
[name]Anne[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] - great combo!
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name] - oh my gosh, these are wonderful together!
[name]Grace[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] - good, but I liked [name]Anne[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] better. [name]Grace[/name] [name]Rosemary[/name]? (Although that might rule out [name]Rose[/name] and [name]Mary[/name] for the future…although not necessarily)
I don’t consider those names plain but I would consider fresh mns. I think [name]Rose[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] is really nice. For [name]Mary[/name], I like [name]Mary[/name] [name]Alice[/name] combo.
I love seeing these names as firsts, particularly [name]Anne[/name] (gotta have that “e” at the end, though!) and [name]Rose[/name]. [name]Mary[/name]…I could sort of take it or leave it. It’s just sort of boring to me, but I like that it still gets use as a first. And I used to love [name]Grace[/name], but even as a first name, I’ve just gotten a little tired of it. So many Graces!
I love [name]Mary[/name], and really like [name]Anne[/name] too (but adore [name]Anna[/name]); they definitely seem like refreshing fns! I like [name]Rose[/name] too, but it is less refreshing at the moment and I much prefer [name]Rosa[/name]. [name]Grace[/name] does not seem refreshing at all to me, but instead very overused right now even as a fn.
I fully support the return of simple – in its Shaker form – names. I think your parings work extremely well, especially [name]Rose[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] and [name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name] (very, very PreRaphaelite!). I would include [name]Jane[/name], [name]Alice[/name], and [name]Frances[/name] in this category too.
I really like these names and your combinations. I think they are also handy if you have a surname which is somewhat long, complicated, hard to pronounce, etc. Your combinations however would make even the more common surnames pop-- i.e., [name]Mary[/name] [name]Smith[/name] may seem a little plain, but [name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name] [name]Smith[/name] is very nice.
I’m a big fan of these types of names. I have one daughter named [name]Mary[/name] and I also have an [name]Alice[/name] and a [name]Jane[/name] - which I both think qualify for this category. I think pairing them with a whimsical, longer middle name works really well. I love your combinations. I also like the nicknames that can come from some of these shorter first names: [name]Annie[/name], [name]Rosie[/name] … they are just adorable.
[name]Rose[/name]- I’m a huge [name]Golden[/name] Girls fan, so that’s all I can think of!
[name]Anne[/name]- I like [name]Anna[/name] a little better.
[name]Mary[/name]- My favorite, even if it were in the middle of a list of non-“plain” names. It has a beautiful sound.
[name]Grace[/name]- Probably my least favorite, but still pretty.
I love all of them except Mary. Rose, Grace, and Anne are lovely! They are common in the middle spot but not really as first names. Also, I like Anne so much better than Anna, contrary to most people.
I think all of your combos are nice especially Anne Penelope and Rose Juliet.
I love them! I think their simplicity is what makes them so stunning. [name]Grace[/name] [name]Penelope[/name], actually, has been stunning me. I’ve seen it on some of your posts, and I think it’s absolutely perfect. I’ve found other [name]Grace[/name] combos I’ve liked (I’m fairly set on using [name]Grace[/name] somewhere on my first daughter, in honor of my grandmother, so I’m always on the look-out for great combos!), but none of them compare to [name]Grace[/name] [name]Penelope[/name], to me. I love it completely. I also am quite smitten by [name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name], but I think in reality I would opt for [name]Helena[/name] [name]Mary[/name], as I’m a huge fan of [name]Helena[/name] and can see me using it more (especially for the sweet, chic, maybe tomboyish nn [name]Leni[/name]). I love [name]Anne[/name] nn [name]Annie[/name], but I’m not as crazy about [name]Anne[/name] [name]Penelope[/name]. I really like [name]Anne[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name] and [name]Anne[/name] [name]Emilia[/name], personally… [name]Anne[/name] [name]Olivia[/name], as well.
I’ve never been a fan of [name]Rose[/name], or any of its variations, really wherever I see it… not because it’s a filler MN but because I’ve just never seen the appeal. It’s always been overrated to me (the flowers as well as the name!), so if there’s one I don’t like, it would be [name]Rose[/name] [name]Juliet[/name], but honestly, that’s pretty stunning, too! I think the nn [name]Ro[/name] is interesting and kind of cool, although I doubt I would use it.
I think they’re all lovely names, and as a [name]Rose[/name] myself, I’m a bit biased lol. I think [name]Rose[/name] and [name]Grace[/name] are both lovely, gentle names, which [name]Mary[/name] and [name]Anne[/name] are strong and give good expectations when one hears them without seeming to belong to a certain “type.”
I think they are all very pretty and will become very popular again in the next 20-40yrs. Im not a fan of the modern versions - [name]Anna[/name], [name]Rosa[/name], [name]Gracey[/name].
[name]Rose[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] - mm not my style
[name]Anne[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] - love
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name] - doesnt flow well imo
[name]Grace[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] - like
…
Sugestions:
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Margaret[/name]
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Jane[/name]
[name]Grace[/name] [name]Laurel[/name]
[name]Grace[/name] [name]Lavinia[/name]
[name]Rose[/name] [name]Leatrice[/name]
[name]Rose[/name] [name]Virginia[/name]
[name]Anne[/name] [name]Allegra[/name]
[name]Anne[/name] [name]Patience[/name]
I really like ATD suggestion of [name]Anne[/name] [name]Olivia[/name]
These are very refreshing names! I personally plan to use [name]Anne[/name], and I think [name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name] is stunning. [name]Rose[/name] and [name]Grace[/name] are also lovely, though not as surprising.
I really like these simple, no-frills but decidedly feminine names, especially with something unexpected, unusual, even trendy in the middle. My own little girl is [name]Eve[/name] [name]Anastasia[/name] (prn 5-syllable way). I’ve been crushing on the star name [name]Bellatrix[/name] lately so I would suggest [name]Mary[/name] [name]Bellatrix[/name] to give her some unexpected spunk. [name]Helena[/name] is a lovely middle to pair with it but it’s overly classic for my own taste.
I don’t think [name]Anne[/name] and [name]Grace[/name] seem underused enough, but I think [name]Mary[/name] and [name]Rose[/name] are both refreshing as a fn. [name]Jane[/name] is my favorite of this category.
I love all of the names on your list! My favorites:
[name]Rose[/name] [name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Anne[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] (prefer [name]Anna[/name], but I love this [name]Anne[/name] combo)
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name]
[name]Grace[/name] [name]Catherine[/name], maybe, instead of [name]Penelope[/name]?
[name]Rose[/name]- absolutely beautiful. It’s my #1 girls name at the moment.
[name]Anne[/name]- I cant think of anything but conservative catholic school girls
[name]Mary[/name]- same as above. Sorry, I’m scarred for life LOL
[name]Grace[/name]- also gorgeous. Also my #1 a while ago
[name]Rose[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] - I think the flow would be better as [name]Juliet[/name] [name]Rose[/name]. [name]Rose[/name] to me is very over done though in either spot
[name]Anne[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] - I am not a big fan of [name]Anne[/name] but I really like it with [name]Penelope[/name]
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name] - I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Mary[/name]! I would prefer [name]Mary[/name] [name]Elena[/name] but this is nice as well
[name]Grace[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] - I love [name]Grace[/name] but I like [name]Penelope[/name] better with [name]Anne[/name]. What about [name]Grace[/name] [name]Juliet[/name]?
[name]Rose[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] - beautiful
[name]Anne[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] - I’m from the deep south & will call her by both names.
[name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name] - I would do it again with this one, too.
[name]Grace[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] - gorgeous
I also am quite smitten by [name]Mary[/name] [name]Helena[/name], but I think in reality I would opt for [name]Helena[/name] [name]Mary[/name], as I’m a huge fan of [name]Helena[/name] and can see me using it more (especially for the sweet, chic, maybe tomboyish nn [name]Leni[/name]). I love [name]Anne[/name] nn [name]Annie[/name], but I’m not as crazy about [name]Anne[/name] [name]Penelope[/name]. I really like [name]Anne[/name] [name]Evangeline[/name] and [name]Anne[/name] [name]Emilia[/name], personally… [name]Anne[/name] [name]Olivia[/name], as well.