Opinions on these recently unearthed classical names

[name_u]Love[/name_u] Lysandra!! [name_f]Phaedra[/name_f] and [name_f]Sylvana[/name_f] are cute too. The only one I dont like is Domittile. The rest are ok imo.

[name_f]Allaire[/name_f]: I think this is beautiful, but a little “out there” as far as practical usability.
Cyprienne: This sounds very science-fictiony to me, can’t picture it on a person [name_m]IRL[/name_m].
Cyprine: Same as above, though slightly more usable.
[name_f]Cyra[/name_f]: This is gorgeous, my favorite of the list.
[name_f]Domitille[/name_f]: I tend not to like names starting with [name_m]Dom[/name_m]-…this seems heavy and unwieldy as a name.
[name_f]Honora[/name_f]: I would have pronounced like like uh-[name_f]NOR[/name_f]-a ([name_f]Annora[/name_f])
[name_f]Lucilla[/name_f]: Beautiful, my second favorite.
Lysandra: I like this one too, but not as much as the male [name_m]Lysander[/name_m] (which I love). I think the “sandra” part of the name is aging this a bit for me and making it seem dated.
[name_f]Marina[/name_f]: A lovely name. Old-fashioned without sounding it.
Myrrine: I don’t think this one is usable or would ever be pronounced correctly on the first try.
[name_f]Nereida[/name_f]: Not too fond of this one, not sure why exactly but it doesn’t roll off the tongue for me.
[name_f]Phaedra[/name_f]: Really like this one a lot.
Philonella: ehh, this one’s just okay
[name_f]Sylvana[/name_f]/[name_f]Silvana[/name_f]: I like this one, also you could use the nn [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] which is one of my favorite girl names.

I like:

[name_f]Honora[/name_f]
[name_f]Marina[/name_f]
[name_f]Nereida[/name_f]
[name_f]Phaedra[/name_f]
[name_f]Allaire[/name_f]

I think all these names are usable, except for maybe Cyprienne and Myrrine, as their spellings look a little confusing.
[name_f]Marina[/name_f] is my absolute favorite, it sounds very fresh, offbeat and feminine but also is not too frilly or complicated and is easy to spell and pronounce. To my mind, it sounds perfect with [name_u]Antoine[/name_u] and [name_f]Cassia[/name_f], the same stylish European feel. I know two Marinas, and they wear it very well.
I also like the elegant [name_f]Honora[/name_f] and the exotic [name_f]Sylvana[/name_f]. They are both quite familiar and have options of more down-to-earth nicknames of [name_f]Nora[/name_f] and [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] if that matters to you. I like your list and naming style a lot.

[name_u]Love[/name_u] Lysandra, [name_f]Marina[/name_f] and [name_f]Sylvana[/name_f]/[name_f]Silvana[/name_f]. I like [name_f]Allaire[/name_f], [name_f]Cyra[/name_f] and [name_f]Nereida[/name_f].

Out of these names if I were to use one it would be [name_f]Sylvana[/name_f].

I love Philonella! [name_f]Sylvana[/name_f], [name_f]Lucilla[/name_f] and [name_f]Marina[/name_f] are lovely too.

Thanks everyone, this has been extremely helpful. I’ve even amended my signature. :slight_smile:

[name_f]Allaire[/name_f]: nice

Cyprienne: NMS

Cyprine: attractive

[name_f]Cyra[/name_f]: interesting verging on lovely

[name_f]Domitille[/name_f]: quirky & fun… and pretty like chantilly lace

[name_f]Honora[/name_f] (pronounced ah-KNOW-ra): NMS, prefer [name_f]Honor[/name_f]

[name_f]Lucilla[/name_f] (rhymes with “kill a”; [name_m]Roman[/name_m] name meaning ‘light’: NMS

Lysandra: tongue twister…

[name_f]Marina[/name_f]: nice

Myrrine: ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!

[name_f]Nereida[/name_f]: nice imagery, not fond of sound…

[name_f]Phaedra[/name_f]: gorgeous sound, look and meaning but too trendoid

Philonella: novel and fresh…

[name_f]Sylvana[/name_f]/[name_f]Silvana[/name_f]: nice imagery, but NMS

Cheers :slight_smile:

[name_f]Allaire[/name_f]: It makes me think of an elegant [name_m]French[/name_m] woman from the 20’s, although I don’t really know why. There’s a gamine air to it, but with some added sophistication.

Cyprienne: I think this could really work, especially given it similarity to the popular/familiar [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f]. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you pronounce it with the stress at front or the end?

Cyprine: Although this one is a bit more straight forward than Cyprienne, I think I like Cyprienne a bit better. Both are very pretty though

[name_f]Cyra[/name_f]: I like this one too, although I think it will be mispronounced as SEE-ruh quite a bit.

[name_f]Domitille[/name_f]: This is definitely not my favorite from your list, especially with your commentary. It could make an interesting middle if it holds some special meaning for you

[name_f]Honora[/name_f]: This is definitely lovely, but less exciting than others on your list. She’s a bit more buttoned up to me.

[name_f]Lucilla[/name_f]: Stately and refined. This brings me back to Latin class! The ‘cill’ sound isn’t my favorite, but it’s a very nice name that would strikes a nice fit-in/stand-out feeling. She’ll probably end up getting called [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] though, so that would be something to consider.

Lysandra: I adore this. [name_f]Lysa[/name_f] (LYE-suh) would make a nice nn (I would try to stay clear of [name_u]Sandy[/name_u] or [name_f]Sandra[/name_f]).

[name_f]Marina[/name_f]: More familiar, but beautiful. If I didn’t grow up in SF, it would be on my own list :slight_smile:

Myrrine: I prefer [name_f]Marina[/name_f] - it’s more sleek.

[name_f]Nereida[/name_f]: I love the blue-green imagery that this conjures. I actually really like this with your other children’s names!

[name_f]Phaedra[/name_f]: It’s a nice name, but you have nicer. And one’s with better namesakes.

Philonella: I love the history, but I think its better in the middle.

[name_f]Sylvana[/name_f]/[name_f]Silvana[/name_f]: Gorgeous. Sleek and sophisticated.

Here’s a list ordering them for first names. It may change a bit if I were ordering them as names in general (first
Lysandra
[name_f]Marina[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvana[/name_f]/[name_f]Silvana[/name_f]
[name_f]Nereida[/name_f]
[name_f]Allaire[/name_f]
[name_f]Cyra[/name_f]
[name_f]Honora[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucilla[/name_f]
Cyprienne
Cyprine
Philonella
[name_f]Phaedra[/name_f]
Myrrine
[name_f]Domitille[/name_f]

[name_f]Allaire[/name_f]: A nice, unfamiliar name, especially when pronounced with the [name_m]French[/name_m] back-of-the-throat sort of R.

Cyprienne: It sounds bizarre to me as “SIGH-pree-enn”, but pronounced “see-PREE-enn”, I think it’s a very pretty name.

Cyprine: I’m not keen on it.

[name_f]Cyra[/name_f]: Nice!

[name_f]Domitille[/name_f]: It does carry a bit of a snobby vibe, but well away from [name_f]France[/name_f] it could work well.

[name_f]Honora[/name_f]: I automatically pronounce it “on-OR-a”. I am not awfully keen on it, but that’s just a matter of personal taste.

[name_f]Lucilla[/name_f]: I prefer simpler names, but it’s very pretty.

Lysandra: [name_f]Lovely[/name_f]! It has a plethora of diminutive possibilities and a beautiful sound, but it is a tiny bit extravagant and would make a bit too much of a statement for me to actually use it.

[name_f]Marina[/name_f]: This name is not really my style, but it’s very nice.

Myrrine: [name_f]Lovely[/name_f]! Although the pronunciation is slightly puzzling I don’t think it is a problem.

[name_f]Nereida[/name_f]: Beautiful.

[name_f]Phaedra[/name_f]: Very pretty and very usable.

Philonella: I’m not too keen on the “nella” sound at the end, although I love many other [name_m]Philo[/name_m] names, including [name_f]Philomela[/name_f].

[name_f]Sylvana[/name_f]/[name_f]Silvana[/name_f]: I can see that this name is beautiful, but I can’t like it because I have known a [name_m]Sylvanus[/name_m], and I was always afraid of him, and I can only think of him when I hear this name.

[name_f]Honora[/name_f], [name_f]Phaedra[/name_f], and [name_f]Sylvana[/name_f] are also on my list. I would love to meet any child named any of the others on your list, but I wouldn’t bring myself to using them myself, I don’t think.