Our naming journey finally begins!

Girl Names
1

It is so exciting to start my own naming journey! We just found out we have a little bundle, and of course I am anxious to see what you berries think of our names. I have discussed names on the boards previously but we finally got the list down to a few. Girl names are so much harder! Any new suggestions or opinions on our list would be great… My only concern is I feel [name]Penelope[/name] is becoming too popular what do you think?

[name]Hazel[/name] [name]Isadora[/name]
[name]Hazel[/name] [name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Penelope[/name] [name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Penelope[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name]
[name]Penelope[/name] [name]June[/name]
[name]Clementine[/name] [name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Willa[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name]

Thanks in advance!

2

[name]Penelope[/name] and [name]Hazel[/name] are similar in terms of popularity, but I would personally be more pleased to see a little girl named [name]Penelope[/name] than [name]Hazel[/name], plus you can always have a unique nickname if you are into that.
I like [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name], its extravagantly beautiful.
I also really love both [name]Clementine[/name] and [name]Willa[/name], but love [name]Willa[/name] a bit more.
[name]Willa[/name] [name]Clementine[/name] would be fab!

3

ALL YOUR FIRST NAMES ARE POPULAR OR TRENDY, not just [name]Penelope[/name] which i’d say is actually the least of them

[name]Hazel[/name] [name]Isadora[/name] - both trendy
[name]Hazel[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] - trendy
[name]Penelope[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] - popular
[name]Penelope[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name] - popular
[name]Penelope[/name] [name]June[/name] - popular
[name]Clementine[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] - trendy
[name]Willa[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name] - Hollywood and popular

other first name options:

  • [name]Aveline[/name] ([name]Hazel[/name]'s French variation)
  • [name]Penny[/name], [name]Penelopa[/name], [name]Penna[/name]
  • [name]Clemenza[/name], and when i think of alternatives to [name]Clementine[/name] i always think of Persimmon which im seeing as a lovely fruit name but mix of [name]Persephone[/name] & [name]Simone[/name]. ([name]Persephone[/name] could even be an alternative to [name]Penelope[/name])
  • [name]Winnie[/name] (which is getting popular, but has lots of olden charm, like [name]Clementine[/name] but less used)

middle names:
[name]Julietta[/name]
Rosavine, [name]Rosalie[/name]
[name]Junia[/name], [name]Junina[/name]
[name]Yevette[/name], [name]Guinivive[/name]/[name]Gwenevieve[/name], [name]Ginevra[/name]

4

I love [name]Hazel[/name] but it’s only a little behind [name]Penelope[/name] in terms of popularity, and I feel like I hear [name]Penelope[/name] everywhere lately. My favorites are definitely [name]Clementine[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] & [name]Willa[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name].

5

In my opinion [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] is perfection. I am not sure where you live, but I have not met a little [name]Penelope[/name] or [name]Hazel[/name] here.

6

I live in [name]New[/name] [name]York[/name] and I have not met a [name]Hazel[/name], [name]Penelope[/name], nor [name]Willa[/name]. I also read the birth announcements and not one has popped up. I don’t really count NB since a lot of names seem trendy on here but in the real world I have never met any. So I try to think that way.

7

[name]Clementine[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] is gorgeous.

8

silverr- Thank you! I can not tell which I like better for middle [name]Juliet[/name] or [name]Rosalind[/name] with [name]Penelope[/name]. [name]June[/name] may be out. I don’t know if m y boyfriend would go for [name]Willa[/name] [name]Clementine[/name] but it does not hurt to ask!

orphanedhanyou - I have considered [name]Julietta[/name] since my mothers grandmothers name was that except spelt the Italian way but not really loving it. Girl names are super hard I do not love any.

witchgreens- Thank you!

corajsb- [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] is my boyfriends favorite combo :slight_smile: and like i said in the post above I live in NY and have not come across any.

9

rkrd- Thank you!

10

[name]Clementine[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] is just adorable.

[name]Penelope[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name] & [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] are lovely. You can’t go wrong with any of these three combos!

11

Ooh, yay! I really like all of your names, but my favourite is [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Juliet[/name]. You’re right, [name]Penelope[/name] has become more popular lately, but I don’t think it’s too popular. I’m still yet to meet a [name]Penelope[/name].

12

@sarah- I am just nervous it will be popular, although like you said I have never met one. And he loves [name]Penelope[/name]. He has been hooked on that one and [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Juliet[/name]. When I like [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name] and [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Isadora[/name]. lol

14

I’m not too familiar with the names popularity in [name]America[/name], but I looked them up and none of them are in the top 100. I understand why you might be a little concerned about [name]Penelope[/name] as it’s jumped up the list pretty speedily, but I don’t think it’s a big deal. [name]Vanessa[/name]'s more popular than [name]Penelope[/name]! I think people think [name]Penelope[/name]'s more popular than it is because of pop culture.

From your list I really love [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name] and [name]Penelope[/name] [name]June[/name]. I love [name]Clementine[/name], but I don’t like it too much with [name]Juliet[/name]. [name]Clementine[/name] [name]June[/name], [name]Clementine[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name]? [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Isadora[/name] is really pretty as well. Good list all in all.

Suggestions (not because you need 'em, but because you asked):
[name]Alice[/name]
[name]Aurora[/name]
[name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Bianca[/name]
[name]Camilla[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Clarissa[/name]
[name]Clementina[/name]
[name]Cornelia[/name]
[name]Cressida[/name]
[name]Eugenie[/name]
[name]Florence[/name]
[name]Gwendoline[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Leona[/name]
[name]Mariana[/name]
[name]Marianne[/name]
[name]Miranda[/name]
[name]Perdita[/name]
[name]Portia[/name]
[name]Rosemary[/name]
[name]Rosina[/name]
[name]Selina[/name]
[name]Sylvia[/name]
[name]Tabitha[/name]
[name]Vanessa[/name]
[name]Violetta[/name]

15

All your options are quite nice. I agree, all popularity rankings do is give you a gauge. If you don’t know any babies with a name (and taking a step further don’t read any/many birth announcements with it) then it’s not overwhelming in your area. But nothing really ever fully guarantees your baby will or won’t share their name with a local peer. It can be more or less likely, but not certain. I grew up a [name]Jessica[/name] in the 1980s and never had to be [name]Jessica[/name] B. etc.

What concerns me personally more is whether a name will seem trendy and forever tied to one time, like many would argue [name]Jessica[/name] is (I would argue that’s not the whole story, but see the point). I’m not sure [name]Penelope[/name]/[name]Hazel[/name]/[name]Willa[/name] are…it’s really something only time can tell.

The nice thing about [name]Penelope[/name] is that if she is one of a few at her school or if it does come to feel a little dated there are so many nickname options to mix it up.

16

I really like [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] and [name]Willa[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name]. I’m not a fan of [name]Clementine[/name] or [name]Penelope[/name].

17

Agree 100%. Names that are popular on NameBerry are often very unpopular in reality. I won’t comment on the actual popularity of names because I’m not in the US and I have absolutely no idea. Try not to use the SSA charts though, because that’s for a whole country - try to base it on people you know. (:

And concerning the poster that thinks all of your choices are trendy - ignore it. My understanding is that “trendy” constitutes something like [name]Raelyn[/name] or the many “[name]Aiden[/name]” names. Plus, a “trendy” name is one that will go in and out of fashion very quickly. Most of your names are timeless, so they won’t be trendy at all.

I actually really love all of your choices! You can’t go wrong with any of them. My favourite is probably [name]Penelope[/name] [name]June[/name], though.

18

Ok here are the stats for you:

[name]Hazel[/name]: #175 in 2012, #209 in 2011, #264 in 2010

[name]Penelope[/name]: #125 in 2012, #169 in 2011, #200 in 2010

[name]Clementine[/name]: outside the Top 1000

[name]Willa[/name]: #723 in 2012, #983 in 2011, #952 in 2010 (first year to make Top 1000)

So you can see that all of these names are gaining: [name]Hazel[/name] fastest, then [name]Penelope[/name], then [name]Willa[/name]; I don’t know how quickly [name]Clementine[/name] is gaining since I didn’t go digging in that data. Still, [name]Ottilie[/name] is right - [name]Vanessa[/name] is ranked higher than [name]Penelope[/name], along with (ranking higher as we go) [name]Natalia[/name], [name]Destiny[/name], [name]Nicole[/name], [name]Paisley[/name], [name]Madeline[/name], [name]Piper[/name], [name]Violet[/name], [name]Aria[/name], [name]Kimberly[/name], [name]Kennedy[/name], [name]Naomi[/name], [name]Caroline[/name], [name]Bailey[/name], [name]Melanie[/name], [name]Faith[/name], [name]Serenity[/name], [name]Riley[/name], [name]Nevaeh[/name] & [name]Alexis[/name]. I think it’s really your call. If popularity is going to deter you then there you have the real-life numbers and the perspective of some other names to make an informed decision.

From your list, I like:
[name]Hazel[/name] [name]Isadora[/name]
[name]Penelope[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name]
[name]Penelope[/name] [name]June[/name]
[name]Willa[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name]

[name]Clementine[/name] [name]Juliet[/name] just feels clunky to me. Maybe [name]Clementine[/name] [name]Willa[/name], [name]Clementine[/name] [name]June[/name]? The only name I think [name]Juliet[/name] really works with is [name]Willa[/name], for [name]Willa[/name] [name]Juliet[/name], though I like [name]Willa[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name] much better. [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name] would be very pretty, too.

19

I really like [name]Penelope[/name] [name]June[/name] or [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Isadora[/name] best for flow. I think [name]Willa[/name] would be a nice choice too, though perhaps something like [name]Willa[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] or [name]Willa[/name] [name]June[/name] would work better?

My personal favorites from your list would be [name]Isadora[/name] and [name]Juliet[/name] (followed by [name]Genevieve[/name], [name]Willa[/name], [name]Penelope[/name], and [name]Hazel[/name]). I just wanted to say that in my area as well, I haven’t found [name]Penelope[/name] to be very popular. I think [name]Hazel[/name] is easily the most popular name on your list, but still quite nice.
[name]Ottilie[/name] had some great suggestions, so I’ll wait for feedback on those before I throw out any more, but I’ll be happy to help if you like! Girls names are totally not my forte either so I completely understand how you feel, but you have some lovely ones so far. =]

20

I’m not a huge fan of [name]Hazel[/name] or [name]Penelope[/name] (and yes, [name]Penelope[/name] is becoming very popular since a few celebrities have named their children that). Of your first name options, I like [name]Clementine[/name] best. [name]Clementine[/name] [name]Isadora[/name] is adorable, as is [name]Juliet[/name] [name]Clementine[/name], [name]Clementine[/name] [name]Hazel[/name], [name]Clementine[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name] and [name]Rosalind[/name] [name]Juliet[/name].

21

tfzolghadr- I never noticed that until you pointed it out. My top [name]Hazel[/name] combo is [name]Isadora[/name]. My boyfriend likes [name]Juliet[/name] but I am not married to using family names. I appreciate the breakdown and [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name] is definitely my favorite [name]Penelope[/name] combo I think.

ottilie- Thanks [name]Ott[/name]! I can agree with that. And NB really makes it seem like all the names you choose are popular mind you I have never met any. I do know a lot of Vanessas though. I think [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name] has one the vote for [name]Penelope[/name] combos. I just swoon over it. I love the romantic feel of it. I do like the suggestion of [name]Clementina[/name] but not sure he would go for it. And I shockingly like [name]Portia[/name] off your list too along with [name]Violetta[/name]. Thank you for throwing some suggestions in there!

jesba- My sisters name is [name]Jessica[/name] lol my mom chose it and then it became so popular. So she was always know as [name]Jessica[/name] S. But I don’t think these names would do that except like you said time will tell. I love the NN [name]Poppy[/name] for [name]Penelope[/name], penny is growing on me as well but not as much.

sapphires- Thank you! That is what I have learned I do not mind looking through birth announcements its nice to see what is floating around a lot of Olivias, Sophias, [name]Aidan[/name] etc.

saracita00- Thank you for the stats. I think I am concerned about popularity but I think they fact I just love the names over rides that. I wont name a child just to have an unsual cool name. If I came across them then of course but I can not seem to find any other girl names I like and my boyfriend approves. We did have [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Genevieve[/name] on the list but he did not like. The ones we have now are ones he likes and he can see on our child. Plus it is like pulling teeth to discuss names lol