I have my heart set on pairing more unusual middles with a slightly safer first name for my future kids, and would love fresh suggestions - particularly those with a fantasy-esque feel, from mythology, Celtic or Norse origin. I’ve already got a list going, so anything that fits my vibe would be appreciated!
What I have so far:
[name_f]Ceridwen[/name_f]
[name_f]Niamh[/name_f]
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f] (would use this up front if it weren’t for [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] being an inevitable nickname, and I don’t like [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] either, or any diminutives ending in -ie really)
[name_f]Fionnuala[/name_f]
[name_f]Cerys[/name_f]
[name_f]Brynja[/name_f]
[name_f]Melisande[/name_f]
[name_f]Corisande[/name_f]
[name_f]Nerys[/name_f]
[name_f]Olwen[/name_f]
[name_f]Azura[/name_f]
[name_f]Erinna[/name_f]
[name_f]Elestren[/name_f]
[name_f]Ferelith[/name_f]
[name_f]Liadan[/name_f]
[name_f]Illyria[/name_f]
[name_u]Endellion[/name_u]
[name_f]Guinevere[/name_f]
Haha, no probs. I specifically said I don’t want [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] either, the thought of having an [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] go by anything but her full name puts me right off using it up front. Assuming you just skimmed over my post? I have a separate list of first names too if that helps.
These are so cool. I’m thinking maybe
[name_f]Clarisse[/name_f]
Elouine (You had this on your list, but different spelling)
[name_f]Noemi[/name_f]
[name_f]Zella[/name_f]
[name_f]Ariadne[/name_f]
Farore
[name_f]Calla[/name_f]
[name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f] (I think this is so regal, but you said you don’t like -ie nicknames and this has [name_f]Cassie[/name_f])
[name_f]Aurora[/name_f]
[name_f]Faye[/name_f]
[name_f]Mare[/name_f]
Cailleach
[name_f]Liviana[/name_f]
These aren’t exactly your style, but it’s what I could come up with. [name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps!
@miraaaaaaaa - [name_f]Liviana[/name_f] is pretty cool! I’m less concerned about unwanted nicknames if it’s in the middle, but even then I can’t say I’m super fond of [name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f]. Considered [name_f]Faye[/name_f] before but one syllable middle names are a bit iffy for me since a lot of them seem quite filler, particularly if I’m going for a more conventional first name (e.g. [name_f]Isabel[/name_f] [name_f]Faye[/name_f] or [name_f]Laura[/name_f] [name_f]Faye[/name_f] sound a bit bland to me).
@LoneStar - [name_f]Freya[/name_f] is my #1 choice for a future daughter’s first name! I like the idea of [name_f]Valkyrie[/name_f] but it feels like “not a name” to me, since it isn’t the name of an individual mythological figure but rather a type of mythical being IYKWIM. [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] is a bit too [name_u]Harry[/name_u] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] for me (not a huge fan) and [name_f]Circe[/name_f] reminds me of Game of Thrones (I know it’s spelled differently but I’m also not a huge fan, and she was a horrible character). I’ve considered [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] but maybe as a first name since it’s fairly easy to spell/pronounce and same issue as [name_f]Faye[/name_f] with the whole single syllable thing. The rest are more cat name than human name territory to me - [name_f]Nyx[/name_f] in particular seems a lot more fitting for a black cat than a person.
(another post because I can only tag 2 people at a time even though I’ve been on NB for a while this new layout is still confusing to me!)
@LibelluleClaire - awesome list! There are definitely a few on there I can say I like for certain, others are certainly interesting but there’s so little info on them, on NB or otherwise. Like Amarance - sounds cool, but all I get when I google it is a surname and a company name, no definitive source on it as a first name.
@Greyblue - ooh, I’d forgotten about [name_f]Delyth[/name_f] and [name_f]Embla[/name_f]! I had them on my old list which I’ve since lost, and I love [name_f]Nerissa[/name_f] and [name_f]Elswyth[/name_f] too. [name_f]Elsinore[/name_f] looks nice but the whole place name thing does kind of put me off, since personally I’m not a fan of just using random place names that hold no personal significance.
Yep, most of them came from old census records/ baptismal records/ marriage records etc. so they do have history of usage just not much (Like Amarance came from an early 1900 [name_m]Quebec[/name_m] census) and I have done research on them but most are pretty obscure (however that’s what I prefer, obscure but not made up)
even though I’ve been on NB for a while this new layout is still confusing to me!)