Phonetic trends in the names you love?

General Name Discussion
1

I’ve just now come to realize just how many of my favorite names (in my signature and out of my signature) contain the letter M in a very noticeable way. It seems like the majority of names I’m drawn to contains the letter M! It’s gotten to the point where I’m deliberately trying to find names I love that don’t contain M, because there’s only so much matchiness that I could take when it comes to combos and potential future sibling names!

For example, for girls, I love
[name_f]Paloma[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f]
[name_f]Neoma[/name_f]
[name_f]Cosima[/name_f]
[name_f]Magdalen[/name_f]
[name_f]Clarimond[/name_f]
[name_f]Amarantha[/name_f]
[name_f]Miriam[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]
[name_f]Esme[/name_f]

And for guys I’m consistently drawn to
[name_m]Solomon[/name_m]
[name_m]Matteo[/name_m]
[name_m]Matthias[/name_m]
[name_m]Malcolm[/name_m]
[name_m]Anselm[/name_m]
[name_m]Colum[/name_m]
[name_m]Esmond[/name_m]
[name_m]Casimir[/name_m]
[name_m]Vikram[/name_m]

I’m in love with all of these names more than any others, ([name_m]Oscar[/name_m] and [name_f]Viveca[/name_f] being the only true exceptions), but I find it hard to make enough combos that don’t sound awash with "M"s.

Has anyone else noticed a phonetic trend in the names they love? Is it worth trying to get out of this “phonetic slump”?
Am I the only one infatuated with “M” names?

2

I often admire your signature @roseofjune, but have never noticed this before, ha! I only discovered a couple days ago that so many of my favourites contain a hard ‘s’ sound ([name_f]Isolde[/name_f], Isola, [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f], [name_f]Susannah[/name_f] and Shosanna, [name_u]Auguste[/name_u], [name_m]Samuel[/name_m], [name_m]Aengus[/name_m]), and I even asked a question within a forum, asking for even more names w/ an ‘s’ sound! I don’t think you need to find names w/o m’s, your names are só lovely as they are, and I for one have never noticed, I even think w/ them sharing a letter, they sound even lovelier together as a sibset! :slight_smile:

3

Interesting! I never noticed that before…it isn’t too obvious because it isn’t like your signature consists of [name_m]Matthew[/name_m], [name_m]Marcus[/name_m], [name_u]Madison[/name_u], [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], and [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]. The M’s are sort of snuck in random places in the names you like, which could really work in your favor if you have to name multiple children :slight_smile: I don’t see it as a slump you need to abandon. It is a trend that is not too obvious and that you have a whole list of names that would continue it without having to scramble to find another one that would work.

For me, I suppose the letter is A. [name_f]Ada[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f], [name_m]Callum[/name_m], [name_m]Dawson[/name_m], [name_f]Alexa[/name_f]…so many names that I like contain an A in there somewhere. I’m not fully sure why…it’s just a great letter, I suppose lol. Maybe I got it from my mom…all of her biological daughters’ names end in the letter A. Come to think of it, all of us girls have A’s in our names…

4

I’m attracted to certain sounds and patterns too… for girls’ names, T and O seem to have some influence:

[name_f]Elisabet[/name_f] nn Leto
[name_f]Marguerite[/name_f] nn [name_f]Margot[/name_f]
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] {[name_m]French[/name_m] prn.} nn [name_u]Cato[/name_u]
[name_f]Antonia[/name_f]
Ombeline
[name_f]Paloma[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]
Virgo
[name_f]Pomeline[/name_f]

For boys’ names it’s more elusive. P names are the strongest pattern:

[name_u]Percy[/name_u]
[name_m]Peregrine[/name_m]
[name_m]Piers[/name_m]
[name_m]Pip[/name_m]

Though S sounds are also compelling:

[name_m]Fox[/name_m]
[name_m]Balthasar[/name_m]
[name_u]Percy[/name_u]
[name_u]Darcy[/name_u]
St [name_m]John[/name_m]
[name_m]Ignatius[/name_m]

The force is strong with phonetics. It’s no use escaping; I always come back.

5

For me it’s the long I sound. Almost every name with the long I sound I adore, and have to limit the number I allow in my sibsets

[name_m]Milo[/name_m]
[name_m]Silas[/name_m]
[name_m]Tobias[/name_m]
[name_u]Elias[/name_u]
[name_u]Riley[/name_u]
[name_u]Orion[/name_u]
[name_m]Nikolai[/name_m]
[name_m]Josiah[/name_m]
[name_u]Skyler[/name_u]

[name_f]Kaia[/name_f]
[name_f]Delilah[/name_f]
[name_f]Lila[/name_f]
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f]
[name_f]Isla[/name_f]
[name_f]Lorelei[/name_f]
[name_f]Kailani[/name_f]
[name_f]Maia[/name_f]
[name_f]Violet[/name_f]
[name_f]Viola[/name_f]

I also like the letters O, and X for boys, and L and V for girls

6

@shosanna: Thank you for saying that; I definitely appreciate the reassurance. I do make an effort to cherry-pick the M names that I feature, but every now and then I worry, haha!

And it’s so fascinating to hear everyone’s perspectives and observations on the matter! It’s neat to think that there is an underlying pattern in our favorites that we are sometimes unaware of.

7

For girls, I tend to like the -ah sound at the end of the name. For boys, I love names the end in -ik ([name_m]Rick[/name_m] is the only exception that comes to mind).

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a pattern. We tend to like certain sounds or letters over others.

8

For girls I’m obsessed with -ina or -lia or -elle endings. Boys are all over the place. I am drawn to O endings, -er or -an/en endings I suppose.

9

Oh, I’m definitely drawn to certain phonetics in names.

  • ph: [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f], [name_f]Theophania[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f], [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], [name_f]Euphemia[/name_f], [name_f]Philomena[/name_f], [name_f]Persephone[/name_f]. [name_f]Stephania[/name_f], [name_m]Joseph[/name_m]/ine, [name_m]Raphael[/name_m], [name_m]Ephraim[/name_m], [name_m]Christopher[/name_m], [name_m]Philip[/name_m], etc. (We’re actually using -ph as a theme in our daughters’ names.)

Greek girls’ names that end with -e: [name_f]Zoe[/name_f], [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f], [name_f]Calliope[/name_f], [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f], [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], [name_f]Chloe[/name_f], [name_f]Danae[/name_f], [name_f]Hermione[/name_f], [name_f]Selene[/name_f], Euphrosyne (which has both!), [name_f]Xanthe[/name_f], Chysanthe, [name_f]Evadne[/name_f], [name_f]Thisbe[/name_f].

  • ic: [name_f]Veronica[/name_f], [name_m]Nicholas[/name_m], [name_m]Dominic[/name_m], [name_m]Victor[/name_m]/ia, [name_f]Angelica[/name_f], [name_m]Frederick[/name_m], [name_m]Patrick[/name_m], [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] (close enough, and another Ph-!).

V: [name_f]Veronica[/name_f], Victori/a, [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f], [name_u]Vesper[/name_u], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Eve[/name_f], [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], [name_f]Avalon[/name_f], [name_f]Octavia[/name_f], [name_u]Valentine[/name_u], [name_m]Silvan[/name_m]/[name_f]Silvia[/name_f], [name_f]Verity[/name_f], [name_f]Violet[/name_f]/ta, [name_f]Viola[/name_f], [name_f]Zinovia[/name_f], [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f], Verdandi, [name_f]Evgenia[/name_f], [name_f]Elizaveta[/name_f], [name_m]Oliver[/name_m], [name_m]David[/name_m], [name_u]Evan[/name_u], [name_m]Trevor[/name_m], [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m], etc.

As for name endings, I’m drawn mostly to -e (as noted above), -ia, -ine/-ina, -ai, and -el/le/ella.

10

I realized that I really like names that have a “b” in them, but not usually at the beginning (though [name_f]Blythe[/name_f] is my favorite girl name, and [name_f]Britta[/name_f] I like as well):

[name_f]Sybil[/name_f]
[name_f]Thisbe[/name_f]
[name_f]Mirabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Niobe[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabine[/name_f]

[name_m]Caleb[/name_m]
[name_m]Jacob[/name_m]
[name_m]Abel[/name_m]
[name_u]Abbott[/name_u]
[name_m]Eben[/name_m]
[name_m]Aubin[/name_m]
[name_m]Cabell[/name_m]

11

I love Vs in girl names: [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_f]Viola[/name_f], [name_f]Ziva[/name_f], [name_f]Nava[/name_f], [name_f]Neve[/name_f], [name_u]Vivian[/name_u], [name_f]Violet[/name_f], [name_u]Avery[/name_u], [name_f]Evie[/name_f], [name_f]Ivy[/name_f], [name_f]Mavis[/name_f]

Also love Ls in girl names: [name_f]Thalia[/name_f], [name_f]Viola[/name_f], [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f], Saela, [name_f]Calista[/name_f], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f], Azula, [name_f]Nola[/name_f], [name_f]Lucia[/name_f], [name_f]Lila[/name_f]

And the een sound: [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] (I use the [name_m]French[/name_m] pn.), [name_f]Sabrina[/name_f], [name_f]Adelina[/name_f], [name_f]Athena[/name_f], [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f]

For boys, I love the N-ending trend: [name_m]Nolan[/name_m], [name_m]Torin[/name_m], [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m], [name_u]Flynn[/name_u], [name_m]Fabian[/name_m], [name_m]Caspian[/name_m]

I also love a good R sound for boys: [name_m]Archer[/name_m], [name_m]Torin[/name_m], [name_m]Conrad[/name_m], [name_u]Percy[/name_u], [name_m]Castor[/name_m], [name_u]Rory[/name_u], [name_m]Osiris[/name_m], [name_m]Emrys[/name_m]