Please Help with Names for Girls, Preferably Beginning with the Letter "S"

Girl Names
1

Hello Berries,

I am hoping to rely on your kindness, creativity and collective wisdom to assist my family in selecting a name for our second daughter.

We are currently 21 weeks pregnant and have been thrown for a loop since discovering we are expecting a girl. We had the perfect boy’s name picked out during our first pregnancy and were really hoping to use it this time around, but nature has other intentions!

Our oldest daughter’s name is [name]Ariel[/name] [name]Goldie[/name] (her middle name honours my husband’s Bubbie) and we’re trying to avoid first names that sound too similar when spoken together (such as [name]Orly[/name]). Our last name begins with the letter G.

We’re Jewish and we would prefer if the first and middle names could be Hebrew or Yiddish in origin, however we are open to any and all suggestions from other cultures.

We would like to honour my late father-in-law, [name]Saul[/name] as well as potentially an Auntie [name]Sylvia[/name] who is recently deceased. However, we’re having a lot of trouble with the letter “S”…

In my many months of searching I can find only two potentially usable names that start with this letter: [name]Shoshana[/name] (which I love but my husband hates due to negative association, plus it’s a bit of a mouthful) and [name]Sarah[/name], which is too common and which I feel no connection to.

I realize we could use either as a middle name or a Hebrew name, but we were hoping to love our second daughter’s name as much as we do our first.

I’ve been driving myself crazy trying to test names out on the baby-to-be - it’s challenging to know she’s a “she”, yet I still have no lovely name to call her by…

Names I love (but which my husband does not) include:

[name]Avital[/name]
[name]Ayelet[/name]
[name]Hadassah[/name]
[name]Jemima[/name]
Kinneret
[name]Yael[/name]

We don’t mind Tzipporah (love Tzipi as a nickname), [name]Carmel[/name] (I would prefer [name]Carmela[/name], but the association with the Sopranos is too strong). We also don’t mind [name]Eden[/name], but we don’t like the nickname [name]Edie[/name] (and we would like to have a nice nickname, if possible).

Also, my parents aren’t Jewish and have trouble pronouncing [name]Ariel[/name], so ease of pronunciation is a factor as well.

I know I’m overthinking this and I wish I could be less picky, but a meaningful name is so important and I’m hopeful you fellow name nerds will understand.

I can’t wait to see your suggestions and thank you all so very much for your help.

3

[name]How[/name] about…

[name]Sarai[/name]
[name]Simona[/name]
[name]Shayna[/name]
[name]Shira[/name]
[name]Samara[/name]
[name]Sharon[/name]/[name]Sharona[/name]
[name]Sivan[/name]

4

Well, Liat is a beautiful Hebrew name that you might like!

Might [name]Sadie[/name] “count” as a Hebrew name in that it is a nickname for [name]Sarah[/name]?
[name]Shalom[/name] also comes to mind.

What kinds of names does your husband like?

5

As Watermellie already suggested, my first thought was [name]Susannah[/name]. [name]Susannah[/name] [name]Eden[/name] sounds like a pretty combo. :slight_smile:

6

I love the suggestions of [name]Shayna[/name] and [name]Shira[/name]!

Maybe:

[name]Shiri[/name] (a beautiful variant of [name]Shira[/name])
[name]Sarit[/name]
[name]Shamira[/name]
[name]Shani[/name]
Shaked (I taught a very beautiful girl with this name, so it has some positive associations for me)
[name]Sonia[/name]
[name]Sela[/name] / [name]Selah[/name]

Or maybe:

[name]Adara[/name]
Alona
[name]Amira[/name]
[name]Aviva[/name]
[name]Dalia[/name] / [name]Dalya[/name] (this might work for a middle since [name]Sylvia[/name] means forest, and these names mean branch)
[name]Danya[/name]
[name]Dara[/name]
[name]Eliana[/name]
[name]Eliora[/name] / [name]Liora[/name]
[name]Hadassah[/name]
Mirele
[name]Raziela[/name] (“My secret is God”) - have always loved this name
[name]Tahlia[/name]
[name]Yonina[/name]
[name]Ziva[/name]
Zusa

7

Berries, I am so impressed with your marvellous suggestions! Thank you to all who contributed your thoughts.

I had never thought of spelling [name]Carmel[/name] with an additional “le” and it looks quite pretty - somehow more complete. [name]Havilah[/name] is also a very nice name I have not heard of before.

I truly love Liat, but sadly husband finds it too harsh. We are keeping [name]Shalom[/name] in reserve as an alternative Hebrew name for [name]Shlomo[/name] if we are ever blessed with a [name]Solomon[/name] down the road. My husband has suggested [name]Sophie[/name], [name]Sylvie[/name] and [name]Sadie[/name] ([name]Sadie[/name] for the similarity to Zaydie) but I’m not certain I can warm up to these names. We’re quite the pair…

[name]Susannah[/name] [name]Eden[/name] sounds lovely, however my husband nixed the [name]Susannah[/name] portion and is wavering on [name]Eden[/name].

Shaked has a sweet meaning, but I’m unsure about ease of pronunciation. I love the consideration behind [name]Dahlia[/name] and the connection to [name]Sylvia[/name]. We also know an older Israeli woman named [name]Dahlia[/name] and she is delightful.

I’m so pleased to see that [name]Ziva[/name] made the list - to my mind it sparkles, but husband is a tougher sell. I also like [name]Ziva[/name]'s connection to the month of Sivan in which we were married.

Thank you again for taking the time to help us out, and for all of your thoughtful responses - I’m already feeling calmer and more optimistic about our choices. :slight_smile:

8

[name]Serafina[/name] would be lovely as a sister for [name]Ariel[/name] : )

nickname possibilities: [name]Sera[/name]/[name]Sarah[/name], Seri/[name]Sari[/name]

9

I was going to suggest [name]Selah[/name] (prn [name]Say[/name]-lah) but someone beat me to it :slight_smile:

[name]How[/name] about [name]Sari[/name]?
Shulamite?

I know someone named [name]Shoshana[/name] and she really pulls it off great. Somehow it doesn’t seem like too much name with only one N.

10

People seem to have suggested most of the great S names. You can search for Hebrew names under Names, then Search for Names in the main menu bar.

Maybe [name]Talia[/name]? I know that doesn’t start with an S, but I think it fits your criteria. Good luck!

12

Swansea
Zissel
Shayda
[name]Sonnet[/name]
[name]Tovi[/name]
[name]Sharon[/name]
Savron
[name]Sapphira[/name]
[name]Sari[/name]
Sepia
[name]Tiziana[/name]
[name]Deva[/name]
[name]Dianne[/name]
[name]Evian[/name]
Sonel

13

some other ideas:

[name]Maya[/name]
[name]Zara[/name]
[name]Nava[/name]
[name]Liora[/name]
[name]Ilana[/name]/[name]Elana[/name]/[name]Alana[/name] - means tree, so it’s connected to [name]Sylvia[/name] also
[name]Ashira[/name]
[name]Adina[/name]
[name]Amalia[/name]
[name]Gavriella[/name]
[name]Keziah[/name]
[name]Serena[/name]

Tzofiya is a Hebrew name meaning “she is watching”, and it bears an obvious resemblance to [name]Sophia[/name]. Maybe you could use one as her English name and the other for Hebrew…

14

[name]Savannah[/name] is one of the only “s” names that I can think of at the moment. :). Lol