[name]Hi[/name] everyone,
This is my very first time posting here on Nameberry, so please bear with me. 
I’m hoping to conceive this year. Not yet pregnant, but thinking about names nonetheless.
My question:
If I were to have another daughter, can I name her [name]Angelica[/name] when her older sister’s middle name is [name]Angela[/name]? ([name]Angela[/name] - named to honor a family member.)
What do you think?
LoveBeingMommy
My inclination would be to say no.
But its not awful, most people’s middle names go unused, and it could be interesting for them to share that connection…
It just seems a little unimaginative. There are so many wonderful names out there, surely there are others that you fancy.
What is it about [name]Angelica[/name] that you like? Could we find a name you love even more?
I have a friend whose first name is [name]Kate[/name] ([name]Kathryn[/name]) and her older sister is [name]Erin[/name] [name]Kathleen[/name].
It’s not ideal but I think it’s fine.
I hope so!
I’ve been poring over names for several months, slogging through name books as well as this and other name sites, looking for that perfect name.
[name]One[/name] that is feminine, classic yet not too “plain”, not over-used, yet not too different (my husband would think weirdLOL).
[name]One[/name] that has some kind of personal meaning for me, AND that works with our rather pedestrian 3-syllable last name (in other words, doesn’t sound too ridiculously exotic for our somewhat plain and common last name). ([name]Even[/name] though I [name]LOVE[/name] exotic traditional names!)
Oh, AND one that isn’t too similar to names already used for children within the family and extended family. (I have a large family!)
There are MANY names that I fancy, BUT, personal meaning is very important to me. I am looking for either: a name that is some form of my name (or some form of the name of another loved one) so that it is a namesake, OR a name where the actual meaning of the name is beautiful and is applicable to my hopes/feelings for my daughter.
I like lacy, feminine, classic names like [name]Angelica[/name] and [name]Clarissa[/name] and [name]Miranda[/name]. DH has vetoed [name]Clarissa[/name] (he doesn’t like [name]Clare[/name], or any form of it).
I do love the name [name]Angelica[/name], and I have loved it for a long time. I almost named my older daughter [name]Angelica[/name], but decided instead to use [name]Angela[/name] in the middle spot for her. Actually, [name]Angela[/name] is my middle name, and I’ve always liked it. I wanted to put some form of my name in my daughter’s name.
Now if I were to have another little girl, she would almost certainly be my last, and part of me wants to name her “after me”, somehow. (find a form of [name]Katherine[/name] that I could use (with the same meaning as [name]Katherine[/name]: pure) but not actually [name]Katherine[/name]). Or, maybe I could honor my mother or one of my grandmothers. (In that case, I’d be looking for variants of [name]Celia[/name], [name]Donna[/name], [name]Jane[/name], and/or [name]Elaine[/name]).
Phew! LOL
Can you help me with ideas?
I really wouldn’t.
It would help to know your daughters name, so we don’t repeat.
Some suggestions:
[name]Annabelle[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Emmanuelle[/name]
[name]Emmeline[/name]
[name]Grace[/name]
[name]Hermione[/name]
[name]Josephine[/name]
[name]Minerva[/name]
[name]Mirabelle[/name] (girlier version of [name]Miranda[/name])
[name]Moira[/name]
[name]Ophelia[/name]
[name]Penelope[/name]
[name]Rosamund[/name]
[name]Selena[/name]
[name]Sophie[/name]
[name]Victoria[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Vivienne[/name]
[name]Miranda[/name] is fabulous!
[name]How[/name] about…
[name]Celeste[/name]
[name]Cecilia[/name]
[name]Eliana[/name]
Belladonna (too weird?)
[name]Jana[/name]
Janelie (quite sweet!)
[name]Kaitlin[/name]
[name]Natalie[/name]
[name]Elaina[/name]
[name]Phoebe[/name] (means pure & bright)
Also, you can always give [name]Katherine[/name] or [name]Kate[/name] as a middle!
I love this, and it’s actually one I’ve considered. Definite possibility.
Thanks for your great list!
And they go by [name]Kate[/name] (or [name]Kathryn[/name]) and [name]Erin[/name], right?
So, I was thinking the same as you, that it is not ideal, but would work.
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, this is also a possibility.
Thank you for the great list!
I thought of [name]Simone[/name], but that’d repeat the S initial. I also like [name]Phoebe[/name], [name]Celeste[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], and some others that were suggested by others. I know the pronunciation might be an issue but i knew a girl ([name]German[/name] exchange student) whose name was [name]Janina[/name] with the ‘y’ pronunciation of the J. Ya-neen-a. Thought it was so pretty, and her nickname was [name]Jana[/name] (yahn-a).
That made me think, what about [name]Nina[/name]? I think it’s a really pretty name that is adorable on a little one but still mature enough to grow up with her.
[name]Eliana[/name] is lovely, too. I know an [name]Iliana[/name] with the same ‘ah’ in the middle and really like her name too.
It’s funny that you were describing what kind of name you wanted: “[name]One[/name] that is feminine, classic yet not too “plain”, not over-used, yet not too different (my husband would think weirdLOL).” And of course I’m biased but the first name i thought of was [name]Katherine[/name] 
then i saw it’s your name!
I think you can use [name]Angelica[/name] as a fn, especially since you have so many other kids- i think you’re less likely to ever list fn-mn combos for all seven kids at once than you would be for only two siblings. I’m sure family members might realize that the new girl’s first name is similar to your other daughter’s middle name, but who else would remember that? I’m trying to remember ANY of my cousin’s middle names, and i only know it for one kid (out of 23 or so first cousins, and another 16 of their kids, what is that, first cousin once removed?) Your two girls with the similar names might like having that in common, but the other girl might feel left out (or maybe not).
anotherkate,
Thank you for your suggestions.
[name]Simone[/name] - You’re right, it does repeat the S initial, which I prefer to avoid. As for the name itself, it’s one I don’t care for. Maybe it’s the “moan” sound; it just sounds so solemn and melancholy to me.
I do like [name]Phoebe[/name], but feel I can’t use it due to my daughter’s initials (first name, last name) being PP (pee pee).
Spelling it phonetically (Feebee) just seems to ruin its charm.
[name]Celeste[/name] and [name]Charlotte[/name] - I love both of these, even though they do repeat the C initial (which one of my sons already has), but that’s not necessarily a deal-breaker.
I also love [name]Colette[/name]. I’m also partial to [name]Vivienne[/name], and even [name]Viviette[/name]. Not sure if hubby would consider these last three. (I won’t be able to actually discuss names with him until the baby is about to be born, or is already born. [name]Just[/name] the way he is.) But I want to have MY favorites picked out ahead of time. In the past, I’ve been lucky enough to have him agree with my (pre-chosen) first- and middle-name set for one of our children, and for the others, he has chosen several names off my list, and we have come to agree upon the final decisions together.
But anyway,
I like the sound of Ya-neen-a and Yahn-a. But I would have to spell them with a Y in order to get people here to say it right.
Then, if I were to do that, would they look like made-up names?
[name]Nina[/name] - I have always liked this name. But I have a daughter named [name]Serena[/name], so wouldn’t the two names be too rhyming?
NEEN-uh, Seh-REEN-uh - I just think they’re too close in sound.
[name]Eliana[/name] - I really like this. What would you say is the ‘correct’ pronunciation?
As for [name]Katherine[/name] itself, I am not against using it (in the middle), but I think what I’d prefer to do instead of that is to use a more unusual variant of it, and therefore use it in the first name place.
What do you think of [name]Katerina[/name]/[name]Katarina[/name]? (Are these also too much of a rhyme with [name]Serena[/name]?)
As for [name]Angelica[/name] as a first name, my only reservation about it is that it does repeat the A initial (one of my four sons has an A-beginning name), BUT it is a form of my own name, so I think it would be acceptable. (Not that we have set rules about this.)
I agree with your opinion that, since I do have so many children, most people (even many of my own family members, I think) will probably never realize that the new girl’s name is similar to her older sister’s middle name. And I think that’s the key word, too, similar (not identical). For those who [name]DO[/name] realize the similarity, I don’t think they would be bothered by it or think it was weird, because I think they would recognize why I chose to do that (naming both girls after myself, in slightly different ways). Besides, the older one with the [name]Angela[/name] middle-name is going to be about 9 years older than the baby, so again, I think you’re right.
So the set of sisters could be: [name]Serena[/name], [name]Marissa[/name], [name]Angelica[/name] (and who cares what their middle names are, for the most part?)
But you do raise a good point, that I will have to think about, and that is whether the third girl who isn’t actually named after me will feel left out?
Thanks again for all your comments and insights.
Also, anyone else reading this, please feel free to advise me with your opinions as well!
I just wanted to say thank you once again to each of you who has replied to my query. I really appreciate it!
As I have been thinking even more about each of your responses, I think I am changing my mind about using such a similar first name to my other daughter’s middle name. That daughter has already been named after THAT part of my name, so I guess it does seem redundant to use yet another form of the same name for a new baby. I could always use a form of [name]Katherine[/name] for a new daughter’s name, and leave the [name]Angela[/name] to the older daughter who already has it.
Thank you for helping me to think about this from an outsider’s perspective.