Quick Question Thread?!

I’m not sure if this has been done, but I’m sure many of you are like me and have little naming questions that [name_f]DO[/name_f] NOT need an entire thread, so maybe we could post those here? [name_m]Just[/name_m] simple, one line sort of questions, no huge lists asking for opinions or combos! One person asks, the next person answers, (feel free to answer previous questions, but always respond to the most recent! Make sure you @ who your response is to!)

First question…

If a cousin, who I see maybe once a year, (still one of my closest cousins though!), once mentioned using my grandmothers middle name as a middle name for a future child. I can still use it in the middle too right? (Name is [name_f]Ellen[/name_f], not terribly unique!) I don’t need her permission right?

Ask away berries!

Awesome idea! I have this problem ALL THE TIME. Mostly because I kind of already know the answer, but just really need someone anyone to back me up. :slight_smile:

I say use Ellen! It’s in the middle, it’s a common enough name, it’s a family name. The only names I consider off limits are the names my sisters have claimed for firsts. Otherwise, all is fair. You do not need permission.

I know Wilhelmina and Luella are stylistically quite different, but I really love Wilhelmina. Is it just too much “L” between the two? Luella is called Lu quite often as well as her full name, and Wilhelmina would likely go by Minna or Willa as well as her full name.

@aym, I think that they are charming together, and [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f] isn’t too l heavy to me- it only has one

I think they sound great together and have a similar sort of style in my head

I was wondering how to pronounce [name_m]Eben[/name_m], it is like [name_m]Ethan[/name_m] with a b or like [name_u]Evan[/name_u] with a b, I feel a bit stupid asking this as it seems clear enough that they don’t have to clarify on the name’s profile

@gr19 - I have always said that one like [name_u]Evan[/name_u] with a B, e-[name_m]Ben[/name_m], almost like you would say [name_f]Ebony[/name_f], but I could be wrong, anyone else??

Should my brother and I tell each other our name choices as we will likely both be expecting our first kids around the same time? To avoid overlap and god knows what else happening! I wasn’t planning on telling anyone…

@g19 – Thanks! As far as [name_m]Eben[/name_m] goes, a quick search shows there’s quite a bit of fluctuation between the two obvious pronunciations and I think both are actually legit. I automatically went with Eh-ben, referencing [name_m]Ebenezer[/name_m]. But it also looks like Ee-ben is correct. Check this out: http://appellationmountain.net/name-of-the-day-eben/

@Kibby – Hmm. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you want him to tell you? I think if the answer is yes, then you should also tell him yours. Common courtesy type thing. If you’re okay with not knowing his name plans, then I think it will only be prudent if you and your brother wind up pregnant at the same time (well, he won’t be but you know what I mean….) then it might be good to as you may be planning to use the same/similar names and it’d suck to be the one going “but I was going to use that…” when they announce their chosen baby name.

If you have a baby and his SO isn’t pregnant and doesn’t become pregnant during that time, then I think it’s okay to keep the names to yourself. However, if the situation is reversed and you’re worried they’ll choose your name, it might be good to discuss it. Again, comes back to common courtesy stuff.

So yeah, considering there is significant chance you’ll use same / similar names, I’d consider talking to him about it to avoid any confusion and frustration and drama. I felt like I just typed in circles, haha. [name_u]Lucky[/name_u] for me my sisters and I don’t have the same name agendas. :slight_smile:

I’ve noticed that a lot of the girl’s names I like end in “la” and / or have an “L” presence. Is this too match-y for a sibset? Does it create a theme that will make the other name feel out of place? Ex:

[name_f]Luella[/name_f], [name_f]Viola[/name_f], [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f] & [name_f]Henrietta[/name_f]? or [name_f]Luella[/name_f], [name_f]Finola[/name_f] & [name_f]Henrietta[/name_f]?

@aym - Not at all! In fact, I love [name_f]Luella[/name_f], [name_f]Viola[/name_f], [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f] and [name_f]Henrietta[/name_f] (or even just [name_f]Luella[/name_f] & [name_f]Henrietta[/name_f]!).

If I have the name [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] on my list, does that sound too dry and boring? I was between [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] [name_f]Lily[/name_f] and [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] [name_f]Rose[/name_f], but [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] [name_f]Lily[/name_f] didn’t quite fit as nicely for me, and I love the name [name_f]Rose[/name_f], it just doesn’t sound right in any FN combos for me.

@aym - Thanks! I always thought it wouldn’t be a problem, but when my brother mentioned a few names they were considering I was like uhhhhh our styles are really similar! I figured he would pick something more top 100 trendy, but nope! So now I am a bit concerned! Moreso for my boys names than girls names!

@Lawsonhaley - I think [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is just darling! I would love to meet an [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] before a lot of other more ‘creative’ names, though it does feel a bit dry, but in a good way, it’s classic! I dislike the double L sound in [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] [name_f]Lily[/name_f] as pretty as it is!

My question, if I were to use two middles to avoid unfortunate initials, like [name_f]Lavender[/name_f] [name_f]Ellen[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Z, (instead of L.E.Z), would I be obligated to give all my children two middles?? (I like [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m] [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] just on it’s own… :frowning: )

@ Kibby - no I don’t think so. You rarely call the child by their middle names, so I don’t think its a big deal. My Mum is one of 4 kids and the only one without any middle name at all. It’s never been a problem for her. People really only refer to them by their first names on a regular basis. I say go for it. [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m] [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] is lovely.

Is it weird to name your child the same name as a close friend, simply because you like the name? Would everyone assume you have named the child after said friend when in fact you just liked the name?

@iraasuup - Depending on if I knew both of you, I would assume that maybe it was to honour that person, but it also depends on how unique the name is! If the friend has a one in a million name, I would very likely assume you at least got it from your friend, however if it is a popular name, I would just be like yeah, another so-and-so without considering the friend. I think the more important thing to consider is if the friend would think it was after him/her!

Question for a friend!
They have put [name_u]Brennan[/name_u] at the top of their list, intials would be BJS. We think it wouldn’t be so bad for a boy, worse for a girl, what do you think?

@Kibby,
I don’t think the initials BJS would be that big of an issue. Most of his classmates wouldn’t know his middle initial, and it would likely only be a problem from 6th-10th grades, after that most students should be a little more mature. I went to school with a boy who everyone called BJ (I don’t even know what it stood for) and he had no problems.

My question:
Before we found out my daughter was a girl, we were planning on using the name [name_m]Zenon[/name_m]/Cenon for a boy. [name_m]Zenon[/name_m] was the name of my fiance’s grandfather. A couple months ago, my fiance’s cousin who lives in Mexico used the name. Can we still use the name or should we use it for the middle name?

It’s a family name so you can use it, but I would personally use it in the middle spot since they already used it in the first name spot.

[name_f]Clary[/name_f], nickname only or full name?

@jtucker, I like it as a full name more than any of the full name options ([name_f]Claire[/name_f], [name_f]Clara[/name_f], [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f], etc).

For the future, would it be confusing/a bad idea to name a boy [name_m]Leo[/name_m] when my sister is named [name_f]Leah[/name_f]? I hope that my kids will be close to their aunts.

@sparkleninja18 Not at all, they are quite a bit different in sound!

If I want to use [name_f]Violet[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], would it be too much to have [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] or [name_f]Lillian[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] as a sister?

@lawsonhaley - I don’t think it would be too much, I adore flower names. [name_f]Violet[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is stunning as are your other combinations.

Question
[name_f]Odette[/name_f], pretty or do you just see oh-debt?

@jtucker, I don’t see oh-debt in the slightest - well, not until you brought it up aha. It’s very pretty.

[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think [name_u]Po[/name_u] would be a cute pet name for Poppet or does it remind you too much of the panda?

@steampunkleo: I don’t know the panda, so it just seems like a cute pet name for Poppet to me. I like it!

Can I use the name [name_f]Kyla[/name_f] (kie-la) if my sister is called [name_f]Kyrah[/name_f] (keer-rah, as in [name_f]Kira[/name_f]/[name_f]Keira[/name_f])?

@eoxima: You’ll probably have to correct pronunciation, but they’re different names with different sounds if pronounced correctly. I say go for it.

Should I use the more Anglicized version, [name_f]Theodora[/name_f], or one that comes from my family’s heritage, [name_f]Teodora[/name_f]?

@Summerskin - For me, I would say them differently, one tee-oh-dora, and the other thee-oh-dora, not sure if that’s correct though. I would personally go for [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] as [name_f]Teodora[/name_f] feels incomplete to me and [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] would be more easily read/said in the Americas I think.

If my nephew (only one so far!) has [name_u]Francis[/name_u] as a middle name, after my grandfather, can I still use it in the middle? ([name_m]Even[/name_m] as [name_f]Frances[/name_f] for a girl?)

@kibby, hmm that’s a difficult one. I would say no to [name_u]Francis[/name_u] on a boy but [name_f]Frances[/name_f] on a girl would be fine. It all depends how the mom and dad are. For example, my aunt was very upset when her sister named her daughter [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] “[name_f]Nora[/name_f]” a couple months after my aunt had my cousin [name_f]Cora[/name_f]. My mom, however, said she would be fine if [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] went by [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] (my sister’s name, short for [name_f]Eliana[/name_f]) instead. It all depends on the person. Another example, my sisters both like the name [name_f]Opal[/name_f]. One says that if she names her daughter [name_f]Opal[/name_f] first then it will be out of the question for the other one. However the other one says she’d name her daughter [name_f]Opal[/name_f] no matter what. They’re 7 and 12 so the chances that either of them will like the name [name_f]Opal[/name_f] when they’re actually having kids is slim though.

Would [name_f]Lila[/name_f] and [name_m]Leo[/name_m] be too close for siblings? They are my top 2 names at the moment.

@Sparkleninja- For me, they are too close. Too many similar sounds and I would mess them up/confused the names all the time. With my two bunnies, [name_f]Luna[/name_f] and [name_f]Lilou[/name_f], I always mess up their names for each others, but not by calling them the wrong name, but by getting tongue twisted and making up some unholy combination of the two that makes no sense, my Fiance forever makes fun of me for it, it’s been 3 years and I still mess it up, I could see myself doing something similar with [name_f]Lila[/name_f]/[name_m]Leo[/name_m]. [name_f]Lila[/name_f] goes beautifully with your other boys names though! I would definitely keep [name_f]Lila[/name_f]!

My Fiance and I have names that have been in the top 50 for quite awhile where we live, would it be weird if you met us and learned our baby was named something that isn’t even in the top 500/1000?