Replacing Penrose!?!

So after taking a break from this I’m back on it again. I need to find something to replace [name_u]Penrose[/name_u]. [name_f]My[/name_f] DH really dislikes it and it’s not my #1 fav I figure I should be able to find a replacement.

We have a few limitations: No A- names. No J- names. Cannot end in an -a.

Also we are a trilingual household: [name_m]German[/name_m], English, Spanish if that makes any difference in your suggestions.

Here is my current favorites list:
Girls:
Endora - [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] - [name_f]Merida[/name_f] - [name_u]Penrose[/name_u] - [name_f]Viola[/name_f] - [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f]
Boys:[name_u]Dexter[/name_u] - [name_u]Emmett[/name_u] - [name_m]Hendrik[/name_m] - [name_m]Leonidas[/name_m] - [name_u]Oberon[/name_u] - [name_m]Victor[/name_m]

These are names I am considering and would love to hear your thoughts on if you feel strongly about them in any way: [name_f]Winifred[/name_f], [name_u]Vesper[/name_u], [name_f]Iris[/name_f] and [name_f]Coralie[/name_f]

These are names that are strictly mn options: Wildrose (cause well [name_u]Penrose[/name_u]), [name_f]Noelle[/name_f], Lyonesse, [name_f]Leontine[/name_f] (cause [name_m]Leonidas[/name_m]), [name_f]Irene[/name_f], [name_f]Helen[/name_f], [name_f]Harriet[/name_f], [name_f]Hope[/name_f], [name_f]Esme[/name_f], [name_f]Eloise[/name_f], (the last two becasue my #1 is Endora and I’m not sure I want to start a letter theme as we are trying to avoid one with the no A thing) + many -a ending names I am just not going to list cause it would be overwhelming.

I’d love to hear any suggestions you have. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband is a bit more of a common classic guy but when I mentioned [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] he instantly loved it, so who the heck knows.

[name_f]My[/name_f] first thought was [name_m]Byron[/name_m] ([name_u]Penrose[/name_u] struck me as slightly more masculine), but for a girl…[name_f]Calliope[/name_f], [name_f]Muse[/name_f], [name_m]Pembrook[/name_m], [name_f]Rosette[/name_f], [name_f]Primrose[/name_f].

I like Endora, [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f], [name_u]Oberon[/name_u], [name_f]Esme[/name_f], and [name_f]Merida[/name_f] best. I also like [name_f]Hope[/name_f] as a middle.

Suggestions: [name_f]Flora[/name_f] / [name_f]Florette[/name_f] / [name_f]Fleurette[/name_f], [name_f]Calanthe[/name_f], Calyx, Azelie, [name_f]Linnea[/name_f], [name_f]Vienne[/name_f], [name_f]Geneva[/name_f], [name_f]Marisol[/name_f], [name_f]Catalina[/name_f] / [name_f]Catalene[/name_f], [name_f]Paloma[/name_f], Ismeria, [name_f]Viviette[/name_f], [name_u]Pax[/name_u], [name_m]Joaquin[/name_m] / [name_m]Joachim[/name_m]

Hmm. Let’s see. No beginning or ending in A, no J.

I don’t speak [name_m]German[/name_m], but I speak Spanish. Some of these wouldn’t be intuitive for a non-English speaking Spanish speaker, but they would be for someone who is bi- or tri-lingual I think.

These are all over, pulled from several lists.

[name_f]Bellerose[/name_f]
Bradamante (this is one that I think works better in Spanish, I think it’s gorgeous in Spanish, harsher in English)
[name_f]Callisto[/name_f]
[name_u]Calypso[/name_u]
[name_f]Circe[/name_f]
[name_f]Claudine[/name_f]
[name_f]Cleo[/name_f]
[name_f]Corinne[/name_f]
[name_f]Cosette[/name_f]
[name_u]Damaris[/name_u]
[name_f]Daphne[/name_f]
[name_f]Elodie[/name_f]
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f]
[name_f]Eris[/name_f]
Esmeray
[name_f]Eulalie[/name_f]
[name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Faline[/name_f]
[name_f]Faustine[/name_f]
Ferelith
[name_u]Halcyon[/name_u] (though I suppose the silent H in Spanish would make this seem like an A name?)
Isalind
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f]
[name_f]Liesl[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilith[/name_f]
[name_f]Melusine[/name_f]
[name_f]Miriam[/name_f]
[name_f]Niobe[/name_f]
[name_f]Pilar[/name_f]
[name_f]Sabine[/name_f]
[name_f]Serafine[/name_f]
[name_u]Simone[/name_u]
[name_f]Solene[/name_f]
[name_f]Thessaly[/name_f]
[name_u]Valentine[/name_u]
[name_f]Vivienne[/name_f]

Thoughts on:

[name_f]Winifred[/name_f]- this is very close to making our short list. I love [name_f]Winnie[/name_f], it’s one of my most beloved Whedon characters, as well as a name from the wonderful [name_m]Tuck[/name_m] Everlasting. She can go by [name_m]Fred[/name_m] if she’s not a [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] or a [name_f]Winifred[/name_f]. I think it goes better with your boy names than your girls, but [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] and [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] would be a really interesting sibset.

[name_u]Vesper[/name_u]- I love the zippiness of it. It feels sassy and full of life. Still, it’s not a name I’ve ever really loved. I can’t say why exactly, so I’ll just say I think it’s a great middle name and feels off as a first. I thinks it’s too close to vespa for me, maybe.

[name_f]Iris[/name_f]- very pretty. I don’t have much to say. I like it. It feels a little more tame than some of your other names. That’s not a bad thing. It’s pretty, as I said. I do prefer [name_f]Eris[/name_f] (disregarding mythology :D).

[name_f]Coralie[/name_f]- super cute. Maybe too cute? I’m not sure. It does rather remind me of the phrase “hurry up” in Spanish, but I don’t think it makes it unusable, as it doesn’t mean that, and it only vaguely sounds the same. I like it. Prefer just [name_f]Cora[/name_f], myself, or [name_f]Coraline[/name_f].

@rkrd: I know many people find Penrose masculine but I think that combined with the “rose” ending is what I find appealing. I actually prefer it to Primrose - which my HD isn’t wild about either. (I asked). Calliope however is interesting and I hadn’t considered in the past - Thank you!

@orchid_lover: I’m glad you like Endora and Lorelei they currently my top two girls names - DH isn’t convinced with Endora, yet and Lorelei would have more resistance with my German family. (I’d still use it in a heartbeat though). I really like Linnea unfortunately it’s got that pesky -a ending I’m trying to avoid having more of, as does Paloma (which is on my -a ending mn list). I really like Marisol and love it’s Maria connection - my only concern is that while my DH grew up in Spain and South America he’s really Scotch-Irish American. Is Marisol too “hispanic” for what will likely be a very pale white, blond blue-eyed baby? (We both had white blond hair as kids - which darkened with age). What do you think? Would this be better a a mn? (His grandmother was a Maria, it’s also my mother and grandmothers mn - so I was considering a Maria related name as a mn as is). Also do you like Merida or Marisol better? (I’d only keep one M name as a fn).

@redwoodfey: Thank you for your long and detailed response. It really warmed my heart! I really like Bellerose, need to run it by DH - my only concern is the Bella craze. What do you think? I have also considered Daphne and Elodie in the past - but your post is making me rethink them, in particularly Daphne. I also really love Miriam/Mirjam and Niobe. Eris and Thessally are interesting as well. Your thoughts on Winifred, Vesper, Iris and Coralie are so spot on. It really helps to read another person’s opinion. Cheers.

If anyone else would like to comment I’d love the input and thoughts! Cheers!!

You have a great list! From your ‘maybe’ list, my favourites are [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] and [name_f]Iris[/name_f]. I think they work well with the other names you’ve chosen. [name_f]Marisol[/name_f] and [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] are lovely too!

These are a bit random…

[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]/[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]
[name_f]Beryl[/name_f]
[name_f]Bess[/name_f]/[name_f]Beth[/name_f]
[name_f]Bethany[/name_f]
[name_f]Bethel[/name_f]
[name_f]Brigid[/name_f]
[name_f]Briony[/name_f]
[name_f]Bronte[/name_f]
[name_f]Cadence[/name_f]
[name_f]Camille[/name_f]
[name_f]Cassiane[/name_f]
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f]
[name_f]Celeste[/name_f]/[name_f]Celestine[/name_f]
[name_f]Clementine[/name_f]
[name_u]Constantine[/name_u]
[name_u]Damaris[/name_u]
[name_f]Delise[/name_f]
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f]
[name_f]Dianne[/name_f]
[name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]
[name_f]Edith[/name_f]
[name_f]Emerald[/name_f]
[name_f]Ereni[/name_f]
[name_f]Ethel[/name_f]
[name_f]Eugenie[/name_f]
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f]
[name_f]Florence[/name_f]
[name_f]Frances[/name_f]
[name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]
[name_f]Georgine[/name_f]
[name_f]Giselle[/name_f]
[name_f]Greer[/name_f]
[name_f]Gretchen[/name_f]
[name_f]Hanne[/name_f]/[name_f]Hannelore[/name_f]
[name_f]Hazel[/name_f]
[name_f]Ilise[/name_f]
[name_f]Ianthe[/name_f]
[name_f]Indigo[/name_f]
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f]
[name_f]Karoline[/name_f]
[name_f]Lenore[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilac[/name_f]
[name_f]Lisbeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Lisette[/name_f]
[name_f]Lois[/name_f]
[name_f]Louise[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucienne[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f]
[name_f]Magdalene[/name_f]
[name_f]Marguerite[/name_f]
[name_f]Mariane[/name_f]
[name_f]Marigold[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f]
[name_f]Mavis[/name_f]
[name_f]Maxine[/name_f]
[name_f]Meike[/name_f]
[name_f]Melisande[/name_f]
[name_f]Mirabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Nancy[/name_f]
Narelle
[name_f]Nelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Noemi[/name_f]
[name_f]Odette[/name_f]
[name_f]Olwyn[/name_f]
[name_f]Opal[/name_f]
[name_f]Ophelie[/name_f]
[name_f]Patience[/name_f]
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]
[name_f]Peridot[/name_f]
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]
[name_f]Renate[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosalind[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]
[name_u]Ruby[/name_u]
[name_f]Ruth[/name_f]
[name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_f]Sapphire[/name_f]
[name_f]Seraphine[/name_f]/[name_u]Seren[/name_u]/[name_f]Serenity[/name_f]
[name_u]Silver[/name_u]/[name_f]Sybil[/name_f]/[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f]
[name_f]Therese[/name_f]
[name_f]Valerie[/name_f]
[name_f]Verity[/name_f]
[name_f]Wilhelmine[/name_f]

@lee1981 Wow!!! so grateful for your long and extensive suggestions list. You listed a lot of great names that I really love but that just don’t work for us as fn for many reasons (mostly they are too close to the “wrong” family members names - dumb me married into a family with 100 cousins - or the names our friends choose for their kids. <sigh>). I have a huge crush currently on word names but they are difficult for our Spanish and [name_m]German[/name_m] families. <another sigh>. However, [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f], [name_f]Briony[/name_f], [name_f]Marguerite[/name_f], [name_u]Marian[/name_u], [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f], [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] and [name_f]Wilhelmine[/name_f] - especially [name_f]Briony[/name_f] and Willhelmine - will definitely need closer consideration. (It just occurred to me that [name_f]Marguerite[/name_f] could honor my favorite aunt [name_f]Margit[/name_f] and as [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] is close to my DH’s aunts name [name_f]Lori[/name_f] it might be a nice balance - even as a mn)!!

[name_m]How[/name_m] about -

[name_f]Maribel[/name_f] (similar to [name_f]Marisol[/name_f])
[name_f]Constance[/name_f]
[name_f]Apolline[/name_f]
[name_f]Marjorie[/name_f]/[name_f]Margery[/name_f]
[name_f]Meret[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f]

[name_f]Winifred[/name_f]- definitely spunky and I love the nn [name_f]Winnie[/name_f]. This name comes across a little heavier and more old Fashioned than other names on your list.

[name_u]Vesper[/name_u]- I’m sorry but I don’t understand the appeal of this name, it makes me think of vespas. I much prefer the pretty [name_f]Viola[/name_f] on your list for a V- name.

[name_f]Iris[/name_f]- I really love the name [name_f]Iris[/name_f], it is a little more mainstream but would make a good sister name to most of the names on your list.

[name_f]Coralie[/name_f]- its pretty but I find it awkward to say. I feel its more cutesy and less spunky than the other names on your list. Maybe consider [name_f]Corliss[/name_f] or [name_u]Ceylon[/name_u]?

[name_m]Prosper[/name_m]
Everild (Meaning, origin and history of the name Everild - Behind the Name)
[name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f] “[name_f]Esme[/name_f]”
[name_f]Marigold[/name_f]
[name_f]Peninnah[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f]
[name_f]Briar[/name_f]
[name_f]Ondine[/name_f] / [name_f]Undine[/name_f]
[name_f]Pallas[/name_f]
Skylark
Peronel (Meaning, origin and history of the name Peronel - Behind the Name)
Mayfair
[name_f]Persis[/name_f]
[name_f]Galilea[/name_f] / [name_f]Galilee[/name_f]

@seazuno86: Thank you for your suggestions. I really like [name_f]Constance[/name_f] and [name_f]Apolline[/name_f] but one is my cousin’s name and the other breaks our A- name rule. lol. Why can’t we have potential children in a naming-vacuum? I really like [name_f]Maribel[/name_f] but I think I prefer [name_f]Marisol[/name_f] - mostly because my cousin/godson’s mother is a -bel with a [name_f]Mar[/name_f]- mn. (I swear I’m not making this up). I love her but wouldn’t want to honor her and trust me my family would wonder if it was an honor name. I have considered [name_f]Mirabel[/name_f] in the past but dismissed it for similar reasons. [name_f]Marjorie[/name_f] however is really fun. I think if we ever had a [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] she’d make an stunning sister. :smiley:

Your thoughts on [name_f]Winifred[/name_f], [name_u]Vesper[/name_u] and [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] are all echo’s of my own thoughts. I’m glad you think [name_f]Iris[/name_f] could work despite being more main stream. I think maybe [name_f]Iris[/name_f] and [name_f]Viola[/name_f] could be nice together - or is that too - almost but not theme? What do you think?

@nono: [name_m]Prosper[/name_m] has been one of my favorite word names since I read “[name_m]Lord[/name_m] of the Thieves” however…. only for a boy. lol. I also have considered [name_m]Galileo[/name_m] as a mn for a boy so I think that somehow eliminates [name_f]Galilee[/name_f] for the girls. But clearly your tapped right into what I like. ([name_f]Marigold[/name_f], [name_f]Briar[/name_f] and [name_f]Esme[/name_f] are on some version of a list somewhere). Everlid is interesting but I think Eoforhild might have just made a GP list. Seriously the old english version is solo much cooler. (I think I need to become a writer just so I have a place to use all these awesome suggestions). Also I love Petronel but when we almost adopted a cat last year and I was certain she was a [name_f]Petronilla[/name_f] my DH first stared at me like I had lost my mind and then couldn’t stop laughing for two hours. (he still likes to tease me about it).Pretty safe to say Petronel would get a very similar reaction. I do really like Mayfair though. Not sure it would work for as a fn but it could make for an interesting mn as [name_f]Mayday[/name_f] and Mayfairs are an actual thing where we both spent time growing up! THANK YOU!!

I like [name_f]Marisol[/name_f] better than [name_f]Merida[/name_f] since [name_f]Marisol[/name_f] doesn’t have any possible Disney [name_f]Princess[/name_f] baggage. I am white so I cannot speak from a Hispanic perspective…but I think your husband’s Spanish connection is enough of one to use a Spanish name. Not all Spaniards are dark-haired/ dark-skinned, anyway. Having said that, [name_f]Marisol[/name_f] is off my list because of that similiar worry (we may move to the Southwest US and I don’t want to offend anyone by using a Spanish name when we have no Hispanic connection) At any rate, it is a beautiful name, imo.

[name_f]Glad[/name_f] you found a few you like :slight_smile: