Rethinking our girl names -please help with alternatives

[name]Hi[/name] everyone - thanks so much for taking the time on this!

3 1/2 weeks to go and the current front runners are [name]Briar[/name] and [name]Petra[/name], with [name]Isis[/name] still hanging around but losing ground fast.

Interestingly enough, of these 3 names, [name]Isis[/name] is by far the most commonly used (according to SSA) although in my mind it’s the most “out there”.

I was surprised by how many people listed [name]Rose[/name] as an alternate to [name]Briar[/name] (tho I know why) since to me they are radically different style names.

There are also many lovely names suggested that I am nixing b/c of my pet peeve against names that look nothing like how they are pronounced. For ex. [name]Aisling[/name] to me is A-sling, no matter how often I see the name.

I guess I like quirky but easily accessible names.

I vote for [name]Petra[/name]! (Or [name]Petrova[/name], if you want something longer.) Unusual yet easy to pronounce, it will age well and shouldn’t date … also reminds me of Petrarchan (not sure how to spell that …) sonnets, so that’s nice.

My friend is [name]Peta[/name] [name]Susannah[/name] maybe this appeals?

[name]Rollo[/name], can’t do [name]Peta[/name] for a variety of reasons.

But maybe [name]Petrea[/name]? This site lists it as the Danish version of [name]Peta[/name] (although I can’t think why there would be a danish version of a native american name…)

Anyway, 2 weeks away and we’re still dead stuck on girls names. We love our choice for a boy but don’t [name]LOVE[/name] any of the girls names as much.

I’m thinking [name]Petra[/name] [name]Estelle[/name]. I always imagined my children’s names would have a sky/star meaning in there somewhere.

[name]Petra[/name] is beautiful, but for me the vowels in [name]Petra[/name] and [name]Estelle[/name] run together a little …

[name]How[/name] about the following sky/star mns (most are constellations or stars) :
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Celeste[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Luna[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Cassiopeia[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Lyra[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Bellatrix[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Vega[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Columba[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] Pyxis
[name]Petra[/name] Sagitta
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Carina[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Norma[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] Tucana
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Corona[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Delphine[/name]/a
[name]Petra[/name] Lacerta
[name]Petra[/name] Mirzam.

Good luck!

[name]Petra[/name] [name]Luna[/name], you could end up with Petrol as the nn PetraL

[name]Petra[/name] is a name favoured by my pregnant daughter, and if it is said in a soft way it is lovely I am not fond of the hard ‘t’.

[name]Hi[/name] twinkle - thanks for all the suggestions. I don’t think a middle name ending with “a” sounds good with [name]Petra[/name], but maybe I’m wrong?

[name]Petra[/name] [name]Ciel[/name] might work. Or back to my old stand by [name]Petra[/name] [name]Marie[/name].

You’ve had so many beautiful suggestions already! I come with just one more: possibly [name]Estrid[/name] as an alternative to [name]Astrid[/name]?

[name]Petra[/name] [name]Marie[/name] is beautiful!

Yes, I thought of the A problem, but I thought I’d include them anyway …

I think these sound nice, though :

[name]Petra[/name] [name]Celeste[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] [name]Delphine[/name]
[name]Petra[/name] Mirzam.

I have heard some Americans pronounce [name]Ciel[/name] like [name]Seal[/name] … would you be doing this? In French it is actually see-ell, you see, which is why I ask …

Constellation names-

[name]Lyra[/name] - maybe Lyrae “Epsilon Lyrae is one of the most observed multiple star systems”
[name]Vela[/name]
[name]Yvaine[/name] - The evening star in the movie Stardust.
Hydrus - Hydri
Cepheus

http://www.perr.com/constellation.html

I like [name]Petrea[/name] maybe more than [name]Petra[/name].

[name]How[/name] about [name]Stellan[/name]? It is like [name]Stella[/name] but with a little twist and a consonant ending.

I think [name]Stellan[/name] is firmly a boy’s name for me. Is it also used for girls? Or is it considering a unisex name?

Thanks for all the constellation suggestions: meaning is super important to me, so many of the myths behind the constellation names eliminate them (eg. the horrible [name]Cassiopeia[/name] story of her father tying her to a rock as a sacrifice for a sea monster!). Such is why I wouldn’t consider a “beautiful” name like [name]Cassiopeia[/name] but am considering a “dorky” name like [name]Melville[/name] (family name with many fun stories) for my potential son’s middle name.

Are you starting to see why I’m 2 weeks away from my due date and haven’t decided on a name??!! Thanks for baring with my obsessive nature!

I would pronounce “[name]Ciel[/name]” in the french way, but of course others might not…

I know of an 8 year old [name]Ciel[/name] and she pronounces it as See [name]Elle[/name]. Is that how you pronounce it?

Possibilities for first or middle names…
[name]Astra[/name]
[name]Aster[/name]
[name]Celeste[/name]
[name]Selena[/name]
[name]Celine[/name]/[name]Selene[/name]

Best of luck!

I love [name]Stellan[/name], [name]Moxie[/name], and have only heard it on boys. (On girls, I hear [name]Stella[/name]…)

I think that [name]Ciel[/name] is gorgeous, too. :slight_smile:

Good luck!

I assume [name]Moxie[/name] is not your real name - ever considered it for a girl? I absolutely [name]LOVE[/name] it but my husband said no way. But then he goes and offers [name]Orion[/name] for our boy - go figure!

[name]Moxie[/name] [name]Petra[/name] [name]Kelly[/name]
[name]Orion[/name] [name]Petra[/name] [name]Kelly[/name] (Rion is a cute nickname for a girl too)

rainyday - LOL!!

I love(d) it for a girl but mistakenly thought my husband would never go for it. So we named our cat [name]Moxie[/name].

[name]Hi[/name] everyone – just an update:

[name]Petra[/name] [name]Estelle[/name]-[name]Marie[/name] [name]Kelly[/name] was born last week and is doing wonderfully - although her first time parents are a little worn out!

[name]Estelle[/name]-[name]Marie[/name] combines my middle name as well as a name I love, and has the added benefit of seeming to combine the first or middle names of the 4 great grandmothers: [name]Elena[/name] & [name]Stella[/name], [name]Marie[/name] & [name]Marian[/name]. We think it works as a name, sort of along the lines of [name]Annamarie[/name], and has the benefit of (as my mom put it) “breaking up all those L’s!”

Thank you everyone for your help this past summer and thoughtful suggestions. We’ve had nothing but positive reactions to her name. We like to think she’s our little “rock star” (get it?)

Now, please stop recommending [name]Petra[/name] to anyone else! LOL

Congratulations!!! I love it “your little rock star” , I do get it and think that’s awesome!
[name]Welcome[/name] [name]Petra[/name] [name]Estelle[/name]-[name]Marie[/name] [name]Kelly[/name] :slight_smile: Rest when you can new parents, it does get easier.