We have given up on having two middle names for the time being. So I’m needing more in-depth feedback on our favorite firsts since we pretty much have a set list of possibilities for middles for honors at the moment, so it really narrows the field by a lot in both excellent and awful ways (three will be our last, so that feels hugely limiting!!)
This is my usual wordy post. TLDR - [name_m]Skip[/name_m] straight to the feedback if you so wish.
[details=“[name_f]Minerva[/name_f]”]
“[name_f]Minna[/name_f]” or “[name_f]Nim[/name_f]”
Back when we were dating, this was one of the first girl names my now husband and I wholeheartedly agreed on. We still love it. We now feel it fits completely with our two boys. The goddess is badass. Mcgonagall is a perfect bonus, both for widening the recognizability and for being awesome in almost every way. Plus, I think this association actually aids in keeping the popularity down? If it makes any difference, I think our biological child looks the part (In spite of “grey-eyed [name_f]Athena[/name_f]” and [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] [name_m]Smith[/name_m], I think the adjacency to [name_u]Merle[/name_u], [name_u]Raven[/name_u], and [name_f]Morwenna[/name_f] gives me black hair, dark eyes, light skin in imagery). I love the sounds and the “nerve” doesn’t bother me. I love the “of the mind, intellect” meaning, even if the etymology is uncertain. Really the only con is that I don’t like the sound in [name_u]French[/name_u] (at home with kids I speak [name_u]French[/name_u] and Japanese exclusively – and ça m’énerve), but there are plenty of other things I could call her and this wouldn’t ultimately be a problem.
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[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_u]Jule[/name_u] is the frontrunner
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] Geneviève (this was the “backup if we chicken out” option for our first when I was pregnant and team green. Because it was our safe back pocket option it wound up feeling way too basic. I do love it but am afraid I will never be head-over-heels for it)
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Marigold[/name_f]
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Elin[/name_f]
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] Margali
[name_f]Minerva[/name_f] [name_f]Mabli[/name_f] (DH has never been set on this)
[details=“[name_f]Persephone[/name_f]”]
“[name_f]Effie[/name_f]” or “[name_f]Perle[/name_f]”
[name_f]My[/name_f] partner would name her this in a heartbeat. I love the underworld connection, all her mythology particularly in conversation with her brothers’ names (@jonquils). I love “[name_f]Effie[/name_f]” as a nickname possibility. [name_f]My[/name_f] main complaint is that if it is possible for such a not-basic name to feel basic, that’s where I am. I also don’t love the Greek meaning, related to “destroy” and “murder.” I mean, I know she reigns the underworld and seasons and I’m all for end-of-season detritus composting in my garden, but compared to the meanings of our other two, and HF in particular, this feels so dark. Another downside being the dreaded “Purse-a-phone” butchering of the pronunciation, but whatevs… she deal.
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[name_f]Persephone[/name_f] [name_u]Jule[/name_u], “[name_f]Perle[/name_f]”
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f] [name_f]Elin[/name_f]
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f] [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] (this would clearly honor my mom’s very best friend when I was growing up, my modern dance teacher, St3phanie [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f], [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] being her surname)
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f] [name_f]Aster[/name_f]
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f] [name_f]Appoline[/name_f]
[details=“[name_f]Proserpina[/name_f]”]
[pro-SAER-pee-na]
“[name_f]Nina[/name_f]” or “[name_u]Pippin[/name_u]” (plenty of other options, too)
Takes away all my complaints about [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] but leaves all the good. I prefer the sound of [name_f]Proserpina[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] intro to the mythology was through [name_m]Ovid[/name_m] so this also feels more familiar to me, even though I know as a name it is by far the opposite sentiment. The word feels powerful and also prickly. Reminds me of the spines/thorns of a rosy bramble. I prefer the latinized meaning, “to emerge, to creep forth” which feels much lighter, but still has that powerful seasonal edge to it. Again… she would look the part! Of course it feels more “pretentious.” And just so rare as a name as to feel completely obscure and overly cerebral.
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[name_f]Proserpina[/name_f] [name_u]Jule[/name_u]
[name_f]Proserpina[/name_f] [name_f]Elinor[/name_f]
[name_f]Proserpina[/name_f] [name_f]Aster[/name_f]
[name_f]Proserpina[/name_f] [name_f]Astrid[/name_f]
[name_f]Proserpina[/name_f] [name_f]Marigold[/name_f]
[details=“[name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f]”]
“[name_f]Pia[/name_f]” or “[name_m]Chip[/name_m]”
She was the number one contender for a sister of [name_f]Chrysanthemum[/name_f], I’ll tell you that. I do love it. It feels so spunk and spark with our last name (one syllable beginning in K). I love the -io in relation to her brothers. I prefer pay-uh, but pee-uh doesn’t bother me one bit. I’m ok with [name_f]Cassie[/name_f] and [name_f]Pia[/name_f] but they feel somehow uninspired to me but I can’t figure anything I like better. [name_f]My[/name_f] main hesitation is with meaning and mythology. Like… she’s not that great. [name_m]Just[/name_m] kinda meh. Vanity and narcissism are not the greatest virtues. The constellation aspect I like, particularly here in the section of Northern Hemisphere where we can see her all year. On paper she is great. As a name, the sounds are all there. She does fit so well with her brothers. I’m just not 100%.
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[name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f] [name_u]Jule[/name_u]
[name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f] [name_f]Nell[/name_f]
[name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f] Hélène
[name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f] [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] (too starry?)
**Olympias**
“[name_f]Plum[/name_f]”
So. I love [name_f]Olympe[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] partner doesn’t but he does love [name_f]Olympia[/name_f]. I like [name_f]Olympia[/name_f] but thought it was too close to [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] to be set on considering that all [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]-adjacents are poised to rise. The “limp” doesn’t hold her back for me as the athletic and powerful imagery of [name_f]Olympia[/name_f] easily balances things out. We have a thing about 4 years in our family life (more on this later if she remains a top pick). An [name_f]Olympiad[/name_f] is definitely a coincidental unit of measurement in our family life, including when number 2 happened to serendipitously arrive so I could see the name really being a draw if this one is born next year, (particularly within a certain time frame – corresponding boy choice being [name_m]Endymion[/name_m]). [name_f]My[/name_f] partner just heard an episode of the Hardcore [name_m]History[/name_m]: Addendum podcast about [name_f]Queen[/name_f] Olympias and now he is obsessed and followed it up reading [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_m]Carney[/name_m]'s biography of her. He has been talking about how awesome she was and how much power she held and wielded as she wished and what an underappreciated historical figure she was. So now I’m thinking Olympias would be a better name pick than [name_f]Olympia[/name_f]? I think it would fit nicely and make [name_f]Olympia[/name_f] just that little bit less basic, a little less [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], and a bit more commanding next to H and A. What do you think?
Olympias [name_f]Helen[/name_f]
Olympias [name_f]Helena[/name_f]
Olympias [name_u]Jule[/name_u]
Olympias [name_f]Hermione[/name_f]
Olympias [name_f]Appoline[/name_f]
Olympias [name_u]Honor[/name_u]
Olympias [name_f]Honora[/name_f]
Olympias [name_f]Aster[/name_f]
Olympias [name_f]Elinor[/name_f]
Olympias [name_f]Opal[/name_f]
Olympias [name_f]Marigold[/name_f]
Olympias Margali
Others high in consideration, but my husband is only 80% on board:
[name_f]Calliope[/name_f], “[name_f]Poppy[/name_f]”
[name_m]Calixto[/name_m]
[name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f], “[name_f]Zazie[/name_f]” and “[name_f]Zelda[/name_f]”
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosmerta[/name_f]
[name_f]Maxima[/name_f]
[name_f]Octavia[/name_f], “[name_f]Vita[/name_f]”
[name_f]Cosima[/name_f] [CAUSE-im-a, very close to [name_m]Cosmo[/name_m]/Cosmos, but with the slightest breath of an i before the ma ending, COSS-im-a doesn’t bother us, but co-SEEM-a does], “[name_f]Cosette[/name_f]”
[name_m]Can[/name_m]'t wait to hear all your input, feedback, imagery, associations, reservations, all of it! Thanks, Berries!!!