Today I was at a playground with my three boys, and the grass all around us was a carpet of blooming clover flowers, and it smelled so beautiful. And I was thinking, oh crap, should I reconsider [name]Clover[/name]? I’ve been obsessing about the potential bad luck of opals, all the while forgetting my original choice is one of the luckiest luck symbols out there. Why did I give it up again? Because I’d seen a couple of examples of kids with that name, then there were two extremely minor celeb couples who named their daughters that in the past year, plus it sounds too close to [name]Chloe[/name] and other phonic trends like the -er ending. Okay, so my questions are:
Is it really going to get super popular? Or, do you think that the animal-name-ishness of it combined with the cheesiness factor will keep it relatively unheard-of?
Is it going to sound trendy and dated when she’s older?
Is it truly too close to [name]Chloe[/name]? [name]Will[/name] she just get lumped in with the two dozen Chloes in her grade?
Which will sound more popular/be more trendy - [name]Clover[/name] or [name]Pearl[/name]?
I don’t see [name]Clover[/name] or [name]Pearl[/name] becoming overly popular or trendy. I think [name]Pearl[/name] will be more popular because it fits in with the vintage revival names. Also, I very highly doubt there will be two dozen Chloes in your daughter’s grade. That is an over exaggeration.
[name]Just[/name] looking at the 2011 stats alone, there were 10,917 Chloes born in the US. If you pretend there are an even number of Chloes in each state, divide 10,917 by 50 and you will have about 218 or 219 Chloes per state. Now divide that by the number of schools. Not as popular as you think.
Also, [name]Clover[/name] seems less “appropriate” than [name]Pearl[/name] does as time goes on. I can see it being looked back on as a 2012 name, especially since the name [name]Clove[/name] is in the Hunger Games and that was the hottest thing a few months back.
I radically prefer [name]Clover[/name] over [name]Pearl[/name] though.
What do you mean by less “appropriate?” Like less of a real name? I was thinking [name]Pearl[/name] might sound more dated because it IS suddenly appropriate right now. Also, maybe [name]Katniss[/name] and [name]Primrose[/name] will experience major boosts from Hunger Games and be strongly identified with the book and the movie, but [name]Clove[/name] was a way more minor character, and [name]Clove[/name] in my mind is farther from [name]Clover[/name] than [name]Chloe[/name] is, even though they sound more alike, because when I think [name]Clove[/name] I think the spice, I think goth teens smoking clove cigarettes, and even the character from Hunger Games is a dark little badass, none of which are associations I make with the name I like. I also think Hunger Games was more of a teen phenomenon, and most teens aren’t having kids. I know Twilight influenced baby names a lot, but I think that’s because a lot of mom-age ladies got really obsessed with the books because of the whole romance element to the point where they’d want to name their kids after the characters. I know plenty of adults are really into the Hunger Games series, but I don’t think it’s to the same point and degree of obsession as with Twilight. Not saying it’s cool for a grown woman to be a Twihard though!
Went to the movies with one of my sisters yesterday. Her vote is for [name]Opal[/name], because she thinks [name]Clover[/name] is trendy-sounding and also sounds too much like [name]Chloe[/name]. Full disclosure - we saw [name]Magic[/name] [name]Mike[/name]. There was this one line in the movie that hit close to home. [name]Early[/name] on they’re at this club talking to these two girls named [name]Porsche[/name] and [name]Ruby[/name] that [name]Mike[/name] knows, and “The Kid” asks the girls what they do, and later [name]Mike[/name] is like “If a girl’s name is a flower, a car, or a stone, you don’t have to ask what they do,” meaning you can assume they’re strippers! My sister definitely gave me a look at that one! Named after a car, okay, a stone sometimes, but a flower?
Anyone else want to weigh in on the trendiness factor of [name]Clover[/name], and how dated it may or may not sound in ten or twenty years? Which will stand the test of time better, [name]Clover[/name] or [name]Opal[/name]? I think right now that’s what it’s down to, if I could just get past the bad luck association. I actually read black opals are always considered good luck, so I’m sort of looking in to maybe a middle name that means black in another language if we do go with that name. Husband says he’s always liked [name]Clover[/name] better and still likes it the best.
I don’t think [name]Clover[/name] is ever going to be super popular, honestly. I can be wrong, but I honestly doubt it. If it doesn’t get popular, it cannot be trendy and therefore cannot be dated. I think [name]Clover[/name] is a bit out there actually, which will prevent it from over the top popularity.
[name]Chloe[/name] and [name]Clover[/name] are not close [name]IMO[/name], and I think a little [name]Clover[/name] would stand out from the crowd:)
I don’t think (or hope!) that either [name]Clover[/name] or [name]Pearl[/name] will be trendy:) [name]Pearl[/name] might become a little bit popular though.
[name]Clover[/name], [name]Pearl[/name], and [name]Opal[/name] are all great options, [name]IMO[/name]!
If you and your husband love [name]Clover[/name] and you keep going back to it, then I think you should choose [name]Clover[/name]. [name]Pearl[/name] seems like a more grown up name to me but I don’t think [name]Clover[/name] is overly cutesy like some other trendy names (eg. [name]Piper[/name]). I like the name myself but then I like a lot of the flower names. Maybe you should take [name]Clover[/name], [name]Pearl[/name] and [name]Opal[/name] to the hospital with you and decide which name “suits” your daughter the best!
I don’t think [name]Clover[/name] will sound dated in the future, mainly because there was never a popularity surge of it, so you can’t really pinpoint [name]Clover[/name] to a certain era. I guess you could call it trendy because of its modern sound. However, I wouldn’t say it’s trendy because it was never popular either. I honestly would say that [name]Clover[/name] is one of those creative names that is truly unusual and unique at the moment because of how largely unknown it is. I think that [name]Clover[/name] would age nicely because there’s nothing babyish about it. It doesn’t end in a vowel, so it doesn’t sound nicknamey to me, and it’s lack of vowel sounds makes it sound much more down to earth and natural. If names like [name]Kylie[/name], [name]Nevaeh[/name], and [name]Mckenzie[/name] are growing up these days, why can’t [name]Clover[/name]? I honestly think [name]Clover[/name] will grow up much more gracefully than [name]Kylie[/name]. I imagine a [name]Clover[/name] being a spunky, outgoing girl who is good at sports.
[name]Opal[/name] seems more dated to me because there’s history of its use. It definitely is an old-lady name to me, but it has a sweet vintage charm to it. You don’t hear much about [name]Opal[/name] these days, and I think it would be really refreshing to see a baby [name]Opal[/name]. I definitely don’t think its trendy simply because [name]Opal[/name] has a sweet, unforced sound to it. Opals themselves are pretty, so that’s a plus. And she will definitely be the only [name]Opal[/name] around. My only quirk about [name]Opal[/name] is that it sounds like there’s something missing, a syllable or something. For me, it feels incomplete. I imagine [name]Opal[/name] being a quiet, shy girl who keeps to herself. She is an artist, and loves to read.
[name]Clover[/name] Pros
*Unusual and unique without the cheese
*Has a reasonable, earthy sound to it
*[name]Lucky[/name] reference
*Sounds like “clever” (not bad in my opinion - “Clever [name]Clover[/name]”)
*Doesn’t sound nicknamey; better chance of it growing up well
[name]Clover[/name] Cons
*Has a chance of sounding dated later in the future (only time will decide this one)
*Its sound isn’t as sweet as [name]Opal[/name]
*No history to back it up as a name
*Sounds like [name]Chloe[/name]
[name]Opal[/name] Pros
*[name]History[/name] behind its use as a name
*Vintage feel to it
*Opals are an attractive gemstone
*Sweeter, feminine sound compared to [name]Clover[/name]
*Chances of it be mistaken for another name is minute.
[name]Opal[/name] Cons
*Some might say it’s currently dated
*Has a clunkier flow compared to [name]Clover[/name] (in my opinion)
*Unlucky reference when [name]Opal[/name] stands alone (not including black opals)
[name]Clotilde[/name]. Unless it’s the “ver” part of the name that intrigues you…
[name]Pearl[/name] has more natural elegance than [name]Clover[/name], more of a lineage as a “people” name. My prediction with [name]Pearl[/name] is that it will primarily be used as middle name, not as a first.
My husband, who grew up on a dairy farm, says [name]Clover[/name] is/was a really popular name for a milking cow. But, so was [name]Annabelle[/name]. I mention this only because you asked about the cheesy factor.
Have you run through imagining both as your name, through all the phases of your life?
I wouldn’t take any advice from a stupid movie. I would use a classic girls name in the middle to give it a nice ring, like [name]Clover[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name]. If it sounds like anything it’s grover not chloe (imo).
It’s not the “[name]Clo[/name]” part that intrigues me, it’s not the sounds at all, that’s my point about what I’m afraid of with the trendy factor of the name. What seems to make a name popular these days is if it contains a certain collection of pretty sounds, and I really dislike that and think it makes all these names blend together and sound like a pretty but extremely boring mush. What I like is a name with strong imagery, which for me with [name]Clover[/name] is a sweet-scented fairy meadow with deer and wildflowers. The “[name]Clo[/name]” part scares me because of [name]Chloe[/name] and her popular ilk, in fact just the “Cl” part is pretty trendy, with [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Clara[/name] and [name]Clementine[/name] etc, and the “er” ending is pretty darned trendy too. So what scared me off of this name originally, besides the starbaby factor, is how many trendy sounds can be found in it, which is what I think will end up making it sound trendy and dated in the future, because trendiness now is mostly about sounds.
I don’t mind the animal association, and I think both names can be carried through all stages of life. Did you know there was (or maybe still is) a mayor of [name]Sydney[/name], Australia named [name]Clover[/name]? And it was the name of one of [name]Roald[/name] Dahl’s now-adult grandkids?
And I think you’re right about Pearl, I definitely see it becoming good friends with Rose and Grace on the overused middle names list.
I’ll give you my two cents, because [name]Clover[/name] is a favorite of mine too. I heard the name on a friend’s guinea pig when I was a little kid, like 8 or 9 probably, and I’ve loved it ever since. I know that’s kind of a ridiculous story, but it’s true. I have never met a [name]Clover[/name] in real life, but my DH has a childhood friend named [name]Clover[/name] (I’ve never met her, because DH is from [name]Vermont[/name] and we live in NC now.) She is around 34 and he said that her name was super uncommon and almost “weird” in high school. But unfortunately, he has said he can’t use it for a child because it’s too strongly associated with his friend.
As for [name]Chloe[/name], I still like it a lot too even though it’s popular. I know 2 [name]Chloe[/name]'s in real life, one is 4 and one is in her 70’s.
Out of [name]Pearl[/name], [name]Clover[/name], and [name]Opal[/name] I definitely see [name]Pearl[/name] becoming the most trendy. Especially as a middle name, it’s 1 syllable so it’s easy to just stick it in the middle. I don’t see [name]Clover[/name] or [name]Opal[/name] becoming very popular but out of the 2, [name]Clover[/name] will probably be more common than [name]Opal[/name]. My opinion, I would go with [name]Clover[/name] because obviously you keep coming back to it for a reason. Always go with a name you love and don’t worry about how society perceives the name.
All three names are lovely. I don’t think any of them will be super popular but I do believe [name]Pearl[/name] has the most potential for popularity right now, especially in the mn spot.
I agree with you on imagery being the most important factor in a name and not just sound. I am much the same way. [name]Both[/name] [name]Clover[/name] and [name]Opal[/name] fit the bill nicely and are very sweet, lovely names that will age well in my opinion. I don’t really think [name]Clover[/name] sound at all like [name]Chloe[/name]. They both have the c beginning and both have an e in the name but [name]Chloe[/name] has the h which really softens the first syllable and it has the very soft e ending where as c at the beginning of [name]Clover[/name], followed by the harder ver sound gives it a completely different look, feel and sound IMHO. The only similarities is that they have a couple of the same letters, but many names do. It’s a lovely name, not likely to be overly popular or even a little popular but it’s not to out there either. I doubt [name]Clover[/name] would sound dated either. I think a name has to be one of those ultra popular “in the moment” names to sound dated. I have synesthesia and see name and many words in color. Because of this, I prefer names that evoke strong, vivid, rich colors or that bring richer imagery beyond just a plain color. [name]Clover[/name] has that beautiful image of a meadow full of sweet scent and warm golden sunshine. [name]Chloe[/name] just sounds pink to me. Ya know, like baby pink. [name]Just[/name] regular, nothing special about it pink. A completely different image and feel than [name]Clover[/name].
[name]Opal[/name] is such a great name and I’ve considered it off and on for years. After all I read about it in your previous threads I think I’m pretty sold on it now (for a subsequent daughter tho, as daughter number one’s name has already been picked out). I would love to meet a little [name]Opal[/name]. It’s such a sweet name and it just brings to mind rainbows and sparkles and fairy’s. [name]Opal[/name]'s are such lovely gems and the name itself, while it has a history of use, has never been popular, much less trendy so therefore it is unlikely to ever sound dated. Plus, while it’s a lovely, sweet name that I can completely see on a sweet little toddler and a young girl and so on and so forth, it still has a bit of that awesome old lady crust that you like (and I confess, so do I). I don’t think you could go wrong with either choice.
Perhaps the best plan is to keep both names warm while you wait for your daughter’s arrival and then see which one settles on her best. Either way, she is sure to be lovely and so is her name. I will be excited to hear what your final choice is.
Edit* While looking up opals and meanings to see where the bad luck superstition originated I found something saying Opal’s are considered to be a symbol of hope because Opal’s contain rainbows (God’s promise never to flood the land again, and therefore a symbol of hope).
I think [name]Clover[/name] is a cute choice. I don’t see it becoming overly popular. And while I don’t see [name]Pearl[/name] becoming overly popular either, I think it will surpass [name]Clover[/name] because it tends to be a little more traditional.
As far as animal name-ish-ness, I DID have a guinea pig named clover at one time. However, disregarding that experience, I whole-heatedly think [name]Clover[/name] is great choice. It is very unique without being unheard of. I don’t think it sounds trendy at all. Maybe a little hippie-ish, but I’m a huge fan of hippie names myself!
Also, I don’t think [name]Clover[/name] will get lumped in with all the other little [name]Cloe[/name]'s. It’s much different in sound and feel.
The only time I’ve heard [name]Clover[/name] is on Totally Spies … I totally love the name though! <3 Way better than Pearl or Opal in my opinion. Go for it! You’re right, Clover is lucky
You’re right, Clover is lucky 