Sister of a stillborn daughter?

Girl Names
1

Last [name]October[/name], we lost our baby [name]Lucia[/name] around 5 months into the pregnancy. We are now expecting another girl. Coincidentally (or not), this one is due on [name]December[/name] 13, which is [name]Lucy[/name]’s name day. In Scandinavian countries, the date is celebrated with a special prayer service and a little girl wearing a crown of candles ([name]Lucia[/name] means light and the saint is remembered on one of the darkest days of the year).

We considered, but rejected, the idea of reusing the name. We cherish our first little girl and don’t want to confuse her memory by having two [name]Lucy[/name]’s in the family. However, another perfect name has been elusive to find.

We are looking for a classic (old) name that is fresh for today, resonant, distinctly feminine. The middle name will be [name]Jean[/name] or [name]Jane[/name], after her grandfather ([name]John[/name]) whose birthday is also [name]December[/name] 13. Here is our list – please feel free to tell us what you think:

[name]Lilian[/name] – we like the adaptability of the name that can range from cute [name]Lily[/name], to lacy [name]Liliana[/name], to sensible [name]Lilian[/name]. We haven’t yet fallen in love.
[name]Cecilia[/name] (Cece) – also a saint (patron of music!), beautiful phonetics, but it means blind.
[name]Blythe[/name] - Longtime favorite from song in [name]Shakespeare[/name]'s Much [name]Ado[/name] about Nothing, but I think there aren’t enough syllables ([name]Blythe[/name] [name]Jean[/name]?)
[name]Marian[/name] - After all, it is a [name]Christmas[/name] child, and [name]Robin[/name] Hood’s Lady [name]Marian[/name] is a favorite romantic heroine.
[name]Margaret[/name] - Obvious choice as it is the name of both of my grandmothers, but there is a shortage of obvious nicknames (i.e. not [name]Molly[/name] or Masie) besides [name]Greta[/name] (ick) or [name]Marge[/name].
[name]Helena[/name] - [name]Lena[/name] seemed an awesome nickname until we moved to Germany where [name]Lena[/name] has been over-used for several years running.
Meria - Another [name]Mary[/name] - with a [name]Meri[/name] nickname. The alternate meanings of [name]Mary[/name] as “wished-for child” and “beloved” would fit because we have long yearned for a baby girl.

Also, I love [name]Lucy[/name] in C.S. [name]Lewis[/name]’ [name]Narnia[/name] Chronicles. I considered naming this baby a form of [name]Susan[/name] (her sister in the stories) until I remembered that [name]Susan[/name] ends up sour and unfriendly by the end of the series.

We already have two sons, [name]Finnian[/name] “[name]Finn[/name]” [name]Robert[/name] ([name]Robert[/name] after his father) and [name]Nathaniel[/name] “[name]Nate[/name] the Great” [name]Dietrich[/name] (after [name]Dietrich[/name] Bonhoeffer), to give you a sense of our naming style. Your input would be much appreciated. Naming a girl feels like picking out a dress that she will have to wear for her entire life!

2

What about using it as a middle name? [name]Love[/name] the idea of [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Lucia[/name] [name]Jean[/name] or [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Lucy[/name] [name]Jean[/name]. [name]Blythe[/name] and then [name]Helena[/name] are my choices.

3

I’ve recently discovered how well [name]Felicity[/name] [name]Jane[/name] sounds, and I think that would go with your style. It’s traditional/old, yet underused, and feminine. However, it is the same initial as [name]Finnian[/name] (which I love, by the way!), so that might get annoying when labelling water bottles or something.
[name]Cecilia[/name] is interesting, considering [name]Lucy[/name] means light. So it’s sort of complimentary. And [name]Cecilia[/name] [name]Jane[/name]/[name]Jean[/name] sounds lovely!
[name]Margaret[/name] could be [name]Margaret[/name], [name]Meg[/name], [name]Peggy[/name], [name]Margo[/name], [name]Marga[/name], [name]Meggy[/name], or [name]Peg[/name] to name a few.
Also, I don’t think using [name]Lucy[/name] would be like reusing [name]Lucia[/name]. My mom had an older sister who died in infancy named [name]Janice[/name]. My mom ended up being [name]Janet[/name]. Similiar, but not the same.

4

Margaret can be called “Maggie” as well; Margaret means “Pearl”, which is of course an old-fashion option for you as well.
If you want additional syllables, how about Blytha…?

Marcia is another name you might like, prn Mar-sha or Mar-see-ia.

If you’re looking at Christmas names:
~Natalie/Natalia (nn Talia) might be something worth considering. It literally means Christmas child and the shortened Talia (or Thalia) means “gentle dew from Heaven.”
~Clarice is another name that reminds me of Christmas. It also mean bright or clear and was the name of Rudolph’s girlfriend… she was a faithful friend :slight_smile: Claire/Clara has the same meaning. Clarice Lucia Jane is very beautiful!

5

I really like [name]Blythe[/name] & [name]Marion[/name]…
[name]Marion[/name] [name]Jeanne[/name] or [name]Marion[/name] [name]Jean[/name] flows a bit better than [name]Blythe[/name] [name]Jean[/name] and you would avoid the (avoided by many) BJ initial thing.
I like [name]Cecilia[/name], but it sounds like name meaning is important to you so maybe that’s out. I would do something like
[name]Marion[/name] [name]Luca[/name] [name]Jeanne[/name]
[name]Cecilia[/name] [name]Johanna[/name] [name]Bright[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name] [name]Luciana[/name] [name]Jonquil[/name]

3 middles aren’t for everyone, but we did it because like you we had two people we really wanted to honor. Personally, I don’t feel locked into using a 3rd for any other children I might be naming in the future.

6

Sorry, i meant [name]Marian[/name]

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I’m sorry for your loss, and congratulations on your new bundle of joy! I think it’s lovely you want to honour baby [name]Lucia[/name]'s memory. What about a name with a similar meaning?

[name]Clara[/name] - bright, clear
[name]Chiara[/name] - clear
[name]Clarissa[/name] - bright, clear
[name]Helen[/name] - bright, shining one (and of course [name]Helena[/name], could you nn her [name]Leni[/name] instead of [name]Lena[/name]?)
[name]Elena[/name] - bright, shining one
[name]Eleni[/name] - bright, shining one
Lior - my light
Roshan - light, bright
[name]Ailana[/name] - light bearer
[name]Alienor[/name] - light, bright
[name]Alyona[/name] - light
[name]Eliora[/name] - the [name]Lord[/name] is my light
[name]Lenore[/name] - light
[name]Leora[/name] - light
[name]Eleanor[/name] - bright, shining one
[name]Eleanora[/name] - bright, shining one
[name]Leanora[/name] - bright, shining one
[name]Nahara[/name] - light
[name]Neriah[/name] - light of Jehovah
[name]Noor[/name] - light
[name]Nora[/name] - light

I also looked up the nameday [name]December[/name] 13th, and other names listed as having [name]December[/name] 13th as their nameday are [name]Luise[/name] ([name]Louise[/name] maybe?), [name]Jocelyn[/name] and Otilia ([name]Ottilie[/name] or [name]Ottilia[/name] maybe?).

I hope there’s something there that helps! Another idea is to use a name meaning “life” e.g. [name]Vida[/name], [name]Vita[/name], [name]Vivia[/name], [name]Viviana[/name], [name]Vivienne[/name], [name]Vivian[/name], [name]Zoe[/name], [name]Enid[/name], [name]Eva[/name], [name]Eve[/name] or [name]Liv[/name].

Good luck!

8

I like [name]Cecilia[/name] and [name]Margaret[/name] the most from the names that you have list. But since you aren’t “in love” with any choices yet, maybe some suggestions will help. As alternatives, I really like [name]Cecily[/name] and [name]Celia[/name] for [name]Cecilia[/name], and love [name]Marguerite[/name] (nicknamed [name]Daisy[/name] or [name]Rita[/name]) for [name]Margaret[/name].

What about names that also have light meanings for [name]Lucia[/name]'s sister? [name]Phoebe[/name] was the first name that came to mind. [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Jean[/name] or [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Jane[/name] would be darling, in my opinion. Other light meanings:

[name]Alba[/name]
[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Gwendolen[/name] / [name]Wendy[/name]
[name]Lux[/name]
[name]Shirley[/name]
[name]Zahra[/name]

9

These are wonderful suggestions - I like [name]Marion[/name] too (love the French actress) and I didn’t know that about [name]Talia[/name]. I have thought of [name]Felicity[/name], although nicknames are hard to find. My husband thinks [name]Maggie[/name] sounds like Magpie, so he has been pretty against [name]Margaret[/name]. I don’t mind the [name]Maisy[/name] nn although its stretched from the original…

I have two middle names and I found that one always ended up being forgotten on tax records or other “fill in your whole name” forms. But I can see what you mean about wanting to remember both.

Thanks for all the great suggestions so far!

10

[name]Cecilia[/name] by a mile!! I think it is such a beautiful name with a perfect saint connection. It would also connect her name to [name]Lucia[/name] and [name]Saint[/name] [name]Lucy[/name] since [name]Saint[/name] [name]Lucy[/name] is the patron saint of the blind and [name]Cecilia[/name] means blind. I cannot think of a better way to subtly connect your daughters while still have distinct names :slight_smile:

11

[name]Helen[/name], [name]Clara[/name]… thoughtfully appropriate, thanks! What about Meria? Is it too…strange? [name]Cecilia[/name] is always whispering to us…

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I love [name]Clara[/name]! And [name]Clara[/name] and [name]Lucia[/name] share a connection, I like that.

[name]Do[/name] you still live in Germany?

If so, I wouldn’t use [name]Blythe[/name], it’s pretty hard to pronounce for Germans and will probably most of the time be “Blyce”

I also like [name]Lilian[/name], but [name]Lilly[/name] is super popular (in Germany, in case you still live here), but if she’ll go by [name]Lilian[/name] I think it’s a good choice.

Agree with [name]Helena[/name] / [name]Lena[/name] has been over used for 30 years.

But yeah, my favorite is [name]Clara[/name], so pretty (ok, pretty popular as well) but pretty anyways :wink:

13

[name]Cecilia[/name], [name]Helena[/name], or [name]Clara[/name] would be my picks for you. I like [name]Cecilia[/name] because of what dillonsfan01 pointed out. If the meaning puts you off, you might could consider a middle name that means love, devotion, faith, etc. I’ve always liked the name [name]Cecilia[/name] [name]Carys[/name] because it means blind love. You did say you want to use [name]Jean[/name] or [name]Jane[/name], however. Are you open to two middle names?

I like [name]Helena[/name] and [name]Clara[/name] because they both mean clear, bright, shining. Those meanings are a nice connection to sister [name]Lucia[/name].

14

I like [name]Clara[/name] for a girl born in [name]December[/name] since it’s the name of the little girl in The Nutcracker. It makes for a very nice, not so obvious holiday name.

15

Definitely [name]Cecilia[/name]/[name]Cecelia[/name]. I wouldn’t worry about the name meaning blind. She’s the patron saint of music- you don’t need eyes to hear music. :slight_smile:

Nickname could be Cece.

16

I love so many of your names, a lot of the same I am considering! My favorites you listed are [name]Lilian[/name], [name]Cecilia[/name], [name]Marian[/name], [name]Margaret[/name]. What about [name]Maggie[/name] as a [name]Margaret[/name] nickname? Have you considered maybe a [name]Christmas[/name]-y name? [name]Stella[/name] [name]Noel[/name] sound beautiful, [name]Stella[/name] of course meaning [name]Star[/name]. Or [name]Stella[/name] [name]Maris[/name], in Latin is [name]Star[/name] of the Sea which is [name]Marian[/name]. What about [name]Eve[/name] or [name]Eva[/name] which mean life?

17

[name]Cecilia[/name] is lovely until you start thinking about the nickname. Cece is cute for a baby but not for an adult. [name]Celia[/name] is okay, but the ones that come to my mind are [name]Silly[/name] and [name]Sicily[/name]. Hmm.

18

I like [name]Helena[/name] most, or [name]Lilian[/name].

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I really like [name]Cecilia[/name] with [name]Lucia[/name].

20

[name]Love[/name] the suggestions… but still not in love with anything. I am only five months pregnant; maybe I need to relax a bit and wait for the muse to strike. taylorbluesky - you are exactly right: [name]Lili[/name] and [name]Helen[/name] ([name]Lena[/name]) are really over done here in Germany, and while we probably won’t stay forever, the possibility that we might exists. It is hard having to avoid multiple top ten lists - especially when the names are so cute!