Oddly enough many of my favorite names are from songs…
Archer - The song The [name_u]Archer[/name_u] by [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] [name_m]Swift[/name_m] means so so much to me. [name_f]My[/name_f] love for the name (and nn [name_m]Archie[/name_m]) came very shortly after the release of the song.
Cornelia - So there’s a song on [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] [name_m]Swift[/name_m]’s album Lover called [name_f]Cornelia[/name_f] [name_f]Street[/name_f]. She invited me to the Lover [name_f]Secret[/name_f] Sessions in Nashville and we talked for a while about the song and the [name_f]Cornelia[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] flower became my name is actually [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. I’ve fallen in love with [name_f]Cornelia[/name_f] ever since.
August - Okay this name was on my list for about a year when out of no where [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] released a song called [name_u]August[/name_u]. I had [name_u]August[/name_u] on my list because I wanted to honor the month I met [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] and I fell for this name.
Yes she holds these listening parties for fans at her house to listen to unreleased music. They’re called secret sessions. I was invited to the one in Nashville!
my favorite name is [name_u]Presley[/name_u] [name_f]Flora[/name_f] [name_f]Lucy[/name_f].
when I was 10 my Uncle that lived in [name_f]Florida[/name_f] died of terminal cancer. at the time I was listening to [name_m]Elvis[/name_m] [name_u]Presley[/name_u]’s Jailhouse [name_m]Rock[/name_m]. and all the music at the funeral was [name_m]Elvis[/name_m] music. I [name_f]Flora[/name_f] from [name_f]Florida[/name_f] and I got [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] because he lived in port St. [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]. so I got the name of my future daughter from my uncles death
My favourite combination of all time is [name_f]Theia[/name_f] [name_f]Selene[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_f]Theia[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_f]Selene[/name_f]. Here’s why:
[name_f]My[/name_f] mum’s name is [name_f]Tara[/name_f], so [name_f]Theia[/name_f] would honor her. [name_f]My[/name_f] dad’s name is [name_u]Sam[/name_u], so [name_f]Selene[/name_f] would honor him. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is T______ S______, so it would be special to me too. [name_f]Selene[/name_f]/a is another name for [name_u]Artemis[/name_u], who represents my love for Greek Mythology (so does [name_f]Theia[/name_f]). [name_f]Rose[/name_f] honors both my grandma’s as their names are both a variant of [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. It also represents my love for [name_u]Harry[/name_u] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] and the character of [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] [name_m]Granger[/name_m], as [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] names her daughter [name_f]Rose[/name_f] in the book. Together, [name_f]Theia[/name_f] [name_f]Selene[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_f]Theia[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_f]Selene[/name_f] means “The goddess of the moon and roses”.
This combination has a beautiful meaning, sound, and represents all the things that I love. I think that it’s pure perfection.
(Thank you for all those who helped me come up with honor combos. Although I didn’t use any of the suggestions, I really do appreciate the help!)
One combo that really holds a meaning for me is [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] [name_u]Brave[/name_u]. When I was younger, I was incredibly shy. I went red talking to any stranger and was never the most talkative person. I hated being the centre of attention.
Then, I started having dreams about a imaginary friend. He was shy. He wasn’t talkative. He didn’t like being the centre of attention. But he didn’t let his shy nature get the better of him. He didn’t let anybody get him down. An imaginary role model was developing in my mind, something so different from the usual ‘why am I so shy’ and ‘just say something, for goodness’ sake’. And his name was [name_m]Gideon[/name_m], from the first moment on. I didn’t love that name at first, but now I couldn’t love it more. I paired [name_u]Brave[/name_u] with [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] to symbolise the [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] in my thoughts: [name_u]Brave[/name_u].
I like to think [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] has made me a happier person.
oof i’ll do one of my names today, might come back and do more later!
Trina [name_u]Louise[/name_u]: [name_f]Trina[/name_f] is the name of one of my favourites characters (any falsettos fans out there ) who i discovered at a really dark time, and her resilience and bravery in the show really helped me through and inspired me. she basically saved my life And [name_u]Louise[/name_u] is my late grans name, i miss her so much She had such a great impact on me growing up, so it really means a lot to honour her.
Hey! The Lover secret sessions were actually not live because they were at her house however, there are videos on YouTube of the 1989 and reputation sessions! Maybe you’re thinking of the [name_u]Paris[/name_u] show? But either way, yes for sure the best day of my life!
[name_f]My[/name_f] names don’t really have a special meaning behind them but I’ll go ahead and put my top two here!
[name_f]Vivianne[/name_f] [name_f]Ella[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f]- [name_f]Vivianne[/name_f] has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. I first heard of it when I was around 10 or 11 and loved it! I think it’s a very sweet name and it also honors my grandmother whose middle name is [name_f]Ann[/name_f]! [name_f]Vivi[/name_f]anne. It also has a few similarities to my name as they are both names are of Latin origin and contain some of the same letters. As for the middle names, [name_f]Ella[/name_f] was just a name I loved. I love that it’s short and sweet but also very simple. I think [name_f]Ella[/name_f] also compliments [name_f]Vivianne[/name_f] very well! As for [name_f]May[/name_f], I thought this was an adorable name that ended the full name very nicely and just went with [name_f]Vivianne[/name_f] and [name_f]Ella[/name_f].
[name_m]Joseph[/name_m] [name_m]William[/name_m] [name_u]Ryan[/name_u]- Before joining NB, I wasn’t so huge on [name_m]Joseph[/name_m]. I think it’s because I thought it was a little bland. A month before joining, I realized [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] wasn’t so bad and would fit in with the rest of names so I came up with [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] so I could convince myself I liked it way more than I thought I did. Eventually, I came to realize I adore [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] and now it’s my favorite! As for [name_m]William[/name_m], I didn’t actually start loving it until late 2020 and I think it just went nicely with another list I was composing. Classic names are my favorite so I think this is how I came to love it! I had [name_m]William[/name_m] [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] on my list when I joined but a few months later, I decided to put [name_m]William[/name_m] in the middle. [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] is just a name I have liked for a little while and thought it just went with this combo. Some people see it as a “mean guy” name or “boring” but I don’t see that at all! I think it’s a pretty cool name and it just goes well with [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] and [name_m]William[/name_m]
So I’m really big on name meanings and choosing names that mean something positive. Asher is one that I’ve always loved! I love that it’s a biblical name, and means “blessed, happy”. Lane is my boyfriend’s middle name.
Girl: Ayla Dean
I knew of a girl named Ayla when I was young (she was a lot older than me and we were barely acquaintances), but the name stuck. Ayla is a Hebrew name meaning oak tree, and in the Bible, the oak tree is often a symbol of strength and power. My grandma, my mother, and I all have the same middle name: Jean. However, Jean does not go well with my boyfriend’s last name. My great-grandmother’s middle name was Dean, so I decided to use Dean instead of Jean
[name_f]My[/name_f] most meaningful name I have is
[name_f]Tasmin[/name_f] [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] [name_u]Navy[/name_u]
[name_f]Tasmin[/name_f] : This name means so much to me as when I was 9 my mom was expecting twins unfortunately she had a miscarriage and it affected me badly my mom was in hospital and I had to take care of my 2 siblings. I was so heartbroken as I always wanted another brother or sister. The name [name_f]Tasmin[/name_f] means twin so I feel like this honours both babies who unfortunately didn’t make it into this world.
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] : This is a name I have loved since the age of 4 I used to call all my teddies and barbies this. When my little sister was born I refused to call her by her real name (Amelie) and instead called her [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]! I eventually accepted the fact that [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] was not my sisters name and started calling her by her real name. I still adore this name so much!
[name_u]Navy[/name_u] : this name is after my great grandfather who was in the navy, he gave up his life for a a group of people. That’s all I know about him but what he did was so brave and I’m so grateful to have him as a great grandfather
The most meaningful name i have is probably [name_u]River[/name_u].
I found this name at the end of 2016 or beginning of 2017 when i discovered the late actor [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. I was young, 13/14 years and thought he had the coolest name ever, loved [name_u]River[/name_u] and also his last name [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], loved how they fit together and loved the uniqueness it gave to him, which represented him very well. I also loved his nns “Rio” and “Riv”.
I also loved his middle name, [name_u]Jude[/name_u], which was in honor of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, and i also loved how [name_u]Jude[/name_u] fit and loved the musical reference.
I never thought of actually using [name_u]River[/name_u] as a name because I thought it would be too obvious it was after [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], but then it grew so much on popularity that made me think I could actually use it as a name and it became my first option for a boy.
Throughout 2017 and 2018, I started watching River’s movies and interviews and loved the way he acted, loved how he spoke and loved his way of thinking. I also thought he was the prettiest guy I’ve ever seen.
I also got into his veganism activist, which made me become a vegetarian at the end of 2018. Also, around that time I also came out as bi (which is not connected to River) but both things where the start of the long process of me getting to know myself, something I had little time to do when I was in highschool due to exams and stress and low-self esteem.
Moreover, I also started to love this name for its bohemian and nature style, which is my fav style for names.
Also, recently, I started to get into buddhism and I read the book “Siddartha” which is my fav book ever and means a lot to me. The book mentioned a lot the [name_u]River[/name_u] of life, which is a very beautiful concept. Later, I found out that [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] was named because of that! Which made me love the name even more.
Sadly, this name is almost unusable for me because of the famous argentinian soccer team [name_u]River[/name_u] Plate, which is a veeery important part of my culture and I know everyone will associate the name to the soccer team. Also, because my main language is spanish, it would be so weird to name a child an english word name, and that’s also why i don’t know anyone with the name [name_u]River[/name_u] in my country. (and also that’s why the word “River” in my country immediately gets associated with the soccer team and not with the english word)
I remember always thinking I could name my future son [name_u]River[/name_u] if I lived in another country, but being realistic, my culture and the association of the soccer team will still follow me anywhere by my family and friends.
My dad saw a side character named Kristen in some sci-if book and decided that it was perfect. My mom did not care much, she’s not a name nerd at all, so she gave dad full creative freedom lmao.
And Daniella is a family name! My sister has a version of Daniel as her middle name too
Oh nooo, I thought it was about our real names, my bad
[name_f]My[/name_f] top combos aren’t super meaningful, certainly not as meaningful as other commenters in this thread, but I’d like to share my top girl combo with you anyway. I was going to do my top 4 combos but it was long enough after one that I decided to stop.
We primarily picked [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] because we like the sound and the meaning. St. [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] is a pre-congregational saint who was martyred in AD 304, so she is believed to be a saint in both Greek Orthodoxy and the [name_m]Church[/name_m] of [name_u]England[/name_u]. She was a wealthy young woman who distributed her money and jewels amongst the poor, and I really like the legend of her putting a wreath of candles on her head so she could carry more food to those sheltering in the catacombs.
[name_m]Endeavour[/name_m] is a powerful word name as to endeavour is to try really hard to achieve something, and can sometimes be synonymous with determination and grit, which is a quality that I’d like our children to have. It also honours our friend in a roundabout, tongue-in-cheek way because his nickname is Morse, as he is very like Inspector Morse. Inspector Morse’s first name is [name_m]Endeavour[/name_m] so the prequel series is named [name_m]Endeavour[/name_m]. Therefore, using [name_m]Endeavour[/name_m] as a middle name is a nice way to honour our friend in a way that feels more meaningful than just using a variation of his first name.
We chose to round out the combo with [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] as it flows well and honours St. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Magdalene[/name_f]. We liked the idea of [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] in the first name spot as we really like the name, but it wasn’t usable for a number of reasons. Firstly, our last name ends in a hard N sound which is jarring next to [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]. This isn’t a problem when [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is in the middle name spot, as the chance of her being referred to by her full name on a regular basis is highly unlikely, but in the first name spot it doesn’t really flow how I would like. We also don’t really like any of the nicknames for [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]. In the UK, the name [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is also especially associated with [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] McCann, the toddler who disappeared from her parents’ holiday villa in 2007, which puts me off using it as a first name. However, I have a special devotion to St. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Magdalene[/name_f], so I really wanted to honour her in my daughter’s name, and I didn’t want to just use [name_f]Mary[/name_f] as I wanted to make it clear that we were honouring [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Magdalene[/name_f] and not the Virgin [name_f]Mary[/name_f].
(my most meaningful name) [name_f]Amity[/name_f] [name_f]Juliet[/name_f]- There are so many reasons that I adore this name, my family has an AJ tradition for first born children and i knew I wanted to keep that going. [name_f]Amity[/name_f] means so many things to me I adored the Divergent books back when they first came out which was where I first discovered it. It means Friendship something I have always struggled with, something I hope my daughter never struggles with, and something I hope she always displays. I never minded the horror association because my family has always bonded through horror movies. [name_f]My[/name_f] late grandmother (a wonderful lady) was the one who first got us into it, so what most would see as a negative association just gave me more reason to use it. [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] means youthful as I hope she stays young at heart for as long as she can, I also do love the literature element of it.
A couple shorter answers
[name_f]Sophronia[/name_f] [name_u]Florence[/name_u]- ‘wisdom blooms’ I [name_u]Read[/name_u] the five little peppers as a kid and fell in love with [name_f]Sophronia[/name_f] right away, its just one of those names that have stuck with me forever.
[name_f]Lucinda[/name_f] [name_f]Carline[/name_f]- Its a long story but [name_f]Lucinda[/name_f] in short is an ode to my 3 best friends who I have known since the 3rd grade. While [name_f]Carline[/name_f] is and ode my mother, who I love very dearly.
[name_f]Lydia[/name_f]: there’s not really a story behind this, I just really like the name. However, I do like the connection to [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_u]Austen[/name_u], who my mom and I used to read together.
[name_u]June[/name_u] & [name_u]James[/name_u]: both would honor my grandma and grandpa whose shared the first initial J, honoring them is super important to me.
[name_f]Eve[/name_f]: I love the association of the biblical [name_f]Eve[/name_f], who I see as a feminist figure. It also has a special personal connection to me.
[name_f]Katherine[/name_f]: this would honor my mom, who I’m very close with.
I don’t know why I love the name [name_f]Molly[/name_f] so much. I first started liking it about ten years ago, but it only became one of my favourites in the last two years. As with [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], our top girl combo, it was important for us to use a saint name and whilst there is no St [name_f]Molly[/name_f], it is a diminutive of [name_f]Mary[/name_f] so we’re well covered. St [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Magdalene[/name_f] is very important to me, which is why she is honoured in our #1 girl name explicitly, but the Virgin [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is also significant and would almost definitely be our daughter’s name saint.
In a similar vein, I’m not sure when I started liking [name_u]Promise[/name_u] either. I like that it conveys an aspect of honesty or honour, whilst being a bit spunkier and unusual than [name_f]Honour[/name_f] or [name_f]Honesty[/name_f]. I am very fond of unusual middles as my parents gave me and my sisters unusual middle names. It’s often an icebreaker, and means I stand out a bit more from the crowd, especially with my common first name (I briefly tried to go through uni as First Middle, but that died out pretty quickly as it was too long and I kept forgetting to introduce myself that way ). I also like that it looks visually similar to [name_f]Primrose[/name_f], which reminds me of The Hunger Games and the character [name_f]Prim[/name_f].
Finally, [name_f]Barbara[/name_f]. [name_f]Barbara[/name_f] is a sweet name and I genuinely believe it will make a comeback, but today is not that day. During my time at university, the local Orthodox church was called St. Barbara’s, so we learnt a lot about her. We like how she rebelled to do what she thought was right, even in a subtle way (deliberately asking for 3 windows in her tower to show her belief in the Trinity). We also felt very welcomed and definitely part of the church there, so choosing [name_f]Barbara[/name_f] honours both St. [name_f]Barbara[/name_f] herself, and the community who looked after us so well in the early years of our relationship. Similar to how [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is in the middle spot in our #1 girl’s name, we don’t find [name_f]Barbara[/name_f] very usable so we have decided to slide it into the middle where we can love it without burdening our daughters with too many comments about its datedness.
The most meaningful combo on my list is [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] [name_f]Carolyn[/name_f].
Daisies are the birth flower of the month of [name_f]April[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] mother and great grandmother were born in [name_f]April[/name_f] and my nana passed away in [name_f]April[/name_f] too; honoring all three of them. [name_f]Carolyn[/name_f] is an extra honor for my nana. Her name was [name_f]Lynette[/name_f] and her favorite song was Sweet [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] by [name_u]Neil[/name_u] [name_u]Diamond[/name_u], so I combined [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] and [name_f]Lynette[/name_f] and got [name_f]Carolyn[/name_f]. I know [name_f]Carolyn[/name_f] is rather dated but it has special significance to me. The initials also match my uncle’s initials who had passed away too, honoring him as well. Family honored all around.
) who i discovered at a really dark time, and her resilience and bravery in the show really helped me through and inspired me. 
I eventually accepted the fact that [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] was not my sisters name and started calling her by her real name. I still adore this name so much!
). I also like that it looks visually similar to [name_f]Primrose[/name_f], which reminds me of The Hunger Games and the character [name_f]Prim[/name_f].