Style evolution...

Girl Names
1

Hey there awesome berries,

So I am after your thoughts…

When my SO and I started talking names over 2 years ago, we had a style that was what I would call “classic, but unique”, but this has slowly evolved into a love of the more out there and unique… we have found ourselves replacing out love of names like [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] and [name_f]Siobhan[/name_f] with names like [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] and [name_f]Olympia[/name_f]. We have grown really fond of Greek names, and often long names. We still love some of our unique classics, but I find there appeal dwindling in comparison to my new found love to long, interesting names.

So, I guess my first question is - do you think using Greek names is a problem?? [name_f]Do[/name_f] they create an issue, like spelling, pronunciation, etc?

I have been going over some of our favourites in my head… and I really like the sound of these as a sibset…

[name_f]Persephone[/name_f] “[name_f]Posey[/name_f]” [name_f]Rose[/name_f]
[name_f]Olympia[/name_f] “[name_f]Pia[/name_f]” [name_f]Autumn[/name_f]
[name_f]Mercedes[/name_f] “[name_f]Mercy[/name_f]” [name_f]Arwen[/name_f]
[name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] “[name_f]Evie[/name_f]” [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]
[name_f]Alexandria[/name_f] “[name_f]Xena[/name_f]” [name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f]

I think they would make a lovely set, but obviously I am biased, so I am keen for your thoughts. Are they nice together? Are they nice individually? Are there any issues that I haven’t noticed??

Second question, we still love [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] and [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] [name_f]Elise[/name_f] as combinations (we’ve had them on our list for a while). [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think it is okay to use them still, or would it seem odd or unfair if, say, we had three girls with such long, elegant names and then called the 4th [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]…?? Does a short, sweet name among long, elegant ones sound out of place?? My greatest fear would be that it sounds as though we “gave up” and couldn’t be bothered finding another pretty, unique name… I wouldn’t want her to feel less special because of her name… we really do love the name… Or am I overthinking??

[name_m]Keen[/name_m] for your thoughts and ideas.

Thanks, berries! xo

2

I think they’re all lovely names, however, if [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], [name_f]Olympia[/name_f], [name_f]Mercedes[/name_f], [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] and [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f] were all sisters, I’d have to say, it sounds a lot like an overload of long, elaborate names.
Which is exactly why [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] and [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] are still great names, especially for sibsets, in this scenario! I would find it nicer and more believable if [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Olympia[/name_f], and [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] were a sibset.
I don’t think spelling is an issue here- if you like the name, think it’s lovely, and if you truly feel it’s ‘the one’ then I say go for it! Because if a child mispronounces or misspells it, remember they are still a child, whereas if an adult does either of those, it goes to show that they’re just not trying. I love your nickname ideas too! [name_f]Posey[/name_f], [name_f]Mercy[/name_f], and [name_f]Evie[/name_f] are my favourites. For [name_f]Olympia[/name_f], I’d prefer Imp because I think it’s cute and affectionate, and for [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f] I’d prefer [name_f]Lexy[/name_f], but [name_f]Pia[/name_f] and [name_f]Xena[/name_f] are lovely nonetheless!

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helped! Congratulations and Good [name_m]Luck[/name_m]! :slight_smile:

3

Huh… this true. When thinking about it previously, it seemed odd having short names and long names together. But you are right, they do flow somehow. I actually really like the set you have used there. It does sound nice. :slight_smile: Thanks for your thoughts.

Thanks. I like cute NNs. I used to be a “no nicknames” kind of person, but they have grown on me. I wasn’t sure about [name_f]Pia[/name_f] (pronounced p-eye-uh), but I have really grown to love it. And much prefer it over [name_u]Ollie[/name_u]. I can’t come at Imp, I am afraid. :confused:
With [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f], I really don’t like [name_u]Alex[/name_u] as a shortening. I thought of maybe using [name_f]Alexia[/name_f], but that didn’t seem to go with the other really short and sweet NNs for the other names. I don’t actually mind [name_u]Lexi[/name_u], but I think I still prefer the uniquer touch of [name_f]Xena[/name_f].

5

I agree with a PP, style might be what’s making the names seem questionable. Sure, they’re all long, but Olympia and Persephone seem completely stylistically different from Mercedes and Evangeline in a sibset. Alexandria seems mainstream in comparison to the rest of the names, and the nn Xena might be hard to make stick when Alex is such an easy and widely used nickname already. My point is just because they’re long doesn’t mean they all fit. With that in mind, I think you could totally get away with throwing in a shorter name into the mix, if it seemed cohesive with the longer names. I agree that Amelia or Poppy might stick out; I could see Amelia working with sister Evangeline or Alexandria, but not so much the other three.

If the style thing doesn’t bother you, then I say they all sound fine. One alternative I can see is maybe substituting the name Poppy as a nickname for Persephone. If you’re dead set on using Poppy and Elise together, Persephone Elise sounds lovely.

As for the Greek name thing, I’ve heard a number of people pronounce Persephone like Purse-phone. I think it just depends on the name. Olympia and Alexandria seem pretty straightforward though.

6

Dantea has two daughters named [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] and [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]. They’re different styles with vastly different popularity rankings, but the fact that they’re both four syllables helps them seem not too mismatched. I think [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] actually could fit in with your other names, but [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] would seem very out of place. I do like the previous suggestion of using [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] as a nickname for [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], though. You could also use [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] as a middle name. [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] is a cute, quirky combo that I think stands up better to your other combos than the pretty but safe [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f].

7

I haven’t thoroughly read through the other comments, but my anecdotal 2 cents:
My brother and I are 2 years apart, but we have drastically different names. My name is a popular 80s name and his name has never been in the top 1000. I’d be lying if I said that this didn’t cause any resentment when I was younger! Now that I’m an adult, I’ve embraced me name, but I still feel a little bit of those feelings that I had as a child. So to me, it’s not that the style has to be matchy-matchy, but if I were [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], I would be jealous that my sister was named [name_f]Olympia[/name_f]. [name_m]Vice[/name_m] versa, maybe [name_f]Olympia[/name_f] wishes she fit in more and longs for a name like [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]. Everyone is different and maybe [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] and [name_f]Olympia[/name_f] will be perfectly happy with their respective names. [name_m]Just[/name_m] thought I’d let you know my experience in a mismatched sibset!

8

Thanks for your thoughts, hon, and sharing your experience. That is exactly the kind of thing that I would like to avoid. It is nice to get the thoughts of someone that has lived through it - so to speak.

9

I like your names!

[name_f]Olympia[/name_f] and [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] go perfectly together, but I do like [name_f]Olympia[/name_f] and [name_f]Mercedes[/name_f] together, too, because they are both bold and stylish. [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] and [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f] seem to belong in their own sibset.

These names work equally well in the middle spot, as do the nicknames. I like the nicknames a lot. Try working on combos of different orders. Some examples would be:
[name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f]
[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] [name_f]Olympia[/name_f]
[name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f] [name_f]Mercy[/name_f]
[name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] [name_f]Mercy[/name_f]
[name_f]Mercy[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Evie[/name_f] [name_f]Autumn[/name_f]
[name_f]Posey[/name_f] [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]

10

I really love [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] and [name_f]Olympia[/name_f] and I love them together as a sibset! I personally find [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f] and [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] kind of boring in comparison to them though (especially [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f]). They’re wonderful names but they just don’t fit well with [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] or [name_f]Olympia[/name_f] in my opinion. I’m not the biggest fan of [name_f]Mercedes[/name_f] (I can’t help but think of the car) but if the car association doesn’t bother you then it’s a lovely, very strong sounding name. :slight_smile:

I wouldn’t pair a name like [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] with names like [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] and [name_f]Olympia[/name_f]. I just feel like it would be totally outshined by them. If I met sisters with the names I’d honestly feel a little bad for [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]. I’m just personally not a fan of mixing styles like that, especially if one name is a lot more common/popular than the other(s).

11

Personally, I love [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f], but if you wanted to make it more unusual, here are some options:

[name_f]Alexandrea[/name_f] nn [name_f]Drea[/name_f] ([name_m]Al[/name_m]-ix-zan-dray-uh; Dray-uh)
[name_f]Alexandrine[/name_f] nn [name_m]Xan[/name_m] ([name_m]Zan[/name_m])

I agree that [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] doesn’t seem to fit w/the rest of the names; it seems like a nn.

[name_f]Amelia[/name_f] & [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f] are more mainstream than [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], [name_f]Olympia[/name_f], [name_f]Mercedes[/name_f], & [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] (especially [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], which is also super-popular right now, at least in the U.S.). If you like the sound of [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], you could “fancy it up” a bit by going w/[name_f]Emiliana[/name_f]. NNs could be [name_f]Millie[/name_f], [name_f]Ana[/name_f], [name_f]Liana[/name_f], or [name_f]Emme[/name_f]/[name_f]Emmy[/name_f]/[name_f]Emmie[/name_f]. :slight_smile:

12

I am not fond of the name [name_f]Mercedes[/name_f], but [name_f]Olympia[/name_f], [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], and [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] are great choices. For [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], I would probably go with the nicknames [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] or Seph. [name_f]Olympia[/name_f] I could best see with the nicknames [name_u]Ollie[/name_u] or [name_f]Lia[/name_f], and [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] could be [name_u]Mel[/name_u] if needed