as name lovers, I assume every one here has that one special name. a name you just keep coming back to, even though you may have fallen out of love with it at some point. a name that just feels right for some mysterious reason. maybe it’s a honor name that reminds you of a loved one, or a name with such deep meaning and symbolism. maybe it’s kind of a GP, but nevertheless you absolutely love it. a name that will always feels a bit more special than your other names.
that being said, I would love to know all about those names! tell me how you discovered them, what they mean, the vibe and why you love them so!
love,
ruthie
my special love, Freydis (be prepared, it's long!)
Freydis (Norse, Icelandic) “Noblewoman, lady or goddess”. I wish I had some special story to tell as to how I discovered the name, or that it holds a deeper meaning for me. Unfortunately, I discovered Freydis while watching the History Channel show Vikings. I was immediately intrigued by the name, so I did some research…
Turns out that Freydís Eiríksdóttir (890 A.D) was, according to saga, a Viking shield maiden and warrior who accompanied her brother Leif to Vinland, later known as Newfoundland, Canada. When facing the Native Americans, her party was reluctant to fight but she encouraged them to be brave.
Freydis evokes an image of bravery and strenght. She is courageous and grounded, wild yet soft. She knows what she wants and doesn’t let anybody boss her around. She is wise and kinda mysterious, but with a heart softer than silk. She holds her own. She is just…Freydis.
Freydis is an extremely unique name in Belgium, even so that there is no one registered with that name. If my future SO is brave enough, I would use it in a heartbeat. Freydis is too beautiful not to use. I just love Scandinavian history and mythology, and so does the rest of my family. Besides, Freydis goes so well with some of my other favorite names including Dagmar, Vesper, Éowyn and Twila. But she is very different from some other favorite like Lola, Winnie, Rumi, Lucy, Matilda,… I might use the Freydís spelling, tho.
I hope that one day, I’ll have my beautiful and brave Freydis.
I’ll have to say [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f]. I don’t know how I discovered it. I have kinda always known about it. But I fell in love with it when I read about the Romanov family. It immediatley became my absolute favourite. It means ”fairy queen”, which is a big plus too. I love the sound and look of it. It reminds me of the character [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] [name_f]Larina[/name_f] in ”Eugene Onegin” by [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] Pushkin. I get very mysterious vibes from [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f]. I think of the victorian and edwardian eras, snowy landscapes, beautiful old towns, music boxes, tender melodies, ropes with pearls, ball gowns, old books, flowers, black and white photos, tiaras and crowns. [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] gives me a strong royal, yet earthy feel. To me [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] is a strong, powerful, beautiful, independent and compassionate name. It can be worn by so many different types of persons. I have Synesthesia, so to me [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] is dark green, which I love. The intitial letter T is also quite unique since there are so many names on a, e, m, c and so on. [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] is just perfect. It has everything that should make me love it, and I do, which fills me with harmony. I get happy when I think of [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] and all the things written above, and that’s why I love it so much.
I’m excluding my sons’ names, but they’re obviously very special and dear to me.
For me it’s Ísrún. If my oldest had been a girl I’d have used it without hesitation. But now I’ll never get to use it, because even if we ever had a daughter, my husband isn’t too fond of it.
Ísrún has been on my list for ages. I first came across it when I was in elementary school in [name_f]Iceland[/name_f], I remember reading a book with a character named Ísrún. When I got interested in names later on I first had a phase when I thought [name_f]English[/name_f] names were the coolest thing ever, but then I fell back in love with my Icelandic heritage.
Ísrún evokes memories of my childhood with my twin brother, walking through the snow on our way home from school in [name_u]December[/name_u] and looking at all the [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] decorations, and drinking hot chocolate when we get home. It reminds me of long walks on cold mornings and playing outside in the snow, and of winter evenings when our father used to read us bedtime stories about [name_f]Santa[/name_f] [name_m]Claus[/name_m] and the [name_u]Yule[/name_u] lads.
Ísrún means “secret/magic of the ice” (from ís = ice and rún = secret, magic). It’s a name that’s strong and soft at the same time. It’s very rare even in [name_f]Iceland[/name_f], I’ve never met anyone with this name, but to me it’s the perfect symbol of my Icelandic heritage.
That name is [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] for me. I’ve loved it ever since I got into names, and a bit before that, which is a pretty long time for me only being 17 lol. I just always thought it was really pretty, and it’s always been in my top 5 names, mostly 1 or 2, and it’s what I intend to name my first daughter someday. AND THEN, when I was at my grandpa’s funeral, I found out that it’s a family name! I have a great-grandmother named [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]! Tbh, I should’ve known this, because my mom’s most popular cookie recipe is called ‘Grandma Maggie’s Big Fat [name_f]Sugar[/name_f] Cookies’. But anyway, even though I get into lots of different names, this one is always at the top. I love the nns [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] and [name_f]Madge[/name_f] for it. And although I kinda want to give my kids more gender neutral names, I can’t let go of this one
mine would have to be primrose, i first heard of it when i was about 8yrs old and over ten years later i still plan on naming my future daughter primrose…
it means a lot to me because one of my little sisters name is r0se, and i later read the “hunger games” books and loved katniss + primrose etc.
however since i feel like it has always been my favourite name, i really struggle to find other girl and boy names that even come close to it
I think [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] is that name for me. It was the first name I remember falling head-over-heels in love with waaaaay back in middle school. I am not infatuated with it in the way I used to be, but it is still so special to me.
What a gorgeous topic! It has to be [name_u]Skye[/name_u] [name_f]Vienna[/name_f] for me! The sound of the two names together sounds so lyrical to me.
However i do love [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] i’ve loved it since i first heard it as a child. [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] was the wonderful step mother in a nanny McPhee film , i think i love it so much because the character challenged all the fairy tales that portrayed step mothers as monsters. It’s rise in popularity recently has crushed me :,)
[name_u]Luca[/name_u] [name_u]Rowan[/name_u] and [name_f]Esme[/name_f] [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] have a special place in my heart too due to personal reasons
Wow, reading everyone’s descriptions made my heart swell. I felt truly transported to all your Russian dramas, snowy nights and storytelling, sugar cookie baking, etc. I understand now that these early name loves we hold onto still today are more than just a memory of a first blush toward a name, but they’re trusty reminders of our younger selves and the lives we knew then.
For myself, I’ll say Julia. I’ve always been struck by its simple melody and rich merriness. I remember opening up my 5th grade locker and hearing the name “Julia,” then looking up to see its beautiful beholder. Ever since then, I’ve been bewitched by it.
Julia is sprightly greens and glowing golds, a secret forest kingdom with just the two of us there. Where, from behind great trees, shines soft, dusty sunlight. Julia’s my forever.
[name_f]Maryellen[/name_f]
I have no clue why I love this name so much. I don’t like the name [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. I don’t like the name [name_f]Ellen[/name_f]. I love [name_f]Maryellen[/name_f]. It just…works.
Mine is definitely [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] I first heard her in [name_f]Mary[/name_f] Poppins, when I was 11 or 12, and loved it! Originally I liked [name_f]Winnifred[/name_f], but later switched to the one n spelling. She just sounds so elegant and friendly and I can’t help but adore it! I definitely have had phases of being tired with her or less in love, but right now she feels so sparkly and sweet, it still remains #1 on my list!
my one special name is eliza. for a long, long time, my favorite had been elizabeth. very long and elegant with a lovely literary history. someone during my name journey, i became more interested in short and sweet names. i still love elizabeth, but eliza is more my style now. i love the hamilton connection and how it still connects to the literary elizabeths i love like beth march and lizzy bennet. imagery-wise, eliza evokes an image of a flowery meadow and sipping lemonade while staring out at a big blue sky. color-wise, eliza is mostly pale yellow, like a baby chick, with hints of pink and sky blue. very sunny and happy and sweet. oh how i love eliza!
Oh jeez there’s a lot of them. But it’d have to be [name_f]Delilah[/name_f] and [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] for girls, and for boys; [name_u]Evan[/name_u] and [name_u]Arthur[/name_u].
[name_f]Delilah[/name_f]: I’ve always had it on the back of my head, and it was my ‘default’ name for every girl character I would write in stories.
[name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]: a family connection, and the french connection as well.
[name_u]Evan[/name_u] and [name_u]Arthur[/name_u]: nothing to special, just boy names that always felt ‘right’ to me. Solid names that aren’t too popular.
It was so lovely to read through all of these!! [name_f]My[/name_f] two special names have to be Eyerusalem and Chavazelet, but especially Eyerusalem. I have absolutely no idea why I’m so in love with Eyerusalem, but it’s one of those things you feel connected to for no reason at all. Immediately after first hearing it, I made a bunch of art with Eyerusalem written in all different languages to hang on my walls, and seeing it written out or saying it to myself is such a comfort. Chavazelet is the perfect name for me, considering its meaning, origin, sound, and my history with the name, but I just feel so called to Eyerusalem. Her beauty is almost indescribable to me!!
[name_u]Sasha[/name_u] will always be my #1 name for a boy, but I don’t think SO is the biggest fan, so I think it’ll end up being the one that got away…
I don’t really have a girls name that’s way ahead of the pack like [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] is for boys, but my longest love has probably been [name_f]Esme[/name_f]. I met a really cool girl about 20 years ago called [name_f]Esme[/name_f] and it’s been a favourite of mine ever since. A friend (who didn’t know this) once told me she had a dream that I had twins called [name_f]Esme[/name_f] and [name_m]Llewellyn[/name_m], so maybe [name_f]Esme[/name_f] is meant to be, who knows!
Guinevere-Guinevere has been my number one girl since circa 2001 when I was a teenager & heard it in a Death [name_m]Cab[/name_m] for Cutie song. It’s so bold & elegant & feminine & strong & adventurous & mystical & classic & not over done. So many good qualities! And even though we’re fairly confident that we don’t want to have children, I still make DH discuss names for fun. And he likes this one!
Daisy-Well, DH doesn’t like this one. But it’s hypothetical anyway. [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] is a newer addition to the special name category. [name_f]My[/name_f] dad passed away in 2018, & his name is [name_u]David[/name_u]. One day it just dawned on me that [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] is a very special way to honor him. It’s the same first initial, five letters & long ‘a’ sound. Plus, my dad was a fan of pretty flowers.
[name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]! I’ve loved it for 12+ years! Maybe 5 years ago or so, I loved [name_f]Briella[/name_f] best, but it lost it’s touch, and I’m back to [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]! It’s also an honor name .
For boys… [name_u]Finn[/name_u]. I’ve loved it for years, and it’s always been towards the top of my list. I used to like [name_m]Finnin[/name_m] as a full name, but now I love Finlay!!!
nothing has ever felt as right, and i’ve never loved any name the way i love her. it has been steadfast since i was five, when i promised my grandma that i would name my first little girl after her mom
for a little boy, it’s a little less sure, but if i ever have a baby with my current boyfriend, his name would probably be oliver. it’s a name we fell in love with together, and that makes it so special to me!
Oh honey you just opened up Pandora’s box. For me it’s [name_m]Osiris[/name_m] for a boy and [name_u]Kahlo[/name_u] for a girl
I first saw [name_m]Osiris[/name_m] when I was 12, I was looking for full names for the nn [name_f]Iris[/name_f] which was my favorite boy name at the time. I just fell in love with it on sight, absolute adoration. I love the dark, ancient feel to it while still having a grungy modern vibe to it. I use it as an honor for my dad [name_m]Omar[/name_m], for multiple different reasons. The meaning sometimes makes me laugh, it means “good eyesight”, my family is known to have terrible eyesight (lucky for me I got a genetic lottery win with almost perfect vision). But yea I just, love it, so so much.
For [name_u]Kahlo[/name_u] the love wasn’t immediate, but one day it just kinda clicked and I was just like yes. I loved the name but what really made it “the name” was when right before my great grandma died, we were at her house and I was doing research on the name and [name_f]Frida[/name_f] [name_u]Kahlo[/name_u]. We were both sitting at the table, and she asked me what I was doing and I showed her and we talked for a bit. It seems small but it was one of the last times I saw her, it’s a memory I cherish so so much, so now I use [name_u]Kahlo[/name_u] as an honor for my grandma [name_u]Carmen[/name_u] [name_f]Delia[/name_f]. It’s the most meaningful name on my list. Besides that, I just adore the imagery, bright colors, golds and reds and greens and oranges everywhere, with a bit of a modern, fun, bright punk feel.
) and it still feels so special and so magical to me
I first heard her in [name_f]Mary[/name_f] Poppins, when I was 11 or 12, and loved it! Originally I liked [name_f]Winnifred[/name_f], but later switched to the one n spelling. She just sounds so elegant and friendly and I can’t help but adore it! I definitely have had phases of being tired with her or less in love, but right now she feels so sparkly and sweet, it still remains 
.
(lucky for me I got a genetic lottery win with almost perfect vision). But yea I just, love it, so so much.