Hello! So I am officially due in a month, and I think we are pretty settled on [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] for our daughter. Middle name will be [name_f]Cay[/name_f], after my husband’s late mother. Reasons we love [name_f]Felicity[/name_f]:
We are both big word people (both have post-grad English degrees, he published a book, both spent time in English academia and teaching) and love that it’s an English word, and that it means both “intense happiness” and “the ability to find appropriate expression for one’s thoughts.”
It has so many nickname possibilities, and we like pretty much all of them: [name_f]Lissie[/name_f], Liss, [name_f]Flick[/name_f], Fliss, [name_u]Fee[/name_u], [name_f]Fay[/name_f], Cici…
Not super common but also not weird or unrecognizable
No alternative spellings or pronunciations
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is a [name_m]Christian[/name_m] saint. We are Episcopalian and the feast day for St. [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is [name_u]March[/name_u] 7 - the day I got the first positive pregnancy test!
But we just want to make sure we’ve considered everything. If we have any concerns, they’re these:
Pop culture: how closely is [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] still associated with the American Girl doll and the TV show with [name_f]Keri[/name_f] [name_m]Russell[/name_m]? I happened to have loved both of those as a kid, but would kind of hate for people to assume I named my daughter after them - my friend who named her daughter [name_f]Lorelai[/name_f] gets that with the [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls. Is it the same level?
Popularity: [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is #354 in the US and has held there for the past four years or so - how likely do you think it is that it will crack the top 100 in the next few years? The fact that it is in the top 100 in the UK concerns me - is that generally predictive?
Frilliness: it’s four syllables and pretty feminine - do you think of it as frilly?
Nicknames: which do you think she is most likely to be called? Is [name_f]Fay[/name_f] too much of a stretch? It’s my favorite and I thought the middle name [name_f]Cay[/name_f] makes it less so. My husband likes [name_f]Flick[/name_f].
Any feedback on these or other concerns is welcome! We’ve also considered [name_f]Helena[/name_f] and [name_f]Ramona[/name_f] recently, but they don’t end up feeling as meaningful or right.
I love, love [name_f]Felicity[/name_f]. I do think of the American Girl character, because that’s where I first heard and fell in love with the name, but I doubt most people would assume you named your daughter after the [name_f]AG[/name_f] doll. Not sure about other pop culture associations (the [name_m]Arrow[/name_m] character comes to mind too), but I don’t think [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is so singularly associated with anything, like [name_f]Loralei[/name_f] is with GG.
As far as frilliness goes, it’s borderline frilly, I’d say. I think of it as bright and spunky more than frilly, though.
I dont think the tv show or American Girl doll are really relevant connections today, maybe 10-20 years ago, but with [name_f]Felicity[/name_f]’s rising popularity, I can’t see it being an issue.
While it is in the top 100 in the UK, that isnt a solid indicator of popularity stateside - [name_f]Harriet[/name_f], [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] and [name_f]Florence[/name_f] have been in the UK top 100 for 10+ years, while none of them have ever ranked or are anywhere near ranking in the US top 500 (or at least not in the last 10 years). [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is growing steadily popular. In 5+ years, it MIGHT be a top 100, but it’s one of those names that often swings in popularity without major jumps.
I think [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is a beautiful choice.
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is very pretty. I don’t see it strongly associated with the American girl OR the TV show. Yes, I remember them both as well, but I don’t automatically see them linked to the name. I do see why [name_f]Lorelai[/name_f] is more linked to [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls. Maybe because it’s more recent and has a bigger cult following?
As a person that cares a lot about popularity, I wouldn’t worry for a second about [name_f]Felicity[/name_f]. Seriously.
I’ve never really been a huge fan of any of the nicknames. I never thought of [name_f]Fay[/name_f], which I like a lot. [name_f]Fey[/name_f] makes a little more sense to me and looks more directly related to [name_f]Felicity[/name_f]. I also don’t mind Cici, but most people will probably presume it’s for [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]. Not sure if that matters. I like Fliss. Liss and Lissy remind me of being a nickname for generational names like [name_f]Melissa[/name_f] and [name_f]Alyssa[/name_f] so I don’t love them. [name_f]Flick[/name_f] is playful and tomboy-ish which is fine but I feel like it takes so much away from the gorgeous [name_f]Felicity[/name_f]. Which, by the way, is feminine and gorgeous but not at all TOO frilly.
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is perfect. I love it a lot and well, after reading all pros you’ve mentioned I don’t think following cons are troublesome enough to be an actual issue.
Regarding the nickname, [name_f]Fay[/name_f] is awesome! [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] [name_f]Cay[/name_f] nn [name_f]Fay[/name_f] makes perfect sense.
I love [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] - but my hubby doesn’t like it because it reminds him of [name_m]Austin[/name_m] [name_m]Powers[/name_m] movie and can’t take the name seriously because of that. Ugh - I think it’s so pretty!
My daughter’s name is [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f], and I do get the [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] show thing all the time. Funny thing, is I’ve never even seen the show. I don’t like how it has that correlation. Oh well!
I’m glad to hear that [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] doesn’t seem as exclusively associated with the American Girl or the show to the degree that [name_f]Lorelai[/name_f] is with [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls, that it’s not too frilly, and I hope y’all are right that it’s unlikely to get super popular anytime soon. Also glad that [name_f]Fay[/name_f] doesn’t seem like a huge stretch - I think I’m most likely to just call her [name_f]Felicity[/name_f], but it’s nice to have as an option! My husband is a huge nickname person and likes to have some to choose from.
@sugarplum.fairy - gotta say, your signature indicates that we have similar taste! [name_f]Sybil[/name_f] and [name_f]Mirabel[/name_f] are two of my all-time favorite names. [name_f]Sybil[/name_f] was actually the name we thought we were going to use before I got pregnant, but my husband eventually balked at it not having any obvious nicknames, especially ones we liked.
@kas09 - [name_m]Ah[/name_m] yes, [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] Shagwell. I have heard that a couple of times but it doesn’t bug me because I think if it as a more obscure reference than the American Girl or the show. [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f] is a lovely name, btw! And FWIW, I love [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls, and the characters are definitely not bad namesakes, though clearly I understand the annoyance of the association being brought up all the time. You should watch it! Though it seems like having the name for yourself or your kid can make you not want to - my husband’s name is [name_u]Dorian[/name_u] and he has never read The Picture of [name_u]Dorian[/name_u] [name_u]Gray[/name_u], I think partly out of protest! But I will say that secretly, we recently brought out my old DVDs of [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] the show and we’ve been watching it, just so my husband knows it’s not a terrible association!
I don’t have any associations with [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] but I’m not American. Now that I think of it, it reminds me of a character in some book I read a few months ago.
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f] doesn’t seem to be overused or likely to skyrocket in popularity, but then I must say I find it slightly dated. Most girls I know with this name were born in late 90s—early 2000s. I do find it a bit frilly, but not as feminissima as, say, [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f] or [name_f]Juliette[/name_f].
All in all, I think [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is rather nice. I also like [name_f]Helena[/name_f] and [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f] from your signature.
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is a great name! I grew up with [name_f]AG[/name_f] but [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] doesn’t immediately make me think of the doll anymore. Not familiar with the movie. The pop culture reference I most associate with [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] Smoak from [name_m]Arrow[/name_m]. But I think that association is limited to superhero nerds like me. It’s certainly feminine but I wouldn’t describe it as frilly. I think Lissy in the most natural nickname for [name_f]Felicity[/name_f], but you could definitely use [name_f]Fay[/name_f] (and I love how it’s contractive from [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] [name_f]Cay[/name_f], super cool). I don’t think [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is going to rise in popularity in the near future because it doesn’t really have specific appeal (not like [name_f]Elsa[/name_f] for example, which shot up from Frozen). [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] seems like a perfect choice for your little girl!
I like [name_f]Felicity[/name_f]! Very solid classic that isn’t super popular but is still recognizable.
Pop culture: I’m vaguely familiar with the American Girl doll and have no idea what TV show you’re talking about. Wouldn’t have thought of the doll without you saying it. (I’m 18 and live in the US)
Popularity: I don’t know the likelihood, but I’d suggest going to the SSA website and looking at the percentage of how many babies are given each name. Top 100 might sound very popular, but when you look at the actual percentage of how many babies receive that name is shows that it really isn’t as common as you might think. My name was in the 20s in popularity when I was born and I can only think of two or three girls with the same name as me that I’ve met
Frilliness: I don’t think it’s super frilly.
Nicknames: Call her whatever you want. [name_m]Plenty[/name_m] of people have nicknames that seem totally unconnected to their first name. I don’t think [name_f]Fay[/name_f] is too much of a stretch. [name_f]Flick[/name_f] is also cute.
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] is our little girl. We chose her name because it’s elegant, feminine, not too popular, but familiar. We have never met another [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] and we get compliments all the time. I first heard the name growing up with American Girl dolls and watched the movie. I fell in love with the name, and somehow after all these years, now that I have a little [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] of my own, I have never associated her with the doll. She has her own little personality and fits her name perfectly as she is a happy go lucky and spunky girl. Good luck to you!
@nessagirl96 - funny that our daughter will have the same name as yours except changing the M to a C in the middle name! Clearly we’re onto something with the combination. [name_f]Glad[/name_f] to hear from someone that has used it and is happy with it.
I think [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is a fantastic name, and I think you should use it. The pop culture references, in my opinion, are not bad, even if people make the connections. People can make pop culture references for most names, actually.
I’m an American but have lived in the UK for two decades, and I can honestly say that a name popular here is in no way an indicator of how popular it is likely to become in the US. [name_f]Imogen[/name_f], [name_f]Jemima[/name_f], [name_f]Bryony[/name_f], [name_f]Cressida[/name_f] and [name_f]Tamsin[/name_f], for example, are also popular here, but have never broken into US naming styles.
I worked with someone named [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] (she’s British), and she went by Fliss, so that’s the nickname I most associate with it. But any of the ones you listed would work. I think [name_f]Flick[/name_f] is adorable, but I also like [name_f]Fay[/name_f] (it’s a portmanteau of [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] + [name_f]Cay[/name_f]).
The only association I have with [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is [name_f]Jinger[/name_f] Duggar’s little girl on the TV show Counting On. Since [name_f]Jinger[/name_f] and her husband have moved to [name_u]California[/name_u], [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] may not appear too frequently as most of the Duggars are located in Arkansas.
This little [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] has caused me to like the name since they don’t call her
Feh-lee-cit-ee.
BTW, the Duggars expect 3 new grandaughters to arrive this [name_u]November[/name_u] so little [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] won’t get too much TV attention.