Tomorrow I need to submit the paperwork to make my baby’s name official. I still haven’t really decided! Nothing is an absolute standout, or rather, on different days, I have difference preferences. I thought #1 was [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f], but since the pronunciation debacle my confidence in my ability to chose is shaken.
Husband and I decided that there shall be no more than one first name and it’s driving me crazy. Also where we live, Switzerland, names are pretty much set in stone, not like in the US where you can change it relatively easily.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you have any advice on how to chose?
I’ll list the options and see if anyone has feedback:
-Aurelia (was my first chose, but has too many variable pronunciations, apparently)
-Sequoia (originally wanted this to be a middle name, my favourite tree but husband got to chose middle name and he’s pretty set on [name_f]Indah[/name_f], honoring Indonesian heritage)
-Sierra (yes I am a crunch granola hippee from California)
-Leona (to honor a grandfather named [name_u]Leon[/name_u], special connection)
-Cora/Coral (Husband loves the ocean, and she was cooked up on a dive trip involving lots of coral, see seperate thread, thank you for all your responses)
Like I said,I like all of these on various days, however none of them are really perfect.
How does one chose? I’m tired to searching for the perfect name. Maybe the perfect name does not exist. I want something that I love but can be used internationally with relative ease.
As long as it’s a name you love, it’s going to grow into the perfect name with your perfect baby.
[name_f]My[/name_f] personal favorite is [name_f]Leona[/name_f], [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] is great too!
[name_u]Sequoia[/name_u] and [name_u]Sierra[/name_u] are nice but less international, I feel like they don’t work quite as well in Europe as they do in the US.
Naming is so hard honestly naming my daughter was not fun. [name_f]My[/name_f] name nerd brain looked forward to the day I could name my daughter when the reality came into fruition and it was actually my turn to name a tiny human I found the task incredibly overwhelming.
However for me what made me narrow down the choices was figuring out what actually meant the most to me. What I wanted my daughter’s name to represent. For me that was my family. Honouring my family and my child’s name forever being connected to them is what made my heart sing. So for me this makes the ever so beautiful [name_f]Leona[/name_f] the clear winner.
[name_f]Leona[/name_f] is gorgeous! A lovely tribute your Grandfather! She’s strong, elegant, unexpected, timeless, has a lyrical sound with that lilting L start and the strong a ending and I love the connection to lions.
Still I am going from what means the most to me and for me that’s honouring loved ones, carrying on traditions however for you that could be your husband’s love of the ocean or embracing your hippy personality. I think you just need to figure out what you want your child’s name to represent and then embrace that.
I think [name_f]Leona[/name_f] is gorgeous especially with the meaning. Also [name_f]Coral[/name_f] those both get my votes.
Is the name [name_u]Ocean[/name_u] too far? [name_u]Ocean[/name_u] [name_f]Indah[/name_f] is super cute.
I love both [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] and [name_f]Leona[/name_f] for you! With [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f], there may be some slight variations to the way people say it, but it is always recognizable. It always sounds almost the same to me. [name_f]Leona[/name_f] is a beautiful, timeless, classy option, and I like that it honors a special family member.
I love [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] and [name_f]Leona[/name_f] for you [name_f]My[/name_f] personal favourite is definitely [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f], such a gorgeous name! I think of angels and light when I hear it (it sounds a bit like the word ‘halo’ in my language). If you want, you could make a poll in a quick poll thread under [name_m]General[/name_m]. Have you tried speaking the names out loud, creating realistic sounding conversations using these names?
I tested my top favourite names like that and I realised immediately that [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f] and so many more names were definitely not for me even though I seriously love them (I removed like half of my list after that , so many names sounded wrong)
I would eliminate [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] if it has issues. Have you tried writing the names by hand? For some reason this helps me. Are there nicknames you like or want to avoid? [name_u]Will[/name_u] any of these names be tough to pronounce or spell where you live? I think a 3 syllable first sounds a little better with a 2 syllable middle.
I’m such a fan of [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f], [name_f]Leona[/name_f], [name_f]Cora[/name_f], & [name_f]Coral[/name_f].
(Especially for the meanings you listed, even sweeter!)
If the middle name [name_f]Indah[/name_f] is set in stone, then I definitely think [name_f]Leona[/name_f] [name_f]Indah[/name_f] / or [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] [name_f]Indah[/name_f] sound the best! Such gorgeous options, you can’t go wrong
There may be a few people who pronounce [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] differently, but the same could be said for names like [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], [name_f]Elena[/name_f], [name_f]Ana[/name_f], [name_f]Tara[/name_f], etc. Once you introduce her as one or the other, people will grow accustomed to the way her name is said.
I wonder if you’ve considered Coralie?It combines the sounds of [name_f]Coral[/name_f] and [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f], gives you the nn options of [name_f]Cora[/name_f] or [name_f]Coral[/name_f], and as a [name_u]French[/name_u] name I assume would be acceptable in Switzerland. [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] [name_f]Indah[/name_f] is pretty stunning!
[name_f]Leona[/name_f] or [name_f]Cora[/name_f] are my favorites 🩷🤍 I also agree that [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] might be a good choice if you like the sound of it because it has such good components from [name_f]Cora[/name_f] and [name_f]Coral[/name_f], and it means [name_f]Coral[/name_f] in [name_u]French[/name_u] (according to this website).
thank you! Yes i have considered it. Originally I wanted [name_f]Aurelie[/name_f], but that sounds pretty awful in [name_f]English[/name_f]. [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] is pretty close sounding.
These are great questions, thank you. Yes I would like to avoid the nicknames [name_u]Auri[/name_u] and [name_u]Rey[/name_u], both of which have already been suggested unasked for by others. I will try writing them out in longhand. Thank you!
Yes I have tried using them out loud and introducing her to various people with various names. That’s great advice. Some of the feel off, none of them totally right. It helped me remove [name_f]Aurelie[/name_f] from the list. Also I just knew that [name_f]Genvieve[/name_f] would be problematic so I didn’t even put it forward to the husband. : )
I love [name_f]Leona[/name_f] and Cora/Coral. I love the connections. For other ocean themed names, have you considered [name_f]Marina[/name_f] at all? I love the suggestion of [name_f]Coralie[/name_f], but one of my [name_f]Cora[/name_f] favorites is [name_f]Coraline[/name_f]! You have great options all around!
Something like Ow-Rail-ee-yuh? Not sure how to type it properly. Thank you for your feedback, I didn’t think [name_f]Cora[/name_f] was so strong, but I can see it now.
It’s a bit off topic, but if I can ask, why [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] would be problematic? [name_u]Or[/name_u] did You mean [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f]? I might move to Switzerland for university soon and [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] is my absolute favourite name
[name_f]My[/name_f] personal favourite is definitely [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f], such a gorgeous name! 
I think of angels and light when I hear it (it sounds a bit like the word ‘halo’ in my language). If you want, you could make a poll in a quick poll thread under [name_m]General[/name_m]. 
, so many names sounded wrong) 