My second [name_u]Baby[/name_u] girl is due any day. We have fallen in love with the name [name_f]Viola[/name_f] and were planning on keeping it secret till birth. Unfortunately our families found the name written down and spread the word. My mom HATES the name, and we haven’t gotten much positive feedback from the rest either. I’m so heartbroken, especially since I’m this close to having her.
I am open to honest opinions on this name.
If you hate it, why?
If you love it, why?
Her full name would be [name_f]Viola[/name_f] Winovich (I think the Vs sound pretty together). Oh yes, and our first daughter is named [name_f]Penelope[/name_f].
I’m personally not fond of [name_f]Viola[/name_f]. But this is not my child, your mom’s, other family member’s, or friend’s child. Go with the name you love, the name you feel is THE ONE.
I actually really like the name [name_f]Viola[/name_f]. My fiance shot it down when I gave him my name list. I’m still a little bummed about it.
I find [name_f]Viola[/name_f] charming with a dash of quirky. It’s much softer in sound than [name_f]Violet[/name_f] (which sounds grating to my ears) and a lot less popular.
I’d love to meet a little [name_f]Viola[/name_f]. I would say go for it! It’s your baby after all. Once she’s here I’m sure they’ll get over it and fawn over her.
Thanks for feedback so far.
I’m open to both sides. I want to get a feel for people’s honest reactions. I can’t believe this name isn’t on more name lists, it doesn’t seem to be that “out there” of a name to me.
Honestly, [name_f]Viola[/name_f] just makes me think of the musical instrument. Not that that’s necessarily a bad association, but it sounds more like a ‘thing’ than a name IYSWIM. There’s also the pronunciation issue - would she be a vee-[name_f]OLA[/name_f] or a VIY-ola?
I love, love, love [name_f]Viola[/name_f]. Like, do you wanna give your mom my contact info? I will go to war to defend this name. It’s my favorite name of all time, for a mixture of personal history reasons + the fact that I think it sounds utterly gorgeous (all of the possible pronunciations, though my personal favorite is vy-OH-lah.)
The [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] character is an immensely positive association, and now there’s [name_f]Viola[/name_f] [name_m]Davis[/name_m], who is just incredible in so many ways (is your mom familiar with her? Maybe send a link to her [name_f]Emmy[/name_f] speech to any complaining relatives. You could also try inundating them with Twelfth [name_m]Night[/name_m] and She’s the [name_m]Man[/name_m] stuff.)
I second what everyone is saying above me—if you love [name_f]Viola[/name_f], use it. She’s your kid and you’re the one who’s going to raise her.
The prevailing NB wisdom in situations like this seems to be that once the name is attached to an actual live child, grumpy relatives will get used to it and maybe even grow to love it. And if they don’t, that’s their problem, not yours. You will have an awesome, beautifully named kid, and that’s what matters.
And lastly, for what it’s worth, I think [name_f]Viola[/name_f] goes really well with your surname and with [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]. [name_f]Lovely[/name_f] choices!
I love the name [name_f]Viola[/name_f]. I had it on my list too, but later decided to just use it as a nickname. It sounds pretty and musical for me. Go for it.
I love, love, love the name [name_f]Viola[/name_f] and quite honestly, if you and your husband equally love it, I say go for it.
I guarantee you that once your mom meets her granddaughter, the simple association of that tiny, adorable baby with the name will be enough to make her cave in.
Your mom had her turn to name her children, now it’s yours.
[name_f]Viola[/name_f] is a great name. It sounds good with [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] and your last name. It happens sometimes - family members don’t like names, but this is your child. Your family will get used to the name after a while.
viola has gotten incredibly popular in italy in the last decade, like, top 10 popular, maybe even top 5. from being mostly unheard of. I think it might be confusing to pronounce for some people, especially with violet being so popular right now, but I think you should use it!
I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Viola[/name_f], but I’m biased. It was my beloved grandmother’s name. Sometimes I actually wish we would have named our first daughter [name_f]Viola[/name_f] instead of using it as a middle (don’t get me wrong, I still love her name). Go with it! I think it sounds lovely with your last name. FYI, we pronounce it Vy-ola.
Yes. It’s a lovely name that is perfectly usable. There will be issues with pronounciation but that isn’t a reason to write it off unless it bugs you. I think you should use it because you love it and your relatives have no good reason for you not to use it. Caving in is more likely to cause regret than sticking to it. There may be many times in having a child where you and family disagree this is a good time to start standing for your own decisions.
I love [name_f]Viola[/name_f]! It’s beautiful, fun, energetic, vintage, but still fresh and exciting. There’s nothing bad about it in my opinion, it’s just a wonderful name.
I love [name_f]Viola[/name_f]. I think of the very strong and self assured heroine from [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m]'s Twelfth [name_m]Night[/name_m]. It’s one of my personal favourites and I think it goes beautifully with [name_f]Penelope[/name_f].
I love it he name viola! It’s a nice floral name, that is not so ‘in your face’ as violet or rose would be. I have a cousin by this name, and my mothers best friend was a viola. Both women I know by this name are very lovely women. They are soft spoken, beautiful women with beautiful personalities. So that is how I initially associate the name.
On a little girl, I see light purple and sunshine everywhere, tea parties and dress up games, and perhaps a love for music and dance. To me this imagery is nothing but pure happiness and innocence, which is what every little girl should be. It’s your child, you should name her what you love. Your family really should not have a say unless it is the name of a murderer or something else as such.
I love the name viola! It’s a beautiful floral name that is not so ‘in your face’ as violet or [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. I know two lovely women named viola, one is my cousin, the other my mothers friend. Both women are such sweet, soft spoken women, with hearts of gold. Which is how I associate the name.
On a little girl, I see light purple and sunshine everywhere, tea parties and games of dress up. I also see a love for music and perhaps dance. To me that is the image of pure innocence and happiness, as every little girl should have.
At the end of the day, it’s your baby and you should name her what you love. I think family should respect that (all that should matter to them is if she is healthy), and unless there was a horrible family history with a viola they should keep there opinions to themselv s.
It’s my favorite name of all time, for a mixture of personal history reasons + the fact that I think it sounds utterly gorgeous (all of the possible pronunciations, though my personal favorite is vy-OH-lah.)
I had it on my list too, but later decided to just use it as a nickname. It sounds pretty and musical for me. Go for it.