So, [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]-nickname-[name_f]Sally[/name_f] has been a favorite of mine for ages. I’ve always wanted to use [name_f]Sally[/name_f] for personal significance, but as much as I love it, it’s just not something I’d put on a birth certificate. The problem is that I grew up with about 500 girls called [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], so even though it’s not a name I’ve heard in a while (for babies, of course) I’m kind of sick of it. I’ve seen [name_f]Selah[/name_f] (which is a favorite of mine!) suggested as an alternative to [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], which obviously works, but probably not well enough to appropriate all the nicknames…?
I searched for girls’ names on here that contained “sal” to see if there was anything that clicked; [name_f]Thessaly[/name_f] came up, which I do like the sound of, but place names aren’t typically my style. Of course, though, a lot of nicknames (this one included) are bigger stretches than that, so I wanted to see what you all could come up with!
I do like [name_f]Salome[/name_f]! Funnily enough, it’s familiar to me through text but until I searched just now I had idea how it was pronounced. In church I heard something more like “shalom”, but I guess that’s what I get for growing up in the country
I think [name_f]Sally[/name_f] as a name can stand on her own. For a longer name however, I think that [name_f]Salina[/name_f], as suggested by the pp, is as close as you can get to [name_f]Sally[/name_f] without it being a stretch.
I agree! I am beginning to like [name_f]Sally[/name_f] too, but it still feels as like a nn. I went to school with a [name_f]Salena[/name_f]. She pronounced it Sa-lay-na.
@keelyjoelle + @namesage: Thanks for your input! I agree that it can stand alone; for me it’s more of a matter of it clashing with most of the other names I like (or, rather, ones I might actually use). There are plenty of sibling sets where [name_f]Sally[/name_f] makes a great addition, but just… probably not my kids, you know? And I can’t really see it as a middle name, either, which is unfortunate. Luckily it’s not something I have my heart set on, but I’m definitely eager to explore the options! [name_f]Salena[/name_f] / [name_f]Salina[/name_f] is nice, but probably more trouble than it’s worth for me, with [name_f]Selena[/name_f] out there.
@skylerrae: Thanks so much! It’s really good to see someone thinks [name_f]Selah[/name_f] and [name_f]Silvia[/name_f]/[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] would work
I love [name_f]Sally[/name_f] and [name_f]Thessaly[/name_f] nn [name_f]Sally[/name_f], which I think goes well with the names in your signature. The only other name not mentioned I can think of is Saleha ([name_u]Sal[/name_u]-LEY-ha), but [name_f]Thessaly[/name_f] is definitely my favourite!
I think that if you’re going to be going by [name_f]Sally[/name_f] most of the time then it makes sense to use it as a full from the get go, as it might get confusing for your daughter when she’s learning her name if she has to write [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] instead. This was an issue with my sister who is a [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] but has always been called [name_f]Katie[/name_f], when she learnt to spell her name the school wanted her to learn the full name but agreed to [name_f]Katie[/name_f] after some convincing. I know a [name_f]Sally[/name_f] who doesn’t have a longer name and that’s always sounded like a full name to me. Overall, I would go with [name_f]Sally[/name_f] if you know that it would be how she was referred to most of the time but aside from that I like [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] best.
You could do a first/middle combo, like for example [name_f]Samantha[/name_f] [name_u]Leigh[/name_u] = [name_f]Sally[/name_f] or [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] [name_u]Allison[/name_u] = [name_f]Sally[/name_f].
@lizbiz10124: Thanks so, so much for your input/advice! It’s very much in the hypothetical stage for me, so I’m not sure if I’d want to always use the nickname. Probably not, but that’s definitely something I’ll need to think about. [name_f]Sally[/name_f] definitely works as a full name, but it wouldn’t really fit with most of my other picks.
@whiteteaandginger: This is so helpful! Thanks a million. I love [name_f]Giselle[/name_f] and [name_f]Priscilla[/name_f] and that’s a great idea about combining the two names
