[name]Nona[/name] is currently my #2 real-life-usable, SO-approved girls’ name (#1 being [name]Athena[/name]), but I don’t think I’ve ever really bothered to solicit any feedback on it before (full disclosure: I am now soliciting feedback on multiple naming boards; if you’ve seen this post already, I’m sorry that you are now looking at it again). [name]How[/name] do you imagine a [name]Nona[/name]? Her parents? Any vibes [name]Nona[/name] gives you, I am interested in hearing about!
I haven’t really given a lot of thought to combos (though I’m pretty happy with the ideas I’ve spontaneously generated in the past 5 minutes), so I’d be interested to hear any thoughts on that front, as well. Currently my list stands at:
I instantly thought of grandmother, [name]Athena[/name] is not my personal taste but I still think it’s a wonderful name and would go well with any of the middle names you have put forth above, I’d stick with [name]Athena[/name]
I like your [name]Nona[/name] combinations, but I don’t really like it as a full name. I think of a small, elderly Italian woman (actually it’s [name]Joey[/name]'s grandmother from Friends.)
I like [name]Athena[/name], but I feel that I’m a bit biased.
I think of Noni because Noni Hazelhurst was on Playschool when I was in my youngsome but I thought her name was Gnomi so it reminds me of gnomes. So i think of garden gnomes playing with teddy bears. So I think its fine.
I’m going to be upfront and say that I’m not going to be persuaded out of liking [name]Nona[/name], so while I respect that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea…I’m not going to change my mind on it (esp. since it is boyfriend-approved!). My intent here is mainly just to feel out people’s general impressions of the name.
But I appreciate the feedback! (Also, I am definitely a fan of [name]Leda[/name], though bf wasn’t, last I checked.) I didn’t expect the “grandma” thing at all; I’ve heard people use “[name]Nana[/name],” but no one I personally know uses [name]Nonna[/name] / [name]Nona[/name]. It actually strikes me as kind of hipster-ish, if anything, but maybe that’s because my primary associations are [name]Nona[/name] Mecklenberg and [name]Nona[/name] [name]Marie[/name] Invie.
Oh wow, I was definitely not expecting all the negative feedback! I actually like [name]Nona[/name]! I really love the names [name]Ramona[/name] and [name]Winona[/name] and always thought [name]Nona[/name] would be a cute nickname for either But it’s also cute on its own! I think maybe for a lot of people, it’s one of those names that is hard to imagine on a kid until you meet one (and then those names end up becoming all the rage.) [name]Nona[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] is my favorite combo, though if your last name has an “n” in it it might be a bit “n” heavy! Also, this might be too big a stretch, but how about [name]Athena[/name] nn [name]Nona[/name]??
Naming a baby girl [name]Nona[/name] is such a waste of an opportunity to pick a really great name. If I saw it in a birth announcement, I’d wonder why you picked it when there are so many interesting, meaningful names out there to choose from. It’s not cute at all.
I’ve sort of considered that, but…I really like both on their own, and it would feel a bit contrived to me. If I were going to nickname [name]Athena[/name] at all, I’d probably go for “[name]Thea[/name],” but I honestly think I prefer it whole.
I don’t normally do this, but, I mean - lol, what? I accept that maybe my aesthetic leanings don’t really match up with yours here, but for you to suggest that [name]Nona[/name] is not capable of being interesting or meaningful is really kind of laughable.
Like a pp mentioned, to me it’s the Italian word for grandmother, and I think of [name]Nona[/name] [name]Gay[/name] who’s father was shot by her grandfather…
I don’t have a strong impression of the name. I’ve never known anyone with it and it’s not one whose history I have paid much attention to in my name research.
I don’t love the sound, which is odd because I do [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Anona[/name] and [name]Nina[/name]. I guess the sound could grow on me potentially. O is a cool letter. I think the barrier might be that “No” being really upfront and loud and negative. [name]Nona[/name] could easily turn into “no-no” kind of easily :/.
While I don’t have a strong impression of the name itself, it would give me some impressions of the parents who picked the name - certainly very creative, and perhaps very into everything “old” (beyond vintage I think) - I do remember seeing this name on old SS lists (I think?) as having been more popular early in the history of the lists.
I don’t think [name]Athena[/name] and [name]Nona[/name] are a very natural sibset if you would consider that. [name]Athena[/name] is very familiar (still rare, but known) and very powerful in its history, and unfamiliar, little-historied [name]Nona[/name] kind of fades in comparison. I can see how they would be liked by the same person, but on two sisters it wouldn’t be ideal. Also sharing the -na ending maybe. Granted if I met sisters named that I would adjust : D. Bizarrely, I think [name]Athena[/name] and [name]Anona[/name] works better - [name]Anona[/name] was a harvest goddess, and it makes the name weightier and hides the “no” factor a bit - even though it makes the names more similar in some ways.
Anyway, good luck as you consider! Despite not generally liking the name, I’d be sort of pleased to meet a little [name]Nona[/name] - it’s cool to see a rare name get used, and while I don’t find it particularly attractive, it’s not actively unattractive or anything.
Oh - an addendum - I’ve been repeating the name to myself and did think of an association, although not an immediate one obviously.
It reminds me of [name]Winona[/name]/[name]Wynnona[/name]. While I think that name is beautiful, [name]Winona[/name] [name]Ryder[/name] and [name]Wynnona[/name] [name]Judd[/name] aren’t probably everyone’s favorite celebrities (though of course they have their fans) - I wonder if that is driving some of the negative reaction to the name on a subconscious level. Might not be, just a thought : D.
[name]Nona[/name] is cute, though I instantly think of an Italian grandmother too. I love the suggestion of using [name]Ramona[/name] or [name]Winona[/name] and having [name]Nona[/name] as the nn. I would pick a longer and more formal mn though. For some reason, my first thought was [name]Nona[/name] [name]Eloise[/name].
My first thought is Italian grandmother…I’m almost positive [name]Nona[/name] is used somewhere as slang for grandmother, even though in [name]North[/name] [name]America[/name] ‘[name]Nana[/name]’ is more common. My next thought if I met a [name]Nona[/name] would be, " I wonder if that is an Israeli/ Hebrew name?" Probably because many of the Hebrew names are quite short, with a combination of very abrupt and distinct syllables. That would make the name seem more interesting [name]IMO[/name]. I would immediately ask and be quite curious as to the background of the name .
I personally would not want the name [name]Nona[/name]. That is how I ultimately decide if I like a name…how I would feel with that name. [name]Athena[/name] on the other hand is one name I really enjoy. The sound, boldness, and meaning is wonderful, and it is very under-used.
[name]Nona[/name] sounds like “no”, “nah” as if someone asked a question and the person answered in the negative twice, “would you like a drink?” “no”, “nah”. [name]Just[/name] my thoughts, but two negatives make a positive~
But it’s also cute on its own! I think maybe for a lot of people, it’s one of those names that is hard to imagine on a kid until you meet one (and then those names end up becoming all the rage.) [name]Nona[/name] [name]Penelope[/name] is my favorite combo, though if your last name has an “n” in it it might be a bit “n” heavy! Also, this might be too big a stretch, but how about [name]Athena[/name] nn [name]Nona[/name]??