What do you think of Anais?

Girl Names
1

Hi everyone! I hadn’t given the name Anais much consideration before now, but I think I might just add it to my favorites list! But first, I have a few questions for the name experts!

  1. Do you think it could be usable on an actual human child, or is it way to out there?
  2. Are there way to many associations out there with the name? Would I constantly be asked, ‘oh, is she named after _?’
  3. I absolutely love the way Anais sounds when said out loud. But the spelling looks strange to me. I know it would be said out loud most of the time, but still. Do you think it’s worth letting go of a name just because you don’t like the spelling?
  4. Another alternative would be spelling it like Anaise, which is actually a legitimate name. Thoughts on that?
  5. And lastly, the ages-old question: any middles you like with it? I’d even be open to two middles with a good flow

Note: pronounced Ah-nah-EES
Thank you so much for reading this very long post Berries!

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  1. I met a girl named [name_f]Anais[/name_f] two years ago. She’d be about 10 now. It’s definitely not too out there, it is a diminutive of the more common An(n)a now.

  2. Not that I can think of.

  3. Maybe, but you could try altering the spelling or finding a name with a similar sound that’s spelt more nicely.

  4. I like it!

  5. Rosa
    Evaluna
    [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f]
    [name_f]Amelie[/name_f]

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  1. I don’t think it’s too out there! It has a pretty common starting sound (think [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_u]Anne[/name_u], [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f], etc, plus [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] or [name_m]Andrew[/name_m] for boys too). Plus I’m not 100% sure but I think it’s reasonably common in [name_f]France[/name_f].
  2. I’ve definitely heard of a few ([name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_m]Nin[/name_m] and a cartoon character immediately come to mind) but I definitely don’t think it’s too connected to any one person and I wouldn’t assume she was named after anyone.
  3. If you strongly dislike the spelling, I would maybe look for other names I like better but in the end if I really loved the sound I think I could find a way to look past spelling. This one is really personal to you though.
  4. Not a fan of the e personally but it definitely works as a spelling!
  5. Off the top of my head, [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f], [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Rosette[/name_f], [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Lauren[/name_f], [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Meadow[/name_f], and [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Reina[/name_f] sound good!

Note: I instinctually pronounce it in my head as Ahn-AI-ees since that’s how I first heard it pronounced in a show. Not sure how far off that would be from your listed one spoken aloud, but I just thought I’d add that in just in case.

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4

I think [name_f]Anais[/name_f] is so lovely and underused! At the same time, it doesn’t stick out apart from the [name_f]Anna[/name_f]/Ann trends that are popular today. I’ve only ever heard of good associations with it.

To help with pronunciation, I would spell it [name_f]Anaïs[/name_f] with an umlaut.

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  1. Totally fine on a real child! Not too out there at all.
  2. I personally have no cultural references that spring up.
  3. It’s completely legitimate to let go of a name if you don’t like how it looks written down, but do bear in mind that names are said much more often than they’re written, so if you love the sound then I don’t think the spelling is necessarily a deal breaker.
  4. This makes me think a bit of the word Mayonnaise, sorry! I think [name_f]Anais[/name_f] is prettier.
  5. Middle names are tricky without knowing your style, but how about [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f], [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Aubrielle[/name_f], [name_f]Anais[/name_f] Emeliana, [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Theodora[/name_f], [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Elora[/name_f] [name_f]Belle[/name_f]
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6

I love [name_f]Anais[/name_f] - I sometimes write is [name_f]Anaïs[/name_f] which makes the pronunciation a bit more obvious (to me? I say it a bit like [name_f]Ann[/name_f] - eye - ees).

  1. Definitely usable - I may not be one to talk, but I have heard it IRL before.
  2. I do think of [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_m]Nin[/name_m], for better or worse, but I’m not sure if that would be common.
    3/4. If you genuinely don’t like the look of it and it makes you unhappy, you should coincide that and potentially use [name_f]Anaise[/name_f]. I would want to pronounce [name_f]Anaise[/name_f] more like star anise. I like the way [name_f]Anais[/name_f] / [name_f]Anaïs[/name_f] looks - I think it’s spunky, but you should use the spelling that you enjoy.
  3. [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Cornelia[/name_f]
    [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]
    [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Lucille[/name_f]
    [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]
    [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f]
    [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Verity[/name_f]
    [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Eliana[/name_f]
    [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Tallulah[/name_f]
    [name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Camellia[/name_f]
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  1. Do you think it could be usable on an actual human child, or is it way to out there?

I think it’s usable. It shares sounds with more familiar names like [name_f]Anya[/name_f], [name_f]Elise[/name_f] and [name_f]Annie[/name_f] so I don’t see why not

  1. Are there way to many associations out there with the name? Would I constantly be asked, ‘oh, is she named after _?’

Not that I can think of

  1. I absolutely love the way [name_f]Anais[/name_f] sounds when said out loud. But the spelling looks strange to me. I know it would be said out loud most of the time, but still. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think it’s worth letting go of a name just because you don’t like the spelling?

I like how distinct and interesting [name_f]Anais[/name_f] looks but if you really don’t like it, it would dissuade me from a name a bit

  1. Another alternative would be spelling it like [name_f]Anaise[/name_f], which is actually a legitimate name. Thoughts on that?

I prefer the concise look of [name_f]Anais[/name_f] but if you prefer [name_f]Anaise[/name_f], I’d say go with that

  1. And lastly, the ages-old question: any middles you like with it? I’d even be open to two middles with a good flow

Anais [name_u]Ruby[/name_u]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Delilah[/name_f]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Primrose[/name_f]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Daisy[/name_f]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Lucia[/name_f]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_u]Camille[/name_u]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Daphne[/name_f]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Estella[/name_f]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Katherine[/name_f]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f] [name_f]Delphine[/name_f]

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