What do you think of the name [name]Viola[/name] [name]Lee[/name]? My husband and I love it but I am concerned (eventhough I wish I wasn’t) about what family memebers and friends will think.
Why we love it?
I love it because it seems a bit unusual, but it is still a classic name. It was very popular in the late 1880’s to 1920’s.
My husband and I are big music lovers and it is the title of an old blues song that the Grateful Dead cover.
It is also the name of a beautiful spring flower / pansy.
[name]Lee[/name] is a family name that I would like to use. Our last name is long, so I thought [name]Viola[/name] [name]Lee[/name] is short enough and simple.
Why I am hesistant?
I made the mistake of telling my mother-in-law a couple years ago that I liked the name [name]Violet[/name] and she responded, “What’s in a name anyway”. So, I concerned she will really hate [name]Viola[/name].
I noticed when I read other blogs that some people associate it with an old lady name and not a beautiful, youthful name. Of course, you always want to imagine your little girl / grown daughter as beautiful.
I worry that since it is a bit out there that I will regret it. I love my son’s name and don’t regret it for a second. However, I did recently have a cat that I named 3 times! I have thought about this name for 2-3 years. [name]Do[/name] you think that is enough time?
What do you think? I would rather ask strangers than people I know. As a side note, our son’s name is [name]Julian[/name] [name]Ryder[/name]. [name]Ryder[/name] is after a GD song as well. So, let me know if you think [name]Viola[/name] goes well with his name. Other second choice names we would consider (but we tend to like [name]Viola[/name] better) are:
[name]Hi[/name] there! I really love [name]Viola[/name] and definitely think it works with [name]Julian[/name], but the [name]Viola[/name] [name]Lee[/name] combination doesn’t flow well (it’s too L-heavy, twisting my tongue).
Have you considered [name]Viola[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name]? I think that’s gorgeous!
Of your [name]Scarlett[/name] choices, I like [name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Eve[/name] a lot, but I’d personally skip [name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Rose[/name] (the whole red rose theme doesn’t work for me), as well as [name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Lee[/name] (also too L-heavy).
I vote for [name]Viola[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name], with [name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Eve[/name] coming in second.
That said, you should choose the name you love. None of the names you’re considering would cause teasing, so it’s just a matter of personal preference. Your mother-in-law named children already, and now it’s your turn to name your babies. No one can pick a name that pleases everyone, so as long as the name won’t cause harm, I think you should pick the name closest to your heart.
People have different associations with different names, but if it helps you any, I see a [name]Viola[/name] as elegant, sophisticated, charming, and beautiful. I think it’s stunning. With [name]Lee[/name], on the other hand, I picture a boy, a tomboy, or a pair of [name]Lee[/name] jeans. I really think the classic, feminine [name]Viola[/name] needs an equally feminine, classy middle name, but that’s just me.
I really hate the Grateful Dead, but my husband is a big fan. So I know about a lot of GD songs. [name]Viola[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name] would be a great choice for you because of the song “[name]Scarlett[/name] Begonias”. Like the name [name]Viola[/name], but I will try not to think about either [name]Viola[/name] or [name]Scarlett[/name]'s GD association. [name]Ryder[/name] is really cute, too!
Thanks everyone for your feedback. I appreciate the honesty (good & bad). [name]Do[/name] you think [name]Viola[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name] is too long especially with a long hypenated last name? Also, do you think it is strange b/c it is two color names? Let me know what you think and if there are other suggested middle names for [name]Viola[/name].
I think [name]Viola[/name] is fabulous. I appreciate it far more than [name]Violet[/name] or [name]Scarlett[/name]. I think its ‘old lady chic’ which is what is very in right now.
My only concern is that it runs together with the middle name ‘[name]Lee[/name]’. It sounds a bit like Violalee. And the double ‘l’ sound is a bit tongue twister like.
While I would think that [name]Violet[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name] would be too colorful (if it flowed, of course), for some reason, I don’t associate [name]Viola[/name] with purple. I’m more apt to think of the instrument. I’m curious as to what others think, but I personally think [name]Viola[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name] is stunning.
I don’t know your last names, but I personally think [name]Viola[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name] blankety-blank sounds great. [name]Scarlett[/name] only has two syllables, so I don’t think it’s a problem.
Here are some more ideas:
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Belle[/name]
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Claire[/name] (although I hear eclair, like the dessert)
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Camille[/name]
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Daphne[/name]
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Frances[/name]
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Jane[/name] (I think this is really pretty!)
[name]Viola[/name] [name]June[/name]
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Kate[/name]
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Mae[/name]
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Ruby[/name]
[name]Viola[/name] [name]Tess[/name]
It sounds like a sassy name to me, like she could be bootlegging or raising hell with [name]Bonnie[/name] and [name]Clyde[/name]. I mean this in a cute way.
Oops–I’ll edit this to respond to the more recent comments, too. I think [name]Viola[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name] works rather well; I don’t associate [name]Viola[/name] much with purple, though that’s probably common enough.
I love the name [name]Viola[/name] [name]Lee[/name], esp. with the meanings behind it.
I completely agree with teabee!!
[name]Don[/name]'t worry about friends and family. Once it’s attached to your little girl they will learn to love it, and hopefully wouldn’t be rude enough to tell you if they hated it.
I don’t like [name]Viola[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name] at all - the 2 names don’t go well together for me, whereas [name]Viola[/name] [name]Lee[/name] flows.
[name]Do[/name] it!! It sounds like the reasons you don’t like it is b/c you’re worried about what others would say. It’s not like it’s a strange name that will scar her or be a burden to carry so stop worrying.
Again, Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I have to say I was hesistant to post and feel so much better now that I have. It really helps to brainstorm ideas and prepare for what people will think once you actually announce the name. Plus, I feel like the users on this site have a lot of fresh ideas that are really in tune with the names I like. I am due in Oct and would like to narrorw down my name within the next month, so that I can begin using it and get comfortable with it.
[name]Lee[/name] is a family name that I really wanted to incorporate (grandfather [name]Leeland[/name] and father’s mn [name]Lee[/name]). However, it sounds like most people do not think it goes well with [name]Viola[/name] or [name]Scarlett[/name]. I did appreciate the 1 person who said it did,
[name]Jill[/name], I really love a lot of your suggestions - [name]Viola[/name] [name]Belle[/name] and [name]Viola[/name] [name]June[/name] are my favorites. We were actually considering [name]June[/name] as a first name but nixed it b/c we already have a [name]Julian[/name]. However, I had not thought of it as a middle name. I guess I just need to decide how important it is to have a family name. I was also considering [name]Violetta[/name]. I love the way it rolls off the tongue and it is so feminine. But, I’m guessing you will have the same feedback with [name]Viola[/name] [name]Lee[/name] as [name]Violetta[/name] [name]Lee[/name]. It might even be worse Plus, my husband thinks it is too long with our hypenated last name (two syllables - three syllables). He also thinks people will shorten it to [name]Violet[/name]. Also, my backup [name]Scarlett[/name] [name]Eve[/name], my husband says we can’t do b/c it reminds him of a feminine product… [name]Summer[/name]'s [name]Eve[/name] which complete ruined it for me!
I’m still laughing about the [name]Summer[/name]'s [name]Eve[/name] comment…Too funny! (I’m sorry it ruined the name for you, though!)
I agree that [name]Violetta[/name] will most likely be shortened to [name]Violet[/name], so if that’s an issue for you, I’d stick with [name]Viola[/name]. On the other hand, you could always nickname her [name]Viola[/name]. [name]Violetta[/name] [name]Lee[/name], which still doesn’t sound great to my ear, is still really L-heavy, but doesn’t feel as much like a tongue-twister. With [name]Viola[/name], the problem was that the -la ending and the “[name]Lee[/name]” were back-to-back. With [name]Violetta[/name], the -etta ending breaks it up a bit.
That said, if you feel comfortable with [name]Viola[/name] [name]Lee[/name], you should use it! Have you thought of honoring the “lee” sound with first or middle names ending in lie or lia ([name]Adelia[/name], [name]Celia[/name], [name]Amelia[/name], [name]Coralie[/name], [name]Rosalie[/name]) or with first names beginning with [name]Le[/name], like [name]Leora[/name]? They can easily be paired with [name]Viola[/name], [name]Violetta[/name], or [name]Violette[/name].
I think [name]Viola[/name] [name]June[/name] and [name]Viola[/name] [name]Belle[/name] are so pretty, too. (Hey! [name]Belle[/name] contains the letters lee, but it may be a stretch…)
“[name]Summer[/name]'s [name]Eve[/name]” <----------- lol!
I would just like to say that although [name]Viola[/name] [name]Lee[/name] is L-heavy, that need not make it unusable. It just depends on your style preferences. [name]Viola[/name] [name]Lee[/name] makes for a distinctively fun and spunky sound, and if that isn’t the style you are going for, at least she would be known simply as [name]Viola[/name] in daily life. Since things can come off differently in writing than they do in person, I hope my “sassy” comment didn’t sound mocking because that was not my intention; I just had this strong impression of a fearlessly independent but sweet heroine who has some rollicking misadventures.
No, it didn’t come off in a bad way at all. I actually loved your imagery of [name]Viola[/name]. I love really feminine, vintage names that seem grounded and not to pretentious. This is probably why I tend to what to pair [name]Viola[/name], [name]Violetta[/name], or [name]Scarlett[/name] with a shorter middle name. [name]Even[/name] if someone has a bad association with [name]Viola[/name], I would rather hear all the horor stories now (like [name]Scarlett[/name]'s [name]Eve[/name] = [name]Summer[/name]'s [name]Eve[/name] :-), then after the baby is born!
Are you still considering [name]Viola[/name] [name]Belle[/name] and [name]Viola[/name] [name]June[/name]? (I hope so!) Out of curiosity, are you pronouncing [name]Viola[/name] as “vee-oh-la” or as “vi-oh-la”? (I’ve heard both…)
I prefer the “[name]Vi[/name]-oh-la” pronunciation, but don’t dislike the “Vee-oh-la”. To me, the [name]Vi[/name]-oh-la pronunication just sounds more flowery and less like an instrument. Which do you prefer? As I mentioned, my husband and I love music (indie rock, blues, old folk/country, classic rock… you name it), but I’m not into naming my child after an instrument. It just kind of happend that we like [name]Viola[/name]. I am still considering both of the middle names and possibly others. I like the feminine quality to them. However, I have to admit that part of me is still leaning strongly towards [name]Lee[/name] b/c of the family element. We didnt’ name our first son after family and I don’t regret it. But, I think it might have been because I knew I would have more children. I don’t know yet whether we will stop at two or try for a third. I thought about names that end or begin with [name]Lee[/name], [name]Lia[/name], but haven’t found any that I like as much as [name]Viola[/name], [name]Scarlett[/name], etc. I think if I can just pin down the first name, I will be happy for now. I always have a couple more months to think about the middle name.
Thanks to everyone that posted their associations with the name [name]Viola[/name]. And if there is anyone else out there can contribute to the [name]Viola[/name] associations (good or bad), let me know. I think I was just more concerned about how people would react to [name]Viola[/name] rather than the middle name. When my husband’s grandmother heard the middle name of my son, [name]Julian[/name] [name]Ryder[/name], she said, “I hope you didn’t name him after a [name]Ryder[/name] Truck” It didn’t really bother me b/c I liked it and it is just the middle name. I think a first name ir more nerve wracking. My husband seems 100% on board with [name]Viola[/name] and I would say I am almost there!
I pronounce [name]Viola[/name] like you do, “[name]Vi[/name]-oh-la,” and think it’s stunning. I really love the combination of [name]Julian[/name] and [name]Viola[/name], too.
I’m sure that more people will come around to offer their comments soon!
Hate to be unoriginal, but I agree with everything [name]Jill[/name] has said! I second [name]Viola[/name] [name]Scarlett[/name] and I don’t think it’s too long at all. [name]Viola[/name] is lush and mysterious to me, and currently my #1 girl’s name (so I might be a little biased!) [name]Viola[/name] [name]Belle[/name] and [name]Viola[/name] [name]June[/name] are lovely too - they feel a bit more youthful with [name]Viola[/name]
Also, [name]Viola[/name] site really well with [name]Julian[/name], [name]IMO[/name] - it’d have to be one of the best sibsets I’ve ever heard