Ok - I am aware that this is the stupidest question ever, but I was wondering where to look to find meaningful names (e.g. middles)? My grandmother disliked her name, so that’s kind of out… and my mother’s not particularly interested in having a daughter with her name (I think she was a bit put off, having a ‘boring and popular’ name).
So - where should I look? I don’t want to randomly grab a name I like from the family tree…
A thought - my grandmother’s name (that she doesn’t like) is Neroli [name_u]Rae[/name_u] and I’ve discovered that I can make [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] from that. Would you call that at all meaningful or way too far removed?
Sorry for the stupid question! Very grateful for any ideas of where to start looking. Thank you!
[name_m]Favorite[/name_m] books, music, artists, something based on childhood memories…your mother’s favorite names or favorite relative…someone you admire, perhaps from your family or from general history, religion or culture.
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is a very lovely name, and if it has meaning to you, then yes, i would call it meaningful.
Its not a stupid question, btw. 
You should do as rkrd instructed. A name that has meaning to you is a name that evokes a feeling from you. If there are no family names you like, look elsewhere. Find variants. If youre honoring a mary, try marion, or maris, or even moira or miriam. Search high and low, and you will find what youre looking for.
Not a stupid question at all. My mom is totally against me using her name (I never had any intention anyway). I’m not interested in naming my kids after anyone but I love hidden connections. You can find names that link to mom/grandma/etc without using their actual names. What are their favorite songs, favorite colors, their professions, the names they wanted to use for their kids but never got the chance…? For instance, Grandma’s favorite color is yellow so I could use yellow or sunny names- [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m], [name_f]Xanthe[/name_f], or [name_m]Sol[/name_m]. Mom’s name means ‘foreign’, so names with the same meaning are [name_u]Wallace[/name_u] and [name_f]Elodia[/name_f].
Yep!
My go to site for finding variants is Behind the Name: Meaning of Names, Baby Name Meanings
Not a stupid question at all!
I think [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is lovely, and I love the nn’s [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] and [name_f]Nora[/name_f] :]
Thanks so much everyone! You’re all very kind I’m loving [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] more and more!
You could also search for names with meanings that align to something that is important to you ex:
Life = [name_f]Zoe[/name_f]
[name_f]Wisdom[/name_f] = [name_f]Sophie[/name_f]/[name_f]Sofia[/name_f]/etc.
[name_u]Traveller[/name_u] = [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]
Gift of G-d = [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]
Pure = [name_f]Katherine[/name_f]
You could also consider using birthdays of important people as inspiration. For example I love the name [name_u]June[/name_u] for the month my mom was born, but I also like [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] which is her birthstone. And my grandma and I were both born in [name_u]August[/name_u], and [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] is the [name_u]August[/name_u] flower. (There are charts of all that kind of stuff by month if you google it!)
I agree that [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is lovely! You might even consider the [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] spelling? That way, it contains the same letters in Neroli, just rearranged?
I usually take inspiration from family, my faith/religion, and my love of literature ([name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_u]Austen[/name_u], C.S. [name_m]Lewis[/name_m], [name_m]Oscar[/name_m] Wilde, [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m], etc.!). Also ideas and things that I love, or names that somehow remind me of something that’s been meaningful to me. For example, I took Koine (ancient) Greek my freshman year of college, and Σοφíα ([name_f]Sofia[/name_f]) and ζωη ([name_f]Zoe[/name_f]) were two of the first words I learned. And I’m especially loving [name_f]Cosima[/name_f] lately–I love that it reminds me of the cosmos and the stars. When I was a teenager I had very few friends and felt quite alone, and really the only friend I had was God. I remembered looking up at the stars and just knowing He was there, and the stars always seemed to bring me closer to Him. So I am really drawn to that lately. I love [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] because of its meaning, “dawn”, and I like the idea of passing down to my children that no matter what they do, they can always start again, and each day is a new day with a fresh start. I have struggled with clinical depression, so it’s a very important message for me to pass down. Things like that. I just look for names I like, and search for a deeper connection, really. Sometimes I’ll go looking for a nationality, like Welsh or Polish, because I have a slight obsession with Polish names, and I am part Welsh, but usually the names will just appeal to me on some level, and I’ll discover a connection I really love with it.
Good luck!