which floral name do you prefer

I’m due in [name]December[/name], and was wondering which floral name you like best out of these.
I’ve been pouring over names for so long that right now, all names are just one big blur. I’ve said so many names so many times that they’ve all just lost their appeal.

We started off thinking about [name]Lily[/name], since my boyfriend’s grandmother was [name]Lillian[/name]. The only thing I’m a little bit concerned about is [name]Lily[/name]'s popularity. My name is [name]Amanda[/name] (born in '83), and I never liked that there was always at least another [name]Amanda[/name] in class. I feel that [name]Lily[/name] might just be too common where I live.

My boyfriend really likes [name]Willow[/name], but for some reason it sounds a little bit sad, flaky, and flimsy to me. I don’t see a [name]Willow[/name] as a girl with a backbone, or girl who’s good at math. Does it sound this way to you? It also makes me think of the Palins. What are your thoughts on [name]Willow[/name]? If little [name]Willow[/name] grew up to be a tough lawyer, or a conventional accountant, will she resent her name? Does the name sound like it would only suit one kind of person?

We’re undecided on middle names
Which do you prefer/hate least:

[name]Lily[/name] _____ Marinaccio (too common?)
[name]Clover[/name] ______ Marinaccio (too hippy/cutesy?)
[name]Willow[/name] _____ Marinaccio (too [name]Palin[/name]?)
[name]Zinnia[/name] ______ Marinaccio (too unusual?)

Are [name]Clover[/name] and [name]Zinnia[/name] just middle name material and not first name material?

[name]Hi[/name] [name]Amanda[/name]

I adore the name [name]Willow[/name] and if we have a little girl that will be her middle name, because as much as we love it i can’t bring myself to use it as a first name. My theory is if she loves the name she can call herself it! Oh plus i don’t like the idea of people calling her [name]Will[/name] !!!
As for the other names i see your problem with [name]Lily[/name], its such a pretty name but really quite popular at the moment.
[name]Clover[/name] to me just reminds me of the butter (that maybe just a UK thing!??)
[name]Zinnia[/name] is a name thats caught my eye a few times as i love nature names, i think its different without being too bizarre and i can imagine this on a cute 5 year old as well as a 30 year old.
Good luck with making your decision!

So I’m a fan of [name]Buffy[/name] the Vampire Slayer. One of [name]Buffy[/name]'s best friends is [name]Willow[/name] ([name]Alison[/name] Hannigan). In the beginning of the series she is kind of a geek, really good at computers and everything academic. She wore really colorful, unfashionable clothes but she was adorable. She’s not exactly without a backbone, but she’s rather quiet. Well as the show progressed she changed quite a bit, she got a lot cooler and more confident. She also got into witchcraft and became a lesbian! She became the most powerful witch ever! Sooooo, I guess I’m saying that I think [name]Willow[/name] will fit any type of personality!

[name]Lily[/name] _____ Marinaccio (too common?)- I think it’s too common, yeah, but it’s still lovely.
[name]Clover[/name] ______ Marinaccio (too hippy/cutesy?)- I’m in the minority on namberry, but I cannot picture [name]Clover[/name] as anything but a very small girl running through a field on a sunny day. Cute image, yes… But try as i might i can not see it fitting an adult.
[name]Willow[/name] _____ Marinaccio (too [name]Palin[/name]?)- I don’t think of [name]Palin[/name] at all. [name]Love[/name] it!
[name]Zinnia[/name] ______ Marinaccio (too unusual?)- I’m a fan! I actually prefer Zinna, which i know is incorrect but i think it sounds more namelike. Either way, i think it’s cool!

One that comes to mind is [name]Azalea[/name]. I encountered one in real life who was about 12 and she was adorable. Or what about [name]Camellia[/name] (sp? However the flower is spelled). Sounds great with [name]Julia[/name], more mainstream, ya know? But still unusual and with lots of cute nicknames!

Are [name]Clover[/name] and [name]Zinnia[/name] just middle name material and not first name material?[/quote]

[name]Hi[/name]!
Yes, [name]Lily[/name] might be too common. You’ll probably just have to decide whether that will bug you. I have to make the same decision about [name]Madeleine[/name]. :stuck_out_tongue: It sucks, doesn’t it??!

[name]Clover[/name] does sound very hippie to me. :slight_smile: middle I think would be ok though.

I do not think of the Palins when I hear [name]Willow[/name], but I do picture a quiet, very intelligent girl (who would kick ass at math!) but I wanted to suggest the name [name]Willa[/name] to you. I think it does have the same soft sound but seems much stronger, and I can definitely imagine an attorney named [name]Willa[/name].

[name]Zinnia[/name] (and [name]Azalea[/name] especially) are a bit too out-there for me, but at least they wouldn’t be very common.

I like [name]Lily[/name], but I agree it may be too popular…how about [name]Lilia[/name] or [name]Lila[/name] instead?
[name]Willow[/name] would be my second choice…or you could go with [name]Willa[/name].

[name]Lily[/name] is gorgeous but definitely popular. [name]Willow[/name] is very sweet. [name]Zinnia[/name] is my favorite from your list and love the nn Zinnie. [name]Clover[/name] is cute but does seem more like a nn than a full name. good luck (:

Thanks for the replies. I like the [name]Buffy[/name] reference as well. We’ll probably go with [name]Willow[/name] if we choose any of these. I had no idea that [name]Clover[/name] was a type of butter in the UK!

I used to like the girl’s name [name]Calypso[/name] (mostly as a guilty pleasure), particularly [name]Calypso[/name] [name]Jane[/name]. I asked people on Yahoo Answers what they thought of [name]Calypso[/name] and all of the people from the UK said “[name]Calypso[/name]- like the ice lollies?” It’s interesting to see peope’s associations from other countries. I’m from [name]Missouri[/name], and we don’t have “ice lollies” called [name]Calypso[/name]. In fact, we don’t have ice lollies at all! We have popsicles.

I’m due in [name]December[/name] too and though we’ve settled on a different name if it’s a girl, I love floral names and spent a lot of time considering different ones. I like [name]Lily[/name], and I feel like we’re kind of past the peak of it’s popularity. It’s classic and graceful and sounds very nice with your last name. [name]Clover[/name]- it think it’s really cute and spunky, but I do have a slightly hard time imagining it on a professional adult. Not that it couldn’t happen though - I think that the person makes the name, the name doesn’t make the person. [name]Willow[/name] is pretty, as is the variation of [name]Willa[/name]. Not my top choice, but that’s just me. [name]Zinnia[/name] is really great I think. I don’t know if I’d choose it, but I’d really like it on someone else’s child. I have two little girls that are friends in my neighborhood named [name]Zinnia[/name] and [name]Victoria[/name]. When I first met them, I exclaimed in admiration over [name]Zinnia[/name]'s name, and [name]Victoria[/name] said that 'everyone always loves [name]Zinnia[/name]‘s name’.

Other suggestions:
[name]Viola[/name]- with the emphasis on the first syllable, I love this from Shakespear in [name]Love[/name]
[name]Dahlia[/name]- For me it has all of the spunk of [name]Zinnia[/name], but feels just a little more accessible. I was also loving my notions for a while of having a little girl that I privately nicknamed ‘[name]Dollie[/name]’ or called ‘dahling’.
[name]Camellia[/name]/[name]Camille[/name]- since this is a winter blooming flower, I liked it as a floral name for a [name]December[/name] baby

I like both [name]Lily[/name] and [name]Willow[/name]. I’m not sure how to pronounce [name]Zinnia[/name] so I can’t comment on that one. I think [name]Clover[/name] would be cute as a middle name.

If you don’t mind suggestions, may I suggest [name]Calla[/name]? It would honor his grandmother (it is the name of a [name]Lily[/name]) and is a beautiful, not too common floral name.

A quick word about popularity…
You said your name was too common growing up ([name]Amanda[/name] born in '83) so I did some research. [name]Amanda[/name] ranked #3 in 1983, given to 1.8866% of baby girls born that year. [name]Lily[/name], in comparison, ranked #18, but was given to only .4004% of baby girls born that year-that’s less than a quarter of the Amandas! In 1983, that percentage of babies would’ve ranked #42- about the same as [name]April[/name] or [name]Maria[/name]. So it isn’t as common as you might have thought.

If that still bothers you, though, I second the suggestion of [name]Calla[/name]. As for your other names, here’s what I think:
[name]Clover[/name]- I’m not a fan. It doesn’t sound at all like a name to me. If you want to use it, I would use it as a middle.
[name]Willow[/name]- It’s okay, I guess. I much prefer [name]Lily[/name], [name]Calla[/name], [name]Rose[/name], [name]Dahlia[/name], or even [name]Zinnia[/name], but it’s not a bad name. And I wouldn’t have remembered [name]Sarah[/name] [name]Palin[/name] had a [name]Willow[/name]- If you were considering [name]Bristol[/name] or [name]Track[/name], on the other hand, it would’ve been insurmountable. And you’re right about it’s lack of versatility- I think it would work well on a hip, artsy type person, but it would be terrible if a girl named [name]Willow[/name] was shy or self-conscious and grew up to be an accountant or something. It’s a name you need the personality for.
[name]Zinnia[/name]- I like it! But I’m not sure I would use it- it is very unusual, maybe too unusual. But it could definitely work well as a middle if you decide not to use it.

I’d love to give you help on middles- what type of name are you looking for?

Dasiy, nice math work! That’s how I figure out how popular names really are, too. Only problem with [name]Lily[/name] though is that there are lots of variations ([name]Lilian[/name], [name]Liliana[/name], [name]Lillian[/name], [name]Lilly[/name], [name]Lillie[/name], etc.) that make it more popular than just it’s ranking make it seem. But still, the numbers can be misleading… However, I knew a LOT of Marias growing up!

If I were you I’d go for [name]Lily[/name] or [name]Zinnia[/name]. [name]Both[/name] lovely! :slight_smile: