Let’s say your name is Mahoney, Maroni, Mulrooney, etc. 3 syllables, starts with M, ends with an “ee” sound.
Which is worse:
[name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mahoney (alliterative first letters)
or
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mahoney (repetitive last sound?)
And which flows better if you had to use one: [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mulrooney or [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mulrooney?
I don’t like alliteration so I pick repeating end sounds. I like [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] better than [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] too. I do like [name_f]Morgana[/name_f].
What else have you got? At the very least, I’d make it [name_f]Morgana[/name_f] [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] to add an extra syllable before the dreaded alliteration.
[name_u]Morgan[/name_u] is husband’s favourite, he doesn’t like [name_f]Morgana[/name_f].
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f] is the only I name he’s not vetoed and I really wanted an I name. 
I guess I could table the issue for a little while and bring up Illyria, [name_f]Irene[/name_f], or [name_f]Ilaria[/name_f] again, but I don’t think they have the simplicity he likes.
I tried to get [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_u]Meredith[/name_u] which I thought flowed a bit better but he’s very fond of [name_u]Morgan[/name_u].
I like alliteration do e well. [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mulroney sounds nice to me. However, I do prefer [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mulroney. - but only because I prefer the more feminine first name.
[name_f]Isolda[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u]
[name_f]Ivetta[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u]
[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u]
[name_f]Iris[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u]
I’m not a big fan of alliteration either… that said, [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mahoney isn’t terrible. [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] isn’t my favorite name.
I prefer [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] as a name and in combination with your last name (whatever it actually is).
I adore [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] and am fond of [name_f]Iris[/name_f] and both have fallen to Dread Veto [name_m]Man[/name_m]. 
I really liked the flow with the surname, too. Husbands, can’t live with 'em, can’t grind 'em up for soup.
Is [name_f]Ivetta[/name_f] like [name_f]Ivette[/name_f]/[name_f]Yvette[/name_f] (ee-VETT?)
[name_f]Isolda[/name_f]/Izolda is kind of interesting. I like [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] but the pronunciation issues was its downfall.
I don’t love alliteration, but you could do much worse than [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mahoney. On the other hand I’m not a fan of [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mahoney. The Y at the end of both names feels heavy to me, like it’s dragging the name down.
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mahoney seems worse, but somehow prettier; and [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mulrooney definitely wins for better flow.
I dislike [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mahoney more than [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mahoney. I think [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mulroney flows better than [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mulroney.
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mulroney/Mahoney is lovely! I love alliteration, so long as it’s not [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] [name_f]Morrigan[/name_f] or something!
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mulroney is adorable.
What about [name_f]Iliana[/name_f]? [name_f]Iliana[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u]?
Well [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] le [name_f]Fay[/name_f] was powerful and cool, so there’s that. I like that it means “sea circle” and “morning.” But honestly [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] is kind of heavy and horsey-sounding to my ears. Somehow with an A at the end - [name_f]Morgana[/name_f] - it’s infinitely nicer imo. [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] makes me think of cozy ivy-covered cottages so it has this romantic quality, but it’s also quite modern and sleek. I think [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] “Mahoney” has better flow than the other way around… [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] [name_f]Morgana[/name_f] Mahoney even better. I like the rhymeyness of [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mahoney. It’s in the same singsongy Irish vein as [name_u]Riley[/name_u] O’[name_f]Malley[/name_f], [name_m]Rafferty[/name_m] Mooney, [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] [name_u]Clancy[/name_u]….
I don’t know, I don’t think [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] OR [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] sounds particularly bad with “Mulroney”, but of the two, I suppose [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] sounds better. I like [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] more, though, and I think [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] “Mulroney” is just fine–beautiful, in fact. I would love to meet a little [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mulroney! [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mulroney is fine, but I think [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mulroney’s great.
Want to thank everyone who posted, I am in a weird time-zone and having trouble replying in a timely fashion but big thanks!
I’m feeling a lot better about both now. They break some “rules” but not in an awful way.
Husband: “Too fluffy.” <—I don’t even know.
Thanks. Yeah, maybe I just need to view it as a feature/flavour and not an issue. I did think Molly Mahoney might be a bridge too far… but he loves Morgan more anyway. I’d like to give him the win, assuming it still sounds good. If you know what I mean. 
And yeah, he likes the powerful sorceress thing for a daughter. He also likes Minerva? But a friend said Minerva Mahoney sounds like a Harry Potter character.
Thanks again everyone.
I’m don’t really have an issue with alliteration, but can’t stand the same ending sounds!
[name_u]Morgan[/name_u] Mahoney sounds so much better than [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Mahoney, [name_f]IMO[/name_f]
I normally think alliteration makes a name sound like a children’s book character (esp if monosyllabic-- i.e. [name_f]Jenny[/name_f] Jumps or [name_m]Mike[/name_m] Maze), but if your real surname is in any way as lilting as Mahoney, then it’s the rhyming ending in [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] that bothers me more. Alliterative names can be very powerful-- they’re memorable and a bit poetic.
It seems like your husband doesn’t want anything frilly nor too ‘out there’ (though goodness, I love [name_f]Ilaria[/name_f], and [name_f]Ileanna[/name_f]/ [name_f]Ilona[/name_f] has good Jewish cred back in Europe-- it’s as you know an elaborate form of [name_f]Johanna[/name_f]). [name_f]Do[/name_f] you like [name_f]Ilsa[/name_f], [name_f]Ines[/name_f], [name_f]Irina[/name_f], [name_f]Isla[/name_f], or [name_f]Iona[/name_f]?
I have a cousin who will do Exorcist-head if I use [name_f]Ilana[/name_f]/[name_f]Ilona[/name_f], I suspect. [name_f]Ilana[/name_f]/[name_f]Elana[/name_f] are quite well-loved in my family. [name_f]Ileana[/name_f]/[name_f]Iliana[/name_f] is just too elaborate for the husband, he found it “confusing.”(?)
He’s willing to go “out there” but in a very specific way, mostly towards word-names rather than ethnic appellations. He’s okay with [name_f]Marigold[/name_f] for example. He’s not the typical “conservative namer” because I don’t think they generally have lists chock-full of [name_f]Luna[/name_f], [name_u]Winter[/name_u], [name_f]Briar[/name_f], [name_f]Emerald[/name_f], etc. He will branch out for mythological names sometimes, too.
[name_f]Ilsa[/name_f] is right out because I keep hearing “[name_f]Ilsa[/name_f], She-[name_m]Wolf[/name_m] of the SS.”
[name_f]Iona[/name_f] is lovely but [name_f]Iona[/name_f] Maroni sounds bizarre. There’s an “owny” sound in the surname that turns [name_f]Iona[/name_f] very strange. The only thing worse is the - otherwise exquisite - [name_f]Ione[/name_f].
[name_f]Irina[/name_f]/[name_f]Irene[/name_f] suit me fine but not him, I don’t know why. I mean I know why they suit me - the I name I’m naming after actually used [name_f]Irene[/name_f] in English.
I don’t mind [name_f]Isla[/name_f]. In an amusing cultural contrast my mom finds [name_f]Isla[/name_f] baffling/infuriating and [name_f]Ayla[/name_f] intuitive, and his UK-derived mother quite the reverse. [name_m]Way[/name_m] to split on homonyms, guys.
[name_f]Isis[/name_f] was vetoed for wackiness while [name_f]Iris[/name_f] fell to accusations of old-fogeyism, an infuriating combo. [name_f]Isidora[/name_f]/Isidra were not hatefully rejected but sorta shelved, so I still ponder them. [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f] lingers in a similar limbo.
Looping very badly back to an earlier statement: as a middle name, is Chaia/[name_f]Chaya[/name_f] (I don’t care which) usable at all, ever, as a MN? [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] [name_f]Chaya[/name_f]?
The other option would be [name_u]Clare[/name_u]/[name_f]Claire[/name_f]. Some Chayas use [name_f]Claire[/name_f] as the English name and like [name_f]Claire[/name_f], I just don’t feel like it’s much of a reference to my-[name_f]Chaya[/name_f]-legally-[name_f]Irene[/name_f], you know? I like it in a vacuum. Alliteration to a passed ancestor is pretty common in my family.
That’s how [name_f]Irene[/name_f] was [name_f]Irene[/name_f] actually - named for a Chaia going by [name_f]Ida[/name_f].
[name_f]Chaya[/name_f] - [name_f]Ida[/name_f] - [name_f]Irene[/name_f] - [name_f]Ivy[/name_f]. Relatively clear segue if you accept my family is loony-tunes.
vs.
[name_f]Chaya[/name_f] - [name_f]Ida[/name_f] - [name_f]Irene[/name_f] - [name_u]Clare[/name_u]. Less clear. The funny thing is I like [name_u]Clare[/name_u] just fine as a name on its own. Am I being ridiculous?