Wimberley? Love or hate?

Be honest!!! I’ve liked the name Wimberley ever since I heard of the small town in [name]Texas[/name]…now I’m finally pregnant and now I’m not sure if it could be a name for a real person! I very much dislike the association with [name]Kimberly[/name] but am hoping its unique enough to maybe not sound like [name]Kimberly[/name] with a W (haha maybe wishful thinking). [name]Ansley[/name] is my similar second favorite (in this name “category”), but its close to [name]Ainsley[/name] which is getting popular. I’ve also heard [name]Waverly[/name] or [name]Willoughby[/name] as an alternative but don’t think they sound as girly. Thoughts?! Help!!

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I’m not going to lie…ithink wimberly is pretty bad. I had no idea it was the name of a town. I thought you were trying to get creative with [name]Kimberly[/name]. I like ansley, but as you mentioned, it is similar to ainsley. (Which I have negative associations with-a girl in my high school had this name and the kids were mean and called her [name]ANIS[/name]-ly …a take off of anus…so the name is ruined forever for me). I think [name]Waverly[/name] is nice too, and decidedly feminine IMHO. I am on the fence about [name]Willoughby[/name]. I think it sounds more masculine as well.

Yeah, I think that is what most people would think, trying to reinvent [name]Kimberly[/name] which is definitely NOT what I’m going for. [name]Ansley[/name] is pretty, but I’ve been [name]Lauren[/name] my whole life with people pronouncing/spelling it [name]Loren[/name] and I don’t want her to always be having to explain the spelling/pronunciation of [name]Ansley[/name]. Those two are my more frilly favorites (except that no one but me and my hubby like them!!), any suggestions are welcome! Other favorites are from a different “category” - [name]Leighton[/name], [name]Ashlyn[/name], [name]Brighton[/name], [name]Landry[/name], [name]Landyn[/name]. But this is a very preliminary list! Still have lots of time. Still deciding whether the old fashioned names are real contenders for me (they seem to be very popular on nameberry…kinda growing on me, but only the cutsie ones). Anyway, thanks for the honest feedback! [name]Just[/name] wanted to make sure it wasn’t just my more traditional family members that disliked it! I kinda loved that I’ve never heard of anyone with the name, but I guess I know why! :slight_smile:

I don’t like it. It just makes me think of about ten different things all smushed together: kimberly, whimper, pemberley, whimbledon, etc. In the end it just doesn’t really feel like a name for me. Sorry.

I totally understand where you are coming from! It i.s so hard to reconcile uncommon, unique names and names that aren’t used for good reason! Haha. My name is [name]Nevada[/name], so I had one of the unique names growing up. I can say from experience that I always got mixed reactions. But that is probably true of everyone’s name - whether it is common or not! Here on nameberry, many of us like the names that many people consider “old lady names” and while we may get rave reviews on our children’s names here on this site, that is not really any indication of how the general population will react. So if wimberly is honestly your hands down favorite, and 2 days before your baby is born you still find yourself coming back to that name, then I say go for it. But in the meantime, explore your options. Who knows? Maybe you will find something you like even better!..I can’t think of any suggestiins off the top of my head right now. We seem to have different naming styles… but what about something like [name]Harper[/name]? Or haven? …you may hate those. I will do some research for you and post again!

Yes I love [name]Harper[/name]. But it seems to be everywhere. I have been [name]Lauren[/name] #1 and “Big [name]Lauren[/name]” (my best friend is short and I am tall…unfortunate nn!) so I’m pretty against something that is popular. [name]Haven[/name] is pretty. I like word names and the word itself is nice…gotta let it sink in and see how I like it once it feels more like a name. :slight_smile: I tend to want to add ly to everything. But Havenly sounds like [name]Heavenly[/name] with a bad accent, ha!

Definitely looking forward to expanding the options though! Definitely not set on Wimberley or [name]Ansley[/name] and am already thinking of counting them out, was never sure about Wimberley honestly. Other variations though: [name]Emberly[/name], [name]Amberly[/name], but not in love with those. I think I’ll prob drop it here soon! But I need some replacements. And nameberry seems to be the place to get them! :slight_smile:

My siblings names are [name]Laine[/name], [name]Cole[/name] and [name]Jillian[/name]…never had any others in their classes at school, yet not weird at all. I’d be ok with a lot weirder or more unique…but that is what I’m going for. Nice sounding, unique, but not something most people would hate/think of very negatively. Hard to predict what will get big and what won’t though! Thanks so much for the input! Loving hearing feedback even if negative!

thanks neuilly! no worries I’m loving the honest feedback from clearly creative namers :slight_smile: Like your names on your poll website! Curious…is Petrie the middle or last? Made me smile bc its a funny pet name btw hubby and I. We joke about not naming our kid that bc its “ours” haha we are cheesy :slight_smile:

Petrie is actually the last name. It’s my SOs last name, and we joke about it too…[name]Petri[/name] dishes, and Petrie is a character in the [name]Land[/name] Before Time. His parents actually have a little rubber figure of the character that sits in the entry way to their house. That’s cute though that you use it as a funny pet name!

/hijack

haha yes we use it from land before time a la “poor poor petrie” :slight_smile: too funny. maybe we need one of those figurines! :slight_smile:

I know a couple who named their daughter Amberley (after a town in New Zealand) in 2010. I though it was a dated name ([name]Amber[/name] [name]Lee[/name]) and then they explained the importance of this city to them. I thought of them after I read your post about Wimberly.
When I think of cute old lady names I think of names that were popular about 80 years ago and end in an ‘ee’ sound. Here are some I really like on babies today:
[name]Lily[/name]
[name]Chloe[/name]
[name]Audrey[/name]
[name]Sophie[/name]/[name]Sophia[/name]
[name]Evie[/name]/[name]Eva[/name]
[name]Sadie[/name]
Other names that are not in one specific category:
[name]Kendall[/name]
[name]Tenley[/name]
[name]Piper[/name]
[name]Winter[/name]
[name]Laine[/name]
[name]Laken[/name]/Lakin -sounds like ‘lake-in’ and i’m not sure if there is a more proper spelling. You might love/hate saying [name]Lauren[/name] and [name]Landyn[/name], [name]Laine[/name], Lakin

  • just read your post about your sister’s name being Laine.

Thanks Callimom! I like the -lee names you mentioned, pretty much all of them, but worry about popularity. Also, since I was one of many [name]Laurens[/name] and my maiden name started with E, I got the nn [name]Ellie[/name] (“L.E.”) in college and have always thought it would be cute to name a daughter that (Elliston or something with [name]Ellie[/name] nn). Again, growing in popularity though.

Lakin is interesting, like the look of it for sure, not sure about the sound (kind of abrupt). Have thought of [name]Lake[/name] before too. I do like L’s in general :slight_smile:

And to be clear [name]Laine[/name], [name]Cole[/name] and [name]Jillian[/name] are MY siblings, not my children :slight_smile: This will be my first!

I don’t really like [name]Landry[/name]. It reminds me of Laundry.
[name]How[/name] do you feel about the name [name]Zola[/name]? I think the Z gives it an exotic feel.
[name]Wynter[/name] is nice as well.

Sounds to me like a cross between [name]Kimberley[/name] and Wimbledon. It’s OK as a place name, but I would honestly advise against it as a name for a person (sorry!).

you are not alone! this is great that everyone agrees and I no longer have to wonder if it can be separated from [name]Kimberly[/name]. It seems that even the open and creative nameberries dislike it, which is good confirmation for me!

Thumbs down on Wimberley. What do you think of [name]Everly[/name] or Everleigh?

Yes, I like [name]Everly[/name]/Everleigh and had not thought of that! Except then we’ve got [name]Beverly[/name] to contend with! But the -leigh ending might help with that…hmmm I’ll have to think on that one and ask hubby! [name]Love[/name] that its a more similar alternative. Thanks!!

It reminds me of tennis! Wimbledon to be exact.

I don’t like it. It has weird sound combinations and is similar to the dated named [name]Kimberley[/name].
I do hope [name]Kimberley[/name] Wimberley has her day in court though! (google it)

Yes, my first reaction to reading the name Wimberley was that it sounds just like [name]Kimberly[/name]. It’s kind of cute, but I find it easier to like uncommon names like that when they have a cute nickname, and I can’t think of any for Wimberley. From the other names you’ve said you liked, my favorites are:

[name]Ansley[/name] (I don’t think it’s too close to [name]Ainsley[/name], and [name]Ansley[/name] is common enough that people should know the difference.)
[name]Waverly[/name] (I definitely think of this as a girls’ name. I think it’s cute and pretty.)
[name]Willoughby[/name] (This sounds girly to me, too, because of its first two syllables, [name]Willow[/name].)
[name]Leighton[/name] ([name]Love[/name]!)
[name]Ashlyn[/name]
[name]Brighton[/name] (Adorable!)
[name]Landry[/name] (Cute, but my first reaction is that it sounds masculine, even though I like it for a girl better.)
[name]Landyn[/name] (I like brave unisex names for girls, and this one is cute, although awfully popular for guys. My 11 year old sister is named [name]Logan[/name], though, which is a very popular name for boys, too, but she likes it well enough and has definitely made it her own.)
[name]Haven[/name]
[name]Emberly[/name] (I love this, and the nickname [name]Ember[/name].)
[name]Amberly[/name] (Sounds a bit dated, but still pretty.)
[name]Ellie[/name] (I like your idea of using it as a nickname, but you’re right, it is growing in popularity.)
Lakin (I knew a girl named this once. I think it’s a pretty name.)
[name]Lake[/name] (This is lovely, too, while kind of masculine, but if [name]Blake[/name] can be a girls’ name, why not [name]Lake[/name]?)
[name]Everly[/name] (I love this name and had never thought of it being similar to [name]Beverly[/name], so I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I think the nickname [name]Ever[/name] is pretty.)

All in all I like your taste in names! If you really love Wimberley, go for it, but if you change your mind I hope you like one of these!

I didn’t think of [name]Kimberly[/name] when I saw Wimberley. I see it as a last name/place name name, which are both popular trends right now. If you love it, I think you should use it. Besides how cute would the nickname [name]Wim[/name]/Whim be on a little girl.

Good luck!