The middle name “[name_f]Maren[/name_f]” has great meaning to us but I don’t love love love it. Would you use a middle name you like, not love because it has meaning?
First, it’s a combination of my mother in law, [name_f]Marsha[/name_f], and my mother, [name_f]Renee[/name_f], who are both strong, amazing women. Also, it means “sea” and my sons name means “river”. I like that they would share this in common.
I’ve also though about the name “[name_u]Nile[/name_u]” thought because it’s a river like my sons name. But, then I lose the mother/in-law tie in.
First name would like be [name_f]Leona[/name_f] or possible [name_f]Nina[/name_f].
[name_f]Leona[/name_f] [name_f]Maren[/name_f]
[name_f]Leona[/name_f] [name_u]Nile[/name_u]
[name_f]Nina[/name_f] [name_f]Maren[/name_f]
[name_f]Nina[/name_f] [name_u]Nile[/name_u] (I dont think this works)
You have two beautiful first name options that sound equally pretty with [name_f]Maren[/name_f] as the middle name. But I do lean more towards [name_f]Nina[/name_f]… simple, feminine and beautiful.
As for your question, no, I wouldn’t give my baby a name just because of meaning, disregarding my feelings toward it. I think that names have meanings, sure, but the biggest and most important meanings of all are the ones we give them. Perhaps there are other different ways of honoring the grandmothers?
If you don’t mind, as an alternative to [name_f]Maren[/name_f], perhaps you could use [name_f]Marine[/name_f].
I like [name_f]Leona[/name_f] as well as [name_f]Nina[/name_f] and [name_f]Nina[/name_f] could actually be a nickname for [name_f]Leona[/name_f] if you really wanted it to be. I think [name_f]Leona[/name_f] [name_f]Marine[/name_f] is beautiful! [name_f]Do[/name_f] you like that better than [name_f]Maren[/name_f]?
First of all, [name_f]Leona[/name_f] is absolutely darling! She’s one of my favorites!
As for [name_f]Maren[/name_f]–[name_f]Leona[/name_f] [name_f]Maren[/name_f] isn’t my favorite combo, but I might overlook it for the family significance. As for whether I’d use a mn I liked, but didn’t love, but loved its significance–the answer is probably yes, if I liked the combo enough. I think I’ve done it with my [name_u]Harper[/name_u] combo–[name_u]Harper[/name_u] [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m] I loved, but I needed a family name to attach to it, and [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] was my favorite option. I’m not even an [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] fan in general, but I really liked [name_u]Harper[/name_u] [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m] [name_u]Arlo[/name_u], and I like that [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] honors my grandma, [name_f]Arlene[/name_f]. I would never in a million years use [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] as a FN, but I love [name_u]Harper[/name_u] [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m] [name_u]Arlo[/name_u]!
Great feedback! Yes I like [name_f]Marine[/name_f] as opposed to [name_f]Maren[/name_f] but then it loses my moms “ren” from her name renee and then loses significance.
What do you guys think of [name_u]Nile[/name_u] as the middle? I was shocked to see someone liked [name_f]Nina[/name_f] [name_u]Nile[/name_u]! Other thoughts on this? Or [name_f]Leona[/name_f] [name_u]Nile[/name_u]?
I think the family significance of [name_f]Maren[/name_f] is really cool, bringing both sides of the family together like that. And the tie to her brother is neat too! Honestly, [name_f]Maren[/name_f] is a nice name, it’s not like we’re talking about Reneesme or something. In twenty years the names you “love love love” may change, but if you choose something you love for the meaning, like [name_f]Maren[/name_f], it will always be special to you if I were you I would go for it! I think [name_f]Leona[/name_f] [name_f]Maren[/name_f] is beautiful!!
If honouring them is important to you, I say go for it. [name_f]Leona[/name_f] [name_f]Maren[/name_f] sounds really pretty.
Personally, since my family doesn’t really have an honouring tradition, I will never use a name I dislike. But that is dislike. If I don’t love the name but feel largely neutral about it and at the same time it is meaningful -and flows well with the first name, I’ll use it.
[name_f]Leona[/name_f] [name_f]Maren[/name_f] is stunning!
Personally, I wouldn’t go with a name I didn’t like because of meaning. But, I say that and then look at one of my favorite combos- [name_u]Arden[/name_u] [name_f]Eliza[/name_f]- and honestly I’m not sure why I put [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] there. It is to honor an [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], and the [name_u]Arden[/name_u] is also a family name. I love the combo, but I don’t think I would use [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] on its own!
While [name_f]Marine[/name_f] may not have the “ren” spelling from your mom’s name, I’d hardly say it loses the meaning. I mean, names have whatever meaning you want them to! “Rine” is close, aesthetically, to “[name_f]Renee[/name_f]” - [name_f]Maren[/name_f] and [name_f]Marine[/name_f] are different versions of the same name. I think you can be creative with the names you use to honor family members. In fact, I think it’s better to be creative with it if it means finding a name you adore rather than one you like enough or tolerate.
So [name_f]IMO[/name_f], [name_f]Marine[/name_f] (or even Mareen, although I like that spelling less) is a totally realistic way to honor a [name_f]Marsha[/name_f] and a [name_f]Renee[/name_f].
I probably wouldn’t pick a name based mostly on its meaning, but I WOULD alter a name to keep its meaning AND make it one I loved.
I think [name_f]Leona[/name_f] [name_f]Maren[/name_f] is precious and I love the alliteration of [name_f]Nina[/name_f] [name_u]Nile[/name_u], but please please please don’t go with [name_f]Nina[/name_f] [name_f]Marine[/name_f]!
In all seriousness, I would use [name_f]Maren[/name_f]. If you don’t outright hate it, or even dislike it, then the meaning outweighs your neutrality to the name itself.
I would definitely go with a middle name I maybe wasn’t wild about due to the meaning alone because inevitably, I’d say the name enough and do so much research on it that I would end up falling in love with it.
[name_f]Maren[/name_f] seems like the perfect name for you. It combines the names of two special people and it has a great meaning. It goes nicely with both [name_f]Leona[/name_f] and [name_f]Nina[/name_f]. [name_m]Say[/name_m] it a few times to yourself, do some research on it and find other associations that resonate with you and see if you can fall in love with it.
Thanks everyone! Really love this feedback! Still thinking about [name_f]Nina[/name_f] [name_u]Nile[/name_u]. [name_f]May[/name_f] need to start a new threat on that one. If y’all wanna weight in, I’d love to hear!
