Does anyone’s grandparents have interesting or newly fashionable names that they would use perhaps in middle or even first place? Or just names that sound nice and are interesting?
[name_f]My[/name_f] [name_f]Indian[/name_f] grandmother on my mom’s side is named Sumitra, which I think is beautiful. She goes by [name_f]Sumi[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] American grandfather on my dad’s side was named [name_m]Harry[/name_m] but went by his middle, [name_u]Arden[/name_u], which I would use on a girl now.
What about your grandparents? What names do they have that you would use/that you like?
[name_f]My[/name_f] mom’s parents are [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_m]Ivo[/name_m], both of which I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u]. I absolutely plan to use [name_m]Ivo[/name_m] as a mn someday and only wish I had the guts to use it as a FN. [name_f]My[/name_f] dad’s parents are [name_u]Roy[/name_u] and [name_f]Patricia[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] sister used [name_f]Patricia[/name_f] as a mn, so I probably wouldn’t use that, but I think I’d like to use [name_u]Roy[/name_u] as a mn someday also. This is slightly off-topic, but another of my sisters considered combining [name_m]Ivo[/name_m]+[name_u]Roy[/name_u] into [name_u]Ivory[/name_u] for a mn, which I thought was very creative, but she worried it would come off racist or offensive somehow. She used [name_f]Elicia[/name_f] ([name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] + [name_f]Patricia[/name_f]) instead.
[name_f]My[/name_f] grandmothers, great grandmothers: [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Ann[/name_f], Nuralon(step grandmother), [name_f]Julia[/name_f], [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_f]Frances[/name_f], and [name_f]Ruth[/name_f]
DH’s grandmothers and greats: [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f], [name_f]Olga[/name_f], [name_f]Olimpia[/name_f], [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f]
We love [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] which combines DH and my grams I also love [name_m]Just[/name_m] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] for mn
We also love [name_f]Julia[/name_f]/[name_f]Juliana[/name_f], keep going back and forth between the 2
I love [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], and [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f] although DH has vetoed both
[name_u]Vivian[/name_u]
[name_f]Ericka[/name_f] (born in 1926 in [name_f]Austria[/name_f], so random lol)
[name_m]Amos[/name_m]
[name_u]Michael[/name_u]
I love the names [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] and [name_m]Amos[/name_m] in their own right. [name_f]Ericka[/name_f] and [name_u]Michael[/name_u] are nms as names, though, but my grandparents are wonderful role models
[name_u]James[/name_u] (nn [name_m]Jim[/name_m]) and [name_f]Mary[/name_f]
[name_m]Gordon[/name_m] and [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Ella[/name_f])
[name_u]Darrell[/name_u] and [name_f]Rita[/name_f]
[name_m]Long[/name_m] story why I have three sets!
[name_f]Rita[/name_f] tells me her name is short for [name_f]Margarita[/name_f]!! Not sure I believe her though.
DH’s grandparents are
[name_u]James[/name_u] (nn [name_m]Jim[/name_m]) and [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]
[name_m]Timothy[/name_m] ( nn [name_m]Ted[/name_m]) and [name_f]Mary[/name_f]
[name_u]Love[/name_u]- [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_m]Gordon[/name_m], [name_m]Ted[/name_m], [name_f]Isobel[/name_f]
Like- [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Rita[/name_f], [name_m]Timothy[/name_m]
Not keen on- [name_u]Darrell[/name_u]. Quite like on a girl though.
Neroli - I find this fascinating (and her older sister’s name is [name_f]Judith[/name_f] - not sure where Neroli came from!) I’d quite like to use it in the middle, but she doesn’t particularly like her name. She says is mispronounced too often! She goes by [name_f]Nell[/name_f] sometimes, though, and I can definitely see myself using [name_f]Nell[/name_f] (maybe as a nickname for [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] or [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]).
[name_m]Peter[/name_m] - sweet, safe, charming. Almost certainly a middle name.
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] - fairly boring, really. I love [name_u]June[/name_u] or [name_f]Jane[/name_f] though. I might use her maiden name instead.
[name_u]Kerry[/name_u] - leaning towards being feminine these days. I could see myself using [name_u]Kerry[/name_u] in the mn spot for a daughter (at the moment I’m liking [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_u]Kerry[/name_u]).
[name_m]Edward[/name_m] ([name_m]Ted[/name_m]) and [name_f]Brenda[/name_f]
[name_f]Ann[/name_f] and [name_m]Charles[/name_m] ([name_u]Charlie[/name_u])
I like [name_m]Ted[/name_m] though I wouldn’t honour my grandad using a [name_m]Edward[/name_m] as he hated his name, [name_m]Charles[/name_m] would be reserved for a middle name or maybe even [name_m]Charleston[/name_m]. For my [name_f]Nan[/name_f] [name_f]Ann[/name_f] I think I would like to use [name_f]Annika[/name_f], I haven’t found a name to hounour my Grandma [name_f]Brenda[/name_f] though it would probably be [name_f]Lavender[/name_f] for the [name_f]Lavender[/name_f] bush she grew in the garden that I love. Her middle name is [name_f]Helen[/name_f], which is my mothers first name so I might use that
[name_f]Bonnie[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] and [name_m]Melvin[/name_m] [name_m]Earl[/name_m]
I’m a bit iffy on the name [name_f]Bonnie[/name_f], but I’d definitely use [name_f]Mae[/name_f]. I’m not too fond of my grandfather’s name. It just too… Old man-esque to me…
[name_f]My[/name_f] maternal grandparents are Loujean [name_f]Johanna[/name_f] and [name_u]Francis[/name_u] [name_m]Gerald[/name_m], but they always went by [name_f]Joanne[/name_f] and [name_m]Gerald[/name_m], and in fact I didn’t know they had other names until I was twelve or so.
[name_f]Joanna[/name_f], my favorite variant of [name_f]Johanna[/name_f]/[name_f]Joanne[/name_f], is on my list for a first name, and I would consider [name_m]Gerald[/name_m] for a middle name. I don’t like it enough for a first, but it’s a decent name and I would love to honor my grandpa. I also like [name_u]Francis[/name_u], but don’t associate it with my grandpa and wouldn’t see it as an honorific so to speak.
[name_f]My[/name_f] paternal grandparents were [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] [name_m]Wilson[/name_m] and [name_f]Barbara[/name_f]. Honestly, don’t know my grandma’s middle name. [name_f]My[/name_f] uncle and cousin are [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] [name_m]Wilson[/name_m] [name_m]Jr[/name_m] and III, so there are a lot of Samuels in my family already, but I’d still consider [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] for both a middle and a first name, although I’d be honoring my uncle more than my grandfather, since I never met him. Honestly, [name_f]Barbara[/name_f] is a horrible name, and I wouldn’t use it even to honor her. Sorry, grandma
[name_f]My[/name_f] grandparents names are [name_m]Burt[/name_m], [name_m]Tommie[/name_m] [name_u]Ray[/name_u], [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f], and [name_f]Patricia[/name_f].
I know that [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] is a total nameberry favorite, but it’s nms so I’d never use it. I wouldn’t use [name_m]Burt[/name_m] either.
[name_f]My[/name_f] brother’s name is [name_m]Patrick[/name_m] so I might use [name_m]Patrick[/name_m], [name_f]Patricia[/name_f], or [name_f]Petra[/name_f] as a first or middle.
[name_f]My[/name_f] dad is [name_m]Tommy[/name_m] [name_u]Ray[/name_u] but goes by [name_u]Ray[/name_u] so I’d definitely use [name_u]Ray[/name_u] for a boy’s first name or as a girl’s middle name.
I’m much more likely to use a variation of my mom’s name [name_u]Julie[/name_u] ([name_f]Julia[/name_f], [name_f]Juliana[/name_f], etc.), or my great-aunt’s name [name_f]Jacqueline[/name_f] (which is my middle name).
I consider myself really fortunate that these are all (to me) nice names:
Grands:
[name_f]Theresa[/name_f] and [name_m]Thomas[/name_m]
[name_m]John[/name_m] and [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f] (called [name_m]Jack[/name_m] and [name_u]Kay[/name_u], exclusively)
Great-Grands
[name_f]Lillian[/name_f] and [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] [name_m]Wilfred[/name_m] (or [name_m]Wilfred[/name_m] [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] - he went by both at different times. [name_f]Lillian[/name_f]'s name is sometimes noted as [name_f]Liliane[/name_f] – they were Quebecois)
[name_f]Clara[/name_f] and [name_u]Michael[/name_u]
[name_f]Helen[/name_f] and [name_m]Basil[/name_m]
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] and [name_u]Francis[/name_u]
Maternal grandparents - [name_m]Peter[/name_m] Guildford and [name_f]Anne[/name_f]
Paternal grandparents - [name_m]Frank[/name_m] [name_u]Valentine[/name_u] and [name_f]Eileen[/name_f] [name_f]Victoria[/name_f] [name_f]Millie[/name_f]
Some Great grandparents names are; [name_m]Frank[/name_m], [name_f]Annie[/name_f], [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f], [name_f]Elsie[/name_f]
I love [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] but OH only sees it as a mn but I really love [name_m]Frank[/name_m] [name_u]Valentine[/name_u] (my grandad was born on valentines day). I really would love [name_u]Frankie[/name_u] [name_u]Valentine[/name_u] so we’ll have to see if I can work on my OH for that one he likes [name_m]Jack[/name_m] [name_u]Valentine[/name_u] instead so I can work with that
OH would love to have [name_u]James[/name_u] as his grandad was a [name_u]James[/name_u] too but I’m not sure
Hmmm I don’t really like any of these names to use on potential future children? They all feel very … grandparent-y. Maybe there are any more modern sounding names deriving from these ones though, anyone any ideas?
Also, I don’t know all the names of my great-grandparents but one of them had the mn Polycarpus. I’ve always thought that was interesting (though not a name I’d give a child) apparently it’s from Polycarpus I, a bishop of Byzantium, there was also a saint Polycarp; [name_m]Christian[/name_m] bishop of Smyrna.
Looking back at some great-great-(…) grandparents, there seem to have been some interesting names going 'round in my family.
[name_m]Dionysius[/name_m]: I quite like the short form [name_m]Dion[/name_m] as a name
[name_m]Desideratus[/name_m] [name_m]Melchior[/name_m]
[name_m]Quirinus[/name_m]: I find this funny because it’s also the name of [name_m]Harry[/name_m] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] character professor Quirrell
[name_f]Seraphina[/name_f]
Petronille
[name_f]Pelagia[/name_f]
[name_f]Eulalia[/name_f]
On one side it’s [name_f]Alice[/name_f] and [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] which are great classics, and I think [name_f]Alice[/name_f] has become less stuffy lately.
The other side are [name_f]Rosarita[/name_f] and [name_m]Paul[/name_m] (Hungarian immigrants). [name_u]Love[/name_u] both of those names!
I think it’s cool that my parents thought of mashing both maternal grandparents names for my name ([name_u]Andrea[/name_u]) without it being you-neek. And not something crazy like Alejandres cringe
[name_f]My[/name_f] grandparents have/had rather boring names…
[name_f]Edith[/name_f] [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] - went by [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] because she despised [name_f]Edith[/name_f]…I didn’t know her true first name til I was 13
[name_m]Ernest[/name_m] [name_m]George[/name_m] - goes by [name_m]Ernie[/name_m]
[name_f]Vera[/name_f] - no middle name, went by [name_f]Viv[/name_f] which is a bit odd now that I think about it
[name_m]Donald[/name_m] [name_m]William[/name_m]
I have a no-budge, don’t-care-what-you-say rule that my firstborn daughter will have the middle name [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] (or [name_u]Rue[/name_u]) after my grandma (DH dislikes [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] a lot, but is fine with it in the middle and knows he’ll never talk me out of it, my grandma was a very important person in my life). I heard someone pronounce [name_f]Vera[/name_f] as VAIR-uh (vair rhymes with fair/fare) which I quite like, but I don’t think I’d ever use it.
I also love [name_m]Just[/name_m] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] for mn
he likes [name_m]Jack[/name_m] [name_u]Valentine[/name_u] instead so I can work with that 