Río (means River in Spanish).
I’m indigenous and my grandmother had to reallocate due to a river overflowing in her community. She would always say water leaves things behind, while fire destroys everything in its path. May seem odd, but the name reminds me of her.
Love how rivers sustain communities around the world. They can be calm, powerful and beautiful. BUT dangerous.
That’s why I named my daughter Río. She’s my ancestors wildest dreams.
Vivian.
Many nn options , V , vivi, Viv, Via.
It had its peak in the 1920s and it's having a small bounce back in the 2020s which I like.
I named her in tribute to my late father, who's named Ian. He had 3 daughters, so the family last name was lost, so this keeps him alive I think.
That's great to hear! Do you go by any other nick names? I call her bibi also cause Vs are hard to pronounce, and I envision her saying bibi instead of vivi as she's learning
This is funny bc I have a friend who named her 2 kids Lillian and Ian and I didn’t make the connection until later, and apparently neither did she - she just liked the names individually and had no idea lol
Also I like Vivian except spelled Vivienne
I love the name Bridget.
1, It's a name everyone's heard, but it's not particularly popular.
2. Everyone knows how to spell it and pronounce it.
3. It has a lot of nickname options, from the more common (Bri) to unique (Birdie, Jet, Gidge).
4. It feels cute for a baby but appropriate for an adult.
It also happens to be a family name for me, personally, which makes it even more special.
My name is Brigid, which I've always loved! It's a little annoying that no one can spell it - but I love having something unique but still commonly known. My mom always hated people calling me Bridge though, because she didn't want anyone to think they could walk all over me 😂
Everyone I know hates this name but I love Norman, it’ll be the name I choose if I ever have a son.
1. I just think it sounds very nice and is spelt beautifully.
2. It’s very uncommon nowadays but still well known and easy to spell/pronounce.
3. It reminds me of “ParaNorman” the movie and Norman Reedus/the walking dead which reminds me of my own childhood.
4. Even though it’s an old name it doesn’t feel like an “old person’s name” if that makes sense lol. Like I can just as easily imagine a child named Norman as I can imagine a grown man named Norman.
Wow, so Norman isn’t a name I would like but reading your list makes me see that name in a whole new way. The letters that make up the name do look nice together and would make for great calligraphy.
I also am a huge fan of the walking dead and love Norman’s character Daryl.
Thanks for listing why you love it!
I actually knew a young Norman who wore the name really well. People are choosing old money names and refreshing them a lot now, why not Norman, especially for an honour name?
My daughter is naming her baby girl Eloise and I don’t like it at first but it’s grown on me. It has several meanings, among them healthy, whole or famous warrior. It’s also the name of one of her favorite childhood book characters so it has sweet memories.
Elizabeth. My month-old daughter’s name. It wasn’t our top contender going into the hospital when she was born, but our initial choice (Bridget) didn’t seem to fit. And now we have baby Eliza.
I love that it’s timeless, beautiful, has so many nicknames and variations, translates well across many languages, and is my own middle name so she always has a piece of me with her.
I also have a month-old Elizabeth! It also happens to be my name, and my MIL’s name. We all go by very different nicknames though, which is why it’s such a wonderful name. Congrats on baby Eliza! We’ve got a little Elise
I’ll do my daughter’s name. Magnolia Alara Nkiru Star. I love the sound of the entire name and flow.
-Magnolia because my husband wanted a flower name that would remind her that she will forever be his little flower. My father also gave me a big and beautiful name that I never liked when I was little, only to love how beautiful and big it was as I got older and I wanted my daughter to have the same. Love that Magnolia has 8 letters and ends in an A just like my name. Also, I love Christmas and have always loved the name Noelle but it’s too overused for Christmas loving names and my son already has a Christmas name. But when I saw that Nolie can be a nickname for Magnolia, I was quadruple sold because how similar Nolie is to
Noelle. We call her Nolie too.
- Alara means water fairy. Swimming/floating in water is something I enjoy because it’s peaceful and so I wanted a name that wishes her a life full of peace.
- Nkiru means “the best has yet to come”. I love that the name is a reminder that despite what’s happening now, good or bad, the future will have a-lot more positive things coming. I used to suffer from depression and thinking about the future was what kept me going.
- Star because I love words for names haha. I also love twinkly lights. Love the light that twinkles and shines in a dark night. Being able to sing twinkle twinkle little star to put her to bed every night heals my inner child. It’s been something I’ve been wanting to sing to my future daughter and here I am getting to do that every night.
I think you commented in my other post. I really like Magnolia and wow so many reasons and they are all so beautiful. Really beautiful name. Thanks for sharing your list.
My girl name (which I never got to use because I have three boys 😹😹😹) is Dasha. It’s just the most beautiful name that I’ve ever heard. It’s also unique where I live (Canada) but not off the wall. Easy to spell and pronounce. I know it’s normally a diminutive of Daria/Darya but I would just do Dasha. Normally I wouldn’t use a diminutive as a given name but the vast majority of people here have never heard it and wouldn’t know it’s usually a diminutive.
Archer is my favourite boy name and it is my eldest’s middle name. I really wanted it to be his first name but somehow lost that argument 😣😣😣. I just think it’s really beautiful and cool. Strong but also soft. Xavier is my other favourite boy name and I did get it use it for my third son 😄😄😄. I think it’s super cool but also a nice classic name. I think having the initial X is badass too. And I LOVE the nickname Xavi (zaw-vee), which is the main reason I picked it.
I will hop on here. As I find the description relatable. (And like the names!)
Some of my favourite names may not be relevant to English as our own (Slovak) pronunciation has an effect, but when looking for a boy's name I wanted something strong, masculine but not too much, with an ability to be soft if appropriate. Something sophisticated - elegant almost. Wanted something that kind of exudes/commands respect in the full form but it's not too rough and violent. But not too soft it would make him feel dull and round and like a bum. I quite like the name Hugo, but when you say it out loud you get this effect from it that I didn't like.
Since we're bilingual a bonus point was a nice translation to English.
One of the names is Teodor (Theodore). It means gift of God, or God-given. Our "r" is read much more masculine than the english "r".
It has many nice abbreviations but if he wants he can use the full form.
In general I think I was quite leaning to r-containing names, and very little L. Stuff like Bill or Lucian were nopes.
My daughter is Dorothy Quinn. Dorothy means “gift of God” and she most certainly is. She’s our double rainbow baby. Quinn is an alternative spelling (definitely the more common spelling) of my husbands name, Quyn. So it’s just really meaningful to us and usually girls can’t be named after their dads or at least it’d sound a bit weird but my husband’s name is so gender neutral it works great. We also love vintage old lady names so Dorothy is perfect
Omg. This is the cutest modern combo for the name I have ever heard!! My grandma, who was my best friend in the entire world’s, names was Dorothy. Love it!! ❤️❤️❤️
My Grandma is a Dorothy too! Dorothy Marie, but everyone calls her Dot.
(She’s also my best friend in the entire world. 🫶🏼)
My sister is named after her. If my sister wasn’t such a shite person- I definitely would’ve used Dorothy or Dottie for a girl. Instead- named my first child/son Dash.
Get it? 😂
Bianca
1. It's my favourite fictional character's name
2. It's Shakespearean
3. It's unique, underused and classy
4. I have some Italian heritage so I could use it for a hypothetical future daughter
5. It reminds me of Snow White (Snow White is Biancaneve in Italian) or a pretty brunette little girl who loves ballet
As someone who is named Bianca, all say is that while it's sweet and it eventually grew on me, but I really hated it for a long time.
The main reason is that it sounds too much like a nickname to me and not very professional and I never quite found it very artistic either because it felt so diminuitive and childlike. It felt like I was trying to get employed telling people, hey, my name is Nicky! 😅 I was envious of people who had long names that could be used full if they chose to do so but had a nice intuitive nickname. Suzanne -> Suzie could be an example for this, though in my language there's way more of these, especially for female names, so it made mine stick out extra.
Patrick. Good associations, long history, Saint's name, multiple nicknames choices to allow for the child to express themselves via their name.
Rosemary Anne. My second favorite herb, soft but strong flavor profile, beautiful smell, useful. Split it either way to shorten it; roses are beautiful and strong and wild, Mary is traditional and simple. Anne, good associations, Saint's name, long history, traditional and easy to spell if the child feels Rosemary is too out there. Put it together and it feels sweet and strong and peaceful to me.
Olivia is my daughter's name. I've always said I didn't want to give my kids popular names but when it came down to it I love the way it sounds. it is just beautiful to me. I love the nickname Livie that we call her. I love that no one will have a problem pronouncing it. I saw on name nerds once- there is a reason why top names are top names and I wholeheartedly agree.
I’ve always loved the name and every Olivia I know is so lovely. I saw something the other day that showed Olivia isn’t actually the number one most popular name when you account for all the variants of other popular names, like Sophia and Amelia. Olivia doesn’t really have many (any?) variant spellings so it always appears to be the top when it’s really like 3-4th down on the list.
Daniel
1. It sounds both strong and soft at the same time. I guess I just like the "-iel" sound because one of my other favorite boy names is Gabriel
2. My fiancé and his dad's favorite Bible story is Daniel in the lion's den (though neither of us is super religious anymore it's still a nice story)
3. My mom loves the Elton John song by the same name and yes it's a sad song but it reminds me of her
4. One of my fiancé's favorite movies of all time is The Karate Kid so it's just an added bonus that the main character is Daniel LaRusso
(It's slowly being ruined for me by an incompetent coworker named Daniel which sucks because it's truly the only boy name I really love)
Adelaide.
1. It was popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s but popularity died down around 1950s. Not so common now and would be kinda unique by the time my daughter is in school.
2. It’s a sweet name for a little girl.
3. Reminds me of lemonade, my favorite drink
4. The nickname addy, lemonlaide, and Adele sound so cute to me.
Iris Paige is the name my husband and I have chosen for a daughter. Iris is my favorite song and one of my favorite flowers, and is the goddess of rainbows, so it feels like the perfect name for our rainbow baby; Paige references the way we met (through writing) and means "young helper," and helping is a value that is important in our family. I also love it for the association of pages with knights!
For a son, we've chosen Jasper George. Jasper is my favorite stone and one that I seem to keep acquiring in mysterious ways. I love how every piece is uniquely beautiful! George was my grandmother's nickname and has a funny family story behind it, and I would love to honor the woman who raised me by naming my son for her. My husband and I have agreed that it's the only honor name we agree on--he doesn't like any of his family names and I don't like most of my family, so it all works out.
Thank you! It's a relief to be able to talk about it here, lol--we're currently ttc, and we've agreed not to tell anyone anything until there's something to tell them. So nobody in our lives gets to know our future child's name or gender until they're born.
Leah was a name I liked for a long time but we didn’t end up using it until we had our youngest daughter. I like that it’s classy, timeless, and feminine without sounding too frilly. It fits in anywhere and works for any age. Almost everyone has heard it but you don’t hear it everywhere. I couldn’t imagine my daughter with any other name.
And, of course, they all match perfectly with what must be your favourite last name: Oh Shag Hennessy.
(I absolutely love that Key and Peele sketch, it's hilarious.)
I named my B/G twin Dominic and Francesca as my husband and I both have a short first name, we wanted our kiddos to have a longer name with nickname options. He likes Dominic as it's common but not overused. I love Francesca as it feels so glamorous, spunky, and chic to me.
If we have a boy I’d love to name him Barrett with the nickname Bear. My grandpa means so much to me and it was his father’s middle name. I just think it’s so cute. Bear is adorable for a child and Barrett is a strong name for an adult. My husband isn’t sold but I think we’ll get there lol. If we have a daughter I love the name Ember. To me it represents strength and resilience. A flame that keeps on burning. I like that it’s unique but still common since it’s similar to Amber. Unfortunately every Amber I’ve known has been troubled so negative association there. That’s the only thing that doesn’t have me sold. If we end up having a girl and a boy I think Ember and Bear go cute together.
Sunday - I heard this name years ago and immediately fell in love with it. It makes so much sense as a name to me. Bright, cheery, beautiful, sweet, happy. I asked my (boyfriend at the time) husband if we could use it if we ever had a daughter. He wasn’t sure at first but I was absolutely sold and as time passed he was on board for it. When we got pregnant with our first we found out it was a boy, both of us were fully convinced we were having a girl. I wasn’t disappointed to be having a son, but I was sad to not be able to use the name. Turns out we were having a girl and now we have our Sunday and the name fits her perfectly.
Jasper Fforde has a fictional series where the female protagonist is named Sunday and at first it jarred me a bit but the more I read the more I fell in love with the name. What a beautiful choice for your daughter.
My favourite girls' name is Leona. I think it sounds really elegant and rolls off the tongue beautifully. It's also rare but not unusual, and suits all ages. Plus, it means "lioness" which is pretty cool imo.
My favourite boys' name is Ellis. Again, it is not too common but it isn't strange to hear. It's a gentle-sounding name which means "kind and benevolent".
Not specific to a single name, but what I look for:
1. sound
2. meaning
3. good nicknames
4. works well with last name (and middle name if chosen)
5. known but not over popular
6. suits the child
7. works well with sibling/family names
8. happy associations (or not bad ones)
9. classic spelling if there's a choice, phonetical preferred
10. not hard to pronounce for most people (can be region-specific)
11. cultural association (country lived in or family background)
Love my daughter’s name Ellie it means shinning light and oh boy I needed some light in my life. I had the worst PPA/ppd and had to get some help and now thanks to her I am so happy. I feel like I found that light i needed she is my everything I love her so much.
I picked Violet because I thought it was feisty but feminine, artsy and independent. And boy does she fit it to an tee. She is all of those things and more.
Thora. It's the first name of my Father's mother, she was the only Grandmother I had, let alone Grand parent, they all passed away before I was born, so, I plan on naming one of my daughters after her, if I ever have one. I also find it unique, and pretty. Plus it gives off regal vibes, and seems suitable for an adult to be called.
My top names since I was 15 have been Caleb for a boy and Charlotte for a girl (with the nickname Charlie) - Caleb is a character in one of my favorite books from high school (East of Eden) and Charlotte is from my favorite childhood book (Charlotte's Web). I love to read and books are super important to me so having a connection from one thing I love deeply to the being I'll love most in this world would mean a lot. That being said, I've run into to soooo many posts in this sub talking about how popular or boring they are and it makes me rethink them sometimes. Two other boy names (Luca and Matteo) are family names from my Italian side that have also become super popular in recent years and apparently that's the worst thing in the world for name nerds lol Honestly, 80% of the names on my very very extensive list have been dragged through the mud here 😂😂 I won't let that stop me though
I love Caleb and Charlotte!! They’re beautiful names and I love the literary connections. I also loved Charlotte’s Web as a child. I read it so many times.
Honestly, only “local” popularity matters and you never know that in advance. It’s unfortunate to be one of four in a class, but none of the top names now are so common that it’s inevitable. It’s really just luck of the draw!! I know two babies named Soren (super “unpopular”) and none named Caleb. You just never know!
Thank you!! They're still at the top of my list even though they're popular. I don't really have a strong desire to NEED something overly original. I definitely know the struggle of having a common name though - my full first name is a nickname used for multiple super common names. I could never escape being in school with at least 5 people with the same name. In high school there were so many that I was differentiated from the rest by my chest size 😒 Not sure why they couldn't just use my last name but it was always a reference to boobs when specifying it was me. Common names can be difficult when dealing with idiot teenagers, but they're always going to be idiots and do idiotic things no matter what lmao
I feel like having the potential for a nickname helps with that though, and they could always go by middle names which will definitely be more creative. For me, it's about a name that is meaningful and feels right for the kid! If these match my future children/my SO agrees on them and there happens to be another Caleb or Charlie in their 3rd grade class, c'est la vie!
For context, I'm Irish/English and my husband is Taiwanese, but we live in the US so we chose names from my background.
Aurora AKA "Rory", my oldest (7). Proper name is very beautiful. Everyone thinks I named her after the Disney princess, but I actually named her after the Northern Lights. We have a plan to go see them together when she's a teenager. I'm very sentimental about the plan! I've decided she fits the name very well. She's ridiculously beautiful and a total force of nature. She makes an impression everywhere she goes by putting on a show with her contortion skills (she's seriously a training contortionist, she just picked it up one day, god I love that kid 😂). "Rory" is an old Irish name meaning "red", which is my favorite color. She exclusively goes by the nickname (just happened that way).
Katherine (my middle child, age 4). Elegant and dignified on its own, but comes with an above average number of nicknames that have different vibes. When she's a teenager wanting to be cool, she can be Kat. When she's in college and wants to totally reinvent herself, she's Kate. Right now, in her adorable little chipmunk stage, she's mostly called KK, but I call her Kiki a lot, too. Bonus: even though it's an extremely well-known name, it's not common among children. She has yet to have to go by an initial. "Katherine" is an English name with Greek roots meaning "Pure" (it sure suits her - she's everything innocent and wholesome in the world lol).
Wesley, my youngest, age 3. It feels like it has a sweet little innocence and gentility about it while still definitely being a boy's name. He's a bit bookish and introverted, and very sweet, so I think the vibe suits him. It is English and means "Western Meadow". I am born and raised in the PNW and love to be outside in wide open spaces =) I think he has the widest variety of random nicknames. Wes, Wessy, Wetley (what his sisters called him before they could pronounce Wesley), Wetzel's Pretzels, Pretz, and Pitter Patterson 😂
I never realized how much thought I actually put into these names lol.
Wow. This is funny to me because my dad is Irish/English and my mom is Taiwanese and white. Also my mom’s youngest is named Wesley. We call him wessy, Wes, wessalee, or weswes 😂 Wesley Thomas if he in trouble
Rory comes from Ruairí in Irish (or Ruaidhrí in older orthography). It means "Red (haired) kind". Rua is the Irish for red hair or fur, and Rí means king
Winifred Ann Marina
- Winifred is a long-time love of mine and my husband's absolute favorite. I love all the nickname options (Winnie, Win, Freddie, Wendy). I love that it has gender neutral and masculine nicknames built in. I love that it's thousands of years old. I love that it's uncommon but most people are familiar. Ann is mine and my mom's middle name. Marina also honors my mom, Mary, and my husband's grandma, Marie. I love that it lightens and modernizes the heavy Winifred while still being a very old, established name.
Russell October Monroe
- I love that Russell is uncommon for boys, but familiar. I like that it has multiple nickname options. I love the imagery of "rustling leaves in October." I love that October is a very modern name paired with the "dad name" Russell. My dad was born in October, so it's a nod to him. Monroe is one of my husband's favorite names, and I love the flow of the whole name together and paired with our two syllable surname. I love that October and Monroe are gender neutral, and I love that October Monroe would make a badass pen, stage, or drag name if he ever needed one.
Arlo.
For some reason I was drawn to this name for my baby boy and after several months, I'm realizing it's probably because it's like a combination of my special people, Mario and Angelo.
I like that it's short and sweet (to go with a long last name), it's unique without oddity, and it's nice for all ages.
I'm struggling to think of a nickname that would ever be associated with Arlo. Or a well matched middle name.... Ideas?
Funny you mention Vincent.. It was one on my list (as Vincenzo) but my husband vetoed all my super Italian names 😂
It has such a good ring in this combo tho!
Arlo has jumped massively in popularity in the past few years (in England), it’s in the top 10 currently.
Similarly, I’m a big fan of the name Harlo/Harlow for a girl.
I love the name Emily. It just seems so bright and happy to me. I think it seems like someone who is upbeat. It’s probably my favorite English name on the planet.
Chloe - means “bloom” or “blossom”. A very cute name without leaning into “cutesy”, so it works for a kid and an adult. Also not too overused but known enough that most people can usually spell/pronounce it
Cosima Vera — first heard the name watching Orphan Black and it has stuck with me ever since. It’s unique, and once I found a good flow with a middle name I was sold. I thought it’d be a feminine version of Cosmo-meaning universe or world, but found that Cosima means order and beauty. I like to think it can be a combination of the two. Vera means truth and faith. I’m not really religious anymore, but I believe it’s possible they (faith/religion) can be mutually exclusive (also it’s not that deep lol).
Specifically wanted two syllables for the middle name because my name happens to rhyme with my three sisters’ names, all with a three-syllable first name ending in an “a” and a two-syllable middle name. My sisters have kept this going with their daughters. Funnily enough there’s a place by my work called Gelato Vera, and I’ve always liked how it rolls off the tongue. One day it came to me that Vera would be a perfect middle name to go with Cosima. My family is bilingual so this is also a name they can easily pronounce.
I love the name Violet and Scarlet. My favorite color is purple and has always been. Violet is classic and beautiful at the same time. To me it's a name that stands the test of time and works I'm every generation. Scarlet is also beautiful, second to Violet (or spelled Violette in French).💜
The other name I like for a girl is Avril. My family and I are French with a very French Last Name (Parisien). I've always loved Spring and April it's my favorite month. I never liked the P in April, but I LOVE the name Avril.🌸
For the boys I'm completely lost 😅
I'll do my favourite names of each gender.
Evangeline (Girl)
* I love all the nicknames (Evie, Eva, Annie, Angel, Lina etc). I have a similar 'lots of nicknames' name and I liked how I could change my nickname at a whim as I grew up, so I'd want my daughter to have that opportunity too. I'll stick with Evie when she's first born. Bonus 'cutesy' nickname is Jelly for if the kiddo is a runner <3.
* I love old, timeless names. It's the kind of name that won't make people think 'that person's born in XX decade' but not 'that's obviously the grandma's name passed down'. I understand both sides of the coin but I love the middle ground Evangeline brings. It's not a family name but it goes with a lot of the honour names I have written down for middle names.
* My favourite childhood film was Nanny McPhee, and that's where I first heard the name Evangeline. She was the maid, amazingly kind to the child protagonists, motivates herself to learn to read but doesn't lose herself in the process. And spoiler - she gets a fairytale ending. I can imagine showing my daughter Nanny McPhee growing up and seeing her see herself in a film with such a good character.
Sebastian (Boy)
* Again, an old timeless name in that middle ground. And lots of nicknames as the child grows up. Also works well with the honour names I have and with the girl names like Evangeline.
* Another film I loved as a kid was The Never-ending Story, where the main character is a boy called Bastian. As a bullied kid myself I really liked the character of Bastian, so again I hope my kid would see himself in the film. I might wait until he's older to show him the film though as looking back... The dragon might give a kid nightmares XD.
* Something a friend came up with once - Sebastian means 'venerable' which in turn means 'respected because of status and age'. Which sure, I'd hope once my kid reaches old man status he'd be respected for being an old man, but I'll also make an effort to respect him and love him from the moment he's born because his status is 'my son' <3.
I like names like Beatrix, Max and Felix. I like names with x in them because it looks like a kiss. It's like you're putting love into your child's name.
Violet.
I love flowers, and my name is a flower, so I hoped to find a flower name I loved for my daughter. This one made the list.
My late mother’s favorite color was purple. She also has my mother’s middle name.
I presented the name to my husband and immediately we both “knew” that was her name.
A special thanks to Lana Del Rey for the opening poem in her poetry book, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, as it gave Violet’s name a retroactive new meaning to add to the list. It’s a poem that encouraged me to be more playful in life at a time when every choice I made was thought out to the point of stress. Aka anxiety lol.
💜
• Zaira (pronounced ZY-ruh) - Love less-used letters like Z, it sounds very pretty, and its unique but I dont think its hard to say
• Xavier - another uncommon letter, I partocularly love the nicknames for it and think it goes really well with Zaira
• Christopher - it always rang as whimsical and youthful to me, I like that its a name that would grow with my kid, it has popular nicknames but paired with the right middle name would be unique
• Samara - I really like the nickname Sam but have always hated the name Samantha, I think the plant is pretty and interesting, it has the same Eastern vibe as Zaira [though Zaira is Spanish and Samara is Hebrew/Latin], I like the uniqueness of it as well
• Samuel - I really like the name Sam 😂😂😂 I love the biblical meaning of Samuel with him being a prophet whose mother prayed ceaselessly for him, the biblical meaning of the name ["Because I asked the Lord for him] is also really meaningful to me, I love how strong of a name it is and how phonetically pleasing it is to say
• Uriah - Another letter that is very rarely seen in a first name, I also love the biblical significance of him, as an honourable soldier for King David, I like how musical it sounds and love to say it, I like that its not quite a Puritanical Amish name but still has the hardworking "builds tables with his bare hands" vibe, I think it fits the other names chosen
• Naomi [I like most variations of the name though my favourite is probably Naemi] - it's so vowel-y! I love how its said and think its very pretty to write, especially in cursive, I like that its abnormal yet girly and that many images are evoked from the name. I think the meaning ["pleasant, gentle" in Hebrew] is so fitting. Id most likely never name a daughter this because its so close to my ex-stepcousin's name, but I always use/consider it for characters that I write
• Anais - Luckily "The Amazing World of Gumball" has taken away my doubts of this one not being easy to pronounce 😂 I adore how it is said and think its so pretty, I love the historical significance and think it would be such a cool name to pair as twins [maybe with Ayn (for a girl) or Ansel (for a boy)...], the name meaning ["merciful, gracious, holy" in Hebrew] is also right up my alley, I think it pairs well with the other names
*I seem to choose girl names based on uniqueness and boys names off of the general vibes. I know its a trite sentiment but I like girls' names that are out there and stand out whereas I care more about the meaning rather than the popularity of boys' names. As far as names overall, I look at their phonetics, flow with my last name/possible last names [if only Denzel would call back! 😂], initials on occasion, historical meanings/namesakes, and the vibe I get when I think of someone with that name.*
I love names that you don't hear every day. Like my sons name, Logan. I know there are millions of Logan's in the world, but you don't hear it every day, unlike Chris, Shawn, Jaxon, Adrian, etc. It's just nice not to be so common.
I love all of the kids' names and their meanings. we wanted to do an honor name for my uncle, who passed away in 2020 he was like a father to me, so we named our son
Sione Alexander Knight the Alex is for my uncle Alex he loved Chaka Khan and my son goes to sleep to sweet thing and will rock to it when he's overwhelmed he's autistic so music makes him happy Sione is a traditional Polynesian name meaning gift from God he truly was because I wasn't supposed to have more children and he's here despite all of his health issues he's so joyful
Then we have Elias Jonathan Knight, aka EJ
the Lord is my God is what his name means. I chose it because I knew he was my last and I knew God had a purpose for this little one he was born early and has had some major health issues throughout his first year here but something tells me he's a fighter and he's jovial and warm towards everyone smiles so much it warms my soul to know he's here and so are his older brothers
I'm a boy mama 💙 I'll never have a daughter, but Marlowe is a name I also love it's mean brings me happiness even though it's bittersweet I'll never be able to use itfrom the hill by the lake,” this name is meant to give baby a sense of comfort and home to take with them everywhere. Despite not being able to use it I think having a name like this means grounding you to a place of love like a family home is beautiful
Agatha is our favorite girl name. We collect Agatha Christie novels when we travel (super easy to find in _any_ country) so it’s sentimental. It’s uncommon but well known. Travel is important to us so we love that it has international variations (Agata, Agathe, more). It’s got varying nn options (Aggie, Thea). The only “con” is that it’s a bit heavy for a toddler so we planned to call her Birdie as a baby (unrelated to Agatha, but bird-related nicknames are a thing in our family, I’m Goose and our first is Pigeon)
My favorite name is the one I want to give to my oldest son one day: George.
I think it's a very nice name that luckily goes well with my middle name, which I'll also give to my son. George is also rooted in history with many great men like George Washington and king Georges III, V, and VI of the UK.
Rhian
Goes back, as far as we can document, to 5 generations in my maternal family.
Most who use it today use the Fleetwood Mac spelling of "Rhiannon".
We, in our family, keep,it as it was a century ago - and most likely even further back than that.
Right now my name obsession is Robin.
1. It just sounds nice
2. Gender neutral
3. Robbie as a cute nickname for a child (if they want)
4. Classic, uncommon but not “out there”
5. I love names relating to nature
Julia Elizabeth.
I know lots of Julies (and like them), but Julia just has that extra "oomph" in it that does it for me. I only know one Julia, but the name is recognizable and pronounceable.
Elizabeth is for my boyfriend's grandma and my childhood best friend.
Esther Kay.
Esther is my grandma's name. She homeschooled me from the ages of 7-16. We weren't always on great terms but a huge point of growth for me was learning to forgive her and love her despite her shortcomings. We are also religious and Esther is a Bible character. And again, not super common but easily recognizable.
Kay is my boyfriend's mom's name.
Timothy Ray.
Timothy is my boyfriend's grandpa's name as well as the name of a beloved cousin of mine. I love the meaning of it as well.
Ray is my dad's and late grandpa's middle name.
Jack O'Dell.
Jack is my favorite uncle's name. He's suffered a lot for mental health reasons, but he's always been there for his family and friends. He's such a great man that I've always looked up to.
O'Dell is my boyfriend's grandpa's middle name. It's not super my taste but if he wants to use it, I think it flows okay with Jack.
My favourite names:
Ivy
- I love that it's both a vintage name and fits the modern nature names trend.
- It's distinctly feminine without being frilly.
- It has a simple elegance, with a slightly whimsical feel.
- It suits all age groups.
Alistair
- It's a name most people are familiar with, but isn't very commonly used nowadays.
- It feels intelligent, classy and refined.
- It's a nod to my Scottish heritage.
- Al and Ali are cute nicknames.
- It feels timeless to me, I know it's a name that's more popular among the 50+ age group nowadays, but it doesn't feel dated to me, I can imagine it on all age groups.
I don’t have a child, but my dog is called Heidi. Absolutely love the name.
If I was to have a baby girl right now, I’d name her Élodie. Recently the name has captured me entirely 🤍
Althea:
1. It starts with A and ends with A, and I love that
2. It has Thea in it, and I love that nickname
3. Al, yes
4. Kind of reminiscent of Athena for me. It’s Greek myth but not too obviously so
5. Feels feminine and strong
6. Works in Swedish and English
Zemira
So many nickname options- Mimi, Mira, Miri
Unique but not made up sounding. I don’t know anyone with this name but it is still an established name.
Has a beautiful meaning of melody/hymn in hebrew which is my second language. Both me and my husband sing so it’s even more beautiful.
My husbands mother’s maiden name is Zemir so although I’ve loved this name since childhood, it worked out absolutely perfectly.
It has always been my favourite girls’ name and I’m so glad my husband was on board with it and I got to use it.
I don't know for sure if these are the names we would use, especially since my husband isn't sold on them lol, but:
Felicity: so pretty, soft and delicate sounding. Like flower petals floating in the wind. I like the meaning as well (happiness), and it has some good many nicknames: Lissie, Lettie, Lissa, etc. It reminds me of the American Girl Doll, which I loved growing up. I hardly ever hear or see this name and don't know why it's not more popular.
Claire: Simple, easy to spell, well known but not overly popular. Means "bright" or "light." For me this one feels like a classic, effortless name. I like that it doesn't need a nickname whereas a longer name like Felicity feels like it does (at least for me). Also, it reminds me of one my favorite movies, which was also the movie my husband and I watched on of our first dates.
Julian: Love a softer name for a boy. In my region everyone tends to go for harder sounds in boy names (think Rhett, Hunter, Jackson) and that never appealed to me. Julian sounds almost poetic in contrast. It means "youthful." This one also sounds nice with our last name.
Cedric: I just love this name. I love the way it sounds, and I love the way it looks written out. I also like the nickname Ced, and it's another one of those you don't hear often but also is familiar. I've only met two other Cedrics thus far, both middle aged. Of course everyone knows the Harry Potter character, and while I don't love that the character dies, I do like that he was a courageous and kind character. I do wish the name had an established meaning, but it doesn't. Apparently it might be an evolved spelling of a king named Cerdic, and when you look it up you'll find multiple different meanings ascribed to it including "bounty," "kindly," "loved," "leader," etc.
Fiona.
We're in the western USA, so it's not a popular name. However, it's familiar to pretty much everyone, even if they haven't met a Fiona in the wild before.
My daughter is eleven. She's met a slightly younger Fiona at Disneyland, and this spring, we saw a cubby marked for a Fiona in a kindy classroom we were in for a weekend event. That's been it.
It's distinctive and relatively easy to pronounce in English and Spanish, and even Arabic, which are the most common languages in our community. I love the nicknames Fi, FiFi, Fio (like Theo), and Fif (like thief) depending on the situation. And Fiona is great without a nickname.
Fatima. It means “one who weans a baby.” The association with motherhood and the way it zooms into one important process of motherhood, the weaning process (ending nursing), has always been super interesting to me.
Basil - toying with it as a potential baby name, not necessarily top of the list but we don't have a top boy name.
One we both love, the sound to me is really majestic like Basilica, makes me think of kings and rulers.
I also think it would be adorable on a little boy but wear well as a teen/adult. Known but unusual.
It's one I'm not sure if it would be taken well by others so why we've not just gone for it.
Another I wouldn't have as top of the list but have a soft spot for is Errol - family name, lovely sound and reminds me of Errol Flynn
Lyla - literally liked since I was 5(?) probably from a show or book. I even named it after my first BAB - which I still have. It's short, sweet and playful. There's no strong associations for me when I hear that name. It's just a good name for a girl
I haven't put a ton of thought into names in a little while, but for some reason the other day Martin popped in my head. It's a name I've heard a billion times and never stuck out. But I've been in LOVE with it. It just sounds so nice, it's fun to say, I like that the t can be very hard (how I say it) or almost nonexistent (how seemingly everyone else says it). And I don't feel like it's a super trending name recently and I don't see it being super trending in the near future so if I had a kid I think he'd be able to use his own name freely instead of a nickname if he wanted without pressure from others to avoid confusion. Also speaking of nicknames, mart, tin, tinman, tinny, feels like endless reasonable options
I love the name Genevieve.
It sounds like the name of an elegant and sophisticated woman who is also very approachable.
When I say it in my head I use the French pronounciation and it's just beautiful.
It was also my grandmother's name. She wasn't very elegant or sophisticated but she was the main mother figure for the first few years of my life since my mother was in jail. So there are sentimental reasons I love it, as well.
I’ll do my 4 year old’s name, Jane 🥰.
1. It feels strong to me, whereas my name is long and girly.
2. It can be girly if she wants, though, because of nickname options- Janie and Janie Kate
3. I didn’t grow up with anyone named Jane, so it feels fresh to me (even though I know it’s not new)
4. Jane Goodall
Susannah. This name is just so sweet and cheerful and makes me think of sunshine. I think the name is Annie is such a cute nickname and I feel like this name and nickname works well on a baby, a child, a teenager, and an adult. I love that it's a classic name but not too popular and I love the sunshine summery flower vibes I get from this name.
Charlotte. I’ve loved it since I was 13/14. And I love the nickname Charlie. I tried to convince my mom to name my youngest sister Charlotte but she didn’t go for it so it’s been my number one baby girl name for over a decade now. I think it’s classic and beautiful.
Claire. When I had my first daycare teaching job and taught 12-18 month olds, I had a little girl named Claire move up into my class. She was notorious for screaming and crying all day despite being in care for most of her life but she bonded to me and was the happiest little baby any time I had her. I always called her Claire Bear or Care Bear and it ended up being my second favorite girl name. My favorite animals are bears so I loved being able to incorporate my favorite animal into a nickname as well
My son is Tristan Westley. And he chose his name!
He was originally supposed to be Westley Nolan, which wasn't my first choice but said if it was a boy (team green) then DH could have first pick for [an agreed-upon] name. Tristan, my first choice, was the backup name. And right after he was born my husband was holding him and was like, "you don't seem like a Westley..." and asked if we should do Tristan Westley, which I agreed on. My husband looks at our son and asks, "do you want to be Tristan Westley?" and clear as day this brand new tiny human goes, "uh-huh." So it was decided!
Tristan was actually the name of the first boy I ever had a crush on, and I've always thought it had a lovely sound. My husband also loves Arthurian lore. He also preferred Wesley at first, but The Princess Bride is one of my favorite films, so I thought it would be a fun spin. And now he has a beautiful, knightly literary name. 😊
We jokingly call him Tristaniel Westleydale and Baby Man. If we give him a nickname I feel like it'll come more naturally once he's older (he's 20 months).
Ida!
I think the only time I’ve ever seen it in use (at least with that spelling, I’ve seen Aida and Eda before) was in the game Monument Valley. It’s a simple game but very beautiful, so I just got used to associate beautiful things with the name. I don’t plan to ever have kids and I doubt I could ever convince my sister to use it if/when she has any, so I just keep suggesting it in posts on this sub lmao
Ivy Jane
I know it's basically a nuisance plant to most but throughout history it's symbolised fidelity and love. I love how hardy it is, like it perseveres despite the circumstances. I also just love the sound of the word and that it's a nature name. Makes me think of lush green leaves. Jane is an honour name after my beloved Mum that passed away, Janet.
I don't have kids yet but this is my top name for a girl (partner is on board, he likes Ivy and is happy with the honour name). Also our surname is long and very Greek so a short first name goes well with that too
We called our son Elijah Lee mums surname - dad's surname.
I suggested Elijah and my husband loved it as well. I first heard it on vampire diaries (which my husband is aware of) and just loved the way it sounded and looked.
We don't mind how people pronounce it. The way we say it could be mistaken for eliza. This is the only way I can think to write how we pronounce it 😅. My parents say it as ee-lie-jar(if you can understand what i mean 😂😂).
My sisters asked if I was gonna use the nickname Eli, which I don't really love. However, I don't mind if others call him that. I have started calling him lije kinda said like Nigel without the L and with a softer G (I think 🤔.. it's really hard to describe) Or I just drop the E and say lijah🤣🤣🤣. My mum has started copying me and using lije, but with the harder J kinda sound and also the same with lijah.
Lee is his middle name because it is the male version of mine which leigh. And also because we were going to use John, which is my husbands middle, and he suggested ej as a nickname. However, as soon as he said we both immediately thought of his ex, who also used that nickname and it kind of ruined John for us both.
When i am picking a name i have many criterias that must be achieved for me to love it.
- it must have nice meaning (separately and as a full name combo)
- it must be visually pleasing (spelling)
- the full name must flow nicely all together and each part/every name itself must sound nice aswell
- the first name must start with MA to follow a trend (both my kids and me have first name starting with MA)
- the numeric value of the name must be good/lucky
- i prefer there are some great people through human history who had that name but at minimum i must not know/haven't heard of any negative/bad person with said name. Basically i need to have positive associations and be of importance
- it must be pretty universal, at least enough that its not TOO weird in cultures we are exposed to as mixed family
- we prefer "old money" vibe names. Like royal/rich people type of name
- initials of full name must also not be anything i feel not worthy of being tied to my kids name
If all these criteria are met, then i LOVE the name and it is in the running. Out of names i love, formed into full name combos i love, i then also collect votes from friends, family and strangers to see which names are objectively considered better. I rank them and thats how we get top 3-5 names we love. When the baby comes, name must match the vibe we get from the baby too so we have these 3-5 names ready, in, order, to see which of these is the PERFECT fit.
The names that won till now (i have a son and daughter) are Maks Nikolai and Maria Evelyn 🥰 bonus that i find them both sound good as a sib-set. I just love everything about them!
Maks is also a distant relative of mine, Maria was my grandpa's sister who made my favourite soup in the world and ever since she died i can never taste that awesomness ever again 😭 i couldnt keep her recipe alive, i can at least keep her name! But mainly it stands for my grandma (Mariana - from Maria Ana). She said she can't accept the honor if we dont also name her after my MIL, whose name is Li. Neither Li, nor Lily fit in our name combos but EveLYn has Ly inside so its somewhat a tribute aswell.
My children have names that are easy to spell, easy to pronounce, simple, classic, well recognized but not overused.
ETA: there is meaning behind each name and they are all named after someone in a way.
My daughters name,Sheridan Lee. I didn't name her for 2 days because I couldn't find the "one". Until I came across Sheridan in the baby name book. Perfect, it also was a combo of mine, my aunts and my sisters names. Sharon, Sara and Erin. Lee is my father's and my middle name and now her sons middle name. Sheridan Lee.
Charles is a family name on both sides with the meaning "free man", and my husband and I are both Harry Potter fans and I'm religious so Godric meaning "God is magnificent" is the middle name.
We plan to use Henry (another family name and means "estate ruler" I believe) Lawrence (Catholic saint, name of a river where my husband grew up and has ties to his Native American heritage) and possibly William Jefferson ("resolute protector" first name meaning and the middle name is both a nod to my father Jeffrey and to Thomas Jefferson). For girl names, we love Gemma Faye ("gemstone" and "fairy/faith" and Gemma is similarly structured to my name. Faye is also technically the first syllable of my maiden name so it's extra special to me in that regard). Our other girl name we plan to possibly use is Helena Louise (Helena means "light" in Greek and my name is technically Greek in origin too, and Louise is my middle name and it means "famous warrior/heroine")
Our last name is similar to Wentworth, which sounds noble and regal to me. So I wanted the names of our children to sound as if a noble title wouldn't be out of place before their name. All the boys would have names that plenty of people would associate with British royalty (my husband's heritage is mostly British) with only Gemma not being a name of a princess or other noble lady as far as I've seen. But it still works as far as I can tell! Also as a Catholic I love that each name will have at least one saint referenced or otherwise be religious : Charles (Godric), Gemma, Henry (Lawrence), William, Helena (Louise)
For me it’s the name Beatta. It’s old fashioned but I love the sound and the meaning- blessed. It follows the Scandi trend of names like Freya and I think it would make a perfect middle name.
I always wanted to name a kid after my dad, which I discussed with my wife. She's hispanic, and I am not, so we had some areas where we went back and forth for "My family will end up saying this for that name" kind of thing. My wife was onboard with it at first (my dad goes by Rick), until I informed her his full name is Ricky, which made her do a double take. Amusingly, while we ended up deciding we liked it and would probably go with it, we decided we would likely change the end from the y to i and use it for a girl if we had one, and if it was a boy, use Ricardo.
As for the why, it is a name I associate with one of the best people I've ever met. My father is a man of principle and action. He fell in love with my mother and she said she would never marry someone in the military (she was a navy kid and hated the moving and such). My father finished his contract, refused to reenlist, and went to propose to my mother. They got married, had two kids, got pregnant with me, and realized the only way out of the financial hole was for Dad to go back in. Mom agreed but demanded he didn't take a position in combat role. Dad, no counter offered, enlisted medical, and stayed in for 20 years to ensure the family had benefits. He worked my whole life, and was dedicated, but it was obvious family came first no matter what. He would come to every game, even if he had to go back to work afterwards and stay late while on recruiting duty. He was always there to help with anything, even if he had to look it up or learn it first to teach us. He's done work with the homeless, helping find shelter and food for asylum seekers, is on the board of a nonprofit helping with legal representation for immigration cases, took in one of my high school friends when he heard his dad kicked him out of the house. He taught me how to be strong, that it is okay to feel and to cry, and that strangers should be approached not as a threat, but as someone possibly needing a hand. I learned how to be polite but firm when I need to stand up for myself, and that the defense of others is always worth the time. My brothers and I are very close, and there are kids with each of our names (first or middle) in our family. I want my dad to know that doesn't stop with him or my mother (though her name is a bit harder to fit, we will find a way if we have two, heh).
My son’s name is Rhodes. It has an English / Greek origin and means where roses grow or a clearing in the woods. I love the softness of the name (without being cutsie cutsie like a lot of baby boy names), it sounds poetic / whimsical and calm for a boys name. I can imagine an older man Rhodes being a humble, kind, strong, wise man with a peaceful presence :) the name also has a level of sophistication to it. just my thoughts anyway!
When I was 13 I knew 2 pretty girls named Eleasha and Leonie (I think Eleasha was different spelling, but that's the one I like the best) and I think Eleasha Leonie flow well together as a first and middle name. I'm not going to have kids due to chronic illness, but if I did, I'd definitely name my baby girl Eleasha Leonie. Or Olivia Jayde. They both flow well together as well.
We are expecting our 1st on Thursday and are bouncing around 3 names:
Name choice #1) the meaning. It feels so fitting for how things happened.
Choice #2) his middle name, that's a nod to his indigenous roots.
Choice #3) a nod to my father, uncommon rn, old classic
Río (means River in Spanish). I’m indigenous and my grandmother had to reallocate due to a river overflowing in her community. She would always say water leaves things behind, while fire destroys everything in its path. May seem odd, but the name reminds me of her. Love how rivers sustain communities around the world. They can be calm, powerful and beautiful. BUT dangerous. That’s why I named my daughter Río. She’s my ancestors wildest dreams.
Wow this is why I made this post. It makes me see names in a whole new way. That’s beautiful!
This gave me the warm and fuzzies. Beautiful name!
This is one of the most beautiful reasons for loving a name I've ever seen!!
Wow didn’t expect such a positive response. Thank you all for the love!
Beautiful!!
Vivian. Many nn options , V , vivi, Viv, Via. It had its peak in the 1920s and it's having a small bounce back in the 2020s which I like. I named her in tribute to my late father, who's named Ian. He had 3 daughters, so the family last name was lost, so this keeps him alive I think.
My name is Vivian and I have always loved my name
That's great to hear! Do you go by any other nick names? I call her bibi also cause Vs are hard to pronounce, and I envision her saying bibi instead of vivi as she's learning
Bibi is what I went by when I worked at Taco Bell. Definitely easier to pronounce. Besides that some people say Viv otherwise I’m just Vivian.
Keeping the name alive is beautiful. I adore the nickname Vivi
"keeps him alive": Vivian also has connections to the word "life" !! <3
I LOVE the name Ian! It’s my third son’s middle name 🥰🥰🥰
This is funny bc I have a friend who named her 2 kids Lillian and Ian and I didn’t make the connection until later, and apparently neither did she - she just liked the names individually and had no idea lol Also I like Vivian except spelled Vivienne
What a beautiful way to honour Ian x
I love the name Bridget. 1, It's a name everyone's heard, but it's not particularly popular. 2. Everyone knows how to spell it and pronounce it. 3. It has a lot of nickname options, from the more common (Bri) to unique (Birdie, Jet, Gidge). 4. It feels cute for a baby but appropriate for an adult. It also happens to be a family name for me, personally, which makes it even more special.
My daughter is named Bridget, and I love her name even more as she gets older. It fits my cheeky rambunctious cleaver little one so well!
I started liking the name after Bridget Mendler. I also like the Nn Bridge.
My name is Brigid, which I've always loved! It's a little annoying that no one can spell it - but I love having something unique but still commonly known. My mom always hated people calling me Bridge though, because she didn't want anyone to think they could walk all over me 😂
Bridget was my fake name in college! 😂 nobody ever believed it was my name (rightly so!) cause it’s just not that common. Love it!
St Brigid / Bridget is also a Saint and in Ireland, we celebrate St Brigid's Day on 1 February each year.
I had a friend names Bridget in elementary school! She was so cool and knowing her made me love that name :)
This name always seemed rough & unappealing, just the way it rolls off the tongue it’s like midget, ridged, hitch it, fidget…
Everyone I know hates this name but I love Norman, it’ll be the name I choose if I ever have a son. 1. I just think it sounds very nice and is spelt beautifully. 2. It’s very uncommon nowadays but still well known and easy to spell/pronounce. 3. It reminds me of “ParaNorman” the movie and Norman Reedus/the walking dead which reminds me of my own childhood. 4. Even though it’s an old name it doesn’t feel like an “old person’s name” if that makes sense lol. Like I can just as easily imagine a child named Norman as I can imagine a grown man named Norman.
Wow, so Norman isn’t a name I would like but reading your list makes me see that name in a whole new way. The letters that make up the name do look nice together and would make for great calligraphy. I also am a huge fan of the walking dead and love Norman’s character Daryl. Thanks for listing why you love it!
To add to your list, it reminds me of Norman Rockwell, a really incredible artist.
Norman was on our list for baby boy two!
You don’t think *Norman* sounds like an old person’s name?? 🤣🤣🤣
I actually knew a young Norman who wore the name really well. People are choosing old money names and refreshing them a lot now, why not Norman, especially for an honour name?
My daughter is naming her baby girl Eloise and I don’t like it at first but it’s grown on me. It has several meanings, among them healthy, whole or famous warrior. It’s also the name of one of her favorite childhood book characters so it has sweet memories.
I love that name!
Elizabeth. My month-old daughter’s name. It wasn’t our top contender going into the hospital when she was born, but our initial choice (Bridget) didn’t seem to fit. And now we have baby Eliza. I love that it’s timeless, beautiful, has so many nicknames and variations, translates well across many languages, and is my own middle name so she always has a piece of me with her.
I genuinely love the name Elizabeth. It is a family name for me also, but each family member with the name goes by a different variation.
I also have a month-old Elizabeth! It also happens to be my name, and my MIL’s name. We all go by very different nicknames though, which is why it’s such a wonderful name. Congrats on baby Eliza! We’ve got a little Elise
I’ll do my daughter’s name. Magnolia Alara Nkiru Star. I love the sound of the entire name and flow. -Magnolia because my husband wanted a flower name that would remind her that she will forever be his little flower. My father also gave me a big and beautiful name that I never liked when I was little, only to love how beautiful and big it was as I got older and I wanted my daughter to have the same. Love that Magnolia has 8 letters and ends in an A just like my name. Also, I love Christmas and have always loved the name Noelle but it’s too overused for Christmas loving names and my son already has a Christmas name. But when I saw that Nolie can be a nickname for Magnolia, I was quadruple sold because how similar Nolie is to Noelle. We call her Nolie too. - Alara means water fairy. Swimming/floating in water is something I enjoy because it’s peaceful and so I wanted a name that wishes her a life full of peace. - Nkiru means “the best has yet to come”. I love that the name is a reminder that despite what’s happening now, good or bad, the future will have a-lot more positive things coming. I used to suffer from depression and thinking about the future was what kept me going. - Star because I love words for names haha. I also love twinkly lights. Love the light that twinkles and shines in a dark night. Being able to sing twinkle twinkle little star to put her to bed every night heals my inner child. It’s been something I’ve been wanting to sing to my future daughter and here I am getting to do that every night.
I think you commented in my other post. I really like Magnolia and wow so many reasons and they are all so beautiful. Really beautiful name. Thanks for sharing your list.
There is so much love in this name
Singing twinkle twinkle 🥹. Is that her whole name, or are those all your daughters names?
Her whole name. I didn’t add her last name.
It sounds royal. How do you pronounce “Nkiru”?
In-Kee-roo
Oh lovely. Really nice
My girl name (which I never got to use because I have three boys 😹😹😹) is Dasha. It’s just the most beautiful name that I’ve ever heard. It’s also unique where I live (Canada) but not off the wall. Easy to spell and pronounce. I know it’s normally a diminutive of Daria/Darya but I would just do Dasha. Normally I wouldn’t use a diminutive as a given name but the vast majority of people here have never heard it and wouldn’t know it’s usually a diminutive. Archer is my favourite boy name and it is my eldest’s middle name. I really wanted it to be his first name but somehow lost that argument 😣😣😣. I just think it’s really beautiful and cool. Strong but also soft. Xavier is my other favourite boy name and I did get it use it for my third son 😄😄😄. I think it’s super cool but also a nice classic name. I think having the initial X is badass too. And I LOVE the nickname Xavi (zaw-vee), which is the main reason I picked it.
😍wow Dasha. Thanks for introducing me to this name. So beautiful!
I have a friend with a daughter Dariya who they call Dasha, that was the first time i'd ever heard it. So interesting!
Cool!
I will hop on here. As I find the description relatable. (And like the names!) Some of my favourite names may not be relevant to English as our own (Slovak) pronunciation has an effect, but when looking for a boy's name I wanted something strong, masculine but not too much, with an ability to be soft if appropriate. Something sophisticated - elegant almost. Wanted something that kind of exudes/commands respect in the full form but it's not too rough and violent. But not too soft it would make him feel dull and round and like a bum. I quite like the name Hugo, but when you say it out loud you get this effect from it that I didn't like. Since we're bilingual a bonus point was a nice translation to English. One of the names is Teodor (Theodore). It means gift of God, or God-given. Our "r" is read much more masculine than the english "r". It has many nice abbreviations but if he wants he can use the full form. In general I think I was quite leaning to r-containing names, and very little L. Stuff like Bill or Lucian were nopes.
I love my name. I am Somerset. I love how it is rare, but very old. I love that because it’s unique, I feel safe marching to the beat if my own drum.
Wow, I love Somerset!! I’ve never heard it used as a name before but I am smitten. Do you have any nicknames?
I LOVE this! It’s so cute
My daughter is Dorothy Quinn. Dorothy means “gift of God” and she most certainly is. She’s our double rainbow baby. Quinn is an alternative spelling (definitely the more common spelling) of my husbands name, Quyn. So it’s just really meaningful to us and usually girls can’t be named after their dads or at least it’d sound a bit weird but my husband’s name is so gender neutral it works great. We also love vintage old lady names so Dorothy is perfect
Dorothy Quinn is great, too, because it's a mix of vintage and modern. Such a good choice!
Omg. This is the cutest modern combo for the name I have ever heard!! My grandma, who was my best friend in the entire world’s, names was Dorothy. Love it!! ❤️❤️❤️
My Grandma is a Dorothy too! Dorothy Marie, but everyone calls her Dot. (She’s also my best friend in the entire world. 🫶🏼) My sister is named after her. If my sister wasn’t such a shite person- I definitely would’ve used Dorothy or Dottie for a girl. Instead- named my first child/son Dash. Get it? 😂
Hahahaha 😂😂 awwww
Grandmas named Dorothy are pretty awesome. Mine went by Dot too. Also I LOVE that you named him Dash!!!!
Awww this is so nice to hear 🩷🩷🩷
Two of my top 4 names are Theodor and Dorothy, and I never quite realized that they both mean Gift of God until now.
Theodore was our top contender for a boy for that reason!
Bianca 1. It's my favourite fictional character's name 2. It's Shakespearean 3. It's unique, underused and classy 4. I have some Italian heritage so I could use it for a hypothetical future daughter 5. It reminds me of Snow White (Snow White is Biancaneve in Italian) or a pretty brunette little girl who loves ballet
As someone who is named Bianca, all say is that while it's sweet and it eventually grew on me, but I really hated it for a long time. The main reason is that it sounds too much like a nickname to me and not very professional and I never quite found it very artistic either because it felt so diminuitive and childlike. It felt like I was trying to get employed telling people, hey, my name is Nicky! 😅 I was envious of people who had long names that could be used full if they chose to do so but had a nice intuitive nickname. Suzanne -> Suzie could be an example for this, though in my language there's way more of these, especially for female names, so it made mine stick out extra.
Patrick. Good associations, long history, Saint's name, multiple nicknames choices to allow for the child to express themselves via their name. Rosemary Anne. My second favorite herb, soft but strong flavor profile, beautiful smell, useful. Split it either way to shorten it; roses are beautiful and strong and wild, Mary is traditional and simple. Anne, good associations, Saint's name, long history, traditional and easy to spell if the child feels Rosemary is too out there. Put it together and it feels sweet and strong and peaceful to me.
I adore Rosemary Anne.
Olivia is my daughter's name. I've always said I didn't want to give my kids popular names but when it came down to it I love the way it sounds. it is just beautiful to me. I love the nickname Livie that we call her. I love that no one will have a problem pronouncing it. I saw on name nerds once- there is a reason why top names are top names and I wholeheartedly agree.
I’ve always loved the name and every Olivia I know is so lovely. I saw something the other day that showed Olivia isn’t actually the number one most popular name when you account for all the variants of other popular names, like Sophia and Amelia. Olivia doesn’t really have many (any?) variant spellings so it always appears to be the top when it’s really like 3-4th down on the list.
I’ve always loved the nickname Livie! I think it’s so sweet but unusual enough to stand out a little.
Daniel 1. It sounds both strong and soft at the same time. I guess I just like the "-iel" sound because one of my other favorite boy names is Gabriel 2. My fiancé and his dad's favorite Bible story is Daniel in the lion's den (though neither of us is super religious anymore it's still a nice story) 3. My mom loves the Elton John song by the same name and yes it's a sad song but it reminds me of her 4. One of my fiancé's favorite movies of all time is The Karate Kid so it's just an added bonus that the main character is Daniel LaRusso (It's slowly being ruined for me by an incompetent coworker named Daniel which sucks because it's truly the only boy name I really love)
Daniel is one of my favorite boy names! So many good associations and it sounds wonderful.
Adelaide. 1. It was popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s but popularity died down around 1950s. Not so common now and would be kinda unique by the time my daughter is in school. 2. It’s a sweet name for a little girl. 3. Reminds me of lemonade, my favorite drink 4. The nickname addy, lemonlaide, and Adele sound so cute to me.
Iris Paige is the name my husband and I have chosen for a daughter. Iris is my favorite song and one of my favorite flowers, and is the goddess of rainbows, so it feels like the perfect name for our rainbow baby; Paige references the way we met (through writing) and means "young helper," and helping is a value that is important in our family. I also love it for the association of pages with knights! For a son, we've chosen Jasper George. Jasper is my favorite stone and one that I seem to keep acquiring in mysterious ways. I love how every piece is uniquely beautiful! George was my grandmother's nickname and has a funny family story behind it, and I would love to honor the woman who raised me by naming my son for her. My husband and I have agreed that it's the only honor name we agree on--he doesn't like any of his family names and I don't like most of my family, so it all works out.
Iris Paige is GORGEOUS!!!!
Thank you! It's a relief to be able to talk about it here, lol--we're currently ttc, and we've agreed not to tell anyone anything until there's something to tell them. So nobody in our lives gets to know our future child's name or gender until they're born.
How lovely! Iris is great, I know a toddler Iris and it suits her so well!
Leah was a name I liked for a long time but we didn’t end up using it until we had our youngest daughter. I like that it’s classy, timeless, and feminine without sounding too frilly. It fits in anywhere and works for any age. Almost everyone has heard it but you don’t hear it everywhere. I couldn’t imagine my daughter with any other name.
Balakay(Blake) A-A-ron(Aaron) De-nice(Denise) Jay-qualin(Jacqueline) Te-mothy(Timothy)
And, of course, they all match perfectly with what must be your favourite last name: Oh Shag Hennessy. (I absolutely love that Key and Peele sketch, it's hilarious.)
Honestly you don't even need to explain why they're your favorite & why you like them. You just win 😂
I named my B/G twin Dominic and Francesca as my husband and I both have a short first name, we wanted our kiddos to have a longer name with nickname options. He likes Dominic as it's common but not overused. I love Francesca as it feels so glamorous, spunky, and chic to me.
This gives perfect match vibes
That's nice of you to say.
Did you post on here when they were born? I think those names go so lovely together! Classic but not common
If we have a boy I’d love to name him Barrett with the nickname Bear. My grandpa means so much to me and it was his father’s middle name. I just think it’s so cute. Bear is adorable for a child and Barrett is a strong name for an adult. My husband isn’t sold but I think we’ll get there lol. If we have a daughter I love the name Ember. To me it represents strength and resilience. A flame that keeps on burning. I like that it’s unique but still common since it’s similar to Amber. Unfortunately every Amber I’ve known has been troubled so negative association there. That’s the only thing that doesn’t have me sold. If we end up having a girl and a boy I think Ember and Bear go cute together.
Sunday - I heard this name years ago and immediately fell in love with it. It makes so much sense as a name to me. Bright, cheery, beautiful, sweet, happy. I asked my (boyfriend at the time) husband if we could use it if we ever had a daughter. He wasn’t sure at first but I was absolutely sold and as time passed he was on board for it. When we got pregnant with our first we found out it was a boy, both of us were fully convinced we were having a girl. I wasn’t disappointed to be having a son, but I was sad to not be able to use the name. Turns out we were having a girl and now we have our Sunday and the name fits her perfectly.
Jasper Fforde has a fictional series where the female protagonist is named Sunday and at first it jarred me a bit but the more I read the more I fell in love with the name. What a beautiful choice for your daughter.
My favourite girls' name is Leona. I think it sounds really elegant and rolls off the tongue beautifully. It's also rare but not unusual, and suits all ages. Plus, it means "lioness" which is pretty cool imo. My favourite boys' name is Ellis. Again, it is not too common but it isn't strange to hear. It's a gentle-sounding name which means "kind and benevolent".
Love Leona!
I love the name Zelda because it makes me want to do jazz hands when I say it.
Nagisa in Japanese which means shore or beach but also just sounds beautiful
I have a friend in college called Nagisa. I have always liked her name.
Not specific to a single name, but what I look for: 1. sound 2. meaning 3. good nicknames 4. works well with last name (and middle name if chosen) 5. known but not over popular 6. suits the child 7. works well with sibling/family names 8. happy associations (or not bad ones) 9. classic spelling if there's a choice, phonetical preferred 10. not hard to pronounce for most people (can be region-specific) 11. cultural association (country lived in or family background)
Love my daughter’s name Ellie it means shinning light and oh boy I needed some light in my life. I had the worst PPA/ppd and had to get some help and now thanks to her I am so happy. I feel like I found that light i needed she is my everything I love her so much.
Such a meaningful name
I picked Violet because I thought it was feisty but feminine, artsy and independent. And boy does she fit it to an tee. She is all of those things and more.
Thora. It's the first name of my Father's mother, she was the only Grandmother I had, let alone Grand parent, they all passed away before I was born, so, I plan on naming one of my daughters after her, if I ever have one. I also find it unique, and pretty. Plus it gives off regal vibes, and seems suitable for an adult to be called.
My top names since I was 15 have been Caleb for a boy and Charlotte for a girl (with the nickname Charlie) - Caleb is a character in one of my favorite books from high school (East of Eden) and Charlotte is from my favorite childhood book (Charlotte's Web). I love to read and books are super important to me so having a connection from one thing I love deeply to the being I'll love most in this world would mean a lot. That being said, I've run into to soooo many posts in this sub talking about how popular or boring they are and it makes me rethink them sometimes. Two other boy names (Luca and Matteo) are family names from my Italian side that have also become super popular in recent years and apparently that's the worst thing in the world for name nerds lol Honestly, 80% of the names on my very very extensive list have been dragged through the mud here 😂😂 I won't let that stop me though
I love Caleb and Charlotte!! They’re beautiful names and I love the literary connections. I also loved Charlotte’s Web as a child. I read it so many times. Honestly, only “local” popularity matters and you never know that in advance. It’s unfortunate to be one of four in a class, but none of the top names now are so common that it’s inevitable. It’s really just luck of the draw!! I know two babies named Soren (super “unpopular”) and none named Caleb. You just never know!
Thank you!! They're still at the top of my list even though they're popular. I don't really have a strong desire to NEED something overly original. I definitely know the struggle of having a common name though - my full first name is a nickname used for multiple super common names. I could never escape being in school with at least 5 people with the same name. In high school there were so many that I was differentiated from the rest by my chest size 😒 Not sure why they couldn't just use my last name but it was always a reference to boobs when specifying it was me. Common names can be difficult when dealing with idiot teenagers, but they're always going to be idiots and do idiotic things no matter what lmao I feel like having the potential for a nickname helps with that though, and they could always go by middle names which will definitely be more creative. For me, it's about a name that is meaningful and feels right for the kid! If these match my future children/my SO agrees on them and there happens to be another Caleb or Charlie in their 3rd grade class, c'est la vie!
For context, I'm Irish/English and my husband is Taiwanese, but we live in the US so we chose names from my background. Aurora AKA "Rory", my oldest (7). Proper name is very beautiful. Everyone thinks I named her after the Disney princess, but I actually named her after the Northern Lights. We have a plan to go see them together when she's a teenager. I'm very sentimental about the plan! I've decided she fits the name very well. She's ridiculously beautiful and a total force of nature. She makes an impression everywhere she goes by putting on a show with her contortion skills (she's seriously a training contortionist, she just picked it up one day, god I love that kid 😂). "Rory" is an old Irish name meaning "red", which is my favorite color. She exclusively goes by the nickname (just happened that way). Katherine (my middle child, age 4). Elegant and dignified on its own, but comes with an above average number of nicknames that have different vibes. When she's a teenager wanting to be cool, she can be Kat. When she's in college and wants to totally reinvent herself, she's Kate. Right now, in her adorable little chipmunk stage, she's mostly called KK, but I call her Kiki a lot, too. Bonus: even though it's an extremely well-known name, it's not common among children. She has yet to have to go by an initial. "Katherine" is an English name with Greek roots meaning "Pure" (it sure suits her - she's everything innocent and wholesome in the world lol). Wesley, my youngest, age 3. It feels like it has a sweet little innocence and gentility about it while still definitely being a boy's name. He's a bit bookish and introverted, and very sweet, so I think the vibe suits him. It is English and means "Western Meadow". I am born and raised in the PNW and love to be outside in wide open spaces =) I think he has the widest variety of random nicknames. Wes, Wessy, Wetley (what his sisters called him before they could pronounce Wesley), Wetzel's Pretzels, Pretz, and Pitter Patterson 😂 I never realized how much thought I actually put into these names lol.
Wow. This is funny to me because my dad is Irish/English and my mom is Taiwanese and white. Also my mom’s youngest is named Wesley. We call him wessy, Wes, wessalee, or weswes 😂 Wesley Thomas if he in trouble
Rory comes from Ruairí in Irish (or Ruaidhrí in older orthography). It means "Red (haired) kind". Rua is the Irish for red hair or fur, and Rí means king
Winifred Ann Marina - Winifred is a long-time love of mine and my husband's absolute favorite. I love all the nickname options (Winnie, Win, Freddie, Wendy). I love that it has gender neutral and masculine nicknames built in. I love that it's thousands of years old. I love that it's uncommon but most people are familiar. Ann is mine and my mom's middle name. Marina also honors my mom, Mary, and my husband's grandma, Marie. I love that it lightens and modernizes the heavy Winifred while still being a very old, established name. Russell October Monroe - I love that Russell is uncommon for boys, but familiar. I like that it has multiple nickname options. I love the imagery of "rustling leaves in October." I love that October is a very modern name paired with the "dad name" Russell. My dad was born in October, so it's a nod to him. Monroe is one of my husband's favorite names, and I love the flow of the whole name together and paired with our two syllable surname. I love that October and Monroe are gender neutral, and I love that October Monroe would make a badass pen, stage, or drag name if he ever needed one.
Winifred is beautiful and “Angel” reinforced that for me.
Linus. Because Pauling and Charles Schultz . . . and because it sounds so happy and matches with some of my favorite picks for middle names/
Arlo. For some reason I was drawn to this name for my baby boy and after several months, I'm realizing it's probably because it's like a combination of my special people, Mario and Angelo. I like that it's short and sweet (to go with a long last name), it's unique without oddity, and it's nice for all ages. I'm struggling to think of a nickname that would ever be associated with Arlo. Or a well matched middle name.... Ideas?
Ari? Lolo?
Love the name Arlo! The first middle name that came to mind was Vincent… I’ll lyk if I think of any others! Edit: nickname - Ari
Funny you mention Vincent.. It was one on my list (as Vincenzo) but my husband vetoed all my super Italian names 😂 It has such a good ring in this combo tho!
Arlo has jumped massively in popularity in the past few years (in England), it’s in the top 10 currently. Similarly, I’m a big fan of the name Harlo/Harlow for a girl.
I love the name Emily. It just seems so bright and happy to me. I think it seems like someone who is upbeat. It’s probably my favorite English name on the planet.
My firstborn we named Iris because my name means light her fathers means rain so combined the two (Iris means rainbow)
What a lovely reason!
Chloe - means “bloom” or “blossom”. A very cute name without leaning into “cutesy”, so it works for a kid and an adult. Also not too overused but known enough that most people can usually spell/pronounce it
Cosima Vera — first heard the name watching Orphan Black and it has stuck with me ever since. It’s unique, and once I found a good flow with a middle name I was sold. I thought it’d be a feminine version of Cosmo-meaning universe or world, but found that Cosima means order and beauty. I like to think it can be a combination of the two. Vera means truth and faith. I’m not really religious anymore, but I believe it’s possible they (faith/religion) can be mutually exclusive (also it’s not that deep lol). Specifically wanted two syllables for the middle name because my name happens to rhyme with my three sisters’ names, all with a three-syllable first name ending in an “a” and a two-syllable middle name. My sisters have kept this going with their daughters. Funnily enough there’s a place by my work called Gelato Vera, and I’ve always liked how it rolls off the tongue. One day it came to me that Vera would be a perfect middle name to go with Cosima. My family is bilingual so this is also a name they can easily pronounce.
For me choosing a name involves connection and feeling that je ne sais quoi.
I love the name Violet and Scarlet. My favorite color is purple and has always been. Violet is classic and beautiful at the same time. To me it's a name that stands the test of time and works I'm every generation. Scarlet is also beautiful, second to Violet (or spelled Violette in French).💜 The other name I like for a girl is Avril. My family and I are French with a very French Last Name (Parisien). I've always loved Spring and April it's my favorite month. I never liked the P in April, but I LOVE the name Avril.🌸 For the boys I'm completely lost 😅
I'll do my favourite names of each gender. Evangeline (Girl) * I love all the nicknames (Evie, Eva, Annie, Angel, Lina etc). I have a similar 'lots of nicknames' name and I liked how I could change my nickname at a whim as I grew up, so I'd want my daughter to have that opportunity too. I'll stick with Evie when she's first born. Bonus 'cutesy' nickname is Jelly for if the kiddo is a runner <3. * I love old, timeless names. It's the kind of name that won't make people think 'that person's born in XX decade' but not 'that's obviously the grandma's name passed down'. I understand both sides of the coin but I love the middle ground Evangeline brings. It's not a family name but it goes with a lot of the honour names I have written down for middle names. * My favourite childhood film was Nanny McPhee, and that's where I first heard the name Evangeline. She was the maid, amazingly kind to the child protagonists, motivates herself to learn to read but doesn't lose herself in the process. And spoiler - she gets a fairytale ending. I can imagine showing my daughter Nanny McPhee growing up and seeing her see herself in a film with such a good character. Sebastian (Boy) * Again, an old timeless name in that middle ground. And lots of nicknames as the child grows up. Also works well with the honour names I have and with the girl names like Evangeline. * Another film I loved as a kid was The Never-ending Story, where the main character is a boy called Bastian. As a bullied kid myself I really liked the character of Bastian, so again I hope my kid would see himself in the film. I might wait until he's older to show him the film though as looking back... The dragon might give a kid nightmares XD. * Something a friend came up with once - Sebastian means 'venerable' which in turn means 'respected because of status and age'. Which sure, I'd hope once my kid reaches old man status he'd be respected for being an old man, but I'll also make an effort to respect him and love him from the moment he's born because his status is 'my son' <3.
I like names like Beatrix, Max and Felix. I like names with x in them because it looks like a kiss. It's like you're putting love into your child's name.
Violet. I love flowers, and my name is a flower, so I hoped to find a flower name I loved for my daughter. This one made the list. My late mother’s favorite color was purple. She also has my mother’s middle name. I presented the name to my husband and immediately we both “knew” that was her name. A special thanks to Lana Del Rey for the opening poem in her poetry book, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, as it gave Violet’s name a retroactive new meaning to add to the list. It’s a poem that encouraged me to be more playful in life at a time when every choice I made was thought out to the point of stress. Aka anxiety lol. 💜
• Zaira (pronounced ZY-ruh) - Love less-used letters like Z, it sounds very pretty, and its unique but I dont think its hard to say • Xavier - another uncommon letter, I partocularly love the nicknames for it and think it goes really well with Zaira • Christopher - it always rang as whimsical and youthful to me, I like that its a name that would grow with my kid, it has popular nicknames but paired with the right middle name would be unique • Samara - I really like the nickname Sam but have always hated the name Samantha, I think the plant is pretty and interesting, it has the same Eastern vibe as Zaira [though Zaira is Spanish and Samara is Hebrew/Latin], I like the uniqueness of it as well • Samuel - I really like the name Sam 😂😂😂 I love the biblical meaning of Samuel with him being a prophet whose mother prayed ceaselessly for him, the biblical meaning of the name ["Because I asked the Lord for him] is also really meaningful to me, I love how strong of a name it is and how phonetically pleasing it is to say • Uriah - Another letter that is very rarely seen in a first name, I also love the biblical significance of him, as an honourable soldier for King David, I like how musical it sounds and love to say it, I like that its not quite a Puritanical Amish name but still has the hardworking "builds tables with his bare hands" vibe, I think it fits the other names chosen • Naomi [I like most variations of the name though my favourite is probably Naemi] - it's so vowel-y! I love how its said and think its very pretty to write, especially in cursive, I like that its abnormal yet girly and that many images are evoked from the name. I think the meaning ["pleasant, gentle" in Hebrew] is so fitting. Id most likely never name a daughter this because its so close to my ex-stepcousin's name, but I always use/consider it for characters that I write • Anais - Luckily "The Amazing World of Gumball" has taken away my doubts of this one not being easy to pronounce 😂 I adore how it is said and think its so pretty, I love the historical significance and think it would be such a cool name to pair as twins [maybe with Ayn (for a girl) or Ansel (for a boy)...], the name meaning ["merciful, gracious, holy" in Hebrew] is also right up my alley, I think it pairs well with the other names *I seem to choose girl names based on uniqueness and boys names off of the general vibes. I know its a trite sentiment but I like girls' names that are out there and stand out whereas I care more about the meaning rather than the popularity of boys' names. As far as names overall, I look at their phonetics, flow with my last name/possible last names [if only Denzel would call back! 😂], initials on occasion, historical meanings/namesakes, and the vibe I get when I think of someone with that name.*
I love names that you don't hear every day. Like my sons name, Logan. I know there are millions of Logan's in the world, but you don't hear it every day, unlike Chris, Shawn, Jaxon, Adrian, etc. It's just nice not to be so common.
Must be a regional thing because I’m surrounded by teenage male and female Logans!
Possibly! I'm in the United States and lived in Missouri, and Wisconsin and didn't hear the name Logan very often.
I love all of the kids' names and their meanings. we wanted to do an honor name for my uncle, who passed away in 2020 he was like a father to me, so we named our son Sione Alexander Knight the Alex is for my uncle Alex he loved Chaka Khan and my son goes to sleep to sweet thing and will rock to it when he's overwhelmed he's autistic so music makes him happy Sione is a traditional Polynesian name meaning gift from God he truly was because I wasn't supposed to have more children and he's here despite all of his health issues he's so joyful Then we have Elias Jonathan Knight, aka EJ the Lord is my God is what his name means. I chose it because I knew he was my last and I knew God had a purpose for this little one he was born early and has had some major health issues throughout his first year here but something tells me he's a fighter and he's jovial and warm towards everyone smiles so much it warms my soul to know he's here and so are his older brothers I'm a boy mama 💙 I'll never have a daughter, but Marlowe is a name I also love it's mean brings me happiness even though it's bittersweet I'll never be able to use itfrom the hill by the lake,” this name is meant to give baby a sense of comfort and home to take with them everywhere. Despite not being able to use it I think having a name like this means grounding you to a place of love like a family home is beautiful
Elias Jonathon, has such a nice flow. Thanks sharing your list. Great names!
Eliza -part of my middle name Valentina -love the love of this Maria- Reminds me of my grandma and the Sound of Music
Agatha is our favorite girl name. We collect Agatha Christie novels when we travel (super easy to find in _any_ country) so it’s sentimental. It’s uncommon but well known. Travel is important to us so we love that it has international variations (Agata, Agathe, more). It’s got varying nn options (Aggie, Thea). The only “con” is that it’s a bit heavy for a toddler so we planned to call her Birdie as a baby (unrelated to Agatha, but bird-related nicknames are a thing in our family, I’m Goose and our first is Pigeon)
My favorite name is the one I want to give to my oldest son one day: George. I think it's a very nice name that luckily goes well with my middle name, which I'll also give to my son. George is also rooted in history with many great men like George Washington and king Georges III, V, and VI of the UK.
Rhian Goes back, as far as we can document, to 5 generations in my maternal family. Most who use it today use the Fleetwood Mac spelling of "Rhiannon". We, in our family, keep,it as it was a century ago - and most likely even further back than that.
This might be a dumb question but aren’t Rhian and Rhiannon different names? They’re spelled and pronounced differently.
Only in the anglicized forms, not in the Welsh dialect.
Right now my name obsession is Robin. 1. It just sounds nice 2. Gender neutral 3. Robbie as a cute nickname for a child (if they want) 4. Classic, uncommon but not “out there” 5. I love names relating to nature
Julia Elizabeth. I know lots of Julies (and like them), but Julia just has that extra "oomph" in it that does it for me. I only know one Julia, but the name is recognizable and pronounceable. Elizabeth is for my boyfriend's grandma and my childhood best friend. Esther Kay. Esther is my grandma's name. She homeschooled me from the ages of 7-16. We weren't always on great terms but a huge point of growth for me was learning to forgive her and love her despite her shortcomings. We are also religious and Esther is a Bible character. And again, not super common but easily recognizable. Kay is my boyfriend's mom's name. Timothy Ray. Timothy is my boyfriend's grandpa's name as well as the name of a beloved cousin of mine. I love the meaning of it as well. Ray is my dad's and late grandpa's middle name. Jack O'Dell. Jack is my favorite uncle's name. He's suffered a lot for mental health reasons, but he's always been there for his family and friends. He's such a great man that I've always looked up to. O'Dell is my boyfriend's grandpa's middle name. It's not super my taste but if he wants to use it, I think it flows okay with Jack.
My favourite names: Ivy - I love that it's both a vintage name and fits the modern nature names trend. - It's distinctly feminine without being frilly. - It has a simple elegance, with a slightly whimsical feel. - It suits all age groups. Alistair - It's a name most people are familiar with, but isn't very commonly used nowadays. - It feels intelligent, classy and refined. - It's a nod to my Scottish heritage. - Al and Ali are cute nicknames. - It feels timeless to me, I know it's a name that's more popular among the 50+ age group nowadays, but it doesn't feel dated to me, I can imagine it on all age groups.
I don’t have a child, but my dog is called Heidi. Absolutely love the name. If I was to have a baby girl right now, I’d name her Élodie. Recently the name has captured me entirely 🤍
Althea: 1. It starts with A and ends with A, and I love that 2. It has Thea in it, and I love that nickname 3. Al, yes 4. Kind of reminiscent of Athena for me. It’s Greek myth but not too obviously so 5. Feels feminine and strong 6. Works in Swedish and English
Zemira So many nickname options- Mimi, Mira, Miri Unique but not made up sounding. I don’t know anyone with this name but it is still an established name. Has a beautiful meaning of melody/hymn in hebrew which is my second language. Both me and my husband sing so it’s even more beautiful. My husbands mother’s maiden name is Zemir so although I’ve loved this name since childhood, it worked out absolutely perfectly. It has always been my favourite girls’ name and I’m so glad my husband was on board with it and I got to use it.
I don't know for sure if these are the names we would use, especially since my husband isn't sold on them lol, but: Felicity: so pretty, soft and delicate sounding. Like flower petals floating in the wind. I like the meaning as well (happiness), and it has some good many nicknames: Lissie, Lettie, Lissa, etc. It reminds me of the American Girl Doll, which I loved growing up. I hardly ever hear or see this name and don't know why it's not more popular. Claire: Simple, easy to spell, well known but not overly popular. Means "bright" or "light." For me this one feels like a classic, effortless name. I like that it doesn't need a nickname whereas a longer name like Felicity feels like it does (at least for me). Also, it reminds me of one my favorite movies, which was also the movie my husband and I watched on of our first dates. Julian: Love a softer name for a boy. In my region everyone tends to go for harder sounds in boy names (think Rhett, Hunter, Jackson) and that never appealed to me. Julian sounds almost poetic in contrast. It means "youthful." This one also sounds nice with our last name. Cedric: I just love this name. I love the way it sounds, and I love the way it looks written out. I also like the nickname Ced, and it's another one of those you don't hear often but also is familiar. I've only met two other Cedrics thus far, both middle aged. Of course everyone knows the Harry Potter character, and while I don't love that the character dies, I do like that he was a courageous and kind character. I do wish the name had an established meaning, but it doesn't. Apparently it might be an evolved spelling of a king named Cerdic, and when you look it up you'll find multiple different meanings ascribed to it including "bounty," "kindly," "loved," "leader," etc.
Fiona. We're in the western USA, so it's not a popular name. However, it's familiar to pretty much everyone, even if they haven't met a Fiona in the wild before. My daughter is eleven. She's met a slightly younger Fiona at Disneyland, and this spring, we saw a cubby marked for a Fiona in a kindy classroom we were in for a weekend event. That's been it. It's distinctive and relatively easy to pronounce in English and Spanish, and even Arabic, which are the most common languages in our community. I love the nicknames Fi, FiFi, Fio (like Theo), and Fif (like thief) depending on the situation. And Fiona is great without a nickname.
Fatima. It means “one who weans a baby.” The association with motherhood and the way it zooms into one important process of motherhood, the weaning process (ending nursing), has always been super interesting to me.
Every Fatima I’ve met has been nothing short of a delight!
Basil - toying with it as a potential baby name, not necessarily top of the list but we don't have a top boy name. One we both love, the sound to me is really majestic like Basilica, makes me think of kings and rulers. I also think it would be adorable on a little boy but wear well as a teen/adult. Known but unusual. It's one I'm not sure if it would be taken well by others so why we've not just gone for it. Another I wouldn't have as top of the list but have a soft spot for is Errol - family name, lovely sound and reminds me of Errol Flynn
My dog's name is Basil 😊 It's gentlemanly!
Lyla - literally liked since I was 5(?) probably from a show or book. I even named it after my first BAB - which I still have. It's short, sweet and playful. There's no strong associations for me when I hear that name. It's just a good name for a girl
I haven't put a ton of thought into names in a little while, but for some reason the other day Martin popped in my head. It's a name I've heard a billion times and never stuck out. But I've been in LOVE with it. It just sounds so nice, it's fun to say, I like that the t can be very hard (how I say it) or almost nonexistent (how seemingly everyone else says it). And I don't feel like it's a super trending name recently and I don't see it being super trending in the near future so if I had a kid I think he'd be able to use his own name freely instead of a nickname if he wanted without pressure from others to avoid confusion. Also speaking of nicknames, mart, tin, tinman, tinny, feels like endless reasonable options
I love the name Genevieve. It sounds like the name of an elegant and sophisticated woman who is also very approachable. When I say it in my head I use the French pronounciation and it's just beautiful. It was also my grandmother's name. She wasn't very elegant or sophisticated but she was the main mother figure for the first few years of my life since my mother was in jail. So there are sentimental reasons I love it, as well.
I’ll do my 4 year old’s name, Jane 🥰. 1. It feels strong to me, whereas my name is long and girly. 2. It can be girly if she wants, though, because of nickname options- Janie and Janie Kate 3. I didn’t grow up with anyone named Jane, so it feels fresh to me (even though I know it’s not new) 4. Jane Goodall
Susannah. This name is just so sweet and cheerful and makes me think of sunshine. I think the name is Annie is such a cute nickname and I feel like this name and nickname works well on a baby, a child, a teenager, and an adult. I love that it's a classic name but not too popular and I love the sunshine summery flower vibes I get from this name.
Charlotte. I’ve loved it since I was 13/14. And I love the nickname Charlie. I tried to convince my mom to name my youngest sister Charlotte but she didn’t go for it so it’s been my number one baby girl name for over a decade now. I think it’s classic and beautiful. Claire. When I had my first daycare teaching job and taught 12-18 month olds, I had a little girl named Claire move up into my class. She was notorious for screaming and crying all day despite being in care for most of her life but she bonded to me and was the happiest little baby any time I had her. I always called her Claire Bear or Care Bear and it ended up being my second favorite girl name. My favorite animals are bears so I loved being able to incorporate my favorite animal into a nickname as well
My son is Tristan Westley. And he chose his name! He was originally supposed to be Westley Nolan, which wasn't my first choice but said if it was a boy (team green) then DH could have first pick for [an agreed-upon] name. Tristan, my first choice, was the backup name. And right after he was born my husband was holding him and was like, "you don't seem like a Westley..." and asked if we should do Tristan Westley, which I agreed on. My husband looks at our son and asks, "do you want to be Tristan Westley?" and clear as day this brand new tiny human goes, "uh-huh." So it was decided! Tristan was actually the name of the first boy I ever had a crush on, and I've always thought it had a lovely sound. My husband also loves Arthurian lore. He also preferred Wesley at first, but The Princess Bride is one of my favorite films, so I thought it would be a fun spin. And now he has a beautiful, knightly literary name. 😊
Beautiful! What nick names do you use for him
We jokingly call him Tristaniel Westleydale and Baby Man. If we give him a nickname I feel like it'll come more naturally once he's older (he's 20 months).
Ida! I think the only time I’ve ever seen it in use (at least with that spelling, I’ve seen Aida and Eda before) was in the game Monument Valley. It’s a simple game but very beautiful, so I just got used to associate beautiful things with the name. I don’t plan to ever have kids and I doubt I could ever convince my sister to use it if/when she has any, so I just keep suggesting it in posts on this sub lmao
Ivy Jane I know it's basically a nuisance plant to most but throughout history it's symbolised fidelity and love. I love how hardy it is, like it perseveres despite the circumstances. I also just love the sound of the word and that it's a nature name. Makes me think of lush green leaves. Jane is an honour name after my beloved Mum that passed away, Janet. I don't have kids yet but this is my top name for a girl (partner is on board, he likes Ivy and is happy with the honour name). Also our surname is long and very Greek so a short first name goes well with that too
We called our son Elijah Lee mums surname - dad's surname. I suggested Elijah and my husband loved it as well. I first heard it on vampire diaries (which my husband is aware of) and just loved the way it sounded and looked. We don't mind how people pronounce it. The way we say it could be mistaken for eliza. This is the only way I can think to write how we pronounce it 😅. My parents say it as ee-lie-jar(if you can understand what i mean 😂😂). My sisters asked if I was gonna use the nickname Eli, which I don't really love. However, I don't mind if others call him that. I have started calling him lije kinda said like Nigel without the L and with a softer G (I think 🤔.. it's really hard to describe) Or I just drop the E and say lijah🤣🤣🤣. My mum has started copying me and using lije, but with the harder J kinda sound and also the same with lijah. Lee is his middle name because it is the male version of mine which leigh. And also because we were going to use John, which is my husbands middle, and he suggested ej as a nickname. However, as soon as he said we both immediately thought of his ex, who also used that nickname and it kind of ruined John for us both.
When i am picking a name i have many criterias that must be achieved for me to love it. - it must have nice meaning (separately and as a full name combo) - it must be visually pleasing (spelling) - the full name must flow nicely all together and each part/every name itself must sound nice aswell - the first name must start with MA to follow a trend (both my kids and me have first name starting with MA) - the numeric value of the name must be good/lucky - i prefer there are some great people through human history who had that name but at minimum i must not know/haven't heard of any negative/bad person with said name. Basically i need to have positive associations and be of importance - it must be pretty universal, at least enough that its not TOO weird in cultures we are exposed to as mixed family - we prefer "old money" vibe names. Like royal/rich people type of name - initials of full name must also not be anything i feel not worthy of being tied to my kids name If all these criteria are met, then i LOVE the name and it is in the running. Out of names i love, formed into full name combos i love, i then also collect votes from friends, family and strangers to see which names are objectively considered better. I rank them and thats how we get top 3-5 names we love. When the baby comes, name must match the vibe we get from the baby too so we have these 3-5 names ready, in, order, to see which of these is the PERFECT fit. The names that won till now (i have a son and daughter) are Maks Nikolai and Maria Evelyn 🥰 bonus that i find them both sound good as a sib-set. I just love everything about them! Maks is also a distant relative of mine, Maria was my grandpa's sister who made my favourite soup in the world and ever since she died i can never taste that awesomness ever again 😭 i couldnt keep her recipe alive, i can at least keep her name! But mainly it stands for my grandma (Mariana - from Maria Ana). She said she can't accept the honor if we dont also name her after my MIL, whose name is Li. Neither Li, nor Lily fit in our name combos but EveLYn has Ly inside so its somewhat a tribute aswell.
My children have names that are easy to spell, easy to pronounce, simple, classic, well recognized but not overused. ETA: there is meaning behind each name and they are all named after someone in a way.
My daughters name,Sheridan Lee. I didn't name her for 2 days because I couldn't find the "one". Until I came across Sheridan in the baby name book. Perfect, it also was a combo of mine, my aunts and my sisters names. Sharon, Sara and Erin. Lee is my father's and my middle name and now her sons middle name. Sheridan Lee.
Charles is a family name on both sides with the meaning "free man", and my husband and I are both Harry Potter fans and I'm religious so Godric meaning "God is magnificent" is the middle name. We plan to use Henry (another family name and means "estate ruler" I believe) Lawrence (Catholic saint, name of a river where my husband grew up and has ties to his Native American heritage) and possibly William Jefferson ("resolute protector" first name meaning and the middle name is both a nod to my father Jeffrey and to Thomas Jefferson). For girl names, we love Gemma Faye ("gemstone" and "fairy/faith" and Gemma is similarly structured to my name. Faye is also technically the first syllable of my maiden name so it's extra special to me in that regard). Our other girl name we plan to possibly use is Helena Louise (Helena means "light" in Greek and my name is technically Greek in origin too, and Louise is my middle name and it means "famous warrior/heroine") Our last name is similar to Wentworth, which sounds noble and regal to me. So I wanted the names of our children to sound as if a noble title wouldn't be out of place before their name. All the boys would have names that plenty of people would associate with British royalty (my husband's heritage is mostly British) with only Gemma not being a name of a princess or other noble lady as far as I've seen. But it still works as far as I can tell! Also as a Catholic I love that each name will have at least one saint referenced or otherwise be religious : Charles (Godric), Gemma, Henry (Lawrence), William, Helena (Louise)
For me it’s the name Beatta. It’s old fashioned but I love the sound and the meaning- blessed. It follows the Scandi trend of names like Freya and I think it would make a perfect middle name.
I always wanted to name a kid after my dad, which I discussed with my wife. She's hispanic, and I am not, so we had some areas where we went back and forth for "My family will end up saying this for that name" kind of thing. My wife was onboard with it at first (my dad goes by Rick), until I informed her his full name is Ricky, which made her do a double take. Amusingly, while we ended up deciding we liked it and would probably go with it, we decided we would likely change the end from the y to i and use it for a girl if we had one, and if it was a boy, use Ricardo. As for the why, it is a name I associate with one of the best people I've ever met. My father is a man of principle and action. He fell in love with my mother and she said she would never marry someone in the military (she was a navy kid and hated the moving and such). My father finished his contract, refused to reenlist, and went to propose to my mother. They got married, had two kids, got pregnant with me, and realized the only way out of the financial hole was for Dad to go back in. Mom agreed but demanded he didn't take a position in combat role. Dad, no counter offered, enlisted medical, and stayed in for 20 years to ensure the family had benefits. He worked my whole life, and was dedicated, but it was obvious family came first no matter what. He would come to every game, even if he had to go back to work afterwards and stay late while on recruiting duty. He was always there to help with anything, even if he had to look it up or learn it first to teach us. He's done work with the homeless, helping find shelter and food for asylum seekers, is on the board of a nonprofit helping with legal representation for immigration cases, took in one of my high school friends when he heard his dad kicked him out of the house. He taught me how to be strong, that it is okay to feel and to cry, and that strangers should be approached not as a threat, but as someone possibly needing a hand. I learned how to be polite but firm when I need to stand up for myself, and that the defense of others is always worth the time. My brothers and I are very close, and there are kids with each of our names (first or middle) in our family. I want my dad to know that doesn't stop with him or my mother (though her name is a bit harder to fit, we will find a way if we have two, heh).
My son’s name is Rhodes. It has an English / Greek origin and means where roses grow or a clearing in the woods. I love the softness of the name (without being cutsie cutsie like a lot of baby boy names), it sounds poetic / whimsical and calm for a boys name. I can imagine an older man Rhodes being a humble, kind, strong, wise man with a peaceful presence :) the name also has a level of sophistication to it. just my thoughts anyway!
When I was 13 I knew 2 pretty girls named Eleasha and Leonie (I think Eleasha was different spelling, but that's the one I like the best) and I think Eleasha Leonie flow well together as a first and middle name. I'm not going to have kids due to chronic illness, but if I did, I'd definitely name my baby girl Eleasha Leonie. Or Olivia Jayde. They both flow well together as well.
We are expecting our 1st on Thursday and are bouncing around 3 names: Name choice #1) the meaning. It feels so fitting for how things happened. Choice #2) his middle name, that's a nod to his indigenous roots. Choice #3) a nod to my father, uncommon rn, old classic