name spelling question-opinions please!

[lizajane]

IF we have a girl, her name will be:
Anne Lillian or Lillian Catherine.

we will definitely call her "Lily/Lilly/Lilli" or "Lily/Lilly/Lilli Cate." i feel like "Lilli" is the "right" way to spell it if i am shortening LILLIan. but is that the annoying way to spell it? will people go straight to "Lily" because it is how the flower is spelled and therefore the common way to spell it? or will they think "Lilly" because Lillian has two "L"s and people use "y" more than "i" in names like that?

PLEASE feel free to laugh at me!!! but what do you think???? if she is lilli cate, she will have to spell all 3 names. which makes me think, "how annoying- all three names." but at the same time, "well, she has to spell the other two anyway..." i spell both my names, and i am over it.

[jbowman]

First of all, I think both of those names are beautiful!

I think she will probably have to spell Lily/Lilly/Lilli no matter which spelling you ultimately choose--so I would go with whichever one you like best. IMHO I would spell it Lilly (and I agree with you about the two "ll"s since her name will be Lillian). For whatever reason, the "y" in Lilly seems to add closure, but that's just my opinion. The one problem with Lilli is that people might mispronounce it more often, believe it or not). These are just my musings!

To further complicate matters, you could choose Lillie, LOL!

Remember that nicknames don't always have to completely "match" the name--for example, my daugther's name is Elizabeth, and we spell her nickname Ellie.

I'm not sure I've been any help at all!

[miki]

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Just kidding.

I like Lily but that's just me. I think Lilli is a little too cutesy. But if you like it, go for it. I don't think you should be bothered by your potential DD having to spell 3 names. She'll have to learn how to spell all sorts of words at some point, no?

Edited because I have not learned how to spell all the words yet.

[sbjf]

Either way it will be ok really. First, like you said, big deal she has to spell all three names, there are worse things, and at least they are very pretty names, so it's worth it, lol! Second, as a former 1st grade teacher I can attest that in elementary school the children's names are spelled out in BIG HUGE LETTERS across their desk the whole school year for at least K and 1st grades. Kids are very observant about this kind of thing and if she stays in the same school system for a while you can bet all of her teachers and classmates will know just how she spells her name.


I have a tough to spell married last name and 1/2 the time I MUST spell it because the correct spelling matters, but the other half of the time it doesn't really matter how they spell it, phonetic is fine. Plus, as an adult whe probably won't have to really spell her nickname very often anyway, it's usually the first name and last name that needs to be given and spelled correctly.

Now, personally, I'd go with Lily Anne and leave it at that, problem solved. But, I do like Lillian Catherine/Lilli Cate a lot. So if I were to go with Lillian Catherine I'd go with Lilli Cate, for the reason you mentioned. :-)

[s7714]

Not to add another spelling to your mix, but I know someone who just spells her name with one L and an i -- Lili. (But then she actually changes how she spells her name occasionally. Right now she's Lile, with an accent on the e...)

I like Lilli Cate. But, if someone asked me to spell it, I'd probably spell it with only one L since that's the way I usually see it. (The name Anne Lillian makes me think of the actress Ann Jillian... ;) )

Jennifer
Mommy to Annalia 03/03/03
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif

[mommy_someday]

Liza,

Just my two cents here...I like Lily/Lilly Cate the best. I think the "lilli" spelling is hard to read because the letters look so similar - might be confusing to teach her to read/write, but I've never had a munchkin before, so what do I know? :O) I also agree with the PP who said the y adds closure. Let us know what you decide on. DH and I had a heck of a time deciding on a girl's name (probably because the doc is 95% sure it's a boy!), so I feel for you. Spelling is a whole extra ballgame. Good luck!

[lizajane]

we wouldn't call her "lily anne" because it sounds just like lillian!! LOL! :) but seriously, anne lillian was my grandmother's name, so we would definitely put the two in that order. and then we would just call her lilly. but i have been kinda stuck on lilly/lilli cate lately...

[steph2003]

Both are such beautiful names. I personally adore Lilly Cate (or however you end up spelling it!) but I also am a big family name person & Anne Lillian is just as lovely. I agree with the pp about Lilly with a "y" just "looks" better then "i" ending with an "i" seems too cutesy & not final, IMHO

[amazz]

My vote is for Lily Cate. I think Lillian Catherine sounds very elegant and would sound really good at graduation and would be a great professional name. (Not that Anne Lillian wouldn't, I just like the other better) So then she has the choice of going by Lily, Lily Cate or Lillian Catherine.

Angela
EDD 10/15/04
A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on. ~Carl Sandburg

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

Beautiful names!!!

I personally think nick names are in the eyes of the beholder, I suspect you'll see many different spelling for a short version of her name, decided by whoever is addressing her at that moment.
I like all of your choices, you can't go wrong with any of them, but just wanted to share that as far as what others will write and how they'll do it.
Neve and Tristan born Feb 25, 2003
* EDD 3/18/05 as of 8/24 kicking and moving arms via sono, very active.
* Adopting siblings in Ukraine, I171A from INS has arrived, dossier to Ukraine next week!!!!!!

[mudder17]

I really do love all the names. But I agree with Neve that different people will probably end up spelling it different ways. In fact, your daughter may end up spelling it one way and then one day decide to spell it another way. That's the nature of nicknames, IMO. I would say go with with you like best and then see what she does with it. :)



Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya
born 22 February 2004

http://lilypie.com/baby1/050222/2/16/0/+10/.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_garnet_6m.gif Breastfed 6 months and counting

http://www.chemicalgraphics.com/kaya

[C99]

My best friend's daughter is Lillian. They call her Lily. I used to spell it Lilli or Lili because, as you say, that's really the way you'd expect to shorten Lillian, but she spells it Lily. If your daughter introduces herself as Lily, I think she'd only have to address the spelling issue of she has to spell out her whole name for Lillian for a form or something.

I have to spell my name out every single time because people think that my name is Carolyn, because they mispronounce it that way 98% of the time.

[jubilee]

I love Lilly Cate or Lily Cate. (I really love the name, no matter how you spell it.) I'm not a fan of the double name, but this one I adore. My vote is definately for the y at the end. When I write in cursive my l and i look very much the same... so her first name would be all ups and downs in cursive, but with a y at the end it just LOOKS better.

[parkersmama]

Well, first off...I love both names! Very, very pretty and classic. Secondly, I say with whichever grabs you the most. But since you're looking for opinions...I think I'd go with Lillian Catherine and call her Lily Cate. I just prefer that more traditional spelling of Lily.

[lizajane]

excellent opinions!!! thanks thanks!!

now that i have picked one, my ultrasound will show a "wee wee" on my "tiny bunny" and we will have to start all over!

i was leaning toward lilli cate, but i asked dh how he would spell it and his first (and quick) response was lilly. so that response was a good fit with the advice here, and now that i have read it a number of times, i think i like it. so lilly cate. chicks dig it.

one of the reasons i like it is just what neve pointed out- she might change it herself after other people mess with it, too. and i like lillian or lilly or lilly cate or cate or catherine. (except that my last name starts with "c" which is why i am not saving cate for a surprise child- both are one syllable "c" words and i am not a huge alliteration fan.) so she can change the spelling or the name and i will still love it!

everyone think pink at 10:30am on tuesday!!!