Baby girl names??

[Jupiter]

I am having trouble coming up with names for my baby. My husband likes Fiona Rayne, My sister likes Mirabell. I don't want a "popular" name. I would prefer a unique meaningful name. Any suggestions? First and/or middle.

TIA

[kara97210]

I really like Fiona. Is your last name a consideration? For us one of the names I really loved (Charlotte) would have sounded awful with our last name.

[crl]

Among the more unusal names we considered (at least we thought they were unusual)

Presidio
Cordelia
Clementine
Delia
Delilah
Teal (would have been a middle name)

Catherine (my name, not a suggestion, though I do like my name a lot!)

PS. Have you tried the Nymbler website? You put in names you like and it makes suggestions that are similar in style.

[AnnieW625]

My Dd1's name is Elisa. It is not that common at all, but it is not unusual, and it is very traditional as well.

Charlotte is really popular here among the under 4 set. I liked it a bit for DD1, but by the time we had Dd2 I could see how popular it was becoming.

What about Skylar/Skyler?

I like Fiona, but for whatever reason we didn't think about it when we were naming our kids.

What about Annalee, Camille, or Serena?

I like Mirabel/l as well, but do you like the nick name Belle?

We named Dd2 Lauren. We liked it a lot.

eta: thought of some more names: Harper, Marin/Maren/Maryn, and Nora. I also thought about naming DD2 Danica as well, but our last name is super close to the race car driver and I didn't really want that close of a name.

[american_mama]

Fiona Rayne and Mirabell. I don't want a "popular" name. I would prefer a unique meaningful name.
TIA

Fiona and Mirabell are both beautiful. I've known a Mira and seen a cubby for a Mirabel at two different preschools, and I love both names... easy for young ones to say too. I would play with the spelling for Mirabell, since that spelling shouts BELL to me. I think -bel or -belle are the more familiar endings.

What is meaningful to you? Is it something from family names, about your child's conception/EDD, a place/thing/idea meaningful to your DH and you? You can also think of categories... place names (London, Dakota), trait names (Serenity, Faith), nature names (Summer, Lake), gender neutral (Logan, Sydney), last names (Campbell), and many more. The book "Beyond Jennifer and Jason" is great for this.

Unusual names to consider:

Juno (first thing I thought of when I saw your user name)
Matilda
Annabelle or Annabel (may be more popular... I actually know four, but I *think* this is a fluke)
Stella
Arden
Raina or Reyna or other variations
Presley or Presleigh
Silldra (just found out this is the name of a great-great-great-great grandmother of mine)
Amelia
Eden
Juliet or Juliette
Maliha, Melia, Meliha
Willow (unusual, but trendy)
Coral
Briar (very unusual, read it in a magazine)
Juniper
Larken or Larkin

[BabyBearsMom]

I like Fiona a lot (Fi Fi is such a cute nickname and we are big nickname people). It was on my short list for DD2. The other names on my short list:

Penelope
Louisa
Charlotte

We tend to go towards old fashioned names.

ETA - Vivian, I forgot that I love that name and DH vetoed it

[flashy09]

I called my daughter Maple, which is pretty unusual (of course a celebrity named his baby Maple one month later). I liked a lot of nature names and grew up on Mapleton Hill in Colorado (street lined with maples) and thought it was not too unfamiliar, but still different. Then driving home right before she was born we passed Maple Ave and the next street was our last name, so it seemed like a sign!

Other names I liked were Cecily/Cicely, Wren, Violet, Lucy, Penelope (DH did at least). All somewhat uncommon. Nameberry.com is great for name help.

[amldaley]

My DD's names are actually very similar to the Fiona and Mirabell. Really really similar.

Some names we really loved but did not use:

Matilda or Mathilda
Cecelia
Anellie
Aniela (pronounced Ann-Yell-ah or On-Yell-Ah)
Idalia (pronounced Ee-doll-ya)
Danika
Penelope
Camilla
Josephine
Kelena (pronounced Kell-Lay-Nah)
Cosette
Collette
Maeve

[BabbyO]

We had dozens of girls names...

DH got me stuck on Sophie about 5 yrs ago...but now every little girl seems to be named Sophie.

Anyway, my favorites this time around:
Sydney
Vivian
Medea
Delia
Elise or Elisa are great as a middle name...or first name

[OKKiddo]

Fiona and Mirabell are both beautiful. I've known a Mira and seen a cubby for a Mirabel at two different preschools, and I love both names... easy for young ones to say too. I would play with the spelling for Mirabell, since that spelling shouts BELL to me. I think -bel or -belle are the more familiar endings.

What is meaningful to you? Is it something from family names, about your child's conception/EDD, a place/thing/idea meaningful to your DH and you? You can also think of categories... place names (London, Dakota), trait names (Serenity, Faith), nature names (Summer, Lake), gender neutral (Logan, Sydney), last names (Campbell), and many more. The book "Beyond Jennifer and Jason" is great for this.

Unusual names to consider:

Juno (first thing I thought of when I saw your user name)
Matilda
Annabelle or Annabel (may be more popular... I actually know four, but I *think* this is a fluke)
Stella
Arden
Raina or Reyna or other variations
Presley or Presleigh
Silldra (just found out this is the name of a great-great-great-great grandmother of mine)
Amelia
Eden
Juliet or Juliette
Maliha, Melia, Meliha
Willow (unusual, but trendy)
Coral
Briar (very unusual, read it in a magazine)
Juniper
Larken or Larkin


I love the Stella mentioned above and also throwing out there Scarlett...

I love the Fiona part of the name....but the Rayne is what makes me not love it as much.

[Jupiter]

Thanks guys, these are helpful. I do prefer more of a traditional name but one that isn't over used. My 2 good friends just had baby's and named them Maeve and Annabella, so I was staying away from those.

Jupiter is the baby's nickname because the first ultrasound looked like Jupiter.

[megv]

Estelle (nickname Este, Elle, or Stella)

[Jupiter]

Lilith is another friend's baby's name. I feel like my baby can't have a similar name. Leliana is another we have thought of. I believe it's pronounced lay-lee-Ana, my husband says Lilly-Ana.

[lizzywednesday]

I think it's important to know your naming style.

We also sought a "unique" name that didn't sound made-up.

Due to our last name, we couldn't consider names starting with an "f" sound nor could we consider names ending in a long "e" sound, because it would sound far too "rhyme-y" for our taste.

I was not open to place-name names, flower names or "virtue" names (Grace, Serenity, Felicity, Hope, etc.) or anything I considered to be "Yuppie."

DH suggested Violet, Kara, Jennifer and Ande. At one point, Guns 'n' Roses' song "Patience" came on the radio and he suggested that ... and I asked him where his white collar & buckled shoes were. He likes the idea of naming a future DD "Philippa" but calling her "Pippa," a la Pippa Middleton, and I think that's stupid. (IMO, you name your child what they should be called and let them pick their own nicknames.)

I lean towards more old-fashioned names - Caroline, Alice, Marilyn, Elaine, etc. - or what I used to consider "saints' names" (Catherine, Elizabeth, Marie, etc.) ... or names with a meaning I like.

In the end, we named our DD Gwendolyn Elaina, which was the first girls' name we agreed on. Per Nameberry or Nymbler, Gwendolyn means "bright ring" or "blessed ring," and "Elaina" is a variant of "Elaine" (which is a variant of "Helen") and means "light," both of which I felt was a good omen.

In opposition to a lot of folks I've talked to, I actually found boys' names to be MUCH easier to consider. DH and I agreed immediately on a boy's name!

[Tenasparkl]

Aniela (pronounced Ann-Yell-ah or On-Yell-Ah)


I love that you included this. That was my grandmother's name and I never hear or see in anywhere.:heartbeat:

[Jupiter]

I think it's important to know your naming style.

We also sought a "unique" name that didn't sound made-up.

I was not open to place-name names, flower names or "virtue" names (Grace, Serenity, Felicity, Hope, etc.) or anything I considered to be "Yuppie."



I think I fall in the same category as you. I really like your daughters name too. Gwendolyn was one we discussed too.

[Ms B]

In opposition to a lot of folks I've talked to, I actually found boys' names to be MUCH easier to consider. DH and I agreed immediately on a boy's name!

I agree 100% on this. DH and I agreed on a boy's name within a year of getting married (his grandfather's first name); by the time The Biscuit was something more than a twinkle in our eyes, we already were down to two middle names for him (either my grandfather's, which we went with, or my deceased best friend's, which we did not use -- but did use his Hebrew name). In fact, if fate gave us another child who was a boy, we already have THAT name picked out (which is the last names of DH's best friend, who since passed away, and my best friend).

It took us years to agree on a girl's first name and we never did agree on a middle name. Margaux was what we liked for a first name. It means "pearl". I wanted Mirelle or Melisande for a middle name, but DH thought those were too French. Of course, that was my point, plus we could have called her Mimi then.

DH was leaning towards Elyse, but we are "wine people" and having a daughter with all three names being well-known wine labels probably would not have been a good choice. :54:

We probably would have ended up with Helen or Helene as a middle name, which is a family name.

I do love the suggestion of Cordelia. Not only is it Shakespearean (one of King Lear's daughters), but also it makes me think of Anne of Green Gables (because that is the name she wished she had). :)

[american_mama]

I think I fall in the same category as you. I really like your daughters name too. Gwendolyn was one we discussed too.

Ok, I would describe that naming style as old-fashioned, classic, traditional, somewhat uncommon. What about

Evelyn
Helen (I've met two elementary kids named this recently, even though it's a grandma name to me)
Edith, nn Edie
Cora
Pearl
Jane
Virginia
Lydia
Sylvan
Olive
Opal
Paulina
Libby
Leonora
Eleanor
Miriam
Frances

[queenmama]

Our son Henry is 12 and when we chose it, it wasn't on anyone's radar (everyone hated it, to be frank) and now it's uber popular, so I had to jump in my wayback machine to avoid that with Baby Girl.

Here are some of the names I dug up, and some are already trending upwards but I kept them on the list if they had some significance (Alice is a family name, Beatrice is my favorite Shakespearean heroine, etc):

Alice
Arden
Beatrice
Celia (another Shakespeare girl, but I also like Cecilia)
Cordelia (this one is NOT for Shakespeare fans, but I think it's one of the most beautiful names ever. I just couldn't shake the King Lear association)
Edith
Hazel
Louise/Louisa
Mabel
Rosaline (do you see a trend? LOL! I'm such a Bard nerd)
Viola (I feared mispronunciation)
Willa

We ended up with Agnes Josephine Bliss. Agnes is another literary heroine and Henry LOVED the girl Agnes in Despicable Me. Josephine honors a ton of people we love, including two of my great-grandmothers, Josefa & Irene, and DH's grandpa Joe. I actually wanted Josephine for a first name so she could be "Joe Lastname" like Papa, but DH hated that. Henry also fell in love with Josephine March when he acted in Little Women (he said, "She is SO you!" aww!). And Bliss is the street name where I spent a lot of time with 3 beloved family members we lost in recent years, one of whom had a birthday of April 26, Agnes' due date (she was a day early!).

I very highly recommend you get on Nameberry. I found it even more helpful than Nymbler because the Berries are so up on the trends and can help you gauge what is popular/too popular/up-and-coming. Good example: if we'd had a boy he would've been Felix (after my great-gpa) and I had no idea Felix was getting popular until I joined Nameberry!

Lara

[fivi2]

love Arden and Louisa mentioned by pps. Also love (and have a) Fiona. (We get a lot of Shrek comments, just fyi).
Violet
Ruby
Victoria
Sylvia
Laurel
Julia
We know a couple little Georgias
Thea

[Jupiter]

These are great guys! Going to sit down with them when dh gets home. (I read the list to him every chance I get).

Cordelia is the one we hae been talking more about but Shakespeare is not who I think of, I think of Buffy the vampire slayer. Lol. And Fiona actually came from Burn Notice. But it's good to know what it reminds others of, since I know I'm not normal :rotflmao:

Vyktoria was a suggestion from dh brother that I thought was cool, he's in Germany so I don't know if its popular there or why it has a y.

[swissair81]

Deleted

[Jupiter]

Would you name your child a name they will never find printed on anything in a store?

[AnnieW625]

Would you name your child a name they will never find printed on anything in a store?

You can't find Elisa on pre printed items at all. DH did find a license plate keychain with Elisa on it at a car wash in predominantly Hispanic and Chinese neighborhood (near his work), but so far that is the only thing we have ever seen with her name pre printed on it. We have had a bit more luck with Lauren. She has a keychain as well, a bowl, and a sippy cup with her name on it. We got DD1 Mickey ears with her name embroidered on it.

[fivi2]

Would you name your child a name they will never find printed on anything in a store?

Yep :) we rarely find anything with either one 's name on it.

[ourbabygirl]

I would actually prefer not being able to find preprinted items with my kids' names on them! I think it's nice not having your kid named something in the top 20 or whatever names!
Unfortunately, I like the more classic/ traditional, saints' names, and I'm sure there will be at least one or two other kids with the same names in my kids' classes in school. But at least I don't have to spell out the kids' names to people everywhere we go. :)

[american_mama]

Uncommon names are the new normal, so many, many children won't find their name on an item in a store. In general, even within the top names, the absolute number of children named the #1 name is less than for the #1 name in decades past. Combine that with creative and alternate spellings, and unusual has become usual.

My kids are 4, 8, and 10 and have never asked for anything with their name on it. I can only think of one, maybe two, stores we've been in that sell pre-printed stuff (mugs).

Besides, there are always monograms and custom orders. With the ever-increasing number of options for customizing everything, I am confident I could order something just for a little boy Zenith or little girl Cyerrah.

[sweet_pea]

Would you name your child a name they will never find printed on anything in a store?

Yes, my DD's name is completely unfamiliar to English speakers, although it is much more widespread in the country my grandparents are from, so it's a completely normal name in our ethnic community.

I love the name Fiona. What about Fiona Rielle instead of Fiona Rayne? We have a little girl on our street named Rielle. Victoria is also nice, but I would spell it the traditional way because I'm not into "alternate spellings." Some other options (sorry if I'm repeating some previously mentioned):

Sylvia
Gemma
Julia
Martina
Martha
Adelaide
Aurelia
Isadora
Iona
Daria
Kira
Talia
Una

[123LuckyMom]

We just named our daughter Arden. I wish I had known about Nameberry. We chose Oliver when there were no Olivers, and now it's super popular. I know of several new Ardens, too, so that seems to be creeping up in popularity. It seems that when I tell people her name, they know someone else who just named their baby Arden. I guess I've just got my finger on the pulse of the current zeitgeist! I don't care, because we chose it for its meaning and the fact that we had relatives whose names started with an "A" that we wanted to name her for, and I still love it, even though it was my husband's pick. Mine was Helena (pronounced HELL-eh-nah). I like names with lots of options for nicknames, so my list included:

Eleanor (Nora, Ellen, Lena, Ellie, etc.)
Helena (Nellie, Helen)
Arabel (we would have called her Rebel, but could be Belle, Ari)
Penelope (Penny, Nellie-- I really love the name Nellie)
Elizabeth (my middle name and the potential for forty million nicknames)
Phillipa (which we dropped when Pippa Middleton became the rage)
Katherine (again, lots of great nicknames)

[abh5e8]

I too love old-fashioned names. dd is Ester. I also love double names...Mary Frances is a favorite.

i've never seen anything with her name pre-printed...that wasn't a consideration at all for us in choosing her name.

[Jupiter]

We think we might have agreed. But I have a feeling I'm going to hear lots of comments about if from family. Any suggestions on how to deal with people not liking he name?

[rin]

We think we might have agreed. But I have a feeling I'm going to hear lots of comments about if from family. Any suggestions on how to deal with people not liking he name?

Don't tell them until after the baby's born. I told my mother DD2's name before she was born, and it was very clear she didn't like it. Now that DD2's born and has had the name for a few months, my mother commented to me that she really liked the name. I think people are more willing to share negative opinions if they think they can influence you (so before the baby's born), but once you've already given the name, people realize it would just be rude.

[amldaley]

We think we might have agreed. But I have a feeling I'm going to hear lots of comments about if from family. Any suggestions on how to deal with people not liking he name?

Plow on through. We named DD2 immediately when we learned she was a girl and called her by name throughout the pregnancy. The disgruntled family members on DH side said what they felt they needed to say and I literally shrugged it off. I just stood there and looked at them and shrugged, said nothing and walked away. We are taking DD2 to meet his whole family in person for Thanksgiving and I am sure I will get more stupid comments.
I just try to remember that the people saying those things just don't know any better.

Then come to BBB and share. I got awesome support here.

[LizLemon]

Don't tell them until after the baby's born. I told my mother DD2's name before she was born, and it was very clear she didn't like it. Now that DD2's born and has had the name for a few months, my mother commented to me that she really liked the name. I think people are more willing to share negative opinions if they think they can influence you (so before the baby's born), but once you've already given the name, people realize it would just be rude.
:yeahthat:
Before the baby is born, a lot of people will tell you if they don't like your choice. If you wait to reveal the name until the baby is born and the name is official, only the particularly bold will tell you they don't like it (which may still happen, but it's significantly less likely).

[katydid1971]

We think we might have agreed. But I have a feeling I'm going to hear lots of comments about if from family. Any suggestions on how to deal with people not liking he name?
IME when you say "We are thinking about (name)" people think you want an opinion and give it, but when you say "We are naming the baby ..." they know to just say "What a pretty name"

FWIW When I here Cordellia I think of Buffy and Shakespeare. I love the name, that's my vote.

[LizLemon]

IME when you say "We are thinking about (name)" people think you want an opinion and give it, but when you say "We are naming the baby ..." they know to just say "What a pretty name"

FWIW When I here Cordellia I think of Buffy and Shakespeare. I love the name, that's my vote.

My friend named her son something ridiculous (seemed that way at the time, now it's just his name). It was definite and she introduced it the way you suggested. It still got comments. People actively tried to talk her out of it. Before it's on the birth certificate people still think there's a chance to change your mind.

[jenstring95]

You can't find Elisa on pre printed items at all. DH did find a license plate keychain with Elisa on it at a car wash in predominantly Hispanic and Chinese neighborhood (near his work), but so far that is the only thing we have ever seen with her name pre printed on it. We have had a bit more luck with Lauren. She has a keychain as well, a bowl, and a sippy cup with her name on it. We got DD1 Mickey ears with her name embroidered on it.

This is funny because I have an Elise, and the only thing I have ever found in a store with her name on it was a license plate!

Honestly, not being able to buy something in the store with my DC's name on it doesn't bother me at all. It is so easy these days to order something personalized from Etsy or to embroider/monogram.

[123LuckyMom]

If you care what others are going to say, wait until the baby is born to tell anyone!

BTW when I hear Cordelia, I think of Anne of Green Gables. Cordelia was the fancy name Anne wished she had.