Junia

[MyNewBearTotoro]

I recently met a little girl called Junia. I admit at first I thought I was hearing 'Junior' which I don't particularly like and wouldn't think suited a girl but then I saw her name written down as Junia. I'd not heard the name before but although it's very uncommon it is an old Latin/ Roman name and not completely made up.

Anyway, somehow being able to see the name Junia in my head rather than Junior made me hear the name in a completely different way and I have now really fallen in love with it and I also love the nickname Juni. I am pregnant with DC3 and would love it to be on our girl's shortlist but, although DH also likes it, he is worried about people assuming baby's name is Junior.

Just wondering what other people think of the name and whether they would get past the fact it sounds like Junior?

[InanimateCarbonRod]

I would think you were saying Junior.

[MariaSklodowska]

I dont think I could get past that, sorry.
June or Juno are nice too.

[SuburbanRhonda]

Yes, you will always be spelling it or correcting people's misspelling. I don't think it's lovely enough to saddle your DD with that for the rest if her life.

[Lunar1]

I'd think you couldn't spell.

[gingerboy1912]

When I say it aloud it sounds like junior I wouldn't use junia you want years of correcting people

[Eigg]

It doesn't sound like Junior in my accent but if you are worried what about Juno or Julia instead.

[LadyAntonella]

It doesn't sound like Junior in my accent . But yes, if you have an accent like the ones where I live (home counties) I might think you were saying Junior. I really like it in my accent though - you'll have to move to Ireland .

[mrsschu]

Ha ha, was just thinking that Junia doesn't sound like Junior in my accent either (Irish) but can see how it would in parts of England . Regardless of that, I'm not a fan, sorry.

[julfin]

I think it sounds too much like junior.

Can you be persuaded by Julia, Juno or June?

[ifigoup]

Junia is a lovely and unusual name. If it matters to you, it also has good feminist credentials: there is a figure mentioned in the New Testament, one of the first leaders of the Church, who for years and years was always named as "Junias" (a male name) because the Bible translators assumed a church leader must have been a man. But more recent scholarship shows that the male name "Junias" is totally unknown in contemporary literature apart from that one mention, and that the name Iounian is much much more likely to have been "Junia". Since then Junia has been considered a significant proto-feminist figure among scholars.

[BertrandRussell]

"ust wondering what other people think of the name and whether they would get past the fact it sounds like Junior?"

No. And neither could you til you saw it written down. Just imagine what that would be like for 80 years.

[Eigg]

There's nothing for it Totoro you have to move to Scotland or Ireland where we pronounce our r's and a's properly

[DerelictMyBalls]

Sorry but it's just too similar to junior.

[NotYoda]

I think most people would have your reaction at first but maybe not get to the second stage because they weren't analysing it in the same way. Having to spell and/or explain your name to every person you meet is a PITA

Juno, or June are nicer, IMO

[NotYoda]

And I also agree that Julia is a lovely, lovely name

or Juliet

[MyNewBearTotoro]

Thank you for the responses.

I do really like Julia and Juliet BUT I hate the nickname Julie - seems inexplicable as to how I could dislike it so much when it's so similar to the full names but I really wouldn't like my DC to become Julia and I also dislike Jules which could be a nickname.

Junia would have the nickname Juni which I love and June/Junes etc I wouldn't mind, although I don't like June enough to use it as the full name. I don't like Juno, it just feels like a trendy nickname rather than a full name to me. Junia would be perfect if it wasn't for the fact people would think I'd named my DD Junior. I don't know why that matters to me but it does and I see that most people wouldn't be able to get past that.

I might not completely scrap it from the list, perhaps it would make a better middle name?

[IoraRua]

Another Irish person here saying it's perfectly fine in my accent but I can see how an English person would have trouble

Maybe use it as a middle name, the Junior thing is definitely a problem.

[SwedishEdith]

Julie is not a nickname for Julia - it's a name in its own right.

[IoraRua]

And yet a lot of Juliets and Julias get called Julie. It can be both a nickname and a proper name, you know.

Much of a muchness anyway, as OP hates it.

[MilkTwoSugarsThanks]

If my Latin knowledge from years ago is correct - it's not a classic Roman name, it's made up and because it ends in an A it can be "fobbed off" as classic.

Although I may be talking shit.

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

I'm not Scottish or Irish and it doesn't sound like Junior to me - that has more of an 'uh' sound at the end. I'd also weight the first syllable more heavily in junior and have it more equally in Junia.

I can see how it would be off putting though - how would you feel about Iunia?

[JuniDD]

Juni is an excellent nickname.

My mum's name is Julia and no one has called her Julie twice, believe me.

Juniper can be shortened to Juni.

[MyNewBearTotoro]

Yes, I agree there is some difference in the pronounciation of Junior/ Junia in my accent too, but not much and as most people won't have heard the name Junia I know that on first hearing it they will make the same assumption I did and think they're hearing Junior.

I guess I'm happy for people to initially hear the name Junior, and maybe think they dislike that name choice (personally I don't like the name Junior for boys but think it would be downright awful for a girl), but I'm wondering if then on realising the name was actuslly Junia they'd change their opinion, or would people just think I was attempting a yoo-neeq version of Junior?

I'm really not specifically looking for a super unusual or made up name (my other DC are Elodie and Rueben) but I just found Junia to be really beautiful. But I don't think Junior is nice at all and I realise that is what most people will hear/ assume and it sounds like most wouldn't then get past it and into finding it beautiful so thanks for the feedback :)

[MyNewBearTotoro]

Hmm, I hadn't thought of Juniper. I can't tell whether I could picture a baby called Juniper, I've never thought of it as a name before, but it would lend itself well to the nickname Juni! I might put it to DP and add it to the list and see how it sounds after a few days of trying it out in my head.