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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Help! My Dad has poisoned our name......

83 replies

ineedanewmiddlename · 13/01/2013 21:55

I need a new middle name. We had the first name Ava, middle name Florence. We both loved the name Ava Florence. I committed the cardinal sin, and told my parents our girls name. My Dad said Ava Flo, followed by Over-Flow. Dad has spoilt the name for me. My husband would still use the name, as he does not think middle names are ever used, and nobody else would come up with Over-Flow. I?m not taking the risk, the name has been tarnished.

It?s 35 weeks and we?re back to the drawing board. I should mention it took us 30 weeks to finally decide on Ava Florence, and I?m particularly difficult when it comes to names.

I have a few rules when it comes to the middle name:

  • It must not end in an - a (Ava ends in an a)
  • It must not end in an ?ie or ?y. I don?t like ie or y names.
  • It must not start with a vowel, a G, or a T.
  • It must be more than two syllables. Ideally I?d like a longer middle name, as we have chosen a short first name.

My husband is an inverted snob, and his rules are:

  • It must not be posh or pretentious (it took me ages to convince him that Florence is a common name)
  • It must not be more than three syllables

So far, we have ruled out the following names:

Ava Juliet
Ava Primrose
Ava Delphine
Ava Seraphine
Ava Constance
Ava Clarice

Your help would be hugely appreciated.

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lottiegarbanzo · 14/01/2013 23:39

Rosalind, or rosemary? Camille, violet?

I like Florence and jokers like your dad will come up with some unfunny forced 'joke' about any name, unfortunately.

Tigerbomb · 14/01/2013 23:24

Ava Marie or is that to close to Ava Maria?

Original poster
ineedanewmiddlename · 14/01/2013 22:31

No, my sister's called Jane.

OP posts:
Original poster
ineedanewmiddlename · 14/01/2013 22:28

I had a great aunt who was called Frances, and she was very nice. Hmm.

OP posts:
amck5700 · 14/01/2013 22:28

Noooooo - it has to be Ava Jane - honest :o it sounds the best!

Original poster
ineedanewmiddlename · 14/01/2013 22:24

Tempted to just play safe with Ava Frances.

OP posts:
Original poster
ineedanewmiddlename · 14/01/2013 22:24

Names very easily have associations for me, and I have a lot of relations. Rachel, Charlotte and Catherine are all cousins names for instance. It makes it much more difficult.

OP posts:
Emandlu · 14/01/2013 22:12

Ava Charlotte
Ava Petrina
Ava Galatea
Ava Rachel

petitdonkey · 14/01/2013 22:07

I have an Ava Lydia which is a combination that I haven't seen suggested and I like because they don't flow into each other too much if that makes sense.

Original poster
ineedanewmiddlename · 14/01/2013 22:04

Well DH does not like Ava Rosanna.

I'm going to try out Ava Coraline, see what response that gets.

OP posts:
Anonymumous · 14/01/2013 20:06

If you're prepared to break the 'a-ending' rule, how about Ava Miranda? That flows beautifully to my mind.

wiltingfast · 14/01/2013 19:02

Ava Diane?

Original poster
ineedanewmiddlename · 14/01/2013 18:46

I can?t get Over Flow out of my head. So Florence is a no no.

I did think about Ava Rose Florence, but DH thinks two middle names pretentious, and a pain in filling forms.

We?d discussed honouring a family member, but couldn?t agree on a family member, and one who?s name we liked. We decided to just choose a pretty name.

The list of rules, was just an idea I had last night. I agree the list is very anal. I loved Florence, and I loved the ?ence ending, and how it sounded with Ava and our surname. I do dislike ?ie and ?y endings, I?m not sure why. G and T avoided due to our surname. As I was going through name lists, I found myself disliking ?a ending names with Ava, and vowel names with Ava. It sounds worse, when I try to explain myself!

I have had another think about names, and I do like Ava Rosanna. Yes it breaks the ?a ending name rule. I?m nothing if not contrary. Blush

I?ve not broached Ava Rosanna with my husband yet. He?s not back from work, and after speaking to him on the phone, he?s had a rubbish day, so I might leave it till he?s in a better mood. I suspect he?ll consider it posh, but I might try persisting, like I did with Florence.

I don?t like his choice of boys middle names, but happy for him to have this name (DH?s father figure was his maternal Grandad, who he loved and adored. Losing his Grandad was like loosing a parent, and he?s always wanted to honour his Grandad. Although his Grandad had a name on the lines of Ernest, I couldn?t possibly say no. We even changed one of the first names we liked, as the initials spelt MEG).

OP posts:
DontmindifIdo · 14/01/2013 14:16

How about 2 middle names, so something between Ava and Florence?

How about:
Ava Ruth Florence
Ava Jane Florence
Ava Grace Florence
Ava Joy Florence

I know what you mean about ruining it, this is why nothing will be said to my parents about name choices until it's a done deal.

delilah88 · 14/01/2013 14:11

And Ava Louise. Could be called Ava - Lou (but that leads back to your dreaded plumbing/toilets theme!)

What about a weirder middle name, like Ava Star or Ava Spring? Ava May, Ava June?

delilah88 · 14/01/2013 14:10

Ava Jane is gorgeous!

emblosion · 14/01/2013 14:09

Ava Gardner was Ava Lavinia btw...

emblosion · 14/01/2013 14:07

Ava Rose
Ava Louise
Ava Jane

But if you love Ava Florence, use it!

JimbosJetSet · 14/01/2013 08:26

Ava Violet?

ILikeSquirrels · 14/01/2013 08:22

Ava Constance
Ava Jennifer
Ava Nicole (Nicolette)
Ava Kathleen

fuckadoodlepoopoo · 14/01/2013 08:06

I think you are being a bit silly about not using the name you like, it will soon enough fade from your mind what your dad said.

mum2day · 14/01/2013 08:02

Ignore your DF for goodness sake! Go with the name you liked. If not...

Ava Biscuit (very mumsnet)

Ava Cuppatea.

Ava Barney (named after the row with your dad)

lollydollydrop · 14/01/2013 01:29

I agree with OP in that I dont think I could get it out my head.. my dad is a massive joker and I think he would actually resort to calling the child 'Over-Flow' at times just to be 'funny'!!! Could you talk to your dad about how you feel? I would urge you not to act in haste/emotion and do something now that you regret later.. Is there any special connection to the name Florence? Did you check the initials dont refer to anything awful?

I love Ava Elizabeth- classic.

PuffPants · 14/01/2013 01:15

It really doesn't matter. Hardly anyone outside of her family will ever know or care what her middle name is. Use it to honour a female relative instead. A grandmother or great-aunt. I think it's nice for children to carry family names.

Yamyoid · 14/01/2013 01:13

My mum made a comment about the name I was thinking about for dd which really put me off; it was a rhyme. But it was the only name Dh and I agreed on and I think I'd already named her in my head. So we went with it any way and now I'm glad we did. Try and put it out of your mind, perhaps? Ava Florence is lovely.