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Baby names

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

Original poster

Please help! DD is 1 week old and no name.

87 replies

vik123b · 09/01/2014 14:05

Have a shortlist for girls names. The two names we cant decide on are Hermione and Betsy. Just interested to hear peoples views.

I love Hermione but DH prefers Betsey. Few things do put me off Hermione though - will it be a nightmare for her to learn to spell? people can't pronounce it (Hermy-won) and obviously Harry Potter (will she be teased and compared to Hermione Granger? Our surname also begins with a hard G). Love Betsey but worry is too cutsey and she may hate it when she gets older and don't want it shortened to Bet (she wouldnt be Elizabeth as my daughters middle name is Elizabeth so don't want to use again). We have quite kooky style so think either suit us as a family. Need to make a choice!

We like both names so whatever we choose for first name the other can be the middle name. We like Bluebell also for middle name (my other 2 children have two middle names) so would be either:

Hermione Betsey Bluebell

Or

Betsey Bluebell Hermione

Also, if we chose Hermione do you think we could use Hetty as a nickname? DH lost his Nan yesterday whose name was Stella, not keen on Stella and doesn't fit with our names but Hetty has same meaning (Star) or could you think of some way to incorporate it into the name?

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Britishseamonkey · 12/01/2014 09:18

What about Bethan or Bethany shortened to Betsey as nn?

To be honest I'd dd1's name being Elizabeth puts you off I'd go with hermione - lovely and the Harry p generation is growing up anyway, Betsey is just a diminutive of Elizabeth - so it feels a bit like you are naming her the 'lesser Elizabeth' of the two. It's so tied with Elizabeth for me x

ZingChoirsOfAngels · 11/01/2014 06:38
Grin

I meant *tell dad to put a SOCK in it.

but I guess sick would work too!

ZingChoirsOfAngels · 11/01/2014 06:37

you have 6 weeks in total before you have to legally register the birth.

tell dad to put a sick in it and stop pressurising you, although you both want to get on with it there's still plenty of time!

Can you ask your other kids if they have any ideas? I have heard some lovely stories when the older ones chose the baby's name - if it works it's just fantastic!Smile

And congratulations!Thanks

Tea1Sugar · 11/01/2014 06:27

Completely unhelpful but my niece is Iris Betsy which I think is lovely :)

SS3J · 10/01/2014 09:04

I really like Hermione Betsey Bluebell. I don't like Betsey as a first name, but then, she's not my daughter!

Woody31 · 10/01/2014 05:08

I love Betsy. I defo wouldn't change the spelling as your poor daughter will spend her life saying its betsey with 2 e's and having to spell it out anyway - irritating for anyone. Also why do you need 2 middle names? Just go with names you love rather than needing a certain number.

sunseasurf · 10/01/2014 03:43

I think Hermione Betsey Bluebell is a great name, and I also love Hetty as a nickname (really pretty).

inky33 · 09/01/2014 22:35

Will do Anjou. I think that would be useful. Im not sure if Im truly convinced of either name now after this discussion Confused.

Rosieliveson · 09/01/2014 22:31

I like Betsey and hermione. Betsey could be short for Bethany to avoid repeating Elizabeth

Congratulations on your little one Thanks

Anjou · 09/01/2014 22:25

Well, for fear of shamelessly plugging an old thread of mine, maybe check here to see a thread where people listed their A-Z of favourite girl names. If nothing else, it might help you decide that the names in your shortlist are definitely the right ones! Smile

hoppinghare · 09/01/2014 22:16

I don't like betsy. I'd feel ridiculous as an adult saying 'betsy' if someone asked what my name was.
Hermione isn't to my tastes either but is better than betsy.
Estelle is okayish.
I like clemintine.

inky33 · 09/01/2014 22:08

Thought I had Anjou but now am starting to question my shortlist! Back to the drawing board I think!

Anjou · 09/01/2014 22:05

Good advice from carlaveloso.

Without wanting to further cloud the issue, OP, were there any other names on your original shortlist? Do you feel you've really thought of every name, or are you still looking for inspiration?

Original poster
vik123b · 09/01/2014 21:22

J K Rowling quote -
“I've got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before 'thin'. And frankly, I'd rather they didn't give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls.”

OP posts:
Original poster
vik123b · 09/01/2014 21:18

Thank you CarlaVeloso, I am feeling pressured but it would be nice to be able to give her a name rather than 'the baby' or 'sausage roll' (see earlier post Grin).

The more I think about it, the more I'm not sure I even have the right shortlist Confused. I think I am thinking too much now. Ultimately I know once I have decided on a name in a few months time it will just be her name and I probably won't be able to imagine her as anything else.

OP posts:
CarlaVeloso · 09/01/2014 20:42

OP, please, please take a couple of weeks to think about this. You are hormonal right now, nothing seems clear - we've most of us been there. Don't rush the decision. It matters not one jot what anyone else thinks - including posters on here. People will either tell you what you want to hear, murder one of the names for you or suggest new ones just to befuddle you further!

Just play around with the names for a while. Call her something one day then something else the next day - eventually one will just feel right.

I can't emphasise enough. I have been there.

Take. Your. Time.

notso · 09/01/2014 20:30

All the ones I know are Seh-wren it's like at the beginning of serendipity.

florascotia · 09/01/2014 20:27

Hope you are feeling better.

Hermione (if spelled properly, as others say) and/or Betsey (with or without the 'e' , as you choose, since it's basically a nickname) sound good to me. A confident character of whatever age could live up to either.

If Hermione is too long or complicated for some of your nearest and dearest, you could always be Shakespearean (Midsummer Night's Dream - quite kooky in its own way) and have Hermia as a nickname.

newyearhere · 09/01/2014 20:20

The Seren I know is Seh-run.

notso · 09/01/2014 20:14

Seren isn't pronounced like seven unless I say seven differently to everyone except Len Goodman! Seren has a wren at the end of it, it's
seh wren rather than seh run.

Anyway, I digress. Hermione is really lovely only spelled correctly though. Betsy is lovely too but Hermione is better. I like Bluebell but Betsy with Bluebell seems a bit bunnyish to me.

SoonToBeSix · 09/01/2014 20:07

Betsy ( if you spell it properly Smile)

FlossyCat · 09/01/2014 20:04

I really like Hetty, could it be a compromise? It has the h and e from Hermione and the t and y from Betsey.
Prefer the spelling of Hermione that everyone will be familiar with. Don't feel rushed into deciding :)

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 09/01/2014 20:02

No, no, no to those Hermione spellings! :)

Original poster
vik123b · 09/01/2014 19:59

Think the opinion is if we choose Betsy (first or middle name) should be more common Betsy spelling.

Does anyone have an opinion on the spelling of Hermione? Personally I think it should be the usual Hermione but have seen it on baby names.co.uk with two variants -Hermioney and Hermioni. Any views? Or will people think I can't spell (again Grin)?

OP posts:
Iworrymyselftosleep · 09/01/2014 19:57

I love seren.

I like the star aspect and also the serendipity connotations which I'm trying to be more mindful of.

Sorry not helpful. Betsey Bluebell is a heck of a name to pull off. I wouldn't have been able to either. I don't like the alternative spelling either. I agree Hermione is classic.

If it helps, Hermione and Seren are going on my girls long list after reading the thread.