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Baby names

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

Original poster

Effie or Ezra ?

115 replies

ClementineAndCordelia · 02/02/2015 22:33

Hi everyone - this is my first ever Mumsnet post , so please go easy Wink . DC 2 is due in a couple of months and we're down to two names for a DD . I realise Ezra is usually a boys name, but we live very rurally and there aren't any boys with this name in the area . We LOVE it for a girl . Have also always loved Effie . Middle name will be Clementine .
Which- if you had to choose- do you prefer ? Thanks Smile

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BalloonSlayer · 06/02/2015 16:24

I think the problem with male Biblical names ending in an "a" being used for girls, eg Ezra, Elisha, is just that you imagine people will think "Oh look, those parents are being bold and cool choosing a masculine name for their DD," but actually they think "Oh look, those parents are a bit thick because they think if a name has an a on the end it must be a girl's name."

Elijah sounds pretty similar to Elisha. Yet I have never met a female Elijah. Presumably the "h" on the end indicates a cock and balls? Yet it doesn't with Hannah or Sarah. Confused < shrug >

Laquila · 06/02/2015 16:08

Nathaniel (Nate) for a boy, OP?

longestlurkerever · 06/02/2015 14:45

I think Ezra/Esra sounds quite unisex - I know a little girl called Dylan and to me that is much more of a boys' name than Ezra is but you get used to it.

I quite like Effie and don't have the same aversion to nicknames as given names as others do (why would you saddle someone with Euphemia in preference to Effie?)

Original poster
ClementineAndCordelia · 06/02/2015 14:26

MishMooshAndMogwai - I love Freya -that's also on the list . If we hadn't have named DD1 Orla , she was going to be Niamh but spelt Neve :) boys are really hard . We're really liking Arlo , DH wants Sid now but I'm not sure . I love things like Jonah, Ruben, Torin, Rafe, Atticus, Soren, Silas etc ( I've started a boys name thread to get some more ideas ) . My brother is Joss which is lovely . Lots of our friends have similar names for their sons so we're a bit thin on the ground for choices ! My Orla ( 5) is adamant we have a Spike !

OP posts:
MishMooshAndMogwai · 06/02/2015 13:59

No way OP! Grin

Here's my list then, v short and a first draft as I'm only 16 weeks.

Poppy
Dylan
Claudia
Freya
Niamh

Lydia and Francesca have been vetoed by him however they're my faves :( also aurora as its too sing songy and Valentina becasue it doesn't go with our surname. Sophie and Anna are out as well because friends have used them Sad

Boys are proving very difficult and ive only managed to write Jacob on the list so far and he's not even sold on that!

CrispyFern · 06/02/2015 12:54

I prefer Effie and Mabel out of all your names.
Esra is ok I guess.

I think Mabel goes quite nicely with Orla.

anxiousaboutanonymity · 06/02/2015 12:43

I find the whole arena of baby naming quite fascinating...what it signals about the chooser's identity and what it signals about their aspirations

SunnyBaudelaire · 06/02/2015 12:36

well I am sure their names are fine anxious.
Sometimes people just need a little educating - for example I was convinced that the little boy called 'Oran' had a made up name but then I found it was quite a standard Irish name.

Original poster
ClementineAndCordelia · 06/02/2015 12:31

MishMooshandMogwai - I think we definitely come from the same names 'camp' . My other daughter is Orla Grin

OP posts:
GrendelsMinim · 06/02/2015 12:31

Ezra after Ezra Pound? I think that's great (ok, so the politics were dodgy to say the least and he was off his rocker by the end, but I love his poetry).

Or if you want a literary name (I'm guessing that's why you picked those two names - I immediately thought of Ruskin), how about Aphra after Aphra Behn.

anxiousaboutanonymity · 06/02/2015 12:29

couldn't bear the public scrutiny, sunny
Too late now, anyway....the die is cast

SunnyBaudelaire · 06/02/2015 12:26

run them by us then anxious.....

anxiousaboutanonymity · 06/02/2015 12:25

you'd be right about that squooshWink
they are traditional but not over-used
the only downside is that they are Irish ( irish parent)and we live in the UK
people sometimes think they are names of the slightly-made-up variety, the thought of which appalls me.

squoosh · 06/02/2015 12:16

'You have quite black-and-white views of baby names ( as do I, admittedly) usually eminently sensible.'

I think it's time for me to cultivate a softer and more accepting attitude on name threads Grin

I'm sure your children's names are simply exquisite!

SirChenjin · 06/02/2015 12:11

I don't agree either. I have a name that hasn't appeared on the most popular list since the fifties - I hate it, and it doesn't make me 'Me'

PrivatePike · 06/02/2015 12:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

anxiousaboutanonymity · 06/02/2015 12:07

squoosh I completely concur. You have quite black-and-white views of baby names ( as do I, admittedly) usually eminently sensible.
I have often wondered what you would make of my choices ( but scared to ask Wink)!

TheNewStatesman · 06/02/2015 12:03

I don't like the idea of using boys' names for girls.

  1. It will be annoying and embarrassing for the girl to have to correct people constantly.

  2. it's very rare for people to do this the other way round.

  3. If the new practice catches on and a traditionally-boys' name turns into a girls' name, it can make things quite awkward for boys who already have this name.

I actually think it's a bit of a rubbish thing to do, to be honest.

PrivatePike · 06/02/2015 12:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

squoosh · 06/02/2015 11:58

But still no 'girls names' popular for boys.............

MishMooshAndMogwai · 06/02/2015 11:57

I love Ezra, Esra and Effie FWIW Wink

Dp vetoed both Ezra for a boy and Effie for a girl but I'll suggest Esra to him and see what he says!

Thinking about it though it might be too much as we already have an Orla.... A bit rhymey maybe...

But if you love it then go for it! Baby naming is hard and if you can find a lovely name that you both agree on then pounce on it! Like you say there's plenty of 'boy names' that are popular for girls now.

squoosh · 06/02/2015 11:55

'So is Elijah and that's used unisexually.'

Really?

Original poster
ClementineAndCordelia · 06/02/2015 11:51

Rant over ! Thankyou and goodnight Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
ClementineAndCordelia · 06/02/2015 11:49

Cor blimey , some people are super serious about names on this site ?! It's as if there was a 'set in stone 'rule book about what you can and absolutely cannot do . Who says ?! The God of names !? It's not a religion ( thankfully ) it's a freedom of choice . I don't think most people set out to do something awful for their child when thinking of a name - it's usually something they find beautiful ( even if the rest of us don't ) . I have a unisex name and love it and I - personally - would have been overjoyed to have been called something like Esra by my parents . So what if it sounds like a known boys name ? So what if that boys name is in the Bible ? So is Elijah and that's used unisexually. So what if some people find it weird ? There are a plethora of conventional names I find deathly boring . But that's what makes us different - and life interesting . There are always middle names and even deed poll if the child really ,really doesn't like it in the future . But usually a child accepts and learns to love what they are called as it makes them 'Them'. How many people on this site don't like their names and how many would have loved to have changed them ?How many actually did because life was unbearable with that name?Very few, i'd imagine .It's mostly judgemental adults who see problems with and hold prejudices against others' tastes . There are wars going on out there and horrific things happening to people . We're just talking about names here ....just throwing some ideas out there . Lighten up people !?

OP posts:
MoreSnowPlease · 06/02/2015 11:37

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