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Baby names

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

Original poster

Sister for Clarissa. Please rate them :)

61 replies

ClaryIsTheBest · 07/03/2017 13:44

DD1 is Clarissa "scandi flower" virtue name"

So, like Clarissa Akleja Temperance (for example!).

If DC 2 is a girl... I really like these:

Gemma (my favourite name tbh. It's Italian, which is great and means there will not be pronunciation issues...)
Natalia (after my favourite cousin. One of my favourite cousins. But he will be the godparent)
Antonia
Carlotta (can we have a Clarissa and a Carlotta?)

The middle names will probably Erika and an other virtue name.
Or Mirabelle Ingrid :) Maybe. Or Olympia? OR Dorothea, my mother's favourite name. We're still working on that tbh.

Thanks :)

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Original poster
ClaryIsTheBest · 08/03/2017 20:53

Jemma with a J takes away imo most of the name's charm. And it looks slightly misspelled (I know it isn't actually misspelled).
It's hopeless. Sigh...

Odessa after the city? I don't think I want both names ending in ssa. I mean, they'd rhyme. Which would be kind of twee imo. But it is a nice name. Thank you for taking the time to suggest a name :)

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Sugarpiehoneyeye · 08/03/2017 20:45

I do like Gemma, but with a 'J', Jemma.

Catcheronthesly · 08/03/2017 20:43

I like Gemma, I don't think it's really dated.

But going on some of your other likes, what about Odessa?

Original poster
ClaryIsTheBest · 08/03/2017 18:50

I thought Silvia might be pronounced like high in English? So, Sighlvia? Which I really wouldn't like.

Honestly, I'm also still team Gemma. I went through many name websites yesterday evening and the only names I currently genuonely love (I mean, the way I love Clarissa) are Gemma and Donata (put this on my list yesterday). But I think Donata may sound too much like Donation in English? So, Gemma is still the one I love the most :)

I didn't know Yvonne was also dated :D

Allegra is really nice. But not in the way I like Gemma. I feel so bad. Mumsnet keeps telling me that it's outdated and I'm like... yes! But it's still perfect. Poor baby. Maybe I should pray for a boy ;) Grin

Yika I think my mother's reaction has put me off Natalia, tbh. Plus, she said my grandmother would be kind of angry... (Seeing as this was my cousins birth name and she apparently doesn't want to be reminded of it)

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Yika · 08/03/2017 18:36

I really love the name Gemma.

I don't know any British Gemmas so I don't associate it with a particular era. (I'm English but don't live in the UK).

I also love Antonia. Natalia OK but slightly less fab in my view. I don't like Carlotta. It sounds slightly twee.

I think all these names are much nicer than the ones you've subsequently suggested.

Swearwolf · 08/03/2017 18:32

Ooh, what about Allegra?

Swearwolf · 08/03/2017 18:31

You can always spell it Silvia, the Italian way...

I'd say Yvonne was way more dated than Gemma. Though I'm still team Gemma, I think if you really love it then you should use it.

Original poster
ClaryIsTheBest · 07/03/2017 21:25

I also like Olympia :)

Just not the y sound of it in German (ü). And Olimpia would probably (?) lead to a different pronunciation in English?

Octavia is very... well, 8.

Sylvia is... hmm. I think I may really like it :) but there's the "y" again.

Yvonne? (not pronounced with an ü in German)

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Swearwolf · 07/03/2017 21:12

What about Octavia or Sylvia?

user123346 · 07/03/2017 21:08

Natalia, Antonia or have you considered Antonella? I like Olympia.

Original poster
ClaryIsTheBest · 07/03/2017 20:00

I like gemma. Retro.

Kind of. But considering how retro some names are (I also like some of them... like Dorothea, for example) Gemma is positively modern.

Well, except for the fact that Dante Alighieri's wife was also called Gemma. That again is very very vintage ;)

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Original poster
ClaryIsTheBest · 07/03/2017 19:49

go on tell me you don't like any No. I'm not thaaaat horrible. Really ;) Thank you for making so many suggestions!!! :)

Florence: Know several Florences. Had a tutor in law school called Florence, was a ... choire girl with a Florence. Was conceived in a similarly named city... eh.
Genevieve: I dislike the English pronunciation
Lucinda: Too much like Lucia
Cordelia: Maybe
Persephone: No. Too heavy. Too much underworld.
Allessandra: Alexandra. Nope. Plus, know a most horrible Sasha.
Seraphina: Nope
Delphine: Too oracle-ish
Clemency: No. Doesn't work well in Italian or German im
Vivienne: Hm...I do genuinely love Vivia?
Saskia: Saskia is nice.
Valentina: nope.

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NavyandWhite · 07/03/2017 19:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Loopytiles · 07/03/2017 19:42

I like gemma. Retro.

Original poster
ClaryIsTheBest · 07/03/2017 19:37

Right. I agree. Charlotta doesn't work at all. Charlotte would probably work, but it's slightly boring (and now that there's a princess...? Nothing against the royals. But it would be slightly weird imo).

I do have to google what the Malory Towers thing is. Probably something primarily British?

I think I'm proving again how picky I am.

But Tabitha is a cat imo (I wonder why?).
Tatiana is... not my thing.
Victoria is ok. I really do like Victoire. But I don't know how somebody with an English accent would pronounce that.

But thank you so much for taking the time to make these suggestions :)

Sometimes DH is probably thankful he has only limited veto rights (makes his life easier). Don't worry, I didn't just decide that.

But he refused to categorically consider a triple-barelled surname or giving up one of his two names (I initially wanted to combine our surnames...) So I got the naming rights and he got veto rights. (we wrote down the instances he'd have veto powers to prevent arguments)

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averythinline · 07/03/2017 19:26

Arielle sounds like a character from a disney ...

definitely not Charlotta - it does sound indecisive Grin

I know some lovely Gemma's but not sure it goes with Clarissa

Tabitha, Tatiana , Victoria ?

Original poster
ClaryIsTheBest · 07/03/2017 19:24

Gemma seems to be disliked with a passion.

Hm... :( It honestly kind of rankles. Like, I understand. I feel the same way about some names (Léonie, Vanessa and Jessica...)

But it's just kind of sad for me personally, I guess. Plus, the name is easy to spell, travels well and isn't even in the top 500 currently...

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17caterpillars1mouse · 07/03/2017 19:23

Clarissa is beautiful

I really don't think Gamma goes with Clarissa. I find Gamma dates and a bit meh (probably from going to school with alot of them, and Jemma's)

I like Natalia and I like Antonia (also love Antoinette) but Clarissa and Carlotta seem too close for siblings to me

Mirabelle Ingrid is stunningly beautiful though I slightly prefer Mirabel. Also love Dorothea

Original poster
ClaryIsTheBest · 07/03/2017 19:20

pinkish... That's ok. Happens to the best of us ;=)

Navy

I'm not laughing. DH didn't even veto it for DC1 (I'm pretty sure he was slighlty disappointed when I scratched it off the list).

But according to my DH I could call our child Ignatius.Or Clemens. Or Thomasina. Not as a middle name (which I, quite sensibly imo! am thinking about) but as a first name... So, I suspect you both may like similar names?

Arielle is lovely, I agree.

And our child is very unlikely to have red hair, so it won't be too mermaid-ish, I think :)

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Joinourclub · 07/03/2017 19:18

Anything but Gemma (sorry!)

NavyandWhite · 07/03/2017 19:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pinkish · 07/03/2017 19:11

Aargh - wrong thread, sorry!!

pinkish · 07/03/2017 19:11

The last trainee I said no too - on behalf of my dad who is a very private person and was seriously ill - gave me a filthy look when the consultant asked her to go outside.

pinkish · 07/03/2017 19:09

I love Natalia

Agree Gemma is 80s.

Think Carlotta and Clarissa are twee together though I love them both (they are also both characters in Malory Towers which makes it worse).

Antonia is ok.

Original poster
ClaryIsTheBest · 07/03/2017 19:09

Yes. Yes I am.
DH could write books about it Grin

But I think I'll include Odette and Arielle again.

WHo knows... I mean, if two people independetly think of the same name... Maybe Odette isn't too "soft" compared to Clarissa? plus, Odette Hallowes was a ww2 hero.

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