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Baby names

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

Original poster

Arabella or Cecilia?

90 replies

Mum8 · 31/12/2017 22:07

Can’t seem to be making up our mind
Which one do you like more and why?
Arabella or Cecilia?

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lovingfridays · 02/01/2018 09:25

How about Carissa or Corrine

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 02/01/2018 09:14

Arabella. I'm not keen on Cecillia, I find it a bit harsh sounding. Prefer Cecily.

00alwaysbusymum · 01/01/2018 22:13

Both are gorgeous and shorten nicely

User45632874 · 01/01/2018 21:53

I have never equated Arabella with any of the Disney stuff...only the Belle bit...but Belle is my favourite princess anyway feisty etc. It's funny how we interpret names differently and we all have different takes on the same name (fortunately, or we'd all end up with similar names). I have always thought Arabella to be a strong name (especially when coupled with our surname) Isobel and potentially Isabella ...I have always thought of as Is A Bell and that put me off a bit but as I say we each have a different take on these names...wondering what dh will come up with...he has promised to start looking soon...his only contribution so far is Helen...shortened to Hell...Umm, best to catch him in a better state of mind me thinks!

WildCherryBlossom · 01/01/2018 21:44

Cosima, Ramona...?

Original poster
Mum8 · 01/01/2018 21:19

SuperBeagle I thought so too that Arabella is beautiful and sweet but I keep hearing that it is too much like Cinderella, too Disney like and that throws me off.
If only Isabella was not that popular, I would have chosen that, as that can grow well on a person and it is elegant.
And I’m not sure if Arabella is that elegant to grow well with the person. It is definitely fresher than Isabella though and a melodic name too...

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number1wang · 01/01/2018 20:51

This reply has been deleted

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Original poster
Mum8 · 01/01/2018 20:51

horatioisabrick I like Carina too cause it’s so different from other DC’s names and melodic but we meet DH’s friend often and they live close by... Now if they moved and we lost touch yes that will be fine, I will not mind using the name. But as things stand out now I will feel utterly horrible. And our DCs are friends too...
I would ideally like to find a name that I like equally as much

OP posts:
SuperBeagle · 01/01/2018 20:46

Arabella is beautiful.

Not a fan of Cecilia, and its meaning is grim.

Original poster
Mum8 · 01/01/2018 20:14

User45632874 Good luck to both of us!! Just made a suggestion of the name Ariadne on your thread. It’s the name of one of my nieces so I can’t use it though I think I could as i have not even met her and I don’t see her family often at all. But I wanted a more Italian/Spanish name...

OP posts:
User45632874 · 01/01/2018 19:09

No, Mum8 I am still looking and struggling too...

Original poster
Mum8 · 01/01/2018 19:02

Love Cecilia too but too similar to other DD’s name...
I would like to have a cute melodic name that uses another sound different from S, like Arabella or Carina, just to balance out other DC’s name...
But as the last we cannot use and the first one I’m not sure about, I need to keep looking... am I fussy or not? 😑😬

OP posts:
horatioisabrick · 01/01/2018 18:55

Carina is lovely.

You could definitely use it imo :)

Motherofbabydragons · 01/01/2018 18:54

FWIW I know two Arabellas and an Arabelle so may be on the rise. I find it a bit too frilly too. I like Cecelia and love the nn Cece

Original poster
Mum8 · 01/01/2018 18:52

Like names that are not common (like not in the top 50 but not out there either) which is why I think I considered Arabella. I never heard it before except in a playgroup recently and it suited the little girl so much I loved it.
Annabelle seems more Common than Arabella
Arianna is nice but we considered it before and something just did not seem right for us to use it. We liked it but did not love it.
Another name I heard that I loved is Carina, but it is the name of the DD of an ex colleague of DH we still meet occasionally. So I don’t think I can use it.
Names are so hard. I want to find one that we love as opposed to just like...

OP posts:
horatioisabrick · 01/01/2018 18:34

Annabelle, Cecilia and Arianna are lovely names imo.

GRW · 01/01/2018 16:34

I prefer Annabelle to Arabella, like Arianna and Cecilia too.

User45632874 · 01/01/2018 16:15

DailyMail just contemplating Arianna for dd3 and spookily enough was about to start a thread along these lines!

TheDailyMailIsADisgustingRag · 01/01/2018 16:11

Arianna maybe?

User45632874 · 01/01/2018 16:07

Also like the name Mariella but it is too close to dd1's name (currently expecting dd3 so watching these threads with interest!)

User45632874 · 01/01/2018 16:03

I have an Arabella and people comment on how lovely her name is. I tend to think of it as more of a grown up name and for now we are mainly using Belle. She is the only Belle in her pre-school group of 25 though I think the name is becoming more popular and of course there are the other variations too - Isobel etc which can be shortened to Belle also. Belle definitely suits our dd but I can also imagine her using Arabella as an adult.

MikeUniformMike · 01/01/2018 14:08

Cecilia. Will get shortened to Cec pronounces cess. Like cess pit. Nuff said.

horatioisabrick · 01/01/2018 14:08

I love Cecilia. Arabella is fine but a bit boring imo.

(You might also like Araminta, Aminta, Celestine and Sybil.)

MikeUniformMike · 01/01/2018 14:08

Arabella is lovely but long. Cecilia - S&G.
Lyssia - No, too difficult to get others to use the Lyss-SEE-a pronunciation.
Annella sounds like bacteria.

CormoranStrike · 01/01/2018 14:03

Love Cecilia.

Do like Arabella, but hate the short form Bella, so would avoid that.

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