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Baby names

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

Original poster

Girls name-what do they make you think of?

95 replies

Firsttimemother30 · 31/01/2019 18:13

Hello, myself and my husband found out we are having a girl today. We are very excited and have narrowed it down to three names. We will probably wait until we see her but looking for others opinions but reluctant to share with family. The names are:
Hettie
Effie
Pearl
What kind of name would you class each name as? What do they remind you of? We are aware of the Hettie is a hoover and Effie could be made to sound like a swear word type comments, but these aren’t strong enough factors to put us off. Surname begins with L and is fairly commonplace.

OP posts:
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Sunshinewithshowers123 · 02/02/2019 16:58

@sleepismysuperpower1
Oh yes Heather for Hettie is lovely

mumtobabygilrl · 02/02/2019 16:55

Oh ps I should have said I do prefer Etta to Effie as it feels less nick namey

mumtobabygilrl · 02/02/2019 16:53

I personally don't like shortening names. If what you want to call them day by day isn't a strong or 'good enough' name for the birth cert then I would change my name choice altogether. But that's just me. We did consider Effie when expecting our DD but took it off of our list for the above reasons. However don't let others change your minds if you find a name you love just go for it!

Cbeebiesrehab · 02/02/2019 16:41

I’m sure the OP will choose something else on your say so MoreHmm

moredoll · 02/02/2019 16:25

And yeah, Pearl's a singer. (and a much better name).

moredoll · 02/02/2019 16:24

Sorry, but Hettie and Effie are horrible.
Loads of names out there, choose something else.

Pemba · 02/02/2019 16:19

I like Effie, it's really sweet. But probably should be short for something. Euphemia is unattractive and quite pompous sounding. Elizabeth or Elspeth are nicer names that have also been shortened to Effie.

Don't mind Hettie, again it should be short for something, traditionally Henrietta (which I cant' bear, so clunky) or alternatively Harriet, which is nice.

Pearl I also find unattractive, it has a lovely meaning but I just don't like the sound it makes.

OnTheHop · 02/02/2019 12:56

Hepzibah is a fabulous name.

But Hettie as birth certificate name is fine. I know one.

MrsDrSpencerReid · 02/02/2019 12:10

My grandma is Hettie, short for Hendrika Smile She’s not a regular Grandma though, she’s in her 70’s and gets up at 4am every day to go jogging Grin

Effie is cute but it reminds me of the character in an old show here in Aus called Acropolis Now. Google it Grin

My dd is 12 and there’s a Pearl in her grade. I don’t love it but I think ‘baby pearl’ sounds super sweet Smile

Good luck!

OhTheRoses · 02/02/2019 11:56

Hmm.

Hettie: Hermione, Henrietta, Hesther, Harriet

Effie: Felicity, Francesca, Daphne, Ophelia, Josephine

OnTheHop · 02/02/2019 11:50

“Pearl is a barmaid”

Surely Pearl’s a singer.......

MardyMavis · 02/02/2019 11:49

Mmmmm

Girls name-what do they make you think of?
OnTheHop · 02/02/2019 11:48

I really like Hettie, and if Hettie is the name you like, it doesn’t have to have a longer version.

Hettie: sounds cheerful, bright, and round us (S London) is quite a trendy arty middle class name.

Effie: I like it, wasn’t the wife of a pre-raphaelite painter called Effie?

Pearl: personally I am less keen, the ‘uuu’ sound in the middle sounds lacking in liveliness to me, just don’t get on with the way it sounds.

MrsBertBibby · 02/02/2019 11:39

Hester
Hestia

For God's sake not Iphigenia. Iphigenia was ritually sacrificed by her father Agamemnon so the Greeks could get a fair wind to Troy to kill a lot more people.

When Agamemnon got home 10 years later, his wife Clytemnestra and her lover murdered him in revenge. Their son Orestes then murdered his mother in revenge, and was driven mad, pursued by the Furies across the world.

Fuck me but those Greeks were dark bastards.

Cbeebiesrehab · 02/02/2019 11:27

I have an Effie-she’s Evelyn on her Birth Certificate

Racecardriver · 02/02/2019 11:05

Hettie and Effie don’t sound like proper names to me but don’t carry any associations e Ther.
Pearl makes me think of the whale from spongebob. I still don’t get how a crab can have a whale for a daughter.

daisypond · 02/02/2019 11:04

Oh, just saw that you don't like Henrietta or Euphemia. Hester, or Josephine or Seraphina, then.

daisypond · 02/02/2019 10:59

Hettie and Effie are far too nicknamey for me. Effie is really very bland and forgettable. It's traditionally short for Euphemia, which I'm not really keen on either. But I like Henrietta a lot, so Hettie as short for that is fine.
So that leaves Pearl. Hm, I ought to like it, as it's a very old traditional name - crops up in medieval literature a lot as a symbol. But there's something about it I'm not sure about. But it's by far the best of your suggestions.

DrWhoLovesMe · 02/02/2019 10:58

Hettie - wainthrop investigates
Effie - Eiffel Tower, but only when written, not when spoken.
Pearl - old woman on emmerdale

I actually really like the first two though, and don’t dislike pearl.

MsMustDoBetter · 02/02/2019 10:52

Hettie is a sweet little girl in boden dresses
Effie reminds me of "effing"
Pearl is a barmaid

MumUnderTheMoon · 02/02/2019 10:48

All very lovely but I think hettie is becoming very well used.

MyBreadIsEggy · 01/02/2019 18:00

Hettie - reminds me of a chicken....purely because DS is obsessed with farm books and every other chicken in them is called “Hettie Hen” Confused

Effie - makes me think of Jenifer Hudson in Dreamgirls ie shouty and high maintenance Blush Like it though!

Pearl - pretty and reminds me of the cute little squid/octopus from Finding Nemo Grin

sleepismysuperpower1 · 01/02/2019 17:56

for effie you could have Elizabeth, Josefa

or you could make her first name begin with an E, her middle name begin with an F and spell it Effie

EngagedAgain · 01/02/2019 17:38

Sorry just read you don't like Henrietta, I'm not keen it's a bit old fashioned.

EngagedAgain · 01/02/2019 17:35

Hettie is the better one. I prefer Harriet though which is similar, but if it got shortened to Hattie not much difference. Is Hettie going to be short for Henrietta? I mean I presume that will be the official version?