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Original poster

Help me with my girl shortlist - it's very short....

58 replies

Yuzuko · 19/02/2019 06:10

Hey all!
I have a son Sam ( Samuel) and a daughter called Rowan. I'm having another girl in June this year and have got stuck on a couple of names but not yet convinced. Middle name is likely to be either Rose or Helen.

  1. Ariel, with the nick name 'Ari' ( pronounced 'Ah' ri , not Air-ee).
    I LOVE the boys name Ari and I'm disappointed not to be able use it. So I've been thinking of more feminine names that I could shorten to Ari. They include : Ariel, Aria, Arielle, Ariadne, Ariella..... of these I still like Ariel the best. My dh is not convinced- he thinks it's either too Disney mermaid princess... or too Israeli prime minister Confused. Personally I like that it's a very unisex name and I associate it more with Shakespeare's character in the tempest, who is a sprite sometimes played as feminine and sometimes as male. I also love the meaning which is either 'lion' or 'eagle'.
    Someone has suggested I just stick to Ari, but feminise it slightly by spelling it Arie. Any thoughts?

  2. Josie - short for either Josefina/Josephine/ Josefine. This is favourite of Hubby and he keeps on using it, just hoping it will stick! My family background is Italian so to me I like the Josefina with the 'a' sound on the end rather than the more traditionally French/English Josephine. I don't really like the meaning of the name 'god grows greater ( or something like that!) ' but I do like the sound. I also think Josie or Joey are very cute nn for a girl.

So I guess she could be:

Josefina Rose
Josephine Helen
Ariel Rose
Arie Rose

Does Anyone have any thought or gut reactions to these names???

Thanks in advance.

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Rachelhaydenberk1 · 22/02/2019 00:18

I like Josefina Rose.

I know too many Arielles or Ariels. My mind goes to Little Mermaid or just blah! I just dont care for it!

DelphiMum · 21/02/2019 09:32

What about Arrietty (from the Borrowers) and Ari for short?

Joeybee · 21/02/2019 04:55

Ariel. It's different but not weird, it's easy to say and spell, theres the Little Mermaid and TMNT associations and I think lots of different characters could pull it off - a girly girl, tom-boy, geeky girl, quiet, outgoing etc etc.
Josie/Josephine is so plain and dated and boring.

aliceandkids77 · 20/02/2019 21:40

my fav out of all the names is Josephine but not with Helen as it doesn’t flow, I think Josephine Rose is darling. otherwise Josefina Rose x

buttertoff33 · 20/02/2019 07:39

Ariel is something to do the laundry with.

I like Josephine most from your list.

Icklepup · 20/02/2019 04:37

Josefina

shpoot · 20/02/2019 01:30

Josie. Or Jodie.

MercyBodle · 20/02/2019 01:08

I love the suggestions of Arietty and Arianwen. Great ways to get Arie (prefer this spelling) nickname. Harriet also works really well.

Original poster
Yuzuko · 19/02/2019 22:36

Yeah Rose and Helen are family names - which I always use as middle names and honestly don't really care if they go together or are pretty 😬(cruel mummy here!). My dd is Rowan Maria and ds is Samuel Roy.
I suppose another middle name from family could be Francesca? Josefina Francesca? Too long and flouncy?

OP posts:
Choosinganame · 19/02/2019 20:49

I would go with Aria, it's the right sound to get to Ari and a recognised girls name.
Josefina just looks odd to me, I like Josephine but it's very old fashioned. I love Posy as a nn though.

LegoPiecesEverywhere · 19/02/2019 20:01

Josephine Rose

HairyToity · 19/02/2019 19:58

Love Josefina.

BlueMerchant · 19/02/2019 19:15

Josefina nn Josie is what I'd go with.
Ariel nn Ari not nice at all.

Jessabean · 19/02/2019 19:05

I love Josephine but am biased as is name we've chosen, well is top of our shortlist, for our little girl whose due soon. We'd chosen Harriet as likely middle name but I also think Helen or Helena would go lovely names. We'd toyed with Rose as middle name but didn't seem to flow. Considered Rosa as well though as the extra syllable seemed to work better.
I think Josefina is also lovely - as you say though you will probably get people on here not liking the variation being a predominantly UK forum.

All of the Ari names I like but don't personally love. I think with a British accent Ari would sound a bit like a cockney trying to say Harry so if you were UK based I'd be less keen but don't think that would be a problem in Aus and Ari with an Italian or Portuguese accent would be lovely. Think my favourite out of the full names is Aria though game of thrones reference does put me off slightly. I think Aurelia is a lovely name as well which I think Ari could work with as nn.
Harriet I also think is a lovely name in its own right.

Skirmisher · 19/02/2019 14:21

Arianne

Antonin · 19/02/2019 13:04

Josef would be relatively common amongst Continental European immigrants to Australia so Josefina would be reasonably familiar in spelling. Josefina Helen is a lovely combination. Years ago a friend called her daughter Josie because she said it sounded a jolly, cheerful name and it certainly suited her wee girl. Also has a modern ring to it, in contrast to the the more traditional Josefina

MikeUniformMike · 19/02/2019 12:42

nice not nine.

MikeUniformMike · 19/02/2019 12:42

Ariel is a boy's name. Ari is not a very nine name. Too similar to 'Arry.
Josefina is too long.
Rose is overused as a middle name.

Josephine Helen.

daisypond · 19/02/2019 10:04

I like Josephine best - it's a lovely name. Ariel is a bit Disney princess to me, and names like Arielle, etc, seem too flouncy, a style very unlike your DD's name. I originally thought you were suggesting June as a name, which I really like!

Bumblebeesmum · 19/02/2019 09:38

Josephine is the only one I like from your list but go with whatever you love best as none are ridiculous like some suggestions on here

Original poster
Yuzuko · 19/02/2019 09:33

@Megan2018 Livia is gorgeous - but one of my very bestest friends has called her daughter that - so it's a bit 'taken'!

OP posts:
Megan2018 · 19/02/2019 09:26

@Yuzuko
I have a friend with an Italian parent called Livia, nn Liv - I LOVE this name.

I'd feel weird using it though as we have no connection. But it goes well with Samual and Rowan....

Original poster
Yuzuko · 19/02/2019 09:17

Thanks so much everyone- this has been great. I can see that Ariel is definitely more problematic ( particularly pronunciation wise) and less popular, and seems to be a bit love or hate. That's quite similar to when I named my daughter Rowan - people either hid a grimace or really liked it!

Josephine seems to be more popular than Josefina- which I guess is to be expected on a UK forum too. I guess I'll sit on them both a bit more and fingers crossed I get some more inspiration for 😱 another name!!!! I wish I had more that I liked... it's so hard!

OP posts:
Jaffacakebeast · 19/02/2019 08:58

Josefina is lovely, but I hate josie... would nick name to fina instead

MrsDrSpencerReid · 19/02/2019 08:55

I love Josephine with either middle name.

I’m Australian and I’ve only known people here to pronounce it ‘air-ee-el’

I do like Ari as a name on its own though, I think it’s very pretty Smile

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