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Baby names

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

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Original poster

Names Laika & Alaska?

79 replies

MamaTo7 · 02/05/2020 10:25

Thoughts on names Laika or Alaska?

OP posts:

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Nellin · 03/05/2020 14:55

To concur with everyone's Laika comments, it is not only the name of that one famous dog but generally a very common dog name in the soviet union countries. Wouldn't call my child that name. I also believe it means a dog that barks...or something like that. :/

florascotia2 · 03/05/2020 14:50

OP Don't want to quibble too much but SFAIK the meaning of Penelope is disputed. Some say it is linked to weaving, others say it might refer to a brightly-coloured bird. www.etymonline.com/word/penelope
Leah perhaps means 'weary' or more probably 'cow' - a valuable possession in early farming societies, where the name originated. Again, SFAIK Mary/Miriam means 'bitter'.
Emily comes from the Roman family Aemilia, one of the oldest and grandest in Rome, who claimed descent from kings. The family name did originally mean rival but also had the sense of 'striving to do better'. It's where the modern word 'emulate' comes from. The personal names Emil/Emily as we know it reference this - surely not a bad thing?- but also the grand noble Romans and their achievements.

worstwitch18 · 03/05/2020 12:16

Your suggestion of Saskia is very nice. Or Alexandra nickname Sasha.

Alaska is one of those names which hasn't made the jump from place name to person name, barring one young adult novel (but then young adult novels are pretty famous for unusual character names).

Laika I think would have pronunciation difficulties, or space dog implications. I did immediately think Lake-ah and then I thought of the
Russian dog. Which corrected my pronunciation but wasn't a great association.

nymrgn · 03/05/2020 11:15

I prefer Alaska over Eliska. Laika is beautiful in my opinion, my only worry would be it being pronounced Lay-ka. X

mathanxiety · 03/05/2020 03:50

Hazel, Alina and Mila are lovely.

Eliska is gorgeous, a Czech version of Elizabeth iirc.

How about Elke (pr Elkah)?
Or Zuleika?

Cincoperros · 03/05/2020 01:33

So sorry but yet another person who came to say that Laika is a dog's name... I actually have a Laika

How about Leia?

MarylandMayhem · 03/05/2020 00:39

How about Zalika?

Redannie118 · 03/05/2020 00:33

@SquirtleSquad i agree. Alaska is a Drag queen name

SquirtleSquad · 03/05/2020 00:28

Ivy is lovely, so is Mila.

SquirtleSquad · 03/05/2020 00:27

The only Alaska I know of is Alaska Thunder Fuck (Who is a famous drag star).

Not great names for babies I'm afraid, at least not in my opinion!

Original poster

MamaTo7 · 03/05/2020 00:25

@reallifegetsintheway2 Yes, I know.

OP posts:

Original poster

MamaTo7 · 03/05/2020 00:23

@Callybrid Thank you.
I wasn't purposely going for state names, just happen to like Alaska.

OP posts:

Original poster

MamaTo7 · 03/05/2020 00:22

@ClementineTangerine I agree, not a bad name at all just the spelling I'm not so much a fan of.

OP posts:

Original poster

MamaTo7 · 03/05/2020 00:19

@florascotia2 I just mean it doesn't bother me so much considering a lot of common names don't have great meanings. I love the name Penelope, it means duck. I also love the name Delilah but in the bible Delilah betrays her husband Samson. Emily means Rival, Leah means Weary... I could go on.

OP posts:

EvilHerbivore · 02/05/2020 17:01

Elika? Similar sound

Callybrid · 02/05/2020 16:48

Eliska is a good suggestion! Or Elishka. Similar sound but rules out the “I’ll ask her” problem

Or also:

Elske
Anoushka
Anouk

Other state/province/state capital names:
Alberta
Arizona
Dakota
Nevada
Atlanta
Albany
Olympia

Apart from the dog, Laika makes me think of the camera manufacturer Leica.

Bloomburger · 02/05/2020 16:23

I thought you were thinking up names for dogs, 2 big fluffy huskies.

florascotia2 · 02/05/2020 16:23

Did you say that you don't care about the meanings of names?
The trouble is, that your daughter might. And they can be found out in seconds. As previous posers have said, Laika means 'Barker'. Alaska means 'Mainland' or 'Great Land'.

The tragic history of the poor dog Laika would be a constant reminder of cruelty to animals. And yes, Alaska is very beautiful but it has big problems of mental health, homelessness, substance abuse, violent crime, pollution, environmental degradation ...
Just my opinion, but I'd hate to be called either of those names.

123Dancewithme · 02/05/2020 15:23

Definitely names for huskies.

Spirali · 02/05/2020 14:15

@Blursula it’s lovely isn’t it! It’s similar to my daughters name but I won’t mention it on here trying to keep it from gaining popularity haha!

Btw I love your username

ClementineTangerine · 02/05/2020 14:10

@MamaTo7 haha yes it is the chalkboard meme. I dont actually mind the sound of laken/laiken but the way she spells it is ridiculous

Blursula · 02/05/2020 14:00

Ooh Eliska is lovely! Never heard of that

FartnissEverbeans · 02/05/2020 13:51

Alaska is one of my guilty pleasure names! I love it. However, I don’t think I could deal with ‘what’s her name?’ ‘Alaska’ (‘I’ll ask her’).

Laika is pretty but it reminded me immediately of that poor dog.

Maybe Leika? Laken? (I’ve seen that used in the US). Lenka?

Spirali · 02/05/2020 12:38