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Baby names

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Original poster

Twin Girls

28 replies

Quornflakegirl · 01/02/2021 19:22

Would anyone like to offer opinions on the names Eseld and Greta for twin girls? They are names from both mine and dh's heritage. I love both, dh isn't wowed by either but he does like them.

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bourbonne · 04/02/2021 08:48

Oh and I don't particularly associate Greta with Greta Thunberg. There are lots of other well-known Gretas.

bourbonne · 04/02/2021 08:46

Never heard of Eseld and I'm a massive name geek. She'll be explaining it all her life. I wouldn't have had a clue how to say it, or whether it was male or female, or where in the world it had come from. Having seen your explanation, I don't think it's attractive enough to justify the palaver (though that's obviously a matter of opinion). What about Isolde - a bit easier to live with, and Izzy is a nice easy nickname if she wanted to blend in?

Greta is gorgeous, I love it.

TempsPerdu · 03/02/2021 22:58

DD is Greta. No one has ever asked if she was named after Greta Thunberg Smile. It’s definitely marmite, but we get lots of compliments on her name irl. She sometimes goes by Ettie, so you can get a nickname out of it.

Obviously love Greta and quite like Eseld too (have never heard it before) but agree with pps that they don’t really pair well together - too stylistically different and they’re hard to say one after the other.

OrangutanLibrarianGivesAnOok · 02/02/2021 22:05

Every single person will ask if you named her after Greta Thunberg. It’ll get on your nerves probably

Whatsyourflava · 02/02/2021 21:59

Greta is one of my favourite names - great choice

mangothoughts · 02/02/2021 20:33

Eseld is interesting and I like Essie as nn
Greta I personally really dislike.
Cornish names that I think are nicer - Emblyn or Lowena.
Other names with similar feel to Greta - Freya, Etta, Selva, Iana, Adalia/Adalie.

CeeceeBloomingdale · 02/02/2021 05:32

I like the names but don't think they go together

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 02/02/2021 05:17

@Quornflakegirl

wagner exactly that. We'd like names to reflect both. I didn't think they were too contrasting and sounded good together. Cornish names are difficult to choose without sounding vastly different to other more "known" names.
I completely understand that reasoning, but I think they are fairly contrasting imo and so it might be unfair on the girls - if one loved her Cornish links for example and was jealous the other got the name or vice versa!

Maybe they could both have first names from one heritage and then middle names from the other? That's the way I would do it personally (and imo to be completely fair the first names could be from the heritage of the parent whose surname is not being used, assuming you haven't double barrelled)

MercyBodle · 02/02/2021 00:58

I love them. Eseld is new to me, but sounds lovely and interesting. Greta is gorgeous, and a longtime favourite of mine. I like them together as twin names.

TenThousandSpoons · 01/02/2021 23:47

Makes me think of Hansel and Gretal.

Palavah · 01/02/2021 23:38

I like them. I don't consider Greta the short straw.

Gerda?
Marta?
Margareta?
Gretl is a bit too similar in sounds to Eseld, I think.

Porridgeoat · 01/02/2021 23:36

Etta and Esme

Porridgeoat · 01/02/2021 23:34

Not keen. However Esther and Rosa

Bluesername · 01/02/2021 23:24

I like both. I wouldn't consider Greta the 'short stick', if anything I prefer it to Eseld.

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 01/02/2021 22:16

@CorianderBee

Not if I was Greta and my twin was Eseld I'd be a bit annoyed that I got the short stick.
Me too. Sorry.

Unless you actually live in Cornwall. I've lived in the U.K. for 20 yrs and never come across Eseld.

partyatthepalace · 01/02/2021 22:15

I love Eseld - never heard it before. Less keen on Greta, but don’t mind it.

Chilldonaldchill · 01/02/2021 21:59

I like them both but I do think Eseld is nicer. Also there are options for nicknames (I know that not everyone uses them) in Essie or Ellie or Sellie whereas Greta is just Greta.
And, despite my user name, I do think it has a slightly dour sound to it.

CorianderBee · 01/02/2021 21:32

Not if I was Greta and my twin was Eseld I'd be a bit annoyed that I got the short stick.

floristowen · 01/02/2021 21:26

Love it

Original poster
Quornflakegirl · 01/02/2021 21:00

wagner exactly that. We'd like names to reflect both. I didn't think they were too contrasting and sounded good together. Cornish names are difficult to choose without sounding vastly different to other more "known" names.

OP posts:
WagnerTheWehrWolf · 01/02/2021 20:56

I assume OP and her partner are from different countries and each have a name reflecting their background.

finallychangedmyusername · 01/02/2021 20:42

Both are lovely but seem very different in terms of heritage. Emblyn or Gwen (instead of Greta) would fit as another Cornish name alongside Eseld.

Or Greta and Adele? Greta and Ilse or Ilsa for another German name.

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 01/02/2021 20:33

I must admit I prefer slightly Isolde to Eseld (but I think that's just what I'm more used to). Greta is okay, but I don't think it works especially well with Eseld. Is there another Cornish name that you could match with Eseld? I like Kerensa and Lowenna myself. Or maybe you could stick with Greta and use a similar name with it, like Elsa, Lena, Nina, Eva, Tess, Nell, Ada etc

Ijustlikedthename · 01/02/2021 20:10

Esseld is nice but I am not keen on Greta, it always sounds really harsh to my ears.

WagnerTheWehrWolf · 01/02/2021 19:34

Lovely. I always feel like Cornish names are so romantic.

Think it's Poldark related.

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