Maeve and Blythe - too similar?

[quote BeeKeeping]@FortunesFave It is! I didn't want to confirm too clearly in my response in case anyone searched my posts!

Annoying that it sounds modern... I know the trend for surnames as first names is new, but Blythe is a really old name! Like ye olde English old! I suppose it's probably too old to be granny chic ironically.... [/quote]
I don't think it sounds like Blair or Paige or something like that - it just sounds really interesting, the sort of name I'd associate with a writer or actor.

[quote BeeKeeping]@FortunesFave It is! I didn't want to confirm too clearly in my response in case anyone searched my posts!

Annoying that it sounds modern... I know the trend for surnames as first names is new, but Blythe is a really old name! Like ye olde English old! I suppose it's probably too old to be granny chic ironically.... [/quote]
Wow! I didn't realise! I'm psychic! :D

Absolutely love both names :)

I know a man in his early 60s called Blythe

Bylthe isn’t an old lady name at all

They are so completely different in style. Maeve is Irish-heritage grannie-chic, Blythe sounds modern-American surname as first name, similar to Blair, Paige, Blake or Brooke.

First association for me is Blyth, the town in Northumberland, associated with ship-building. 'Blythe and bonny' comes after that, because, as an adjective, that doesn't take a capital B.

Then Blithe Spirit.

Some people will say Blyve, which is where it starts to sound similar to Maeve. Different vowel sound though.

Blythe is beautiful. A really lovely classic, traditional name but with modern connotations too.

And goes extremely well with Maeve.

Beautiful names! I'm missing something as don't think they're similar st at all, just really compatible!

[quote BeeKeeping]@Paspourmoi You got me! It's the C surname, good guess

I'm surprised people are saying Blythe is completely unknown as a first name, I wanted unusual but maybe I'm going too far? [/quote]
It is pretty rare - fewer than twenty born every year: names.darkgreener.com/#blythe. #1634 in 2019, jointly with some well-known names which are currently out of fashion, eg Alison, Jodie, Catrin.

I don't think they go well together at all, Maeve is a very pretty name, Blythe has a different vibe, definitely not 'old lady'.

They're similar but not too close. if you are concerned, you could always practise calling the names through your house with your husband to see if they are distinguishable.

I don't think the surname is a concern either. My partner has a common girls name as his surname and a first name which is also used as a surname, and while he will occasionally be referred to as Rose Oliver for example, or have work emails addressed as 'Dear Rose', it's really not a problem.

Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to out you! I do think it sounds gorgeous though.

Good grief, that's a brilliant name + surname combo. I love it! Not too similar to Maeve, no, they go great together.

Blyth is an absolute shit hole in the North East, so maybe if you live in the North avoid that name.

They're slightly similar in sound, but completely different in origins. Maeve is a traditional Irish girl's name. Blythe is not known as a first name, certainly not an 'old lady' name.

I absolutely love Blythe - would have been on my list for DD but DH wasn’t having any of it. I think it’s lovely with Maeve - they feel quite different to me as I’ve only known Irish Maeves but it seems to be becoming more popular in the UK. I think I get what you mean with the surname - is it something like Hilary, where the other way round might look more natural? That could be annoying, but I don’t think I’d let it put me off. Or Cameron? If it’s that, Blythe Cameron sounds amazing!!

I find them much too similar, sorry.

I love the name Blythe. But as someone who gave DS a name with same middle vowel sound and last syllable as his DSis I'd try and test it on your DD. Depending how old she is could you call "Blythe" and see if she responds. When mine were younger I'd call one & get both & now they're older, neither respond, both claiming they thought I wanted the other.
I get the surname thing too, we have a surname that can be a first name and DH has a surname type first name which often gets muddled. He vetoed many names that I liked for this reason.

They are quite similar sounding, but nothing that would put me off. I like Blyth a lot.

Similar but not too close for me (even though I pronounce them "May -ve" and "Bly -ve"). Both have a one syllable, softish sound but are fine for siblings imo, as the beginning of the names sound distinct enough.

I didn't know Blythe was a popular surname - the name reminds me of the play Blithe Spirit and of the actress Blythe Danner. But according to this site it is more popular as a surname than forename in Scotland forebears.io/surnames/blythe , forebears.io/forenames/blythe , - but I don't think it would matter to me personally).

Not keen on Blythe. It just doesn't sound nice to me.