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Baby names

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

Original poster

Zara, Joella, Rosie, Alannah or Marie

42 replies

lemondrophannah · 30/05/2021 17:25

I'm down to these 5 and would really appreciate some outside perspectives. Ty :)

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Luckyelephant1 · 15/06/2021 21:40

I don't like Joella but I love Joelle.

Alannah is lovely but I much prefer the Alana spelling. Zara is equally as lovely a name IMO.

Rosie is nice but that's it, it's a bit meh.

Really dislike Marie.

hannahfaith · 15/06/2021 16:46

Zara - I like it but it makes me think of the clothing brand,

Joella - cute but still different. Likely won't share a name in school and I love Jo as a nn for a girl

Rosie - too popular

Alannah - pretty but not my favorite

Marie - I've been waiting for this one to come back as a first name. Commonly used for middle names but definitely overdue for its first name comeback

Out of your names my ranking would be

  1. Joella
  2. Marie
  3. Zara
  4. Alannah
  5. Rosie
ellenpartridge · 02/06/2021 17:32

Rosie or Zara

cariadlet · 02/06/2021 17:28

Joella - very trashy
Others are ok.

zingally · 02/06/2021 17:22

Marie and Rosie are acceptable. The rest are chavvy.

Pemba · 02/06/2021 17:11

Marie is my favourite, although not currently fashionable. But that'll make it unusual, and you might start a trend! It's a beautiful name, are you saying it 'Muh-REE' or 'MAH-ree' ?

I also like Rosie, though I feel it's better as a diminutive of Rose/Rosa, or some other 'Rose' name (Rosanna? Rosalie? Rosalind? etc). Just a bit more adult than having 'Rosie' as her only given name.

The others are fine, nothing wrong with them.

LewishamMum · 02/06/2021 11:13

They are pretty different in their endings...do they all sound good with your surname?

I think with Joella and Alannah she'll spend her life telling people how to spell them which will be annoying. I think the others are more "normal", although Rosie maybe a bit too popular. I'd pick Zara personally - unusual, interesting sounds, but everything knows how to say and spell it.

SionnachRua · 02/06/2021 10:57

@KirstenBlest

Do you pronounce Hannah as Hah-nah too?
Alannah is an Irish name though, Hannah has Hebrew roots. The phonetics aren't directly comparable.
kerosene20 · 02/06/2021 09:35

Joely Marie is lovely!

peaceinourtime · 02/06/2021 09:17

Joelle is also nice, something to consider

KirstenBlest · 01/06/2021 23:40

I would have thought that Alannah was like Joanna and Hannah in that they end in an anna sound.

PiuVinoPerFavore · 01/06/2021 22:44

[quote PattyPan]@PiuVinoPerFavore it’s Alanis Morissette not Alannah![/quote]
Oh yeah. Duh! I still listen to her as well!

How about Alanis OP?!

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 01/06/2021 22:30

"Hann-ah" is how I used to pronounce it (where I grew up in a Southern City). But when I moved to a Midlands Town as a teenager it was more like "Hann- uh" and I try to pronounce peoples names the way they say them when introducing themselves. I'm in Wales now and haven't met a Hannah here yet (surprising as I'm an 80's kid so knew loads of Hannah's, Sarah's, Laura's, Joanna's and Catherine's, but I've only met a couple of Alana's/Alannah's and Zara's - and no Joella's!)

Undersnatch · 01/06/2021 22:07

Must be regional as Hannah is hann-ah in Scotland , not uh. Zara and Joella are my favourites.

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 01/06/2021 22:01

@KirstenBlest

Do you pronounce Hannah as Hah-nah too?
No, as "Hann -uh". But I'm not going to tell the couple of Alana's/Alannah's I've met they are pronouncing their name wrong! I think it must be a common pronunciation in other countries too (at least for the Alana spelling as I've heard the same on US TV's "Hannibal" and Aussie kids programme "The Girl from Tomorrow" too).
PattyPan · 01/06/2021 19:37

@PiuVinoPerFavore it’s Alanis Morissette not Alannah!

PattyPan · 01/06/2021 19:34

Rosie, followed by Zara. Both outweighed by Maria - much prefer that to Marie.
I don’t like Joella (it’s a bit hillbilly) or Alannah.

17caterpillars1mouse · 01/06/2021 19:28

The only one I don't like is Alannah.

Joella is quite pretty and I've never met one before. I also really like Marie. Zara is a name I've always liked as I think it sounds strong. Rosie is a bit cutesey for me and I know of two babies recently named it

PiuVinoPerFavore · 01/06/2021 18:58

I like Zara.
I don't like Joella but do like Joely.
I don't know the pronunciation you mean for Alannah. I would say
A-LAN-ah like Alannah Morissette. Don't love it either way.
Marie sounds dated to me
Rosie is pretty for a wee one but I don't like it for adults. And there are loads of them.

KirstenBlest · 01/06/2021 18:48

Do you pronounce Hannah as Hah-nah too?

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 01/06/2021 18:13

@KirstenBlest

although I prefer the simpler, more popular Alana spelling It's a simpler spelling but I would say it as Alan-ah, some would say Al-ahna. Alannah is easier because it tells you it 's Al-annah
I suppose it depends on what OP finds easier - if she's in E & W Alana is in the top 200 and nearly 3 times as popular as Alannah so it will likely be the default spelling.

I'd also pronounce all the variations as "Ah -lah -nah" personally (unless corrected), as anecdotally that's how the ones I've met/heard of have pronounced their name (in the US, England and Australia - I'm not sure about other countries though).

KirstenBlest · 01/06/2021 17:22

although I prefer the simpler, more popular Alana spelling
It's a simpler spelling but I would say it as Alan-ah, some would say Al-ahna. Alannah is easier because it tells you it 's Al-annah

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 01/06/2021 16:17

Zara and Alannah are lovely (although I prefer the simpler, more popular Alana spelling).

Marie is okay, but sounds more dated currently compared to classic Maria imo.

Not keen on Joella - and I'm not sure most people would know how to pronounce it (Jo - ell -ah or Joel -ah?).

Rosie is popular but I find it a bit cutesy personally (fine as a nn for Rose/Rosa or Rosalie, Rosanna etc though).

Junipersky · 31/05/2021 17:17

Zara - I really like. Having said that I tend to love all 2 syllable names that end in "ara" - Clara being my favourite.
Joella - I actually think this really pretty. Reminds me of a lovely childhood friend I had called Joelle.
Rosie - Love this. My favourite from your list I think. I also love Rosa and Rosanna.
Alannah - Pretty. I'm always confused as to whether it is pronounced Al-anna or Al-ar-na, but I like both!
Marie - The only one I'm not so keen on. I prefer Maria.

xprincessxjanetx · 31/05/2021 17:08

Rosie is my favourite by a mile on your list. Zara second and not keen on the others i'm afraid.

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