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Baby names

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Original poster

Sibling for Ophelia?

61 replies

phoenix2409 · 30/06/2021 22:29

We already have a 2yo Ophelia and are expecting a baby girl in November. It’s been much more difficult coming up with a name this time around, but so far have Claudia and Cecilie (yes spelled like that - I don’t like the Cecily spelling for some reason, and seeing as it was the name of the princess of Greece, have convinced myself that it’s usable!). Thoughts on those two? We also love the name Arabella but my sister got to it before we could sadly :(

We live in SW London if that makes any difference - I know some names are subject to accents/pronunciation.

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TatianaBis · 01/07/2021 17:12

Today I am liking:

Ophelia and Phoebe - nice alliteration and assonance.
Ophelia and Violet - very Edwardian
Ophelia and Beatrice - Edwardian + Shakespearean.
Ophelia and Imogen as above.

Also - I prefer Cicely to Cecily

BornAgainCountryBumpkin1 · 01/07/2021 15:03

Heard the name Adeline the other day & like that. Wanted Madeline for my 1st but for obvious reasons we decided against so this is similar.
Francesca or Francis as well as love the name Franny.

RickOShay · 01/07/2021 15:00

Really like Cecily, and Cecilie.
What about Sylvie?
Or even Valentina?

IVflytrap · 01/07/2021 12:57
  • Cecilia should be Cecilie. Autocorrect, argh!
IVflytrap · 01/07/2021 12:56

Cecilia of the two. I usually like Claudia, but wouldn't use it in your situation because it'll make it look like you really love the play Hamlet, and that you for whatever reason decided to name your second child after the baddie. Confused

Cecilie I would spell Cecily, however, to give the kid an easy life without having to correct people all the time. (My auto correct corrected Cecilie to Cecilia about 5 times, fwiw.)

Or how about Cicely? It's a variant on Cecily and also a flower.

TatianaBis · 01/07/2021 09:42

I’m not a fan of the random idea two names can’t end in the same sound.

If you were Italian you’d have to make a major effort to avoid 2 girls’ names ending in a because the language is more regular,

amallierory · 01/07/2021 09:13

I'm not a fan of two names with the same ending sound, so Ophelia and Claudia would be a no-no for me. I LOVE Cecilie and think it goes perfectly with Ophelia. I like the "ie" spelling better too.

Ophelia and Cecilie. A really nice combo Smile

WimpoleHat · 01/07/2021 08:34

*no-one bats an eyelid, sorry. Bloody autocorrect.

WimpoleHat · 01/07/2021 08:33

I love the name Cecily. But if you spell it Cecilie, you and she will spend the rest of her life saying “no, with an “ie”. No, with the “ie” on the end.”. Very confusing. It’d be like calling a little boy Henri or Edoard.

The Claudia with Ophelia thing does make you look like a Hamlet nut, I’m afraid - you will get a lot of “Oh, you didn’t fancy Gertrude then?” type comments. It’d be like having, say, a Cordelia and a Leah. I know there are Shakespearean names in common usage; none bats an eyelid at a Juliet or a Beatrice - but Ophelia is a name that is very recognisably from Hamlet. As @RosesAndHellebores says, you need to be prepared for the reaction of English teachers!

Sexnotgender · 01/07/2021 08:27

Delphine
Juliette
Calliope

whatswithtodaytoday · 01/07/2021 08:25

I agree you can't use Claudia with Ophelia. Cecilie is fine imo, but people will spell it wrong.

whatswithtodaytoday · 01/07/2021 08:21

Persephone?

ILoveStickers · 01/07/2021 08:19

Love Claudia, but not with Ophelia.

I think Cecilie is a great choice for you, I like it.

SmackMyAssnCallMeJudy · 01/07/2021 08:19

I honestly don’t think Claudia is usable.

Except is is usable, because people do use it.

The Shakespearean association simply doesn’t override it. My name means ‘devoted to God’. I’m really not destined for a nunnery, believe me. Grin

NellietheNumpty · 01/07/2021 08:15

Romilly

TerritorialPissings · 01/07/2021 08:08

@RosesAndHellebores Mirabel is absolutely beautiful. If I had another, that would definitely be top of the list. May I ask how you pronounce Isolde?

RosesAndHellebores · 01/07/2021 07:47

I honestly don’t think Claudia is usable. Just because you haven’t read Shakespeare doesn’t mean others haven’t. Every English teachers’ lips will quiver into a slight sneer.

Cecilie - absolutely fine on the Continent; far less so in England.

Mirabel
Daphne
Genevieve or Guinevere
Isolde
Helena
Cordelia
Verity
Marina
Meriel
Cicely
Christabel
Severine
Seraphina

MyCatWouldChaseYourCat · 01/07/2021 07:44

I think I prefer Claudia but Cecilie goes better with Ophelia.

My first thought was Annabelle!

SinkGirl · 01/07/2021 07:44

My favourite Shakespeare names would be Portia, Helena and Beatrice - I think all would work well with Ophelia.

StillCalmX · 01/07/2021 07:33

@phoenix2409

The hamlet thing doesn’t bother me at all actually but maybe that’s because I haven’t read Shakespeare since leaving senior school fifteen years ago!
I loved Hamlet. Great play. Some cracking lines. But I cannot believe you would use Claudia because of its similarity to Claudius. What about Beatrice? I love Juliet but two tragic heroines is a bit depressing.
Keiki · 01/07/2021 07:24

How about Perdita? Otherwise it depends on how matchy you want it, both are lovely.

SoapboxFox · 01/07/2021 07:24

Claudia would fit very well.

Cordelia
Susannah
Estella
Mirabelle
Florence
Jocasta
Beatrice
Violet
Marissa
Natalia
Rosemary
Penelope
Marianne

Amdone123 · 01/07/2021 07:22

Cecilie is lovely. I prefer it over Claudia as it doesn't end in an a. Also, any Claudia's I have known I've pronounced Cloud - ia. Because I'm weird and I like it pronounced like that.
I'd go for Cecilie.

SmackMyAssnCallMeJudy · 01/07/2021 07:20

@phoenix2409 I absolutely love the way you are batting away people’s objections with such ostensibly self-deprecating responses. Grin

I prefer Claudia - think it’s a lovely name. And although I do actually (much) prefer the Cecilie spelling over the ‘y’ ending, I do feel you will come up against people assuming / judging you for trying to make it unique, even if it does genuinely have a (Royal Wink) precedence.

Boomshakalack · 01/07/2021 07:14

Euphemia (Effie Gray’s name)
Allegra
Araminta
Cecily
Alexandria.