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Baby names

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

Original poster

Phoebe or Cosima

56 replies

TeddyPlaygroup90 · 06/03/2022 20:27

My husband and I had complete agreement for our first daughter, we picked her name before she was conceived and didn’t change the entire way through.

This time…it’s a bit different. I like Cosima, for sentimental reasons and a link with my first daughter’s name. My husband prefers Phoebe. We’ve narrowed it down to those two.

They both have their drawbacks (one people don’t always know how to pronounce, the other people don’t always know how to spell). But they’re both beautiful.

If you had to pick one of them, which would it be?

(P.S. I also like Zelda, but first daughter has a Z name. Would that be a bit much?)

Thanks all!

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Donson · 07/03/2022 16:47

Cosima makes me think of ‘cosseted’.
Phoebe is a great name.

TooTiredToCoo · 07/03/2022 15:05

I like Cosima.

I'm really intrigued what your other daughters super rare "Z" name is.

PeakyBlender · 07/03/2022 13:47

I dislike Phoebe and didn't know why until I've read a pp say it reminds them of feeble and I think that's it

Cosima is nice, I don't think you'll Jane issues with pronunciations as I can't think of another way to say it.

Cassia is pretty too or Cassiopeia if you're feeling that you want a more out there name

toastofthetown · 07/03/2022 10:48

I prefer Cosima. Phoebe feels dull and insipid. I’d avoid having matching initials if there are other names you like.

Dreamingof3 · 07/03/2022 10:19

Cosima 😍

I've known a couple of phoebe's and it's been pronounced more fay-bay due to accents and its put me right off 😅

slapmyarseandcallmemary · 07/03/2022 08:08

Cosima

CourtRand · 07/03/2022 08:06

Cosima. I'm obsessed with this name. So beautiful. Phoebe makes me think of Amoeba for some reason.

Zillamop · 07/03/2022 07:16

Phoebe

sherbetmelon · 06/03/2022 23:24

Phoebe, it was our runner up girls name

Original poster
TeddyPlaygroup90 · 06/03/2022 23:20

@DramaAlpaca

I prefer Cosima to Phoebe.

However, I really prefer Realtín over both of those, though I'd spell it Reiltín. It's so pretty and it means 'little star'.

Your spelling is more correct, so if I did use it I’d probably go for that.

Problem with Reiltín is that while it’s a beautiful meaning, I’m not fluent as Gaeilge and I think if you go beyond the more common Irish names (Ronan, Áine etc.) people assume that you have some degree of fluency with the language so I worry that would be a burden. Everyone I know who has a less common Irish name is fairly proficient with the language. To be truly fluent in Irish you need to have it at home/in school and that won’t be the case with us.

Can you tell I’m an over thinker? 😂

OP posts:
Original poster
TeddyPlaygroup90 · 06/03/2022 23:10

@NuffSaidSam

But now that we have a child with an unusual name part of me is slightly worried that Phoebe is a bit plain and that the new baby won’t think her name is as special as her sister’s. Which is probably what is putting me off Phoebe if I’m honest, because it’s a beautiful name but I know a few.

You might find it's the other way round, with the older one complaining that she got the super unusual, no-one uses it anymore, associated with a tragedy name and her sister is called Phoebe!

Her name is actually remembering the moment when we realised everything was going to be ok, which happened a long time after the event itself. So it’s a name remembering a really happy, beautiful thing - not the sad part. I’m big into name meanings and I would feel it was unlucky to tie a new child’s name to something horrible.

But I do take your point on the rest of it! The problem is that so much depends on the temperament of the kid which you can’t know in advance. I just thought that if they both had unusual names they could at least bond over it if they hate them and give out about us when they’re older! 😂

OP posts:
DramaAlpaca · 06/03/2022 22:43

I prefer Cosima to Phoebe.

However, I really prefer Realtín over both of those, though I'd spell it Reiltín. It's so pretty and it means 'little star'.

AdaColeman · 06/03/2022 22:36

Cosima is beautiful.

(I also like Zelda)

NuffSaidSam · 06/03/2022 22:14

But now that we have a child with an unusual name part of me is slightly worried that Phoebe is a bit plain and that the new baby won’t think her name is as special as her sister’s. Which is probably what is putting me off Phoebe if I’m honest, because it’s a beautiful name but I know a few.

You might find it's the other way round, with the older one complaining that she got the super unusual, no-one uses it anymore, associated with a tragedy name and her sister is called Phoebe!

AyeEee123 · 06/03/2022 22:10

Cosima is lovely.

chattycaterpillar · 06/03/2022 21:56

phoebe

Original poster
TeddyPlaygroup90 · 06/03/2022 21:27

@ZoyaTheDestroyer

Is popularity a consideration? Phoebe hasn’t troubled the top ten but it’s been consistently in the top thirty for fifteen years so there are quite a few of them about. Lovely name though.
The only way that popularity is a consideration is that my first daughter has a name that nobody else has been named in my country, at least for the past ten years. We picked the name for very sentimental reasons after a horrible tragedy, and we loved the meaning. We didn’t pick it because we wanted an unusual name, our second choice was Holly.

But now that we have a child with an unusual name part of me is slightly worried that Phoebe is a bit plain and that the new baby won’t think her name is as special as her sister’s. Which is probably what is putting me off Phoebe if I’m honest, because it’s a beautiful name but I know a few.

That’s the problem with having a super meaningful name for the first I suppose. If I’d gone with Holly maybe this would be a lot simpler! 😂

OP posts:
WildCherryBlossom · 06/03/2022 21:25

I absolutely love Cosima! Such a pretty name.

Phoebe is beautiful but over the last 10-15 years it has been incredibly popular. I know so many young Phoebes.

How about Ramona, Miranda, Phaedra, Lilian, Rosamund....?

Original poster
TeddyPlaygroup90 · 06/03/2022 21:21

Yeah I think two Z names might be a bit much! Was really just asking for confirmation that I was right to discount it as an option.

Cosima is pronounced Cos-ima. People may not know how to pronounce it at first but it’s not hard to say once someone tells you how.

I’m in Ireland and the only Irish name I like that I’d actually use is Réaltín which has three alternate spellings and hardly anyone outside the country can pronounce, so Cosima doesn’t seem that mad to me!

OP posts:
ZoyaTheDestroyer · 06/03/2022 21:19

Is popularity a consideration? Phoebe hasn’t troubled the top ten but it’s been consistently in the top thirty for fifteen years so there are quite a few of them about. Lovely name though.

helpmum2003 · 06/03/2022 21:16

And agree that Zelda sounds like a witch's name.

helpmum2003 · 06/03/2022 21:15

Phoebe is lovely.

Cosima is a bit clunky.

Notwithittoday · 06/03/2022 21:13

Phoebe

MissCarolina · 06/03/2022 21:12

I prefer Phoebe

roadragepensioner · 06/03/2022 20:52

Cosima is lovely and more unusual.