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Baby names

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

Original poster

Alternative names to Karen

133 replies

StarsieZ · 18/09/2022 04:25

My mum recently passed away, I had never thought of using her name to name any future daughters but the question came up the other day from a friend and it's made me question it. Alas, my mums name was 'Karen' and I am not going to name my child that even as a middle name.

Does anyone have any ideas as to names that are similar/nickname etc that I might use? My mum didn't have a middle name either so that's out too, I did think of 'Wren' but that's as far as I've got.

Thanks for any advice/ideas 😊

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autumn1610 · 18/09/2022 08:13

If you like Katherine as a name could look at Kathryn as an alternative spelling to it . I like Wren personally

DurdleSnore · 18/09/2022 08:13

LadyOfTheCanyon · 18/09/2022 08:11

I'm sorry for your loss. Do remember that you are under no obligation to honour your mum in this way. You honour her memory in your heart and thoughts and memories and conversations with other people every single day. It's not necessary to give your daughter a name that you feel like you might have to shoehorn in.

Choose a name you genuinely love for your daughter and teach her as she grows what a wonderful woman your mother was. Flowers

Love this.

DurdleSnore · 18/09/2022 08:12

Oh gosh I really feel your grief. My mum also passed away in her early 60s, just 4 weeks after a shock cancer diagnosis. My first daughter was only a few months old at the time and I have recently had my second daughter. It’s really tough.

I would have liked to have honoured her in some way but she too had a name that’s not used anymore (in fact it’s so outdated I think it recently became extinct). She HATED her name and it really didn’t suit her - she would have been appalled if I’d have used any part of it to name my child! Instead I used a name I knew she loved as my daughter’s middle name.

Are there any names that your mum liked or a favourite flower or colour or something you could use a tribute?

LadyOfTheCanyon · 18/09/2022 08:11

I'm sorry for your loss. Do remember that you are under no obligation to honour your mum in this way. You honour her memory in your heart and thoughts and memories and conversations with other people every single day. It's not necessary to give your daughter a name that you feel like you might have to shoehorn in.

Choose a name you genuinely love for your daughter and teach her as she grows what a wonderful woman your mother was. Flowers

Justhereforaibu1 · 18/09/2022 08:08

Sorry for your loss. Katherine is lovely, congratulations on your pregnancy

NameChange30 · 18/09/2022 08:06

Sorry for your loss.
FWIW I think you should use Karen as a middle name.
Fuck the sexist ageist bastards who use it as an insult.

dontdarepokethebear · 18/09/2022 08:01

Lots of lovely alternatives on here but you may also consider the name of some one your Mum really admired, that had a strong connection to her that will make you think of her. Say if your mum loved ballet you could use the name of her favourite dancer.

We thought about using my late MIL name but she hated it so we wouldn't be honouring her by using it. She studied and loved Classics so we took inspiration from there in her memory.

JaneAustensHeroine · 18/09/2022 07:59

Caren
Carys
Karina
Kay

KangarooKenny · 18/09/2022 07:53

Keren.

jadedspark · 18/09/2022 07:49

Katherine Wren is pretty.

Willbe2under2 · 18/09/2022 07:42

Long shot, but did your mum have a nickname or did anyone ever call her by a pet name. Just thinking if her parents/ your dad called her their angel or something you could turn that into Angela or Angelica, if it was Poppet you could call the baby Poppy - that type of thing?

Beautiful3 · 18/09/2022 07:41

I know a few Karen's. It's a lovely name. I'd just use it, or use wren.

WildfellAnne · 18/09/2022 07:38

I think Karen is a lovely name. I would use it, or Katherine if you really feel you can’t. But I think it’s important to reclaim a perfectly nice name from ageist misogyny. Wren is particularly cringey, so not that.

HannahDefoesTrenchcoat · 18/09/2022 07:33

sorry For your loss.
did your mum have a middle name?What about her maiden name or her mum's name?

Original poster
StarsieZ · 18/09/2022 07:24

Twizbe · 18/09/2022 07:08

What about her surname? Could that work as a middle name?

Unfortunately not, it's definitely not a name I could use, even for a boy x

OP posts:
Twizbe · 18/09/2022 07:08

What about her surname? Could that work as a middle name?

MrsTerryPratchett · 18/09/2022 06:38

I like the Danish version. Spelled the same but with the pronunciation different. Essentially CAR-ren. As in Karen Blixen.

Misogynistic arseholes making a perfectly lovely name unusable.

EdgeOfACoin · 18/09/2022 06:36

One other suggestion - Kerensa is a Cornish name that apparently means 'love'. That could be a nice alternative.

Some people also apparently spell it Karensa, which would incorporate your mother's entire name, though I suspect this might be a misspelling. (I don't know enough about Cornish names).

urbanbuddha · 18/09/2022 06:31

Wren is lovely.
Also like Katherine, Kay and Kari.

Willbe2under2 · 18/09/2022 06:26

I'm so sorry for your loss OP. I think Katherine works well. For what it's worth though, if we have another girl the middle name will be Karyn so I think having it as a middle name would be fine.

EdgeOfACoin · 18/09/2022 06:23

The name Wren has come from almost nowhere and is very popular right now. It's a nice name but I suspect it will date quite badly if that's any concern (it may not bother you).

EdgeOfACoin · 18/09/2022 06:20

As a PP said, it looks as though Karen is originally derived from Katherine. I would therefore use Katherine, as the names will have the same meaning and the pronunciation is close.

It is really horrible what has happened to the name Karen. I agree with whoever said it was a misogynistic term now.

AnOldCynic · 18/09/2022 05:49

Wren is lovely.

EveSix · 18/09/2022 05:32

Kerenza
Karin
Keren

Wren is such a pretty, lovely name, with a beautiful link to the natural world, I really love it.

J0y · 18/09/2022 05:22

💐🕯

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