Honest thoughts on Hazel and Rose

I loathe the name Hazel. It reminds of the American sitcom from the 70s about a housekeeper with the same name.

I think it does have that association, but less strongly. The only Hazel I knew was at school… the rest of her gang were Beverley, Tracey and Nicola!

I've always loved the name Rose.

Hazel I would like only I knew one at school I didn't get on with.

For z sounds, I like the name Kezia, which means cinnamon, so is also connected with nature.

Orchid and Cherry are some less common nature names.

Iris and Ivy

Willow

Linden or Linda — means lime tree

My favourite nature name at the moment is the Swedish name Siska, which means siskin (the little, brown bird).

I’m in England I and I also think of Hazel as a 1960s/70s name.

objectively though it’s pretty and has lovely nature connotations.

But I prefer Rose which is timeless, simple and elegant.

I have a Hazel, I remember reading mumsnet threads about the name and it seemed to be either frumpy (which I sort of get) or stripper (which I don't!) feedback.

We also liked a nature name, and something solid amongst the sea of Ava / Evie / Ivy / Ella / Elsie names. She really suits it, even ended up with Hazel eyes. The nut bit doesn't bother me, they're delicious and we often call her Hazelnut! I've never met another little one and it's sticking around 150th in popularity so not common but well known.

Rose is beautiful though, we had it on our list too so I think you've great taste 😉

Hazel makes me instantly think Witch Hazel.

Rose I overused but classic, timeless.
I love Rosalie.

How about Fern or Rowan?

Spot on with Mrs Trunchball! Had a few colleagues called Hazel over the years and they were all grumbling, sadistic types, prone to low level bullying and no one ever had a good word about them.

Rose is nice if not a tad over popular.

Where I live (Scotland) Hazel was incredibly popular about 50-60 years ago, so is not ready for a comeback yet. There are lots of late middle aged Hazels and their friends are all called Sandra and Lorna. It would be weird for a baby here, but if you live in England where it doesn't have that association I think it's nice enough.

I must admit I find Hazel a touch more dated sounding- although I don’t know why as I’ve only ever met 1 in RL (mid forties). I do know lots of rabbits/guinea pigs/chickens with the name though!

I prefer Rose as it just sounds very classic. While there is technically no such thing as a truly timeless girls name (apart from maybe Elizabeth), I can imagine a Rose of any age and it has lovely romantic imagery.

So Hazel is a bit quirky hippy/bohemian to me vs Rose’s more classic elegance if that makes sense? I don’t think the popularity of Rose as a middle name matters though - the majority won’t be hyphenated so she’ll still likely be the only one in class ( although maybe another Rosie if unlucky) and I’d happily use May as a first name for similar reasons (very familiar yet not that popular as a first name).

Can’t think of many other nature names with a strong “Z” sound - apart from obvious Jasmine and (rare) colour name Azure/Azura. I think Cassia and Jessamine are lovely but obviously 3 syllables and more of a “s” sound.

Love Hazel. Rose is ok, but I definitely prefer Hazel. Rose often becomes Rosie, which I'm much less keen on.

Both were on our shortlist.

Love both. Both are very pretty. I actually have never met anyone with the first name "Rose" - lots of them are generally middle names. And only ever met one Hazel!

Both gorgeous names!

Not a fan of either rose is a little old woman's name to me .

Personally, I really don't like the name Hazel, I find it very ugly, a sort of Mrs Trunchball type character springs to mind (sorry Mrs Trunchball). It gets suggested a lot on Mumsnet and many seem to like it so perhaps I am in the minority but I find it really unpleasant, I'm sorry!

Rose, is possibly the most beautiful flower in the world. It's a beautiful name in my opinion. I think it is extremely popular as a middle name, and although I've known a couple of Rosies, who are adults now, the only Rose as a first name I knew was an elderly lady.

I'd choose Rose a billlion times over Hazel!

P.s. And yes Rosemary is always known as Rose

They’re both beautiful.

Ha made me smile as my mother and I are Hazel Rosemary and Rosemary Elizabeth so lots of Z sounds going on, one of us born 1950 one 1985 will leave you to guess which is which

Both beautiful names

love both but would go for Hazel as it’s unique and can’t really be shortened/made twee and nasty.

Genuinely really like them both, especially Hazel

Both are beautiful, though I do prefer Rosa to Rose.

Both are really lovely! Rose is more of a timeless classic (the Elizabeth of the flower names!) I actually love Rosie as a nn.

Hazel is a little more fresh and modern sounding to me (despite being a traditional name). It could date, but many names do, and it would be boring if we used the same names for every generation! I think my favourite is Hazel personally 😊

Iris is another nice flower name that sounds quite fresh with a vintage vibe (no z sound though!)
Zoe is one of my favourite “Z” names - it has a fun yet classic feel to me.

Honestly, I don’t like Hazel - it just seems clumpy and I don’t think of nature, I think of the eye colour! Haze for short? No.

Also, after hanging round on the baby name boards a while, you can absolutely spot when a name is going to be a trendy flash in the pan. Violet is a good example - from absolutely nowhere suddenly it was the in thing. I guess all the other flower names had been done to death and so there we were with it, but let’s face it, ‘Vi’ isn’t the loveliest and it will go back down in popularity as fast as it came up. Hazel feels the same, it’s never been that popular because it’s pretty marmite really. So it’s going to be one of those names which sounds fresh for a couple of years then falls back down the lists… I would think it will definitely date her to the 2020s.

Rose is lovely, so it’s a perennial favourite, but that makes it dull. The opposite problem!