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Baby names

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

Original poster

Alma & Inès

84 replies

Clucie · 18/11/2024 08:49

DH and I are expecting twin girls. DH is French but they will be raised mostly in the UK. Our favourite names right now are Alma & Inès.
What's everyone's thoughts?
Full names we are thinking Alma Manon and Inès Maria.

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Mipil · 18/11/2024 19:39

Ines and Manon are beautiful. I love them both. Alma is okay and I suppose it works well with Ines I don’t think it works well with Manon though. I much prefer Alba. Maria is lovely as a first name but it always seems like a generic filler name when it’s a middle name.

I love Louise but it is very unpopular on MN!

charltonred · 18/11/2024 19:27

Love them both however I really don’t like Alma with Manon, do you have any other options for middle names?

MumonabikeE5 · 18/11/2024 19:09

Perfect. Job done. Enjoy them.

MorettiForMargo · 18/11/2024 19:05

Love Ines (and Manon) but Alma is very much a not cool old lady name in my neck of the UK, along the lines of Bertha, Morag and Ethel. Makes me think of Alma in Coronation Street and one of the Australian soaps.

wafflesmgee · 18/11/2024 19:02

I love them both

Slol · 18/11/2024 19:01

Love the name Alma, I live in Spain and know a few.

bellocchild · 18/11/2024 19:00

You are going to have to live with people missing the è accent off Inès. If you don't have the è, it's pronounced Eenus.

leia24 · 18/11/2024 18:48

BootballJoy · 18/11/2024 16:41

I like Alma, I've never known one of any age so not dated for me. Nice sound.

Manon doesn't flow with the middle name. Maybe more Catherine, Genevieve, Clemence, Natalie, Louise etc.

Ines I get confused with the pronunciation, I think after watching Hairspray too many times (where it's eye-nezz). I think with French pronunciation it's more ee-ness? That's nicer.

Here (admittedly with a Merseyside accent) it's usually ih-ness.

DuchessOfSausage · 18/11/2024 17:08

Middle names are rarely used. The names are nice.
I don't like Alba at all.

stuckonnamesbigtime · 18/11/2024 17:01

Both lovely 😊

shoopshoopdedoo · 18/11/2024 16:47

I love both Alma and Ines!

I agree that Alma Maria and Ines Maria are easier to say; however, I quite like a slightly clunky middle name and I think Alma Manon is also nice!

Interesting that people are commenting that Alma is frumpy, yet names like Eliza and Elsie seem very popular on here. Alma is reasonably popular where I am, so I wouldn’t think it was unusual.

BootballJoy · 18/11/2024 16:41

I like Alma, I've never known one of any age so not dated for me. Nice sound.

Manon doesn't flow with the middle name. Maybe more Catherine, Genevieve, Clemence, Natalie, Louise etc.

Ines I get confused with the pronunciation, I think after watching Hairspray too many times (where it's eye-nezz). I think with French pronunciation it's more ee-ness? That's nicer.

jackstini · 18/11/2024 16:35

I think you need a middle name for Alma which doesn't start with Ma as that's how Alma ends - you have mama in the middle when you say them together

Celine
Delphine
Nichole
Suzette

It is very old fashioned in England, I only know Almas in their 70s and 80s - but still a lovely name

doodleygirl · 18/11/2024 16:21

Love your name choices

NameChange30 · 18/11/2024 16:07

I'm biased but I love Inès. Alma is nice too, although I prefer Alba.

Other French/bilingual girl's names I like:
Adèle
Daphné
Luna
Mia

As for middle names... are you English? Will the children have your surname (with or without your DH's surname)? I would want to give them a middle name from your side of the family, something that reflects your heritage whatever that is, and something more English, especially if they will only have DH's surname and not yours. For that reason I wouldn't use Manon (and I don't like it much anyway, because it contains "Man" and "non")

evilharpy · 18/11/2024 15:55

TinyTear · 18/11/2024 10:05

The issue I have with Ines is the accent
UK keyboards aren't that easy on accents and the accent also changes on different languages so can get confusing

Inès
Inés (Spanish)
Inês (Portuguese)

I agree with this. Ines is a beautiful name but I have no idea how to type a grave accent on a UK PC keyboard (a bit easier if you're on a Mac). It's not a reason to not use the name but maybe something to bear in mind.

I'm not a fan of Alma at all.

Katiesaidthat · 18/11/2024 15:49

I like them both. My 6 year old has twins Inés and Luisa in her class, and Alma and Alba are very popular in Spain now. I would not pair Alma with Manon (another friend of my dd) because it is too much M sound.

Dawevi · 18/11/2024 15:43

Is it eye-nez or ee-nez?

Either way I think they are both old fashioned and not very nice, sorry.

Notreat · 18/11/2024 15:42

Both are beautiful names
Congratulations!

RuthW · 18/11/2024 15:37

Ines Maria has the best names.

Alma is not nice.

BloodyHellBob · 18/11/2024 15:24

I think they're both gorgeous names! I wouldn't worry too much about what others think of the middle names as no one gets called by all their names and I always think middle names are quite personal.

Dinosaursdontgrowontrees · 18/11/2024 13:12

I absolutely love them both. Perfect!
congratulations on your twins!

Bournetilly · 18/11/2024 13:09

I absolutely love Alma. Would have been on our list if DS was a girl.

Caspianberg · 18/11/2024 13:07

I think Alma is really lovely and not at all dated.

Alma Celine
Alma Juliette
Alma Coralie

user2848502016 · 18/11/2024 13:06

I like both. I think Alma is definitely making a comeback in the UK!