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Baby names

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

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Original poster

does this sound wrong ?

60 replies

smilingserenely · 04/12/2010 09:59

after months of disagreement have finally decided to change dd4 birth cert from felicity cecily arabella to arabella felicity cecily .

the history is felicity was dh's only option but i disliked it . cecily was my prefered option . arabella is a compromise .

problem is i really feel felicity cecily even as a middle name doesn't flow properly , is to much of a tongue twister etc .also i think the initials afc could be a problem.

for these reasons i really want to remove cecily as a third middle but struggling to come up with an alternative .would like a name with a positive meaning

our surname begins with w and is 2 syllable .

options include

clara but initials afc again

octavia as she is dc8 but is this to long with the other 2 names and also initials afo

miriam love the meaning wished for child

rose after a close relative who is a rosalind which i don't want to use . the problem is with our surname itsounds like a stage direction . also is rose just a filler.

rosanna as above

gladys after my grandmother but too old fashioned

or should i stick with cecily

opinions gratefully received and any other suggestions

OP posts:

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solo · 04/12/2010 15:04

Too many syllables IMO; something short like Rose is perfect.

strawberrycake · 04/12/2010 15:09

I don't want to be rude but rose followed by westward has the unfortunate content 'Rose West'. I'd rearrange them, just wanted to point it out (politely).

solo · 04/12/2010 15:19

Ooops! I didn't see that the surname was Westward...in which case, Rose would be terrible.

solo · 04/12/2010 15:22

Ann/Anne.

ChippingIn · 04/12/2010 15:30

I agree that whatever you do, you shouldn't use Rose.

Cecily and Felicity are just too much together no matter which order or what else is in there.

Find a first name you both really like.

Other than that, it's all too complicated for my little brain and I am very suprised you haven't resorted to calling her the wee bairn.

I hope you can come up with something you are happy with :)

Christmasbelle · 04/12/2010 15:58

We have changed our DD name to Annabel Felicity-Rose, which I personal think sounds lovely together. I loved Arabella as well. Her original first name that we have still kept sounded lovely too but for some reason I just couldn't get on with it as a first name

ChippingIn · 04/12/2010 16:07

Christmasbelle - Rose is lovely, just not with the surname West(ward) :( Annabel Felicity-Rose is really pretty - a great choice!

Original poster

smilingserenely · 04/12/2010 18:13

chipping she has spent the last 9 months known as little one or percy as in wee person

christmasbelle i think you have very similar tastes to me as if i remember your previous posts correctly your dd's previous firstname was a strong contender for dd4 (martha)

really love felicity rose but the rose west connection does bother me slightly although her third name will be used so infrequently maybe it's not really an issue

also i felt the same way about felicity like it but just didn't get on with it as a first name especially as i really felt i'dbeen forced into it

OP posts:

Original poster

smilingserenely · 04/12/2010 18:23

what about alice , kezia or maud

OP posts:

Original poster

smilingserenely · 04/12/2010 18:25

if i rule out rose would ruth fit

OP posts:

solo · 04/12/2010 18:36

I really think it needs to be a single syllable. My Dd has 3 Christian names and they have 2:3:1 syllables and 2 for our surname.

LadyInaManger · 04/12/2010 18:40

Ruth is a lovely name and would be a good replacement for Rose but don't throw out Rose just for the Rose West conitations. For a start your surname is Westwood not just West and Rose like you say will only be a third name and rarely said other than Arabella Felicity Rose. Most of my friends DC who have 3 names just say them without their surname added - probably explaining this so bad but go with your gut instinct if you like it.

She will be known as Arabella Westwood for the most part and if anyone asks about middle names she will say Felicity Rose and then if some smart alec makes a connection to Rose West then deal with it when it arises which it probably won't!

Your DD needs a name and fast, bless her and you have chosen a lovely one imo with the above choice

strawberrycake · 04/12/2010 18:45

Arabella Felicity May/ Mae?

Rose does sound pretty, maybe her generation won't get the rose west link. Your choice really. Just wanted you to be aware of it, tbh it is the first think I thought of.

skippingturtle · 04/12/2010 20:28

smiling, was it you who posted a while ago whose DH would only accept one name, then came up with a list full of ex girlfriends' names? I hadn't realised your baby was already with us!

Original poster

smilingserenely · 04/12/2010 20:33

arabella felicity rose or arabella felicity grace .

grace is a name we both like .

i'm swaying towards rose as i really don't think rose west will be an issue for her generation.

also as we've had so much trouble naming her rose seems to fit as "a rose by any name would smell as sweet " .

OP posts:

Original poster

smilingserenely · 04/12/2010 20:54

skipping yes she has been here for nearly 9

months but no matter how hard i tried to

accept dh's choice ie felicity i just didn't

warm to it try as i might.i also felt it wasn't her . probably less to

do with the name itself than feeling i had

not been listened to . i felt i had been

forced to accept a name i didn't love

because of dh's refusal discuss anything

else and it really irked that carrying her

for 9 months seemed to count for nothing

when her name was being chosen .

OP posts:

nooka · 05/12/2010 06:25

I'd use Miriam. I think it flows better even with the extra syllable.

It seems to have quite unknown/varied origins: www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Miriam.html

FullaDoll · 05/12/2010 06:52

I think Arabella Felicity is lovely.

By the way, how old is your child?

skippingturtle · 05/12/2010 08:58

Did you give your DH the thump I suggested?

Well done for sticking to your guns, I changed my baby's name at three months and the sense of relief was huge. My take on it would be to go just for Arabella to make a fresh start name-wise, but I see your issue with all your other LOs having three names each!

I like Grace!

Original poster

smilingserenely · 05/12/2010 09:51

fulladoll she's 9 months today but the felicity or not debate has been going on since this time last year . dh only had ears for one name ie felicity and despite all my protestations he refused to consider anything else .

up here registration is done by 21 days and in the end i gave up ,registered her in tears as he just refused to listen to what i was saYING .he did promise that if i still didn't like it at 6 months we could change it.he then at 6 months renegade on this .i really hoped to grow to love the name as it was her name etc but it just didn't happen . in fact i cringed every name i heard her name or told people her name etc so much so that i always called her little one ,wee one or pet etc

until 2 weeks ago when ds4(3) suddenly started to tell everyone his sister was called arabella with no prompting for me i hasten to add. dh then relented and agreed on the name change.

skipping he quite definitely has had a verbal thumping or two over the past few weeks .like you the relief of changing her name has been huge . a real weight of my shoulders to have a name i can say and feel happy saying and hearing

also considering changing the cecily to cecile or cecilia as may flow/sound better with the other names and may be easier to explain to her at a later date but grace and miriam are also strong contenders.

dh thinks we should leave it as cecily but it just sounds wrong to my ears .

OP posts:

JiltedJohnsJulie · 05/12/2010 12:01

Cecily is a nice name but agree that perhaps using another name with Felicity may be a good idea. Cecile, Cellia, Grace and Miriam are all lovely.

LadyInaManger · 05/12/2010 12:09

I thought Grace was the name of your beautiful angel or have i got that wrong and it was a middle name for her? If a middle name then Grace could be quite a poignant 3rd name for Arabella!

Hope you didn't mind me posting this!

skippingturtle · 05/12/2010 12:42

I'm so glad you feel better, it's a horrible thing to worry about, isn't it?

Original poster

smilingserenely · 05/12/2010 13:08

ladyinamanger grace was her second name .Also had grace not been so popular at the minute it would have been a really strong contender for arabella's first name . it was probably ,after arabella ,the only name dh and i both liked .

OP posts:

LadyInaManger · 05/12/2010 13:14

Then Arabella Felicity Grace is a beautiful name if you are not sure of Rose! Either name is lovely and goes great with the 1st two names.

Hope you manage to reach a decision soon

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