I want to call my baby Avocado

[allhailtheaubergine]

Not really.

Hear me out...

Okay, I like Persimmon (nn Persi) (which is still in the running) but everyone was horrified to the point where I have a seed of doubt sown in my mind.

So... my children have taken to calling the baby Avocado, and I was idly wondering if there was a nice Latin name for Avocado or an Avocado flower or something, and it turns out that the Avocado is of the genus Persea - do you reckon it's pronounced Percy or Persee-ay?

And, if you're feeling indulgent, can you think of anything else Avocado-y that might work? (But don't just be cutting and acerbic) (unless it's also funny).

I just knew this would be you.

I knew a family who had fab unusual names.

Rebekha (ok, not so unusual, but it was in Germany)
Torben
Berenike
Vanessa

Tamar means date in Arabic.

Tamaris

Damaris

Right, you want fruit names: Clementine, Guava, Pomelo, Morello, Durian, Lychee, Logan, Honeydew

Durian is terrible.

What about Ava? Particularly where people have accents the o in avocado is pronounced as an a. I know in Scotland that's how we pronounce it

It's Latin, so it would be per-say-ah. I'm not great on Latin, but do work with botanists.

A few years ago I worked with an accomplished young actor named Smedley. Because his scan looked like a bean. He seems to have survived very well.

Someone has already suggested avoca, and judging by their mumsnet name I'm guessing they are Irish. There is a chain of shops in Ireland called Avoca and they sell all sorts of lovely things. One of those posh gift shop type places. Do lovely food too.

www.avoca.ie/home/

It's pronounced per-SAY-ah if you want to go with the Latin.

I have not been able to find it in a dictionary. However, genus are usually plural (AFAIK no exceptions), which would make the singular "perseum" in this case. This would make this a neutral, gender wise. Not sure if you care (I wouldn't particularly) but I thought you might want to know.

It sounds pretty.

Perseum is good! Dh likes it too.

I still like Persea, but I don't like it pronounced Per-say-a. But if something is pronounced a right way you can't really change it. Oh well.

Persimmon is still hovering in top place.

Clementine is good but possibly too popular. Not so keen on Avoca (sounds like that horrid orange drink) or Ava - 50% of dd's friends are called Eva and Ava and Evie and Mia and Maia and so on.

Oooh, hang on, what about Ivy? Can Ivy be short for anything? Oh no, it sounds like I.V. (intravenous).

I SO want someone to call their baby Clemency. Any chance you might oblige?

Clemency. No. I don't like that there are so many girls names listing appropriately feminine attributes, though I'll grant you Clemency is not as bad as most of them.

Faith
Hope
Charity
Prudence
Chastity
Honour
Grace

No.

Faithless?

I'd go with it - but DH is a theist!

(Disgrace would be a bit too much, I suppose.)

Clemency isn't a soppy female virtue- it's a wonderful unisex attribute.

Mind you, I speak as a woman who nearly 16 years ago thought that Grace was a charmingly old fashioned and incredibly unusual name. And who was horrified to discover that Christian friends thought that we had chosen the name because we had finally had a child after 20 years of trying! When in fact it took us 20 years to get round to it, and she arrived precisely 9 months after we first decided we might quite ike a baby!

It is, but you don't get boys called Clemency. Grace is a lovely name and a wonderful attribute, but it somehow rankles that you don't get boys called Athleticism or Reasonableness.

I wanted to call ds1 Lupin. Pressure stopped that from happening

I quite like it. Just plain old Avocado.

I will be a terrible influence as my dc have mostly bonkers names.

DD1 had a narrow escape from Tiger Lily. Dc8 is due in 8 weeks, i did have a name picked but am wavering.

No. Even I can see that Avocado is a silly name. Can you imagine walking into a room and saying "hi there, I'm Avocado"?

Tigerlilly is nice. But we have a close friend called something very similar so it's not on the list.

Go with Persimmon.

Once you think about it for a bit, it is lovely. It just isn't what we're used to. Why is Persimmon any different as a word to name someone than Penelope or Jonathan?

Persi, Perri, Mimmi, Penny, Sim - all possible nicknames.

I think it's absolutely fine and that she is likely to love it, and to cover your backs give her a very normal mn. Persimmon Anna, Persimmon Lucy, Persimmon Sophia. Worst case scenario, she HATES it and uses her mn.

All hail- I bet there are as many boys called Clement as girls called Clemency!

Yeah okay. After due consideration I take it back - Clemency does not belong with Chastity, Patience and Doormat. It is a good name, and I do know a chap called Clement.

I still think Reasonableness is a good name.

What about reintroducing Puritan names? PraiseGod , Thankfulness, Diffidence, Dust......

I do like Bonniface and Loveday.