Please help! DD is 1 week old and no name.

[vik123b]

Have a shortlist for girls names. The two names we cant decide on are Hermione and Betsy. Just interested to hear peoples views.

I love Hermione but DH prefers Betsey. Few things do put me off Hermione though - will it be a nightmare for her to learn to spell? people can't pronounce it (Hermy-won) and obviously Harry Potter (will she be teased and compared to Hermione Granger? Our surname also begins with a hard G). Love Betsey but worry is too cutsey and she may hate it when she gets older and don't want it shortened to Bet (she wouldnt be Elizabeth as my daughters middle name is Elizabeth so don't want to use again). We have quite kooky style so think either suit us as a family. Need to make a choice!

We like both names so whatever we choose for first name the other can be the middle name. We like Bluebell also for middle name (my other 2 children have two middle names) so would be either:

Hermione Betsey Bluebell

Or

Betsey Bluebell Hermione

Also, if we chose Hermione do you think we could use Hetty as a nickname? DH lost his Nan yesterday whose name was Stella, not keen on Stella and doesn't fit with our names but Hetty has same meaning (Star) or could you think of some way to incorporate it into the name?

Oh, Mini/Minnie is a great nn for Hermione, OP! And fits with your kooky requirements too.

I like Betty. Betsy is a bit cutesy. Don't like Hermione.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie, you're right, should be joint decision. Just feeling sorry for myself I think, having as rough recovery day from the c-section.

Hermione is a lovely name, and nickname Mimi would be nice as well.

How about Seren as a middle name? It's Welsh for star.

Hermione Seren Bluebell

Was also going to say Hermione with Mimi as a nickname if you're into cutesy.

Betsy is just a bit meh! It's ok. I'd also say beware of it as it's a name which your H has suddenly 'discovered' and loves to bits - be careful, those are the names you go off a few months later and think - it's nothing special- WHY did I junk the name that we'd liked for longer! Beware of excited name fads at the last minute.

And definitely Betsy. Yes, it COULD be spelled differently- but 95% of the time it isn't!

I tell you what beats Betsy into a cocked hat. BLYTHE.

Hermione Bluebell Blythe.

My dgd has Betsy as a middle name,if it was a first name I think it would need to be Elisabeth.Her first name is Madeleine.

I like Betsy and Hermione, but the Betsey spelling is awful IMO and people will forever think that her parents couldn't spell.

Seren is lovely, hmmm... Worth some thought. Is it just pronounced as its spelt?

Stella
Esme
Erin
Flora
Florence
Tabitha
Grace
Persephone (think spelt that right - though all my childhood when reading I pronounced it Purse-e-phone!)

Remember this small person will one day grow up and won't be quite so cute anymore.... I like Elizabeth, and shortened to Betsy.... though hate the idea of Bet... keep thinking Coronation Street! Not sure Betsy so great when you're in your 30's....

Names are a nightmare... but there's no rush. It's a great discussion though...

Is it just pronounced as its spelt?

Yes it's just like seven with an r instead of the v.

Sorry to hear you're feeling rough.

Briony sounds like hermione

I love seren.

I like the star aspect and also the serendipity connotations which I'm trying to be more mindful of.

Sorry not helpful. Betsey Bluebell is a heck of a name to pull off. I wouldn't have been able to either. I don't like the alternative spelling either. I agree Hermione is classic.

If it helps, Hermione and Seren are going on my girls long list after reading the thread.

Think the opinion is if we choose Betsy (first or middle name) should be more common Betsy spelling.

Does anyone have an opinion on the spelling of Hermione? Personally I think it should be the usual Hermione but have seen it on baby names.co.uk with two variants -Hermioney and Hermioni. Any views? Or will people think I can't spell (again )?

No, no, no to those Hermione spellings! :)

I really like Hetty, could it be a compromise? It has the h and e from Hermione and the t and y from Betsey.
Prefer the spelling of Hermione that everyone will be familiar with. Don't feel rushed into deciding :)

Betsy ( if you spell it properly )

Seren isn't pronounced like seven unless I say seven differently to everyone except Len Goodman! Seren has a wren at the end of it, it's
seh wren rather than seh run.

Anyway, I digress. Hermione is really lovely only spelled correctly though. Betsy is lovely too but Hermione is better. I like Bluebell but Betsy with Bluebell seems a bit bunnyish to me.

The Seren I know is Seh-run.

Hope you are feeling better.

Hermione (if spelled properly, as others say) and/or Betsey (with or without the 'e' , as you choose, since it's basically a nickname) sound good to me. A confident character of whatever age could live up to either.

If Hermione is too long or complicated for some of your nearest and dearest, you could always be Shakespearean (Midsummer Night's Dream - quite kooky in its own way) and have Hermia as a nickname.

All the ones I know are Seh-wren it's like at the beginning of serendipity.

OP, please, please take a couple of weeks to think about this. You are hormonal right now, nothing seems clear - we've most of us been there. Don't rush the decision. It matters not one jot what anyone else thinks - including posters on here. People will either tell you what you want to hear, murder one of the names for you or suggest new ones just to befuddle you further!

Just play around with the names for a while. Call her something one day then something else the next day - eventually one will just feel right.

I can't emphasise enough. I have been there.

Take. Your. Time.

Thank you CarlaVeloso, I am feeling pressured but it would be nice to be able to give her a name rather than 'the baby' or 'sausage roll' (see earlier post ).

The more I think about it, the more I'm not sure I even have the right shortlist . I think I am thinking too much now. Ultimately I know once I have decided on a name in a few months time it will just be her name and I probably won't be able to imagine her as anything else.

J K Rowling quote -
“I've got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before 'thin'. And frankly, I'd rather they didn't give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls.”

Good advice from carlaveloso.

Without wanting to further cloud the issue, OP, were there any other names on your original shortlist? Do you feel you've really thought of every name, or are you still looking for inspiration?