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Baby names

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

Original poster

Celestine/ Christabel/ Calliope

38 replies

Dixy30 · 22/02/2014 17:04

Hello

Have posted before and got some good suggestions! Have 2 other DC with unusual names.

Favourite is Celestine but what do others think and what would you guess as a nickname - Sissy, Celly doesn't sound good!

Thought would have Genevieve as a middle name but Celestine Genevieve sounds very French (we are not).

Calliope I also like but son has a Greek name and think it is a bit more out there?

If you like unusual names please chip in and suggest some middle names too! Thanks Grin

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TheAwfulDaughter · 22/02/2014 17:10

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HectorVector · 22/02/2014 17:14

I know a Christabel, it seems like a very middle-aged woman kind of name to me. Out of your list I prefer Calliope.

DramaAlpaca · 22/02/2014 17:16

I quite like Celestine.

Lesti for a nn?

Pinkandwhite · 22/02/2014 17:17

Celestine and Genevieve are gorgeous names. Have you thought about Calista?

ImperialBlether · 22/02/2014 17:19

I think Celie is the abbreviation for Celestine, isn't it?

You'll have trouble with people pronouncing Calliope properly, though.

baskingseals · 22/02/2014 17:23

I love Christabel, to me it sounds elegant and romantic.
What about

Marianne

Astrid

Callisto

Belinda

Saskia

Lorelei

Delphine

AndHarry · 22/02/2014 20:12

I wouldn't go for Calliope as she will always be correcting people's spelling and pronunciation.

My favourite from your list is Celestine but Christabel is also very pretty.

mathanxiety · 22/02/2014 20:42

Celly is a nice NN imo. My mum has a friend Marcella who has this NN.

Celestine Genevieve sounds lovely, and not any more French than Anne-Marie imo -- they're both names that are used enough to sound home grown. Something like Marie-France would sound French.

I like both Celestine and Christabel, but not Calliope. To me that's always going to mean the sound of hurdy gurdy music.

I love the suggestions of Belinda and Calista too.

boardingschoolbaby · 22/02/2014 20:47

I know a Celeste who is known as Sisi- pronounced CC

squoosh · 22/02/2014 21:03

I like Christabel as even though it's a bit frilly it reminds me of two good unfrilly women, Christabel Pankhurst and Christabel Bielenberg.

Calliope reminds me of calipers.

YouAreTalkingRubbish · 22/02/2014 21:13

Celestine is a fantastic name and....

...Celestine Genevieve is an equally fantastic name. I approve Grin

I really wouldn't worry about the french'ness. It would only matter if your surname was French too. The only slight negative is that they are both quite long names and you might get fed up filling out forms if all your kids have similarly long names.

I wouldn't set out to use a nickname. Although, I love the name Celeste almost as much as Celestine.

I like christobel but you might end up with her getting called 'Chris' which would be a shame.

I am not sure about Calliope Confused

MyNameIsInigoMontoya · 22/02/2014 21:14

I like Christabel and there's a nice choice of shortened versions too if you/she wanted to use those. I agree not Calliope as 90% of people won't have a clue how to say or spell it!

Showy · 22/02/2014 21:24

I love Calliope but I agree with the pronunciation issue. However, she or you would only have to tell people once and it's so pretty.

Christabel was my great aunt and I love the name. We were going to give ds the middle name Mirabel if he was a she. He would have been Josephine Aphra Mirabel (Sephie for short).

Met a toddler named Cicely the other day which I thought rather pretty.

ClothesPegs · 22/02/2014 22:16

Do like all your suggestions... What about Calypso though? Have loved this name since the Camomile Lawn, on my list for DC3

squoosh · 22/02/2014 22:18

Loved Calypso in The Camomile Lawn!

DramaAlpaca · 22/02/2014 22:20

Oh yes, love Calypso!

andadietcoke · 22/02/2014 22:22

I adore Callie as a nn for Calliope, to the extent that I considered it as a name in it's own right. Agree with PPs that otherwise it might be hard to pronounce, which was what put me off.

Original poster
Dixy30 · 22/02/2014 22:59

Thanks for all of your fantastic suggestions.

Love cicely and will look into origin, meaning.
Have considered calypso but worried is quite a hard name to pull off for a child/ woman - conjures up quite exotic and lively vibe.

Any other middle name suggestions? Could use Alice a family name, but not hugely keen. I do think Genevieve is too long and would prefer max 2 syllable middle name Grin

OP posts:
noitsachicken · 22/02/2014 23:05

I have no idea how to pronounce Calliope!
Celestine is very pretty and unusual.

squoosh · 22/02/2014 23:11

I think Calliope is pronounced kuh-lie-o-pee but I may well be wrong.

Dovahkiin · 23/02/2014 00:16

I love Calliope nn Cally. Would have gone with it if it hadn't clashed with our surname.

Showy · 23/02/2014 00:25

squoosh is right. Calliope is kuh lie o pee. Like Penelope in cadence. Beautiful name.

Puddles1234 · 23/02/2014 01:12

All three are great names.

Celestine Genevieve - she would probably get Celeste which I love.

Calliope - she will get the NN Callie when she goes to school. However it's such a sweet name.

Christabel - she would probably have the NN Christie or Christa

What about:

Aminta/Araminta NN Minty
Aoide
Artemis
Callisto (Can also be spelt Kallisto)
Hebe
Iola
Ophelia
Persephone NN Sephy
Selene

freerangeeggs · 23/02/2014 13:53

Celestine is lovely. Lissy maybe?

BananaHammocks · 23/02/2014 16:41

Ceclilia/Cecily? Cordelia? Cressida? Cosima?