Bryony.. Opinions?

[BlondeMalteser]

What do you think of Bryony/Briony. Surname Thorne. I am thinking of Alexandra or Kate as a middle name

'Bryony wears brown cords and talks earnestly about the exploitation of baboons in the Congo.'

Bryony is the name of my friend's beautiful daughter, who loved sparkly nail varnish and fashionable clothes, who passed away from cancer week before last.

It's a beautiful name.

Bryony wears brown cords and talks earnestly about the exploitation of baboons in the Congo

Well this Bryony certainly doesn't! Never in my life have I worn brown cords or talked about exploitation of baboons

expat really sorry about your friends daughter

It's a poisonous plant - I can't get past that. And you can't put it with Thorne- any more than you could have Rose Thorne.

I didn't know that about Tansy, it's put me off a bit :( Still at nearly 70 I'm not likely to be naming any babies. It might work for my next kitten though :)

Bry-uh-new since when?

I really should like Bryony in theory - big gardening/nature fan, and it's definitely my 'style' of name - but I can't quite fall for it. I have come across several Briony/Bryonys whose parents have used it as a feminine form of Brian, which does put me off a bit, plus there's the very unappealing narrator of 'Atonement' (Briony Tallis) who also comes to mind. Would definitely pronounce it 'Bri-uh-nee' - have never heard the 'Bri-uh-new' version. Agree that, whatever the pronunciation, it's a bit much with Thorne as the surname.

The Briony (this spelling) I know best is a university acquaintance - quite posh and very no-nonsense and practical, though no brown-cord wearing that I'm aware of!

Hate it!

I quite like it as a nature name, but I know a baby called this and lots of friends thought it was Brian-y, like Keviny or Adamy. They didn't realise it was a plant, they just thought they had expected a boy!

I love the name Bryony. Absolutely love it. It has that rare quality of being timeless - you'd never know for sure how old a Bryony was.

I imagine a graceful, intelligent, well-read brunette.

But yes, Briony Tallis did lower its stock.

I like Briony/Bryony Alexandra Thorne

IslaValargeone it was posted that this was a typo, which seemed quite obvious from the start since the E and W are next to eachother!

Thanks everyone for all your input. Although I do still love the name, I have realised that a plant name with Thorne doesn't quite work. It's a shame so many people connect it to Brian. I guess it all depends on where you emphasis the syllables. I always say it Bry-UH-nee. not brian-ee. So never really made the connection but definitely see how it is possible! we have a couple of other name's we really love.

I connect it to the name brian as a really controlling, unpleasant husband of someone I know was called Brian and made his first born daughter briony. He was gutted when his next child was a boy and he had wasted his name on a girl.

The fact he didn't know the plant connection just shows what an ignorant and unpleasant man he was (although his daughter was v intelligent and lovely).

Alexandra is a gorgeous name. I would use it but BIL is called Alexander.

Keep your hair on love. I wasn't the only person to question the pronounciation so it wasn't that obvious and given some of the ridiculous spelling/pronounciation around these days it was bound to be questioned.
Especially from me as I am called Briony.

The name has good rhythm but when I saw your surname was Thorn I thought "hang on". It's a name for someone famous or a character in a book. In real life it's not fair to saddle someone with that.

Emily Thorne as per Revenge.
Think Thorne is a nice surname and you shouldn't find it difficult to pick a lovely name to go with it.

What about Bryley? I know someone with that name so it does work in rl.

I love Bryony/Bryonie but DH didn't go for it - mainly the Brian issue :( I went with Romilly instead :)

I don't understand how brian-ee and bry-un-ee are different anyway, as the Brians I've known have all been bry-un. But agree that in either case it sounds a bit silly with Thorne. Although much better with Winslett-Thorne. I don't like the version with the extra 'y' in the middle.

Love Romilly :)