Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

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

Juniper VS Pilar

24 replies

hagrace · 26/04/2015 19:51

OK, so have ruled out Thessaly, Cecily and am wondering about these two.

What are your immediate thoughts?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
BathshebaDarkstone · 26/04/2015 19:53

Honestly, yuck. Sorry.

hagrace · 26/04/2015 19:56

What both of them? Why?

OP posts:
StAlphonsosPancakeBreakfast · 26/04/2015 19:58

Using Pilar presumably means one of you has Spanish heritage? Otherwise it will seem a bit strange and she'll have to explain all the time. Also I don't personally think it's a nice name.

Juniper is pretty but only if she turns into a wafty blonde surf chick/eco-warrior. Grin

Summerbreezer · 26/04/2015 19:59

Really not keen on Pilar. My first thought is rice (yes I know that is Pilaf) or pillar.

Plus what would the nickname be? Pilly?

Juniper is a bit frilly for me, but better than Pilar.

Dinosaursdontgrowontrees · 26/04/2015 19:59

Love Juniper especially with the nickname Junie or Juno! So cute!

Not sure about Pilar.. How's it pronounced? Like the rice?

hagrace · 26/04/2015 20:00

Pee lar

OP posts:
PeppermintCrayon · 26/04/2015 20:01

No no no to both sorry

GoodtoBetter · 26/04/2015 20:03

Pilar should be pronounced PeeLAR. Not sure I'd go for it unless there was a Spanish background, and almost certainly not then even so.
In an English speaking country I think Juniper would be better, lthough I still think it's a bit out there.

Bowlersarm · 26/04/2015 20:04

I love Juniper, fantastic name.

Calypso?

QOD · 26/04/2015 20:05

Prefer Juniper. It's always a car crash when you ask for opinions on names.
I prefer both to the over and over Harry Ava Evie Mable brigade names

AuntieStella · 26/04/2015 20:06

Juniper sounds to close to 'd'you nip 'er' (ie: did you nip her) for me .

Pilar is fine if you are honouring Spanish connections, but isn't particularly assimilated into anglophone countries and so might stand out for the wrong reasons.

Any particular reason you ruled out Cecily? I think it's the nicest of the four names you've mentioned.

hagrace · 26/04/2015 20:08

I didn't like the meaning.

OP posts:
namechange0dq8 · 26/04/2015 20:09

Juniper: interesting second-tier brand of network switches.

Pillar: interesting second-tier brand of storage products.

hagrace · 26/04/2015 20:13

I guess I like them second tier names Grin

OP posts:
florascotia · 26/04/2015 20:55

OP Personally, I don't mind Juniper - I've been in very wild and remote places where it grows all over the place, and smells lovely.
But, for heaven's sake, don't let a 2000-year-old-very-tenuous-connection put you off a pretty name such as Cecily.

In ancient Rome, there was a family called Caecilius. One of their ancestors might have been blind, or short-sighted, or not far-sighted, or not terribly astute. So his nickname stuck, and became a surname. But an awful lot of water has flowed under an awful lot of bridges since then. And a great many women and girls have been named either Caecilia - after the patron saint of music, who may, or may have not, have belonged to that Roman family- or Cecily (the simple, unpretentious English version of the Latin name).

If, after that, the meaning of the name Cecily still bothers you, then you have two further choices.
You can either say that you are basing Cecily on an old noble English surname - Cecil - that was based on the Welsh for 'sixth child'.
Or you can say that you are naming your daughter after the very pretty herb, Sweet Cicely, and spell it that way. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicely

But I don't think Pilar is a good choice unless you are Spanish.

hagrace · 26/04/2015 20:59

Thanks Flora! Your reply was fantastic!

OP posts:
florascotia · 26/04/2015 21:03

OP thank you! Smile

FuckyNell · 27/04/2015 07:15

I love that reply too flora

sweetpeame · 27/04/2015 08:22

Pilar is fine assuming one of you (or family) are Spanish. I don't think it's a name that has crossed over into regular use in the UK so might sound too unusual if there are no Spanish links. I personally don't like Juniper but there's nothing wrong with it as a name, it's just personal preference. Out of the four names you've mentioned Jumiper and Cecily are best.

BabyTuckoo · 27/04/2015 10:15

Go back to Cecily or one of its variants, which are lovely. My surname means either 'rich' or 'dumb', presumably off the back of some significant clan head of that name in the distant past.

I like Pilar a lot, personally, but have no idea whether it counts as an 'old lady' name in today's Spanish-speaking countries - it's after Our Lady of the Pillar in Saragossa, isn't it?

Juniper I don't much care for as a name - the berry is so astringent, I find myself making an internal face at the thought...Also, gin.

Quasilulu · 29/04/2015 07:17

Cicely as suggested by Flora is gorgeous.

SunshineAndShadows · 29/04/2015 08:50

Much prefer Juniper to any of your other names, it's a pretty, unusual nature name and nice nicknames - perfect

manicinsomniac · 29/04/2015 10:13

I love Juniper.

Cecily is pretty. Never heard of Thessaly but it's quite pretty.

Pilar I don't like

AndWhenYouGetThere · 29/04/2015 11:47

Cecily and Juniper are lovely. I don't really like Pilar though (it's the Pee at the beginning - sorry! Juvenile I know!)

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread