Martina?

[FirstTimeMom12]

What do you think of Martina? Sister is Lucia and we wanted a name to match the cuteness of that.

DH likes Frida but I am not sure on that.
Do you like Frida or Martina?
Or do you have a suggestion with an Italian or Latin name to suit?

Think I don’t mind the similarity of Luana/Luna to Lucia, as when I call both names I don’t get confused, the s in Lucia makes it more distinct for me...

But I love Coralie too
So it’s a matter of choosing between these...
Wish I was having twins lol, so then they will be Coralie and Luana/Luna and got to use one of each 😁 But then again maybe not ...

I really do not think repeating the Lu sound is a good idea.

You have used that sound with your first DD. Now move on. The second child needs a sound of her own. I would eliminate Luana and Luna from your considerations.

Coralie is nice. It sounds a little like a nickname beside Lucia though. Maybe it's the -ie ending..

How about:
Natalia
Natasha
Valentina
Susanna
Eulalia
Leonor
Leticia
Clara
Elisa

Mathanxiety some good points though DH absolutely loves Luna

Natalia and Clara are nice but they were names we had shortlisted with Lucia and we decided not to use. Hate the nickname Nat and Clara just didn’t seem right in the end. And we wanted to start fresh this time

Coralie is my favourite, but the interesting thing is the nickname aspect you mentioned. Will Coralia solve that? though to be honest I like more the sound of Coralie in this case...

I don't think Coralie sounds like a nickname, since it's quite long. To me it just sounds quite French (not a bad thing!)

I think Coralie is lovely

If you want to start fresh, then please don't choose Luna. It's re-using the same sound. Coralie is 100% better, if you like it.

Coralia really isn't a name.

Alternatives:
Camilla
Claudia
Cornelia
Cecelia
Celia

Thalia
Ophelia
Marina
Marcella
Serena
Silvia

Apologies as this may have been mentioned and I haven't read the full thread.

I don't like Martina, not least because it may be shortened to Marty or Tina. But what about Martha? It is such a lovely name.

Natalia?

Will any of the following work?

• Alexa nickname Lexie
• Myrta
• India

Do you like any of these? Or do they lack when compared to Lucia?
Also what nicknames can Martha have?

Alexa can't be used any more thanks to the Alexa device which responds to the name. A friend of DD4's named Alexa is now seriously considering changing her name. The sister of a friend of DD3's changed her name to Ziri from Siri for similar reasons. She didn't want to revert to Sigrid.

Myrta is really not a name.
There is Myrtle? Usually rhymed with 'fertile' in the US.
And the Irish boy's name Murthagh.
Also Myrna.

I love India, and I think it would have the same gravitas and elegance
as Lucia.

I know one Martha who is the same age as DD1 (27). She was nicknamed 'cluck-cluck' as a child because when they moved into their home they discovered that their neighbours' had a hen who rejoiced in the name. The other Martha I know among my DCs' peers was nicknamed Marcy but she hated it and insisted on the full Martha. My ex-SIL's mother was known as Mart, not a very attractive nickname imo.

Thank you mathanxiety
Oh such a shame as I really liked Alexa, will Lexie on its own work?

Myrta/ Mirta is Spanish, found it on a Spanish site though it usually goes with the i spelling in Spanish.

Interesting about India, will it feel weird though that we are not linked to the country? We never even travelled there though I like the name sound and do love Indian house ornaments, but that is it in terms of our connection...

Lexie is not at all in the same league as Lucia. It conveys the impression of a different social class.
Alexandra with nn Allie might be nice, or Alix (the nn of the last Tsarina of Russia).

Apologies - I did not associate Myrta with Mirta, which I have come across (I have relatives in Argentina and Uruguay). I think it would be nice and would stand up well with Lucia, but I would worry that in the UK it would be pronounced like the Irish male name Murthagh ('Murta') if you used the Y spelling. I think the Mirta spelling might be better.

I think India has become enough of a mainstream name that you wouldn't need a connection to India to use it. DD4 has an American friend Indya who has absolutely no Indian Empire/British Empire connection, and certainly no connection to India itself. Her parents simply liked the way the name went with their surname.

Thank you mathanxiety, very helpful!
Between Mirta and India which do you think it’s a nicer choice?

It's difficult! I like them both. If you have Spanish heritage then I would honour that with Mirta. If you will be living in the UK, and if your relatives overseas would be able to pronounce India, I might be tempted to go with that.

To throw a spanner in the works, I must admit I like Frida (or Frieda) from way upthread. It's Germanic, but I suspect a lot of people associate the name with Frida Kahlo the artist, who is overwhelmingly associated with Mexico. I also like Elfrieda. And while Lucia is Spanish and Italian, Santa Lucia is an important Swedish tradition.

The name Sibylla wouldn't have a 'bella' ending.

Thank you mathanxiety!
DH rejected Sybilla, as I had suggested it to him. And not sure why but Frieda does not excite me at the moment, it was DH’s suggestion and after reading all the comments, I’m not convinced...

We do have Spanish heritage and live in the UK, quite settled here actually so India may be our choice then. Have to mention it to DH first or rather “convince” him!
Mirta can be our second choice.

Pronunciationwise we will not have any issue with India and overseas relatives. They also use the name Afrika in Spain,we know two, so India will be accepted easily as a name choice considering that I believe. It was the mixed feelings of people on India in general that threw me off in the beginning (some say it’s pretentious and try too hard), but it’s a name I love and I do like your take on it and how widely used and acceptedit is now. DD likes a friend at school named Indie and it made me adore the name more... and I love Gone with the Wind and India Wilkes which is a plus 😉

Opening up my old thread, wdyt for the name Dulcie (Nickname for Dulcinea)?

That will be as a sister to Lucia
Our other option is India, but I came across Dulcie and liked it too

Dulcinea? Are you happy with the Don Quixote association? The object of his love and devotion.