Esther - what do you think?

[Ellynewmum]

Hello Ladies,

Im new to this forum and would love to have your opinion on the name Ive chosen for my LG - Esther and Eileen as secondo name

How does this sound to you?

Thanks!

Esther Eileen sounds a bit of an odd combination to my ear. I wonder if Eileen would sound better if you had two middle names, and used it as the second one?

We have an Esther and it’s a really nice, classic name that we get a lot of compliments on. Don’t know about it being easy to spell though- as a PP said upthread- we’ve had cards and stuff sent home from nursery with variations of “Ester” and “Esta” on!

Love it. I only know one. A grown woman who is a fierce go getter and doesn’t let anything stand in her way.

I prefer Etta

Love it! Although for me it’s quite a Jewish name, so personally I’d not use it as I’m not Jewish... It also reminds me of Martha, which I also love.

You sound very thoughtful and loving in the way you’re choosing the name :)

Esther has been one of my all time favourite girls names since I was 8, alongside another name that was equally quiet until about two years after my daughter was born. I should have gone with Esther!

Love it! I don’t think it’s an old lady name at all, it’s a strong Biblical name. Esther Eileen sounds nice.

I love Esther and would choose it if Esther Coles didn't sound too close to testicles.... Am in the UK and think it sounds elegant rather than clunky or old ladyish. Along the lines of Clara or Cora or Rosa.

@Ellynewmum - ah I get what you are saying now, no I really don't think Esther sounds frumpy or old, its not how children perceive things I don't think, I can't remember anyone getting teased for their name at school and I went to a rough one. I knew an Esther at school and this was years ago in the 1980's - she never got teased at all & really I think kids look at their peers just as people, but I say go with what you are comfortable with and what suits her, you can't go wrong then xx

I have a family member named Esther, gets shortened to Essie.

Thanks a lot for all the added comments!

I like both Essie and Etta as nn.

Hope the name will serve my lg well

Thanks!

Aww I love it when people like my girls names! I'm so happy you love it as I do!!

Forgot to add my eldest calls my Esther "Essie" the rest of us call her Est or Estie but mostly she's just Esther because she just is an Esther!!

My 5 year old is called Esther, and she suits it so well. She's feisty, funny and kind, likes her name and is the only one in her school. At school she is always Esther but we shorten to Essie at home and sometimes Bessie (which I never thought of before she was born and evolved from a baby nickname of my bester-Esther.)

I have an Esther. Generally speaking it's a popular name on Mumsnet [see a lot of the above comments].

However, most people in RL seem to dislike it. When you say your baby's name, and there's a pause as people decide how to be tactful before coming up with, "oh, how unusual." or "that's an old name, isn't it?" you know that they hate it . And that's what happens with DD.

I still love the name though. And my now teenage DD loves it as well. Though it took her over a decade to get over the fact that she can't buy personalised tat with her name on it.

thanks ladies for the additional comments
Nice to know there are some small girls called Esther out there!

@matildatoldsuchdreadfullies
how do you know that your teen daughter likes it? what are the clues :D
one of my fears is that my DD won't like her name
on the personalised items - true, I was on vacation recently and looked for the name on the keyrings/souvenirs rack but no Esther.. as well as no other names..
was that an issue ie on school trips etc for her?

thanks!

Esther is nice, a name that works for a child or an adult. More associated with older generations but not in a negative way, I think it's still biblical and classic. Essie and Etta are lovely nicknames.

I think pairing it with Eileen does emphasise Esther's grannyish side,
but that wouldn't put me off if Eileen had sentimental value as it's not often you have to say or write your full name in the UK, mostly it's just first name + surname. If that bothered you, you could add another short middle name in between to.minimise that effect: Esther Rose Eileen/Esther Kate Eileen etc.

None of my kids can buy tat with their names on. I'm so glad lol

Teenage DD actually talks to me (occasionally) .

If you go with Esther, and your DD is desperate to get her name on a rubbish pen, take her to France. All the named souvenir racks seemed to include Esther.

:D haha!!

Vive la France :D

also, thanks for the suggestions on middle names

Esther is a great name but I wouldn't pair it with Eileen. Esther is very common in UK African communities (I teach a lot of Esthers) but not fashionable at the moment for white people. To me it doesn't sound like a granny name at all because I know so many young Esthers. But even if it did, granny names are very trendy!

I know an Esther in her 20s.

Lovely name. I think it's ageless.

Thanks for the comments!

it feels like an ageless name to me too

@qumquat:
'not fashionable at the moment for white people'
why do you reckon this is the case?
I think of it more of a classical name and yes there are other names at the top of the chart but I hope it still feels somehow 'in fashion'...

I just mean I don't know any white people under 40 called Esther. I think it's impossible to find reasons for fashions, they just are. I think it is pretty timeless as it's never been massively in fashion, which imho is a good thing. Names like Mabel, Ivy etc will scream 2018 middle class in a few years.

It's the name we're going to use when we have a girl so I definitely love it. Not TTC yet, hopefully we don't end up with a load of boys so I can use it! It was my grandmother's name but for some reason I still don't think of it as "old" - I've never known another one but I still see it as a kind of timeless, and particularly Jewish (which I'm not) kind of name. It's never been hugely popular in the UK & Ireland but it's a name everyone has heard of so that's a positive for me. RE: wanting tat with her name on, I don't think that's as much of a problem these days. A lot of kids with "yooneek" kind of names won't be finding things with their names on it either, so it's less of a trend, but if she really wants something then the internet can provide practically unlimited options for customised stuff. So yes, I love the name, my partner and I already call baby girls we see in the street "baby Esther"s so we're obviously very excited to use it, you definitely should use it too!

Eileen though I feel much less enthused about - I'm in Ireland so it's very much a name of a certain generation. Aileen seems more common among young people here, but I've still only met a few. If you're in England I like the idea of having a middle name beginning with a vowel, since it'll ensure the "r" in Esther is pronounced when her full name is read out (I'm irrationally weird about rhotic Rs, I know it's silly). Eilish (anglicised spelling of Éilis or Ailis) might be an alternative, I see it as really similar but it could well be because it was my granny Esther's sister's name! There's also Aisling, Elaine, Elena (pronunciation problems wouldn't matter much since it's a middle name), Eilidh, though that might be too popular nowadays, Ada, Ellen, Irene, probably a load more I'm not thinking of. I suppose your partner deserves to pick the middle name if he wants though so I probably shouldn't really be suggesting alternatives if that's what he's set on :P

Thank you for the additional comments and all the details - really appreciate that.

Here is where I stand:
I've looked into other names and combinations of names
I still come back to Esther - I like the message behind the name, for a girl - it's strong, brave and positive.

Now, I'm not Jewish, nor Baptist, or African.
I am not particularly religious and don't belong to any group.

Does it sound odd if I pick this name?

Also, I get the whole "granny/very vintage due a come back but not coming back really" vibe - it affects me to a point, as long as my baby won't be impacted by that.
I'm thinking how could a baby born in 2018 be impacted by this vibe though? Surely her classmates won't know, unless they have a great-grandma called Esther..

Please let me know your thoughts

Thanks a million