Is this really horrendous?

[mabiee]

Lennon, nn Lennie for baby girl. I read a book a while back and there was a girl in there called Lennon and it’s stuck with me since.
I think Lennie is a cute and pretty nn too. I typically like slightly more unisex names.
OH likes it too. I was pretty much decided on it but decided last night to do a which MN search on the name just to see the general opinion / check for any issues in it etc. Bad idea. The pinnacle was a recent thread on Lennyn... didn’t go well.

So is Lennon / Lennie that bad? It would be Lennon Rose probably.

If you and your other half love it then that should always be enough

Nope. The CHILD is the one who has to live with the name.

Lennie

I friend has a DD Melanie - Lennie, but Melanie is a bit ‘80’s 🤣

Helena nn Leni would be much better.

There's an actress named Tammin Sursok who has a baby girl called Lennon Bleu. As a french speaker I find bleu very odd and overall it sounds very unnatural when she calls her DD Lennon so based on that I'd say choose something else. I quite like how it sounds though, I know what you mean

Hel-een sounds like a mispronounciation of the French name Hélène.

How do you pronounce the French name Hélène?

If I was talking in English at the time, something like "eLEN" or "eLAINE" would be a close enough approximation. (Yes, I am aware that the French pronunciation is not exactly like this).

Definitely not "helleen" etc.

I think you could definitely use Lennie or Leni as a full name.

Dutch singer Lenny Kuhr is definitely a woman..

My old next door neighbour had a little girl called Leni and the name grew on me as she was so sweet. I would give her the full name of Leonie or Leonora or Ellen though. I agree that Lennon sounds masculine.
But Leni on its own is fine as a full name if that's what you prefer.

Dutch singer Lenny Kuhr is definitely a woman..

And called Helena. Lenny is a nickname.

What about Lani instead... Very similar but very feminine?!

Lennie makes me think of Henry or Of Mice & Men.

I think it could work as a nn but I don’t like it as a full name and I do hear it as a male name. I’m not sure a school age female child would like having the name, so I would definitely choose a different name that can be used if your child prefers. (We did this and child does indeed use the longer version for school).

Alternative names you could use Lennie / Leni as NN

Eleni
Leanora
Leandra
Melanie
Leona
Laeni

Or you could just use Lennie as the whole name 🤷🏻‍♀️

Loralie ?

Lennie / Leni is lovely! And definitely could have as a name on its own. Go for it!

Lennie is lovely for a girl.

Full name could be anything from Helen to Magdalena to Leonora or even Lennon.

Leni is pronounced very differently to Lennie. I don't consider similar at all.

Lennie was the we chose name if I was having a girl! I love it!

What are your thoughts now @mabiee

My eldest’s middle name. I wouldn’t use it as a first name personally and definitely not for a girl.

Of Mice and Men?

I think of Lennon and Maisy too! Lennon Stella is a really beautiful, talented girl.

If you live in UK your child is likely to study Of Mice and Men at high school. A central character is a man called Lennie with a mental disability. Things don't end well for him. As a teacher I would feel really sorry for a girl with this name in high school. Why not Lena? It's good enough for the queen's great granddaughter...

There are central characters in many English Lit classics that are studied in school - not all of them are heroes or heroines, and many of them have names that are popular.

George Wickham
Lydia Bennet
Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Henry Jekyll
Edward Hyde