Romilly with German connections

[CassandrasCastle]

We've been struggling with names ever since we found out it was a girl last month... I have recently discovered some new ones for the list which I really like and felt like progress, but.. :

Freya - is it just too popular/blah?

Romilly - really like this BUT, my dp is part German, fluent, and we'll be spending a few months there in a flat he owns during my mat leave. Is it just a bit too much like Rommel?

Other options are:

Evangeline
Juliana
Juno
Lilias

I like Juliana or Juliane best.

That was dp's suggestion, he'd be delighted... I'm not massively keen, prefer Juliet, but it is pretty and has a family link which is nice

I love Freya the best and don’t think it’s too popular myself

Lilias is awful so is Evangeline

Like Juno though

I love Romilly and Juno. I like Lilias too.

Finding names that work across cultures is tricky especially as pronunciations often differ a bit. Romilly is a nice name but doesn't work in German for a exactly the reason you say. Romy works if you like that as a similar alternative. I like Freya from your list.

Dammit, I really like Romilly Romy would definitely be a nickname

Freya is lovely, I thought of it while on holiday in Orkney at NY reading Nordic legend stuff...but it's apparently in the top 10 girls names; I sound annoying for having an issue with this, but I don't want her to be one of 3 Freyas in her class or whatever..

Every time someone someone hates Lilias I feel a bit gutted haha, need to toughen up for the baby name board

Shit, there's a Freya thread right under this one

Amelie works in German.

I also like Juliana

We have a Joni, we had Juno on our shortlist and Una which both have the same sort of sound. My friend is Swedish and sometimes pronounces it Yoni which I find quite endearing!

I like Romilly.

Romy is quite popular in germany now, that is a bit similar. Romilly is easy to pronounce in german I would think.

Came here to say about Rommel, it's a shame because it's a nice name but I personally wouldn't do it.

Isn't Yoni sanskrit (?) for vagina?

j - names are difficult ime
germans tend to pronouce it either as a yoo-lia sound or this awful tsh-oolia

I know a Romily. No similarities to Rommell! She lives in Germany.

Rommel is irrelevant and anyway you don’t say you will live there full time. Romy is popular in Germany as posters have said.

Christa, Isolde, Clara, Mila are names that work in both languages.

But I prefer Romilly - it’s beautiful.

Love Romilly! Just do it!

In my excitement I have forgotten to run Romilly past dp, oops... I may suggest it and see if he makes the Rommel connection on his own..

He liked Freya

OP It could be worth checking with relatives or friends living in Germany if any of the names you like are quite dated - like calling a British baby something like Karen or Linda. If you're not spending much time there it may not matter but is something worth considering.

I'm not too bothered about them seeming dated in Germany, we don't plan to live there for any extended length of time - the Rommel thing felt a bit more pressing though..

Love Lilias and Juliana, and they would both work well in German.
How about Felicitas?

Romilly (which i always think is a bit of an odd one anyway) will get some strange pronunciations in German. I think it will remind people more of Romy than Rommel, but it will get a variety of pronunciations and emphases. Don't do Freya, people will make assumptions about your political leanings (Germans with neo-Nazi sympathies sometimes choose Nordic god names).

Germany is swimming with Amelies, I wouldn't do that.

What about Romana?

Juno and Juliana are both lovely names, but would German relatives want to pronounce with a y sound?

Haha, hopefully having a Freya (or a Romilly for that matter..) won't be enough for people to pin us as Neo-Nazis

@Ellmau I've always quite liked Ramona, hadn't considered Romana before :)

I prefer Romane, which is popular in France.

All I can think about when I see Romilly is Rommel. I don’t see how anyone can think of anything else! BUT then I’m a history geek and I bet there’s a fair chance that a good number of people haven’t even heard of Rommel? Or if they have they’ve forgotten who it is anyway. Maybe not German relatives though actually 🤔 Actually yeah with German relatives I think I’d go for something else. Ramona is an amazing name!

And I LOVE Juno