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Baby names

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

Oliva or Olivella

88 replies

joieria · 31/07/2021 14:17

Do you prefer Oliva or Olivella for a girl?

We've ruled out Olivia because it's too popular but Olive seems too plain for us. We have Spanish links and want to choose between these two names but can't decide!

OP posts:
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TheVanguardSix · 31/07/2021 14:21

Neither. Sorry but Olivella sounds like you're plugging a plant-based food product.
It's Olivia (which is much prettier sounding than Oliva) or another name entirely.

Undersnatch · 31/07/2021 14:23

I think Oliva they would spend their life correcting as people would think it was Olivia. And tend to agree with the Olivella sounding spread-like, sorry.

AllTheSingleLadiess · 31/07/2021 14:24

If you live in England, people will assume Oliver rather than Oliva or that it's a typo for Olivia.

debwong · 31/07/2021 14:26

Frogmella?

ISeeTheLight · 31/07/2021 14:27

Olivella sounds like olive oil. Or like a type of olive oil based margarine. Olivia on the other hand is beautiful.

EssentialHummus · 31/07/2021 14:28

Neither, for all the reasons PP gave.

TerribleCustomerCervix · 31/07/2021 14:28

Olivella sounds like you couldn’t decide between Olivia and Isabella so just mashed them together.

BigWoollyJumpers · 31/07/2021 14:30

Sorry OP - I read the title and thought "spread".

NannyR · 31/07/2021 14:30

Olivella sounds like a brand of olive oil (and, incidentally, auto corrected to Olivia when I typed it) and Oliva looks like a typo for Olivia, especially if she is going to be brought up in UK where Oliva is that well known.
Olivia is a beautiful name, popular for a good reason.

Crowsaregreat · 31/07/2021 14:35

They both sound like margarine. Sorry. Athena, Helena, Arianna? Or Livia, Lydia?

Nobloat21 · 31/07/2021 14:38

Olivio spread.

MrsGilly1 · 31/07/2021 15:01

Olivia x the other name looks made up or a name for butter/margarine! X

Bananapuppy · 31/07/2021 15:04

Sorry OP, I agree with PP. Olivia is beautiful, Oliva is ‘Oliver’ and Olivella sounds like margarine oil.

Ihopeyourcakeisshit · 31/07/2021 15:05

Olivella ? No No and thrice No Grin

JedEye · 31/07/2021 15:24

😐 Erm neither

How about Octavia, Odette, or Orla

MadeOfStarStuff · 31/07/2021 15:29

Neither sorry (FWIW I don’t like Olive or Olivia either so may not be the best judge)

Oliva will be constantly assumed to be Olivia or Oliver either misread/misheard or people assume you wanted a “unique” spelling for the sake of it

As PP said Olivella sounds like some kind of olive oil product

Floralnomad · 31/07/2021 15:31

They are both dreadful , maybe they work in Spain with the accent etc but over here they both sound fairly ugly and your child will spend her life correcting people .

Datsandcogs · 31/07/2021 15:33

No and no. Olivia or choose something else, otherwise people will misspell or mishear.

Bluntness100 · 31/07/2021 15:34

Are these even real names or did you make them up?

SardineJam · 31/07/2021 15:35

Livia is a better option

maddiemookins16mum · 31/07/2021 15:46

Neither. Don’t name your wain something that will cause any or even one of the following to happen…..

  1. ‘how do you spell that?’
  2. ‘Is that a forrin name?”
  3. ‘Pardon, what’s your name?’
  4. It being spelled incorrectly on every letter/card etc for years.
  5. ‘Oh I thought you said Olivia’
BiBabbles · 31/07/2021 16:03

Of those two, Olivella is okay, though not that keen on it.

Another alternative is Olivine (used in my Mestizo family, though I'm very aware some names work fine in Spanish in some areas better than others).

UseOfWeapons · 31/07/2021 16:08

Sorry OP, neither. Poor lass will end up being called Olivia, and having her named misspelled and mispronounced for most of her life. Olivella sounds like something you used on toast.I agree with a PP, Livia is the better option, if you were looking for something with the same root?

BackforGood · 31/07/2021 16:12

TO my English ears, neither, for all the reasons given above.

If Oliva is spoken, everyone will ask her why she is called Oliver.
If Oliva is written down, everyone will think i is a typo and insert an extra 'i'.
I'm just not keen on Olivella but can't put my finger on why.

This is working on a child growing up in UK / English speaking country, which of course you might not be.

Obviously there are loads of names that sound 'foreign' to English ears, and we all soon get used to them, but the issue here is the similarity to what you have already acknowledged are common English names in Olivia and Oliver, so I think that is what people will 'hear'.

Jumpalicious · 31/07/2021 16:16

Livia, aviva? Similar ring?

Not olivella - which absolutely sounds like either an olive oil derivative or some sort of power tool. Correction, I’m thinking of Olivetti - the typewriter.