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Baby names

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

Bree, Leonora, Juliet etc

40 replies

CandyflossGin · 14/10/2022 19:16

DH and I have come up with a shortlist of names for our daughter due in November. Would greatly appreciate any feedback!

We already have a DS named Henry and her middle name will be Violet after my grandmother.

Thanks in advance! (Not in any particular order)

Leonora
Juliet
Jolene
Caoimhe (pronounced Keeva - DH is irish)
Bree
Emmeline

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17caterpillars1mouse · 15/10/2022 18:53

I really like Bree. I know a lovely Bree, full name is Bryony which I also think is lovely

I also know a Caoimhe and other than a few looks of confusion when her birth was first announced (11 years ago) people haven't struggled with it. Though she did go to a Catholic school so maybe that helped.

AlwaysFoldingWashing · 15/10/2022 18:57

Juliet is lovely

Polkadothearts · 15/10/2022 20:14

Emmeline is my favourite and think it sounds beautiful with Violet.
Also think Leonora Violet works well.
Both give good nn options as well if you/she chooses.
I’ve never encountered the name Caoimhe and would definitely struggle to pronounce it without guidance initially. But once I’d been told once it would never be an issue and that would be true for everyone so if that’s your favourite don’t let people being unsure how to pronounce it put you off

FreshCop · 15/10/2022 21:06

I prefer Leonara over Leonora. But that’s my favourite.

nelliebear8 · 15/10/2022 22:03

Love Juliet, but Juliet Violet doesn’t have a great flow. Would still use it though…
Second choice is Emmeline, followed by Leonora.

Olivetreebutter · 15/10/2022 22:04

Juliet is our name of choice!

RaininSummer · 15/10/2022 22:30

Emmaline. I love Keeva and the Irish spelling but sounds wrong with Violet.

Ellmau · 15/10/2022 22:41

Leonora - really nice name, my favourite from your list.
Juliet - also lovely but not with Violet. Julia or Juliana yes. Or Juliet Viola could work.
Jolene - would assume you were a really big Dolly Parton fan.
Caoimhe (pronounced Keeva - DH is irish) - she will have trouble getting people to spell and pronounce it.
Bree - makes me think of the horse in CS Lewis. This may just be me. Others may think of the Desperate Housewife, or spell it like the cheese.
Emmeline - not super keen, it's a bit prim and proper Victorian.

caitlinrose · 16/10/2022 23:05

Leonora - it's pretty but might be shortened to Leo. I know a Leonora who is Leo 99% of the time. As it's quite long it's harder to avoid nicknames (it's possible when she is little but later on she will decide what she wants to go by). As nicknames are more likely to come from the first syllables of a name I think introducing Nora will be more difficult (and as it is shooting up in popularity there might be a Nora in her class already) and I would assume that she will become Leo. I would think about whether that would bother me. I personally dislike Leo on a girl.

Juliet - it's pretty but very much associated with the play and a bit tragic because of that.

Jolene - sorry, I find this a bit 1950s and a bit not-so-classy. I also dislike the nickname Jo.

Caoimhe - it's fine. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the sound but it looks pretty. I remember two of my Irish friends fighting whether it's kee-va or kwee-va (it's apparently a regional thing but both were convinced that the other pr. wasn't correct). I'd be prepared to correct people a lot and to even have some Irish people go "the pronunciation is incorrect" due to it being kwee-va in their accent (to the best of my knowledge both pronunciations are indeed correct but I would genuinely check this with some Irish language institute or something).

Bree - not bad but more of a nickname. Brie (pr. bree) is also cheese. Maybe for Briana, Briella, Brielle.

Emmeline - cute. I prefer -leen. But maybe not a good time to use this with all the Emmas and Emilys already around. -leen also makes it sound a lot like Emily. My husband loves Emma but I can't get 100% on board because of its former popularity.

Out of these I feel like Bree would be refreshing but I'd look for a longer version as Bree by itself reminds me of the cheese too much to put it on a birth certificate. Juliet, Emmeline, Leonora are fine too. Caoimhe is pretty but I find it a bit bland because it feels whenever people want an Irish name they choose Caoimhe or Aoife.

Bree feels refreshing because it doesn't have sounds in it that are currently so popular (Eva, Ava, Evelyn, Ada, Ayla, Isla etc.).

Luredbyapomegranate · 16/10/2022 23:10

Leonora - love it, underused
Juliet - like it, getting quite popular

Jolene - NO. Don’t be ridiculous woman. It’s a joke name.

Caoimhe (pronounced Keeva - DH is irish) - it will be a PITA if you aren’t in Ireland. It’s not the nicest of names either. Cliona?

Bree - I would assume you were a Desperate Housewives fan, but anyway don’t do it because she will spend her childhood fighting off smelly cheese jokes.

Emmeline - nice, very of the moment.

PrioritiseCalm · 16/10/2022 23:28

Emmeline Violet is awesome!

Anon778833 · 16/10/2022 23:34

Leonora goes best with Violet.

RippleQueen · 16/10/2022 23:52

How about Viola instead of Violet? Then you could use Juliet.

FayCarew · 17/10/2022 07:01

Leonora - don't like it
Juliet - nice but don't like it said as Julie Ette, and don't like Jules/Jools. Viola as a middle name with it?
Jolene - no, but Joely is nice
Caoimhe (pronounced Keeva - DH is irish) - will get misspelt and mispronounced a lot
Bree - don't like it at all
Emmeline - not keen but like Emma

You could use Violet as her first name

peaceinourtime · 25/10/2022 00:35

I knew a Bree spelt Brie like the cheese. I'm sure there's a few around.

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