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Original poster

Please, tell my wife that her names suggestions are awful!

897 replies

Demainsdeslaube · 12/12/2023 21:25

Hello everyone!

I am 5 months pregnant, and my wife and I are having a hard time agreeing. After weeks of "arguing", we decided to forget about all the previous names suggested before and make a new list.
I absolutely hate all the names she wrote down :

  • Bradleigh ( her favourite)
  • Dallas
  • Paris
  • Lisandry
  • Helen ( The only one I like)

Whereas my favourite names are:

  • Romy ( She likes it but not love it)
  • Dahlia
  • Neva

She is so sure, those are pretty names. Pleaaase help, she'll be reading all the comments!

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6
Zoflorabore · 15/12/2023 00:28

Sorry to all Helen’s but I think it’s a really boring name. The only one I like is “Romy” and weirdly used to love this name when I was a teenager.

you’ve got 4/5 months to come up with a name still so I wouldn’t worry too much.

the best advice I heard was someone saying that you need to picture the baby’s name at various life stages so for example- at school/in the workplace/as a pensioner…

can’t imagine a pensioner with any of the more unusual names on the lists!

TreacleMines · 15/12/2023 00:44

Pamalot · 14/12/2023 19:27

Remember your poor kid aswell as a hyphenated surname is going to have to spell out these names. Poor thing. Bradleigh is because of The Morning Show TV programme? How about Sophie/Sophia, Emma or Lucy. Classics that will last forever and wont have to be spelt out.

Edited

You might get away with never spelling Emma, but I know Lucies, Sofies and Sophys- spelling is so varied now. I have an utterly boring, normal name- always several in my class at school but I still have to spell it (does it end in i, ie, or y?).

Original poster
Demainsdeslaube · 15/12/2023 00:59

Hey everyone ,

Thank you for your help. Loved the brutal honesty ( Apart the bitchy ones),

After reading everything and everyone who toom their times to respond: I fell in love with Helena but my wife is like no no I like Maeve.

Btw, in France names in ette are for old woman. "Cosette" is not a name to us, she is the mistreated girl in Les Misérables. Cosette is an insult in France.

We'll probably be back in a couple of months to ask again. Love the funny, genuine, brutal opinions. But the ones saying "poor baby" ; "terrible parents" are just pfffffff.

OP posts:
Original poster
Demainsdeslaube · 15/12/2023 01:01

@Pamalot Lots of straight women also want their surnames in their child's surname. Why is it different for lesbians?

OP posts:
Original poster
Demainsdeslaube · 15/12/2023 01:08

@Leila7654321

Yes, I am. That's why I don't get the poster who says Christina is the only correct version. If we went back home, there are only Cristinas. Christina looks to me like it should be pronounced Christi Tina.

OP posts:
Original poster
Demainsdeslaube · 15/12/2023 01:10

rickobucks · 14/12/2023 19:34

Your problem is that apart from one (Helen), you've both chosen modern (and slightly woke) names. Your problem is that these names will forever date your child with these times and as time goes on will look more and more look old fashioned and become more associated with old people.
Take a leaf out of Royalty and look at history with great names coming down the centuries. Good names will never date.

What is a "woke" name?

OP posts:
Isabellivi · 15/12/2023 01:59

i know this but to peoples ear they will think of Paris Hilton and the Black Dahlia. It’s like naming a child Adolf because of its original meaning and ignoring the famous person sharing that name. Nothing wrong with the name Adolf….

Isabellivi · 15/12/2023 02:08

Maeve is very pretty. So many beautiful French names. I also love Nadege.

readyspaghetti · 15/12/2023 04:20

Is it Maeve as pronounced similar to Dave or Maeve as pronounced similar to gravy.

I’d go with Helena or how about Jenika, Leilani, Raine or Roksana.

best wishes with the name :)

mathanxiety · 15/12/2023 04:46

It's Maeve/ Dave.

mathanxiety · 15/12/2023 04:59

Praguemum · 14/12/2023 22:12

They're all pretty awful. Helen is boring. Helena would be better. Neva is a terrible way to spell it - could be pronounced Never. If you're going to have a Gaelic name you should spell it correctly (Nevaeh). Paris for a girl makes me think of Paris Hilton (bleurgh). All the Bradley/Bradleighs I've come across are tossers. A dahlia is a bit of an old lady flower. There are lots of much prettier flowers. There is a trend at the moment for naming boys with surnames, like the Americans do (Cooper, Jackson, Tanner, etc) that I really can't stand. One family I know named their boys Orlando, Lorenzo and Cortez, apparently after places in the States. Poor buggers.

Nevaeh is a name invented in America. It's "heaven" spelled backwards. It is not an Irish name.

Are you thinking of Niamh?

Neva would not be pronounced like 'never' or 'nevva'. It has one V, not two. Therefore the E is long.
It's the name of the river that flows through St Petersburg, in Russia.

The surname-as-name trend was once very popular in Britain. It's still done in Scotland.

mathanxiety · 15/12/2023 05:08

user9513574682 · 14/12/2023 20:25

I would try to avoid names where people might not be sure of the correct pronounciation.
eg. Romy... as in Rome or CD ROM ?
Neva... as in Never or Neeva
My surname gets mispronounced often & it gets a bit tiresome correcting people or just ignoring it !

How are people confused about this?

Two consonants before E or Y = short previous vowel sound.
One consonant before E or Y = long previous vowel sound.

Tommy
Donny

Romy
Tony
Sony

Bony/ bonny
Puny/ punny
Baby/ babby

There are exceptions (honey, sonny, money, Gary, for instance).

IpsyUpsyDaisyDoos · 15/12/2023 05:45

mathanxiety · 15/12/2023 05:08

How are people confused about this?

Two consonants before E or Y = short previous vowel sound.
One consonant before E or Y = long previous vowel sound.

Tommy
Donny

Romy
Tony
Sony

Bony/ bonny
Puny/ punny
Baby/ babby

There are exceptions (honey, sonny, money, Gary, for instance).

Show quote history

I immediately went with your logic but people are confused because, as you pointed out, there are exceptions to the rule. And, often, parents write it one-way and pronounce it another.

PumpkinsAndCoconuts · 15/12/2023 05:48

Demainsdeslaube · 15/12/2023 00:59

Hey everyone ,

Thank you for your help. Loved the brutal honesty ( Apart the bitchy ones),

After reading everything and everyone who toom their times to respond: I fell in love with Helena but my wife is like no no I like Maeve.

Btw, in France names in ette are for old woman. "Cosette" is not a name to us, she is the mistreated girl in Les Misérables. Cosette is an insult in France.

We'll probably be back in a couple of months to ask again. Love the funny, genuine, brutal opinions. But the ones saying "poor baby" ; "terrible parents" are just pfffffff.

Maeve and Helena are both good imo! And I absolutely adore Clementina.

Romy does sound trés joli in French. Pronunciation does matter and in English it’s just a bit… meh in my opinion.
Which makes me wonder: are you in France? edit: I’ve just reread your update and seen that you’re in the UK.

suggestions (with or without the accents. One of them is my own name. With an accent aigu, btw 😉)

Léa, Léonie, Salomé, Pénélope, Sévérine, Léopoldine/a, Céleste, Louise, Nolwenn, Séraphine/a, Eugénie, Margot, Victoire, Apolline/a, Léontine/a, Mélisande, Séréna, Cecilia, Fleur, Béatrice/Béatrix, Enora, Solenn, Maïwenn/Maiwenn, Yanna, Gwenn, Yael, Alice.

PumpkinsAndCoconuts · 15/12/2023 06:07

Isabellivi · 15/12/2023 01:59

i know this but to peoples ear they will think of Paris Hilton and the Black Dahlia. It’s like naming a child Adolf because of its original meaning and ignoring the famous person sharing that name. Nothing wrong with the name Adolf….

I think of Aunt Dahlia.
(Or Ravikovitch)

Kgiggl3s · 15/12/2023 06:08

My friend has a girl called Edeigh which I love

Pronounced 'ee-dee'

That's somewhere close to bradleigh

Cannot believe the amount of MNetters who can read 'I am pregnant' and 'my wife' and not understand who is pregnant 🙈

liveforsummer · 15/12/2023 06:49

Yours are better, yes. Romy I’d say is best out of all and Helen next but it’s rather boring. How about Helena?

pebbles8811 · 15/12/2023 07:26

Op you and your partner pick a name that makes you both happy don’t ask opinions from others as there’s always someone out there that will hate the baby’s name no matter what you call her, I know that from experience of what me and my other half called our daughter my mil hated her name but tough shit we loved it and that’s what she’s called now 🙂

Frazzledstar1 · 15/12/2023 07:33

Just thought, my daughter has a friend called Ophélie which I thought was rather pretty and the kids didn’t seem to have any issues with pronunciation etc at school

Pamalot · 15/12/2023 07:53

I didn’t mention sexuality, I mentioned children having to write out long names and having to spell out a first name.

MerryChristmasToYou · 15/12/2023 07:57

@Frazzledstar1 , given that Amelie, Elodie and Ottilie are said as Amely, Elledy and Ottily in the UK, wouldn't Ophélie be said as Offaly?

mummyhat · 15/12/2023 08:05

I love the way the French pronounce Genevieve. Doesn’t sound pretty in English though :(

Emotionalsupportviper · 15/12/2023 08:09

Agree @mummyhat - "Zhon-viy-ev" sounds lovely. Much prettier than "Jen-a-veev"

threecupsofteaminimum · 15/12/2023 08:10

Maude or Nora are lovely imo.

greenbeansnspinach · 15/12/2023 08:11

Helen is quite nice, Romy at a pinch, but the others aren’t that great (just a personal opinion but they sort of label the child). You CouId try to think which names might help the child in their life to not stand out in any unwanted way. Then they are free to make the name their own. You’ve got lots of time to go back to the drawing board if you want to, and congratulations!

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