Phoebe or Artemis

[tulipsonatable]

I have a three year old daughter with a Greek name, though maybe not recognisably so. I want to choose another Greek name for my daughter who will be born in the next few weeks.

We've narrowed the list down to Phoebe and Artemis, so it'll definitely be one of those names. The problem is I slightly lean towards one and my husband slightly leans towards the other.

Just wondering if you had to pick between the two, which would you pick?

The only “Artemis” I had heard of was the book “Artemis Fowl”, so I had to look it up to discover that it’s a gender neutral name. Every day is a school day! (Think I still prefer Phoebe, though.)

@Procrastination4 , Artemis was a greek goddess. It's not really unisex.

Not sure that a boy would like to be named after a goddess of nature, childbirth, wildlife, healing, the hunt, sudden death, animals, virginity, young women and archery

I much prefer Phoebe. I don’t like Artemis at all but to each their own.

Definitely Phoebe for me

Learnt something new as thought Artemis sounded like a boys name

Phoebe

Artemis. It’s strong, and though rising, still is sonically distinct from the other name trends. Phoebe has been in the top fifty for the past 25 years and is just dull from overuse, and sound wise it blends in with every other soft sounding name ending with the -ee sound.

I wouldn’t agree Phoebe is dull or overused at all. The trend for girls names seem to be short names ending in ‘a’, that all blend into one. Phoebe to me is a strong name with a great meaning and history. It’s never been in the top 20 so has never been over popular, and likely won’t date badly like trendy names that appear out of no where and disappear just as fast. This could actually happen with Artemis, although I don’t imagine it would get that popular.

I'm another one who thought Artemis was a boys name. Perhaps because the only one I'd ever heard of was Artemis Fowl. It sounds very masculine to me though.
Phoebe is much nicer. I also like Selene and Thalia for Greek names.

I think there is a female Artemis in Always Sunny a very grown up and sophisticated program I watch sometimes. So I think of it as a girls name.

Artemis nn Misty for me. Definitely not Missy - I just think "prissy"! One of my guilty pleasure names.

Phoebe is lovely but growing up with several I just find it a bit done.

Artemis reminds me of Aramis

Definitely Phoebe

These names are worlds apart in my mind!

To me, Phoebe is much nicer but gaining in popularity recently

Not sure I like either much. Athena or Calypso?

Phoebe.

Happy to hold my hand up that I am completely ignorant when it comes to Greek names, but I would have assumed Artemis was a boys name.

Interesting to know it's not. It would have put me off using it, but there's nothing wrong with it.

I don't really see the two as comparable. One is a commonly used name and one isn't.

If your other DD's name isn't as common as Phoebe, then I wouldn't use Phoebe.

There’s a boy called Artemis at our school. Goes by Arty…popular sporty lad by all accounts. So I think it is unisex.

I know a Phoebe who is far from wet - feisty would be the exact word l would use to describe her!

@user14699084788 , it is in the same way as Paris is.

It's like naming a boy Penelope or Daphne or a girl Poseidon or Heracles.

Just because people do it doesn't make it unisex.

@KirstenBlest there are actually two very different Greek names (in the way they are written and accented). One is Artemis and the other is ArtEmis. The latter being a male name. In English they would be pronounced exactly the same I expect. Artemis is indeed a unisex name.

Oh OK.
How are they written in Greek?

'Αρτεμις is the female version and Αρτέμης is the male.

Ah! Interesting. My online translator only sounds slightly different.
Arr-temmis and Arr-temmys.
If I remember I'll ask my cypriot friend Νταϊάνα

Online translator isn't always correct.
Can't remember how my friend spells her name in English. I think it's Ntaiana

Has Phoebe really been in the top 50 for 25 years? I'm in my 30s and have only met Phoebes under the age of 10. Never met one! We considered this for a girl but had a boy.

Artemis for a girl???
Oh no
She will be teased horribly