Help me find a not too weird name

[FinallyPregnant23]

I have a REALLY common name - first, middle AND surname, and I’ve always really, really hated it.

I’m currently pregnant with my first baby girl, after TTC for 10+ years, during that time I’ve seen a lot of the more usable unusual names I like become really popular, and I’m struggling to find anything I like now. Some names I love but won’t use:

Aroha - it’s a Māori word/name and neither DH or I are Maori
Ngaio - same as above
Snow - I LOVE this but DH would never let me use it as a first name, he’s considering it as a middle
Meadow - I think this is the most reasonable but DH doesn’t like it
Moon - Luna is popular so I think it’s justified but DH says too hippy for a first name

I do like some of the popular names, I mean they’re popular for a reason, I like the sound of Sophie/a and Olivia for example but could never let myself use them because of how popular they are.

So now you know just how weird I like my names, is there any you could think of that might satisfy my need for an unusual name but that also are acceptable to use? I don’t want to give my daughter the opposite problem to me and have her hate her name because it’s so weird!

Pearl

Considering in the entire USA there are only ~300 Meadows, sitting 16761st in the league tables it is not the same as the other names in terms of popularity whatsoever. It’s still firmly ‘out there’, not an issue of what people are/aren’t exposed to!

If I saw that as a name, I'd say it as naïve

I actually really like Meadow! Yes it's quirky but it's a completely recognisable word, most people will be aware of it as a name, it's easy to spell and pronounce. A few other nature suggestions: River, Pearl, Prairie, Dahlia.

Delphe
Faunia
Phaedra

How about Nyree? Pronounced Nigh-ree.

On our list for both my girls were:
Terra
Gaia (didn't go with surname)
Adela
Ianthe
Io

I think that's spelt Ngaire (or Ngaere I've also seen) if you mean the Maori name? Pronunciation is closer to NGAI-reh.

Nature names:
Emerald
Beryl
Amethyst
Fuschia
Peony
Aster
Olive
Wren
Piper
Lark
Linden
Juniper
Mirabelle (type of French small plum, although now also a Disney character)

Dated names (she'll be probably the only one in school etc):
Gemma
Amanda
Claire
Nicola
Natasha
Helen
Louise
Diana
Christina
Leanne
Catherine
Sarah
Janet

Random:

Persephone
Seraphina
Petra
Calliope
Athena

Firstly massive congratulations to you both from a fellow fertility treatment mumma.

Have you always wanted to to use an unusual name? I didn't want a common name as I have a very common name 6 in a class job. We chose a normal name just not commonly used nowadays. We looked at anything over the top 100.

If you do want to use a Maori name I would do alot of research into using that name in case your daughter wants to go to New Zealand, when she is older. Some names can be very meaningful to some tribes and could be seen as disrespectful if you or she doesn't understand the name meaning.

Thank you for all the suggestions and help! And also the congratulations.

Just to reiterate, I definitely won't use a Maori name, I gave those as examples of ones I've liked but I wouldn't use them because I feel it would be disrespectful, DH and I did live in NZ for a few years and I had a good friend with one of the names but it still isn't a strong enough link to justify me using a name from such a different culture to my own.

I like Seraphina but DH doesn't, I do love nature names but a lot of them seem like they are too popular. I think part of my problem is, for the whole time I've been TTC I've read countless baby name lists or watched videos of people suggesting names etc etc that I feel like I've heard most of them loads of times, although this doesn't necessarily mean they are actually used often.

From the suggestions I also like Naomi, Blossom, Piper, I like Nieve as it's said in a Spanish accent but not in English.

My name is so common someone has actually used it as an example of a common name 😂

Congratulations 10 years TTC is a long time. ❤

If I have a girl this time I am going to call her Fionnuala, it's Irish. I'm Irish and live in Ireland but it's not used very often here at all.

I don't think Meadow is too out there but if your DH doesn't like it. I agree with him on snow.

Dawn
Ash
Hazel
Azalea
Calantha
Iris

Lainey
Lacey

Asterope - Star, from the 7 sisters books
Electra

Eira is Welsh for snow. Also Saphina is similar to Sophie

Meredith
Amber
Trinity
Coral
Onyx
Heather
Bernadette
Juniper
Stella
Coco
Roxy
Remi
Darcy
Miriam
Patricia

Fleur
Esther
Posy

Leigh is really nice. Never taught one in 24 years but a name that everyone knows.

Elowen(n) is lovely.

As is Morwenna

Flora, Honor, Eilidh.

You must be from NZ! I know an Aroha (she was part Māori) and I know a little girl called Snow in NZ.
I love:
Liv (Norwegian name)
Odette
Audrey

Names of girls/women I know (so they can’t be that weird)
Niobe
Danae
Daphne
Hero
Iseult
Queralt
Sorrel
Bryony
Tamar
Keda
Laure
Thalia
Clio
Viola
Enna
Eleri
Isadora
Izola
Ismay
Ember

Christ almighty. Firstly I appreciate I might have spelled it wrongly as I've only ever heard it said rather than written.
I know a little girl called it.
I'm hoping the original poster would check spellings before usong a name off a forum on a birth certificate.

You're attitude is appalling and condescending. Fuck off @FayCarew

I read a news story with a Tiree, which is a Scottish island name I hadn't seen used before. I always wanted to use Zelda if we had a girl, I thought it was really cool but not unknown.

Jeez, talk about an overreaction.

Many people will know how to pronounce it and others will ask.

I have quite a common name and I don’t like it because of this. Even still I’d prefer it to something batshit

Why is the only alternative to a common name a 'batshit' one?

If you take a look at the ons list of all names used there are literally thousands of lovely normal underused names!

I had a friend called 2 one syllable very common names
Like Jane Smith
She hated it, and could not imagine why her parents had been so horrendously boring.
I have another friend called an unusual Arab name that no-one had ever heard of. OK when read as it was easy to read, but a nightmare when said. She would have to repeat 20 times and then when old enough she would spell it out every time she met someone new.
She hated having a really unusual name.

My mum used recognisable but not common names. We did the same for our kids
Seemed to work well for all.

So Naomi - unusual rarely used these days, but recognisable.
Ngaio - very unusual going to require daily spelling (which would be fine if Op was of that culture, but perhaps not great if not)
(although I love the name Ngaio, because I used to be an avid fan of Ngaio Marsh the author. But it is a very cuturally specific name)