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!

How about Sorrel, after the herb.

Naomi - not unusual but not overused. Different pronunciations
Ngaio - very unusual going to require daily spelling. Is it Ngye-o or Nye-o?

Haven't read the whole thread but How about Nyree ?

I think it is of Māori origin but pretty easy to spell and might be a bit better known (actress Nyree Dawn porter)?

Topaz

I like meadow 🥰

clover
dahlia
marigold
luella
xanthe
calliope
olympia
coco
elva
celeste
estelle
quinn
zelda
romilly
evelina
vienna
pixie
stevie
tansy
pandora
tallulah
ramona
venus
opal
willa
thalia

Good lord OP please don't name your child any of the ones on your shortlist. This name is really not about you, it's a child who has to spend her whole school life and working life with this name. Don't saddle her with a name that can't be pronounced, spelt or is just plain ludicrous.

You can choose something unusual without it being completely mad.

Exactly, your daughter will likely hate any of these ridiculous names, please think about how she will feel in school and with her friends having a name like meadow

I regularly come across kids called all sorts of nature names
Bracken
Willow
River
Meadow
Skye
Summer
Winter

etc etc

They are not my prefered naming style, but they are recognisable and not that uncommon as names.
Honestly no-one will bat an eyelid.
Meadow is hardly an 'out there' name.

Massive overreaction.

On the plus side, if OP's name is Emma and she did go for Emphys, they could be Emphys-Emma, like the disease (sort of).

How about:

Linnea
Astrid
Maren (pronounced with a long A - the meaning's related to the sea)
Linnet
Coralie
Melissa
I'm sure someone's suggested Selene?

@EbbasFleet , there have been a few suggestions of Nyree. I think it's pretty but might not be quite how Ngaire is pronounced. It might not be a culturally sensitive choice

I'd not use a word lifted from another language, you might think you've named your baby Snow but find out it's really Snowflake or Avalanche or something

I seriously considered Marigold (nn Goldie) for my girl when looking for something unusual but not too crazy.

Alternatively what about some of the virtue names? I like Constance and Temperance. There's also Prudence, Charity, Mercy etc.

There’s a big difference in popularity between Olivia / Sofia and Moon or Meadow!

My first thought was a pp suggestion of Eira (snow in Welsh). Or Seren (star in Welsh). Other ideas -

Amaya
Annalise
Genevieve
Lorelei
Catriona
Rosanna
Isodora
Cleo
Lucinda
Leonie
Polly
Selena
Saoirse
Maeva

Avalon

My youngest is Vesper (Latin unisex name meaning evening star) and it suits her so much.

Friends of mine with unusual names for their girls have:

Persephone
Pandora
Lennie
Leonora
Cecily
Blossom
Apollo
Lyra
Pearl

I thought Vesper was Latin for evening

my children are in their late teens/early 20s and all have ‘normal’ but not very common names - won’t say them all but one of my sons is called Leonard, and the others names are along a similar line.

names on my girls lists (very 1950s I know 😂)

Veronica
Sylvie
Elaine (Lainey)
Joyce
Gloria
Diana
Connie
Helen
Jennifer
Marcia

I’d bet they’d be the only ones in their class!

funnily, my 2 girls names have both shot up the charts to the top 100 and are steadily climbing. I like to think of myself as setting the trend 😂😂😂 (I know that’s not how it works)

my ‘if only I were brave enough’ names were Hecate, Calliope, Balthazar and Azazel

Leonard is lovely @VincentVanGoth .

Are you a Leonard Cohen fan?

I know an Armenian Nairi - pronounced Nyree. So that spelling is also an option and I think a bit more accessible that Ngaire.

Also, just a warning, your unusual name could always turn into a popular one. DS has a name that was barely in the top 100 when he was born in 2019, and now I think it's climbed to top 10.

@ConcertaFirstTimer We've had nothing but positive comments from people about Serafina! Except FIL who doesn't like it AT ALL. He also doesn't like my nephew's somewhat uncommon name and don't bother to hide his opinion 🙄

Yes, of course there are plenty of lovely but less common names out there. That was exactly my point if you’d actually have read my other post on the thread. The OP is the one who seems to want to name her daughter something ‘batshit’ for the sake of being different which imo is very self centred. A name is to carry a child through life, not just to satisfy a parent that they’re the only one in school with it!

Juno

I feel like there's a big range of less common names, you seem to be thinking of two extremes. Please do not use a name from a culture that is not relevant to you. And you are naming a person, not a cat or teddy. Think of the name on an adult. I have a common first and surname and am very happy with it.

And don't appropriate a name from another culture.

DH is common name - common name and wanted to call our kids something a bit more unusual.

My name is not exactly unusual but it needs spelling every time and can be confused for other names easily. It is very annoying spelling your name, being mispelled, mispronounced, the names on your list would also pigeonhole your child as coming from a certain kind of parent and raise eyebrows.

Imagine going for a job and your name is Moon when the other candidate is Olivia or something. Maybe you'd get the job, but the name would create a barrier because they'd have certain ideas about you before they even met you.

You also run the risk of not achieving your 'unusual' dream - I know someone who was very pissed off to find two other Persephones in his child's nursery :)

Just go for a name that people recognise as a name. I think all these weird astral names will be the equivalent of Crystal, Cindy etc one day - dating quickly!

@FayCarew not particularly. I could probably name a few of his songs and that’s about as far as I could go 😬

I was doing my family tree around the same time I fell pregnant - my fathers side came over from Germany in the 1800s and the first person that showed up in a census was called ‘Albrecht Leonarht Wilhelm’ so I stole if from him 😂