Renley / Renly for a girl?

[Otto223]

I haven’t heard this name often. What do you think?

If this board is anything to go by, there will be many a teacher rolling their eyes at some of the batshit names that are suggested on this page! 😆 As I said, why is it never 'would I be unreasonable to call my daughter Rebecca, or Lily, or Charlotte?' It's never normal names! Always batshit/often made up names. Or names from popular TV shows.

I actually know some children under 15 called Khaleesi, (Game of Thrones,) Skyler, (Breaking Bad,) Danai (Walking Dead,) and even a Chandler and a Phoebe (now around 28-30.) I also know a Cullen (Twilight,) and quite a few Macauleys!

That's the tip of the iceberg!

GLURZABOG! Don't give people ideas! 😆

I think it's a nice sound. Ren/Wren is nice, and Ley is nice. And I cannot remember the character from GoT despite watching it all. Most of the characters are pretty short-lived!

I don't think their classmates will find the name odd at all, there is such variety of names these days. But maybe teachers/grandparents/some parents might think as per above commenters.

It's very much not one of the 'classic, timeless' names favoured on here though (Alice, Charlotte, Phoebe et al). And I would assume a boy.

I think of a cross between Rentokil and Henley on Thames

The name Renley is a girl's name meaning "clearing, meadow".

No, it isn't. It really isn't. These daft websites that claim meanings and historical contexts to names that no-one was using until five minutes ago just make shit up to fill space on the internet.

I mean look at this. Have you ever seen a flimsier, more tenuous connection to the apparent 'meaning' of a name in your life?

I have capitalised some words here for emphasis:

Origin, Meaning, And History of Renley
Renley is a stunning English gender-neutral name. Etymologically, the name is BELIEVED to be a transferred use from the rare Jewish and English surname Renley. The surname is POSSIBLY derived from the Old English word rim, implying ‘edge,’ or rinc, referring to a ‘man’ or ‘warrior.’ The surname COULD also be a COMBINATION of TWO Old English ELEMENTS – WRAENNA and LEAH –meaning ‘wren’ and ‘field’ or ‘clearing.’

In other words they have no fucking idea and are clutching at straws by referencing names that share a couple of similar sounding phonemes.

The name has not made a significant appearance in the world of arts, entertainment, and media. However, the Canadian police procedural drama television series Hudson and Rex features a character with Renley as a surname. In the series, Sergeant Jan Renley is the main character’s police trainer.
Renley has a pleasant sound and a CONTEMPORARY feel, making it a solid name choice for parents looking for a subtly UNCONVENTIONAL name for their little munchkin.

By 'contemporary' and 'unconventional' they mean it's a newly emerging name, only very recently used as a first name as far as they can tell. Perhaps no-one has used it at all yet, and they just pluck surnames out of the ether and put them out there as suggestions for first names, to pad out their content. And the only cuultural reference is a popular culture one, in that it's been used in a couple of TV shows, but for a man, or as a surname.

Look, if you like it then use it. But just admit that it's a surname with no solidly reliable or traceable meaning, being repurposed as a first name. There is no shame in that. All names were made up once and fashions change. Just don't embarrass yourself by telling people it's an established girl's name meaning meadow.

Agree it reads like a town or a company name that makes electrical appliances or hardware/rubber gloves.

Awful. Really awful.

I did what you suggested and typed "Renley" into FB. The most popular entries are all about a greyhound rescue dog.

Names like Rebecca have been popular for centuries for a reason. Please remember you're naming a baby which will live with the name for decades, not a pet.

Babies called Renley in England & Wales since 1996
Babies called Renly in England & Wales since 1996

This. ^ 💯

Depending where you look, Renley also comes up as a male name meaning warrior , half these sites don't have the correct meanings

Somewhere, little Glurzabog Jenkins is reading this and dying a little inside. For shame.

Weirdly that (Dracula) is the exact first association I had on reading the name, and it’s not that obvious really!

Sounds like a TK Maxx knockoff brand of epillator, sorry!

Phoebe a totally normal classic name, surely? Or are you saying Chandler and Phoebe were siblings?
Skyler a pretty run of the mill name. I wouldn’t assume it was after Breaking Bad.
Im with you on Khaleesi.

Renley's really gone downhill if you ask me. Started when they built that out of town supermarket.

Sounds like an indigestion tablet to me. Please don't saddle a real live person with a name that sounds like a cure for acid burps OP 😖

My first thought was Renton,

Sorry, that's not a name!

There's a reason you haven't heard the name often OP. It sounds more like a place name or a car to me, definitely not a gorgeous baby girl name.
What about Wren? or Lauren (nn Ren)?

😆

Wren kitchens

Does the baby come with a free Alison Hammond shouting in the background?

Like Renley on Thames?

I would assume that Renley comes from the surname. Not my style, unless possibly if it's a family surname, but no more inherently ridiculous or absurd or illegitimate or made up than Ashley or Hayley or Finley.

I definitely wouldn't use the Renly spelling, both because of the GOT association and because it's more likely to be misspelled. I have to say, though, both versions kind of make me think of "renal", which is not a good association. I've known a few adult women using Ren as a short form of a more traditional name (Renée, Renata, Florence, Karen, etc.)