Tuva or Kaia

[Freya2456]

Need help finalizing a girls name for my second. older brother is named Kasper.

First name we have is Tuva ( pronounced too-vah) It means beautiful and is a Swedish/norwegian name. At first I thought it might be too far removed from where we live ( Australia) however the more I say it in my head the more I like it and the meaning behind it. I feel like the pronunciation and spelling is intuitive- do you agree? My husband is Scandinavian so it would be nice in that way. For a middle name I had thought of pairing some more “normal/common” names with it to balance the uniqueness , like Tuva Pearl, Tuva Hazel or Tuva Summer. My son’s middle name is Snow ( which is actually a family name) so I thought Tuva Summer may be a cute connection - or is it too much?

I am now stuck between this name and Kaia, which also has Scandinavian roots however not as obvious, and is on the charts here. I do love Kaia but it is becoming more popular here, and Tuva would really be very unique. I’ve always loved more unique names but I really don’t want something “weird”. I would probably stick with the same middles with Kaia as well. So Kaia Pearl, Kaia Hazel or Kaia Summer.

I would really like some feedback from those of you in AUS / NZ /Canada /US how you feel about both names? What imagery does Tuva and Kaia give you?

Thank you!!!

Tuva I instantly read as tuna.

I'm in Australia.
I think Tuva sounds Islander. I personally don't like the sound of it.

Kaia is very pretty. Not bogan.
Only thing is i personally don't like siblings with the same initial, but if that's not a drama for you, then I'd definitely go with Kaia. Either with Hazel or Pearl.

When you say your husband is Scandinavian, do you mean he was born there, grew up there or just his auntie's dog's cat is 1/8 Scandinavian as researched by Ancestry?

He’s born there from there, we have only been in Australia for 5 years. All his family, mum , sisters brothers etc live there.

That’s so funny about how you think Kaia is pronounced omg 😂😂 there is an A on the end…. How would you think it’s pie? It’s clearly Kai-ah. It’s nearly top 20 in NZ!

The 'u' sounds more like the 'ew' in 'chew': you need poutier lips than for the 'oo' in 'hoover'.

I know it's a Finnish name, but Lumi is very pretty (and has a similar feel to Tuva). And it means "snow" so would be connected to Kasper that way.

I think Tuva Summer would be great.

Lumi is too close to the deodorant brand imo (Lume).

I'm a Kiwi married to a Swede. Tuva reminds me of a place name like Tuvalu or Tuva Republic. We named our daughter something that became very very popular, though she absolutely loves her name so it's not the end of the world. If I had my time over I would have named her Samantha Grace but that horrifies her. We don't even call her by her name unless she's in trouble, we always use her nick name, so sometimes it really doesn't matter. Do you think that at 18, she will appreciate Tuva or give you a hard time for it? If these are your options then I think Kaia Summer is quite lovely, it's boho yet chic.

”Tuva” if you spell it properly. People will learn the spelling. I’m in scandi-British circles and know two little Toves and it’s really nbd.

”Tuva” looks like tuna written down. It is not a nice spelling.

Edit- it is one of the Norse spellings. I know, but it just looks horrible written down!!

Tuva is a region in Russia, and the name does not have a very romantic/ beautiful connotation. Its a very remote region in south Siberia, not far from Mongolia.

Not a name I would give my kid, ever. Its like calling them Tajikistan or something.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuva

Much prefer Kaia. Tuva sounds like what some people call two-for-one deals.

Thanks for the input really appreciate it. I think Tuva may look too similar to tuna written down as well.

I did find Alva today which is Scandinavian, any thoughts on that one?

They make me think of yoghurts or some sort of plant based overpriced health alternative to yoghurt

I presume PP meant they’d guess the pronunciation rhymes with Pie-ah, rather Pay-a which would be an alternative way to say Kaia, as the pronunciation isn’t immediately clear from the spelling.

@Freya2456

Alva is a very pretty name! Means "elf" as you probably know.
Also the name of a beloved Astrid Lindgren-character.

Alva is a very popular name among little girls in Sweden right now, it was the 17th most popular name for newborn girls in Sweden in 2024.