Celeste or Dahlia?

[ThatTwinklyBiscuit]

I’m stuck between two names and need outside opinions 😅 Which do you like better: Celeste or Dahlia? And why?

They don’t sound alike to me. One is sill, one is sell.

@UneasyMe ,they're unstressed syllables and are a schwa sound. Both are sə.ˈlɛst.

Of the two, I'd say Céleste. I've only ever met one before, so it definitely stood out (thankfully, in the best possible way!) amongst a sea of more ordinary names. It also has a lovely meaning (heavenly).

Celeste is so lovely

I dunno, but a Dahlia is going to go through life correcting peple on the pronunciation of it.

Is it not the case that Célestin is the male name and Célestine the female?

I prefer Celeste despite being one of those who took it as a contraceptive (I think that was actually Cilest). I have known 2 Celestes since then (both lovely South Africans) so I think of it as a girls name now.

I don't like the sound of Dar-lee-uh or Day-Lee-uh. I do like Delphine and Cecilia or Cecily.

Yes, I agree. That is far more common as a masculine form in French and to be honest I have simply never come across it used as a male name in English.

The popes were all Celestine with an e, but I agree that more generally it would be Celestin for a male and Celestine for a female.

There are lovely French stories (and a movie) about a Bear and a little orphan mouse girl and she is called Celestine. The illustrations are beautiful.

Not a fan of either due to the associations I have - Celeste reminds me of My Stepmother is an Alien 😆 and Dahlia makes me think of the Black Dahlia murder. But probably says more about me than anything else!

I do love Céleste. Also like Daphne, Delphine, Cecily and Cecelia.

Not too keen on Dahlia.

The only Celeste I know is a teen dds friend who is stunningly beautiful plays sport to a national level and is extremely clever. She’s also very nice. So I would choose that one!

I have an Egyptian friend whose daughter is Dahlia (Darleeah). It's a beautiful name and vastly more beautiful than Celeste.

No. Not in the UK.

Listen or watch Fry and Laurie’s Wodehouse programmes or listen to Martin Jarvis read them. Aunt Dahlia is always day-lia.

And there was a racehorse called Dahlia in the late C20; her name was always pronounced the same way, when racing here, at least.

Darleeah is a new import from the US.

We’ll be putting flowers in a vayse, next.