Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Xanthe, Eve or Anya??

82 replies

minkersmum · 21/09/2008 23:52

What is the nicest of the 3??

Liking them all but reservations are

Eve too normal a name, not unusual enough for my liking.

Xanthe maybe touching on pretentious?

Anya too harsh/strong sounding.

My daughter lkely to be very tall, over 6ft, which one would suit best??

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
shabster · 21/09/2008 23:54

I love Eve - easy to read and spell at nursery, classic name....just lovely. Maybe Eve for first name and a 'fancy' name in the middle. Mind you this is coming from someone who has 4 Sons!!!!

avacado · 21/09/2008 23:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

NotAnOtter · 21/09/2008 23:55

xanthe esp if tall

modernart · 21/09/2008 23:56

xanthe

shabster · 21/09/2008 23:56

Zanthe??

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 21/09/2008 23:57

Just to be contrary ...

I think Eve is too plain and dull a name (I have a tendency to go for long names so one syllable just doesn't do it for me).

Love Xanthe as a name (although she'll be lucky if she ever finds anyone who can spell it without being told)

Anya - personally I'd stick with Anna.

But a lot depends on your surname and, anyway, the opinions of old biddies on the internet are immaterial!

shabster · 22/09/2008 00:00

cheeky bugger!!

Original poster
minkersmum · 22/09/2008 00:02

Love anna as a name nut think anya more unusual and i only know one. Anna was my grans name so lots of cousins with anna as middle name for their girls.

Love Xanthe but just thought it was maybe a bit pretentious with our very unpretentious surname.

Like Xanthe Cooper for example... not my surname just trying to show what i mean

OP posts:
MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 22/09/2008 00:05

I refer only to myself, naturally.

Think Xanthe Ordinary works better than Xanthe Cholmondeley-Featherstonehaugh, by the way.

shabster · 22/09/2008 00:06

at Mad....

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 22/09/2008 00:10

Am one of the oldest people on MN, as far as I know. Have just been preaching on another thread about the virtues of honesty towards oneself and others. So have outed myself as a cantankerous old biddy.

Must leave now and have wholesome mug of Ovaltine before bed, wearing my angora bed jacket and matching bootees.

Original poster
minkersmum · 22/09/2008 00:11

i suppose in life we use our first name on its own far more than with our other names so not a big worry but this whole naming business is a nightmare esp when hormonal and 4 days post natal with a baby who feeds every hour and poos constantly in between!! Serious lack of sleep. i knew we should have decided on a name before 9well we did 'Nora' but she just doesn't look like a Nora)

OP posts:
Original poster
minkersmum · 22/09/2008 00:13

lol at mad, sounds like my perfect evening in.... bring on the ovaltine!!

OP posts:
Plonker · 22/09/2008 00:14

What does she look like minker? If you had to choose right now based purely on how she looks ...what would you choose? (and your not allowed to cop out )

Original poster
minkersmum · 22/09/2008 00:27

What does she look like?? Mmm dark skinned because she's jaundiced!!, dark hair, looks like she has a wig on, and big juicy lips!! Just like DD1 when she as born, shew now much fairer but still juicy lips and pretty, and very tall and long!!

Name wise?? No f**king idea, love Xanthe but its the surname puts me off, love Anya as the one i know gorgeous and funny , love Thea too as so pretty. I seriously need help and Dp not helping!!!

OP posts:
overthehill · 22/09/2008 00:28

I do agree with you about the difficulties of choosing names, particularly ones that you can agree on, and I don't see that there should be any huge rush. We've recently really struggled with agreeing on a name for our dog and cat as well - it's a minefield!

I personally think it's sensible not to have decided on a name before they're born, and I think even after a few days you begin to form an idea of their character and therefore what would suit them. I also think it's really important to have considered possible unfortunate combinations with surnames/pejorative nicknames that their name(s) would lend them to once at school etc.

Our dd didn't have a name for nearly two weeks, and we weren't much quicker with our ds...but a few days is a timy amount of time in the context of a whole lifetime.

Original poster
minkersmum · 22/09/2008 00:28

if can't cop out maybe... Anya? Iris and Anya, do they go together??

OP posts:
Original poster
minkersmum · 22/09/2008 00:31

overthehill agree completely, she's almost 5 days old now, just feels sad calling her 'the baby'.

Most names we like can't really be shortened (easily).

My son was nearly 11 days without a name, we finally called him Fergus and he just became a Fergus instantly!!

OP posts:
Plonker · 22/09/2008 00:31

Iris and Anya go beautifully together, they truly do

thumbwitch · 22/09/2008 00:34

How about Cherry? Or is that too twee?

Plonker · 22/09/2008 00:35

Cherry????????????????

thumbwitch · 22/09/2008 00:38

it was all the going on about the juicy lips
love the name Fergus, wanted that for DS but was vetoed by DH [pah!]

Original poster
minkersmum · 22/09/2008 00:38

Thank you plonker i do like them myself, bet dp gets up and says ' nah i 'm not keen on Anya'.. i'll have to slap him round the face with a soggy breastpad!

thumbwitch Cherry just makes me think of virginity and makes me laugh.. how immature i know

OP posts:
AbstractMouse · 22/09/2008 00:39

I do like anya and xanthe, not so keen one eva/eve seems to have been caught up in the whole ella/rose/mae/lily type name explosion (disclaimer:these are nice name but very popular)

God I had already been locked into a name by the birth, with dd I blurted a name out when the nurse asked me about 5 minutes after birth, even Dp was surprised, (along with me, it had only been on the possible list). By the time I'd got to the post-natal ward, people had been told and it was just her name lol.

With ds I kind of knew he was a boy and we
had agreed on a name beforehand.

Kind of wish I had reconsidered with dd, she was born on the day of hurricane isobel (would have been apt, hurricane wise)

thumbwitch · 22/09/2008 00:42

two more totally off the wall suggestions for you, not entirely sure where one came from;
Rhianna?
and this one went via Thea/Theodora to Isadora?