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Original poster

What do you think of Beryl as a first name for a girl ?

124 replies

MamanFlo · 04/03/2007 08:23

Heya mums

pregnant again with baby2 I am looking for first names. My MIL suggested Beryl, which sounds nice and original for the french people that we are... but what do anglo saxons think about this first name ?

thanks

flo

OP posts:
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crystalpony · 04/03/2007 16:46

I am the spawn of a Beryl and a Donald!!

twinklingstar · 04/03/2007 16:56

Have known several Beryls but they are in their 70s and 80s now. Not a name that seems to have been used much since that time by the look of it.

Agree with others who have said that Meryl sounds more attractive and gentler than Beryl.

Funny thing, popularity of names - can remember thinking when Fergie had her dd1 - Beatrice?????? She is calling her beautiful baby Beatrice????? There are lots of other Beatrices since, though LOL

RIELOVESBACARDI · 04/03/2007 16:58

NO PLEASE ITS MY MOTHERS NAME....

hatwoman · 04/03/2007 17:12

I;m not a huge fan of Donald, but Don is a great name.

Original poster
MamanFlo · 04/03/2007 17:57

Waouw ! it's not often that I get 80 replies to a question ! your opinions are very interesting indeed...
So I have posted the question on a french equivalent to Mumsnet :they obviously didn't have the "unfashionable" opinion, nor the image of a large-skintone-knicker-exposed granny... but anyhow , they did'nt like it as well. Apparently in France it is a brand of shoes (which I didn't know about) and I find it much more annoying than just the fact that it's olfashion. ... To be honest I still find Beryl very nice to my french ears (and Meryl actually tacky, making me think of a character of Nip/Tuck :D ) and I just love the fact that it's a gemstone as well. I also have the image of a very independant young woman wearing this first name... It's just stuck in my head, can't help it.
The problem is that, we do live in France at the moment, but we are moving to Singapore in a few months and we are very likely to spend our entire life in an anglo-saxon environment... but then again DD1 's name is Romane which in english sounds like a boy 's name although we knew we would end up in an english environment when she was born... And if DH's name wasn't Nicholas, I would definitely consider Nicola as a name for a babygirl, when in France it sounds like a boy name.

Therefore I feel really stuck : listening to the vast majority of people french and english and forgetting beryl, or forgetting about fashion or comments, letting my babygirl building her own image of her first name...How much will she suffer of it ? is it really that hard ? will she hate me for this ???

BTW : we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl, and for a boy we are thinking of Hector

thanks for your replies

OP posts:
oxocube · 04/03/2007 18:02

Mind you, my mum (Beryl) had a mum called Gladys which could NEVER become popular again, could it?

NappiesGalore · 04/03/2007 18:44

MamanFlo - do it! i LOVE Beryl, the more i think of it, and your image of a confident happy young woman called Beryl and wearing it (and all its diminuatives) with pride... i think its wonderful. she wont hate you at all. in fact, she'll be disappointed if you cop out and compromise your ideals to give her a boring 'normal' name. imo.

love Berry as a shortening too...

and Meryl is nicer?? what? dont see it somehow...

HumphreysCorner · 04/03/2007 18:47

OMG noooooooo-'tis my MIL's name. Beryl the peril

Original poster
MamanFlo · 04/03/2007 18:51

Yeah, I have fans !!! thanks Nappy Galore

Just heard that it's a name given to hurricanes lol

OP posts:
NappiesGalore · 04/03/2007 18:55

hurricanes? perfect. you wouldnt want your young lady to be some docile little wallflower, would you??

Califrau · 04/03/2007 18:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

quietmouse · 04/03/2007 19:45

awful. sorry!

paros · 04/03/2007 19:47

lol

MadamePlatypus · 04/03/2007 20:11

"forgetting about fashion or comments, letting my babygirl building her own image of her first name".

Yes, do this.

I like Hector too.

In 30 year's time people are going to be having this same conversation about names like Karen and Jackie.

paulaplumpbottom · 04/03/2007 20:14

I'm sorry its not nice at all

puppydavies · 04/03/2007 20:20

i really wouldn't. it doesn't seem to have any positive connotations, nobody - french or english - likes it and imo "berry" is a particularly terrible nickname.

(this comes from someone who is seriously considering rita )

expatinscotland · 04/03/2007 20:21

In answer the OP:

I think, 'Terrible.'

Beauregard · 04/03/2007 20:22

Honestly i think it's awful but if you like it then that's all that matters.

Seansgirl · 04/03/2007 20:23

Sorry, but its horrible. Almost as bad as Mildred. Urgh!

quietmouse · 04/03/2007 20:54

Beryl the barrel is my immediate reaction when I see the name for some reason

and aren't/weren't there writing pens called Beryl??

WestCountryLass · 04/03/2007 21:49

My friend had Beryl and Hilda on her list of names and all I could think was "no, no, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

choosyfloosy · 04/03/2007 21:58

If you love it it can't be wrong, but oh... Would Bess for short be OK perhaps?

Nicole?
Carmine?

Do you like Marilla at all? It has a similar old-fashioned feel IMO but has charm to me at least because of the Anne of Green Gables connection.

And do link to the French equivalent of mumsnet, I'd love to have a look...

serenity · 04/03/2007 22:17

My friend called her DS2 hector and I'll admit to being a bit when I first heard it. Now I'm used to it I think it's lovely. I'd imagine I'd feel the same if a close friend called their DD 'Beryl'. Once you got to know the baby, you'd forget the negative things you associated with it before.

If you like it, go for it

Original poster
MamanFlo · 04/03/2007 22:28

100

(sorry it's a tradition on my french forum to mark the hundreds )

OP posts:
CAM · 04/03/2007 22:52

No to Beryl , really no

Yes to Hector