Names

Wishilivedinflorida · April 2018

@pourmeamocktail I don’t know any, and my first inclination is to pronounce it “Tal-yuh”. And don’t worry....we are Team Green and officially have zero names. DH refuses to discuss names before the baby is here, which gives me high anxiety. I’m keeping a secret list in my head of names I love to suggest in hospital.

adirat · April 2018

@pourmeamocktail I would rhyme it with "Dahlia."

DanyTargaryen · April 2018

knitknitread said:

@pourmeamocktail The one Talia that I've known pronounced it Tahl-yuh.

@pourmeamocktail - I haven't known any, but this is also how I first pronounced it in my head when I read your post.

pourmeanothermocktail · April 2018

Thanks guys. Let me show my ignorance here, but how do you guys pronounce Malia, as in the former first daughter?

I have never heard Talia spoken until DH suggested it. He pronounced it Tuh-leah, which I liked. And I think Google agreed with him, but I always had thought it was said as Tal-yuh, again having never heard it. But is Malia said as Muh-leah? Because then I'm more likely to think DH could be right, lol.

knitknitread · April 2018

I happen to know a Malia too

She says "Muh-leah". "Like Maria but with an 'L' instead of an 'R'."

adirat · April 2018

Yes, I agree, with emphasis on the penultimate syllable -- Muh - LEE - uh

Whereas Talia I would put emphasis on the first syllable like Dahlia.

MandyMost · April 2018

pourmeamocktail said:

Thanks guys. Let me show my ignorance here, but how do you guys pronounce Malia, as in the former first daughter?

I have never heard Talia spoken until DH suggested it. He pronounced it Tuh-leah, which I liked. And I think Google agreed with him, but I always had thought it was said as Tal-yuh, again having never heard it. But is Malia said as Muh-leah? Because then I'm more likely to think DH could be right, lol.

I think Talia always has the emphasis on the first syllable, and is either TAL-ya or TAL-eee-ah. The actress from the Rocky movies is Talia Shire, isn't she? Pronounced TAL-ya. Baslically like Julia, where some people say it with 2 syllables (JULE-ya) and some people say it with 3 (JULE-eee-ah), but the emphasis is always the first syllable.

Malia I remember hearing pronounced Muh-LEE-ah, with the emphasis on the second syllable, and even reading it I'd pronounce it that way. I have no idea why.

DanyTargaryen · April 2018

adirat said:

Yes, I agree, with emphasis on the penultimate syllable -- Muh - LEE - uh

Whereas Talia I would put emphasis on the first syllable like Dahlia.

Same.

pourmeanothermocktail · April 2018

@adirat @MandyMost and @DanyTargaryen
See, now I'm all confused, two reasons. 1-Malia is spelled just like Talia, and it's muh-LEE-uh, so why wouldn't it be tuh-LEE-uh? Also, Google...

Sigh.

arcticseal-2 · April 2018

@Lcardinal04 My oldest daughter has a name that was SUPER popular in the early '80's (when I was born).... It's also an old classic name still in occasional use. The only issue we've found with it is that when just her and I went out people would occasionally think I had her name and she had my name (which is also uncommon but was more popular about 30 years before I was born). We would just joke that we were generationally confused as to naming and, she had the popular '80's name. It doesn't happen anymore now that I have more than one child. People do know how to spell it but still ask due to all the odd spellings out there. (Usually by the third kid with the normal spelled name they just right it down the normal way instead of asking me.)

Also, due to her name being classic and still used, in her homeschool class there is another girl with her name... I said you can go by first name shortened middle name (the shortened middle name sounds like 1 letter) or you can go by first name last initial. She picked the second by herself and I think thinks it's cool that there's another girl with her name!!! Apparently, the teachers just called her and the other girl just by first name and they figured out who they were talking too.

DanyTargaryen · April 2018

pourmeamocktail said:

@adirat @MandyMost and @DanyTargaryen
See, now I'm all confused, two reasons. 1-Malia is spelled just like Talia, and it's muh-LEE-uh, so why wouldn't it be tuh-LEE-uh? Also, Google...

Sigh.

I think it comes down to what people are used to. The only time I've ever heard the name Malia is Malia Obama so her pronunciation is what I think of. But I've heard Talia used elsewhere with the different pronunciation. My guess is it's different pronunciations from different heritages.

jhjocelyn · April 2018

I’m getting the vibe from dh he isn’t as set on our girl name as I thought... he does tend to second guess himself and need someone to just pick, but still... last night he said he wanted 2 solid girl names going into the anatomy scan next week. A nice way of saying the top choice isn’t the top so much anymore...

So, simple classic easy to spell and pronounce girl name suggestions? I’ll start googling later. We had the baby name app but couldn’t get them to link. Maybe we’ll try again tonight.

We chose Kate for dd, Anna as a back up but now can’t use it. Brooke was the current winner, dh said he likes Mary but I just don’t. Sara was too plain for dh. Last name sounds like Haddock

adirat · April 2018

@pourmeamocktail I think it's context clues for other, more common names with very similar consonants.

Maria is a very common name. Sub out one letter to get Malia, plus R and L are alveolar consonants that sound similar. People will rely on the pronunciation they know from Maria.

For me, Talia reminds me of Dahlia. Linguistically, T and D sounds are both stop consonants made in the same mouth position so it sounds natural to my ear to match Talia with a word I already know, Dahlia.

Lcardinal04 · April 2018

@jhjocelyn I've always loved Elizabeth (nn Eliza is a fav. of mine). Most the top ten or so meet your requirements: Emma, Charlotte, Sophia, Amelia, Maggie etc. I feel like Brooke is a long way off from Mary in terms of style. How about Meredith?

starla · April 2018

@adirat You're quite the linguist! I love it.

jhjocelyn · April 2018

@Lcardinal04

Elizabeth is dd’s middle name

you are spot on!

Brooke is simple, spelled easy and common but not super common. Mary is dh’s style, not mine. Mine is much less “normal”. I picked out Azure Jocelyn(my middle name) back in gradr school and still love it, with Clairity as a runner uo because I like the sound of Charity but not the nickname Char. Oh and I love Lydia.
Dh is a no-go for all of those except maybe Azure as a middle name.

DH has a common girl’s name that also has multiple spelling variations, no middle name, and a complex last name. He’s a bit bitter over his parent’s choices to this day. Hence our stipulations.

Lcardinal04 · April 2018

@jhjocelyn so you’ve named a few Jane Austen names... seriously you or your husband have named all but one of the Bennet Sisters! You must have similar styles!

So:
Jane
Georgia
Emma
Elinor
Caroline
Lucy
Maria (I think they say it as Mariah)

jhjocelyn · April 2018

@Lcardinal04
Ha! I hadn’t even noticed that!! And I really should have!

mrsman2018 · April 2018

DH put Nellie on our list and I love it. My grandma's name was Ellen and she was always Nellie.

runninginva · May 2018

We had the anatomy scan yesterday and found out we're having a boy. We've always had our girl name, like since before we were married because there's a family name in my husband's family that I just love.

With a boy, it's been a little harder. We have several people we'd like to name the baby after and we thought we had come up with the name but wanted to try it out for a little while before announcing it.

When we told my husband's grandmother that we were having a boy, she asked us what his name would be. We told her we were still working on it. Of course, that meant she could give us suggestions. My husband didn't really stop her, explaining we'll take suggestions but we get the ultimate decision. She continued calling us, even after we were in bed last night to talk about this. She's the kind of person that gets easily offended and will hold a grudge to the grave. This morning I've been so stressed out about the situation, I told my husband to tell her that the name is already decided and we're not talking any more suggestions. I completely broke down on the phone this morning when I was talking to my mom about the whole situation and started to cry.

I'm frustrated that this is making me so upset. Usually I can just let what she says roll off my back but I'm having trouble shaking this. Anyways, just needed to vent. I'm sure we'll come up with a name soon and it will be perfect. I'm just feeling like she'll resent it because it won't be what she suggested.

southernlady07 · May 2018

@runninginva *Hugs* I know for me minor grievances bother me more during pregnancy, for sure! Your son's name is you and YH decision and not hers, so I think that sounds like a good plan to let her know you've already decided and then let her know what it is when you're ready. We have also struggled with boy names after having several really strong girl contenders. We think we have our boy name picked out, but I also have wanted to test it out and make sure it's the one before announcing. GL with your decision!

jaylii · May 2018

Alright ladies, MH and I found out this morning that we're having a boy! Now more serious name talk begins.

Want your opinion on a name. My husband is no help and thinks my dilemma is no big deal. We like the name Westley, nickname Wes but my mom's name is Leslie and is often called Les. Thoughts? Is it weird/confusing to name our little boy Westley because it rhymes with my Mom's name?

One thought I had is that it may not be that bad because Leslie is a family name (my Mom was named after her Dad), so in a way this is a nod to the name.

nackie · May 2018

@jaylii congrats on the boy! I don’t think it would be weird at all. They’re similar sounding, but I don’t see it being a problem at all. If people can manage to figure it out when dads and sons have the exact same name, I think people will be able to manage in your situation too. If you love the name, go for it

I’m jealous of all the people that have names they want to use. We’ve got no ideas.

sarah-ruby-21 · May 2018

Westley is cute! Wes for short is adorable. I don't think I'd put the connection together between Westley and Leslie tho.

iba34 · May 2018

@jaylii You may hate this suggestion so feel free to ignore, but...I assume you're thinking the "t" in Westley is silent, but I think it would be really cool to have the nickname with the "t" pronounced - "West."

I also don't think having his nickname rhyme with your mom's is a problem though.

jaylii · May 2018

@iba34 That's not a bad suggestion to pronounce the t in Westley. For this name we'd have to choose between the spelling Wesley (more common) or Westley (less common). We're partial to Westley because we're nerds and have a mutual love of the movie The Princess Bride. Storybook love is the song that I walked down the aisle to.

DanyTargaryen · May 2018

@jaylii - If you decide to go with the Wesley pronunciation, I would recommend sticking with that spelling. If you use Westley but pronounce it Wesley, he will probably be forever correcting the spelling of his name.

And +1 for I think it's no problem to use Wes and Les (and their connected full names).

MandyMost · May 2018

I would 100% pronounce the “t” in Westley...I thought it was a weird millennial twist on the name “Wesley”! And I always though the guy in the princess bride movie was “Wesley”.

I would only only be concerned with that he similarity to Leslie/Les if your mom basically lives next door and will serve as a full time caregiver. Otherwise I can’t imagine any mixups.

ferris0906 · May 2018

Love the name Wesley. Not as much with Westley. I wouldn't think twice about the nickname connection.

jhjocelyn · May 2018

I never gave any thought to connecting nicknames, if this is a boy(we find out tomorrow!!) it will be the 3rd nickname Joe/Jo in the close family. We intend to use Joey, full name Joseph, my mother is Jolyne, and my niece is Joelle. The three are only in the same space once a year, and Joseph is after my dad(his middle name), so I’m not gonna stress. My mom is used to there being other Jo’s around and little one will adjust!

adirat · May 2018

MandyMost said:

I would 100% pronounce the “t” in Westley...I thought it was a weird millennial twist on the name “Wesley”! .

Haha yes that would be my reaction too. If you don't want to pronounce the T sound, I agree that the traditional spelling would be easier for him.

mauishay · May 2018

I feel like we are having such a hard time with names! I really like Nora but my husband can literally connect a name to anything and find a reason to not like it- for example: Nora- he’s pretty sure his dad dated a lady named Nora that his mom didn’t like

I think the one name we both have actually liked is Layla/Leila.
Her middle name for sure is going to be Vae for my grandma.

runninginva · May 2018

@mauishay, Leila is such a pretty name! My husband had the same issue. So many names he associates with someone who gives it a bad connotation. Good luck! It's tough.

adirat · May 2018

@mauishay I like Leila Vae a lot.

nackie · May 2018

@mauishay and I thought my husband came up with some far fetched connections! Good luck with the name hunt. Leila is pretty.

jumpy57 · May 2018

@mauishay he "thinks" he dated someone named Nora??? I call shenanigans on that veto. However, I do really like Leila and we were going to use it for DD until a cousin used it three months before she was born!

jaylii · May 2018

@mauishay My husband is also doing that but more so having gut reactions. For example, I mentioned Elliot and he was immediately saying EL-LI-OT in an ET voice. After that I told him if I told him a name, he is required to take a second to think before he says anything. haha

I really like the name Leila Vae! Really pretty and love the connection to your grandmother.

ferris0906 · May 2018

@mauishay Leila is beautiful. I had a student with this name, and she was an awesome, strong girl (so good connotations for me).
@ jaylii I really, really like Elliot. I would think about it if I did not have a good friend who used it with her son.

Thoughts on these boy names?:
Nathaniel (nn Nate), Isaac, Bennett
(Middle name will likely be Henry for my grandfather.)

starla · May 2018

@ferris0906 I like those!

klj0228 · May 2018

@ferris0906 I like all of the boy names. I prefer Nathaniel and Isaac with the middle name of Henry more than Bennett, but I don’t have a real reason why, just think they sound better.

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