half baked
I confess that I click over to Trish's place all the time, just so I can look at the baby ticker. Tomorrow, it tells me, we'll be at 21 weeks, which seems absolutely unbelievable. I'm feeling ridiculously optimistic and we're even starting to talk about possible names.
Since you all had such great ideas for a blog pseudonym, I'm thinking that I'd throw the question of a real name out there as well.
The kind of names that I like? Well, as someone recently pointed out, I tend to crush on names that are cool in a horn-rimmed glasses kind of way. My grandmother's sisters were Beatrice, Agnes and Helen, all of which have the kind of jolie-laide vibe I'm looking for -- not cute or conventionally pretty, but more the kind of girl who reads the dictionary for fun. I mean, if the name Hortense weren't off limits for reasons far too obvious to mention, I'd snap it up in a minute.
Any suggestions? Or, to put it another way, what were the names of your grandmother/great-grandmother and her sisters?
eta* ::squealing:: Omigosh -- Eunice, Melva, Vera, Wilhelmine, Thisbe, Lorna, Ida -- check out the comments for the awesomest names ever!
*By which I mean "edited to add," though, now that I think about it, Et(t)a would fit in perfectly.
158 comments:
Helen, Adeline, Dorothea, Vilma, Anna, Susanna, Deborah.
-D.
...But Eleanor is my favorite out of those kind of names, which I love as much as you do.
D.
Lily, Kathrine, Mary, and Fern
My grandmothers were Dorothy Blanche and Pearl Sylvia. I know Blanche had sisters, but I can't remember their names right now for the life of me. My mother in law (Daisy)had sisters who would be grandmother age, Lillian, Ruth and Francis come to mind.
Grandmother's names: Anne, Florence, Mary Jane, Betty, Lempe (she was a Finn, so um probably can ignore that one).
My grandmother's sisters? Rose and Myrtle.
My great-grandmothers? Dorothea and Bertha.
Half baked. Can't believe it.
xxx
If I were to have another girl my next choices were Alice and Clara. We went with Marjorie for our girl as that was my maternal grandma's name. My other grandma's were Shirley and Beatrice. Then my great grandma's was Mattilda and Mary, I need to find out what the rest of their names.
You can use Marjorie if you like it though as we aren't neighbors so not like the girls would be in school together. ;)
Oh, my grandma's sisters were Fern and Grace. Just don't call her Buzzer, that was what they called my grandma's brother. ;)
Grace, Eleanor (my little girl is named after those two, with changes), Gene (yes, spelled like that), Elizabeth (Betty), Eva, Helen.
Anna, Signe, May, Lela, Myrtle, Violet, Inez, Grace, Audrey, and Virgil.
Yes, my grandmother's name was Virgil, and I even thought of naming my daughter that, but then I would have felt obligated to give her the other grandmother's name, too, and naming any kid Virgil Myrtle (try saying it out loud!) is a long-term therapy commitment just waiting to happen.
I write them in their German versions even though that is probably useless (only the names I remember):
Elisabeth, Wilhelmine (probably no option :-)), Thea (too German, but Dorothea might work), Gerda (ah well, but Greta is sort of classy in a weird way)
Ruby Lucille and Earlene Garnet
fern, lindall, joyanne, dorothy
Bertha, Ella-Sophia, Marjorie, Nancy, Beryl, Cecily and my Mom's name was Betty - not Elizabeth, but Betty.
My grandmothers are Lois, Delores, Catherine,
Vera, Alice, Sarah, Ruth, Clare, Anna, Rebecca.
But, I too love Eleanor. (Ellen ?)
Ruth.
Charlotte.
Alice.
Eleanor (my grandmother's name).
Lily.
Beatrice.
Hannah.
June (although she changed it from Thelma), Lois, Sarah, Violet, Minta . . . that's all I can remember right now. I always liked Violet out of that bunch.
My great- and regular grandmother's names were Adela, Isabel, Ruth, MaryLouise, and Johanna. We are fond of old lady names here too. I had an Aunt Tillie and an Aunt Bea. Got any good old dude names?
My grandma's were Ruby and June, with sisters Henrietta and Jane.
My great-grandmothers were Thelma and Maxine (and, I suppose, two other names as well, but I knew those two great-grandmothers, so I remember them). My grandmothers are Jacqueline and Loretta (and Diane, step-grandmother). One of my husband's grandmothers was Stefania (called "Steve" - loved that!).
My two favorite names (of grandmas in my family) are Audrey and Hazel. Other grandmas (and aunts, etc) in my family are Dorothy, Mary, Anne, Ida, Theresa, Veronica.
My mom's name is unique and I think it fits into that name "type". It's my middle name too (I've always loved having it) and part of identifying info that I don't give out on my blog. It starts with a P and is 8 letters long. If you are interested in knowing, email me at ayariaATgmailDOTcom.
Good luck picking a name! :)
I absolutely love Beatrice! One of my grandmothers was Mary Ellen, and she named one of her daughters Eleanor, which I also love (and I also like Ellen which is part of my own name). My great-grandmother's name was Pattie Laurie - an interesting combination for those times, I think.
My grandmothers were Mary (very unique, that one) and Gertrude (a little too much the other way).
When I went to college, I was walking down the hallway of my floor in the dorm and checking out the names. It scared me a little bit. In order (as much as I can remember): Sarah, Pamela, Edith, Christina, Helen, Amy, Emily, Katina, Carina, Andrea, Stephanie, Emily, Erin, Anastasia...I thought I'd be living with a bunch of old ladies or foreign princesses.
Anyway, other family names include Ruth, Helen, Virginia, Lorraine, Margaret, Marcia, Florence, Ella (one of my grandfather's uncles married two women named Ella - that's pretty handy...no confusion), Lillian, Marie...I could go on all day, since my grandparents came from large families! My husband's grandmother is named June.
Margaret and Natalie. And I don't know many of the sister's names, except Elsie and Olivia.
I like Margaret a lot, and it was our second choice for our daughter's name. It was edging ahead until I mentioned it, in passing, just floating it, to my parents, who reacted immediately in an extraordinarily negative way.
I think there is more to my maternal grandmother's story than I've ever known.
Posey is Josephine Eleanor Maud, which is definitely a triple-barrelled version of that sort of name.
Eleanor Elaine, Hilda Maud, and Mary Thisbe were my grandmothers. the great-grandmothers i know of were Leila, Ethel, and Louisa. We considered Leila, Louisa, Eloise, Mathilda and Thisby for Posey as well as the names we chose.
in a similar vein, there's Clara, Mabel, Doris, Imogen, Thora...
Winnifred (we called her Winnie)
Alice
Georgia
Lillian
Rachel
Naming our baby was my favourite part - enjoy!
The ones I know of? Dianne, Marian (which I ADORE) Mary, Joyce, Gertrude, Joan...don't know many others since the bio family doesn't talk to me and my father never talks about anything.
I have to tell you that one of the names mentioned here over and over is what I will name my next child if she's a girl, so don't think I'm copying you if you do, too. Not that you'd tell us what you really name her, anyway.
Penelope, Millicent(Millie), Susie, Lillian (Lily)
My grandmas were Eleanor and Esther.
Lillian, Florence, Evelyn, Elaine
Grandmother, Great-Aunt, Great-Aunt, Grandmother-in-law
I love old fashioned names :).
Also good - Aida, Elsie, Elise, Estelle, Celia, Abigail, Penelope
Good luck choosing a name!
My grandmothers' names were Gladys Myrtle and Mary Lee. Hope that helps, and good luck!
Mindy
My grandmothers are Elsie and Lois, and I have a great grandmother Alice Ida (my favorite family name). Beatrice, Eleanor, and Rosalind are at the top of our name list right now, and there's a possibility of Ursula as a sly homage to the Chicago Cubs...
Violet, Iva, Catherine, Ruth, Eloise, Irene
Second Penelope as a good name, also Julia
The names of my grandmothers and great-aunts I can remember right now are Mildred (Millie), Elizabeth (Betty), Margaret, Barbara, Evelyn, Ada, and Rose. I also love Lillian, Lydia, and Olivia (although the last is so common right now, I wouldn't use it). This is my second favorite genre of names, after the nature type of names we talked about for the pseudonym.
I have both an aunt and a great-aunt Charlotte. I'd vote for it - I think it would work well with your other kids' names, and with your last name.
My two grandmothers were Marie and Marion (yes, with an O). One great grandmother was Diana, another was Anna, and I can't remember the other two. Isn't that awful? I actually knew Diana - she was a horrible piece of work.
Opal, Garnet, Rita, Faye, Mildred, VinaMae (long I), and some others that have been mentioned.
I love that you introduce me to new words and phrases.
Grandmothers are Doris and Brenda. but I have always loved the name Phillipa. I knew a nun, who was the CEO of a hospital - bookish, smart and distinguished! I think the nickname Pip is cute too.
It is so fun to see many name here repeated! Grandmothers -- Alice and Marie, great aunt Helen (called her Hi). I wanted to us my grandmother and mother and my confirmation name of Cecelia, but didn't quite work. I also considered modifying Alice to Elise, but no-go with the husband.
My grandmother's name was Eunice and my great-grandmother's name was Lorene.
Oh I just LOVE old fashioned names.
Beatrice is awesome!!! My grams were Nancy (anglicized form of her Italian name Annunciata) and Hansi (nickname from Johanna).
I just skimmed the other posts, but saw a few others that I love -- Penelope, Eleanor, Clara. I also love Betsy or Libby.
Thinking about all these cute girls names make me wish I could have about 5 more little girls. ;)
My maternal grandmother was the oldest of 7, I believe, four girls: Florentine, Dorothy, Helen, and Mary Ann. My paternal grandmother was Veronica, and her sister was Marguerite.
I'm not sure which great-grandmas/ great-great aunts were on what side, but I know Lillian, Julia, Antoinette, Henrietta (aunt Hank) are all the mix. There are more that I can't think of at the moment. It's always fascinating to me to look back at the family tree. You can certainly tell sometimes the Irish/Polish ancestral divide.
I am quite partial to the name Eleanor. I think it is simply beautiful. Also the name Julia because it is so lovely, and also the name of one of my very best girlfriends.
My two cents. :)
My grandmothers name is Margaret Alice (we used Alice for Cadynce's Middle name and I think we might use Margaret if we are blessed enough have another girl in the future)
My great-grandmothers name was Nora and I would soooo use that name if my aunt hadnt already stolen it and turned it into Norelle.
Honestly, I can't believe so many of you all remember the names of your grandparents, great-grandparents, etc...I think it is awesome!
I had to try to remember my Grandma's name - Dorothea
But other than that I have no idea, my father was the youngest of 13 and I'm the youngest of 11. Most of my extended family was dead by the time I was cognizant.
Congrats honey, half baked is awesome :)
I'm hoping to use my gram's name one day - Ellenore. Otherwise we have Louise, Nancy, Clara, and Marie, that I can recall.
Our wee one is Madeline. Eleanor, Helena and Beatrix were on my list for her sibling.
From my mom's family, the girls were Helen, Hazel, Hilda and Reba.
I'm more a three syllable kind of girl.
Ida, Beatrice (Bebe), Mary, Dolores, Adela, and Olga are the family names.
But I like Mae, Maude, & Hyacinth
Good luck!
Ida, Beatrice (Bebe), Mary, Dolores, Adela, and Olga are the family names.
But I like Mae, Maude, & Hyacinth
Good luck!
My favorite girl's name of that ilk is Josephine, but my mother has threatened never to speak to me if I inflict it on an innocent child. It's her middle name, after a great aunt she didn't like. So I give it to you as my de-lurking present.
My grandmothers' names were boring, but I love Dahlia, Violet, and Margaret.
My grandmas were/are Elsie and Hazel. Their sisters were Agnes and Ethel. And you already know I'm partial to Eleanor/Ellie. My friend's niece is Eloise, and I like that a lot, too.
What wonderful news, Niobe. My thoughts are with you!
I like old names as well. Between my DH and me:
Pearl, Lucia (Scandinavian.. LOO-sha), Marian, Rosella, Josephine, Ruby, Lillian, Alphild (another Scando), Myrtle, Evelyn.
My grandmas and their sisters are pretty dull - Gloria, Jean, Betty, and Catherine.
BUT, my great-grandmother and her sisters had awesome old-timey names. All sisters, and were: Alma, Clara, Edna, Mina, Vera and, inexplicably, the youngest was Ivy.
My grandmothers are/were Lois and Dorothy. My mothers best friend since high school is June, which I love.
Mary, Nora, Gertrude, Sarah Jane, Louise, Evelyn, Ada.
It seems many of the old-fashioned names are coming back into fashion. My grandmothers were Grace (my choice if I ever have a girl) and Shirley. Their sisters were Audrey, Evelyn and Dawn.
I never comment here, but I have a name that is too beautiful not to share (and having had three boys, I have never gotten to use!):
The name is Lorna.
My grandmothers' names: Ruth and Mildred.
My grandmother and her sisters were:
Frida, Auguste, Catherine, Elizabeth, Greta...
My Grandmother was Guadalupe (Lupita) and Teresa. My husband's are Katherine and Marietta (very southern). Actually her name was Mary Etta, and she merged it when she was older.
I like Betty. Not a lot of little girls named Betty these days.
Yay! Half way there!
My mom's side: the beautiful Viola, and her sisters Helen and Rose
Dad's: the great Despina, and aunts Antigone and Theodora
(The American and Greek sides ;)
My husbands: Geraldine, Mary Veronica, and Honey
I like old fashioned names too
My grandmother's names: Julia, Patsy, their sisters: June, Margaret, Hazel, Melva, Lilian.
Great-grandmothers: Esther, Gladys and not sure of two others.
I love traditional names.
Irene, Anna, Carol, Helena, Mildred, Nellie. My middle name is also Irene and Ive always really liked it. I wanted to name a girl Grace. I also really like Adelaide, Natalie and Johannah(pronouced Jo Hannah not Joanna)
Helen, Clara, Glenda, Susan, Ruth.
Barbara, Dorothy, Margaret, Anna, Mary Dove (love that name-- they called her Mary Dove, too) and Rebecca.
Lucia, Esther, Vera, Kate, Donna, Josephine, Serafina ....
In recent years, I find myself enjoying the idea of Beatrix.
My maternal grandmother's name was Anna Sarah, but she hated it and legally changed it to Ann Shirley (yes, that one, but without the e). Her sisters were Esther, Dorothy, Bette and Florence. None of which suit *my* fancy, but Esther makes me stop and think sometimes. Their mother was Rachel.
Paternally, there were not many names: Shirley, Celia (I think)... My aunt's name is Lila, which I love, though I know it's somewhat trendy now.
This was fun -- thanks! And congrats on half-way!
My grandmother: Reba, her sisters: Hazel, Inez
My other grandmother: Hildegarde, her sisters: I don't know but would like to considering she was German of French descent. (emailing my father now)
My greatgrandmothers' names, on the American side, were Savannah and Hattie.
I love, love, love Reba & will probably use it if/when I ever have a girl.
Grandmother's in law: Evelyn, Doris
oops. Lavender got in ahead of me. I like Garnet myself. And I'll always have a soft spot for Faye.
Matilda, Lena, Edith, Sadie, Evelyn.
I would really strongly recommend the Baby Name Wizard book and online name finder. You will have so much fun with it.
Ludie, Mabel, Katherine, Mary, Peggy
my grandmothers names are edith and cleo (which i L-O-V-E)
and then my hubby's are velma and elaine
Florence Elizabeth, Peggy, Wanda Mae, Mollie Marie, Alma, Bessie.
I wish I could remember all my great grandmother's sister's names, they rhyme. The only one I remember is Essie.
Hubby's are: Beulah, Betty Irene, Millie, Frankie (short for Frances)
Lucille, Maggie, Gladys, Ada Mae and Vee. Vee might have just been V which maybe stood for something but I never thought to ask until just now.
There was an Ella (which we snatched up with about 50% of the other parents of toddler-aged girls), Ruby, Addie, Anise, and Augusta. I'd take any of those; love old names.
Nadine (my hubby's grandmother's name)
Good luck!
I remembered two more: my great aunts Carmen and Cecil (yes, for a woman - although I like it for a man, and Cecile or Cecilia for a woman).
And some old dudes, for Angie... Austin, Oliver, Cecil, Malcolm (my grandpa-in-law), and Francis (Frank - my uncle), and my grandpas were Louis (pronounced Louie) and John (called Johnny, even as an adult, which I think is sort of sweet.) I love names and their histories.
My grandmothers are Lucille and Katherine. However, Emily is my favorite. Just remember that you want your daughter to still at least like you when she is a teenager!
You may want to name her after some sort of rock star. She REALLY loves music. Every time music is on she just dances around in my belly :)
Lillith, Claudie, Nell, Nancy, Anthea, Leonie, Mae, Aoife, Jeanie, Joan.
@Trish: After reading your comment, I can't stop smiling. Maybe I'll add Miley to the list.
My daughter's name is Mabel Martha. Mabel after my great grandmother and Martha after my husbands. Mabel means lovable and Martha means lady. She's my lovable lady. Kim
Grandma is Doris, and her mother was Evelyn, and then Flora (who had sisters: Dora, Lora, Lilly, Sophronia, Flossie, and Nora), and their mother was Charles Ann.
I absolutely love the name Charles Ann for a girl. Mostly because my mother hates her own middle name (Ann), and naming her grandkid after her would force her to love the name. I'm evil that way.
The Mabel Martha comment reminded me that I know sisters named Veronica, Martha, and Hannah - and my neighbor is Lorna and she's a great lady. Or, along the lines of Hortense, how about Hester, Hettie, Hattie, or Hilda? Or my fave H, Hazel, which has already been mentioned a bunch.
Okay - I'll stop now.
My favorite old lady names that T in a million years would never let me use are Hazel and Penelope.
Beatrice always makes me think of the Ramona books -- and makes me then think of Beverly, which makes me think of Gladys who read them to me. Lucik my great aunt, Ekatrina her sister, Alice, Eileen, Dogma, Theresa, Mildred, Tessie are others from that generation in my family... Opal, Ada, Evelyn, Hazel, all come to mind and are names I hear more and more now.
Lois,Leta, Verna, Rubye, Ora, Gerry and I am forgetting a couple too.
Elinor, Dorothea, Christine, Doris, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Jutta, Liselotte, Sigrid. I do love Beatrice.
Congrats on half baked already. Your 2 week wait with Trish was at the same time as my first... wow. Best of luck for the second half! I'm so happy for you, Niobe.
Let's see, grandmas, great grandmas, and their sisters. Plus whatever names pop into my head as related when I'm trying to remember all their names (my great grandmas alone had, I think, 9 sisters)...
Myrtle, Helen, Rose (hey! another color!), Karen, Jo Alice, Drewcilla, Henrietta, Grace, Dorothy, Kay, Marjorie, Linda, Gay, Victoria, Miriam, Millicent, Hazel, Erma, Della, Esther, Polly, Lurlene, Arlene, Jolene, Margaret (Peggy, Madge, Marge--yes, I know a lot of them!), Marlene (Marlah), Lillianne, Goldie
Shoot, how could I have forgotten Nadine?! I mean, it's just my own mother's name. :)
My grannies were Natalie and Maybelle. (not Mabel, MayBELLE) My husbands grannies were Florence and Opal. In my family there is also Helene, Irene, and Betty. And me..Kate!
My daughter is Beatrix. I am constantly correcting people who think it's Beatrice.
If I have another girl, which is doubtful, these are my current favorite names:
Loretta (nickname Etta)
Dorothea (nicknames Dot, Dottie, it's my husband's grandmother's name)
Amalia (my great-grandmother's name)
Alice (my grandmother's name)
Millie
Clover
Hazel
Mina
My grandmothers are Alice & Helen. Hubby's are Olga and Nina.
I had a great grandmother named Zelmira (pronounced zel-m-"eye"-ra). Straight off the boat from Italy
Elvina Olivine and Twyena (pron Ta-weena) Alice. Sisters were Ruby, Dorothy, Joyce, Olwyn and Florence
Grandmothers are Leota and Maxine and because I love it but could never use it, my mom's name is Charr Lynn (pronounced Shar-Lynn). Can't use it because its my mom's name and I can't get into the idea of calling my children my parents' names. I love Louisa, too. If you really want to get into it, browse through some geneaology sites. You'll find more names than you can imagine!
family names...
Winona (Nonie), Kathleen, Beverly, Letty, Lela, Beatrice (Bea), Edith, Evelyn, Lola, Ruth, Elvira, Olivia, Helen, Crickett (no, I'm not kidding) Viola, Marie, Sandra, Betty, Bonnie, Constance, Adriana, Victoria
Felicita, Delma, Dora, Marcella (grandmas & great grandmas), Pauline (great aunt)
Eliza, Margaret, Eleanor, Margeruite, Wanda, Suzanne, Gertrude, Tabitha, Mavis, Delores, Marilyn, Mildred, Jezabelle, Ethel, Lucille, Josephine, Evelyn, Virginia, Constance, Dorothy, Arlene, and Ilene. I'll comment with more when I think of them.
Half-baked! AWESOME!
my grandmothers were betty (not at all your vibe), evangeline (love it but she was nuts), and juliet (who was wonderful but the name is loaded with all sorts of associations). and yes i have three.
i was named sarah for the nickname sadie which i hated as a kid for being too grandmotherly but now adore and would have chosen for my daughter if i'd been allowed.
mildred, marian, harriet. and stay away from thisbe--a gorgeous name, but a speech therapist's nightmare. pity the poor child who has a lisp trying to say this! :D
Hooray for half-baked!
My grandmothers: Edna, Esther; Ps: Wilma, Mildred
Our collective great-grandmothers: Helen (x2), Marie, Blanche, Adelaide, Mildred, Emma, Clara
All the sisters: Florence (x2), Helen (x2), Wilhemina (x2), Anna (x2), Mary (x2), Margaret, Magdalena, Elizabeth, Theresa, Lucile, Edith, Almira, Maude, Ida, Joyce, Eva, Ruby, Clara, Lillie, Effie, Bessie
My grandmas names are Laura and Wilma. Great grandma was Bertha. We also have Edna, Dorothy. I think Laura was the only name anyone in the family every considered honoring.
I vote for Anne/Anna
I haven't searched to see if anyone mentioned this, but one of my grandmother's was Virgie. And not short for Viriginia either. She had sisters named Bertha Mae and Tudi, and a brother named Junior. Really "Junior," not Fred Junior or whatev. I only know one great-grandmother: Ethel. On my husband's side, you have Helen, Margaret, Ann and Evelyn.
My grandmothers: Louvine and Nancy Beatrice.
Great Grandmothers: Carrie and Eva Lottie
My Grandmother's Sisters: Victoria, Susy Virginia, Eva Lottie, Viola
Women up in the family tree (grandmothers and lateral branches): Mary, Helen, Nina (Nye-nah), Frances, Rita, Aileen, Fannie, Florence, Eloise, Mary, Jessie, Myra, Audrey, Gertrude, Bridget, Inez, Kate, Caroline, Laura, Clara, twins Hattie and Mattie, Margaret, Lydia, Lucretia, Sallie, Cora, Stella, Lizzie...
I went back a few generations from my grandparents, but my big source was a family with at least 14 documented children. Yes, same mother. How did they do it...?
This is the fun part - The Name Game!
Great Aunts: Annie Lou, Ruby May, Ulla Lee, Claudia Bell and Ethelene. My favorite old-fashioned name is Honoria. I named my dolly (that I bought when I turned 40!)Honoria Rose.
Sal's Girl
Grandmothers: Zlata and Anna (Hannah), and her sister Bella.
I love Marion, Esther and Adele. And Beatrix. Oooh, lucky little girl... ;)
Grandmothers: Kitty and Petra. Great-grandmothers: Signe, Jenny, Alfrida and Haldis. Perhaps not that relevant for you americans :)
Coming back to add this gem from my husband's side of the family. A great-great-great type of grandmother was named Eldorado.
I don't think you have a 19th century wild west name in mind, though.
Kathleen, Margaret and Elizabeth on one side. The other side is Iranian so not really relevant to this discussion!
Here these sort of names are very modish. Whole kindergartens full of 19th century servants and masters. I like Thea, Honor and Beatrice (until stolen by a royal).
My grandmas were MayBritt and Aline.
I had a Myrtle Faye and also an Alma Jewell. Abigail is good, too.
My great grandmother's name was Hannah Cordelia, a name which I love. Her daughter was Gladys Louise. I am also attracted to strong women's names. Those women who could plow a field and play a piano and read Latin and Greek, like Hannah Cordelia.
Eleanor and Evelyn
Thora and Clara are my faves of those era and would have used one or the other in a heartbeat, but my husband doesn't dig em.
My grandmother? On my mother's side 'Iv.a Louise'
Great grandmother: Audye
Father's side: Rosemary
Nora
Great grandmother: Hannah (the irish side)
We have a girl on the way and none of these leapt out to G -- his grandmother's name was Hildegarde and we put Hilde in the mix...we live in a sort of germanic region so perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult for her...I wanted Nora...
looooooooove these names!! I love Grandmother generation names too. lots. My grandmother was a Mildred. I also had a grandmother I never met named Genevive. But beyond Mildred (Millie) every single woman on both sides, in a direct line, was named either Mary or Margaret OR Mary-Margaret. We do have some awesome older generation cousin names like Phoebe and Winnifred.
half baked...so fucking awesome.
My Grandmothers were Elsie and Mae Beryl, and the Great Aunts were Dorothy, Gertrude, Mildred and Thelma.
My Great-Grandmother was Georgia, which I love so much. My husband isn't into it as a name, and I doubt he would compromise if we had another girl. We'd probably name her Elizabeth Jane, after our mothers.
Sorry to be so late to the party. I've been sick with swine flu and not looking at screens.
Anyway, On my maternal side I come from a long line of Euphemia's. about 6 generations or so. and I dearly love the name. My Great Grandmother was called Femi for short by her husband.
The other old familial names I can add are; Gertrude, Vera, Wilhelmina, Ida, Esther, Ophelia, Margaux and Victoria.
Names that come to mind as ok suggestions for Niobe; Cordelia, Olympia and Vita.
I especially like Vita (after Vita Sackville-West). Daughter #2 was very nearly called Vita. and I also especially like the name Sage (as I've said before).
My girls are named after long gone relatives that I haven't included in the list because the names are too distinctive and I don't want it coming up on google. The clue is one can be shortened to win and the other can be shortened to nes. sorry to withhold.
Grandmothers and great-grandmothers were/are Wilomene, Virginia, Mamie, Janie, and Maggie.
If you're worried about popularity, i should tell you that eleanor has been very popular among my pals of late. though i do love it.
my grandmothers were su.zanne and l.eota, and other relatives of that generation or older were la.vinia, be.rtha (hard to see that one coming back into fashion), he.len, re.becca, ann.ie, eli.zabeth.
i didn't want this coming up on google in case my father was ever googling it -- hence the periods. but if i'd had a daughter, which i didn't, we would have gone with le.ota.
oh, remembered some others, too: a.rabella, ana.bel, lu.cinda.
Blech, HATE most of these grandma names and have no idea why anyone would want to saddle their cute little baby girl with an old lady name. Okay, maybe it's amusing/cute for a teeny baby, but a toddler named Hedda or Hortense (even if it didn't have the bad nickname possibility), ick.
But, to do my part, my grandmothers were Minna & Esther. I have no idea what their siblings were named, but my aunts had old lady names, too, so they'll do - Edith, Florence, Rose, Hilda, Regina, and Frances.
My partner's grandmothers were named Mary Agnes and Agnes Mary. Feel free to saddle a kid with any or all of those names. Me? I'm so happy to have been born before old lady names were trendy.
Audrey. But my actual grandmother's names were/are: Mabel, Beatrice, June, Olive, and Pamela (I'm including middle names here.)
Oh, and Muriel.
Mildred, Lorraine, Amy, Lou, Eulala, and Lillie. I also had an aunt America and an aunt Francis Ann.
I absolutely adore the names Eleanor and Lily, but my husband refused to let me use either of them for our daughter. :o)
Both my mother and grandmother were named Casilda. Heroine of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers apparently. 1894 equivalent of Briteny, methinks.
pearl
gemma
willomena
Thisbe?
Great name (and I do know one living young person named like that) but maybe it is even more appropriate for a blog name? (If one is not too superstitious -- but people do name their kids Julia, right?)
Fitting for motherly blogging about the amorous troubles of teenage life ;-)
Of the ones I know of, Win, Queenie, Gloria, Grace, Elsie, and Kit.
My daughter's Eleanor Grace.
ruby, harriet
Barbara and Jeanne. Phyllis, Eleanor, Anne, Ruth, Katherine, Maisie, Mitzi, Rose.
Grandmothers: Sarah and Norma
Great-Grandmothers: Lillian, Ada, and Dora
Their sisters- too numerous to mention, but include Molly,Beattie, Miriam, Claire, Rose, and Frieda (too cold to get out form under the blanket and check the other 8 or so!)
I wanted our child if it was a girl, which neither are, to be Eleanor, dh hated it. We got down to Julia or Bethany.
Old family names of dh and mine are: Anne, Catherine, Katherine, Margaret, Helen, Julia, Lillian, Laura, Winifred (called Winnie), Alma, Dorothy, Theresa, Cecelia, and others that I'm forgetting.
Grandmothers: Pauline and Marjorie (went by Marj, but her first name was Louisa)
Great aunts: Florence, Yvette (Pauline's sisters: French Canadian/Alsatian), Franny, Hermione, Sheena (Marj's sister, Scottish)
Great-grandmothers and their sisters: Louise, Georgette, Prudence, Clover (real name Catharine, but everyone called her Clover), Hilda, Hermione (yes, this is actually a family name for me and J.K. Rowling STOLE it from us BLIND for which I may never forgive her.)
There is also the name from a the family headstone of a baby who lived for a month at the beginning of the last century: Virginia Eloise.
I love this name theme and you've got some great names in there.
Millicent is great. I like Molly too and Dulcie and Mildred and Ethel and Hildegarde.
Hortensia is a personal favourite but H has already vetoed it extremely strongly. I am still pushing Alta Gracia or Angel which I love, but which I admit might be tough to live with (because you never know, a child might just need a name at some point ...)
Well done on the 21 weeks, fabulous news.
I love the name Etta. Reminds me of the singer Etta James. "At Last"... Beautiful song...
Hepsibah or Hepzibah is my favorite old-fashioned name.
Or Tabitha.
my grandmother was Olga Bertha
My husband has a Loretta, Florence, Farie May, Farina
I put some of your favorites that you pulled into your post into Nymbler (nymblr.com, is THE best baby name finder EVER) and I got the following:
Amelia, Greta, Mona, Grace, Vina, Elva, Veronika, Amalia, Hermina, Ava, Georgene, Pauline, Velma, Alice, Nila.
I'll add to that, my personal favorite what's-old-is-new names: Margene and Ofelia (pronounced oh-fell-ee-uh, if you're from these parts).
I had a wonderful Aunt Gladys and an Aunt Tilly and an Aunt Aggie too. My grandmothers were Annabelle and Emmy Lou and some of the great grandmothers were Edith Bird and Idabelle. But the best worst baby name I've heard so far is Gudule, after the Belgian Saint.
allypally
Grandmothers were Ruby Doris and Violet. Great-grandmothers were Sally Mae and Lillian
Just found out one of my great aunts was named Ursula, and was called Ulla! How cute is that? Squee! Now I have an excuse to argue for it!
If I'd had a girl, I would have named her Ella.
Happy holidays, Niobe.
-Shamela
We seriously considered Eleanor but it was simply too close to E1's name.
G'mas - Florence and Marion. Those are some rockin' olden goldies.
Elvira, that's a nice one. I also really liked Eleora, which is Hebrew. Evelyn, Carolyn, Georgina, Georgette, Georgia (on my mind), Cecelia (you're breaking my heart), Dorothy, Birdie, Eugenia, Adele, Penelope, Hazel, Esther, Alice. I'm about suggested out.
Are you still taking suggestions?
Family names (grandmothers/great aunts): Florence, Lillian (this is my favorite of the bunch because it has a lot of great nickname possibilities), Edith, Ellen, Betty (called Bessie), Helen, Gertrude (Gert).
From what I've noticed, certain names from the 1920s/30s are making a real comeback, like Rose, Lily, Violet, etc.
This is the fun part!
my maternal grandmother is: June Eileen
Her sisters: Betty, Mary Ellen, Pearl Naomi, Octava Morgan and her mother was Blanche Pearl
My paternal grandmother was: Betty Jane, her mother was Esther
My grandfather's mother was Tretha Cleon and his sister was Miriam (Mimi)
My Mom and her sisters, grandmother and her predecessors:
Dorothy
Elsie
Helen
Kate
Catherine
Mary-Louise
Evelyn
Eleanor
Olive
Francis
Anna-Patricia
Lucy (Lucille)
Ashley
Sundae
Mary
Hattie (No idea what her real name was)
Otelia
Rose
Jean
Norma
Thea (making a resurgence)
Guenivere (Pronounced GWEN-ah-veer as opposed to Gwenivere)
Krystle-Dawn
Roxanne
Aurora
Marisa (Rhymes with Lisa whereas Marissa rhymes with Clarissa)
Harriet
Hillary
Diame
Michelle (two ls for blonde, one l for brunette, alternate spelling for red head)
Gwendolyn
Navae - That was my mothers name. I have googled her name and I think I am correct in saying that there are only 4 Navae's out there. Very unusual and a cool story of how she got her name. As for old names - Camilla and Mae!
I also have a baby name book from 1946 that is full of wonderful names. I would mail it to you because I feel pretty good that you would send it back when you were done! Let me know if you would like it.
Pat
Wanda
Ellen
Oralee
Wilda
Priscilla
Dorothy
Marietta
Nellie
June is absolutely adorable.
My daughter is Eloise, which I see mentioned several times here already. I think it's the perfect name.
Late, but have to add to what must be the best list of female names ever. Old bitty names (and I mean that in the best possible way) in my fam:
Eva (which we used)
Aida
Esther
Angel (pronounced all Frenchified)
Phoebe
Sonia
Oh man, I'm blanking now..
Bonus round: my people are heavy into terrible/hilarious nicknames like Lulu. Do not ask me what my nickname is. I can't go there.
My grandmothers middle name is Muriel (rhymes with Ariel)
I came back to find that my cousin, Excavator, chimed in with our shared names, and a tip of the heart to our grandma, Faye.
I also found out my mom had an aunt named Dulce. And did I say Opal?
Sara Elizabeth and Nancy Jean - grandmothers.
Teresa, Sandra, Donna, Judith - Mother and Aunts.
Good luck!
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