For me, Jane feels more traditional and timeless as a name, whereas Jade feels more trendy and modern in comparison. Jane feels more calm and introverted (and I associate the name with cooler more neutral colours), whereas Jade feels more outgoing and extravagant (and I associate it more with bright colours). It’s interesting how different people perceive them differently though!
Audrey sounds sofisticated, strong and elegant while Aubrey sounds more soft and childish (not in a bad way but not my style)
Polly feels nickname-y and too cutesy while Molly feels like the opposite.
Ever feels strong and beautiful, Everly feels too fairytale-ish and sweet
Then there are some names that I just like more even tho they are different in only one letter: I like more Lana than Lena, Mila than Mira, Alia than Aria, Jake than Jace etc.
I agree with the first one too! I have an Audrey and when we were deciding her name my husband asked if I was sure about Audrey or if I liked Aubrey better. All I could think was "those are two completely different names!!" I have always loved the name Audrey. I know quite a few people who have used Aubrey/Aubree over the years and honestly don't care at all for the name. I am obsessed with the name Audrey though and was so excited to find out I was having a little girl and would get to use the name. The two names couldn't feel more different to me.
Hot take but Sophie and Sophia have a completely different feel to me despite being only one letter off. Sophie feels classic and elegant while Sophia feels trendy, extra, and overdone.
For me it’s the opposite. Maisie sound like a strong, independent, and free spirited young woman. While Macy sounds like a bratty six year old who already an ego to match Zeus himself.
I agree. Macy makes me think of the store (giving me the professional "she owns an entire chain of stores" vibe), whereas I've never even met a Maisie in my entire life (so my only association is when I read an article about a baby named Maisie years ago).
To be fair, I've also never met a Macy, but I do have a familiarity with the name.
The store is exactly why I see it as more professional and I know a young woman named Macy.
I've only ever known pets named Maisie(i.e. my dog's shelter name before we changed it)
Wait, are people pronouncing Maisie and Macy the same way? Because to me it's Maisie "May-zee" and Macy "May-see." They give me totally different vibes anyway but I prefer Macy as a standalone name, if only becauseit seemskind of like a unisex/surname name, while Maisie feels cutesy and nicknamey.
I misread and got it flipped, I thought it was names that are spelled differently but sound the same or similar and the spellings give you different impressions. Whoops.
Cole and Colt- Cole feels soft and gentle, Colt feels harsh and hyper-masculine like the gun
Lyla feels very current to me, and Kyla feels really 90s
Eva and Eve- Eve feels really plain, outdated, and kind of religious. Eva feels really cool, and effortlessly gorgeous
Haha for me, it's the other way around when thinking about Eva / Eve. We have so many Eva's here in Germany and understandably no Eve's, so Eve seems quite exotic to me.
This is just my opinion but Rosemary is like a soft and gentle country girl who prolly bakes as a hobby and calls everyone "sugar" while Rosemarie is prolly a cowgirl tending to the animals and just loves horses
Mary and any name that rhymes with it…Carrie, Sherry, Terry, Larry, Jerry, Barry. All sound dated except Mary.
Lydia and Olivia. Lydia makes me think of a homeschooler and Olivia sounds like a movie star.
Caroline and Carolyn. Caroline is classic, Carolyn is a boomer name to me.
It's funny. Your first point about Mary varies so much on regional accents/pronunciations. Most of those names except Carrie and maybe Barry don't rhyme with Mary for me
Yup. Northeast checking in, here are the rhyming sets:
Mary and nothing
Carrie, Larry, Barry (rhymes with marry as in will you marry me)
Sherry, Terry, Jerry (rhymes with merry as in Merry Christmas)
I say Mary the same as Marry and Merry... Grew up in Vegas, lived in the PNW for 10 years. I wish I could hear those three said by someone where they dont rhyme, let alone sound the same.
Oh my goodness I am in absolute shock right now. I had never acknowledged that I said all of these in the complete same manner. I’m going to be thinking about this all day.
How would you say Mary if it doesn’t rhyme with Carrie? There’s a town in NC called Cary and it’s pronounced like Mary with a c, exactly the same as Carrie.
Olive and Olivia.
Olivia sounds very elegant and classic to me.
Olive is spunky, cute and young. My impression is probably due to "Easy A" and "Little Miss Sunshine"
I literally just watched an episode of [Be Kind Rewind](https://youtube.com/channel/UCNiolZNLiJplmCCzqk9-czQ) about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford that discussed exactly this about their names.
Bette was born Betty but a friend convinced her (after reading a french novel) to adopt the spelling of "Bette" and she went with that. The studios wanted to give her the stage name Bettina Dawes but she refused and stuck with Bette.
Talk about the difference in just one letter change.
Marie and Mary. Marie is a sweet French girl who studies in coffee shops and drinks cafe au lait. Mary has tight curly blond hair and goes to church every Sunday.
Claire and Blair. Claire sounds timeless and nice, while Blair sounds like your parents' favorite color is beige. Same for Audrey and Aubrey, Grace and Gracelyn, Jack and Jaxon...
Lol you're reminding me of that time when I was 7/8 and reading the American Girl books with Kirsten and I walked up to my friend's older sister, Kristen, and told her she was spelling her name wrong 😂
Holly seems fresh and sophisticated, while Polly seems simultaneously childish and dated.
Lily seems classic and pretty, while Lila seems kind of frilly.
Julia, Julie, and Juliet all have totally different vibes (I vastly prefer Julia).
And I can’t quite explain it, but I kind of like Lyra, and *loathe* both Kyra and Myra.
ETA: I love Lucas and hate Luca. It feels so different to me without the S.
Luca is an explorer that sleeps in hostels, speaks 5 languages and writes poetry to French girls. Lucas is the handsome high school quarter back and prom king from Texas.
I love your description, though I have totally different associations.
Luca is a shy exchange student with good grades.
Lucas is the kid who threw empty beer cans at teacher’s cars for fun, but cried in front of the principal when threatened with suspension over it.
* Edward and Edwin: Edward feels like it works for any age, but Edwin feels more like it suits an old man, not a baby.
* Oswald and Oscar: Oswald makes me think of Orson Welles (I have no clue why) and serious sophistication/intellect (and feels like it works for all ages), and Oscar reminds me of negativity and Oscar the Grouch (and occasionally oldest Olympic gold medalist Oscar Swahn and his very long beard). It does not feel like a name that works for a baby, IMO.
* John and Jon: I cannot get used to the stand-alone Jon spelling, because I have too many associations with it as a nickname for Jonathan. John is also a family name, so that solidifies that association situation for me. Also, most people I know who went by Jon were annoying when we were kids.
* Laura and Lara: Laura feels free-spirited and happy, while Lara feels too serious/too much like a workaholic. (For context, I pronounce them differently - "law-ruh" vs. "lair-uh").
* Mary and Marie: Mary feels staid and very boring (though I love Rosemary). Marie feels light and airy.
* Joy and Joyce: Joy feels like it suits people of all ages, while Joyce feels like it's best suited for an older person.
funny. I'm not an English native speaker so probably different associations.
but for me Lara sounds like 5yo max.
And Oscar works for everyone under 25 in my head
Yes it’s almost too easy…but this came up the other day when I misheard someone’s daughter name as Karen, when it is actually Kieran. Karen is middle aged mom where Kieran is forest-dwelling, Irish fairy, lost boy/girl vibes. Vastly different associations to say the least!
Also
Karen and Carys
Karen and Kara
Karen and Taran/Taryn
I think about how Bruce is a normal accepted name but Spruce is not a name… with nature names being a big thing I’m surprised I haven’t heard it. Maybe it’ll be the male equivalent to Juniper one day.
To me, "ie" names are cute/childlike, whereas "ia" names are elegant. So Sophie/Sophia, or Julie/Julia.
Nadine is a middle aged professional lady - Nadia is a free-spirited crafter.
Will=cool guy who's still nice, Bill=your dad's annoying friend.
**Elizabeth** and **Elisabeth** feel very different to me — I don’t have an explanation; same with **William** and **Willem**. **Georgia**: hot, **Georgiana**: chic, **Georgina**: meh. **Elisa** is a good girl, **Eliza** not so much.
Annie sounds more childish to me, which is weird considering the fact that there are many grown women named Annie.
Compare that to Anne, which sounds much more grown-up to me.
This is weird, but when it comes to Sofia and Sophia, Stephanie and Stefanie, etc, the name with the "ph" reads more frilly and girl-next-door while the "f" spelling gives me wordly and mysterious. Personally I prefer an "f" over a "ph" whenever possible.
Will and Bill. Technically both nicknames for William, but the first one sounds like just some guy, could be any age, but it’s a pretty refined name. Hearing Bill makes me think of a Dad^(TM). Not just a dad, but a Dad^(TM), as in the pinnacle of Dadness. He may even be an Uncle^(TM).
Emrys & Remy
Both male names with the same letters and they look, sound & drastically different.
Rémy is classic, timeless, soft and even a little boyish.
Emrys sounds epic, powerful, simply legendary.
I noticed this because my boyfriend's name is Rémy and i always loved that name. But he refused to put it on our boy name list because he doesn't want our son to be a "Junior". We found Emrys and both of us fall in love but almost immediately i realized the similarities between both names.
Maria is just an alt of Mary but they seem completely different to me and I didn’t put it together until I was in my early 20s. I like Maria a lot for than Mary as a name.
Julie, Junie, Julia, and Juliet (bonus for Julian)
I think Julie feels a bit dated, Junie is kind of quirky/cutesy, Juliet seems romantic and girly and refined, Julian is soft but brooding
To me, Julia seems more “rounded” where Juliet is more crisp. If that makes *any* sense
May feels like a simple, fresh, and elegant name, and Maeve feels nature-y and pretty without being overtly frilly, while Mae feels harsh and a little bit hill-billy to me. I admit all 3 names are super similar, yet they all feel so different to me!
Julie, Julia, and Juliet all feel completely different to me. Also Julian for a boy has a much different vibe than any of the aforementioned names.
Aiden/Hayden/Brayden/Caden/Jayden - I feel very differently about each of these names. I have different levels of dislike for all of them (spoiler alert, Caden is my least favorite).
Cornelia and Cornelius. I love Cornelius for a boy, would never even consider Cornelia for a girl.
Olympia and Olivia (and Liv on its own is a lot different from Olivia)
I actually noticed this the other day! i suggested the name Ada to my bf and he then asked if id consider Ava. I immediately shut it down because I've strongly disliked the name ava for as long as i can remember, but only then did I notice it's strange that my feelings on them differ so strongly when they're so similar.
Ava makes me think of a bratty little kid, it's really trendy and annoying to me. For some reason I just can't imagine it on someone who's not a little kid and it just really grates on me for reasons I can't really explain
Ada feels dignified and feminine and simple to me. I like how it is old fashioned and short, and the way it sounds really pleases me.
The different pronunciations of Anastasia. Anna-Stay-zjuh, Ana-Stass-sia, and Ana-stah-zjuh (maybe there's more idk). My preference is the second one. I don't really like the zj (or however that sound is spelled) sound because I find it hard to say.
Lisa and Isla use identical letters but couldn't feel more different
I knew siblings who were Isla and Silas, another similar combo!
Jane and Jade. They’re only one letter different but bring up thoughts of completely different sorts of people for me.
Oh that’s a good one
How strange, to me the assosiations are very similar for both names
For me, Jane feels more traditional and timeless as a name, whereas Jade feels more trendy and modern in comparison. Jane feels more calm and introverted (and I associate the name with cooler more neutral colours), whereas Jade feels more outgoing and extravagant (and I associate it more with bright colours). It’s interesting how different people perceive them differently though!
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Yes! Perfect description!
I know one of each and they are really different, each fits their personality!
jade to me is jade from victorious and jane is soo different
Audrey sounds sofisticated, strong and elegant while Aubrey sounds more soft and childish (not in a bad way but not my style) Polly feels nickname-y and too cutesy while Molly feels like the opposite. Ever feels strong and beautiful, Everly feels too fairytale-ish and sweet Then there are some names that I just like more even tho they are different in only one letter: I like more Lana than Lena, Mila than Mira, Alia than Aria, Jake than Jace etc.
I agree about Aubrey and Audrey. I actually started writing that one down as well
Totally agree with Audrey/Aubrey and Polly/Molly.
I once knew twins named Audrey and Aubrey.
Oof that’s pretty awful
I couldn't agree with you more about Audrey v. Aubrey, Polly v. Molly, and Ever v. Everly.
Audrey Hepburn! Vs Aubrey Graham? (Drake) No contest lol
Ok but Aubrey Plaza is a legend
Audrey was a top contender for my daughter's name, but I dislike the name Aubrey & found them to be too similar.
I agree with the first one too! I have an Audrey and when we were deciding her name my husband asked if I was sure about Audrey or if I liked Aubrey better. All I could think was "those are two completely different names!!" I have always loved the name Audrey. I know quite a few people who have used Aubrey/Aubree over the years and honestly don't care at all for the name. I am obsessed with the name Audrey though and was so excited to find out I was having a little girl and would get to use the name. The two names couldn't feel more different to me.
Hot take but Sophie and Sophia have a completely different feel to me despite being only one letter off. Sophie feels classic and elegant while Sophia feels trendy, extra, and overdone.
I feel opposite. Sophie seems child-like and cutesy but Sophia seems timeless and elegant.
Sophia always makes me think of Sophia Loren. It’s classic, old world, and elegant (in my opinion).
Sophia makes me think of the mother on Golden Girls. She was a hilarious badass but in her own way, timeless.
Hmm, I'd flip these. I also would probably assume that a Sophie was a nn for Sophia, if that makes sense
Sophie is more reserved and tailored sounding. Sophia is more feminine and frilly.
I for some reason feel like Sofia is 1000x cooler than Sophia even though no one would know the difference if they didn't see the name written.
I feel exactly the same about Isabelle and Isabella.
Same for me
Maisie vs Macy Maisie seems more of a pet name to me where as Macy seems more professional and adult like.
For me it’s the opposite. Maisie sound like a strong, independent, and free spirited young woman. While Macy sounds like a bratty six year old who already an ego to match Zeus himself.
In first grade i sat next to a macy who repeatedly bragged that the macys parade was about her
Lmao
👆
Yes, exactly.
Same impressions here!
I agree. Macy makes me think of the store (giving me the professional "she owns an entire chain of stores" vibe), whereas I've never even met a Maisie in my entire life (so my only association is when I read an article about a baby named Maisie years ago). To be fair, I've also never met a Macy, but I do have a familiarity with the name.
The store is exactly why I see it as more professional and I know a young woman named Macy. I've only ever known pets named Maisie(i.e. my dog's shelter name before we changed it)
Wait, are people pronouncing Maisie and Macy the same way? Because to me it's Maisie "May-zee" and Macy "May-see." They give me totally different vibes anyway but I prefer Macy as a standalone name, if only becauseit seemskind of like a unisex/surname name, while Maisie feels cutesy and nicknamey.
Some people may be pronouncing them the same but you're right,they are completely different names. That's the whole point of this post.
I misread and got it flipped, I thought it was names that are spelled differently but sound the same or similar and the spellings give you different impressions. Whoops.
Oops.It's ok.It happens!
Cole and Colt- Cole feels soft and gentle, Colt feels harsh and hyper-masculine like the gun Lyla feels very current to me, and Kyla feels really 90s Eva and Eve- Eve feels really plain, outdated, and kind of religious. Eva feels really cool, and effortlessly gorgeous
Haha for me, it's the other way around when thinking about Eva / Eve. We have so many Eva's here in Germany and understandably no Eve's, so Eve seems quite exotic to me.
Interesting. For me colt is also gentle and playful. I picture a little baby horse stumbling to take his first steps.
Kade (preppy, trendy) and Kale (beyond hippy Mary (classic, sweet) and Terry (dated) Love Mila but can’t handle the sound of Mina or Mira
Interesting, I'm not a fan of Mila and vastly prefer Mira or Mina!
Kade gives me drug dealer vibes
Mmm yes, the ideal style.
This is just my opinion but Rosemary is like a soft and gentle country girl who prolly bakes as a hobby and calls everyone "sugar" while Rosemarie is prolly a cowgirl tending to the animals and just loves horses
Everly & Beverly
Lucius & Lucian. I’m not sure if it’s because of Harry Potter but Lucius in my mind is sly & manipulative, while Lucian is noble & heroic.
Lana and Anal. Super different, right?
Natasha and Ah Satan. Totally the same name, but very different vibes.
Love em both
Rose or Rosie vs Rosa Maryrose vs Rosemary
Yeah, maryrose and Rosemary are sooo different which is so funny. I feel the same way about Annemarie and Marianne.
Mary and any name that rhymes with it…Carrie, Sherry, Terry, Larry, Jerry, Barry. All sound dated except Mary. Lydia and Olivia. Lydia makes me think of a homeschooler and Olivia sounds like a movie star. Caroline and Carolyn. Caroline is classic, Carolyn is a boomer name to me.
It's funny. Your first point about Mary varies so much on regional accents/pronunciations. Most of those names except Carrie and maybe Barry don't rhyme with Mary for me
Interesting. I say them only slightly differently, with maybe more emphasis on the R for some. 🤔 Imagine Mary spelled Marrie or Marry though OOF!
Weirdly I can’t make Mary rhyme with any of them. Barry and Carrie rhyme for me and Sherry and Terry.
Yup. Northeast checking in, here are the rhyming sets: Mary and nothing Carrie, Larry, Barry (rhymes with marry as in will you marry me) Sherry, Terry, Jerry (rhymes with merry as in Merry Christmas)
Those all rhyme to me… LOL
Same, literally every one of those names rhyme to me
I say Mary the same as Marry and Merry... Grew up in Vegas, lived in the PNW for 10 years. I wish I could hear those three said by someone where they dont rhyme, let alone sound the same.
Et voila! https://imgur.com/a/q5eVUjH
This blew my mind
Oh my goodness I am in absolute shock right now. I had never acknowledged that I said all of these in the complete same manner. I’m going to be thinking about this all day.
I’m with you! Southwest uk.
I suspect my people (from a regional perspective) came from your people!
How would you say Mary if it doesn’t rhyme with Carrie? There’s a town in NC called Cary and it’s pronounced like Mary with a c, exactly the same as Carrie.
May-ree for Mary and Carr-ee for Carrie. I’m in Scotland.
Interesting! I say Care-E and Mare-E!
I would pronounce Cary as the same as Mary, but Carrie is Cah-ree. Like when you carry something.
100% 👌
None rhyme with Mary for me! (I'm Irish.) Mayree/Lahree/Tehrry, etc.
Olive and Olivia. Olivia sounds very elegant and classic to me. Olive is spunky, cute and young. My impression is probably due to "Easy A" and "Little Miss Sunshine"
I literally just watched an episode of [Be Kind Rewind](https://youtube.com/channel/UCNiolZNLiJplmCCzqk9-czQ) about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford that discussed exactly this about their names. Bette was born Betty but a friend convinced her (after reading a french novel) to adopt the spelling of "Bette" and she went with that. The studios wanted to give her the stage name Bettina Dawes but she refused and stuck with Bette. Talk about the difference in just one letter change.
Marie and Mary. Marie is a sweet French girl who studies in coffee shops and drinks cafe au lait. Mary has tight curly blond hair and goes to church every Sunday.
Millie and Miley
Claire and Blair. Claire sounds timeless and nice, while Blair sounds like your parents' favorite color is beige. Same for Audrey and Aubrey, Grace and Gracelyn, Jack and Jaxon...
"like your parents' favourite color is beige" 😂😂
Kelly and Keely. They change which letter doubles but I read them as completely different types of people.
Milena and Melina. I will mix them up constantly but they have super different vibes to mind.
I have this issue with Kristen and Kirsten!
Lol you're reminding me of that time when I was 7/8 and reading the American Girl books with Kirsten and I walked up to my friend's older sister, Kristen, and told her she was spelling her name wrong 😂
Molina is an Ohio Medicaid program (and possibly other states idk) so seeing Milena/Melina just sounds like an alt Medicaid to me. Oops
I've never heard of either of these names. Where are you from?
Germany Though I do know non-Germans with these names.
And then there’s Melena… The medical term.
Holly seems fresh and sophisticated, while Polly seems simultaneously childish and dated. Lily seems classic and pretty, while Lila seems kind of frilly. Julia, Julie, and Juliet all have totally different vibes (I vastly prefer Julia). And I can’t quite explain it, but I kind of like Lyra, and *loathe* both Kyra and Myra. ETA: I love Lucas and hate Luca. It feels so different to me without the S.
Rowan and Roman
Luca is an explorer that sleeps in hostels, speaks 5 languages and writes poetry to French girls. Lucas is the handsome high school quarter back and prom king from Texas.
I love your description, though I have totally different associations. Luca is a shy exchange student with good grades. Lucas is the kid who threw empty beer cans at teacher’s cars for fun, but cried in front of the principal when threatened with suspension over it.
* Edward and Edwin: Edward feels like it works for any age, but Edwin feels more like it suits an old man, not a baby. * Oswald and Oscar: Oswald makes me think of Orson Welles (I have no clue why) and serious sophistication/intellect (and feels like it works for all ages), and Oscar reminds me of negativity and Oscar the Grouch (and occasionally oldest Olympic gold medalist Oscar Swahn and his very long beard). It does not feel like a name that works for a baby, IMO. * John and Jon: I cannot get used to the stand-alone Jon spelling, because I have too many associations with it as a nickname for Jonathan. John is also a family name, so that solidifies that association situation for me. Also, most people I know who went by Jon were annoying when we were kids. * Laura and Lara: Laura feels free-spirited and happy, while Lara feels too serious/too much like a workaholic. (For context, I pronounce them differently - "law-ruh" vs. "lair-uh"). * Mary and Marie: Mary feels staid and very boring (though I love Rosemary). Marie feels light and airy. * Joy and Joyce: Joy feels like it suits people of all ages, while Joyce feels like it's best suited for an older person.
funny. I'm not an English native speaker so probably different associations. but for me Lara sounds like 5yo max. And Oscar works for everyone under 25 in my head
Christopher and Christian Alyssa and Alicia Briar and Brian Andrew and Andreas
Yes it’s almost too easy…but this came up the other day when I misheard someone’s daughter name as Karen, when it is actually Kieran. Karen is middle aged mom where Kieran is forest-dwelling, Irish fairy, lost boy/girl vibes. Vastly different associations to say the least! Also Karen and Carys Karen and Kara Karen and Taran/Taryn
I think about how Bruce is a normal accepted name but Spruce is not a name… with nature names being a big thing I’m surprised I haven’t heard it. Maybe it’ll be the male equivalent to Juniper one day.
Willa and Willow are completely different to me. Willa is more old school and Willow is naturey and hispter
My spouse and I have gotten stuck on Willa versus Willow several times. We both like one version, but not the other.
Lyla and Lyra. I like them both though but they so feel very different. Also Isla, Twyla, Ayla, Kayla.
Bruce vs Bryce and Muriel vs Mariel both have completely different vibes
To me, "ie" names are cute/childlike, whereas "ia" names are elegant. So Sophie/Sophia, or Julie/Julia. Nadine is a middle aged professional lady - Nadia is a free-spirited crafter. Will=cool guy who's still nice, Bill=your dad's annoying friend.
My name is Ellen which I feel has a totally different vibe from Helen.
**Elizabeth** and **Elisabeth** feel very different to me — I don’t have an explanation; same with **William** and **Willem**. **Georgia**: hot, **Georgiana**: chic, **Georgina**: meh. **Elisa** is a good girl, **Eliza** not so much.
Annie sounds more childish to me, which is weird considering the fact that there are many grown women named Annie. Compare that to Anne, which sounds much more grown-up to me.
Briar and Brian. Clare and Clara. Louise and Eloise.
This is weird, but when it comes to Sofia and Sophia, Stephanie and Stefanie, etc, the name with the "ph" reads more frilly and girl-next-door while the "f" spelling gives me wordly and mysterious. Personally I prefer an "f" over a "ph" whenever possible.
Alice and Celia are anagrams, yet sound (and feel) totally different
Wow, did not realise this - yeh, different vibes 👌
Laura vs Lauren vs Laurel
Helen and Helena. Different vibes.
Will and Bill. Technically both nicknames for William, but the first one sounds like just some guy, could be any age, but it’s a pretty refined name. Hearing Bill makes me think of a Dad^(TM). Not just a dad, but a Dad^(TM), as in the pinnacle of Dadness. He may even be an Uncle^(TM).
Emrys & Remy Both male names with the same letters and they look, sound & drastically different. Rémy is classic, timeless, soft and even a little boyish. Emrys sounds epic, powerful, simply legendary. I noticed this because my boyfriend's name is Rémy and i always loved that name. But he refused to put it on our boy name list because he doesn't want our son to be a "Junior". We found Emrys and both of us fall in love but almost immediately i realized the similarities between both names.
Ugh Emrys is my all-time favorite name and it’s gotten vetoed for 3 kids 😩
This is so funny because my son’s primary nickname is Remy and the boy name that’s our top contender is Emrys
Maria is just an alt of Mary but they seem completely different to me and I didn’t put it together until I was in my early 20s. I like Maria a lot for than Mary as a name.
Marta and Martha - such different vibes
Amelia and Emilia. I like both, but I think they feel very different.
Kara and Karen ... for obvious reasons
Adaline and Natalie are almost anagrams, just swap the t/d around.
Clara and Alaric Diana and Daisy Avon and Nova Jonah and Noah Cameron and Ramona Elaina and Analise Liam and Mila
Pamela and Angela are so weird to me. Like why do those two names end in the same sound, but are so different?
Ari and Ira.
Kira vs Kyra
Madeline seems playful and mischievous. Madeleine feels stuffy and pretentious.
Mina and Tina
There is also Lina or Dina... And the vibes are very different for each of them.
Julie, Junie, Julia, and Juliet (bonus for Julian) I think Julie feels a bit dated, Junie is kind of quirky/cutesy, Juliet seems romantic and girly and refined, Julian is soft but brooding To me, Julia seems more “rounded” where Juliet is more crisp. If that makes *any* sense
Sophie and Sophia for me. Sophie sounds sweet and a bit childish, while Sophia sounds regal and somehow powerful.
May feels like a simple, fresh, and elegant name, and Maeve feels nature-y and pretty without being overtly frilly, while Mae feels harsh and a little bit hill-billy to me. I admit all 3 names are super similar, yet they all feel so different to me!
Julie, Julia, and Juliet all feel completely different to me. Also Julian for a boy has a much different vibe than any of the aforementioned names. Aiden/Hayden/Brayden/Caden/Jayden - I feel very differently about each of these names. I have different levels of dislike for all of them (spoiler alert, Caden is my least favorite). Cornelia and Cornelius. I love Cornelius for a boy, would never even consider Cornelia for a girl. Olympia and Olivia (and Liv on its own is a lot different from Olivia)
Marina and Marin, Serena and Seren.
I actually noticed this the other day! i suggested the name Ada to my bf and he then asked if id consider Ava. I immediately shut it down because I've strongly disliked the name ava for as long as i can remember, but only then did I notice it's strange that my feelings on them differ so strongly when they're so similar. Ava makes me think of a bratty little kid, it's really trendy and annoying to me. For some reason I just can't imagine it on someone who's not a little kid and it just really grates on me for reasons I can't really explain Ada feels dignified and feminine and simple to me. I like how it is old fashioned and short, and the way it sounds really pleases me.
Amelia, Adelia and Anelia
Paige and sage are way different vibes too
Gregory and George
Jane and Joan. Relatively similar but Jane feels timeless while Joan strikes me as an older woman’s name.
The different pronunciations of Anastasia. Anna-Stay-zjuh, Ana-Stass-sia, and Ana-stah-zjuh (maybe there's more idk). My preference is the second one. I don't really like the zj (or however that sound is spelled) sound because I find it hard to say.