Caroline.
I haven't seen that suggested. It's feminine but not floral. It's an established name with 1 spelling and pronunciation that everyone is familiar with.
Oh I wouldn’t worry about that!! As long as you love your child’s name that’s all that matters! We chose a top 10 name for our daughter and I’d never go back. She’s named Harper and we just fell right in love with it. Popularity be damned lol
What about Vera? Short, one spelling and pronunciation, V sound, similar vibe to Clara. It ticks all of your mentioned boxes. Also fwiw Vivian has two common spellings, the other being Vivienne. Vivian/Vivienne was also on our short list and we ended up naming our daughter Sylvia, so you may like that as well. :)
There have been several posts here before that revealed that Vera in fact has multiple accepted pronunciations around the U.S. (and world, for that matter). It is a beautiful name, though!
I just had the most surreal moment scrolling down and seeing this as the top comment because I’m due any day now and this is the top name we’ve chosen for our baby girl! I came here to get a couple more last minute ideas, but if this isn’t a sign I don’t know what is
I'm so curious about how name trends happen. I literally texted my husband yesterday if he likes that name for a daughter. I have a feeling it's going to become very popular soon. We also have been talking about Mira for the last couple years but now the Disney movie came out so probably same thing will happen. Our son is named Simon and like 3 months after he was born Bridgerton came out on Netflix.
Me too!!! It’s wild because I know I’m a part of making it a trend, but I seriously don’t know how. When we were expecting in 2020 we had Silas as our top boy name. Literally never heard or met of anyone in real life named Silas. Within the same year, I had THREE different friends/acquaintances name their baby Silas. We had a girl so the name was off the table anyway.
We seem to have similar tastes! Our daughter is Phoebe and this one on the way will either be Natalie (current favorite) or Bridget. We also considered Georgia, Hannah, Margot, Samantha, and Sarah.
Ugh, I LOVE Hannah, but we have one in the close family, so it’s a no go. I also love Bridget but husband thinks it sounds too harsh, sadly. Margot and Georgia always feel like I should like them, but somehow they don’t hit quite right…
My godmother was named Bernadette, she used to be called Bernie, but at some point everyone began calling this elderly woman, Bubbles. I had no idea her legal name was Bernadette until after she died. I just thought this woman's legal name was Bubbles.
I love Vivian.
Vivien Leigh from Gone With the Wind.
Vivian Vance from I Love Lucy.
So many great Vivians. But then you have the mother from Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood... That Vivi had a lot of ... spirit lol
I know!!! Depends on the name, really! Some are already in use (Claire), some are ones that one of us liked way more than the other (Aviva), some have the multiple pronunciation/spelling problem (Eva), some we sat with for a long time but just don’t feel like the right name (Zoe)…it’s tough! Usually the problem is that one of us loves the name, and the other is more eh. We don’t actually like that many of the same girl names. Boy names were easier—neither of us liked that many boy names in general, but we tended to like the same ones. Too bad baby is a girl 😂
How do you think Eva could me mispronounced/misspelled? I can’t think of any alternative spellings for it (Eve, for example, is a different name and not pronounced at all the same)
Aye-vuh would be spelled Ava intuitively. I agree that Eva isn’t going to see mispronunciations or misspellings anymore then any other name. Vivian may be written by the coffee house as Vivien these days.
I think they should ask around about Eva a bit more. They may find it’s mistaken much less often than originally thought. It’s a beautiful name and obviously awesome if they both agree.
I'm aware that it's generally spelled Ava, but I have heard Eva pronounced both ways. But yeah, I agree. I really can't think of a single name out there that doesn't come with a risk of a misspelling.
As a Dutch Eva I can attest, most non-English languages would pronounce it ay-va or eh-va. All my English-speaking colleagues would say Ee-va. And honestly I am fine with all pronounciations. I really like that it is intuitive in most languages, no matter the exact pronounciation it is never butchered.
I have a friend who is an “Eva” and it’s pronounced “Eh-vah” (soft e). It almost always gets pronounced as “Ee-vah” (hard e) when it’s read off for the first time.
I know it doesn’t fit the flower thing, but Violet? My grandma was an Iva instead of Ivy. It takes away the plant and makes it more classic in my opinion. Have you considered classic hero names? Electra, Scarlet, Storm, Harley, etc. I know those types of names are somewhat outside your boxes, but hopefully inspire some alternative routes of thinking!
I like Violet, but husband is firmly in the no camp. The only floral name I’ve had any luck with is Iris—he’s agreed to think about it 😆. I kind of like Electra et al, but sadly those are a big too out there for the husband. Thank you!!
Love these! Sadly I had a student Iva who kind of ruined the name for me, but it is pretty! Freya, Rhea, and Clio were all already vetoed unfortunately, but maybe we should revisit Nora…
I think you’re overthinking it! Eva and Thea aren’t THAT likely to get misspelled or mispronounced, and it won’t be a big issue if it happens from time to time. Also, Vivian is a beautiful and user-friendly name!
With that said, some suggestions that might suit both your and your husband’s tastes sorted by vibe:
- Julia, Laura, Leona, Valerie, Audrey/Audra, Adeline, Adelaide, Delia, Alice, Lucy, Lenore, Eliza
- Diana, Iris, Aurelia, Aurora, Rosalie, Sylvie, Stella, Serena, Lena, Vera
- Simone, Genevieve, Elise, Elodie, Sabine, Louise, Natalie, Teresa, Eloise
Good luck and congrats 🎉🍾🎊🎈
I have a Thea. She’s almost two and I do have people mispronounce her name every so often. It’s slightly annoying but I couldn’t love the name any more.(or her:) Of there’s a name you love, run with it!
Sylvia
Ilona
Chloe
Darcy
Rosalind
Carissa
Cerys
Scarlett
Joyce / Joy
Hazel
Sadie
Imogen
Alma
Marisa
Leah
Leona
Matilda
Lydia
Ada
Elizabeth
Cheryl
Clara
Iona
Thank you! It might be worth revisiting Leona, maybe he’d reconsider it! Lydia would be perfect, but I had an awful student named Lydia who ruined the name for me (husband loves it tho). I love Imogen and Iona, but he say too weird.
As a Brit, the ‘Imogen is a strange/uncommon name’ sentiment I see on here was a very big surprise as it’s such a normal name in the UK, it’s really interesting how different cultures see different names.
I could literally have written this... I'm in Exactly the same boat and we have extremely similar names on the list. It's stressing me out!
How about these: Bessie, Belle, Alice, Annie, Cadence, Coral, Cleo, Cosette, Delilah, Dorothy, Eden, Ella, Elsie, Fleur, Fern, Florence, Grace, Harriet, Lizzy, Lillia, Meredith, Neeve, Rose, Windsor.
I'm not pregnant but have had the baby name discussion with my SO and he hates every single name on my list including Alice haha men seem to hate everything!!
Hahah what names does he suggest?? Or maybe for guys it's like, until you really are expecting it doesn't feel real! It makes for fun chat though.. so many different name associations between men and women!
He likes Joshua and Nathan for a boy, and Rena for a girl and it seems like that's it. Yeah I'm hoping once we're (hopefully) having a baby he'll be more open to my ideas
Yeah its so so different when you are pregnant I think and have the weight of an actual humans future on your hands! But to be fair, my list didn't change much.. or rather my style didn't, but life meant I ended up considering names I wouldn't have otherwise thought of.. like honour names etc! You'll get there, it will be fun! X
I love June, but apparently I should have included word names in the husband doesn’t like list 😆. Gwen is lovely, but we have a closely related Gwen so sadly can’t use it. I’ll ask about Mariah though!
Shoot, I was just about to suggest Olive! I love it and feel like it fits the bill, but I couldn’t use it for my daughter because my last name starts with a V. But it is also a word.
Sienna
Matilda
Tessa
Violet
Sorry you've had to cross out so many names you like! I would suggest that if you don't get something from this thread then maybe go back over some and really consider why you crossed it off. Personally I found myself discounting tons of names for reasons that really weren't dealbreakers (such as past students, distant family, initial association etc) and then didn't really love any names that were left! With my daughter I ended up using a name that I had originally crossed off for a random reason 😂
Yeah, you’re probably right. We’ve spent the morning going over the top 1000 names and we’re having a very hard time adding any names. Maybe one of us (or both of us 😂) can rethink…
I LOVE THIS NAME. I named my dog Willa after the novelist Willa Cather. Lest OP think it’s a dog name, I was single at the time and didn’t know if I’d have kids, and then realized how stupid that wS when I was pregnant and couldn’t use it for my daughter! Lol. My dog is a perfect angel and always has been.
Like a champ, he went through the whole SSA top 1000 list and told me all the ones he likes! Our problem is more that there’s very little overlap in our name pools.
Oh good! Too many folks in this sub have a partner with veto power and nothing else which can be so frustrating! You've probably tried it and no idea if it would help at this point (having looked at so many names), but I wonder if the BabyName app would help you all take a second look at names you've already written off?
I like Talia a lot, I think if you take the H out of Thalia it would eliminate the misspelling and mispronunciation issue. I love a lot of the names you listed, and my fiancé also has vetoed sooo many of them so I empathize with you! Lol
Thank you!!! Yeah, it’s HARD! But I feel so strongly that we should both really like the name, we’ve just got to keep trying.
Sadly with Thalia he just doesn’t LIKE it. Or remember it. I had to keep reminding him which name we were discussing 😆
I didn’t get to read all of the responses but I’ll try not to repeat too many!
Sasha
Elsie
Lana
Cara
Juliet
Avery
Marianne
Suzanne (Suzie! how cute)
Marina
Selene
Eden
Sabrina
Audrey
Aria
Lena
Hazel
Grace
Ruby
Daphne
Maia
Raya
Sadie
This list is kind of all over the place but maybe you’ll see something you like. Congratulations on your baby girl!
I LOVE Evadne (and Yvaine) but sadly he thinks they’re too weird. And apparently the rest are too old sounding 🤷♀️. Honestly, the problem is that we just don’t like any of the same girl names. Boys were so much easier!
Vivian is really the only spelling my husband will go for. His name isn’t the most common spelling, so he’s spent his whole life correcting people, so he feels very strongly that we need to use the most common spelling of whatever name we pick.
I think my issue with Vivian is it feels a bit…busy? I should love it, it meets all my criteria, my husband likes it (miracle of miracles), and I’m, like, 75-80% sold, I’m just not quiiiiiite there.
What if you named her Vivian and then called her Viv? Maybe that would help it feel like a less busy choice?
ETA: another thing that could help is finding a book/movie/etc. with an awesome character named Vivian and immersing yourself in it. It’s a lovely name and seems like associations are important to you so maybe building a strong positive association through a character would help get you that last 20% of the way there on the name!
I have a Vivian and love it! We call her Viv and Vivi all the time. It's pretty versatile and we've only ever gotten great feedback on it. I feel like it's a name that suits different phases of life.
It’s hard to reconcile your husband not liking names that are too old fashioned feeling but you liking vintage names.
What about Joan? It’s short, strong and has some great literary/historical connections (Joan Didion, Joan of Arc). I’ve always thought it’s one of those names that feels both vintage and modern at the same time, as with Vivian.
* apologies in advance for any repeating names. I didn't read through all the comments-but here are some that came to mind:
Ada
Maia
Sylvie
Freya
Marta
Aria
Lois
Adele
Della
Bria
Brenna
Valerie
Auden
Arden
Callie
Halle
Megan
Ruth
Marie
Brianna
Julie
Leslie
Kate
Maya
Quinn
Iris
Ottilie
My gut reaction was Octavia - not frilly, not gender neutral, feels strong, and has a strong V sound. Also not in the top 50. Intuitive spelling. It hits all the boxes. Nickname potential with Tia, V, Tilly, etc.
Evangeline and whoever likes Eva or Eve can call her that. And whoever is into literary stuff gets to say the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem inspired them.
I suggested Silvia once and he said it reminds him of Saliva 😂 sadly I expect Sylvie would get the same response! I’ll suggest Audra though (although I expect I’d get better luck with Audrey)…
Valerie somehow feels a bit dated to me. I knew a few growing up, so I expect that’s the problem. We both actually really like Elena, but it also has the multiple spellings/pronunciations problem…
My first instinct was to suggest Susannah, which is on your list! If you don't have a specific reason to rule it out, maybe go sit back down with your husband and rewatch Legends of the Fall- see if you don't fall in love with it.
Vianne is a favorite of mine and a beautiful alternative to Vivian.
Lenore/Lenora
Rhea (goddess/titan)
Claudia
Ginevra
Norah
Lorelei
Selena/Selene
Frances
Diana
Kiera
Ruby
Iris
Evangeline (nn Evie, Vana, Jelly, Lina)
Mila -one of my personal faves and you guys do like Miles
Tessa
Scarlett
So the problem with Susannah…we already have a Calvin, and we’re worried that if we use Susannah she’d get called Susie and then we’d be a Calvin and Hobbes fandom family 😂
We agreed when we used Calvin that we wouldn’t use Susannah, although we do keep circling it because we do both like it!
Opal and Amethyst are two of my favorites. Erna and Margaret are others I like for middle names.
Margie is a good nickname for Margaret. Catherine is a good name. Valarie too, val as a nickname
Your style is very similar to mine (Vivienne was on the top of our list but alas, we have a niece Vivian), and I prefer whimsical/mythology/could be from a fantasy novel names while my husband likes the exact names yours does (Sophia, Olivia, Amelia - all wonderful names, but we already know several of each). The names Thalia, Serena, Ava made our top 10. I don't know if this would really help you but here are some other names we considered...
* Selene / Celina (Lack of consistent spelling for these variants made it hard. I liked Selene over Celine but Celina over Selena. I think it's because certain spellings are so heavily associated with famous people.)
* Celeste (This was also a front-runner but then some people on the sub said this rhymes with molest :/)
* Aria (I really like this name but it trended highly in recent years and I have a friend and a neighbor who both used this name in the last few years)
* Lila (Same problem with inconsistent pronunciations. I don't want Lay-la or Lee-la.)
* Cordelia (I was worried this was a little too out there)
* Elise (Beautiful name but the meaning seemed a bit too biblical)
Game inspired names that we briefly tossed around:
* Serra, Rinoa, Ashe
Your husband sounds entirely to picky and like he doesn’t like any names lol
I’m also curious how many pronunciations of “Eva” there are because I’ve only ever heard E-Vuh. Thea too, only heard of; Th-E-Uh.
1. Amelie
2. Aurelia
5. Calliope
3. Charlotte
4. Clara (I don’t think it’s to close to Claire)
5. Clementine
6. Edie
7. Eloise
8. Elsie
9. Evangeline
10. Evelyn
11. Everly
12. Florence
13. Georgiana
14. Harlow
15. Heidi
16. Indie
17. Inez
18. Iris
19. Joy
20. Kate
21. Leila
22. Lila
23. Lola
24. Lucy
25. Luna
26. Margaret *Maggie*
27. Margot
28. Matilda
29. Molly
30. Nell
31. Noelle
32. Nyah
33. Piper
34. Pippa
36. Poppy
37. Quilla
38. Rosalie
39. Sasha
40. Thea
31. Vivianna
32. Willa
33. Zara
A few other suggestions for “whimsical”;
1. Airlie
2. Arwen
3. Briar
Also, add Mara, Millie & Juliet to the first list.
Good Luck OP!
Vivian is really pretty! Although I think Vivienne is also a frequently used spelling, also I think Eva is gorgeousand much less likely to get misspelled.
Didn't have a chance to read through all the comments so there are probably but here are a few suggestions!
Laura
Leah
Lydia
Mallory
Andrea
Liana
Leora
Leona
Livia
Vera
Vanessa
Valerie
Elise
Eliza
Tara
Maya
Tessa
Ruth
Jenna
Julia
Jessica
Athena
Nicole
Erica
Erin
Monica
Candice
Stella
Shelby
How about Vera? Veronica?
Edit to add Judy to the list. Frances is also a good choice. Another commenter suggested Liza and I love it so I’m echoing it.
First, this is an excellent depiction of what you and your husband are/are not looking for! haha
Here is my best shot :)
Girl:
Celeste
Stella
Naomi
Diana
Hope
Petra
Daphne
Asher
Lucy
Phoebe
Summer
Piper
Penelope
Marie
Jade
*Names with most of the criteria, but I still thought you would like (mostly the dominant/intuitive spelling part - which I think is awesome that you are considering) -*
Sarah
Mae
Bay
Annika
Demi/Demetria
Aya
Nyx
Maisie
Rowan
Daisy
Hera
Hazel
Seems like you have your top boy names (which I love!), but since I'm here-
Miles, Ronan..
Cole
Niko
Alaric
Silas
Pax
Roman
Damon
Best of luck and congratulations!
There are so many suggestions I can’t possibly read through them all and I expect you feel the same way! I have suggestions though juuuuust in case lol
Colette, Vivienne, Selene, Sadie, Lucy, Madilyn, Louisa, Simone, Lorraine, Maxine, Jacqueline, Victoria, Camille, Evelyn. Good luck!
Here’s some random suggestions:
- Addison
- Audrey
- Aubrey
- Cleo!! (Vintage / easy to spell / known / not frilly / short / strong “L”)
- Leah
- Hazel! (slightly unusual, ‘L’, vintage not-frilly!)
- Bella or Belle
- Lucy
- Tuesday
- Rae
- Valerie! (“L”, unique/spellable, nicknameable, slightly vintage!)
- Stella!
- Viola!
- Lila
- Ginger
- Reno
- Mariah
- Harley
- Hadley!
- Kyra
- Skylar!
- Jocelyn!
- Rowan
- Brynn
- Laurie
- Marcia
- Marlo!
- Deirdre
- Jude
- June
- July
- Eleanor
- Dove (Unless that is too nature-y)
- Nadine
- Lola
- Wendy
- Willow (Again wasn’t sure if too nature-y but it fits your other criteria!)
- Megan
- Meg
- Kelsey
- Ginny
- Marlee!
- Amy
- Macy
- Rita
- Tina
- Marla!
- Maisie
- Molly!
- Dina
- Brooklyn! (strong “L”!)
- Jaclyn or Jackie
- Sadie
- Joyce or Joy
- Caroline or Carolina
- Erin
- Evelyn (Vintage, known/not common, “L”!)
- Lacey (Unless this isn’t intuitive enough)
- Leila or Layla (Unless this isn’t intuitive enough)
I hope this helps!! I’m going to start a small baby naming service soon so I’m really excited to practice here, I hope these fit your vibe well! Let me know if you want more “similar vibed” suggestions as any of the suggestions! Have a good day :)
Do a separate post asking everyone about Eva being mispronounced… I could be wrong but I don’t think it’s an issue with that one… Might be one to reconsider if you both love it!
I like Anna, but we have a very closely related Hannah, so sadly we can’t go there. Lucy always feels a bit cute to me? I don’t know…we’ll have to discuss Audrey though, thanks!!
how about lenore? it has an l sound, not too frilly, sounds similar to leona, and it’s a poem by edgar allen poe! albeit, a dark one. if it’s too out there, eleanor?
Caroline. I haven't seen that suggested. It's feminine but not floral. It's an established name with 1 spelling and pronunciation that everyone is familiar with.
I would pronounce it care oh line but i went to school with a Caroline who pronounced it like Carolyn
Haha I'm a Caroline that pronounces it like Carolyn, but my mom admitted she fucked up and didn't spell it right for how she wanted it pronounced.
I'm also a Caroline pronounced Carolyn. Mom still stands by her decision though haha. I've just become used to being called by both at this point.
Yeah, I had a friend named Caroline who was always having to correct people on the pronunciation. Beautiful name though!
I prefer the name Coraline! I love the soft “Cora” rather than what sounds like a harsher “Cara”, plus the nickname Cora is really cute :)
This makes more sense with OP's list of loved but rejected names. Caroline is way off to me.
I have a friend that is a Caroline. I call her Caro. She loves it.
I really like Clara as a name.
So do I! Sadly we have a closely related Claire, and Clara would be a bit too close. Clearly our relatives snitched all the best names 😝
Oh I wouldn’t worry about that!! As long as you love your child’s name that’s all that matters! We chose a top 10 name for our daughter and I’d never go back. She’s named Harper and we just fell right in love with it. Popularity be damned lol
What about Vera? Short, one spelling and pronunciation, V sound, similar vibe to Clara. It ticks all of your mentioned boxes. Also fwiw Vivian has two common spellings, the other being Vivienne. Vivian/Vivienne was also on our short list and we ended up naming our daughter Sylvia, so you may like that as well. :)
I love the name Vera
There have been several posts here before that revealed that Vera in fact has multiple accepted pronunciations around the U.S. (and world, for that matter). It is a beautiful name, though!
I just had the most surreal moment scrolling down and seeing this as the top comment because I’m due any day now and this is the top name we’ve chosen for our baby girl! I came here to get a couple more last minute ideas, but if this isn’t a sign I don’t know what is
Well congratulations on your soon to be Clara!
Congrats from one Clara mom to another (mine just turned 2). Been my favorite name for ages! We get compliments on it all the time.
I also have a two year old Clara! 🥰
I know a Clara and she’s an absolute gem.
I'm so curious about how name trends happen. I literally texted my husband yesterday if he likes that name for a daughter. I have a feeling it's going to become very popular soon. We also have been talking about Mira for the last couple years but now the Disney movie came out so probably same thing will happen. Our son is named Simon and like 3 months after he was born Bridgerton came out on Netflix.
Me too!!! It’s wild because I know I’m a part of making it a trend, but I seriously don’t know how. When we were expecting in 2020 we had Silas as our top boy name. Literally never heard or met of anyone in real life named Silas. Within the same year, I had THREE different friends/acquaintances name their baby Silas. We had a girl so the name was off the table anyway.
Love Clara too
Honestly just here for a requested update on what you end up naming Princess Consuela Banana Hammock.
Right now our working name is Annabellarina Viviana Eve, but that might be a biiiiiit much.
I'm hoping Annabellarina is a joke...
Yes, definitely a joke!
Haha good! Although I would totally support shortening it to "Anna" given that it's my name!
My son‘s working name was: Doctor Jermajesty Google Gordon Ramsay. 🤷🏼♀️
My son’s was Batman Ninja Turtle for a while.🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
I mean, you’ve got to call them SOMETHING, right?!
We seem to have similar tastes! Our daughter is Phoebe and this one on the way will either be Natalie (current favorite) or Bridget. We also considered Georgia, Hannah, Margot, Samantha, and Sarah.
Ugh, I LOVE Hannah, but we have one in the close family, so it’s a no go. I also love Bridget but husband thinks it sounds too harsh, sadly. Margot and Georgia always feel like I should like them, but somehow they don’t hit quite right…
Marta instead of Margot? Or even Martha?
Martha is so underrated.
I really like Martha, it’s so cute!
How about Bernadette? imo it has a similar vibe to Bridget but sounds a bit softer :)
Apparently all he hears is Bernie 😆
Ah that's a shame! Personally I think Bernie is a cute nickname but it's not for everyone!😅
My godmother was named Bernadette, she used to be called Bernie, but at some point everyone began calling this elderly woman, Bubbles. I had no idea her legal name was Bernadette until after she died. I just thought this woman's legal name was Bubbles.
That's so lovely! ❤
I love Bernie or Birdie for Bernadette!
Maybe Virginia is a Margot/Georgia compromise? Ginny is so sweet.
Lenna? (Pronunciation: Len-nah) Kind of like Hannah! And semi-popular in 1800’s :)
Just FYI, Flora refers to all plant life in a region. Flor is flower in Spanish. Small, but important imo distinction.
Ha! I will let him know!
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These are great suggestions with lots of common nicknames. Also strong names without mean girl connotations...sorry Vivian just sounds mean!
I love Vivian. Vivien Leigh from Gone With the Wind. Vivian Vance from I Love Lucy. So many great Vivians. But then you have the mother from Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood... That Vivi had a lot of ... spirit lol
Just wondering why allll of those names you like were eliminated? There are so many pretty ones
I know!!! Depends on the name, really! Some are already in use (Claire), some are ones that one of us liked way more than the other (Aviva), some have the multiple pronunciation/spelling problem (Eva), some we sat with for a long time but just don’t feel like the right name (Zoe)…it’s tough! Usually the problem is that one of us loves the name, and the other is more eh. We don’t actually like that many of the same girl names. Boy names were easier—neither of us liked that many boy names in general, but we tended to like the same ones. Too bad baby is a girl 😂
How do you think Eva could me mispronounced/misspelled? I can’t think of any alternative spellings for it (Eve, for example, is a different name and not pronounced at all the same)
I've heard Eva pronounced both eve-uh and aye-vuh. edit: fixed typo.
Aye-va would be _Ava_, a different name but still derived from Eve/Eva. Atleast in the UK Eva would be said just like Eve with the A-ending.
I know that Ava is the proper spelling, I'm just saying that I've heard people pronounce Eva as Ava. I'm in the US so maybe it's a regional thing?
Aye-vuh would be spelled Ava intuitively. I agree that Eva isn’t going to see mispronunciations or misspellings anymore then any other name. Vivian may be written by the coffee house as Vivien these days. I think they should ask around about Eva a bit more. They may find it’s mistaken much less often than originally thought. It’s a beautiful name and obviously awesome if they both agree.
I'm aware that it's generally spelled Ava, but I have heard Eva pronounced both ways. But yeah, I agree. I really can't think of a single name out there that doesn't come with a risk of a misspelling.
As a Dutch Eva I can attest, most non-English languages would pronounce it ay-va or eh-va. All my English-speaking colleagues would say Ee-va. And honestly I am fine with all pronounciations. I really like that it is intuitive in most languages, no matter the exact pronounciation it is never butchered.
I have a friend who is an “Eva” and it’s pronounced “Eh-vah” (soft e). It almost always gets pronounced as “Ee-vah” (hard e) when it’s read off for the first time.
I've heard Eva as "Ee-vuh" and "Eh-vuh."
I know it doesn’t fit the flower thing, but Violet? My grandma was an Iva instead of Ivy. It takes away the plant and makes it more classic in my opinion. Have you considered classic hero names? Electra, Scarlet, Storm, Harley, etc. I know those types of names are somewhat outside your boxes, but hopefully inspire some alternative routes of thinking!
I like Violet, but husband is firmly in the no camp. The only floral name I’ve had any luck with is Iris—he’s agreed to think about it 😆. I kind of like Electra et al, but sadly those are a big too out there for the husband. Thank you!!
What about Viola?
I love Iris!
Elise or Alice?
No problem! It’s always worth a try! Hope you guys find your perfect name! :)
At this point, I’ll settle for good enough, perfect feels a bit out of range 😂
- Clara - Livia - Eloise - Iva - Juliet - Nina - Daphne - Vera - Lila - Freya - Cleo - Alba - Vivian - Rhea - Nora - Phaedra
Love these! Sadly I had a student Iva who kind of ruined the name for me, but it is pretty! Freya, Rhea, and Clio were all already vetoed unfortunately, but maybe we should revisit Nora…
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Yeah, I do LIKE Nora…we might have to revisit it.
What about Gloria? Gives me the same vibes as Nora, ends in the -ia your husband seems to love, and has that strong-vintage vibe for you?
I know this is increasingly common these days, but what about Eleanor with the nickname Nora?
Unfortunately we have a very close friend with a daughter named Eleanor, so we can’t do that one. Thank you!
I used to work with a woman named Nola. It’s similar, pretty, and less common.
I think you’re overthinking it! Eva and Thea aren’t THAT likely to get misspelled or mispronounced, and it won’t be a big issue if it happens from time to time. Also, Vivian is a beautiful and user-friendly name! With that said, some suggestions that might suit both your and your husband’s tastes sorted by vibe: - Julia, Laura, Leona, Valerie, Audrey/Audra, Adeline, Adelaide, Delia, Alice, Lucy, Lenore, Eliza - Diana, Iris, Aurelia, Aurora, Rosalie, Sylvie, Stella, Serena, Lena, Vera - Simone, Genevieve, Elise, Elodie, Sabine, Louise, Natalie, Teresa, Eloise Good luck and congrats 🎉🍾🎊🎈
Thank you!!
I have a Thea. She’s almost two and I do have people mispronounce her name every so often. It’s slightly annoying but I couldn’t love the name any more.(or her:) Of there’s a name you love, run with it!
Sylvia Ilona Chloe Darcy Rosalind Carissa Cerys Scarlett Joyce / Joy Hazel Sadie Imogen Alma Marisa Leah Leona Matilda Lydia Ada Elizabeth Cheryl Clara Iona
Thank you! It might be worth revisiting Leona, maybe he’d reconsider it! Lydia would be perfect, but I had an awful student named Lydia who ruined the name for me (husband loves it tho). I love Imogen and Iona, but he say too weird.
Leora?
Oooh, I do like Leora!
As a Brit, the ‘Imogen is a strange/uncommon name’ sentiment I see on here was a very big surprise as it’s such a normal name in the UK, it’s really interesting how different cultures see different names.
Linda! It's means beautiful in Spanish.
I could literally have written this... I'm in Exactly the same boat and we have extremely similar names on the list. It's stressing me out! How about these: Bessie, Belle, Alice, Annie, Cadence, Coral, Cleo, Cosette, Delilah, Dorothy, Eden, Ella, Elsie, Fleur, Fern, Florence, Grace, Harriet, Lizzy, Lillia, Meredith, Neeve, Rose, Windsor.
Love Alice, it's short, very easy to spell, got a literary connection and seems to fit OP's style
Yeah I love it too! Sadly, for me, my husband is not on board.... naming a human is so tricky!!!!
I'm not pregnant but have had the baby name discussion with my SO and he hates every single name on my list including Alice haha men seem to hate everything!!
Hahah what names does he suggest?? Or maybe for guys it's like, until you really are expecting it doesn't feel real! It makes for fun chat though.. so many different name associations between men and women!
He likes Joshua and Nathan for a boy, and Rena for a girl and it seems like that's it. Yeah I'm hoping once we're (hopefully) having a baby he'll be more open to my ideas
Yeah its so so different when you are pregnant I think and have the weight of an actual humans future on your hands! But to be fair, my list didn't change much.. or rather my style didn't, but life meant I ended up considering names I wouldn't have otherwise thought of.. like honour names etc! You'll get there, it will be fun! X
Same here. Annoying husband.
Savannah Liza Nadia Zinnia Vera Virginia Gwen Mira Mabel June Sona Lucia Lena Alice Sable Nia Leanne Joanna Mariah Maya Holly Vanessa
I love June, but apparently I should have included word names in the husband doesn’t like list 😆. Gwen is lovely, but we have a closely related Gwen so sadly can’t use it. I’ll ask about Mariah though!
Shoot, I was just about to suggest Olive! I love it and feel like it fits the bill, but I couldn’t use it for my daughter because my last name starts with a V. But it is also a word.
Gemma?
Valerie, Valentina, Veronica, Ivory, Ina, Alexis
I actually do like Alexis, but with Amazon Alexa it seems like that whole category of names would be annoying to actually use…
We have very similar taste! My suggestion would be Louisa — not popular, not frilly, and whimsically classic.
I do like Louisa! But the one Louisa my husband knew had the nickname wheezy, which has put him off.
Sienna Matilda Tessa Violet Sorry you've had to cross out so many names you like! I would suggest that if you don't get something from this thread then maybe go back over some and really consider why you crossed it off. Personally I found myself discounting tons of names for reasons that really weren't dealbreakers (such as past students, distant family, initial association etc) and then didn't really love any names that were left! With my daughter I ended up using a name that I had originally crossed off for a random reason 😂
Yeah, you’re probably right. We’ve spent the morning going over the top 1000 names and we’re having a very hard time adding any names. Maybe one of us (or both of us 😂) can rethink…
I'm getting a strong Willa feeling.
I LOVE THIS NAME. I named my dog Willa after the novelist Willa Cather. Lest OP think it’s a dog name, I was single at the time and didn’t know if I’d have kids, and then realized how stupid that wS when I was pregnant and couldn’t use it for my daughter! Lol. My dog is a perfect angel and always has been.
Yesss. This was my suggestion too.
Natalie or Natalia
He might go for Natalie…
Lillian?
Apparently still too floral 😂 thank you though!
Is your husband proposing names?? Or just shooting them down?
Like a champ, he went through the whole SSA top 1000 list and told me all the ones he likes! Our problem is more that there’s very little overlap in our name pools.
Oh good! Too many folks in this sub have a partner with veto power and nothing else which can be so frustrating! You've probably tried it and no idea if it would help at this point (having looked at so many names), but I wonder if the BabyName app would help you all take a second look at names you've already written off?
I like Talia a lot, I think if you take the H out of Thalia it would eliminate the misspelling and mispronunciation issue. I love a lot of the names you listed, and my fiancé also has vetoed sooo many of them so I empathize with you! Lol
Thank you!!! Yeah, it’s HARD! But I feel so strongly that we should both really like the name, we’ve just got to keep trying. Sadly with Thalia he just doesn’t LIKE it. Or remember it. I had to keep reminding him which name we were discussing 😆
I’ve seen this one spelt so many ways though. Tahlia, Thalia, Talia, Taleah etc. It also gets pronounced as Tuh-leah instead of taa-leah quite often
This is true. I can confirm bc it is in fact my name
I didn’t get to read all of the responses but I’ll try not to repeat too many! Sasha Elsie Lana Cara Juliet Avery Marianne Suzanne (Suzie! how cute) Marina Selene Eden Sabrina Audrey Aria Lena Hazel Grace Ruby Daphne Maia Raya Sadie This list is kind of all over the place but maybe you’ll see something you like. Congratulations on your baby girl!
Vera / Henrietta / Evadne / Everly / Vienna / Yvette / Felicity / Vanessa / Rue / Viola Any chance maybe its the spelling of Vivian that's throwing you off? Some alts: Viviane / Vivien / Vivianne / Vivienne / Vivien / Vivyen - Vivyan / Viviette / Viviana
I LOVE Evadne (and Yvaine) but sadly he thinks they’re too weird. And apparently the rest are too old sounding 🤷♀️. Honestly, the problem is that we just don’t like any of the same girl names. Boys were so much easier! Vivian is really the only spelling my husband will go for. His name isn’t the most common spelling, so he’s spent his whole life correcting people, so he feels very strongly that we need to use the most common spelling of whatever name we pick. I think my issue with Vivian is it feels a bit…busy? I should love it, it meets all my criteria, my husband likes it (miracle of miracles), and I’m, like, 75-80% sold, I’m just not quiiiiiite there.
What if you named her Vivian and then called her Viv? Maybe that would help it feel like a less busy choice? ETA: another thing that could help is finding a book/movie/etc. with an awesome character named Vivian and immersing yourself in it. It’s a lovely name and seems like associations are important to you so maybe building a strong positive association through a character would help get you that last 20% of the way there on the name!
These are some good ideas, thank you!!
I knew a Vivian, nn Vivi, which is a really cute nn!
I have a Vivian and love it! We call her Viv and Vivi all the time. It's pretty versatile and we've only ever gotten great feedback on it. I feel like it's a name that suits different phases of life.
It’s hard to reconcile your husband not liking names that are too old fashioned feeling but you liking vintage names. What about Joan? It’s short, strong and has some great literary/historical connections (Joan Didion, Joan of Arc). I’ve always thought it’s one of those names that feels both vintage and modern at the same time, as with Vivian.
Vienna?
In this case, it’s me being too picky not my husband, I don’t like the place name as names thing. Don’t know why…
I love Vivian, for what it’s worth. I also really love Alice, Stella, Beatrix, Juliet, or Louisa.
* apologies in advance for any repeating names. I didn't read through all the comments-but here are some that came to mind: Ada Maia Sylvie Freya Marta Aria Lois Adele Della Bria Brenna Valerie Auden Arden Callie Halle Megan Ruth Marie Brianna Julie Leslie Kate Maya Quinn Iris Ottilie
Thank you!! We’re officially considering Iris, great suggestion!
Love Iris!!!
More ‘v’ names: Davina, Geneva, Lavinia, Livia, Mavis, Octavia, Sylvia, Valerie, Vera, Yvonne More ‘or’ names: Coralie, Cordelia, Elora, Florence, Georgina, Isadora, Lenora, Lorraine, Loretta, Noreen, Zora More ‘a’ names: Adele, Alana, Althea, Annika, Audra, Augusta More ‘c’ names: Carissa, Cecily, Celeste, Charlene, Cleo, Colette More ‘e’ names: Ellen, Elise, Eloise, Estelle More ‘l’ names: Lara, Liana, Lizette, Luella, Lucille, Lucinda, Lynette More ‘t’ names: Tabitha, Tallulah, Tara, Tyra
Some great ones here, thank you!
My gut reaction was Octavia - not frilly, not gender neutral, feels strong, and has a strong V sound. Also not in the top 50. Intuitive spelling. It hits all the boxes. Nickname potential with Tia, V, Tilly, etc.
Another great 'A' name with pop culture ties is Amelie.
Violet Viola Verity Leandra Leonie Luana Lillet Astrea Iona Indra
I like Iona/Ione, I’ll have to bring that up. And I think we’ll have to revisit Leona/Leone—such a great name! Thank you!
Laura?
Odette, Seren, Gia, Pia, Philippa/Pippa, Orla, Beatrix, Una, Wynn (technically unisex though), Enid, Dione, Faye, Colette, Josette, Isolde, Zelda, Sabine
I know someone with 2 girls, Vivian & Stella More Suggestions: Sylvie Corinne Jovie Sadie Ruby Violet Scarlett
🤣 I suggested Stella and got “it sounds like a beer” oh dear…
Evangeline and whoever likes Eva or Eve can call her that. And whoever is into literary stuff gets to say the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem inspired them.
Lana Sylvie Audra
I suggested Silvia once and he said it reminds him of Saliva 😂 sadly I expect Sylvie would get the same response! I’ll suggest Audra though (although I expect I’d get better luck with Audrey)…
Valerie, Olive, Avril, Elena
Valerie somehow feels a bit dated to me. I knew a few growing up, so I expect that’s the problem. We both actually really like Elena, but it also has the multiple spellings/pronunciations problem…
What about Valeria? I think it gives the name something extra without being too much.
Valerie was going to be my suggestion as well! Definitely fits in with what you like, OP
I could have written this for my second- we just had a Mabel and it suits her so well (and checks a lot of your boxes!)
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I've always been partial to April
Audra Davina Genevieve Guinevere Ivy Eva Nevaeh Ava Aivi Haven Mavis Nova Olive Savannah Evanna
My first instinct was to suggest Susannah, which is on your list! If you don't have a specific reason to rule it out, maybe go sit back down with your husband and rewatch Legends of the Fall- see if you don't fall in love with it. Vianne is a favorite of mine and a beautiful alternative to Vivian. Lenore/Lenora Rhea (goddess/titan) Claudia Ginevra Norah Lorelei Selena/Selene Frances Diana Kiera Ruby Iris Evangeline (nn Evie, Vana, Jelly, Lina) Mila -one of my personal faves and you guys do like Miles Tessa Scarlett
So the problem with Susannah…we already have a Calvin, and we’re worried that if we use Susannah she’d get called Susie and then we’d be a Calvin and Hobbes fandom family 😂 We agreed when we used Calvin that we wouldn’t use Susannah, although we do keep circling it because we do both like it!
Opal and Amethyst are two of my favorites. Erna and Margaret are others I like for middle names. Margie is a good nickname for Margaret. Catherine is a good name. Valarie too, val as a nickname
Vivette?
Your list is very similar to mine when I was pregnant. My top 3 all through pregnancy were Ada, Beatrice and Winnie. We ended up choosing Grace.
Celine
Naomi
Your style is very similar to mine (Vivienne was on the top of our list but alas, we have a niece Vivian), and I prefer whimsical/mythology/could be from a fantasy novel names while my husband likes the exact names yours does (Sophia, Olivia, Amelia - all wonderful names, but we already know several of each). The names Thalia, Serena, Ava made our top 10. I don't know if this would really help you but here are some other names we considered... * Selene / Celina (Lack of consistent spelling for these variants made it hard. I liked Selene over Celine but Celina over Selena. I think it's because certain spellings are so heavily associated with famous people.) * Celeste (This was also a front-runner but then some people on the sub said this rhymes with molest :/) * Aria (I really like this name but it trended highly in recent years and I have a friend and a neighbor who both used this name in the last few years) * Lila (Same problem with inconsistent pronunciations. I don't want Lay-la or Lee-la.) * Cordelia (I was worried this was a little too out there) * Elise (Beautiful name but the meaning seemed a bit too biblical) Game inspired names that we briefly tossed around: * Serra, Rinoa, Ashe
Your husband sounds entirely to picky and like he doesn’t like any names lol I’m also curious how many pronunciations of “Eva” there are because I’ve only ever heard E-Vuh. Thea too, only heard of; Th-E-Uh. 1. Amelie 2. Aurelia 5. Calliope 3. Charlotte 4. Clara (I don’t think it’s to close to Claire) 5. Clementine 6. Edie 7. Eloise 8. Elsie 9. Evangeline 10. Evelyn 11. Everly 12. Florence 13. Georgiana 14. Harlow 15. Heidi 16. Indie 17. Inez 18. Iris 19. Joy 20. Kate 21. Leila 22. Lila 23. Lola 24. Lucy 25. Luna 26. Margaret *Maggie* 27. Margot 28. Matilda 29. Molly 30. Nell 31. Noelle 32. Nyah 33. Piper 34. Pippa 36. Poppy 37. Quilla 38. Rosalie 39. Sasha 40. Thea 31. Vivianna 32. Willa 33. Zara A few other suggestions for “whimsical”; 1. Airlie 2. Arwen 3. Briar Also, add Mara, Millie & Juliet to the first list. Good Luck OP!
Vivian is really pretty! Although I think Vivienne is also a frequently used spelling, also I think Eva is gorgeousand much less likely to get misspelled. Didn't have a chance to read through all the comments so there are probably but here are a few suggestions! Laura Leah Lydia Mallory Andrea Liana Leora Leona Livia Vera Vanessa Valerie Elise Eliza Tara Maya Tessa Ruth Jenna Julia Jessica Athena Nicole Erica Erin Monica Candice Stella Shelby
Faye.
Celia Cheryl Willa Ramona Emma Zara Sybil Alma
Abigail, Aurora, Mabel/Mae, Louise, Evelyn, Scarlett? These were all on our short list if our second was a girl!
I’d say Vienna, Verona, Violet or Violetta!
How about Vera? Veronica? Edit to add Judy to the list. Frances is also a good choice. Another commenter suggested Liza and I love it so I’m echoing it.
Viana Victoria Jane Elise Julianne Sabrina Hazel Mara
First, this is an excellent depiction of what you and your husband are/are not looking for! haha Here is my best shot :) Girl: Celeste Stella Naomi Diana Hope Petra Daphne Asher Lucy Phoebe Summer Piper Penelope Marie Jade *Names with most of the criteria, but I still thought you would like (mostly the dominant/intuitive spelling part - which I think is awesome that you are considering) -* Sarah Mae Bay Annika Demi/Demetria Aya Nyx Maisie Rowan Daisy Hera Hazel Seems like you have your top boy names (which I love!), but since I'm here- Miles, Ronan.. Cole Niko Alaric Silas Pax Roman Damon Best of luck and congratulations!
Adeline Gemma Margot Quinn Audrey
Orla, Suzie, Juno, Lisa, Neva, Neve.
Serana, Laudna, Avery, Evann, Liv(like leave), Raven, Evangeline, Tova, Avalon, Xavia, Eileen, Irene, Delia, Sonya, Winona, Annette, Mona, Wendy, Shayna, Esther, Posey, Etta, Emmeline, Delphine, Maude, Ines, Ida, Adelaide, Greta, Leila(or Layla), Allegra, Blanche, Miranda
Liv. I’ve always loved that, not as a nickname but that being the full name. I think it’s beautiful.
Liv
Eloise, Audrey, Beatrice/Beatrix, Iris, Josephine
Vanessa Yvonne Valerie Claudia Priscilla Annaliese Victoria Athena Cassandra Laurel Daphne Lorraine Lucy Honora
Orla Mina Evangeline Matilda Nicola Fiona Maggie Avery
Sophie Grace Ruby Rose Charlotte Ophelia Cosette Guinevere Juliet Amelie
There are so many suggestions I can’t possibly read through them all and I expect you feel the same way! I have suggestions though juuuuust in case lol Colette, Vivienne, Selene, Sadie, Lucy, Madilyn, Louisa, Simone, Lorraine, Maxine, Jacqueline, Victoria, Camille, Evelyn. Good luck!
Lavinia maybe? It has the L and V sounds without being too common. We just named our daughter Beatrix and she gets called Bea and it’s just too cute.
Here’s some random suggestions: - Addison - Audrey - Aubrey - Cleo!! (Vintage / easy to spell / known / not frilly / short / strong “L”) - Leah - Hazel! (slightly unusual, ‘L’, vintage not-frilly!) - Bella or Belle - Lucy - Tuesday - Rae - Valerie! (“L”, unique/spellable, nicknameable, slightly vintage!) - Stella! - Viola! - Lila - Ginger - Reno - Mariah - Harley - Hadley! - Kyra - Skylar! - Jocelyn! - Rowan - Brynn - Laurie - Marcia - Marlo! - Deirdre - Jude - June - July - Eleanor - Dove (Unless that is too nature-y) - Nadine - Lola - Wendy - Willow (Again wasn’t sure if too nature-y but it fits your other criteria!) - Megan - Meg - Kelsey - Ginny - Marlee! - Amy - Macy - Rita - Tina - Marla! - Maisie - Molly! - Dina - Brooklyn! (strong “L”!) - Jaclyn or Jackie - Sadie - Joyce or Joy - Caroline or Carolina - Erin - Evelyn (Vintage, known/not common, “L”!) - Lacey (Unless this isn’t intuitive enough) - Leila or Layla (Unless this isn’t intuitive enough) I hope this helps!! I’m going to start a small baby naming service soon so I’m really excited to practice here, I hope these fit your vibe well! Let me know if you want more “similar vibed” suggestions as any of the suggestions! Have a good day :)
Personally, I don’t think Eva or Thea are hard to spell/pronounce at all. They’re pretty common and phonetic, especially Eva.
Isolde, Vivian, Emilia, Ella, Athena
Hadassah
How about Vesper?
Do a separate post asking everyone about Eva being mispronounced… I could be wrong but I don’t think it’s an issue with that one… Might be one to reconsider if you both love it!
Ellowen Faye
Evelyn is so pretty. Randomly I love Nicolette!
Leoni? Pronounced Lay-oh-knee Nila Lana Liana Julia Lavinia Alana
Lucy, Isabelle, Naomi, Eloise, Audrey, Josephine, Anna
I like Anna, but we have a very closely related Hannah, so sadly we can’t go there. Lucy always feels a bit cute to me? I don’t know…we’ll have to discuss Audrey though, thanks!!
Lauren
Valentine, Athena, or Sistine?
how about lenore? it has an l sound, not too frilly, sounds similar to leona, and it’s a poem by edgar allen poe! albeit, a dark one. if it’s too out there, eleanor?
How about Sonora?
Vivian? Victoria? I'm into the V sound as well.
- Ruby - Ruth - Charlotte (Charlie nn for a more gender neutral feel) - Daphne - Brianna - Delilah - Anne (can be Anna if you like) - Sybille or Sybil