The Official Girls List!

After three weeks of neverending name discussions we have a tenative girls list!
And boy, do I mean neverending. They start before breakfast, ” Which do you like better, Poppy, Penny or Nell”. Continues throughout the day in texts/chat/email, “What do you think of Philippa Andromeda”? and winds down over supper, “I still like Maud, could we give her initials that spell it out”? So I’m happy to report that from here on out, it’ll be a less intense discussion. 🙂

The list has 7 names plus 2 wildcards, one for Him (1) & one for me (2). Without further ado, the
‘Official’ Girls List!’

Penelope Juno Alice
Cecily Pandora Jane
Beatrix Juno Frances
Winifred Elinor Plum
Elspeth Scarlett Jane
Ottilie India Violet
Jemima Lucy Frances

(1) Philippa Guinevere Alice
(2) Clementine India Jane

Noot a bad set of 9,if I do say so myself. What do you think? Aw, c’mon, you know you wanna say something!

As always, thanks for reading! 😀

Marvelous Margery!

I’ve mentioned Margery in the past, I’m sure. I’ve loved Margery for a long time. I’d nn her Daisy!

My problem with Margery is that she feels more like *my* name than her big sister’s. So I went digging, again, to try to find middles that made Margery more elegant. I found some that appeal quite a bit but I need help narrowing them down!

I can make combos all day, they’re fun to do. But I went a bit overboard with Margery:

Margery Elinor Blythe
Margery Luna Frances
Margery Frances Amabel
Margery Lucy Frances
Margery Primrose June
Margery Elinor Primrose
Margery Louisa Romilly
Margery Isobel Blythe
Margery Juno Coralie
Margery Honey Llanfaire
Margery Violet Leonie
Margery Frances Ruby
Margery Alice Mimosa
Margery Elinor Rosamond
Margery Elspeth Violet
Margery Honey Annabel
Margery Io Violet

See what I mean? 😀
I’m partial to a few of them,but not attached to any one overmuch, can I have some help choosing? I’d appreciate comments with any choices, so I know why they got chosen.

As always, thank you for stopping by! 😀

The Trouble with Lucy & why Lucretia!

Beloved little Lucy. It was my Mother’s nickname for me from birth to her death. I can count on two hands the times I answered to my own name or my standard nickname. My problem with Lucy is multiple: Lucy ends the same as my surname and is a bit short next to Josephine. With Josephine & Lucy, I feel one of them is going to end up hating me for the length of her name!

So I turned to my favorite longer Luc- name, Lucretia. I am a big fan of Lucrezia Borgia, misunderstood woman that she was. Of course, Lucrezia doesn’t go over well, spelling-wise. That ‘z’ is cool, but clunky. Hence Lucretia. Yes, I know it reminds folks of ‘secretion’ and in general doesn’t appeal to many but I adore the name.

I had Lucretia Ruby Iris on my list until I realised her initials would be LRIM… so I went looking for a more fortuitous pairing. I came up with a good double handful that please me in various ways. Without further ado, Lucretia!

Lucretia Iris Valentine
Lucretia Ruby Elinor
Lucretia Elinor Maud
Lucretia Elinor Valentine
Lucretia Elinor Jane
Lucretia Iris Jane
Lucretia Romilly Jane
Lucretia Maud Viola
Lucretia Sylvie Violet
Lucretia Violet Elspeth

I have two up there that really make my heart race, can you tell me which ones do anything for you?Keep in mind Lucretia, like Josephine, would go by a nickname 98% of the time (Lucy or Lulu for sure).

As always, I massively appreciate you stopping by and any thoughts you care to share ! And Thank You! 😀

Ottilie Again

I’ve been thinking about Ottilie. How soft and charming she is, how pretty. yes, I still love Ottilie.

What I have been rethinking is her combo. Ottilie Alice Ghislaine is pretty stunning and isn’t going anywhere just yet but I wanted to try Ottilie out with my Mom’s name. Ottilie Frances feels a bit more grounded than Ottilie Alice, to me. I think it’s the F, that consonant is quite down to earth.

So I went digging and came up with a handful that please me in various ways, from the simple to the elaborate. Here they are:

Ottilie Frances Jane
Ottilie Frances Loveday
Ottilie Frances Valentine
Ottilie Frances Violet
Ottilie Frances Adele
Ottilie Frances Elanor
Ottilie Frances Isadora
Ottilie Frances Kathleen

I’m really digging Ottilie, for her Tillie potential, also for her overall look & sound. So pleasing both to see & hear. makes me smile.

Now I’ve been leaning towards the sweet & simple Ottilie Frances Jane but He likes a few of the more flowery pairings more. Which of these would you pick, if you had to and why did you pick that one (if you don’t mind telling me)?

I’d love to know your thoughts on these, better or worse than Ottilie Alice Ghislaine?

As always, thanks for stopping in, I greatly appreciate it!

Wilhelmina

Has appeared on my radar yet again and this time, I think I’ve got a few excellent thoughts for her combo:

 

Wilhelmina Lucy Pearl
Wilhelmina Esme Jane
Wilhelmina Lila Pearl
Wilhelmina Lila Adele
Wilhelmina Cleo Elinor

I adore Mina, just to pieces and I can easily (and comfortably) live with Willa, if she chose.   Billie is not a favorite option but I could deal, if that’s what she wanted. I can wrap my head around Billie on a girl; I grew up listening to Billie Holiday (who was born Eleanor, if I recall rightly).  I just can’t let go on Mina, in any form or fashion and Wilhelmina works in an honoring sense for me, His maternal Grandpop was Willem. Now I know Willem & Wilhelm are forms of each other and Willemina is a legit variant but I much prefer the look of Wilhelmina. Weird, but there it is!   Now I have a favorite up there as does he, but those are all our choices. Can you figure out who likes what and then tell me, which is your favorite?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.  

 

Off to the park for a picnic lunch and Happy 4th to All!

Penelope, Araminta & Elspeth

Beyond Cecily, Cleo & Maud, these three are top favorites for both of us:

Penelope: She’s galloping, sweet and I love the potential for Poppy & Nell and she can always go by Lola should I stop using it someday! I love her mythical counterpoint and the fact that Penelope’s familiar to almost everyone but not very common.

Araminta: Has long fascinated me. I think She’s strong but oh so lush & rich. I adore Minna/Mina & Min as possible nicknames and I love how Araminta seems familiar to most but it’s so rarely heard for real. It’s stunning in full, too!

and

Elspeth: Charming, feels other-worldly. Completely feminine but no fluffy thing, Elspeth has a steel core. And she would honor Grandma Lily and me, as the Scottish form of Elisabeth, which we both had/have. I adore Elsa
& Elsie as possible nicknames (not to mention the far flung Bess & Lily)!

I have combos I love for each of them:
Penelope Violet Jane
Araminta Lucy Violet
Elspeth Scarlett Jane

Now, my dilemma. Should I move these onto the primary list or leave them as wildcards? What should I toss if I did move them to Primaries? Do you like these better than the ones already there or not? What? Just help, because we can’t decide what goes where beyond Cecily (or Cleo) at #1 and Maud at #2.

Anyone have a theory why boys names come so easily to us but girls names we have to struggle with? I’m baffled!

So any thoughts are most welcome, indeed. As always, Thanks for stopping in!

😀

Some Newer Stuff

Well, “newer” is figurative. 🙂 I’ve had a few of these names on my lists before, I’m just liking them anew. Since I had so much down time, I worked on combos and came up with a handful that I really like. This is what I do with much of my free time (at least, in my head):

 

Romilly Allegra Violet
Penelope Violet Jane
India Ottilie Violet
Peregrin Henry Arthur
August James Tiberius
Matilda Esme Violet
Amos Willem Rafferty
Lucius George Pascal
Eulalie Saffron Jane

 

Romilly is back again, still searching for the perfect middles for India, Eulalie stays on the list despite Elisabeth having a brand new one while Matilda’s firmly on the list now and I’m still searching for the perfect middles for Penelope. Lucius never left, I’m still perfecting him and Amos is slowly replacing Clancy in my head.   Not entirely, but starting to. So here’s a related question for you folks:
Clancy or Amos, which do you like better (or which would you rather see on a real kid)?

 

So there they are, anything strike you as keepable?  I’d love to hear what you folks think!  As always, thanks a million for stopping by. And, I’m back!  😀

Happy Memorial Day to all!

So there. Enjoy your BBQs, picnics or potlucks. I’ve got a BBQ planned for tonight but am kicking back and relaxing. Reminiscing about the Vets in my family, My Uncle Jim, a Vietnam vet, My Pop, an Air Force vet (he was in before Vietnam, was married with a  kid on the way when it started so he got left out, lucky me!). Grandpop was in the Navy for WW2, My Aunt May was a WAVE.  My OH was an Army guy for 10 years but is thankfully home safe and staying home these days.  I hope you & yours are Safe & Happy today.  🙂

 

So I was being weird yesterday  and posted a poll at BtN, Thinking about a few names specifically that I like with Josephine. Here’s what I posted, and the total # of votes each got, following:

Josephine & ? Which would you like to see most?

Josephine & Helen: 8
Josephine & Frances: 13
Josephine & Violet: 22
Josephine & Elinor: 8
Josephine & Cecily: 18
Josephine & Jemima: 11
Josephine & Imogen: 7
Josephine & Winifred: 11
Josephine & Ottilie: 12
Josephine & Edith: 6

 

What do you think of the final outcome? Which would you have voted for (it was a pick all you like poll) and tell me, am I still crazy for loving Ottilie and wanting her in first place?  Talk to me, tell me whatever you think, I’d love to hear! 

Wilhelmina

On top of Raphael, I’ve been thinking about Wilhelmina yet again. I can’t help it! She’s been a love since I was a kid. That cartoon of the little girl walking and saying “Willa-Mina”!

 

Wilhelmina  (I can’t get the actual video to embed, but here’s the link! It’s still so cute!)

Okay, so maybe a bit odd, but I do love the sound of Wilhelmina and am absolutely enthralled by the possibility of a Mina. I’ve gone on about Wilhelmina before;  anyone who’s been here for more than a week should know about my love of Wilhelmina’s sound. I do think her look is a bit heavy, but I have no problem writing it out, and even enjoy it’s swooshes upwards as I write. I also like how stern and almost severe she looks in type. How formidable!  I think a Wilhelmina would be feminine and sweet but no pushover. And even a bit of a broad, if that makes any sense. I rather like that. She’s got a bit of attitude, a bit of oomph and a whole lot of verve & style. She even honors my Pop in a realted sort of way. He was Wayne, loved his W, wished he was William (Which would have gone better with brothers: James, Theodore & Richard). So In an odd sort of way, I think Pop would be very pleased indeed with Wilhelmina.

 

I have a few combos I came up with that make me smile. I’ve tried to balance the length of Wilhelmina with light and airy looking or sounding middles.  Here’s what I came up with, what do you think of these beauties?

 

Wilhelmina Poppy Amabel
Wilhelmina Romilly Violet
Wilhelmina Lucy Adele
Wilhelmina Saskia Jane
Wilhelmina Lily Jane
Wilhelmina Daisy Elinor
Wilhelmina Esme Frances
Wilhelmina Viola Honey

 

(Honey is what the kids call Grandma Pandora: Nana Honey. See how much she hates her name?!)

So, what do you think of Wilhelmina?  And which combo do you like, or do you have something in mind that might be better? Tell me! I’d love to hear what you think of Wilhelmina!

 

Raphael

I’ve been spending a fair bit of time with Raphael as a first name. I’ve got Rafael in the middle in several combos because that’s how the G. Uncle spelled his name. But Raphael is more standard a spelling, I see several Raphaels on pictures hanging on the walls of the school Josephine will be attending this fall, so yeah.  I think Raphael is handsome, suave, charming and more than a bit jazzy.  He’s an archangel , so soothes the Catholic family and has jaunty Rafe as a possible nickname. So what’s not to love? 🙂

I came up with a dozen or so combos that please me in various ways but over the last day or so, we’ve whittled them down to 6. Here, for your perusal is Raphael:

Raphael Edward Wilder
Raphael Oliver Bede
Raphael John Porfirio
Raphael Arthur Willem
Raphael Arthur Peregrin
Raphael Inigo Francis

I have my favorite in there and He’s got his, can you tell which is whose? 😀  It’s funny how we go back & forth so much easier with the boys. Neither of us can narrow our girls list!  

Anything up there jump out at you as pretty good? I’d love to know!  Please, do tell! 

 

and as always, thanks a million for stopping by!

Dorothea

Thinking about my Uncle Ted lately. I miss him (he used to live much closer) and while I completely love the name Theodore, I can’t use it. Leo, Simon, Josephine & Theodore? Nope, having a Simon killed Theodore for me. So I started thinking about the girly versions: Theodora & Theodosia and realised I really don’t like either of them. And then I remembered Dorothea & Dorothy. Dorota is the Polish form of Dorothy and was my Babci’s second middle (Cecylia Anna Dorota). Dorothy ends with the same sound as my surname and Dorota sounds completely awful with my surname but Dorothea sounds pretty fabulous. So I talked to Him about Dorothea and he couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Did comment that I seem to be preoccupied with Dots lately (meaning polka dots on fabrics, I’ve been making polka dot ruffles for Josie’s shirts, pants & skirts like mad the last few weeks). But yeah, a Dorothea of mine would likely be Dot at least while she little. I can see Thea as a nickname when she’s a bit older. Easily. 🙂

So I went digging for combos and came up with a good dozen that charm me in one manner or another. I don’t have an favorite one so I thought I’d toss them out to see what you all thought of them. Without further ado: Dorothea!

Dorothea Xanthe Iris (if anyone recalls, I had Xanthe Iris Dorothea at one point)
Dorothea Xanthe Adele
Dorothea Lily Jane
Dorothea Cleo Jane
Dorothea Romilly Violet
Dorothea Lucy Violet
Dorothea Poppy Elanor
Dorothea Esme Cecile
Dorothea Clio Isobel
Dorothea Saffron Adele

So, what do you think? Josephine, Josie & Dorothea, Dot/Thea?  Or am I completely off base?

Linus

Yeah, he’s back. It’s actually quite a likeable name. And reminds me of Mom; she called my brother & I,  Lucy & Linus for 18 years  (so why she named us Laura & Steven, I’ll never know, exactly). But he works in another, more subtle way for me. See if you can find the link between the boys: Leo, Simon & Linus. The best list I can find, suprisingly, is a Yahoo! Answers: “How many Popes Have there been since Simon Peter”

 

So it works for me on several levels. I love that he’s an -us ender. I think anyone who’s stopped in here more than once can attest to my love of -us enders. I love that he’s also a Pope name (I did the boys inadvertently, I wasn’t thinking “Pope Names” with them, I was thinking “Family names” and had never linked Leo to Popes in my head, ever. Simon Peter was a giveaway for this Catholic school girl, but Simon was still a family name first & foremost.  Now Linus isn’t a Family name, exactly but because Mom called Steve:  Linus for as long as she was alive, yeah, it feels like Family. And I adore that he doesn’t nickname easily, like Leo. I know he’s an L too, like me (and Leo) but I think I can figure out which is which these days. Maybe because I had practice separating Leo & I on the calendar already, Linus doesn’t feel like a huge hassle. 

 

I spent most of yesterday out in the garden, thinking about Linus. Came in and started digging for combos. Came up with a few that absolutely blow me away:

Linus Raphael John
Linus Henry Gavriil
Linus Willem Aurelian (Willem is His Mom’s Father)
Linus Arthur Taliesin
Linus Maximilian James
Linus Xavier John
Linus Arthur Porfirio (Pope, King & playboy.. how awesome!)
Linus Morgan Valentin
Linus Casimir John
Linus Henry Algernon

 

I like a good handful of those, which do you like and, if you don’t mind, why? I’m just about sold on Linus (even though my brother is groaning right now!).  😀  I’d love to hear your thoughts on him and the combos!