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!

 

Revisiting Araminta

I’m still quite stuck on Araminta. Every time I think I’m over her, I turn around and find something else I love about her.

This little Araminta doesn’t hurt the name any, either. 🙂 Isn’t she just precious?  

 

So with that said, I’ve had Araminta floating around on my list for what, a year or more now? And while I’ve had combos that reigned for a short time each, there’s never been one that lasted for more than a few months. Araminta Alice Green hung around the longest and is still the one that’s hanging around the edges. Araminta’s the loveliest silvery shade and goes very well with the forest green surname, I think.  Here’s what I’ve come up with most recently:

Araminta Iris Llanfaire
Araminta Helen Ophelia
Araminta Tilley Violet
Araminta Portia Ruby
Araminta Lucy Violet
Araminta Clara Anouk
Araminta Lavender Blythe
Araminta Coraline Violet
and like I said, Araminta Alice Green is still hanging on by a thread.  Anything up there better than AAG?  I’m rather liking the italicized ones a bit better than the others,  especially Araminta Portia Ruby. But then, I’ve been rather stuck on Portia lately, she’s been showing up everywhere these days!

 

So, anything there jump out at you? Should I try yet again? Give up entirely? What? Talk to me, tell me what you think, I’d love to know!

Lucy

I’ve been loving Lucy (pardon the pun) most of my life. My Mother wanted to name me Lucy but was shot down by Pop. So she called me Lucy as an affectionate nickname. Is it any wonder I turned into the name-freak I did? Let’s see, Laura, Lola, Lucy, Lily.. those are the names I was called as a kid. Confusing to say the least, and that’s not counting all the names I insisted they call me!  If the name starts with an L, I’m rather likely to answer to it thanks to my family!  😀

I’ve been putting Lucy in the middle because she almost vanishes when I put her next to Josephine, in full. While she’s sweet, I think for me, she’s better there although I am toying with the idea of her in front.

Lucy Raphaela is my favorite two name pairing of Lucy to date, although Lucy Primrose appeals too.

 

I’ve had her in the middle loads of times, but wonder if I flipped some of them around… maybe they’d appeal to me more? Here’s a handful or so of Lucy-in-the-middles/flipped arounds:

Euphemia Lucy Jane/Lucy Euphemia Jane
Edith Lucy Valentina/Lucy Edith Valentina
Mathilda Lucy Imogen/Lucy Mathilda Imogen
Mathilda Lucy Elspeth/Lucy Mathilda Elspeth
Ottoline Lucy Maud/Lucy Ottoline Maud
Winifred Lucy Adele/Lucy Winifred Adele

 

and now some Lucy up front, playing around:

Lucy Clementine Pearl
Lucy Raphaela Elinor
Lucy Mina Raphaela
Lucy Elspeth Primrose 
Lucy Romilly Primrose
Lucy Ottoline Viola
Lucy Violet Adeline
Lucy Kathleen Grey

 

 

 

While  I can close my eyes and see my Mother’s glee over this one,   I don’t know, maybe Lucy up front isn’t for me. What do you all think? 

Clementine Redux

Working on the thought I barely recalled: Clementine, nn Cleo. Since I adore Cleo and thoroughly like Clementine I figured I should try out some different combos for her, see if anything really jumps out out me. Wanna see? 😀

 

Here goes:

Clementine Portia Clotilde – love the lush feel of this one
Clementine Lucy Isobel – feels a bit expected.
Clementine India Maud – ooh, interesting, I love India and well, Maud’s in contention for first place…
Clementine Alice Elinor – very pretty.
Clementine Eos Faye – No one’s going to ‘get” Eos, but she’s so pretty!
Clementine Mina Alice – love Mina and Alice together.
Clementine India Jane – a bit crisper than India Maud.
Clementine Ottilie Echo – Alright, so Echo’s whimsy. It gets two of my favorite names in there with the whimsy.
Clementine Ivy Agatha – Or maybe Agatha Ivy, either way, Agatha grounds both very nicely.
Clementine Sylvie Violet – Loving Sylvie recently and Violet’s gorgeous and honors.
Clementine Jemima Adele – Love, love, love Jemima andAdele feels light & sweet here.
Clementine Esme Viola -terminally elegant!
Clementine Violet Rosalind – maybe too nature-y all around?
Clementine Agatha Violet – utterly charming, Agatha Violet.
Clementine Edwina Violet – I love Edwina, she’s charmingly quaint. Violet honor, again.
Clementine Lily Adele – Lily honors Grandma, Adele is just sweet. (now if I could just get him to stop saying Adele like they do in “Natural Born Killers…)
Clementine Lilias Pearl – Lilias honors Grandma a bit more circularly, Pearl just charms me.
Clementine Viola Odette – still hooked on those Opera names!
Clementine Maud Elinor – My beloved Maud with Honoring Elinor.
Clementine Alice Grey – Still feeling a bit Steampunkish, this suits the mood. And feels sort of buttoned up and respectable at the same time.  

 

So there you go, along with all my thoughts at the moment. What do you think?  Let me know!

 

As always, Thanks!

Maud, Mina, Edith, Clio, Zelda & Ottilie

I’m having fits. 🙂 Crazy, frothing fits. 😀 Toying with others that seem to fit more with Maud, who just may replace Cecily as my #1. Probably won’t because Cecily honors a bit more but still, the urge is very much there.
So I got to thinking, what else was like Maud?

 Digging through my  lists, I came up with  Mina, Edith, Clio/Cleo, Zelda & Ottilie. They all have the same vintage, more or less and all have that slightly musty, funky vibe I so adore.   Zelda’s combos are up in the air again: Zelda Ivy Blithe, Zelda Iris Grey or Zelda Coralie Blithe (I’m rather partial to Coralie). Today’s Poll #1

And Mina’s got a tossup: Mina Lucy Raphaela, Mina Lucy Tamerlaine, Mina Alice Clementine & Mina Alice Rosamonde.  With the Mina Alice Bluebell &  Mina Lucy Bluebell  tossed in for good measure. Today’s Poll #2.

 The others are:

Ottilie Alice Mehitabel (loving this right now)
Maud India Scarlett (My beloved)
Edith Esme Violetta – The middles honor big time)
Clio Laetitia Plum/Cleo Portia Isolde/Clio Laetitia Eleanora (I adore Cleo Portia &
 Clio Laetitia, the second middles just appeal broadly).

 Go vote in the Poll if you’re so inclined.  🙂

  Ottilie comes close to rivaling Maud’s combo for me, but only close. Nohing else really does, although I like them all  rather well. I could happily have 6 daughters named Maud, Mina, Edith, Clio/Cleo, Zelda  & Ottilie.  But I digress. Is there anything here that is better than Maud India Scarlett to anyone? Please let me know if there’s one in your eyes. I’d love for someone to try to talk me out of Maud India Scarlett!  

  

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Mina

I have loved Mina since I was a tiny little girl. Yeah, really. I’ve been a ‘Dracula’  fan since I was 6. (Don’t scare me with Nosferatu, though.. woah, that was creepy!) and lucky me ended up with another ‘Dracula’ fan!

 So Mina’s on the table. I had Wilhelmina on the list last time around and she shows up at least somewhat frequently on my girls lists but honestly? She’s only there for her Mina potential. And I started thinking, “why not just Mina”? Which is the point of this post.

Mina is strong, the littlest bit sweet and clear, crisp and lovely. I think she’s aces and really don’t mind her next to Josephine in whole. It’s unusual to say the least.  And Josie &  Mina/Fifi & Mina/Posie & Mina/Poppy & Mina?  Can’t resist! 🙂

I like her with Alice & Lucy, so here’s what I’ve come up with in the last hour or so. If you like any of them, feel free to tell me!

 

Mina Alice Clementine
Mina Alice Clothilde
Mina Alice Minerva
Mina Alice Cleopatra (I figure she can’t hurt too much in third place, can she?)
Mina Alice Bluebell
Mina Alice Raphaela
Mina Alice Magdalene

And these:
Mina Lucy Eleanora
Mina Lucy Tamerlaine
Mina Lucy Raphaela
Mina Lucy Bluebell
Mina Lucy Clotilde

 

 I have several favorites, I love the feel of  Mina Alice Bluebell (I don’t think Bluebell in third place is going to cause any problems, really) and the bright crispness of Mina Alice Clothilde.

Conversely, I like the depth of Mina Lucy Raphaela and the clear feeling of Mina Lucy Clotilde.  (yes, I pretty much adore Clotilde with any spelling.   But I’m willing to hear any arguments for any others, if you’re so willing to put them forth. 🙂 What would think if you ran into a Mina?  Still trying to find something that rivals Maud India Scarlett, since she will be moving to #1 shortly if I can’t find anything that thrills me just a little more.  Would someone help? 

As always, Thanks !

Weirdness

Or maybe just free thinking today. Cat mentioned  that my Maud India Scarlett is different from everything else on my list (which may be why I’m thinking of bumping her to first place, I love her to pieces) so I started really looking at my lists and went digging.  I adore Maud, always have. I remember my first baby doll, I was 3 and she was supposed to be Goldilocks in a blue nightgown and a crade. I promptly reanamed her Maud. My mother asked me why Maud? I don’t remember saying anything but Mom used to say I said “because it’s the most bea-u-ti-ful name in the world!” Which does sound like something I would have said as a kid.  I accentuated words oddly when I was little. Enough of that!

 

 I found several names that repeat on my lists that feel like Maud to me: Zelda, Edith, Esme, Mina, Clio/Cleo, Lucy, Genevra.  So I went digging some more to make combos with those that  felt more like Maud India Scarlett and this is what I came up with:

Edith Esme Violetta
Zelda Ivy Blithe/Zelda Eleanor Odetta
Mina Imogen Odette/Mina
Clio Laetitia Plum/Clio Laetitia Isobel
Lucy Gwendolyn Isadora
Edith Genevieve Blithe
Genevra Ruby Mehitabel
Cleo Portia Isolde
and
Mina Alice Rosamonde

I’m particularly fond of the Minas,  the Clio/Cleos and the Ediths. Zelda intrigues me here too.  I know they don’t”go” with Josephine overmuch, but remember, she does go by Fifi at least half the week, so I think they do fit somewhat.  What do you think? Any better? Maud India Scarlett is definitely moving up my ranks, why not one of these?  Or have I gone loopy? 😀

Florence/Flora once again

  Yes, I’m stuck on Florence again. Florence Lila Ghislaine has been the standing combo for a few weeks now, before that, I don’t think I had a standard bearer. I adore Ghislaine. I don’t care if she’s positively decrepit in France, she sounds beautiful and she’s got family significance. Works for me. It’s Lila that bothers me. She’s pretty, undeniably, but I fear trendy. And Lila’s getting hot, fast. She’s already at 259 (2007) from not being on the charts 10 years before that.  That bothers me. I don’t want trendy. I don’t mind popular, as long as it won’t date horribly in the future.  if it had family significance it might be okay too, but she lacks there. Lily, Laura, Leslie/Lesley yes; but not Lila. 

 So, that whole train of thought made me go digging for combos all over again. And I think I found a real winner or two:  

Florence Mina Ophélie  &  Florence Esmée Plum and of course the standard, Florence Lila Ghislaine

 I like both for various reasons. The former’s got Mina in it. I just lurve Mina. Absolutely. Have Araminta on my list because I could nickname her Mina. (Yes, Wilhelmina’s still on there somewhere too!) And the overall color of  Esmée Plum is divine. Pastel purple and deep plum. They go beautifully with the sunset hues of Florence.   Mina Ophélie is darker, more dusky grayish lavender and blue which is balanced by the rich sunset of Florence.  I would have to flip a coin.

 

Which would you pick? Why? (if you don’t mind)

Any voice is appreciated! 

 

Thanks