Help with my girl's name!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-24-2005
Help with my girl's name!!
12
Sat, 04-21-2007 - 5:10pm

Hello,

We are due with a baby girl in 4 weeks and we CANNOT decide on her name! We can't decide between the common and uncommon!

Here they are:

Smara Katharine Uhrik
Katharine "Kate" Smara Uhrik

What do people think??!!

Thanks!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Sat, 04-21-2007 - 5:17pm

I would absolutely love Samara, but I've never seen "Smara" and it doesn't look or sound nearly as appealing. Is it really said SMAR-a?? I apologize if this is a foreign name I'm simply not familiar with, because I may be pronouncing it entirely wrong, but that's my honest first impression.


Katharine would therefore gmv by default, though your're right that there are a lot of Kates out there (I have one myself LOL). You might also like the Catherine spelling.


HTH


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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-24-2005
Sat, 04-21-2007 - 5:22pm
Yes, it is really said "Smar-a", different from Samara (what Americans have heard of). It's Greek and a family name. Thanks for your input. Do you still like that better than Kate or no?
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-09-2005
Sat, 04-21-2007 - 5:52pm

I was going to agree with Kelli, but after reading your post I am unsure. They both have pros and cons.

Katherine- This is a name that I like- it is classy, feminine, and has lots of nn options (Katie, Kate, Kat, etc.), but I hate how common it is! Not only are there lots of Katherine's of all ages, there are also Catherine's (and other spellings) and Kaitlyn/Caitlin's (among other spellings) who go by similar nn's.

Smara- This spelling does look odd to me and I would assume a typo of Samara, which I like a lot, but knowing it is a family name makes me like it a bit more. It isn't on behindthename.com and nothing comes up when I google it, so even though it is a family name for you, I am finding it impossible to trace its roots.

I prefer Katherine.

HTH,
-Nikki
http://destastory.blogspot.com/


                             
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2006
Sat, 04-21-2007 - 6:37pm

I am going to vote for Katharine for 3 reasons.

1. Smara will have too many pronunciation problems
2. Uhrik is already a tricky ln, so I would not want to saddle my child with 2 hard to pronounce names.
3. Katharine is not that common of a spelling, so your child will constantly be saying, "with an A instead of an E." Katharine is 859 on the SSA list, Katherine is 36, Catherine 109.

Thus, Katharine Smara Uhrik, nn Kate gets my vote - great name!

Good luck,
Brooke

PS My favorite version and nn is: Catherine, nn Cates.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Sat, 04-21-2007 - 8:13pm
<< >>>

Knowing it's a family name for you, I can definitely see the appeal. And much as I like Katharine/Kate,

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Avatar for dr_kae
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 04-21-2007 - 9:00pm
I WANT to go with the family name, but unfortunately, I'm afraid that most people's mind will go where mine is going: graham cracker, marshmallow, Hershey bar: s'more...and sometimes, the child's practical everyday life has to trump directly honoring family. I think perhaps this would be a good time to tweak the family name and adjust it a little to the more familiar Samara so that you can make a family nod and yet not leave your daughter making constant explanations.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-29-2003
Sat, 04-21-2007 - 10:23pm

I don't get ehe Smara thing...I could see Samara but Smara?: Two consonants together like that looks bizarre. Have you considered:

Mara (Mara Katherine is very pretty)
Tamar
Talia
Selena
Samantha
Sabrina
Sarina
Mia
Maya
Maren
Pilar (love Katherine Pilar)

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Sat, 04-21-2007 - 11:16pm

If you were really in love with Smara and felt sure it was the right name for you, I would say go for it in spite of the confusion it might cause.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Sat, 04-21-2007 - 11:25pm

I didn't want to simply edit my previous post, in case you've already read it, but I just noticed your user name (yeah, took me that long LOL). I'm assuming from that Smara is your maiden name?? If that's the case, I think it'd be perfectly fine to add the "a" in and use Samara in honor of it. Kind of how another poster here is considering Hollis in honor of the surname Ollis


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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-24-2005
Mon, 04-23-2007 - 9:23am

Hello,

Thanks for all your input....these are all things we've worried about as well. Pronunciation, difficulty in the spelling, etc....

What are your thoughts on Alexandria Katharine? Alex for short?

That was a runner up of ours...

A

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