Help narrow down my list!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2004
Help narrow down my list!
7
Sat, 03-19-2005 - 9:44am

Potential names: What do these names make you think of? Trying to find a name that really stands out, but is uncommon (and doesn't look like it might be coming into vogue) and doesn't sound trashy.
Any other suggestions that fit our 'style' would be great.
I've starred our main favourites - at the moment!

Seraphine (se-ra-feen)*
Lucienne (loo-see-N)*
Natalia (mn Raine)
Emba* (or spelled Ember) (mn Lucienne)
Aletheia (A-lee-thee-a)
Alethe (A-lee-thee)
Xanthe/ia (zan-thee or zan-thee-a)*
Aisling (Ash-ling)
Aislinn (Ays-lyn)
Oceana (O-she-AH-na)
Leily (Lay-lee)
Ophelia*
Ebony
Aurian (OR-ree-en)
Ariane (a-ree-en)
Vivienne* (love 'viv' names, but Vivian is too common.)
Finnabhair (Fin-a-vair)* (irish form of Guinevere)
Ariana
Aurelia (or-ray-lee-a)
Auriana
Anastasia (mn Raine)
Roxana (rocks-AHN-a)
Elysia (a-liss-ee-a)
Zephira
Kephira
Zenevieve (Zen-a-veev)

Secondly we aren't sure whether to use my Surname: St. Clair, or my partners: Nightingale, so any opinions you have would be great on which names go with which. (not a chance of me changing my name even in the unlikely chance i relent to getting married!)

Edited 3/19/2005 10:46 am ET ET by tawneyowl

Edited 3/19/2005 10:47 am ET ET by tawneyowl

Edited 3/19/2005 10:48 am ET ET by tawneyowl




Edited 3/19/2005 10:48 am ET ET by tawneyowl
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2004
Sat, 03-19-2005 - 11:56am

Not sure what to tell you about the Surname, but I like the following:


Seraphine (se-ra-feen)*
Ember (mn Lucienne)
Aletheia (A-lee-thee-a)
Aislinn (Ays-lyn)
Leily (Lay-lee)
Aurian (OR-ree-en)
Ariane (a-ree-en)
Vivienne* (love 'viv' names, but Vivian is too common.)
Ariana
Auriana
Anastasia (mn Raine)
Roxana (rocks-AHN-a)
Elysia (a-liss-ee-a)

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2004
Sat, 03-19-2005 - 12:08pm
I forgot to add Aureole (Aw-ree-el)
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2003
Sat, 03-19-2005 - 4:59pm

My gosh.

The only clear choice is Natalia.

Remember, this child will have to live with this name the rest of her life!!!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2003
Sat, 03-19-2005 - 6:02pm

Seraphine - very pretty, but I prefer Seraphina
Lucienne - ok
Natalia - nice, but on the common side
Emba - don't like this or Ember
Aletheia - Alethea maybe, I don't like the extra i in there
Alethe -no
Xanthe/ia - Xanthe is nice, not sure about Xanthia
Aisling - variants of this name are becoming quite popular, especially Ashlyn
Aislinn - ditto
Oceana - no
Leily - no
Ophelia - lovely name, bad connotations
Ebony - sounds tacky
Aurian - no
Ariane - ok
Vivienne - I really dislike Viv- names
Finnabhair - no, but Guinevere could work
Ariana - lovely
Aurelia - no
Auriana - no
Anastasia - lovely, maybe with the nn Anya
Roxana - sounds tacky
Elysia - no
Zephira - no
Kephira - no
Zenevieve - no

My faves from your list are Natalia, Ariana, and Anastasia, and I think all three of them sound better with St. Clair. Here are my suggestions (as you might notice, I have a slight obsession with flower/plant names)...
Acacia
Adalia
Althea
Amaryllis
Arabella
Cassia
Dahlia
Eliora
Fiana
Giovanna
Hyacinth
Iolanthe (eye-o-lan-thee)
Josette
Juniper
Lenora
Lilac
Linnea
Marelda
Odelia
Rosalind/Rosalie
Theodora
Violet/Violetta
Wilhelmina
Winifred

Avatar for devonelisa
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 03-20-2005 - 8:12am

Why not use both - St Clair Nightingale - as mn and ln?

Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2004
Sun, 03-20-2005 - 11:41am

Ah, man. :o) Last name Nightingale? Your child is a superstar waiting to happen! hehe Even with last name St. Clair, this kid is going to have a superb name.

Okay, my two cents:

Seraphine ~ LOVE this name. Love, love, love it. I would give her LN Nightingale. Seraphine Nightingale? ...sounds dreamy
Lucienne ~ this one's nice too! Lucienne St. Clair
Natalia ~ normally I would say it's a more uncommon name, but in comparison to your other names, I'd say it just dims. Natalia St. Clair
Emba ~ not my favorite, by far
Aletheia ~ don't like it
Alethe ~ ditto
Xanthia ~ prefer this one over the other, but be prepared for a lot of misspellings
Aisling ~ don't like it
Aislinn ~ ditto
Oceana ~ is different, and a lot of people like it. I'm not one of them
Leily ~ prefer Leila...
Ophelia ~ very different, not unheard of, a little old-fashioned, to me
Ebony ~ I would name my cat that, maybe, but not my daughter
Aurian ~ too difficult to pronounce
Ariane ~ I like it, pronounce Are-ree-ann
Vivienne ~ I like this one, it was my pretend name in French class in high school :)
Finnabhair ~ don't like it
Ariana ~ prefer Ariane
Aurelia ~ is okay
Auriana ~ what is the difference in pronunciation between this and Ariana?
Anastasia ~ it's pretty but I don't like it as much as the first couple of names
Roxana ~ ditto
Elysia ~ ooooh I like this one a lot. Either LN would work
Zephira ~ don't like it
Kephira ~ ditto
Zenevieve ~ ditto

My favorites: Seraphine Nightingale, Lucienne St Clair, Ophelia St Clair, Vivienne St Clair, Anastasia LN, Elysia LN

I don't know, but if it were me I'd give my baby her father's LN. I'd choose a name that sounds best with his LN. I would choose Seraphine, Anastasia, or Elysia. SERAPHINE! :o)

Good Luck!!!

~ Liz ~
mommy to Christopher and Nicholas



iVillage Member
Registered: 04-28-2003
Sun, 03-20-2005 - 7:14pm

The ones that I like:

Seraphine - Very nice
Lucienne - sounds too much like the masculine Lucien to me, I love Lucia though
Xanthe - my favorite on your list, beautiful and unique
Ophelia - very nice, a little dramatic though

Many of your others (Aisling, Aislinn, Ariane, Elysia, Natalia) sound so much like names that are quite common for little girls. They certainly won't "stand out" the way I think you want them too. Good luck!