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Source: (consider it) Thread: Crowdsourcing Baby Names
LutheranChik
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# 9826

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This is a topic of great interest in our family right now with Grandchild #2 on the way in about a month...and I thought that maybe other people might find the responses helpful, too.

Player Yet To Be Named is a girl. We know that. The parents have requested name suggestions that 1)are old-fashioned, and specifically popular at roughly the same time in history as the name Ruby, who is Grandchild #1; 2)are, quote, "assertive" but still girly -- I think "a" and "y"/"ie" endings are favored by DiL; and 3)are not too cumbersome to combine with a hyphenated last name.

All requests appreciated. We've already sent the kids a list of suggestions, but apparently they want a bigger pool to choose from.

And again, for anyone else whose family is expecting, please join in with your name requests.

[ 25. February 2014, 00:17: Message edited by: LutheranChik ]

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Porridge
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# 15405

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Not sure when Ruby topped the charts, but here's a few old-fashioned, assertive names (though only one with the requested endings):

Sybil

Hazel

Edith

Sidonie

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Nicolemr
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# 28

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Emily.

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Lamb Chopped
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# 5528

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Mildred (Millie) and Marie

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LutheranChik
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# 9826

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DP and I like Hazel; we have a friend with grandchildren named Hazel and Henry, and those were both on our list before we knew the sex of #2. (Henry was also my dad's name.) It might be a hard sell, but I might re-submit it.

Betsy was one we came up with today.

We've also, BTW, mined the entire Downton Abbey dramatis personae list for names, LOL.

Thank you! Keep going!

[ 25. February 2014, 01:59: Message edited by: LutheranChik ]

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Nicolemr
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# 28

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Betsy is usually a nickname for Elizabeth, another great name (my daughter's, in fact).

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BessLane
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# 15176

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I will chime in with this. I'm an Elizabeth, but I've always gone by Bess. It's biblical (Elixabeth), historical (Good Queen Bess), and unique enough to be special. And, the name works through time. Baby Bess, Bessie-girl, Miss Bess, Granny Bess...None of them sound silly...

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Pomona
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Esme, Sylvia (the best Pankhurst), Claudia, Erica, Jane, Anna/Anne, Joanne/Joanna, Louise/Louisa, Helen/Helena. Susannah/Susanne?

Edwardian names are very fashionable now - mid-century names much less so, and feel rather more solid/less flowery. Certainly they would be the only Jane, Anne or Susan in their class!

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Alban
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Winifred (Winnie)
Wilhelmina (Billie)

Or they could do what my great great great uncle (a jeweller) did for some of the siblings siblings for his daughter Ruby - Pearl and Diamond (a boy, who my son is named after)

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Uncle Pete

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# 10422

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I recently came across Ivy (my mother's name) as a name for a toddler (I forget where). It survives in my bilingual family as Liane (three generations of it in the female line!)

The late Victorians were fond of flower names. In addition to Ivy, they had Daisy, Violet, Lily (who, in adulthood became Lillian). One of my mother's cousins was called Rose (A friend's grand-daughter was named Rosa, but that was after Rosa Luxembourg.) A good friend was baptised Rosita, but she prefers Rose)

Having seen Caissa's post, I second Winnifred.

[ 25. February 2014, 03:36: Message edited by: PeteC ]

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comet

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my family has a collection of flowers from a similar time period, Pete. Marguerite, Lilly, Pansy, Violet and George.

Marguerite (always pronounced Marguerita) was my great-grandmother.

I'm a huge fan of Ivy and Eve as names. Also (obviously) Marguerite. And Daphne, who was Marguerite's daughter and my much-loved great aunt whom I named my daughter after.

[ 25. February 2014, 03:43: Message edited by: comet ]

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Alban
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Not Cassia - a lookalike
Winnie was a favourite great aunt of mine

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Ariel
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# 58

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Here you go - some of the most popular names from a century ago in the US. You can use the drop-down menu to pick a different decade.

(Some look like misspellings but I don't know whether that's intentional. "Mable" is more usually "Mabel". But you get the gist.)

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Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
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In Scotland, circa 1900, you would most likely be called Mary, Margaret, Elizabeth, Annie, Jane or Isabella. If you escaped those, it was Jessie, Jeanie or Agnes. Followed by a middling chance of Euphemia or Robina, but relatively low of Emily or Harriet.
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Sarasa
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# 12271

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My mother is a Hazel, her sister was a Pearl. My grandmothers were Margaret(Maggie) and May.

If we'd had a girl she would have been a Lettice (Letty), though I'm also very fond of Edith.

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North East Quine

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I had a great aunt Ruby. Her sisters were Margaret, Elizabeth (Liz), Davina and Helen (Nell).

I was particularly fond of Aunt Liz, the only person I knew who would give you the choice of tea, coffee, or whisky at 11am. She lived in three centuries, as she was born in 1899 and died in 2001.

ETA - Aunt Ruby lived to 93, in good health and independent until a few weeks before her death.

[ 25. February 2014, 07:13: Message edited by: North East Quine ]

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Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
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I was at school with an Edith, Hester, Audrey, Priscilla and shedloads of Lizzies and Margarets. And a fair number of Janices.
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Ariel
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It is odd to go for a walk and hear someone calling “Archie! Stanley!” and see two small boys then come running up to their mum. I do like the old names coming back, but haven’t noticed any Hildas or a Doris under 60.
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Kelly Alves

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# 2522

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My grandma and her sis were named Sybil and Bernice. Grandpa was a Stanley.

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Marvin the Martian

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Elsie. It was my maternal grandmother's name, and I'd love to see it make a comeback. Plus it's got the right ending [Smile] .

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Jengie jon

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Well for a strong short girl's name with one of those endings then you really could not go wrong with Hilda. Look up the Saint with that name if you do not believe me.

Jengie

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sophs

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We have problems with boys names. I say we, but I really mean my beloved has a problem with boys names. He thinks they are all either too common or stupid.

I mean all of them. Hours and hours of questioning and reading out boys names to him has resulted in three "I suppose that's ok"'s. Adam, Aaron and Ivan.

Girls names are different. He loves most of them, but doesn't like calling a child one name on paper and another day to day, so my unusual names tha shorten to normal names are no good. I'm currently trying to convince him that Elaine Ursula works, names for his gran and my great grandmother who was disappeared in 1945.

I really wanted to call a child rosalija, for another of my Slovene relatives, and for boys names I like Archie, Albert (albie), Maximilian (maxi), ect and I love most girls names. I'd have liked to call a child marguerite and use daisy, but beloved says no. It's a stupid name. [Roll Eyes]

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L'organist
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# 17338

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Phoebe or Chloe; Adeline or Adelaide - all 'hot' when Ruby was in vogue.

May is good in that it can't be truncated.

However, since Ruby is now very popular (also Emily, Chloe, Phoebe, etc) about they look slightly wider and go for something less common, such as:

Lalage is a pretty name that has fallen out of favour.

Carys or Cerys - from the Welsh for love.

Myfanwy - derived from the word meaning beloved.

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Dormouse

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# 5954

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I really like Rose - which can be "shortened" to Rosie for a child, but has a dignified feel about it.
Lily is another "flower" name, but it's a bit flightier than "Rose" in my opinion.

As another shortening of Elizabeth I like Libby. My brother's stepdaughters are Libby, Edith (Edie) and Dora (Dorothy) which I used to think were "meh" names but which I have come to like.

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Golden Key
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I have Views on this, partly due to personal experience.

If I may suggest...

Bear in mind that the child will have to *live* with the name for their whole life. That may well include teasing, bullying, and even hitting on the basis of their name. Continuing into adulthood.

The parents shouldn't indulge themselves. They won't be the ones who have to live with the name.

So

--If you give a child an unusual or awkward name, make it the middle name. And make the first name strong and simple. If the child wants to hide the unusual name, that's easier with the middle one. They may well grow into liking it, but give them the option to hide it.

--Don't do cross-gender names. E.g. actress Michael Lerned had a rough time. All because her dad wanted a boy, and wouldn't give up the chosen name.

--Do the proposed names, or their initials, combine badly with the last name(s)? Famous example: a Texan woman named Ima Hogg. (Seriously.)

--Do the names have a slang meaning?


FWIW.

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Ariel
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quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
--Don't do cross-gender names. E.g. actress Michael Lerned had a rough time. All because her dad wanted a boy, and wouldn't give up the chosen name.

I'm not sure how the jockey Ruby Walsh got on at school (or why his father decided on that as a name for his son). The wrestler Shirley Crabtree might have chosen a completely different path in life if he hadn't had to live with (I'm guessing here) taunts about Shirley Temple when he was a boy.

Any girl called Millicent or Mildred may very well end up being nicknamed Millipede or Mildew.

When choosing a child's name, it's an idea to revert to your own childhood and think of rhymes and associations that go with the name. They can last well into university and possibly beyond.

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bib
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# 13074

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My latest grandaughter has been named Isobel Rose which I find rather beautiful. I think it is important to pick names which won't be parodied during schooldays or that are too difficult to learn to spell.

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seekingsister
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# 17707

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quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
I have Views on this, partly due to personal experience.

If I may suggest...

Bear in mind that the child will have to *live* with the name for their whole life. That may well include teasing, bullying, and even hitting on the basis of their name. Continuing into adulthood.

The parents shouldn't indulge themselves. They won't be the ones who have to live with the name.

This advice gets a lot more difficult for people who have non-English ethnic or cultural backgrounds. In some cases nearly any name given from another language could make the child the target of teasing. My brother and I have lovely names for the country our parents are from but were teased nonetheless because in America they are extremely rare and strange sounding. However it wasn't the end of the world.

I'd raise an eyebrow to Pilot Inspektor or Apple (both celebrity child names) but I wouldn't advise people avoid names with family or cultural significance, solely for fear of playground teasing.

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Moo

Ship's tough old bird
# 107

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quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
I'm not sure how the jockey Ruby Walsh got on at school (or why his father decided on that as a name for his son). The wrestler Shirley Crabtree might have chosen a completely different path in life if he hadn't had to live with (I'm guessing here) taunts about Shirley Temple when he was a boy.

The song, "A Boy Named Sue" has a take on that.

Moo

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North East Quine

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# 13049

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Ages ago there was a thread on the Ship about ridiculous names. One of the "WTF would any parent do that to a child" names was our daughter's middle name. (She loves it.)
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Jane R
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# 331

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GoldenKey:
quote:
Bear in mind that the child will have to *live* with the name for their whole life. That may well include teasing, bullying, and even hitting on the basis of their name. Continuing into adulthood.
That's true - but the bullies will find some excuse to pick on you if they want to, and with the 'right' attitude they can make fun of anything. The bullies at my school were nasty about my (fairly ordinary) name, for example.

Shirley, Hilary and Evelyn all used to be boys' names... but became exclusively female fairly soon after people started using them for girls.

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tessaB
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# 8533

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My grandmothers were Lillian Matilda and Isabelle. All lovely names that can be shortened prettily, Lily, Tilly and Bella. Our daughter is Eleanor which we loved as it seemed a strong but pretty name. She now calls herself Elly, also nice.
We didn't think at the time (and luckily no-one else seems to have thought of it) that a common shortening would have been Nora [Ultra confused]

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Honest Ron Bacardi
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# 38

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Esme is another boy's name. There is a raft of names like that which have become one-sex names but which are the opposite in other countries, or indeed here historically.

Plus of course some like Lyn which you'll just have to ask about.

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ArachnidinElmet
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# 17346

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Definitely agree that the last name should be considered in combination with the new name. A friend of mine has always wanted to use the Iona. Unfortunately her partner's last name is Ion (his suggestions are Anne and Cath [Roll Eyes] )

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seekingsister
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# 17707

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quote:
Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:
Definitely agree that the last name should be considered in combination with the new name. A friend of mine has always wanted to use the Iona. Unfortunately her partner's last name is Ion (his suggestions are Anne and Cath [Roll Eyes] )

Friends of mine Googled the name that they were thinking of choosing - first and last - and found out it was the name of a rather popular, um, adult film star.
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Leorning Cniht
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# 17564

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Well, if they want to "match" Ruby, they could go with Pearl or Garnet. Or Violet.

I agree with sophs - boy names are much harder. A girl can carry a "pretty" or whimsical name in the way that a boy really can't.

Mrs C and I had long lists of girl's names that we could agree on, but found it terribly difficult to settle on a single boy name.

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North East Quine

Curious beastie
# 13049

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Ruby and Garnet wouldn't work, at least not in the UK, as they are the twins in Jacqueline Wilson's "Double Act."

Ruby and Violet, now, that's a good combination!

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Roseofsharon
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# 9657

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If they want another gemstone name the obvious one is Pearl. Otherwise, Opal (although opals are supposed to be unlucky), Emerald, Beryl or Sapphire.
Unfortunately none have the y/ie ending, so maybe a floral name instead, such as Daisy, Lily, or Ivy?

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Pomona
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# 17175

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quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
Ruby and Garnet wouldn't work, at least not in the UK, as they are the twins in Jacqueline Wilson's "Double Act."

Ruby and Violet, now, that's a good combination!

Considering that book is about 20 years old now, it doesn't have the same associations! I know lots of little girl/baby Rubys.

Lily, Daisy, Ivy etc are dreadfully popular (definitely borderline overpopular) in the UK but it's possibly not the case in the US. Frilly Edwardian floral names are ten a penny here now.

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North East Quine

Curious beastie
# 13049

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Ruby on its own is great, Garnet on its own is fine, but a Ruby / Garnet sibling pair wouldn't work, because of the book. My god-daughter read it last year; Jacqueline Wilson's books are going strong even after 20 years.
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Ariel
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# 58

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quote:
Originally posted by tessaB:
Our daughter is Eleanor which we loved as it seemed a strong but pretty name. She now calls herself Elly, also nice.

My former neighbour's daughter was called Isabelle which was always shortened to Ellie. Her brothers called her Elly Belly.

Not sure if Letitia or Lettice have come back into fashion, but Letty used to be popular at one stage, along with Hetty (for Hester).

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no prophet's flag is set so...

Proceed to see sea
# 15560

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There's a wide difference in different English speaking regions. No parent here would name their child Emily because there will be 7 of them in their class at school. For boys Liam is out for the same reason. (also Ashley, Taylor, Connor, Brittany, Cody)

Some other names have negative associations. These are associated with everything from TV show characters (e.g. Ruby from Corner Gas or Ellie-May from the Beverly Hillbillies) to old fashioned (e.g. Mildred) or have stereotypes associated with them (e.g., Claudia sounds like she'd be a clod, Archie is a comic book).

Betsy is a stereotypic name for a cow, "let's go milk old Betsy", or at best a car :let's take old Betsy". Winnie would lead to much teasing for certain, perhaps horse neighing or Winnie the Pooh, and the obvious association with poop. I am led to believe that naming a son Randy, common here, is not done in the UK. But please no-one ever consider the name Neveah, which is heaven spelt backwards and common here.

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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/

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balaam

Making an ass of myself
# 4543

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quote:
Originally posted by Leorning Cniht:
Well, if they want to "match" Ruby, they could go with Pearl or Garnet. Or Violet.

I agree with sophs - boy names are much harder.

Jade.

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Last ever sig ...

blog

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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175

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quote:
Originally posted by balaam:
quote:
Originally posted by Leorning Cniht:
Well, if they want to "match" Ruby, they could go with Pearl or Garnet. Or Violet.

I agree with sophs - boy names are much harder.

Jade.
Dear Lord no - it's a 90s stripper's name!

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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]

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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58

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Jade was never an option as a personal name a century ago. It still carried the old connotations of a woman with disreputable morals or a useless horse, rather than the beautiful green stone.
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175

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quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
Ruby on its own is great, Garnet on its own is fine, but a Ruby / Garnet sibling pair wouldn't work, because of the book. My god-daughter read it last year; Jacqueline Wilson's books are going strong even after 20 years.

I don't think people would automatically think of the book though, and I don't think the book characters would be a negative association? Anyway I didn't realise someone was asking for names for twins, sorry.

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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]

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Sandemaniac
Shipmate
# 12829

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It's about time Zeppelina made a comeback.

AG

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"It becomes soon pleasantly apparent that change-ringing is by no means merely an excuse for beer" Charles Dickens gets it wrong, 1869

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Edith
Shipmate
# 16978

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It's got to be Edith.

Or failing that, Hilda

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Edith

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Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
quote:
Originally posted by tessaB:
Our daughter is Eleanor which we loved as it seemed a strong but pretty name. She now calls herself Elly, also nice.

My former neighbour's daughter was called Isabelle which was always shortened to Ellie. Her brothers called her Elly Belly.

Preach.
Pyx_e called me"Kelly belly smelly jelly" in the cafe once; it was just like being twelve again. Bless his heart. [Tear]

I have a cousin named Bonnie. Always thought that was pretty. And Lillian was my grandma Bernice's original first name; she went by her middle name because her mother, grandmother, and cousin were also named Lillian. I always dreamed of having a daughter named Lilly.

[ 25. February 2014, 21:08: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

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Tree Bee

Ship's tiller girl
# 4033

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We have 2 sets of girls named Ruby and Pearl in our family. Those names just go together.
I offer you the names of my grandmothers for consideration:
Annie, Amelia, Norah, Eveline.

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"Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple."
— Woody Guthrie
http://saysaysay54.wordpress.com

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