Long list for DC2 - any opinions?

[MeerkatMerkin]

Expecting DC2 in October, so not for aaaaages but have been TTC for a long time so have quite an extensive list of names for your perusal! Any opinions gratefully received and no offence taken at dislike of the more bizarre ones - truthfully I don't imagine getting away with the likes of Asterix but it is a great word to say! :) Any suggestions based on these also welcome.

Boys:

Alexander
Ares
Arman
Asterix
Attis
Avan
Bastien
Daniel
Dashiel
Dill
Ebenezer (nn Ebe)
Etienne (nn Eti)
Ezra
Faren
Felix
Gabriel
Idas
Jude
Lander
Odin
Phineas (nn Phin)
Rafael (nn Raffy)
Remi
Sebasten
Sol
Vero

Middle name for a boy will be Alexander... unless his first name is Alexander!

Girls:

Alexa
Alexandra
Amy
Anayis (nn Naya)
Ariadne (nn Ari)
Ariene (nn Ari)
Astera
Beatrix
Edelie (nn Edie)
Eden (nn Edie)
Elsa
Eris
Esther
Etta
Evren
Farrin
Gala
Ida
Ines
Iris
Juliet
Juniper (nn Juney)
Lenore (nn Leni)
Leonor (nn Leni)
Nesrin
Nova
Olive
Rosalie (nn Rosa)
Vera

Middle name for a girl will be Alexandra or Charlotte.

[Yannah2006]

Just a word about Odin- norse god names are used quite a bit by neo-nazis. We loved Loki, but it really put us off.
Phineas reminds me too much of Phineas and Ferb!
Nesrin is pretty.... but i get visions of some kind of nasal spray when i hear it
Love Olive, Eden, Ines, Dill, Etienne, Faren and Jude.

[FriggFRIGGisPoorlySick]

Really Yannah ?! how often?!

[MeerkatMerkin]

I didn't know that about the neo-Nazis. Thanks for the heads up! Loki is great, it's a shame, but that is one connotation you really do not want.

[Yannah2006]

Not sure where i first heard it, i thought it was a well known thing!? Nazism and norse mythology have a bit of a link don't they?

Here's a bit about Odinism and white supremacists.

thevikingworld.pbworks.com/w/page/3917372/The%20Role%20of%20Odinism%20in%20Contemporary%20White%20Supremacist%20Movements

There was a nn band on the Louis and the Nazi's documentary called Prussian Blue, one of the girls was called Lynx, so called because the Lynx has strong links to Norse mythology.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx_(mythology)

Might be a tenuous link, but best to avoid those names imo.

[WhoPaintedTheLion]

Ariadne Charlotte
Etta Alexandra (just be careful about surnames! Etta could be teased due to 'Ate a...' soundalikes)

I like Rafael from your boys, but prefer the Raphael spelling.

[MeerkatMerkin]

Surname begins with I so I think most are ok!

Ariadne Charlotte and Rafael Alexander are my favourite ever actually Lion, DH not keen but still another 7 months to convince him. :)

[DebK2012]

Love Rosalie Alexandra!

[MeerkatMerkin]

Rosalie is one of the only ones from my list DH deems acceptable so that's good! :)

[DebK2012]

It's a lovely name!

[mathanxiety]

Alexander -- nice, popular
Ares -- god of war. This would put me off.
Arman -- prefer Armin spelling.
Asterix -- '... the Goth' - no (though I love the cartoon)
Attis -- prefer Atticus
Avan -- makes me think of avatar. Too close to Ivan. I prefer Aven (a flower) as a girl's name.
Bastien -- too close to bastion.
Daniel -- nice
Dashiel -- nice
Dill -- not nice. 'Dilly dally'/ 'dill pickle' nn potential.
Ebenezer (nn Ebe) -- Scrooge - so no.
Etienne (nn Eti) -- Eti is too close to 'yeti' as a nn. Etienne is nice though.
Ezra -- nice
Faren -- madey uppey and wishy washy imo.
Felix -- nice
Gabriel -- nice
Idas -- feminine mythological figure from German mythology iirc
Jude -- nice
Lander -- madey uppey surnamey
Odin -- neo Nazi associations
Phineas (nn Phin) -- nice, unusual but familiar. Finn is very popular.
Rafael (nn Raffy) -- nice.
Remi -- nice
Sebasten -- would you spell it Sebastian?
Sol -- as a nn for Solomon or Salvador, not on its own.
Vero -- I like this but it may be too close to Vera for a boy.

[mathanxiety]

Alexa -- nice
Alexandra -- nice
Amy -- meh
Anayis (nn Naya) -- would prefer French Anais (with accent on I)
Ariadne (nn Ari) -- nice
Ariene (nn Ari) -- too close to Aryan for comfort
Astera -- nice but prefer Astrid or Estelle/Stella
Beatrix -- nice
Edelie (nn Edie) -- too close to adelie (penguin). Edel is nice - old fashioned Irish name based on Adele.
Eden (nn Edie) -- nice
Elsa -- nice
Eris -- too much a mishmash of Erin and Iris.
Esther -- nice
Etta -- nice
Evren -- madey uppey
Farrin -- madey uppey
Gala -- a cheap brand of paper towels, napkins and paper plates in the US, also a gala event.
Ida -- nice
Ines -- nice
Iris -- nice
Juliet -- nice
Juniper (nn Juney) -- too much
Lenore (nn Leni) -- a fabric softener or hand lotion iirc
Leonor (nn Leni) -- like it very much spelled Leonore
Nesrin -- nice
Nova -- too brangelina
Olive -- nice
Rosalie (nn Rosa) -- nice
Vera -- nice

[mathanxiety]

Leni is lovely imo.

[MeerkatMerkin]

Thanks math for that comprehensive lowdown! I agree with a lot of your reservations on some of them. Anayis would be spelt that way as it is a Persian name (my DS has a Persian name also - I am of Iranian heritage) and a few of the ones you feel are madey uppey seem to be the Persian ones so that is interesting and I'll certainly take it into consideration! I would really like to use another Persian name but one that is quite Western-sounding (if that makes sense?) and is easily pronounced in English - I guess that is where the madey uppey feeling comes from with some of the Persian names I like, they seem like made up English/Western names. :)

Any opinions on another one I forgot to put on there: Artin? It's another Persian boys' name.

I love Leni too, I would love to use the full name Lenore with Leni used day to day but Lenor is indeed a fabric softener and even though it is a lovely sounding (and meaning - it means light) word, it would have that connotation to everyone she met. DH has said absolutely not, anyway. :(

[mathanxiety]

Apologies - my knowledge of things Persian is limited to say the least. I would say go for something recognisably Persian rather than trying to find something Persian that could be plausibly western or English to avoid falling into the 'sounds made up' or 'sounds like X name but misspelled' trap.

Wrt Artin -- is it too like Martin minus the M?

[telsa]

My favourites

Bastien - love this, more plosive than Sebastien
Daniel - solid, but lovely to say
Dashiel - Hammet - great books.
Ebenezer (nn Ebe) - Scrooge connotations might be a bit much
Etienne (nn Eti) - lovely
Ezra - great Biblical name
Felix - lovely
Gabriel - sounds good
Lander - prefer Lysander
Rafael (nn Raffy) - good sound too
Remi - prefer Remy
Sol - cute.


Amy - pretty
Anayis (nn Naya) - lovely
Ariadne (nn Ari) - love that nickname
Astera - Esther in another form, prettier, more unusual
Gala - like Dali's wife!
Ida - cute
Ines - glamorous
Juliet - very pretty
Juniper (nn Juney) - sweet name
Lenore (nn Leni) - could have Marlene and have that nn
Olive - very cute
Rosalie (nn Rosa) - makes me smile
Vera - due for a comeback

[MeerkatMerkin]

That's ok math, I didn't mention this in the first post as I wanted honest first reactions to the names. :) I like the idea of Artin because he could have the nickname Artie! But I can pretty much guarantee DH will vetoe it!

Thanks for your comments, telsa, I hadn't thought of Marlene. I would love to give a name that could be shortened to Leni as Lenny was my grandfather's name and it would be a nice tribute, so I might brainstorm and see what else I can come up with!

[wiltingfast]

Of the boys' names I like

Bastien
Phineas
Sol

Of the girls' names I like

Etta
Ida
Ines

Hth on phone or I'd give you a much more thorough response!

[OutragedFromLeeds]

Alexander - lovely but very popular.
Ares - quite nice
Arman - no
Asterix - no
Attis - ok
Avan -ok
Bastien - lovely
Daniel - nice, bit boring maybe
Dashiel - no
Dill - lol no!
Ebenezer (nn Ebe) - nice name, but too linked to scrooge to actually use.
Etienne (nn Eti) - don't like nn Eti.
Ezra - ok
Faren - no
Felix - bit feline, but ok
Gabriel - nice
Idas - no
Jude - lovely
Lander - no
Odin - no, too surnamey
Phineas (nn Phin) - ok
Rafael (nn Raffy) - quite nice
Remi - ok
Sebasten - nice and the you could have Bastien as nn, 2 for the price of 1!
Sol - okish
Vero - no

I like Jude Alexander or Sebastian Alexander best

[mathanxiety]

There is Magdalena -- Leni or Lena could be NNs.