Anyone any good with names?

We just found out it's a girl. :D

L....

All of my "E" names are 3 sylable or more
Eliza
Elora
Elizabeth
Emani

I do like Esme but it's getting trendy.

All this evening, I've been sitting here going through all kinds of baby

Tori M...

It isnt an overly popular name though it seems like we run into more then I
thought we would. We wanted something not in the top 10 but not weird
either :P Most people we know think it is weird anyway.. and the people
that gave the biggest stink have a son named Bendicks. I think Xavier is

Chookie...

I take it they'd never encountered the firm that makes washing machines --
Bendix?

perfectly normal compaired to that :P If we ever have more we will have

Chookie...

Of course it is, especially if you are Catholic. St Francis Xavier helped
found the Jesuits.

Chookie...

TBH, it sounds like you've been watching too many Westerns.

Tori M...

No.. I have never actualy HEARD the name Annabeth. I thought I was being
creative.. oh well :P I still like it though it Might go back to being Anna
Beth

either an Annabeth (middle name to be looked up) or a Logan Wayne.

Tori M...

He was named after Profesor Charles Xavier in the X-men. My husband got to
pick the boys name this time. in the movie it is pronounce Exavier. My mil

Chookie...

How bizarre.

calls him Xavier and bonnie calls him Xayur. In spanish it is Havier and in
french it is Exaveea..

Chookie...

Are you *sure* about that French?

PattyMomVA...

In my part of the English-speaking world (eastern U.S.), Xavier is not
uncommon. I think everyone I know would pronounce it ek-ZAY-vyur. I've
tried saying it with no vowel at the beginning, and it just sounds *wrong*.
Sounds like Tori says it as we would here.

Ericka Kammerer...

Hmmm...we're not far apart, but none of the few
(three that I can think of) Xaviers I know all pronounce
it starting with a "z" sound.

bizby40...

For what it's worth, when I pronounce it, I put an e at the front, but
it's almost silent when spoken aloud. So if you heard me, you'd
probably hear "Zavier" and if Patty heard me she'd probably hear
"Exavier".

Rosalie B....

I think this has a lot to do with the area that the parents come from
WRT pronunciation. I always have to think how to pronounce Juan or
Sean, and also things like Xlapak, Xunantunich, Xpujil, Xochicalco
and XCaret.

PattyMomVA...

Huh? Seems you're saying that they don't use an initial vowel sound? (So,
is it said like ZAY-vyur?)

Ericka Kammerer...

Yep. Or maybe kSAY-vyur (with a very slight "k" sound at
the beginning) for a very few, but I hear ZAY-vyur most frequently.
I rarely hear ek-ZAY-vyur.

Best wishes,
Ericka

-Patty, mom of 1+2

Clisby...

I'm in the eastern U.S., and I would have assumed the 'X' was pronounced
as a 'Z'. I haven't known anyone named Xavier, but would have expected
it to be pronounced as in St. Francis Xavier.

Welches...

I'm from UK and I have always assumed it was pronounced as a "Z". I've not
heard of the St. either.
Debbie

Clisby...

Now that I think about it, I probably would have assumed it was
pronounced as a 'Z' anyway, since that's how I'm used to pronouncing
an initial 'X' (xylophone, xenophobia, Xena Warrior Princess, ...)

Clisby...

Tori M...

Well according to a site I just looked up it is SUPOSED to be a z sound. So
we are wrong *sob* lol It isnt a big deal as most people I know who call
him Zavyur thinks that is shorter then working out my long name.. though

Kathryn...

Ooh! Ooh! Remy!!! I think it's kind of a neat name. You could call him

enigma...

Remy doesn't even make it to the top 1000. it's French
Canadian, or at least popular in Quebec. there's quite a few
in ME & NH.

Gambit lol

Just don't go for Maggott/Japheth or Victor (as Sabretooth)

enigma...

Victor is at 107th. i think Japheth was last semi-popular in
the 1700s :p

You could have always gone with James, since Wolverine is James Howlett, and
completely avoid Logan... Although I do think James is just as common and
popular as Logan, but I don't know.
One of my friend's twins is Logan. I hear that name and think of a goofy
little boy that got into the shave cream ;)

most people just wish we would get over it and call him Bill.

That's how I'd expect it to be pronounced.

Best wishes,
Ericka

-Patty, mom of 1+2

name sites online, and at this particular moment, I'm kind of stuck on one
name (this is probably just for now)
I'm trying to find a middle name that fits certain criteria for me...
Can anyone think of a name to suggest that follows all of the below?

*Starts with E
*Is a 2 syllable name
*Is NOT Emma or Emily
*Not too common, and kind of unique
*Nothing that will totally come back to haunt me or the baby
*Origin not important, DH is French, I am Ukrainian, but neither holds any
importance at all
*Meaning is not something insanely rediculous (I was browsing and found the
name that doesn't follow the above, but was just silly, IMO - "Ellema" which
means 'milking a cow')
*Nothing that screams "GRANDMA!" or "GREAT GRANDMA!!"

Jeanne...

Congrats!

Elena
Elissa
Elise

Sidheag McCormack...

gives you a pretty comprehensive list, probably good when you have specific
criteria like this. A few that I like and that I don't think I've seen
anyone mention:

'Eabha
Ebru
Echo
Eirian (well, maybe 3 syllables is OK :-)
Elpis

(can't be bothered to look any further, but you get the idea :-)

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003

dejablues...

Esther
Eileen
Enya
Eartha
Earlene
Elise
Estee
Emblyn
Echo
Edith
Elsie
Ellen
Elsbeth

xkatx...

I kind of like Elise. I don't think I've run into that one.

For right now, I am hooked on Esme (as a first name). It's a name I've

Chookie...

Esme was a nosy elderly character in a very popular soap opera when I was in
my teens!

Penny Gaines...

Was it "A Country Practice"? We got that over here as well, but at
lunchtime.

Another name I haven't seen mentioned is Eleanor. Esme is very pretty.

Ellen (a torch or flame)
Elspeth (Scottish form of Elizabeth)
Elaine
Ella
Emma
Edith
Ena
Eilis (pronounced eye-lish)
Esther
Eva

always liked, and a name I had suggested for DD that we didn't go with.
Reason for the middle name of E is that it seems to follow the trend with
the other sibs... The first and middle names all start with the same letter
and all the names are 2 syllables.

Welches...

Edith?
Debbie

Ericka Kammerer...

I like Elise or Eva. All of my kids are double

keyan_bowes...

How about:

Ena
Ela
Eoife (pronounced Ee-fa)
Ea
Eara
Einin (or Eneen)
Emer or Eimer
Enda
Evlyn, Evelyn, Evlin

initialed. It's a tradition in my father's family going
back several generations.

Best wishes,
Ericka

I can think of Ella, but I'm not sure if I'm alright with that... It was a
name my aunt called me up before DD was born and said she thought of "Ella"
so... I don't know... Also, I was originally thinking of Elaine... That's my

enigma...

James is 17th, Logan is 24th
lee

mom's middle name, and originally I was kind of liking the name Allison
Elaine (my grandma is Alice, my mom's middle name is Elaine) but I didn't
want it to come down to MIL feeling disregarded, and the only one of the
kids that is currently named after someone is DS, and his middle name is
after my uncle that died just before he was born, so names following family
members don't really follow our trend for our kids, even though DH is named
after his father, my brothers are first names after my parents' dads and
middle names are my dad's first name and middle name. I'm named after my
great grandma. I kinda want to break this habit, other than in the small,
next to nothing chance this turns out to be a boy, and in that case, we've
decided long before DD was born even to go with DH's step-dad (whom he has a
closer relationship to than his actual biological father) and my dad and
we've decided to stick with Jack Robert for that reason only... But, we were
told It's a Girl! and that was my gut feeling ;)

Any suggestions? Ideas?

Irene...

I haven't seen Edna on any of your lists yet. ;-)

I think I like Esme Elaine best from how it sounds, so far. Esme Elise

hschinske...

Okay, okay, I haven't read the whole thread, but it sounds like
EVERYONE but me knows how to pronounce Esme. Is it Ess-may, Ezz-may,
Ess-mee, Ezz-mee, Em-May, or Aim? Well, the OP said two syllables, so
it can't be the last. Is it one of those names that has a common

PattyMomVA...

I would say EZZ-mee.

-Patty, mom of 1+2

pronunciation in English that's rather different from the French
pronunciation, like Genevieve? And is the French feminine actually
Esmee?

Penny Gaines...

[snip]

I'd pronounce Esme as Ez-may. The "Es" would use the "e" from "egg"
and the soft "s" of "is".

I like lots of E names, but some of them are definitely still rather
great-auntly. Edith is one name that overcomes the great-auntly factor
to my mind. Ethel is not, even though one of my favorite book
characters is Ethel May. I like Ellen and Elaine, and neither is
terrifically common these days. I think Eileen turns up as a middle
name a fair amount because of its rhythm, just as Marie and Renee do,
but it is not terribly common as a first name. Eden and Erin are very
pretty. Ellis is sometimes used for women, probably from Eilys (I know
a little girl named Ellis -- for quite a while I thought her name was
Alice).

seems like too many s's, tho I like the name on its own.
Hmmm...actually, I kinda like how that sounds - but it would depend on
your last name.

Irene
(and DON'T try Eirene or Eireen - no one will ever know how to spell
it. Not that anyone knows how to spell Irene, either...)

enigma...

i love Esme (did you know it's originally a boy's name?)
ok, try these:
Elspeth: Scottish form of Elizibeth, means 'God is my oath'

Eavan: anglicisation of Aoibhinn, meaning 'attractive,
beautiful, radiant'

Einin, Eneen:(pronounced 'ain'+'een') means 'little bird'

Elke: a variation of Alice

Elu (Zuni native american): pretty or full of grace

and you probably won't like this one because it's too old
fashioned, but it's my grandma's name (she's 101 years old):
Ethel: it means 'noble'

the 2 syllable rule makes it difficult ;)

Knit Chic...

Eileen
It's my daughters milddle name.

Rosalie B....

Ethel was my thought too and I rejected it for the same reason - I had
a great aunt whose name was Ethel.

I also like Ester or Estelle, but those aren't really that unusual.
Personally I would like uncommon but not so uncommon that the kid is
always having to spell or explain the name.