love or hate these names?

[J&G's mom]

Okay, I'm not due until Christmas but I already have a huge list of names and would love some (honest) opinions on the more unique ones.
Preface; our last name starts with a P is 9 letters long and slavic. Our older kids are Jonah Aaron and Genevieve Rose. My name is Rachel and dh's is Brian. Our kids are a combo of Irish, Italian, German, Slavic, Russian Jew, and a few others from dh's side that I can't come up with.
Boys-Archer, Gustav, Oren, Oscar, Omar, Torin, Tabor.
Girls-Brenna, Camellia, Eden, Eartha, Estella, Hazel, Melia, Mila, Ruby, Violet, Willow, Viola.
Either-Haven, Sage, Wren, Skyler/Skylar.

Our best friends name is Melody, which she hates, but we would love to come up with a name to honor her, any ideas? We have Amelia and Melia so far.

Thanks, J&G's mom

[N2theWoods]

Originally posted by J&G's mom

Boys-Archer, Gustav, Oren, Oscar, Omar, Torin, Tabor.
Girls-Brenna, Camellia, Eden, Eartha, Estella, Hazel, Melia, Mila, Ruby, Violet, Willow, Viola.
Either-Haven, Sage, Wren, Skyler/Skylar.

Our best friends name is Melody, which she hates, but we would love to come up with a name to honor her, any ideas? We have Amelia and Melia so far.

Thanks, J&G's mom

I vote for Archer or Oscar for your boy's names and Eden and Eartha for your gal's. I thought about Willow too -- I LOVE it, but a magazine came out that put it on the top 5 girl's names for this year and though that shouldn't have put me off the name, it did. Ditto for one of my faves, Emmeline.

As for honoring your friend, what goes better with Melody than Harmony? ;)

[DiaperDiva]

Boys-
Archer- no
, Gustav,- no
Oren,-no
Oscar,-I like
Omar,-no
Torin,-no, but I like Tobin
Tabor. -I like






Girls-
Brenna, - no
Camellia, - yes
Eden,- YES
Eartha,-no
Estella,-no
Hazel,-no
Melia-no
, Mila,-no but I like Mina
Ruby,-YES!
Violet,- yes!
Willow, - DEFINITELY, and only because I am a HUGE! buffy fan
Viola. - no
Either
-Haven,- YES
Sage,yes
Wren,-oh yeah!
Skyler/Skylar. -no

[georgia]

What about Mela (may-la) as a nod to Melody?

[khrisday]

I love Amelia
also really fond of
Camellia
Hazel
Ruby
Violet
and Willow

for boys I like everythying but Omar

I also like Skyler/Skylor

[Clarity]

---Boys-Archer, Gustav, Oren, Oscar, Omar, Torin, Tabor.
I like Archer and Oren out of these the best. How about Owen?

---Girls-Brenna, Camellia, Eden, Eartha, Estella, Hazel, Melia, Mila, Ruby, ---Violet, Willow, Viola.

I like Viola, actually. And Eden. How about Camille or Amalie as alternatives? Is Mila ronounced like MILL-uh? If so I like it Milla. I would call this one MY-luh or MILE-uh or MEE-luh) How about Cami? or as a nickname for camellia/camille. I like Estelle better then Estella. Brenna is nice too, more common and Willow (buffy fan!).

---Either-Haven, Sage, Wren, Skyler/Skylar.
HAVEN!!!

[Clarity]

More Melody suggestions:

Melina, Melita, Melora, Melisande, Melissan, Melora, Meredith?

BALLARD A Dancing Song _
CARMEN Song Latin_
CARMINE Song _
CAROL Melody, Song _
GITA Song Hindi_
KARMINA Song, Songstress Hebrew_
LARK Songbird _
MAEVE Goddess of Song Celtic/Gaelic_
MELODIE Song, Melody French_
MELODY Song-like _
NASNAN Surrounded by Song Native American_
RANIT Song Hebrew_
SHEERA A Song Hebrew_
SHIRA A Song Hebrew_
SHIRI Song of my Soul Hebrew_
SORA Chirping Songbird _

[Sofiamomma]

I think Harmony is a great idea! Maybe for a middle name? I really like the name Hazel for a girl. Also Amelia. Of the boy names you listed I like Gustav the best, then Oscar. Out of your either names I like Skylar the best.

[Kirsten]

I have some comments. Because your first two kids have names that show what gender they are, I would not choose any of the unisex names for your third. I would also avoid any T names as first names as his initials would then be TP (toilet paper). But Torin and Tabor are my favorites from your boy list - not crazy about any of the others. We have different styles. :) I like the suggestion someone gave of Owen for a boy. How about Owen Tanner?
For girls, I like Brenna and Willow. LOVE your idea of middle name after your friend! :) I think Amelia is pretty and could be after her. Also think Harmony would be a neat way to honor her as well as the neat "peace" connotation it provides in today's world...
Do you shorten your current kids' names to nicknames? I like to think of how the three kids' names go together - like on a Xmas card or whatever.
Our daughters are named Kenzie Jean and Rylie Elizabeth
(whenever I read these baby name threads I always wonder what the poster named her own kids - if it isn't listed in her sig line) - middle names after family members.
Kirsten

[J&G's mom]

Wow, thanks everyone for your ideas/thoughts.
Clarity, that list was very nice. I like Sora but my husband isn't sure.
I do like the name Harmony for a middle name, I'll bring it up to my friend and see what she thinks. I also love Amelia but am afraid people will call her Amy. My husband and I both have such common names and there was always at least one other Rachel in my class. I hated it.
While I do like the name Owen, I think it is becoming fairly common too. Plus I think that Oren sounds stronger. I am also afraid that Willow is becoming too common for us. How many little Willow's do you guys know?
Mila is pronounced Mee-la, it could me spelled like Milla.
I also like Brenna because it is the female version of Brian (dh) but I'm not sure it flows well with our other kids' names. We are taking that into consideration. One of my cousins had 4 kids and named one ethnic, one Victorian, one very contenpory, and one ethnic (but differnt since the fathers were different), anyways while all the names are fine they just don't flow together, that is something that is important to us.

I have two more---Reign for a boy (too girly?) and Ember for a girl (I'm liking those E names this time around).

J&G's mom

[Irishmommy]

Boys-
Archer, no
Gustav, no
Oren, yes, but being Irish I would spell it Oran
Oscar, no
Omar, no
Torin, no
Tabor. no

Girls-
Brenna, okay. I prefer Brianne/Brianna as the feminine of Brian
Camellia, no
Eden, no
Eartha, no
Estella, no
Hazel, yes
Melia, no, but I like Amelia
Mila, no
Ruby, no
Violet, no
Willow, too common now
Viola. no

Either-
Haven, no
Sage, too common now
Wren, no
Skyler/Skylar. only for a girl.

I gues my style is way different to yours! Let us know what you decide.

[Clarity]

Ember is too much like Amber I think...which is lovely, but becoming what I refer to as a "stripper name". Which is a shame becuase I love that name. I do think Oren is stronger, you're right. If it's Mee-la, than I like the one-l spelling of Mila. I also think you could make Mee-la a nickname for Amelia as easily as Amy, but Mila stands on it's own very very well. Reign, if pronounced as I guess, like Rain, is kinda girlie, but very unique. He'll be spelling it for people a lot. Oren is unique and the spelling is more obvious I think. How about Mica/Micah? Either the mineral or the old testament dude, so it would match Jonah. And like Michael, but not.

edited to add...like that Oran spelling!

[J&G's mom]

Clarity, I feel like you are reading my mind. I love Micah, if I was to make the decision alone, I would pick Micah. My fathers name was Michael and he passed away in 1994. But, my husband doesn't like it. It doesn't help that he never met my father and that he was an alcoholic, but I still love him and he always loved us even with his problems. It wasn't until I became a parent that I realized just how much his alcoholism and not being able to be the dad he wanted to be must of hurt him. I didn't even speak to him for about 3 years before he died. He tried to quit drinking and had a seizure while driving, he was 42.
Sorry about the downer but that's my Micah story.
J&G's mom

[Clarity]

Micah would be a good middle name too... Oren Micah? Oran Mica? Mica - that was an interesting coincidence. In judaism sometimes people using a name starting with the same letter to honor a deceased family member...so maybe a renewed look at M names in general to find one your husband likes better? And I'm so sorry you don't have your father with you and that he didn't get well in time for you to resolve things more with him.

You have a long time to decide on the name stuff. I found it helps to keep your discards, you might revisit them later. My DD's name was one we toyed with for quite a while before it drifted to the top of the list.

[lilyka]

Boys-Archer, Gustav, Oren, Oscar,
Girls-Brenna, , Eden, , Estella, , Melia, Ruby, Violet, Willow, .
Either-, Skyler/Skylar

Those are my picks. I am due on Christmas too and I have nothing, nada zip. R uby and eden are on the list but dh hates them.

[Pookietooth]

Boys-
Archer: reminds me of Archer Daniels Midland an icky agribusiness conglomerate
Gustav: I picture a big, awkward dude who is rather overbearing,
Oren: Sounds like a very bookish guy who is also a birdwatcher.
Oscar: Can you say Oscar the grouch? Or Oscar Meyer?
Omar: This one is actually kind of cute. I had a boyfriend in high school named Omar, and he was handsome, but a bit arrogant.
Torin: sounds like torrid or toiling - not good
Tabor: sounds like a last name, but very neutral impression

Girls-
Brenna: All the Brennas I've know were kind of out of it
Camellia: very pretty, if old-fashioned,
Eden: Biblical, but nice,
Eartha: the best Catwoman!
Estella: Sounds like an old lady
Hazel: sounds again, like an old lady
Melia: sounds like a nickname
Mila: short but sweet
Ruby: nice name for an Irish Setter, but not a person
Violet: very feminine and delicate
Willow: what if she ends up big boned?
Viola: pronounced like the flower or the instrument? Could be confusing.

Either-
Haven: nice for a girl, kinda weird for a boy
Sage: ditto
Wren: ditto
Skyler/Skylar: nice for either, although somehow as a boy, I picture a brat.

[B]Our best friends name is Melody, which she hates, but we would love to come up with a name to honor her, any ideas? We have Amelia and Melia[B]
How about Melanie, Carol (since Carol and Melody are both music related), Melissa, Melea, Malia?

[J&G's mom]

Well, we went with a name that wasn't even on any of our lists. I just thought of it a few days before he was born and then promptly forgot to mention it to my husband who had his heart set on Kane. After the birth I said "what about Zane?" and dh really liked it. We considered it for a few days and then thought it fit so his name is Zane Michael and he is already 2 weeks old!

[Kirsten]

Zane Michael - very nice!!! Easy to say and spell but not too common - perfect.
Thanks for coming back and updating us. Many times I get interested in the outcome of a thread but never do find out.
Congrats on your new son!
Kirsten

[Clarity]

Zane is one of my faves! very cool.

[Juliacat]

I really like Zane too! Much better than any of the choices on your list :o

[TreeLove]

pookietooth-my Gustav is just how you described! but we call him Gus....:D

[Mama2Mila]

I like Torin for a boy and MILA for a girl. It's actually my daughter's name and we proncounce it MEE-la. (she is half german, 1/4 japanese, 1/4 indian heritage).