Honoring Grandmothers...HELP!!

[jasmine.lee]

If I had kids, I would want at least one of them to have a name that is honouring their elders.

Can you help me?

My great grandmothers:

Gwendolen nn Gwen: Dread it, but how could I get a really nice, unusual name/nickname/middle name out of it?
Mary Eleanor: Mary is a really modern, pretty name but it is a classic antique name, any suggestions on that one?
Patricia: I don't know what to think of this...????

My grandmothers:

Debra: really dislike it.
Marilyn Sandra: This is the daughter of Mary, so it good be nice to honour both of them in the same name.
Heather Anne: She goes by Anne.

Please help! I need suggestions!!

~Jasmine

[ashthedreamer]

I love so many of your options! Mary Eleanor is just gorgeous, and I really adore Gwendolen, too. If you don't like Gwen, what about Winnie or Leni? Or even Dylan/Dolen? I know a little girl named Gwendylan, so the nn Dylan makes perfect sense for it, to me.

I think you could do a variation of Mary, or Anne, to honor several of your grandmothers/great-grandmothers. Or you could even do Mariana to honor Mary, Marilyn, and Heather? Or what about their initials?

Or is there something that symbolizes your relationship with one of your grandmothers? The last gift my paternal grandmother gave me before she was laid to rest was a lily, so the name Lily (and its many variants!) are very significant to me. I would love to use a Lily name to honor her one day, and it's my special way to honor her that no one else will have. I love that about lily. Maybe there's something like that you could use? Her favorite color, her birthstone, her birth flower, if her favorite color translates well into a name (like Scarlett, Ruby, Violet, Lavender, Gray/Grey, Azure, etc.?), or maybe if she as a horse-lover, you could use Pippa/Philippa or Rosamund?

Good luck!

[stripedsocks]

I like Gwen standalone, actually. My mother has it as a MN and it does the whole simple one syllable middle name thing well without being as dull as Grace/Rose. It's not stylish like Wren is at the moment but it has a similar feel.

I also like Gwyneira and Gwyneth but Ms. Paltrow is sort of sitting all over Gwyneth right now.

I like the spelling Deborah more than Debra - another idea could be spinning off from the meaning, Bee? Honeybee is a bit much though. Melisande? Devorah has a strange middle sound in it but it's interesting, as is Devra.

Mary is pretty, I couldn't use it but I really like it. It's vintage and classic; I don't know any under 30.

[dlawsonsmith]

I love Patricia and Eleanor with the NN Tricia, Nora and Ellie or Elle.