H- E- L- P! Baby Girl is almost 7, yes 7 months old. Need help with name!!

[abi]

It is hard to believe but it is true. Baby girl, aka Little one, is almost 7 months old. The long and the short of it is that we sort of had a name- Ani Skye- butt my mom pretty much shot it down and I'm not sure if it was working anyway. Husband is a little dyslexic and the Ah-ni, Ah-na, An- na situation seems hard for him. We decided on Josephine and signed the paperwork with our midwife the next morning- bad idea. Immediately I realized she needed a middle name (we had given her my maiden name like her brother) so to her birth announcement I added Anais- Josephine Anais B... A...

That didn't work either- she is just not a Josephine or Jo or Joie and turns out I don't like Josie either on her. Her brother, almost 3 is Jude Lucas. We have batted around a number of names,my husband shooting down the majority of one's I suggest, and have been circling between Ana/Ani, Ayla (pronounced eye-la) and Maia. To some degree they all feel a bit like old boyfriends you keep going back to hoping that you can make it work but you know it won't.I'm tempted to throw them all out and pray by divine intervention, or the help of random strangers on the internet, that I might discover a new love. I love each name for different reasons, like the classic strength of Ana, the qwerkiness of Ani, the feminine flow and meaning of Ayla (light-bearer, moon beam) and the strength and meaning of Maia. We have been trying to keep Josephine as a middle to keep some continuity but my husband has said he would be ok with Joie as a middle (hard to pair a name with either it seems). My son and husband have called her Jo and Joie this whole time. I have resorted to "little one" most the time.

She is spunky, smart, active (started belly crawling at 4 months and is now crawling at 6- and trying to climb the stairs!), joyful, brave, social, engaging...and dare I say it looks like she has a strong will. She has a very sweet, feminine features, blonde hair, blue eyes and very fair skin. She often smiles before she opens her eyes in the morning and she loves people. She was born at home after 2.5 hours of labor, 8 minutes from the peak of the harvest moon (September). I would love a name that is strong and spunky, that sounds good with Jude and conveys femininity and strength. A name that is creative without being weird. I'd also love a name that doesn't require a lot of spelling/ pronounciation correction (ala Ayla). Other names I have loved Georgia, Esme, Eleanor, and.... brain freeze....Thanks for any help you can offer! (And yes, last babe) Oh and last name starts with Av so all "v" containing first names seem to be out (though I love Eve, Eva, Ava...)

[mischa]

I'm sorry to hear about the problems you're having with naming the "Little One". From your list of names, I think Josephine is lovely as well as Georgia, Esme and Eleanor. Maia would be a wonderful choice too! Here are some suggestions for your consideration! Hope you find a name you love. Jude's sister sounds like a darling so she needs a spunky or vintage name like his!

Isla
Ruby
Nora
Violet
Willa
Ivy
Eliza
Iris
Rose
Phoebe
Molly
Lucy
Keira
Bridget
Felicity
Bryony
Darcy
Cassia
Daphne
Amelia
Cecily
Fleur
Clover
Estella/Stella
Daisy
Luna
Freya
Bethany
Tabitha
Fiona
Zoe
Clio/Cleo
Nola
Jemima
Piper
Margot
Alice
Cora
Sybil
Aurelia
Nina
Lila
Elodie
Delilah
Sadie
Imogen
Juno
Calliope
Clara
Rosalie
Hattie
Matilda
Lucille
Louise/Louisa
Greta
Lola
Helena/Elena
Saskia

[niusity]

Oh, poor child. I really like Josephine and I think it's a good name with lots of nns. As your husband and your son seem to like it why not letting it down and keeping it? It's been 7 month already. The MN- Anais seems to combine all your requires. You can switch them and change it a little for example: Anna/Ana Josephine or Maia Josephine. Anyways you can call her as you think it fits her better with keeping her name(my fn is Anna and my parents have never called me like that and I had a friend whose sister was Elizabeth and was always called Bella(have no idea why)). If everyone got used to Josephine but you, it's not necessarily to change it. You wouldn't be able to change her name as many times as you want. I'm really sorry if it was rude of me but that's my opinion.

[east93]

Avery came to mind, but then the whole Av problem.

Meghan Josephine I liked, or Meghan Joie.

What about Jolene?
Hailey
Haven
Greta
Margo
Dawn
Aurora
Anya
Annika
Quinn
Lucy
Freya
Gemma
Gloria
Gabrielle
Gracie

Names that are for Virgo girls:

I've bolded the ones I really like for her.

Name Origin Meaning
Adara Arabic virgin
Agatha Greek good, honourable
Agnes Greek pure and chaste
Amelia Teutonic industrious
Anona Latin goddess of the harvest
Areta Greek virtuous
Azra Arabic virginal
Benedicta
Benice Latin blessed
Caitlin
Kaitlyn Irish Gaelic pure
Catherine
Kathleen Greek pure
Chastina Latin pure, chaste
Chloe Greek beautiful young maiden
Clementine Latin mild
Colleen Irish Gaelic maiden
Conchita Spanish virgin
Cora
Corinna
Kara Greek maiden
Cybele Greek goddess of the harvest
Daphne Greek virgin
Deborah Hebrew an industrious woman
Delwyn Welsh neat and fair
Elizabeth
Elsa
Elsie Hebrew oath of God
Emily Teutonic industrious
Emma Teutonic healer of the universe
Fabrianne Latin maid of good works, resourceful craftswoman
Glenda Welsh pure and good
Glenys
Glenise Welsh holy or pure
Hazel Old English a light-brown colour
Hermione Greek a maid of high degree; femine form of Hermes (Mercury)
Honor
Honora Latin integrity, honour
Ina
Ines
Inez Greek pure, chaste
Isabel
Isabella
Isobel Spanish oath to God
Leala French the loyal one
Lilian English pure
Linda
Lynette
Lynn English pretty, neat
Lisa English oath to God
Karen Danish pure
Katherine Greek pure
Mary
Maria
Marie
Marian
Marianne
Marilyn
Maureen Hebrew sacred virgin
Melina Greek gentle
Melissa Greek bee, symbol of industry
Mona Irish Gaelic the noble one
Morwenna,Morwyn Cornish/Welsh a maiden
Neysa Greek chaste, pure
Paige Old French young servant
Penelope Greek weaver
Pia Latin pious
Rhea Greek earth goddess
Samantha Aramaic she who listens
Safia Arabic the pure one
Susan, Susanna, Susannah pure, lily
Teresa
Terese
Theresa
Terri
Tessa
Tracey Greek carrier of corn, reaper
Una Latin the one, perfection
Virginia Latin maid, virgin


Note: Some of those meanings are off, so you may want to check them.

[taz]

I really love Jolene, Jolie, Johanna, Joan, Joni
Anais, Anya, Anja, Anna
Maya, Marla, Marlena

It seems like the rest of your family has adjusted to Jo and at 7 months 'little one' might be accustomed to responding to it. Maybe keeping something that nns Jo would be best? Or at least nns with a similar sound, ex, Maureen or Moira nn Moe?

I know finding the *perfect* name feels like such an important part, but I have to wonder if perfection isn't really out there for everyone. i mean, I never had that *moment* when i was wedding dress hunting. My dress was nice enough, but I wasn't in love with it...I just had to settle for what worked eventually. At 7 months you might be near that point with your child's name.

[abi]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I only have a second but wanted to add/ask- one "issue" I have with Ani (ah-nee) is that my name is spelled Abi (abby). Wondering others thoughts on that. One reason I like Ani is that there are not a lot of associations with it and it does have a sanskrit meaning (inexhaustible) that resonates with me (I practice tibetan buddhism).

I also thought I'd add (although I agree that this process needs to come to an end) that I have been told that many Native American cultures wait a year to name their children to really see who they are. I think the process has been more difficult for me than anyone else. I have called her little one since she was born and feel that we all are called many nn over time- that our sense of our self continues to grow and deepen and change. Maybe I'm being a little defensive but just thought I'd offer that up as her name just does not seem right to me at all. I'm going to mull over what has been sent and will let you all know. I do think that having a name that keeps Jo/Joie alive is good. BTW- both my sisters had their names changed at 5 months, I have met a woman that changed her son's name at 21 months and others...I don't think it is as uncommon as it sounds. But the point about the "perfect" name- well taken!
Thanks again!

[lineska]

Asha Joie was my first thought....
Or something that speaks to the moon association with her birth...Chandra or Luna maybe? Chandra Joie is lovely.

Brainstorm:
Maya
Mina
Anita
Ada
Elsa
Eden
Uma



Hope something clicks into place and you find the perfect name for Little One soon!

[taz]

Maybe Joy or Gioia / Joya?

[katzenjammers]

Could you call her Phina or Fina for Josephine? That would seem like a spunky alternative w/o having to do a name change. I like the name Josephine, I've only met one and she does go by Jo often, but I REALLY think if you call her by her full name she'd grow into it and it is so timeless compared to Ayla or some of the other trendier begins with "A" alternatives-But I TOTALLY relate to name regret or uncertainty as I am also having trouble calling my soon-to-be 2 month old by anything other than "little one".

IMO Josephine also sounds really lovely with Jude. Georgia is one of my all time favorites but I could never get my DH on board and none of my kids liked it, but of the ones you mentioned I think that would work really well and still keeps the G/J sound.

If you don't want to stick with Josephine, I'd start by doing a massive and intensive alphabetical search on one of the other name sites (I don't think you can do it here) and see what you come up with. I'd look for things that you can call her that still start with the J sound so your husband and her brother can keep Jo if they want to.

Gl1

[karenp]

Your description of her made me think of Penelope. Penelope Josephine?
Another thought was since you love Ani, what about calling her by her middle name Anais? Its beautiful and would also fit. I call my kids by their middles all the time so that they answer to either name. I think that has helped me when having doubts.
Ill have to second all of mischa's list, its such a great list!
Also, I think this stage of baby is hard to fit a perfect name. Thats the same age I had doubts with both of mine. I waited and sure enough they changed (personality and looks) and the name I had given them suited them perfectly! Good luck!