Help us name our new baby girl!
We've barely got a list of names for Baby Girl X yet. Our criteria are, the name should...
Our list so far (in no particular order):
I guess those are all old-fashioned or common names.
- not be hard to spell, for the kid, or for other people (McGreivey is hard enough)
- not be fadish or cutesy (no! McKenna or MacKenzie or Bailey or Hailey and definitely no Baili or Haili)
- not be too dischordant, linguisto-ethically, with McGreivey. Olga McGreivey or Michiko McGreivey might be too weird.
- not also be the first name of very close friends (or former girlfriends :) ) or of close relatives (unless the name happens also to be a traditional family name).
- not sound like you first heard of it on a soap opera.
Our list so far (in no particular order):
- Claire (trad. first name from Michelle's family)
- Ann(e) / Anna (trad. first name from John's family)
- Hope (trad. first name from John's family)
- June (John's mother's middle name)
- Alice
- Katherine (trad. first name from John's family)
- Mary (Michelle's grandmother's name, and John's great-grandmother's name)
- Laura (somewhat violates rule #4, but it's a nice name)
- Emmeline
- Ellen / Helen
- Rose
- Elizabeth
- Lydia
I guess those are all old-fashioned or common names.
We have rejected:
- Siobhan (nice name, but violates spelling rule)
posted by John McGreivey at 10:07 AM
38 Comments:
violet,lucy,michelle(so we can call them little M and big M or Michelle II like John McGreivey IV - why should matt be the only one with a number since we'll call her by her middle name Nicole anyway),Dione, Marnie,Olivia,Kate,a boy{stole this idea from Matt}, to be continued...
Grace
Erin
I'll have to think some more.
Pam
I won't add to the list since I think you have lots of great choices already, but I will vote for my favorites! I like Claire and Grace.
Lori S.
Hello John,
How are you? Is she already arrived or on the way…..I believe Carolina makes a good name. It’s feminine and commonly used by most European countries Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, and obviously English. I think, this name is profound enough for her to triumph over this mean and big world. This is just my suggestion. When is the best time to give a call.
Regards,
Dawit
Stella
Patience
Charmaine
Analise
He guys,
My favorite girl name is Tessa Rose. Not that my opion matters too awfully much, but there you go.
Hope all is well with all of you.
Deb Kyler
Email returns...
Amy M. suggests names from Shakespeare: Hero, Miranda, Juliet, Rosalind.
Rachel votes for Mary.
Doug suggests Beullah, Diesel and Six-Pack, Hoboken, Victor, and New Jersey, New Orleans, Big Easy, Louisiana. Thanks, Doug.
Cousin Fran suggested Hannah Mayhew, and Lucy Fletcher as first and middle names (all old family names), and endorsed Katharine (with an a in the middle).
In answer to woblyv, the last name is spelled McGrEIvey.
Annalivia will go on the list.
Alathea? Sure, why not. But how is it aleatoric (or refresshing or chaurdic, for that matter)?
Amaryllis: That's my great-great-great-grandfather's sister's name, actually. Hmmmm. OK.
Tamara? Hmmmm maybe too Russian. Or if you stress it on the first syllable, everyone calls her Tammy, and she's going to be a hairdresser or (at best) work in the personnel department.
Another email entry: Kathleen suggests Nina. May violate the ethno-linguistic rule, but OK, we'll put it on the list.
Everyone's opinion matters. Well, except George W. Bush's. I don't care about his opinion. And, well, maybe some other people's opinions don't matter that much. Tessa may violate our anti-trendy rule, but we'll see if it sticks...
I like Deidre for a girl.
Devon for a boy
Dom
Dierdre - we'll add it to the list!
We know it's going to be a girl, so Devon (shouldn't it be Devin?) won't get added. Doh!
Lorraine likes Mary and Claire (and Mary Claire) and Hope and Emmeline.
Also by email:
Kelli suggests Georgia. My dad might like this one, actually!
Not quite as wild-west sounding as Louisiana, huh?
Ah. Now it's clear.
Consider: *Chloe*
meaning "a green shoot" in Greek
Also, think seriously before going with Deirdre--although I appreciate Deirdre's status in Irish folklore, I've seen and heard a variety of spelling and pronunciation variations of the name--it could violate rule #1.
More email entries...
Joe and Jen have nominated Joe / Joseph and Jen / Jennifer / Jeni. No. A girl named Joseph? Jen[..] is out.
Miss McGreivey? Hmmm kind of a good idea.
Email from Karen...
My first thought was Claire and then scrolled down and noticed that was your first choice too. Very pretty with French roots, not sure if Louisiana French.
I also personally love Ellen, Lauren, Lydia, and Simone (a little different, also French).
Massimo (by email) endorses Laura, and also proposes Meg.
Meg is nicem but nfortunately, it violates rule #4 twice.
I guess I can't relly type sometimes.
Response to woblyv...
I'm still trying to understand some of what you wrote, but addressing part of it...
Our ruels against trendy names, and soap-opera-ish names, is motivated by something like what you talk about. We know that a girl names Bambi or Cherry or Candi will likely end up a stripper, and Missy and Tammy (and certainly Missi and Tammi) will be a cashier, aor at best a hair dresser or maybe the second assistat to the personnel manager. Few women with these names will be college professors or doctors or even President (as low as our expectations of that office are likely to be in the future).
I don't know if I'd say that this is due to anything inherent in the phonemes themselves. I think it it's purely a matter or stereotypical social associations with certain names.
I suppose a woman named Aolothea will either be a classics scholar, or a feminist writer (not that there's anything wrong with that), or a psycho.
Anna Claire McGreivey sounds right, smooth, easy on the tongue. ANd it hits both families!
Lydia Hope McGreivey, but I am a little biased
Also wasn't the family name Eveline? I almost named SArah Sarah Eveline. I believe she was a great great...McGreivey.
How about Johanna Michelle McGreivey. or whatever name is the female version of John
MArsha (after MArshall Hope) Michelle Mcgreivey.
Marsha MArsha Marsha. breaks some rule I am sure!
Have you been drinknig? Good suggestions, though.
Drinking, that is. And, no, I haven't.
Eveline was Eveline Wilbur, grandma McGreivey's great-grandmother.
Emmaline was Emmaline Baker, Grandpa Hope's great-grandmother.
Julie says (by email) that she likes 'Anna Rose McGreivey'.
Has anyone suggested Caroline?
You just did, Walt!
My vote is for:
Alice (or Alicia) or
Laura
There's something to be said for a name slightly different than the "family" history.
"Mom" McGreivey
Alice's Restaurant....
Hey John,
In no particular order:
Tess
Grace
Olivia
and Shelli (a personal favorite!)
How exciting...you can never have enough pink stuff in your life, and trust me you will, like it or not!
Panos by email...
Next week is ...this week!!! So, how's the new princess and the queen mother?
I have some name ideas of ...Greek origin classified by ...size!
Short names: Ira (era), Tihi (luck), Phaidra (fedra)
Medium size names: Irini (peace); Melina (meli is honey), Galini (tranquility), Marina (reminds of the sea, but has nothing to do with it really), Dalia (name of flower), Despina (adjective for the virgin Mary)
Long names: Anastasia, Katerina, Florentia (Florence)
I believe my favorite is Melina. When will the televoting take place for the selection of the name???
No televoting. We will choose according to our own secret, black box, undemocratic process.
Hey, kind of like the average American voter voting on a computer voting machine on election day!
We've already got SOOOOO much pink stuff that people have given us.
Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. Pink, pink, pink.
Just free-associating.
David J (not the guy from Bauhaus( wrote...
What happens if after a day you decide she seems like a Harriett or a henrietta? I'd say Lenore or Eleanore, lenny for short, but that would violate rule 2. Mainly I can't think of a feminization of David or John, there is Roberta however.
Hi McGreiveys!
I love LAURA, as it's the name we chose for daughter #2. However, she (my Laura)has been consulted as well, and is partial to Emma (a shortened version of Emmaline). I also thought Juliet was sweet, and conjurs up a whole romantic, feminine thing.
Good Luck! Hope to hear the good news this weekend!
Hey
The conclave has convened at a secret location. Whisps of smoke were seen coming from somewhere or other. The conclavers decided the name will be Mary Claire Hope McGreivey.
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