Sophie writes:
I am due on the 15th and we keep selecting and then tossing out names. We have a short list and I would love your insight/advice.
This is our second child. Our first is named Dahlia Carmel. We love her name. Dahlia is after my husband’s grandmother, and Carmel is the place where we were married. Our last name is three syllables and starts with a B and ends with “nik”, so my husband likes soft feminine names that end in “a”. I like French names as I am half-French. I also like unusual names, but not something terrible unrecognizable or hard to spell.
Here is the short list:
-Camilla (is this usually spelled with one or two l’s?)
-Camille
-Kira (would you spell it like this or Keira which seems more complicated to me)
-Amelie
-Clara (my husband and I realized after deciding we loved this name that there are two ways to say this name and he likes one and I like the other)
-Nadia (we like slavic sounding names too)
-Tea or Teya/Taya (we love the name but are not sure how to spell it)Now, for her middle name we were thinking of calling her Royale. My husband is from Montreal, and we have spent a lot of time there. Mount Royal is what Montreal is named for. The only problem is that we have shared this with a few people and they keep telling us that it reminds them of the bit in Pulp Fiction where John Travolta talks about what cheeseburgers are called at MacDonalds in France….Royale with Cheese. Did you think of that?? I also thought of using Monique (MONtreal, QUEbec), but my husband isn’t sure. Other middle name options could be other places we have been/love like Rio (many places in India, Morocco, China, Australia, South Africa—we love to travel), or after my grandparents which would start with an A or H.
Please help us. We don’t have much time left!!!
Thanks!Any other ideas? Which of these do you like from the list?
Thanks for your help and advice!
If I hadn’t looked it up, I would have been absolutely certain that Camilla was the standard spelling and Camila an odd variation (odd because it’s not phonetically correct for the U.S. English pronunciation cah-MILL-ah). But I DID look it up, and according to the Social Security Administration, 547 girls were named Camilla in 2009, and 3707 were named Camila. According to The Baby Name Wizard, “Camila” is the Spanish version. Sometimes when I suggest the name Camilla, someone will say they associate it too strongly with the Camilla who married the Prince of Wales; perhaps the Spanish version lacks that association completely and so is more often used.
The spelling Kira lends itself to more mispronunciations: it could be KY-rah or KEER-ra. Whereas Keira is only KEER-ra. I’m not sure what I’d do, either: I prefer the look of the first spelling, but the ease of the second.
The primary downside of the name Téa is, as you say, the problem of how to spell it. I sat here for awhile puzzling it out, wondering how I’d spell it. Taeya, maybe, if what you want is the TAY-yah pronunciation. I wonder if you’d like Tia instead? Another option is to name her Mattea and call her Tea for short.
I didn’t think of Pulp Fiction when I saw the name Royale. I also like Rio and India and China from your list—but both Royale and Rio seem more masculine to me, and India and China don’t seem to fit well with any of the first name possibilities. I would lean toward the family names, if they fit better, or perhaps use one of the other first-name options.
My favorites from your list are Camilla and Nadia. Dahlia Carmel and Nadia Amelie, or Dahlia Carmel and Camilla Taeya.
I’m not quite sure how you want Teya to be pronounced, I know a girl who spells it Teia, pronounced TEE-a.
I love both Camilla and Amelie. I think I lean towards Camilla, partly because it reminds me of camellia, another flower, so Camilla and Dahlia have a subtle connection.
A zillion years ago, I used to babysit for a family that had a little girl who spelled it Teija. Not sure if that is a common spelling of that name, but at very least it’s another option.
I love your daughter’s name! Dahlia Carmel is lovely.
I think Dahlia and Camilla/e would be lovely as siblings, both names have a slight ethereal quality to them.
Dahlia and Keira would be my second pick (I think Keira makes it immediately clear how to pronounce the name)
Dahlia and Clara sound a bit to rhymey to me.
Royale is not my thing, I think of Battle Royale or fast food. Carmel is so lovely, I think there are nicer middle names to honor Montreal with than Royale– some ideas:
Marie > Montreal was originally called Ville-Marie
Chomedey > the first governor of the colony/founder of the city
Lawrence > river, although traditionally a boy’s name I think it could work as a mn.
Keira Lawrence?
I like Camille and Amelie best, with Nadia a close third. Since you can’t agree on a pronunciation for Clara, how about Claire?
I like the idea of the middle being an important place to you. Royale isn’t working for me (though not because of any cheeseburger association, though). I think Monique could work but the way you got there is a bit of a stretch. I think India could work with Camille or Amelie or Claire, not so well with Nadia. Or if you go in the A or H direction for a middle, you could try moving Amelie to the middle with some of your other favorites. I also like Anne. It’s a common middle name but for a reason. It sounds good with a lot of names. Helene does, too, I think.
You could also go with Teadora, Dorothy, or Theresa, nn Tea? I think Dahlia and Theresa sound fantastic together.
I like the spelling Tia or Thea.. to honor Montreal you could also go with Trea.
I like Camille and Amelie best from your list. I think either are lovely with Dahlia. As I’m sure you know camille is chamomile in French, so you would have two flowers, but a very subtle way. Dahlia and Camille, I love it.
For the mn I like India best, with Rio a close second. Rio is perhaps a bit masculine sounding, but it could fun and spunky for a girl, and all of your first name choices are clearly feminine, so I think it would work well.
(I have no associations when I see Royale, but it seems a bit off in a way I can’t really explain.)
My favs: Camille India, Amelie Rio.
Good luck!
oops, I´m sorry – I thought Tea was pronounced Tee-ah but I see it´s Tay-ah.. in that case I like the spelling Taya more.
I like Amelie Camille (although now that I wrote it, it shares a lot of letters- sounds good together though!)
I like the spelling Tea (with an accent aigu over the e) the best, but it’s not my favorite of your names.
Too bad you can’t decide on the pronunciation of Clara. Love it! Agree with another commenter- what about Claire?
why not just make her mn Montreal? It’s more definitively a “place name” but it’s still pretty and not popular like London/Brooklyn are.
i think Camille/a or Keira Montreal sound lovely
I think of different pronunciations when I see Camilla (ca-Mill-a) vs Camila (ca-Mee-la) which would change it for me. I prefer Camilla.
But all the first name choices are lovely!
On the middle name, my first thought with Royale was the toilet paper brand (sorry). Another interesting Montreal association (if you’re looking for historical) could be Marguerite (for Bourgeoys) who founded the first school there. Was a nun, may or may not be appropriate to your family…but I do love the name!
Otherwise there are some great names being used in Quebec http://www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/Interactif/PR2I121_Prenoms/PR2I121_Prenoms/PR2SPrenoms_01.aspx
including Camille, and Laurence,which is a lovely pronounced the French way and could be a nod to the river (as previously noted).
Good luck!
Spelling of Tea if you don’t want to use that spelling –
Taer – Tay-ah (Taer with a squished ae means Pure in Icelandic!)
Teia – Tee-ah
Kiera is pronounced ‘Kee-AIR-ruh’, too. Some friends of ours used that name for thier daughter, and the mother is constantly having to spell it. But they do call her ‘Kiki’ for short.
‘Camilla Amelie’ is a lovely name. So is ‘Amelie Victoria’ (big city there in BC). Lake Louise is a charming spot in Canada. Would ‘Louise’ be a suitable option for a middle name?
‘Adelaide’ and ‘Sydney’ are cities in Australia… would either of those be nice middle name options? ‘Journey’ might be a fitting homage to your travels.
Have you considered using ‘Camellia’ to pair with ‘Dahlia’? The floral tie is subtle and pleasant.
‘Estella Camille’ is French and delicate… Estella means ‘star-like love’ (which is sentimental and nice for your wedding memories).
All in all, my vote would go for ‘Camellia Montreal’. It’s sophisticated, beautiful, interesting, and original.
All the best to the four of you! Can’t wait to hear what you pick for your newest daughter!
i grew up with a girl named cali royale, and always thought it was lovely. it reads feminine to me because of that association, and i think if you gave your newest little one a very feminine first name, then the royale would very much be a beautiful middle option.
i love the sound of amelie royale. the flow of it really mimics your other daughter’s name though, which could be a plus or a minus for you. i personally love the way they flow together: dahlia carmel and amelie royale.
you have some great choices on your list–you can’t go wrong! good luck! :)
I think Camilla Monique or Nadia Monique is great. People may not know that Monique means Montreal, Quebec to you but that doesn’t matter – it has the meaning for you.
I love that you want to use a name of or about Montreal (one of my favourite places.) Maybe explore with your husband some of his favourite things about Montreal and take some meaning from there. Rue St. Catherine? I don’t suppose he was born around the time of the Olympics (76)? Olympia could be cute. or live near Concordia?