Hi Swistle,
I’m 29 weeks pregnant and still struggling to choose the perfect name for our baby girl. After considering several, we thought we settled on Naomi as the perfect first name. Our second place name was Kelly, which was still a little to British and gender neutral for our taste. We’ve also considered Valentina, Cecilia and Jill. Recently, I have decided that while I still love the name, Naomi does not sound nice with our last name Ramires. (Ramirez with an “s”) The whole process seems to have started over again. I have read several name books and looked at all of the websites and apps. Nothing feels quite right.
My husband likes only names that sound traditionally/classically American or Italian. We both would like the name to be easily spelled and pronounceable. Finally, it has to sound right with the last name Ramires.
We have three other stipulations:
– Can’t be in the top 50 most popular names of the year
– Can’t end in the sound “rah”
– Can’t be gender neutralShould I just stick with Naomi and hope she gets a better last name someday? Or, do I keep searching for the perfect name? Is this just a normal part of the naming process?
Thank you for any help and advice you can provide.
Best,
Michaela
My vote is that there’s nothing wrong with the sound of Naomi Ramires. I’ve been saying it over and over, and it continues to sound nice to me. If Naomi felt perfect and nothing else seems right, I think there are two main possibilities:
1. This is cold feet. It’s normal to doubt the name once it’s chosen. There were options, they were considered…and now it’s over? Maybe it’s not right. Maybe we should think more. What if there’s a better name out there, and we just haven’t thought of it yet? Maybe we should start over.
2. This is not necessarily about Naomi sounding wrong with Ramires, but is instead about having actual doubts (as opposed to cold-feet doubts) about the name Naomi, possibly for reasons that need more poking around to discover.
From this distance, it’s hard to guess which one it is. It sounds more like cold feet to me, but I don’t want to dismiss it as cold feet if it’s genuine concern. If you really don’t want to use the name Naomi anymore, then it’s good to have this time to re-think. I might suggest taking a week off from thinking/talking about baby names at all, and then begin again.
But if you really DO want to use Naomi, and you HAVE gone back to the drawing board and you don’t want any other name, and your only concern is about how Naomi sounds with the surname, then I recommend this exercise: Get out a yearbook or an employee directory or a class list or a phone book, or fast-forward to the credits of a movie. Look at all those names. A lot of them are not ideal, if you consider them closely. And yet it doesn’t end up mattering: they just seem like normal names.
I don’t even see Naomi Ramires as non-ideal to begin with. But if it doesn’t sound quite right to you, it may still fall into this nice wide “non-ideal but absolutely doesn’t matter and just seems like a normal name” category.
I also recommend removing the word “perfect” from your baby-name search. I don’t think it’s a useful word, and I think it can unnecessarily increase stress. A baby’s name doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be a good serviceable choice. If you happen to find one that feels perfect, then that’s a lucky bonus—but it doesn’t have to be perfect in every way to be an excellent and satisfying choice.
Name update:
Hi Swistle,
We decided on Naomi Raquel Ramires. I was definitely having cold feet. Still struggling with the middle name, I decided to just let my husband choose. Naomi’s middle name is his sister’s first name. It is perfect. I couldn’t imagine her being named anything else.
Thank you!
Best,
Michaela
I think Naomi goes well with Ramires. I especially like the subtle repetition of the “mi” syllable, but with different stresses in the two parts of the name, so it is tied together but not rhyming.
I don’t see an issue with Naomi Ramires at all. If you really don’t like it, keep looking, but it sounds wonderful to me.
It’s a beautiful name. Also I loved Swistle’s advice about removing the word “perfect” from the process. Excellent point.
Agreed! It seems the universe has been sending me that message a lot lately.
Wait, I don’t understand at all! I think Naomi Ramires is lovely. I LOVE the repetition of mi- and mi-. It just flows so beautifully.
I also like the Latin/French/Italian version Noemie, though it is surely troublesome to spell for many people.
Naomi made me think of Nadia…
Nadia Ramires. Also lovely!
Or:
Giulia
Giuliana/Julianna/Juliana
Lydia/Lidia
Ginevra
Noelia/Noelle
Cosima
Camilla
Mattea
Bianca
Lucia
Arabella
Also, just to add, if you’re 29 weeks, this will be a Christmas-season baby, right?
That makes me wonder if you’d like Natalie, Natalie, or as I mentioned Noelle/Noelia. All are a nice nod to the holiday!
Finally– I meant Geneva, not Ginevra (due to -ra repetition).
Is one of the Natalies intended to be Natalia? Regardless, I think this is a lovely quasi Naomi name that flows nicely too! But I do really like Naomi and would encourage you to use it with peace of mind.
Yes. :) Natalia. Good catch!
I was coming on to suggest Natalie!
I am REALLY attracted to Valentina Ramires. So much interesting culture behind that name. It is a pairing that you wouldn’t expect but because of that, it stays with you… in a positive way. I absolutely love it.
What about Giada? My friend has a daughter named Giada and I’ve always loved it.
To the LW: what is it specifically about the combination of Naomi Ramires that doesn’t work for you? Without an understanding of what combination of sounds is hitting your ear in an unpleasant way, it’s hard to know what to suggest as a replacement.
I think the LW should take note that none of the readers/commenters inherently understand what’s wrong with Naomi Ramires and that’s why an explanation is necessary. To my ears / eyes, it is a pleasing combination of sounds that flows quite well! If you love the name Naomi, I cannot think of any reasons why the surname Ramires makes it a dealbreaker.
Naomi Ramires doesn’t roll off of my tongue smoothly, but there aren’t any specific sounds in Naomi or Naomi Ramires that I dislike. The full name Naomi Ramires lacks the rhythm of Kelly Ramires. It does not correspond with Ramires as well as a name like Valentina. BUT – I still REALLY like Naomi as a first name.
While I favor the name Jill for obvious reasons, if you love the name Naomi, don’t worry about how it sounds with her last name. You’re not going to be calling her by her full name every time you talk to her. And my guess is that since Naomi isn’t a super common name, that her friends won’t need to use it to differentiate between other Naomi’s either. Go for it! (Lastly, everyone seems to love Naomi Ramires and I agree! Lovely combo)
Thanks for chiming in! Makes it more understandable. :) Maybe you should consider some two-syllable/ends in “ee” or “lee” sounds names that feel more Latin, Italian, or “neutral” than Kelly.
First one I thought of:
Lily
Or, Lilia or Liliana, nicknamed Lily.
Sylvie
Aimee/Amy
Lucy
Daisy
Ruby
Amelie
Stella (not a lee sound, but short and flows)
And, in case you missed it: Noelle, Noelie, or Noelia, and Natalie/Natalia.
Good luck! Please update us when you can!
Naomi sounds fine with the last name
I don’t hear any problem with Naomi Ramirez. In fact, I really like it. But if you aren’t liking it any more, Cecilia Ramirez is also a beautiful name.
I also think Naomi Ramires sounds great, and don’t see the problem. From your list of other possibilities I love Valentina and Cecilia, but only if you’ve really gone off Naomi. If you haven’t, and you’re just anxious about “pulling the trigger” for some reason, I think Naomi is lovely and you should go with it.
Honestly, I love the name Naomi and I think it sounds great with Ramires. The repetition of syllables/rhythm sounds good to my ears (na-O-mi ra-MI-res).
I also like the suggestions of Nadia or Natalia. Talia would make a good nickname for Natalia.
It seems like the other names on your list fall into two different styles: 70s/80s (Jill, Kelly) and more feminine/frilly (Valentina, Cecilia). Naomi doesn’t fall into either of the categories but I think it is your best choice.
I love the name Naomi and I like how it sounds with Ramires. But I also like the suggestions of Nadia and Natalia (especially for a baby born around Christmas!) Valentina was a name my husband and I both agreed on but it sounded too singsongy with his/the baby’s last name (which is four syllables and ends in the sound “eeda”), so I’m going to encourage you to use that if Naomi ends up not working out. Valentina Ramires! LOVE
Nice suggestions in the comments if you still want to shop!
I can’t figure out why Naomi Ramires doesn’t sound right to you. It’s 3 and 3 syllables. The emphasis is on the second syllable in each one. It’s lyrical to speak.
That said, I really like Valentina a lot. If she wants to be Tina Ramires, that works nicely, too. I think the go-to Italian name is Isabella, and it’s nice but so common these last 15 years. Valentina seems very fresh if you wanted 4 syllables.
Unless you’re getting monogrammed stuff at your baby shower, you can relax knowing you’ve got a great cluster of names. I love Naomi, but you can “make sure she looks like one” when you meet her to take the pressure off. We did that with our daughter-fairly convinced she was an Oona but ready with a couple of other names in our pocket in case she wasn’t.
Just for fun, I’ll add Viviana to the list because Vivi reminds me of both Naomi and Kelly for spunkiness and Ana Ramires is also just so classic. Viviana gives you both ❤️
I think Naomi is beautiful! Another suggestion if you decide not to go with that – I have a friend of Italian descent whose name is Gioia (pronounced Joy-ah), which I’ve always loved and which is very easy for people to pronounce once it’s said out loud.
Naomi Ramires sounds fine to me. Naomi is one of my favourites it has a solid history of steady use, is familiar, works in many languages, a lovely meaning and a nice biblical story. Go with it!
I’ll just add my voice to the chorus — Naomi sounds fine with your last name. But I truly love Valentina Valentina!! I also like the suggestion of Giada. That’s a pretty, and very unusual name. But there’s nothing wrong with Naomi. Good luck! Can’t wait to hear what you decide!
I think Naomi Ramires has a beautiful rhythm; I find it more pleasing with the last name than Kelly, although I also like that name. If she turns out to be a Christmas baby, Natalie or Natalia also sounds very nice.
Naomi is my favorite, and I think it sounds nice with Ramires. To me, better than your other options!
Oh. What about Vienna?
Vienna Ramires. Beautiful!!
Naomi is lovely! If you want more options:
Valencia Ramires
Sabrina Ramires
Cosima Ramires
Corinna Ramires
Florence Ramires
Magdalena Ramires
Catalina Ramires
Bianca Ramires
Best wishes!
Love Naomi Ramires. The nice part about Naomi is that it fits with a future sister Kelly or Cecilia, while picking a more feminine name like Cecilia or Valentina could preclude a sister Kelly if you like name style harmony. I have a sweet spot in my heart for Valentina too.
I, too, think Naomi Ramires is beautiful and hits that uncommon-but-familiar sweet spot, and it’s definitely my favorite of the ones you listed!
If you really are wanting to reconsider, I think that the other commenters have given you some great alternative choices! I especially love Magdalena (or Maddalena)–but here are a few others I didn’t see mentioned above (I went deep on the “Italian” side of things…).
Carolina
Elena
Fiorella
Gianna
Letizia
Lucia
Paloma
Paola
Serafina
I would be more concerned that Naomi is an outlier name for you than not sounding good with your last name, it’s not great but it isn’t awful either.
Off of your list Valentina and Cecilia sound like what you are describing.
Paloma, Serafina, Viviana, Natalia, Bianca (how I would love to meet a baby Bianca) are great suggestions from other posters.
I love Paloma! good call.
What about Noemi, the Italian version of Naomi? I am in LOVE with the name Noemi.
I just want to say I loved reading the comments! This is probably one of my favorite posts based solely off of the comments! People gave great feedback and suggestions!
I actually think Naomi Ramires sounds really good together! To me, from afar, this letter reminds me of when I named my son and I had been thinking about the names so much they all started to blur together, and I started questioning his name because I had replayed it in my head a million times.
Since no particular reason is given for why the name Naomi suddenly doesn’t feel right anymore, and because there don’t seem to be any obvious issues with the name that I can see, I am tempted to assume that the writer may just be having a case of overthinking.
I love Naomi, and think it sounds great with your last name.
That said, I’m an English/Celtic/Germanic American mix, with absolutely no excuse to use Noémie (french), Noemi (italian), or Noemí (spanish), all of which I love even more than Naomi, and I think if I were you I would jump on one of those spellings.
I don’t have a problem with Naomi Ramires, but it is a mouthful for me to say the whole name. If you like the sound of Kelly but want something a little more feminine and less British, how about one of these?
Callie
Cassie (nn for Cassandra)
Chloe
Carla
Ally (nn for Alice or Alessandra)
Alba
Audrey
Elena
Lia
Nellie (nn for Antoinella)
Nina
Milly
Zoe
Polly
Good pick on the full name! I love the middle with it as well. Welcome to the world, Naomi!