Mythological Sisters

Bridget is due very soon with her third baby girl, and know how hard naming a third child can be!  She needs our help:

Hi Elisabeth! My name is Bridget, and I’m having another little girl. My husband and I already have two daughters, Iris Elizabeth and Cecilia Ariadne. A little background on us: I’m a stay at home mom and former marketing professional. My husband Will is a dermatologist and we love to travel and my husband is very into music and plays numerous instruments. I was a classics/marketing double major in college and I love Greek mythology. It’s been a passion of mine since my mother read me the myths when I was child and I’ve always loved the names. Our first daughter Iris is named after the Greek goddess of rainbows so that was how we incorporated mythology into her name. Her middle name is Elizabeth because it’s been a tradition in my family for five generations. Cecilia was similarly easy to name; Cecilia is a name we both really liked and felt went well with Iris. Cecilia is also the patron saint of music which really sold my husband. Then we incorporated Greek mythology into her name by giving her the middle name Ariadne, like the woman who helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur. It’s my favorite myth and I loved the name and I love Cecilia’s name. However, this baby is proving harder to name. My husband and I are having trouble finding a name we both love equally. On our list are both mythological names and names that don’t link directly to mythology; if we do go with a non-mythological first name, I’d like to use a mythological name in the middle name slot like we did with Cecilia. The two forerunners that we have liked are also the two names I have the most worry about. We both really like both Willa and Persephone. My worry about Willa is that my husband’s name is William, and I don’t want their names somehow getting confused. Willa and Will are awfully close and I don’t want our little girl getting confused with her dad. Then, there’s Persephone. It’s a mouthful of a name and I’m not sure how it’ll actually work on a little girl. I watched the new Upstairs Downstairs and liked how they used Percy as a nickname, but I still feel like it might be too much. The other names on our most recent short list are Penelope, Rose, Mercy, Leda, Thalia, Danae, Phoebe and Rhea, but we’re open to any and all suggestions. If you can do a post for me that would be fantastic, but if not, of course no worries. Thanks so much!

Bridget

 

Bridget, your question is a fun one for me because as of late I’ve been a wee bit obsessed with names from Greek mythology!  Iris and Cecilia are that perfect mesh between familiar but not overused, and they are beautiful to boot.  Iris made my “Sweet Spot” list and I remember having Cecilia on there as well but took her out because there were too many C names.  Also on that list?  Phoebe, Petra (Greek), Mira (Latin), and Louisa (similar to Cecilia).  I could see any of these working for you.  From your list, Phoebe and Penelope strike the perfect note.  I love that they have different endings from both Iris and Cecilia (my reason for striking Leda, Rhea, and Thalia– though not a deal breaker).  Mercy sounds a little hissy with all the S sounds going on in Iris and Cecilia.  This is where the surname also becomes important.  I’m a huge fan of Rose as a first name but then one daughter, the middle child at that, is left without a flower name.  Will she feel left out?  Danae is intriguing but somehow your other names are prettier to me.

From my own secret stash of Greek names, I love Xanthe for you, a magical name.  Other possibilities that have likely been nixed– but hey– I’ll throw them out anyway, include: Daphne, Evadne, Gaia, and Helen. They may not be your favorite stories I gather?

It sounds as if you are likely to choose between Willa and Persephone.  Willa would be a nice tribute to daddy William, but I do think as a first name it could get confusing.  How lovely would Persephone Willa be?  You could call her Percy, Perry, Sephie, Ephie, Eppie, Poppy, Posy, Nonie, any number of things really!  And with lengthy names like Isabella, Olivia, Mackenzie, and Alexandra at the top of the charts, Persephone only has to become more familiar to people.  It is a name that winds up on many people’s lists of loves-that-are-too-over-the-top-to-use, but I say if you are in love, go for it.

Readers, what is your favorite name for Bridget, and have you ever regretted not going with your favorite, or conversely, been glad that you did?