Thank you, but more help needed

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

Thanks to everyone who put in their two cents on my last post. Seems "Edge" is split about 70-30, majority ruling that it's not meant to be a human being's name, hehe.

As for Jericho, we've decided upon Jericho Richard. Richard was suggested a couple times, and it makes perfect sense for us personally. Richard is my husband's middle name, and was his father's first name. And I still get my precious Jericho! Yay!

Now here's the continuing problem: A female name! Jason is horrible at picking out names (and admits to it too), and I just do not like female names. I don't know why, but I've always felt that most female names are either too girly, too old-sounding, or just flat out stupid.

So doing some searching I made a small list of names I like enough to actually use. I'd like some opinions on them, suggestions for combinations, and/or suggestions for better middle names for them. Anything really, even if it's negative, because negative feedback doesn't phase me. For instance, when I'd listed some of these names in another post, I was told they sounded like strippers. LOL!


Female

• Ember (I'd prefer not to use this, because it's my middle name)
• Heaven
• Bella
• Willow ♥
• Luna
• Locke (LOCK)
• Lavieve (la-VEEV)
• Desiree (dez-uh-RAY)
• Rayne
• Payne
• Lilith ♥
• Isis
• Demona
• Elizabeth
• Naomi ♥
• Ruby
• Maria
• Carol (or Carole)
• Deborah

And for those who forgot or didn't know in the first place, our last name is Usher. So far the only thing I'm liking is Naomi Locke Usher.

Comments

[heathity.livejournal.com]

I like Naomi, Bella, Lilith, and Isis

[o-honeybee-o.livejournal.com]

i love Naomi.
I don't know if you'd like this but i know a 3 year old named Lilious (lily-us...the us sounds like the last syllable in delicious)
I really like Ember too, and Ruby =)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_toasterhead/]

i like Willow & Ember, & i love Rayne. Demona & Payne sound negative though, IMO.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're going for Jericho Richard! :D

The first girl's name out of your list that hit me was Locke, and while I'm totally for Naomi Locke Usher, I also suggest Elizabeth Locke Usher :)

And overall you have quite a handful of awesome names for girls there!
The ones I like among those are:
(Isa)Bella
Luna
Locke
Elizazbeth
Naomi
Ruby
Maria
Deborah

I'm not so keen on Rayne, although I like how it sounds, after a girl I know names her baby girl London Rayne, and it felt somewhat tacky :P
But I understand it can also be derived from the "reine/raina" root which means "queen", so that would be alright :P I still rather see it spelled Raine.

Good luck with your decision! I can't wait to know what you guys will pick :)

[bornto-fly.livejournal.com]

I like Lilith, Elizabeth, Ruby, and Carol (spelled that way, not Carole).

Heaven is WAY too "sweet" sounding and it sounds like a stripper name -- it's like naming your kid Sugar or Honey or something. Heaven and Desiree are the two I would be 100% against -- they have a huge white trash/stripper connotation to them.

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

I agree that it is a little out there. Heaven, I mean. I dunno why I've just always liked that one. It can get really stupid though. Like if you made a middle name of Leigh. "Heaven Leigh." *gags* LOL!

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

London Rayne. *groan* That is tacky! That's why I wouldn't put Ember Rayne together. Sounds like "November Rain," that damn Guns and Roses song. >P

Elizabeth Locke sounds nice too, but it all depends. My sister's middle name is a Elizabeth and, quite frankly, I hate my sister. I wouldn't want her feeling flattered. *evil grin*

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

Hehe, that was the idea actually. I'm a bit of a "dark" person. I doubt my husband would allow me to use Demona or Payne though. *g*

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

Lilious sounds almost Greek/Roman. Like Cassius or something. Not too keen on that, but I'm gonna jot it down because you never know. Can I ask what middle name they put with that?

[catchthewaves.livejournal.com]

How about extending Carol to Caroline, for improved flow?

My single idea: Caroline Bethany Usher

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

*sings* Sweeeeeeeeeeeet Caroline....

I hate that song. >D Bethany, however, is nice and being added to the list.

[o-honeybee-o.livejournal.com]

i have no idea, sorry.

[spikes-sexkitty.livejournal.com]

Rayne
Elizabeth
Naomi ♥
Carol (or Carole) - maybe even Carolyn or Caroline?

I think Elizabeth Rayne Usher sounds and flows very nice, and the child can have the option of a unique name, or a more traditional one depending on how her personality is when she gets older.

I liked the combo of Carolyn Rayne Usher too. Same reason as above. One name is dramatic, the other more main-stream-ish. :-)

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

hehehe November Rain, that's another tacky one.. but I'm sure somewhere someone wound up using it, poor kid :D

you're right about the sister, i guess it's likely that she'd feel flattered ..you could though still use Isabel, which is the Spanish version of Elizabeth :P (sorry, I'm just in love with the whole Elizabeth//Liz/EllaIzzy/Isabella shenanigan :P)
But I'm not sure Isabel Locke would flow. Maybe Isabella Locke Usher.
Damn, I'm so jealous of your last name :P
(Hi, I'm the weirdo who'd use it as a first name, remember me? :PPP)

[withoutanif.livejournal.com]

My favourites are Luna, Rayne, Lilith, Isis and Deborah. I like the combo Deborah Lilith Usher.

:)

[xtangledechox.livejournal.com]

Willow Naomi Usher

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

Ya know what name you made me think of? Jezabel. Which is kinda bad because I know that means like... hooker or something like that, but I thought of that when you said Isabel Locke. There's a vampire character in an RPG I'm a part of named Jezabel Locke. Locke being her last name.

I went to school with a girl... Last name Raines. First name Autumn.

Autumn Rain(es) *vomit*

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

The Egyptian Goddess is precisely why I love the name Isis.

[ladydiddymus.livejournal.com]

I would definitely have to vote "nay" on naming a child Payne (Pain?) or Demona (Demon?). I think Naomi Locke is cute though :)

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

"Pain" and "Demon" are the point. And they're certainly better than, for instance, Moon-Unit. LOL! Though actually, I'm sure my man would agree with you. That's just the list of what I like, minus his input.

[fairyfetus.livejournal.com]

You replied to my comment on your initial entry, asking whether I considered 'Edge' a name I could actually give a child. I do love that name. It never occured to me until you posted it, of course, but it's fantastic. The only drawback is a possible association with 'straight-edge' but that was only after my boyfriend pointed it out. Personally, I associate it with a strong-willed attitude. I'm not sure I would give it as a first name but I would at least add it as a middle name to give my child the option of using it as a nickname if they see it fit.

[boundsilences.livejournal.com]

is that alexis on your icon?? :)

there are plenty of names you could use that have a dark meaning.. go to some kind of translation website and check out the other languages for some of your most loved dark words :P and post em here if you do!

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

But what's the point in getting something that has a dark meaning when most people won't know what it means? That's a cop out. Unlike most people, I do have the guts to name a child Demona.

And no. Her name is Ashley. She's a professional wrestler.

[fairyfetus.livejournal.com]

Oh, and addressing this question!
Willow, Rayne, Lilith, and Demona are wonderful.
Rayne sounds good as a middle name for the others. Willow Rayne, Demona Rayne, etc. Even Naomi Rayne sounds nice.
I don't suggest Payne because of the obvious connotation, or Lavieve, but that's just because I don't dig names starting with La. ;)
Locke also sounds quite masculine, but that's just my opinion. It's not bad for a middle name like you're thinking.

[cathblue7.livejournal.com]

Willow and Elizabeth! ;)

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

Jezabel is a great name :D not to mention, it would be a combo between Isabel and my name (Jessica :P) heheh
Jade also means sort of hooker, other than old horse, but it hasn't kept people from using it :P actually, I totally would! Jade Evangelina is one of my fave combos.

[crzydimond.livejournal.com]

I really really love the name Rayne.
I've always spelt it Raine or Rain though.
Rayne is lovely!
And if you don't like the girliness of some girls names you could always choose some boys names for a girl!
I've always loved Cameron, Riley, Bailey, Marley or Charlie for a girl OR boy.
I honestly though of a window pane [as in glass] when i saw the name Payne before i thought of 'pain' lol.

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

Jade is a precious stone from the Orient that comes in green, white, and pink. I'm wearing a necklace of it right now actually. That's probably what most people think of when they hear that name, because I didn't even know the other two definitions. In fact I looked it up because I was curious. Dictionary.com said a "worn out horse" and an "ill-tempered woman." So at least it's not a hooker... just a bitch! LOL!

I think Jezabel is going on my list of potentials. >D

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

See that's my problem though, is that I hate girly names, but I also hate giving a girl a masculine name. It's a conundrum, and it actually stems from my own name Devlin. All my life everyone always thought that I had a boy's name, because of Devin and Devon and all those variations that were distinctly male when I was growing up. Now that 25 some years have passed it's more acceptable, but I will never forget how much I was teased for having a boy's name. I mean come on, what little girl deserves to be called a lesbian (and much worse connotations) at the age of SEVEN?! I didn't even know what a lesbian was, but when I found out... boy did that hurt.

You did say to be honest, even if that meant negative...

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

Please keep in mind: I'm a little weird. But, pray tell, do you know anybody who's NOT a little weird?



Ember - Nice, but if you'd rather not use it, why pick it out of the millions of names in the world? Next.

Heaven - Ammunition for the Childfree communities.

Bella - Pretty, but "Isabella" is hugely popular, and do you reeeally think those bazillions of mommas are going to use all four syllables every time they're calling their girl back from the swings?

Willow - Nice. Easily spelled, easily pronounced. Better pray she stays slim, because a voluptuous Willow causes snickers whereas a voluptuous woman with a different name could inspire respect. Remember Baby's gonna grow up.

Luna - Pray the HP fandom dies down soon. Positive: it probably will. Also, no C-starting middle name, please...

Locke - Unexpected. Meaningful. People won't know she's a girl by reading the role, but that's a name to grow into, in a good way. Strong, probably. Childhood teasing might give way to a really stately adulthood.

Lavieve - Trying too hard to be exotique and artistique. Probably shops at Tar-zhay (Target).

Desiree - Really nice with a one-syllabled middle name. Good meaning, not too trendy; not too sparkly, either, though.

Rayne - nice as a middle name if you like rain. Context is everything. But as a first name, it's a little too "my parents were hippies a few decades lat, and they had to make the name UNIQUE!1 by spelling it like this, 'cause they were closeted about liking rain." If you want to name your kid after some random noun (I'm all for that, by the way: Blue! Wednesday! Toenail Clippers? You got it!), at least be up front about your intentions.

Payne - Tee hee! No. Trust me. No.

Lilith - Nice! Dark and pretty, inside and out. Lily's kind of trendificating, though, so you better trust yourself not to succumb to babytalk. "Lily's hungwy? Oh, yesh she is!" I can see it now.

Isis - Awkward for the first two years, for the reverse reason of Lilith. No solid, intuitive nickname (sure, people may come up with some — at a stretch!). Smooth sailing once girly gets to be 5 or 6 or so.

Demona - No beef with the darkitude, only with the fact that people will mispronounce it. De-MOE-na? DEE-mun-a? Don't answer. The point is that you could tell me which it is, but you'd have to do so. Over and over and over. And so would little Demona.

Elizabeth - Fine. Double plus good if she's a redhead. Otherwise not exactly a standout, but maybe that gives the girl herself room to shine above her name. Hope she's not boring. Ouch.

Naomi - Nice. Wonder, though, if it's not one of those names that'll all of a sudden in 3.4 years be THE MUST-HAVE. Especially since it's biblical and ends in an I. "Oooh, nifty!"

Ruby - Beautiful, fun name. Pity it's getting popular. It was my secret! Of course, you could name her Rhubarb and then call her Ruby for short... I'm kidding. ... but not really. Maybe.

Maria - Easy to pronounce in dozens and dozens of languages. This could, in fact, be a significantly good thing. Surprisingly underrated for being so high on the actual, statistical charts.

Carol/Carole - Carole will always have her name misspelled. Carol will cringe when people with nasal accents say her name. Somehow, the combination of sounds really exacerbates nasty accents. But pretty, phonetic, and will be suitably grown-up for, well, a grown-up.

Deborah - Beautiful name. She WILL get called Debbie, whether you/she wish it or not. Hope you like "Debbie".

Unleash the Snark.... eeek. I'll be nice after this. Promise.

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

Jezebel is grounded and zesty at the same time. Cool.

Jezabel is chat-room society going for zesty without Googling historical spelling, 'cause it sounded pretty, right?

Re: You did say to be honest, even if that meant negative...

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

Ember - Because the list was a list of names that I like, not necessarily names I'm going to use.

Heaven - So what's a "Childfree community?"

Bella - I don't care about all the other mothers out there or what they call their kids.

Willow - Most adults are not as immature as children. They don't laugh at overweight people. I would know, I am one. And that sort of stupidity stopped by the time I got to high school.

Luna - I don't read/watch HP. I'm guessing that means there's a character in there named Luna? My aunt is named Luna, which is where I got it from.

Locke - Why would anyone tease a child over the name Locke? It's just a simple name. Pronounced "lock."

Lavieve - Not exotic or artistic at all. It's French and extremely old. I found it back when I was in my early teens, in a family cookbook that belonged to a friend. It had been the name of her great-great-great grandmother. I liked it and it's stuck.

Desiree - Well, at least you were nice on ONE.

Rayne - I think the fact that it's pronounced exactly like "rain" is upfront enough. Besides, doesn't my choice of DEMONA prove I'm not afraid to name a child something odd?

Payne - There are plenty of boys and girls out there named Payne. So obviously, yes. Trust me. Yes.

Lilith - Lily isn't a bad nickname. I always think of nicknames when choosing names, like when I chose Jericho for a boy. He'd be called Jerry/Jeri/whatever, and I can live with that.

Isis - Not every person in the world needs a nickname.

Demona - In this day and age, even a little girl with the name Jane would have to correct someone. Because you know some moron out there will pronounce it "jah-nay." LOL! She'll get over it, and if having to pronounce her name to people is the worst problem she ever has in life, that makes me happy.

Elizabeth - I don't find this name boring at all. Since you're so obsessed with nicknames, look at how many you can get from this one. Eliza, Liz, Liza, Lizzie, El, Ellie, Beth, Bethie, Bet... It goes on and on.

Naomi - No one can predict the future. Maybe Demona is the next big thing? Who knows! That's an unavoidable risk with any name.

Ruby - *eye roll* Now you're just trying too hard to be a jerk.

Maria - There's two that you were nice about.

Carol - I don't even know what to say to that. That's a stupid reason not to use it.

Deborah - Can't be any worse than getting called "Devi." *shrug*

Re: Unleash the Snark.... eeek. I'll be nice after this. Promise.

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

*rolls eyes* Whatever.

Re: You did say to be honest, even if that meant negative...

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

Wow. You really do hate me, and I was just being honest, exactly as you requested.

I DO LIKE SOME OF THE NAMES, but apparently our wires got crossed somewhere. Every name is a mixed bag, just that some are weighted more towards some positives, others toward some negatives — and the scales are CONSTANTLY changing. Isn't it better to address those issues?

Deeeeep breaths, mother-to-be. If your list were full of Bailey/Kailey/Riley/Raylee/Kaylin/Jaylin/Caden, I wouldn't even have responded for laughing.

But the fact is, you're going to have to narrow down your choices, and you threw out a blanket "What does the world think of about these?!"

And the world responded. Feel free to ignore any of it. It might make you and your hypothetical child stronger. Awesome! I am not being sarcastic.

Since you seem convinced that by being one of the few respondents to admit the negatives, I ONLY see negatives, let me illuminate for you the names I Really Like, in Simple Terms, okay?

Locke
Willow
Desiree
Lilith
Isis
Naomi
Ruby
Maria
Carol
Deborah

That's MOST of them. But why not be open to thinking about ALL the consequences of your naming decisions? In the end, it can only make you more confident that you've made the right choice.

And I think Devlin is a wonderful name.

-Love, somebody whose initials are TV (yup! without a middle name)

Re: You did say to be honest, even if that meant negative...

[the-archangel.livejournal.com]

When you come up to someone and say nothing but negative things to them, that person will believe that negative opinions are all you have on the topic. Because human beings are not psychics (despite what some may claim) we have to speak everything in order to get our points across. Perhaps if you had added positive into your otherwise 95% negative post, I would've seen it as such.

Furthermore, I never said I hated you or your post. That's called putting words in someone's mouth and it's rude. And to add to that, I never once said I didn't want negative feedback. I asked for it and you gave it to me. Why should I ignore it just because it's negative? I wanted the feedback. The problem is that most of your feedback simply didn't apply, for whatever various reasons, which is what I was explaining to you when I responded.

Thank you for the compliment.

Re: You did say to be honest, even if that meant negative...

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

I think it's just that our communication styles made like ships passing in a harbor. When I said "I think Locke can become very stately," I MEANT it. It's probably my favorite on the list.

And this trend can be applied aaaaall the way down. I could address your responses to my responses, but then we'd be here all day.


If you don't believe me when I say I might have an exceedingly dry sense of humor, but I wasn't making FUN of you, know that if I ever have twin girls, I SERIOUSLY AM naming them Rhubarb and Rosemary (and calling them Ruby and Rosie, or whatever else they pick when they're old enough, including full name).

For any intended slight, I apologize. I was never once "trying" to be a jerk.


Good luck with the family.

[sonneta.livejournal.com]

I like Bella, Willo, Lilith, Elizabeth (my name), and Ruby.

Naomi is a nice name, but it's also my grandma's name, so I guess I think of it as old-fashioned.

Luna- like someone else said, at least right now, you'd get the HP fen.

Locke sounds masculine to me. But it works as a middle name.

[crzydimond.livejournal.com]

ouch, yeh that is a good point.

[krosp.livejournal.com]

I know a Lilias pronounced the same. She's a very old lady

[toppled.livejournal.com]

I actually really like Luna, and as a pretty hardcore Harry Potter fan, I really don't think it'd be that big of a deal. (The HP character's name in the books is Luna Lovegood, in case you were curious, since you said you didn't read the books)

Locke is also really cool.

I personally do not like Naomi, but I will admit that it is because my current boyfriend's crazy ex is named Naomi, so she has pretty much ruined that one for me. Everyone else seems to think it is fabulous, though—and so do you, I am judging by the ♥—so I don't think one random negative will really mean much of anything. :P