(no subject)

[arbus.livejournal.com]

the husband and i have been tossing around our love of the name josie.

its our absolute number one girls name now. we both absolutely ADORE it. however, we cannot decide if we would like to just name our first girl josie, or something longer. i am normally all for that, and he feels that way too. i dont know, i am just feeling a bit off about it i guess because i am not particularly in love with any of the longer versions.

i do LOVE LOVE LOVE josephine, however middle name will be colleen. so obviously thats an issue.

i hate the name jocelyn.

recently, he brought up josette. i like josette. i have already agreed to josette. the husband loves it, and cosette was actually always on our list, so i already liked a name very similar. however, i am NOT in love with it.

kind of rambling (sorry) but has anyone here named their child a name they werent in love with, because they loved the nickname? did you grow to love it? or will i regret it enormously?

ETA: for those wondering, its not made up

Comments

[holidaylights.livejournal.com]

I don't have any kids, but have you considered Josephina?

[sugar-aplomb.livejournal.com]

I know this wasn't your question, but what about Josanna (or a variant)?

I think Josie can stand alone and be carried from infancy through adulthood, but Josette is pretty, and may grow on you. Best wishes, whatever you choose.

[solitudete.livejournal.com]

Josepha?

[lustdumpster.livejournal.com]

eh i'd just use josie. reasoning being that it's one of those -ie names that can stand alone, whereas josette is sort of uncommon (i think, anyway. i've never heard it before your post) so if i saw it on a business card, my attention would still focus like "josette? that's new."

[celestinenox]

I've always been the type of person to say if you're going to call your child something, you might as well just legally name them that. It can be very confusing for a child to grow up being called one thing, and then suddenly be taught to spell something else when they're old enough to learn to spell their name and write it. Or, worse, they're taught to spell a shortened version, then when they grow up and have to sign legal documents, they're technically committing fraud by not signing their full name, because they were never taught to. I actually ran into a kid in my job last week who was literally unable to spell his full name, Christopher.

I dunno. Beyond the legal issues, it's just never name much sense to me to name your child something when you fully intend to call them something else.

[penguiny7.livejournal.com]

I kind of had this problem. I loved Ben and while I liked Benjamin, I didn't love it. But we named our son Benjamin anyway and it's perfect for him and I'd never change it.

I think Josie is much too cutesy and insubstantial to be a name on its own. Is it possible to add a second middle name to throw off the rhyminess of Josephine Colleen? That's what I'd do if I were in your shoes.

Otherwise, some more ideas:
Josephina, Josepha, Josiane, and maybe Jocasta or Joyce? I think Josephina is a good option. It's almost the same as Josephine, but gets rid of the rhyming problem.

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

I'm not normally a proponent of nicknames as full names, but in this case I think it might be your best option. Josie stands on its own pretty well, and she'll think of Josie as her "real" name anyway, probably.

On the other hand, instead of Josephine Colleen, what about Josephine Colette?

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

I think Josie can stand well enough on its own, but I think Josette Colleen would work nicely if you're dead set on not using it alone.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

I've heard Colleen pronounced as COLL-een not Coll-EEN, so maybe that way it wouldn't rhyme as much?
I'm personally a big fan of Josephine, but not Colleen.
Josephina Colleen is a really nice suggestion and I second it.

Josette is really awkward and if you're not even totally sold on it, I woulnd't advise it.

[loanwords.livejournal.com]

I agree with an above poster about Josepha. Or maybe even Josephina. The added a makes it less eeeeeeeeeeeeeee sounding with the middle name.

[winninghearts.livejournal.com]

Honestly, if you really love Josephine, I think naming your baby Josephine Colleen is not the worst thing in the world. I don't think it sounds too bad, actually. And she won't go by her firstnamemiddlename, so I think you should go with the first name you like best.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

How about adding another middle name in there? So instead of just Josephine Colleen, it could be something like Josephine Mary Colleen LastName. It's kind of a lot of name, but it wouldn't rhyme so much.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

that is something to consider, thanks. at first sight, i am not a fan, but i will keep it in mind.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

i feel like it can stand alone too, but my husband doesnt. how is josanna pronounced?

[arbus.livejournal.com]

i hadnt thought of that one, thanks.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

ive heard it before, though im not sure where, it just doesnt seem made up to me, i mean like something we made up. im pretty sure ive seen it before, maybe just in baby books.

i am a fan of just using josie as well.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

i am a big nicknamer, so its bound to be the case. i doubt i would ever call her josette.

[hwar.livejournal.com]

I also think Josie is fine on its own. However, Josette is actually really cute and unique. I like it a lot. Also has additional nickname potential with Etta, if she grew up and didn't like Josie.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

i am glad to hear that it worked out for you and it gives me hope! :)

i thought about the possibility of adding a second middle, but colleen is my mother, who died five years ago, and i would rather leave it by itself, if that makes sense.

how would josiane be pronounced? like josie-anne?

thanks for the suggestions!

[arbus.livejournal.com]

thanks for the input. i think i feel the same way about josie being one of those names thats able to stand on its own.

colleen is a non-negotiable. its the name of my mother, who died five years ago. thanks for the suggestion though. :)

[arbus.livejournal.com]

thank you! :)

[arbus.livejournal.com]

like i said above, colleen is a non-negotiable. its my mothers name, who died five years ago. also, i love the name, i find it really pretty and uncommon (unlike similar names catherine / kathleen)

josephina i think is a little too frilly for me, but i am putting it on the to-consider list.

just curious why you find josette awkward?

thanks for the suggestions! :)

[arbus.livejournal.com]

thank you! :) i think i was probably secretly hoping someone would say this. i keep repeating "josephine colleen" in my head and thinking "ok its really not THAT bad" the husband isnt sold, however. we will have to wait and see what happens, but thanks for that vote of confidence! :)

[arbus.livejournal.com]

ooooooh i had not even thought of the possibility of etta! that just makes it a bit more meaningful since our wedding first dance was to 'at last' by etta james :)

(not that we would call her that, but it would be nice for her to have another option, and it helps that its an option that i quite like!)

glad you like josette too. thank you!

this was really helpful! :)

[winninghearts.livejournal.com]

I think especially when you put the last name on there it won't sound bad. It's one thing to give a baby a first name and last name that kind of rhyme, but first and middle aren't too bad at all.