first and middle name help

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

I am torn on what order I like this name:

Carmen Nicole 

or 

Nicole Carmen 

Reasonings..... 
My son is Dominic Elías We wanted to give him an "American" name and a "Mexican" name, to reflect his heritage. My husband likes the sound of Carmen Nicole better, but I kind of want to keep the pattern American name, Mexican name. I also secretly like that both names have "nic" in them, though that isn't really a deciding factor. 
Nicole is his name choice and Carmen is mine. The interesting thing is that in general, Mexicans love the name Nicole and don't like Carmen. Americans seem to prefer Carmen more.. I think perhaps it's because the "other" name sounds more exotic?
The other issue is that my MIL is Carmen. I like her, but I am not in it for the namesake at all. 
Also, I am not in love with the name Nicole, but I like the nickname Nikki, though I am peeved at my spouse because he said we can't call her that because he had a dog named Nikki. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRR! Who names their dog Nikki? 
Though I like Nicole because I had a dream that she wanted to have a "k" sound in the middle of her name. I scoured the internet for names, might've even asked here, but never saw one I liked. It's meaningful that this would be her daddy's #1 choice. And I am ok with it, (though I might secretly call her Nikki anyway!)

Thoughts? 

Comments

[stacyinthecity.livejournal.com]

I think that if your husband has a thing about Nikki, he might need to reconsider Nicole! He can't control what the baby will want to call herself when she is grown or what other people will shorten her name to.

I like the name Carmen a lot - that is my exMIL's name and also a friend from when I was a kid. But I totally get not wanting it to be an obvious named after MIL either. But also, I think Carmen Nicole just flows better....

[ma-ee-uh.livejournal.com]

Do you have a third choice? Because it sounds right now like a choice between two things you don't want (#1 naming after your MIL, and #2 a very likely nickname of Nikki).

[ahavah]

I can't decide which sounds better, tbh. First I thought Nicole Carmen did, but after saying it aloud a few times, Carmen Nicole flows pretty well too. I *do* think it's silly to expect that a kid named Nicole will never be called Nic or Nikki. It's very likely going to happen whether dad likes it or not, so if he feels that strongly about not liking the nickname, then he should definitely consider a different name.

Other 'k'-sound-in-the-middle names could be: Sky/e, Skylar, Alexsandra, Alexis, Alexia, Annika, Victoria (Vicki? I have an aunt Vicki), Octavia, Oksana, Rebecca, Danica/Danika, Dominique (okay, that's more at the end really, but Minka is a cute nn with a k sound in the middle), Makayla, Heike, Lucretia/Lucrezia, Lucrecia, Ivanka. Probably a whole lot more from other languages & cultures that I'm not as familiar with.

Hope you guys find something you can definitely agree on! That was a big problem with me & my husband. (As an aside, I'm half Mexican and never really cared for the name Carmen either. Wonder why Mexicans dislike it. Overuse, maybe? I've known several Carmens. I thought Mexicans loved the name. lol)

[gf-girlie.livejournal.com]

I like Carmen Nicole better but I think you should start over.

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

We both agree on the name Hannia.. which is an Arabic cross-over in Mexican culture name (though still a bit uncommon). It means "place of tranquility". But I am not sure she is a "Hannia". And worry about prononuciation and spelling issues.

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

Why? Bc of the nuances of the name or the name?

[ma-ee-uh.livejournal.com]

Pronounced HAH-nee-uh?

[gf-girlie.livejournal.com]

Because your husband doesn't like the nickname and you don't want to name after your MIL? Instead of trying to change either of the minds, why don't you just find something else you both like?

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

lol! I like "Minka" but then I would have a Dominic and a Dominque! I don't think the MIL issue and the Nikki nickname are deal breakers though. While Americans I think my be prone to the nn Nikki, I don't think Mexicans will (& I base that hunch off of living here in Mexico).

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

I agree too. It does flow better...

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

yes!

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

Ok! I don't think they are deal breakers for me, I'll ask my husband if it is for him.

[ahavah]

Oh, ha & whoops! I got on a brainstorming roll and didn't glance back up to consider that. *facepalm* Minka as its own name is pretty cute too... Well, hope you guys find something you both love!

[ma-ee-uh.livejournal.com]

Not hard to pronounce! Pretty name, too. :)

[ahavah]

I've never heard of Hannia before, but I love it!

[stacyinthecity.livejournal.com]

I like it! I have a Mexican friend named Rigel which is another Arabic name.

[smallandneedy.livejournal.com]

Carmen Nicole flows better so I'd use that.

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

Sorry, but this is going to be a negative comment on the name. :\

Carmen Nicole flows way better than Nicole Carmen, in my opinion. I don't like the --cole Car-- part. That said, I really don't care for either name, and I hate the nickname Nikki. I also don't care Dominic and Nicole as a sibset because they both conain "nic." Besides, what if a third baby comes along? Would you have to find another "nic" name or would that child be left out of the theme?

I also find it slightly odd to use the name of someone so closely tied to your family but not want it to be considered a namesake. I kind of have to agree with the poster who suggested you start over. I mean, you said yourself that you don't love the name Nicole, and you only said you like the nickname, but you may not even be able to use the nickname. I don't know. I just feel like both parties should love the name. (But I don't have any kids of my own so I haven't had to go through the naming process and the compromises.)

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

Nicole seems extremely dated to me, but it's a perfectly nice name. I prefer Carmen Nicole, and I'm American--so I'm falling into the pattern you're saying.

I would honestly go back to the drawing board if you are both so torn about names. I wouldn't chose a name that my husband hated the nn's. I loved Theodore and my husband liked it ok, but he hated Ted and Teddy and that's what I'd use most of the time.

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

The --cole Car-- makes much more sense now that you put it that way! I was like "Why does this not flow right?!?!" But then I just said Carmen Nicole and the --en Ni--- is kind of hard to say, too.

And I think you also hit the nail on the head about honoring family members, but not REALLY honoring them... that would just be strange for my family.

The DH and I haven't had kids, but we have names picked out, and I needed both of us to be like "YES!" on the first name. No "I guess... I'll just give in." It takes awhile, though! The middle names I'm a little more lenient on.

[unboundvoice.livejournal.com]

Hannia is for sure my favorite choice over Nicole and Carmen. If you do not use Hannia, Carmen Nicole flows much better.

[so-there.livejournal.com]

I prefer Carmen to Nicole but I also think you should start over if you really don't want to use a namesake.

[madeyemads.livejournal.com]

I prefer Carmen Nicole. I don't particularly like the name Nicole, Carmen is better though it doesn't scream 'little girl' to me. Good luck!!!

[politicking.livejournal.com]

I like the flow of Carmen Nicole more than the flow of Nicole Carmen.

[blueorange94.livejournal.com]

Have you considered Nicola? Nicola Carmen has a nice ring to it. I know that depending on the spelling it might be masculine (Nikola Tesla, for one), but there are women with that spelling. It's pronounced NIC-oh-la. :)

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the idea.. I'll mull it over. Funny thing is, once I had seen the name Nikola I almost and kinda wished I had named my son that!

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

yes, that is how I feel about the name too, but in Latin culture it is the opposite! And the same goes for Carmen vice versa.

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

Thanks to you both, and everyone, for the input. The nice thing about your "negative" input is that I slept on it, considered Hannia and then also considered Scarlett, but I really just keep coming back to Carmen and Nicole. It just feeeeels right, like it's her name and what she wants and for me, that trumps everything else. Maybe that's just crazy talk though!

[qtshorty1625.livejournal.com]

I had to laugh when you asked who names their dog Nikki, because my uncle had a dog named Nicky growing up :).

[earn-my-wings.livejournal.com]

I much prefer Carmen Nicole to Nicole Carmen because I think it flows much better. However, I do think it would be weird to name her Carmen if you don't want it to be a namesake thing because that will always be how it appears. Also, I can't imagine it would make the MIL feel too great if you told her "her name is Carmen, but not because of you."

I saw your comment about Hannia and I think it's adorable! Have you considered having two middles if you really love the names that much? Like Hannia Carmen Nicole?

[cremepuff.livejournal.com]

I'm probably a broken record, but Carmen Nicole flows much better.

[alyssa22.livejournal.com]

I don't see the difference either way. Dominic, to me, isn't an 'American' name. In Australia, Dominic is a name that's used by Italians, mostly. So it's an ethnic name.

[alyssa22.livejournal.com]

Agree. Nicola is much better. And in English speaking countries, it's a girl's name. Pretty much pronounced Nickel-uh.

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

I think it's about what you can see yourself calling her for her life. Middle names are rarely used, except for the few people in life who go by their middle name. So I think you should call her what it is you actually want to call her.

Me, I like both, but even though I like the way "Carmen Nicole" sounds better, I think I like the name Nicole better than Carmen. So I would name her Nicole Carmen, and let her first name be Nicole. And if she's a Nikki, she'll be a Nikki despite the dog.