[la di dah]

What names do you like, that have a real history to them, that you think people will think "Right, that's made up/mispelled" but, in fact, aren't?

Anyway, this is not a thread for hurf durfing about other languages being stupid, but for names you like but may or may not be too sensitive to public opinion/pronunciation to use. Or you would/did use them! If you did, tell us how you've gone.

Here's some that sprang to my mind as ones I like. Possibly not Australia-friendly. Or maybe I'm wrong. You can tell me what you think of mine or just post your own. Be a nice person and put genders with them so people who aren't used to them can sort them out.

Girls
Ekaterina
Saoirse
Niamh
Katya
Zelda
Tamar
Keziah
Aoife

Boys
Kemuel
Hanan
Nehemyah
Eoin
Tzvi/Zvi
Naphtali
Jabez

I know not all of these would be very easy to use in Australia. And there's a mix of languages here. My DH got me into the Gaelic names, he really loves Aoife and Eoin for example. The Biblical ones are mine.

[Franny Glass]

I love the name Laetitia but I don't think it's that "useable" - people tend to assume either a) it comes from the Shaquisha/Neveah family of made-up names, or b) it's a stripper's name.

My thoughts on yours:

Girls
Ekaterina - Lovely and I know it's not made-up I do prefer Katerina though and think it's far more "useable" in Aus
Saoirse - NMS, but fine and perfectly useable.
Niamh - I quite like it. Pretty. And very useable in Aus, I know 2 Niamhs and 1 Neve.
Katya - Love love love! Though I personally prefer the Katia spelling, not sure why.
Zelda - I quite like it. I think of Zelda Fitzgerald, but I know the video game makes it a bit tricky to use...
Tamar - Dislike
Keziah - Ok
Aoife - Sorry I really dislike this one. Looks awful, and doesn't sound much better IMO. Eva is so much nicer.

FWIW I don't think any of your girls names look or sound made-up...

Boys
Kemuel - I'm not familiar with it, but would assume that's my ignorance as it doesn't look/sound made-up.
Hanan - Ditto
Nehemyah- Ditto
Eoin- NMS, but very useable.
Tzvi/Zvi - Probably the only name on your list which I might jump to conclusions and think was made-up before I looked into it.
Naphtali - Not familiar with it, but would not assume it was made-up.
Jabez - I don't like it, but it's fairly useable I think

[kerilyntaryn]

my daughter has a Eilidh in her class - very pretty name

boys names

Micaiah
Matthias
Matteo
Nehemiah
Lemuel
Brennan
Caedmon
Cael
Kinsley
McKinsley
Larkin
Merritt


girls

Mercedes
Sorcha
Laken
Tirzah
Keturah
Azaria
Mali
Avonlea
Brenna
Caoimhe
Delphine
Delma
Edina
Caoilfhinn
Kalani

[Ianthe]

Girls
Saoirse
Niamh
Keziah
Aoife

I think we should get married and have four daughters Although Keziah would be the odd one out. I adore all four of those names.

[NotBitzerMaloney]

Pretty sure we're about to do exactly that for #2.

We want another biblical/Hebrew name similar to our eldest, but the one we *think* we have decided on will probably get a "what the?!?" response from all but the most religious (similar in style to Zvi)

Far better to be thought a fundamentalist than a maker-uperer of names! I'm still umm-ing and aah-ing about it...

[la di dah]

I think we should get married and have four daughters Although Keziah would be the odd one out. I adore all four of those names.

haha awesome!

Your SN reminds me: my sister thinks I made up Iolantha just to be difficult. I like it though.

kerilyntaryn: I love a lot of yours. Micaiah is great. I like Nehemiah too but I like the spelling/pronunciation Nehemyah (same name, actually) more. I would have moved Azaria over to the boy's side, though.

Laetitia, stripper? No way. I love Laetitia, but my husband vetoed it in favour of the pretty much just as weird Liora/Leora. We haven't chosen a preferred spelling yet for that one.

[NotBitzerMaloney]

I love Liora / Leora and Keziah, but DH says no. Along with no to:
English Kings & Queens (since revised to include minor royalty) - excluding half my family names
No New Testament names - fair enough, but excludes another quarter of the names from my family
His relatives names - I know it's a cultural thing, but any living person who appears anywhere on the family tree? Second cousin twice removed who lives o/s and who you have never met is a bit different to first cousin, surely?

[kerilyntaryn]

Pretty sure we're about to do exactly that for #2.

We want another biblical/Hebrew name similar to our eldest, but the one we *think* we have decided on will probably get a "what the?!?" response from all but the most religious (similar in style to Zvi)

Far better to be thought a fundamentalist than a maker-uperer of names! I'm still umm-ing and aah-ing about it...

cool - what name are you thinking

[la di dah]

I love Liora / Leora and Keziah, but DH says no. Along with no to:
English Kings & Queens (since revised to include minor royalty) - excluding half my family names
No New Testament names - fair enough, but excludes another quarter of the names from my family
His relatives names - I know it's a cultural thing, but any living person who appears anywhere on the family tree? Second cousin twice removed who lives o/s and who you have never met is a bit different to first cousin, surely?

I have the same name as a 3rd cousin. Spelled differently, actually, but that wasn't intentional, that's my mom's inability to spell.

I just won't name AFTER living relatives. No honouring my siblings or my parents or live aunts/uncles/cousins. But I've got a 1st cousin Rachel (Is there a Jewish person who DOESN'T have a cousin Rachel...) and my not-related-to-her grandmother has since died, and that grandmother was a Rahel and I'm honouring that grandmother with any damn R name I please, and if I liked Rachel I would use that, for my grandmother who's Hebrew name was Rahel Liba. It's just not for my cousin Rachel Miriam, because that'd be weird.

I dunno if that makes sense to you but it makes sense to me.

(I'm probably gonna use Raquela or Rae or something anyway)

Sorry for the sideline. But if your husband wants to stay away from the family names, New Testament would probably be a good start...

[la di dah]

Ekaterina - don't know but Katerina itself is lovely. Is this the internet version?
Saoirse - not made up Celtic I think
Niamh - "Neeve" not made up - definitely Celtic
Katya - Cart-ya - Russian or European of some sort
Zelda - There's a whole freakin series of computer games.. totally not made up. Dude.
Tamar - Can't be made up. There's yoghurt named this
Kezia - no idea but if there's a theme here I'd say it's real
Aoife- Eeffa - celtic name. Also used by bogans in place of the word "either" althoug more likely to be said "eeva"

Boys
Kemuel - Sounds like a bogan inbreeding of Samuel
Hanan - Sounds Hebrew!
Nehemyah - See above!
Eoin - Celtic version of Ian
Tzvi/Zvi - I know Zwi is Scandanavian so I'll go with European
Naphtali - sound middle eastern/hebrew
Jabez - see above. First Testament material.

These made me laugh unreasonably hard. Thanks for playing along, fertile woman. "a whole freakin series of computer games..."

Yeah, my DH got me onto the Gaelic names, he's Irish-descended Aussie. I think they're the ones that actually play best out here.