Hi everyone,
You all were so helpful several weeks back as my husband and I began looking for a name for our second daughter...Here's a reminder. My first daughter is Linley and I really wanted Eleanor for this one...hubby hated it...
So, we've decided on Alice for a first name.
Now, we're stuck on a middle name.
Originally, she was Alice Josephine (after my grandmother), but my husband is of hispanic background and we decided that we wanted a spanish middle name to honor that (I still LOVE Josephine) and we don't like the spanish equivalent of Josephina (Josefina).
So, we've come down to 3 names.
Alice Joanna
Alice Anais (pronounced ana-EES)
Alice Ainhoa or Ainoa (pronounced eye-NO-ah)
My husband loves Alice Ainoa, but I'm not quite convinced...maybe it's all the a's our last name starts with an E and has 2 a's near the end.
I much prefer Joanna and Anais (I don't mind the double A so much since Anais ends in an 's'), but now my husband is in love with Ainoa...what do you all think of these names?
He suggested Ainoa Josephine...which I like, but then it sounds like "I know a Josephine" and I don't want the poor thing to be teased.
Any help or other spanish name suggestions would be great...unless it's a really unique name trust me we've thought of it! I've been through name lists hundreds of times!
Thanks everyone! You always give such great suggestions!
Hi All. Thank you for your suggestions and advice...it's nice to have a place to do this! So, I put my foot down on Ainhoa. I think it's a beautiful name, but just can't use it . So, I told him it's a no and he's moved on. And after all of that we've come up with a completely different name. It's one that we looked at before but left it as it wasn't very unique and didn't have any special meaning to us (and it's not Spanish, though is used in Honduras, where he's from)...Barring any other mind changing our little girl will be Alice Nicole Estrada
As a side note...Alice Josephine is still in my mind, but I think Alice Nicole looks and sounds beautiful as well and will be happy with it :)
I like Joanna. I really don't like the double first and middle names-either. Now that you mention it, the pronunciation of Ainoa- it should probably be eliminated all together because 'I know a' will always be something people will thing of when hearing her name.
Sofia' is pretty as a middle name.
Have you consider calling her Alise or Alicia- which is the are Spanish form of Alice and keeping Josephine?
I have a Josephine (first name), but we've called her Josie since birth. Could your husband live with 'Josie'? Or even spelled Josey, as in the Clint Eastwood movie 'The outlaw Josey Wales'. :)
I'm with you on the Ainoa name & teasing thing. Kids can be mean. While the name itself is unique, the pronunciation of it is so close to "I know a...", so no matter what middle name you choose, she'd probably still get teased.
As for the name Alice, almost any middle name will do...it's such an easy, simple name. I don't have too many suggestions for spanish names though. Sorry! What about Alice Jocelyn? Or Alice Rilyn? I do like your original pick of Alice Anais. Lol...i don't think i'm being as helpful as i intended to be! :) It can be confusing. Sometimes, the best thing to do is wait until she's born...then when you finally get to meet her & lay your eyes upon her, her name will just come to you. That's what happened with my first born, Miranda. We couldn't decide on a name, didn't even have one remotely picked out...but as soon as she was placed in my arms & i looked at her face, "Miranda" popped into my head. And so she was Miranda. Hey, now that i think of it, that's a spanish name! Carmen Miranda. :) Feel free to use it! Lol. Good luck!
I like Alicia Anais!
Alice sounds really pretty in spanish by the way....Also
Analia,
Ariela,
Camelia (type of flower)
Julia(english & spanish although the names rhyme in spanish)
Loreley,
Marcela,
Xochtil pronouced sort of like sochil I think it's aztec for flower
Good luck!! You have to let us know what happens!
Aida (eye-eedah)?
Adriana?
Alejandra?
Carina?
Mariana?
I wouldn't worry too much about the two names together, because you'll probably rarely say them together....we worried about that for a long time, and we hardly ever even use our children's middle names, so I don't think teasing would be an issue, or anything like that. I'd go with Ainoa (first or middle) if you like it enough, if only because you say your husband is "in love" with it. But be sure you pick two names you like, so if, for some reason, you change your mind later on, you can always call her by her middle name instead of her first (I know a few people who have done this!). Good luck!!
I personally like the idea of giving a full name (Alison or Alisia) instead of a shorten one (Alice).... That way, she can always choose to use the longer version if she prefers it.
In Spanish, isn't the letter J pronounced like a H? Would you be pronouncing it the German/european way (with a J sound)? If you intend it with a J sound, then its really not honoring her Spanish roots... right?
Anais is a very popular name in France. However, even though most tend to think of it as a French name, Wikipedia says it is Persian: a name derived from the Persian goddess of love, Anahita. Of your three choices, I like this the best.
Ainoa is a type of fungus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainoa
Below are a few Spanish names that seem to compliment Alice/Alison/Alisia:
Alegria
Amaya
Brise or Brisa
Criselda
Alice Joanna is very pretty
Hi there! I know names are so tough to agree on....No offense but I think the name Ainoa sounds awful for the reason you listed. Plus most people won't know how to pronounce it or spell it. I see nothing wrong with Alice Josephine. What a nice tribute to your Grandmother. What are some of his family names that are of Spanish origin? Would any of those be compatible with the name Alice? Also, Alice Joanna is nice. I agree with you that you don't want your child to be teased :)
Hi K.,
Ainoa is still going to be "I know a" no matter where it fits in the name. Personally I tried real hard not to give my kids a name that could be teased. (I grew up with M., you can imagine....) If you want to go with the AA how about Amalia, the Spanish form of Emily (Amelia). It flows with the three syllables and it gives you the double A. Of your three, I like Anais best.
I love the meaning of Alice by the way. Every little girl should be labeled sweet!
M.
My friend named her little girl Johanna and it is so pretty. It is pronounces JoHawna.
Well, of your suggestions, I have to say that I think I perfer the way Alice Ainoa sounds, but without knowing your last name, I'd hate to say for sure. I also like Ainoa Josephine, but I do concur with the whole "I know a" thing. That would bother me too. But it does sound so pretty!
I don't like the A As. I also tried to stay away from names whose pronunciation would constantly have to be explained, like you did here. That just leads to constant mistakes and teasing.
I would go with Alice Josephine as long as it sounds nice with your last name. Josephine is close enough to the Spanish version. As for respecting hubby's heritage, your daughter will have his last name, so that should be enough (just my opinion)
Some other ideas:
I also like Alice Isabel
What about creating a blended name of the 2 great-grandmothers?
My hubby's grandma's middle name was Victoria and my grams name was Louise. I wanted to name our girl Victoria Louise C. It sounded very strong to me and joined both families. Hubby hated it. Then I thought of JocyLynn Rainne after the 3 Grandmas, but hubby didn't like that. We ended up with Sarah Marie (which is my middle name) as we were in the delivery room.
