Are you tired of name posts yet?

[countthestars]

Our current girl favorites are:

Lena
Piper

Names I love/like but we can't use and/or H doesn't like:
Molly (Ava Grace of the famous non-speaking brothers little sister's name, so it's a definite no-go)
Maisie
Macy
Claire

DD is Tessa. Last name is Polish and starts with "Kaz" sound (PDQ that part )

Questions for the crowd:
How do you pronounce Lena? A girl I work with pronounces it differently than we have been - wondering how common her pronunciation is.

Do you like either of those names and do you prefer one? Please only answer Piper if you actually prefer it, not because it's the MMM name .

Any other names we should consider?

Middle name suggestions? We don't have a ton of family options but that's not super important to me. DD's middle name is after the street H lived on in college. Family names we could consider - Nancy, Marie, Anita, Bessie.... H is Jewish so we are trying to avoid names of people who are still living. I actually really like Elizabeth because it's my mom's middle name and also the street that my Nana lived on but don't know if that would raise eyebrows with MIL - both for being "after my mom" (and not her) and for being after someone who is living. It's also my cousin's name - maybe someone Jewish can help me out in here?? H is useless.

[Deleted]

Lena is on my absolute favorite list right now! If we have another I have grand plans to use it (It's a spinoff of my MILs MN which is atrocious..haha).

I have Lena Joanne or just Lena Jo because there's a story there.

Lena Elizabeth is another I like but I See why you don't want to use it.


I say Lena as Lee-na.

Piper is fine. Not for me but fine.

[djc315]

I love Lena! I also pronounce it LEE-na.

[mlt]

I say Lee-nah. I like it!

What about Collette?

[countthestars]

Yay for all of the Lee-na/nuh votes. My coworker calls herself LEN-ah which I've never heard before but I admittedly only know two Lena's in real life.

I've thrown Victoria out to H and he didn't bite but it's been a few months so I will try again

[Deleted]

I like Lena. Piper is ok but it's nms. I do really like Lena though.

[kdubs923]

Of your list, Lena Marie! I pronounce it Lee-na. I've also seen it spelled Lina (same pronunciation) if you like that more?

You know Tessa is our #1 girl name, too. If you're looking for suggestions, we also had Julia on our list. I think it would sound nice with Tessa.

[Deleted]

What about Amelia or Stella? They came up on Nymbler as related.

The rest are sort of terrible. (or so I think)

Ava?

[h]

I would say Lee-na. I like it and prefer it to Piper.

[dcrunnergirl52]

My DD is Piper Elizabeth, so that's obviously my choice. Elizabeth is after my great aunt (Elizabeth) and my grandfather Edward (using E initial), both of whom passed away years ago.

I'd pronounce Lena as Lee-na. I've never heard it any other way.

What about Eliza? DD was almost:

Eliza
Wren
Bryn

[countthestars]

Jul 9, 2015 8:59:17 GMT -5 dcrunnergirl52 said:

My DD is Piper Elizabeth, so that's obviously my choice. Elizabeth is after my great aunt (Elizabeth) and my grandfather Edward (using E initial), both of whom passed away years ago.

I'd pronounce Lena as Lee-na. I've never heard it any other way.

What about Eliza? DD was almost:

Eliza
Wren
Bryn

I like Eliza! Brynn was another that was on our list at one point. I'll bring it up to H again

[ryry]

I'm a Lena fan our Lena's middle name is Marie (although her full name is actually Eileen Marie, but she's almost never called Eileen).

[pinotgrig]

Jul 9, 2015 8:47:15 GMT -5 h said:

I would say Lee-na. I like it and prefer it to Piper.

Me, too, esp with your last name.

[countthestars]

Jul 9, 2015 9:06:43 GMT -5 ryry said:

I'm a Lena fan our Lena's middle name is Marie (although her full name is actually Eileen Marie, but she's almost never called Eileen).

We've been discussing Lena as a name since the day I spent with you at the aquarium!!

[cincodemayo]

Oooh I love Lena with your DD's name!

[BAMFMrsB]

lay-na.

But I think Tessa & Piper are great together.

[shamrockshake]

Lena is beautiful. Lee-na, long E

[stacyb1983]

I like Piper. The other baby we share a nanny with is named Piper. I think it's super cute.

[hermione]

Names I like that, IMO, "match" your daughter's name:

Hadley
Amelia
Kate
Lily
Lucy

Lena (lee-nuh) and Piper are both perfectly lovely just not my personal preference.

[Deleted]

OMG ALL THE PIPER HATE! <3

But with your last name (the one I made up in my head), I like Lena (lee-nah) better. Great flow.

[SJ]

I would probably say LAY-nuh first, but that is because I am used to Elena

[sporklemotion]

I like both names, but prefer Lena. I would pronounce it Lee-na.  Based on what you posted about your last name, I think it may fit better.

With Lena, I would go with Marie from the options you've posted. Claire would also work, if you can sell your DH on it.  I think Bessie is usually a nickname for Elizabeth, and it's a bit too similar to Tessa for me, so I wouldn't do that one.  For some reason, Nancy and Anita feel more like first names to me, of that makes any sense. I can't picture them flowing as middle names. 

Can you (or DH) ask your MIL about the name thing? Both DH and I are Jewish, and most of our extended family is, too.  My mother would have majorly side-eyed this (and did, when my cousins did it), but my DH's family would not have cared at all. I'd say the same in terms of family dynamics. With DD1, we reflected both sides, but for DD2, we did just my family, and I never heard anything about it from MIL. 

[Deleted]

Lena (Lee-na) Marie sounds pretty.

[drloretta]

Jul 9, 2015 8:28:47 GMT -5 countthestars said:

I am never, ever tired of name posts

I pronounce it LEE-na.

I like Lena, don't really care for Piper. It sounds very trendy to me

Other suggestions: Corinne, Eve, Maren, Nina, Phoebe, Ramona, Wren, Elena

MN: Are there deceased relatives with initials you could work with? Eve would be a good MN with Piper

[bowies]

I also like Lena (Lee-nuh).

Other options that sound similar:
Mila
Mira
Lyra
Mara
Lorna

But I say go with Lena Piper.

[humpforfree]

Oooh! I needed this post- we are (I am)stuck on girl names too! I love Lena and was about to add it to my list until I remembered that Lane starts with L also and H is anti-matchy names. Especially since the dog is also already an L. Lol.

[boxerdog]

I would say LEE-na.

I love both names - I think Lena Marie and Piper Elizabeth sound nice!

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2015 9:02:27 GMT -5 countthestars said:

Jul 9, 2015 8:59:17 GMT -5 dcrunnergirl52 said:

My DD is Piper Elizabeth, so that's obviously my choice. Elizabeth is after my great aunt (Elizabeth) and my grandfather Edward (using E initial), both of whom passed away years ago.

I'd pronounce Lena as Lee-na. I've never heard it any other way.

What about Eliza? DD was almost:

Eliza
Wren
Bryn

I like Eliza! Brynn was another that was on our list at one point. I'll bring it up to H again

If not Brynn maybe Quinn? 

I am not a huge fan of Lena, it sounds middle aged to me for some reason I can't shake. 

I really like Helena though. I think it sounds more finished You could use Lena as a nickname but always have Nellie, or Nella too. 

If not Elizabeth what about Elise. Helena/ Lena Elise. 

[Cicero]

Lee-na

[Willis Jackson]

I looooove Lena ("Lee-nuh"). It was on our list but we worried people would think we named her after Lena Dunham.

I think Lena goes with Tessa really well.

I also love Eliza, Elise, Nina, and Mira.