How popular is the baby name Irena in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Irena.
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A reader named Marissa, who has a daughter named Beatrix Penelope (nn Bea), is expecting twins–one boy, one girl. She’s got their middle names narrowed down (Anthony or Alexander for the baby boy, Daphne or Jillian for the baby girl) but she’d like some help with their first names.
Here’s what she’s looking for in a boy name:
For the boy I’d like names that are two syllables long and start and end in a consonant. So far I like Robert, Patrick, Daniel and Fabian. The only one he likes is Fabian, but we’re still not sure.
And here’s what she’s looking for in a girl name:
For the girl I’d like names that are three or four syllables long, and start and end in a vowel. So far I like Anastasia, Ophelia, Elena and Ursula, but he likes none of them.
The babies’ last name will sound something like Thisbe.
Here are some of the boy names I came up with:
Calvin Clement Chester Conrad Curtis David Declan Dexter Duncan Felix
Franklin Holden Howard Jasper Kenneth Lincoln Linus Lucas Malcolm Martin
Maxwell Miles Mitchell Nathan Nelson Nigel Nolan Philip Raymond Reuben
Roland Roman Silas Simon Stuart Thomas Victor Vincent William Winston
And here are some ideas for the girl name:
Acantha Adela Adelina Adriana Agatha Alexandra Alexina Alicia Allegra Althea
Amelia Annabella Andrea Angela Antonia Arabella Araminta Athena Augusta Aurelia
I heard from a reader named Shana a couple of days ago. Here’s what she says:
I’m 35 weeks pregnant and my DH and I still can’t find a name. Maybe it’s because we would like to incorporate too much into the name or maybe we’re just unsure if we want a trendy name/classic name. I think we are trying to find both in one name, yet can’t.
Our DD is named Lilia Josephine. We both love that it takes a name that is recognizable such as “Lily” and puts a spin on it, so that she will indeed be the only “Lilia” in her class even if their are other girls named “Lily”.
[…]
The name must contain Anne/a in either the fn or mn. Also, she will be born and living in Hawaii the first 2 years of her life. We would love to incorporate that into the mix somehow (hence, Isla).
On their list right now is:
Abriana Abrielle Annelise Gabriella Gabrielle
Isla Layla Leora Norah Sierra
I really like Norah, Annelise, Isla and Gabrielle/a. I think any of them would sound good with Lilia. I especially like the first three because they bring something more than style to the table. Annelise has the Anne connection, Isla has the Hawaii connection, and Norah has a distinct set of letters/sounds.
I’m not too keen on the other five names, though. Sierra, Abriana and Abrielle don’t seem right to me in terms of style. They remind me of modern-trendy names like Alexis and Brianna, whereas Lilia reminds of old fashioned-trendy names like Isabella and Olivia. Layla and Leora worry me because they’re so similar to Lilia–same first letter, same last letter, same length. I think it would be wiser to choose a name with at least a different first initial.
Suggestions (inspired by Hawaii)
I love the idea of Isla symbolizing Hawaii. Other names that might work are the names of historical Hawaiian royals. Here are some that I like with Lilia:
Analea (The good news is that it could satisfy the Anne/a requirement. The bad news is that it could be mispronounced “anally.” Might be best as a middle name.)
Emalani/Emmalani (The second spelling was no doubt influenced by Emma, as Hawaiian words aren’t typically spelled with double consonants.)
Eva
Miriam
Theresa
Victoria (Multiple royals had this name.)
I didn’t include Lydia because, as with Layla and Leora, I think it’s uncomfortably close to Lilia.
Suggestions (based on style)
I tried to come up with names that remind me of Lilia (old fashioned with a twist), that aren’t too laden with L- and I-sounds, and that have some sort of connection to Anne/a.
Anastasia – not related to Anna, but looks & sounds like it could be.
Annetta – Italian diminutive of Anna, though it also sounds like an altered form of Annette.
Bryony – a little like Abriana.
Dorothea, Dorothy
Georgia, Georgina
Hannah – early form of Anna.
Iona – refers to an island in Scotland. (And might be derived from the Old Norse word for island.)
Irena
Junia – could be seen as a spin on June, though it’s a legit name in its own right.
Lisanne – same elements as Annelise, but reordered.
Nanette – French diminutive of Anne.
Rosa, Rosalia
Sophia, Sophie, maybe Sophronia
Vivian, Viviana
Combinations
Considering only names on the shortlist, I like the pairings Isla Annelise and Norah Annelise. (Though I wish the A-sounds at the end of Isla and Norah didn’t blend with the A of Annalise.)
Of all the names above, let’s see…I might go for Hannah Victoria, Annetta Theresa and Junia Analea.
Now it’s your turn: Of the names above, which are your favorites for the sister of Lilia Josephine? What other names would you add to the mix? What first/middle combinations would you suggest to Shana?
We are already decided on a boys’ name, but just can’t come up with a good girl’s name. Our firstborn is Abel Zachary. We want a girls’ name that doesn’t clash with Abel. So far we like these girls’ names: Evangelina, Arabella, Amethyst, Isabelle, Olivia, River, Violet. We want something uncommon, but not overly weird. We are stumped and just can’t decide on a girl’s name we really love that fits well with Abel.
I like most of the names on Bonny’s shortlist, but I don’t think many of them fit well with Abel.
To me, Abel is simple, unassuming, obviously biblical, and slightly rural/old-fashioned.
Amethyst and River strike me as being exotic and modern (though I’m sure Amethyst was used occasionally during the Victorian era). Both are gender-neutral names, while Abel is definitively masculine. And I’m slightly concerned that an unusual noun-name could make people think of Abel as able the adjective…you never know.
I like Evangelina, Isabelle, Arabelle and Olivia a little more with Abel, but to me they still sound too formal, too cosmopolitan. I’m not fond of the way Isabelle and Arabelle nearly rhyme with Abel. Finally, Olivia and Isabelle can no longer be described as “uncommon” since becoming trendy during the 1990s.
I do think Violet and Abel make a nice pair, though. Other names that I think fit well with Abel include:
Adina Cara Clara Daria Dinah Edna Eliza Esther Helah (the “e” is long) Helen Hester Irene/Irena
Judith Leona Mara Martha Miriam Pauline Ruth Selah (another long “e”) Tabitha Tamar/Tamara Tirzah Zillah
Which of the names above do you like best with Abel? What other names would you suggest to Bonny?
Update: The baby is here! Scroll down to see what name Bonny chose…
Looking for a set of baby names with something in common? If so, here are some 5-letter anagram names for you to check out!
Anagrams are words that contain the same set of letters, but not in the same sequence. For instance, the words “alter,” “alert,” and “later” are all anagrams of one another.
Anagram names can be a neat option for siblings — particularly multiples (like twins and triplets). They’re also a clever way to connect a baby name to the name of an older relative (e.g., grandpa Klaus, grandson Lukas).
Below are hundreds of five-letter names (collected from the SSA’s huge database of U.S. baby names) that happen to be anagrams of other names.
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