Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Discuss

What do we think of the name Magnolia Jane? (Amazingly Jim actually kinda likes it too, so it's a for-real suggestion and not just purely of my own fantasy.) Possible nicknames being Maggie (Maggie Jane!) Nola, or Lia. Is it a little too out there, especially with our other kids' names? Or does it work? I feel confident that the nicknames work really well with the others, especially Maggie and Lia. But is Magnolia veering from the "elegant and old fashioned" category into the "excessively flowery/unusual" category? I'm especially looking for opinions from people from the Midwest, because I know full well that in many other regions of the country it'd be a perfectly lovely choice at which no one would bat an eyelash. But, around here the push towards older, stronger sounding names hasn't caught on full force just yet. Several of my choices from the original name post were weird enough for this town, but I feel like this one might really be pushing it. On the other hand, I absolutely love it. So there's that. But if you know me well and genuinely hate this name or feel it doesn't "work" with our family, please be honest. I'm sure there are names YOU love that I don't, so you're not going to hurt my feelings.

Side note: what is UP with me and the constant posting lately? I am totally in that second trimester happy space, right? And you should see my house, with the dishes done every night and the carpets vacuumed on a regular basis! It's astonishing!

Ahem. *brisk hand clap* Back to the name!

20 comments:

Jess said...

I love it. Did you read Flibberty, back when she used to blog? They named their baby Magnolia and call her Maggie and I think it's lovely. I think it's just out there enough to fit with your other kids' names. Adelay and Jameson both have a little twist to them but then a more common nickname, and I think Magnolia fits perfectly with that.

LA and BD said...

I'm in North Carolina, so not Midwest....BUT my hair stylist just named her baby Magnolia Jane. I thought it was precious!

My husband and I are both from Louisiana, and we considered Magnolia for our girl since it is the state flower of Louisiana. We have ultimately decided against it because it just doesn't fit us, but I still think it is a GREAT name.

Anonymous said...

LOVE IT!

Pickles and Dimes said...

I love it!!! (And I'm from the Midwest.)

Nowheymama said...

Love it! Says the person who lives fairly close to you and went for the older, stronger-sounding "Helen" as a name choice.

Swistle said...

I love it.

Saly said...

A little bit north of midwest here...but I just ADORE it. It is a beautiful.

d e v a n said...

I think it's lovely!

Elizabeth said...

I LOOOOOOOOOVE it. there is a little girl in Eli's preschool and her nn is Maggie, but her full name is Magnolia, so you get that little bit of more straight laced in the nickname but also get the more flowery bit with the full name. I LOVE IT. PLUS you can call her MJ which is the best ever.

Sarah said...

Elizabeth: I KNOW! MJ! Just like Spiderman's girlfriend Mary Jane... happy sigh. So many good nickname possibilities. An abundance of wealth, really, in that department.

Mary O said...

Looooove Magnolia Jane.

Flibberty said...

Jess is right! We named our, now two year old, "Magnolia" and adore the name. We get so many compliments and we live about 60 miles west of Chicago, so definitely in the Midwest! I'm due with our second in 4 weeks and it's hard to find another name as terrific as Magnolia! Oh and we call her Maggie, but my family calls her Nollie. I like all the nickname possibilities.

Flibberty said...

Oh and our girl is Magnolia Rose, so talk about flowery :) But, we seriously get nothing but compliments on it!

Unknown said...

I live in TX which isn't exactly midwest, and I don't even know you, but I've been keeping up with your blog and thought I'd answer. Oh, I love the name Magnolia! I love that it's not typical, but it has a cute nickname. She can pick either one when she gets older. My friend has a daughter named Wellesley and they call her Elle. Love those unexpected names! Best of luck deciding.

Tracy said...

I love the name! Of course, I'm not in the midwest anymore. ;) I'm a southerner now.

clueless but hopeful mama said...

I'm not in the midwest but I LOVE IT. A friend in California named her baby Magnolia and call her Noli and it's adorable. I love that she would have a lot of nickname options and I don't think it's too far afield from your other children's names.

Yay! NAMES!

Jessica said...

I love Maggie and I think it goes well with your other kids' nicknames. (My niece is Margaret and she goes by Madge, not Maggie, so I guess that could be another possible nickname option).

I don't really feel that Magnolia goes well with your other kids' full names, but I don't think that really matters. They go by nicknames mostly anyways. Plus, who really cares if they all match. It only seems important now when they are little, but they will spend the majority of their lives having nothing really to do with their siblings and their name will stand alone.

When it stands alone, Magnolia is pretty. I definitely like some of your other options in the name post better (Evelyn especially), but Maggie is still really pretty.

Jennifer said...

Love it!!

Fran said...

<3 it!!

Becca said...

I suggest to choose a name that has a good meaning from it.
I believe name reflects the attitude and life in our name.