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HelpDorothy and Susanna - Do you like them?
For those who remember my prior post about Iris and Alice, the pregnancy is thankfully going well.
In addition to Iris and Alice, we are thinking about family names Susanna and Dorothy.
What are your impressions of them? Would you use them?
If you had to make a combo from Iris, Alice, Dorothy, and Susanna, what would you use?
We need to avoid Suzanne or Susan - as it would pick one MIL over another. Suzette is open, however, the smaller Susan. Also, there is already a baby first cousin named Lily.
Dorothy was my maternal grandmother's name, and it is my middle name.
In addition to Iris and Alice, we are thinking about family names Susanna and Dorothy.
What are your impressions of them? Would you use them?
If you had to make a combo from Iris, Alice, Dorothy, and Susanna, what would you use?
We need to avoid Suzanne or Susan - as it would pick one MIL over another. Suzette is open, however, the smaller Susan. Also, there is already a baby first cousin named Lily.
Dorothy was my maternal grandmother's name, and it is my middle name.
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I love the name Dorothy more than Susanna but I feel like Dorothy is still a little too old-fashioned to be used as a first name partially because it doesn't have an fresh sounding nicknames. Dorothy works great as a middle name imo. Dorothea is a bit fresher since it was less popular than Dorothy in its heyday and the nn Thea is very fresh sounding. Dorothy seems like the name of someone who is down to earth and who is bold enough to fight for the causes that she believes in, Dorothea feels that way as well but it feels a little more creative - possibly because of Dorothea Lange. I feel like a Dorothy probably wouldn't wear make-up or not wear much and she probably lives in the country or a small town and loves animals. I imagine a Dorothy as having brown or auburn hair and either brown or blue eyes.
I like Susanna because it feels fresher than Dorothy as a fn. Suze, Susie, Anna, and Annie are good nn's. Susanna is cheery with a big colorful personality and is probably someone who laughs and smiles a lot. She may or may not be very opinionated or enjoy drama. Susanna makes me think of the sun and all the flowers in the Asteraceae family but especially the orange and yellow flowers like sunflowers, black-eyed susans, Gerber daisies, calendula, and marigolds. I imagine a Susanna as having strawberry blonde hair or ginger hair and any eye color.
Since Iris is one of my favorite names it is definitely my top choice of Iris, Alice, Dorothy, and Susanna.
I like Susanna because it feels fresher than Dorothy as a fn. Suze, Susie, Anna, and Annie are good nn's. Susanna is cheery with a big colorful personality and is probably someone who laughs and smiles a lot. She may or may not be very opinionated or enjoy drama. Susanna makes me think of the sun and all the flowers in the Asteraceae family but especially the orange and yellow flowers like sunflowers, black-eyed susans, Gerber daisies, calendula, and marigolds. I imagine a Susanna as having strawberry blonde hair or ginger hair and any eye color.
Since Iris is one of my favorite names it is definitely my top choice of Iris, Alice, Dorothy, and Susanna.
This message was edited 12/16/2017, 5:37 AM
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Lovely names all around. The trick is with the eliding s consonants with Iris Susannah, Alice Susannah. But even then they are better than 95% of all other combos I’m seeing.
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Sadly, the eliding "s" is a problem in a lot of combos of names I like. I haven't decided if it is a deal-breaker, but it is hard to unsee once I see it. :p
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I would used either Alice Susanna or Susanna Alice.
Susanna is fresh, sweet, and pretty.
Alice has fun fictional ties and has a classic timeless quality.
Dorothy sounds a little dated, but it does seem to be gaining in popularity so perhaps it is making a come back.
Iris sounds rather plain and unremarkable.
Susanna is fresh, sweet, and pretty.
Alice has fun fictional ties and has a classic timeless quality.
Dorothy sounds a little dated, but it does seem to be gaining in popularity so perhaps it is making a come back.
Iris sounds rather plain and unremarkable.
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I like all four names, though I much prefer Susannah with an -h. I would use Iris or Alice as fns and Dorothy as a mn. Susannah I could see as either fn or mn.
Iris Dorothy
Alice Dorothy Iris, why not? Or just Alice Dorothy.
Dorothy Alice
Susannah Iris
In an idle moment, I once invented Susianne! Goes well with Dorothy.
Iris Dorothy
Alice Dorothy Iris, why not? Or just Alice Dorothy.
Dorothy Alice
Susannah Iris
In an idle moment, I once invented Susianne! Goes well with Dorothy.
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Susianne is cute. I'm not bold enough to create new names, but I like it!
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I adore Susanna and would gladly use it. It feels timeless to me. Dorothy, otoh, feels dated. It's not a bad name. It just feels old despite having a good friend with the name when we were in sixth grade. Still, Dorothea or even Theodora are much more my style.
I do like Alice somewhat although Iris doesn't appeal to me at all. I don't generally care for names that contain the long i sound. The only exception for me is Caroline.
My combo from the four names would be Susanna Dorothy.
Best wishes!
I do like Alice somewhat although Iris doesn't appeal to me at all. I don't generally care for names that contain the long i sound. The only exception for me is Caroline.
My combo from the four names would be Susanna Dorothy.
Best wishes!
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If I had to pick one or be shot by a firing squad at sunrise, I'd pick Dorothy. It's very mildly cute. I want to say the same about Susannah/Susanna, but it feels overly colonial and cutesy, and the many spelling variations are another turnoff.
I really, really dislike both Iris and Alice. They're like a pair of spinster sisters, sour and disappointed by life, especially Iris.
I really, really dislike both Iris and Alice. They're like a pair of spinster sisters, sour and disappointed by life, especially Iris.
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I love Susanna but don't care for Dorothy. Susanna seems eternally young, while Dorothy, for me, can't shed a dowdy middle-aged image. Dorothy sounds heavy and clunky to me.
I wouldn't use Susanna because: There's someone in my family named Suzanne and there's bad blood there. Of course, that's just me. But I also wouldn't use it because Susan was so massively popular in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. There are still so many older women named Susan walking around and so many of them are called Sue and Sue would be a natural nickname for Susanna also. I think Susanna suffers from the datedness of Susan, if that makes sense. Which doesn't mean I don't love the name, just that I see practical reasons to avoid for myself.
Nor would I use Dorothy because I just don't like it.
The combo I would make is Susanna Dorothy, because Iris and Alice both start with a vowel, and Susanna ends with one, so I don't like the way that Susanna Iris and Susanna Alice flow.
I wouldn't use Susanna because: There's someone in my family named Suzanne and there's bad blood there. Of course, that's just me. But I also wouldn't use it because Susan was so massively popular in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. There are still so many older women named Susan walking around and so many of them are called Sue and Sue would be a natural nickname for Susanna also. I think Susanna suffers from the datedness of Susan, if that makes sense. Which doesn't mean I don't love the name, just that I see practical reasons to avoid for myself.
Nor would I use Dorothy because I just don't like it.
The combo I would make is Susanna Dorothy, because Iris and Alice both start with a vowel, and Susanna ends with one, so I don't like the way that Susanna Iris and Susanna Alice flow.
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I happen to really like both Dorothy and Susanna. I am a fan of retro names, and especially the cutesy nicknames that go with them. Dot or Dottie is a favorite, as well as Suzy.
That said, Iris and Alice are a but more usable today because they are seen as more chic.
Susanna Alice is almost too sweet, like you just assume she is riding around in a frilly pink pram and a bonnet.
Iris Dorothy doesn't flow as well, but Dorothy Iris does. I would be tempted to call a Dorothy Iris just Iris though. Probably because I adore Iris.
Personally Dorothy Alice or Dorothy Iris would be my choice... and I would myself go with Dot as the nickname.
Btw - I love family names, and I don't think Iris and Lily as cousins would be too much.
That said, Iris and Alice are a but more usable today because they are seen as more chic.
Susanna Alice is almost too sweet, like you just assume she is riding around in a frilly pink pram and a bonnet.
Iris Dorothy doesn't flow as well, but Dorothy Iris does. I would be tempted to call a Dorothy Iris just Iris though. Probably because I adore Iris.
Personally Dorothy Alice or Dorothy Iris would be my choice... and I would myself go with Dot as the nickname.
Btw - I love family names, and I don't think Iris and Lily as cousins would be too much.
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I like "Dot" too!
Dorothy Iris is interesting. I suppose Iris Dorothea might flow well, too.
Dorothy Iris is interesting. I suppose Iris Dorothea might flow well, too.
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