We have an incoming daughter, (Sept 25), and need a name for her.

As of today, PETULA and BENTLEY are our top choices.

Have you a better idea?

PLEASE NOTE

She is very active in the womb, loves mother to hum, and never sleeps.

One is the name of a make of car and the other sounds like "petulant". Neither gets my vote!

Congratulations! One thing to look at is nicknames. Bentley could be shortened to "Bent" which might not be desirable. Petula could be shortened in a number of ways -- "Pet" is rather cute, Tula, Tulie, Lula, etc. are cute as well. Also look at how the initials of the first, middle, and last names play out -- watch for undesirable acronyms.

Bent from MW

3 slang
a : different from the normal or usual
… she was so bent that she's probably a woman who ought to be locked up somewhere …
— Robert Redford
b chiefly British : DISHONEST, CORRUPT
a bent cop
c chiefly US : INTOXICATED, DRUNK
Like to get bent? This hangover beater will help you get back on track.
— Vibe
bent out of shape
: extremely upset or angry
get bent
slang —used as an angry or contemptuous way of dismissing someone's statement, suggestion, etc.
I try to call him the next morning to apologize, but he tells me to get bent.
— Chuck Klosterman

petulant adjective
pet·​u·​lant | \ ˈpe-chə-lənt \
Definition of petulant
1 : insolent or rude in speech or behavior
2 : characterized by temporary or capricious ill humor : PEEVISH

I am certain that if you place a name, any name, under an electron microscope, you will eventually reach a depth below Joseph Smith's.

Our daughter will never endure such scrutiny, until the Final Judgement. Her name will be for this life only, and hopefully will be appropriate.

Few young men are willing to abuse a Bentley.

There are many reasons I'd name her this, but the best one is because her teachers would boast, "I once had a 2019 Bentley in my classroom."

She will be as rare as my wife, so the name is most fitting.

You have to be very careful what you name children. Even if it is well meaning. I was at school with a very nice girl called "Gay" - the amount of abuse she had to put up with because of it. (Gay wasn't actually gay AFAIK either). Children aren't pc.

There was also a guy called Denholm who was always getting called Denim, and ended up being nicknamed Levis.

Gabriella Liliana

Aquarius123 Wrote:
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> Gabriella Liliana

Now that's a nice name...

Bentley makes me think of Mr. Bentley on The Jeffersons. I like Petula more... makes me think of Petula Clark.

An "incoming" daughter ?
Do I need to shelter in a foxhole ?

She will be a bombshell.

The only Bentley I knew was a boy. I associate Bentley with the masculine sex. Petula I associate with Petula Clark, who was from To Sir with Love.

At the risk of sounding like a know-it-all, which I'm most certainly not, Petula Clark made lots of movies and some good ones but she wasn't in "To Sir With Love" .

You might be thinking of Lulu (legal name : Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie) who sang the theme song "To Sir with Love". She had a small acting role as well.

On my honeymoon, (1973) my new wife and I drove to Las Vegas, and got tickets to see Petula Clark as the main act and Joan Rivers as the opening act. Both excellent shows!

Chastity Anhedonia Happenstance

JENNY

Then you can do a Forrest Gump impression: “Only the most beautiful name in the whole wide world”.

Or pick a heroic woman’s name from the Book of Mormon.

Jenny is my name. There were far too many of us born in 1972.

It's still a nice name, knothead. Pronounced "à la française", it means genius (génie) in French. Don't knock it, I'd say.

How about Tamsin which is the Cornish version of Thomasina ;-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2019 10:29AM by Soft Machine.

In Old English, it means "white wave" or "phantom". I don't mind it so much anymore, but as a kid, I hated my name... mainly because people called me "genitalia".

;)

I've heard people not familiar with the name pronounce Petula like PET u la (rhymes with Dracula).

Bentley reminds me of a male chauffeur or car. Ben or Bent will naturally be nicknames. Neither would be my preference for a girl.

Can't say I'm fond of either but either should work just fine.

I wouldn't choose either of those, but, whatever makes you happy.

How about Tenly (Tenley)?

My name is Robert so how about Roberta? She might get flack.

I think parents can get way too over creative when it comes to naming a baby. I worked in the COB in the historical dept and church records. One set of parents thought they were funny by naming their twins, "Pete and RePete". Then there was a girl that was named "Deseret Bee". When I worked in pediatrics years later, one memorable name was "Hudson Bay". Just think about the future and whether or not it's worth it for kids to go through teasing when they become school age.

Bentley is a name I would give to a boxer or bulldog type dog.

Petula sounds equally lame.

You should really find some upscale names for your child(ren) that will look good on a serious resume in years to come.

Unless Bentley and Petula are names of relatives, I'd look for something more common.

It's your daughter that has to live with the choice or if she goes by her initials like BP, some oil company.

How will you feel in 20 years if she goes to court and has her name legally changed?

See what happens when you get the public input on a name? Just be glad she isn't going to be name Boaty McBoadface.

I found that when they were born, the name that fit them was obvious. My brother named my son. I wanted to name him Christian or Christopher (my maiden name is Christensen). My brother reminded me that I always liked the name Nicholas from the TV show 8 is enough and my ex liked that one. My ex didn't want the other names. So he is Nicholas. We don't call him Nick, but all his friends do.

My daughter is another story. Her name is Kiara (key air uh). I was going to spell it Kiera, but when I wrote it down, I liked Kiara better. Oddly enough there are A LOT of Kiaras now, but we had never heard the name before. My ex came up with it. When we'd tell people her name, they'd ask us to repeat the name. There were a lot of Karas back then. There is a Kiara in the Lion King II. One of my "bosses" at Sam's Club is Kierra and she is just a few years younger than my daughter. It irritated my daughter to always have to tell people how to say her name, so no matter where she works if she has a name badge, she puts the key air uh on it. The name fits her for some reason.

P.S. My brother named his son Christian--note our last name above.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2019 12:05PM by cl2.

I typed both of them into google and it said, "Did you mean Sarah?"

I was going to write: any Italian name with Greek, Latin or Germanic origins, because I'm partial to that, but why should you?!
Choose a beautiful, classical name that she will never feel embarrassed of, and which sounds harmonious with her last name.

There are some really great Greek women's names to choose from.

http://www.20000-names.com/female_greek_names.htm

I've always liked this one.

https://www.behindthename.com/name/sophos/tree

Emma Rose

Thing 1. Makes naming the next kid(s) easy.

Or do like George Foreman....4 boys all named George.

Of the two you suggested, I like Petula.

Any name can be made fun of so don't worry about what other say. Pick a name you like.

Roy G Biv Wrote:
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> Any name can be made fun of so don't worry about
> what other say. Pick a name you like.

Some names more so than others.

There are at least some sensible alternatives listed here.

I have an acquaintance whose daughter had a baby daughter in January this year. The parents named her Seamus. Yep you heard that right. Seamus. They might as well have named her "hit me in the face with the ball in gym class." I just think giving a child an awful name is mean.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2019 04:56PM by Aquarius123.

Congratulations on your "incoming daughter"!

I vote for Petula-the-petulant. She will be a cutie, and that name will suit her!

Bently--we used to hate a guy named Bently, until he finally got put in jail, and left the Mormons singles group.

Bently is not unusual at all. It is the latest fad for Utah Mormons to name their baby girls boy's names. Especially popular for girls are boy's names that are also last names. Here are some little-ones in our Mormon ward neighborhood:

Bently--yes, there's a girl in our ward.
Blake
Smith--She's only two weeks old!
Eliot
Morgan
O'Riley
Austin
Madison--there are three girl-Madisons we know

Location names are popular, too
Phoenix
Florence
Delta
Austin (is that a last name or a place?)
Dallas

One of those last names is my Mormon granddaughter's name. She got upset when they had her registered for the BOYS summer camp, instead of the girls camp. It's just beginning, Sweetheart. She has created her own nickname, but she still has to use the boys name on official forms, and such. My grandson has a last name, too, and I choke on it, because it's my ex-husband's last name. It's the newest thing.

How about Jane, Emily, Amy, or something simple, and also spelled the normal way.

My ex's name is his grandmother's maiden name and it isn't a normal name. His middle name is his mother's maiden name.

My vote is Petula! I love it!

How exciting for you!

Congratulations on the birth of your daughter.

Bentley is way too trendy. It sounds like you're trying really hard to give her a cool name. Also note that the Bentley automobile is named after Walter Owen Bentley, the engineer who created the car. Why would you name your daughter after him? Why not give your daughter the name of one of your ancestors/relatives she will feel a connection to - a name that has meaning.

Petula sounds too much like petulant, which means bad tempered. Don't do that to her.

Please also note that the singer named Petula Clark used that name as a stage name. Her father invented it. He joked that he combined the name of his former girlfriends, "Pet" and "Ulla." "Petula's" given name was Sally, which I think is a very cute name.

Neither one gets my vote. Go with something classical.

Of the two, I would go with Petula. It's a sweet name, and almost mainstream as compared with some I've heard lately. A relative of a relative named her child Antarctica Meringue.

I knew a girl whose parents named her Lei because they liked Hawaii .

Guys called her - you guessed it - Lay

Some parents operate under the assumption that their sweet motives overrride any potential negative associations with a creative name. Anyone who lives in the real world knows better.

Hahaha. So true.

My neverMo friend met a Mormon girl named Cumorah. Of course he had no clue that was a Mormon location.

He said, "What is with her name? Cum More? What were her parents thinking?" I said, "It's the name of a Mormon hill JS dug up to find his magic plates." Loud laughter ensued!

If you are still dead set on naming the kid after a high end car you could name her Portia - it sounds like Porsche

How about Alma ?

One of the things I used to do (reluctantly) in my former career is come up with company and product names. I hated it because naming companies and products is a lot like naming someone else's children for them. It's too personal, too dependent upon opinions (both rational and irrational). So, naturally, I'm not going to get involved in the naming of someone's actual kid.

However, here are my father's personal rules for naming kids:

1. You must be able to spell it correctly when you hear it
2. You must be able to pronounce it correctly when you read it
3. You must be able to tell the gender
4. It must sound appropriate when the kid is an adult
5. It shouldn't rhyme with any bad words or cause teasing/bullying
6. Girls don't need middle names
7. You should be able to yell it effectively when necessary

These are all great rules and help cut through some of the nonsense. The only one I have any issue with is about middle names. My mother never had any, but I think middle names help distinguish you from other people.

Speaking of middle names.....

Way back when I was dating a Molly Mormon, she didn't have a middle name. She said when she got married, her husband would give her a middle name that would be the one he would use to cross her through the vail to enter the CK when she died.

Was/is something that was/is taught in seminary way back when (50+ years)?

I and my wife, as a bi-national couple, also had to find names which can be pronounced without too much mangling in both English and French. We came up with Sacha (a boy's name, incidentally), Louise and Margot. Little did we know that the son would end up living in Peru where they pronounce it "Satcha" ;-)

I particularly like your number 7, olderelder :-D