no-name Mademoiselle

To date, we have been totally useless at finding a name for our little Mademoiselle-on-the-way.

In the beginning, we didn't know if we were expecting a girl or a boy and so we had a mixed-gender list of names pinned to a kitchen shelf.

We totally thought this was not going to be difficult.

After a while, we had to come to terms with the fact that we weren't really making progress so we thought finding out the baby's gender might help (ok, so we just wanted to know - it's hard to refuse today's technology! - and I wanted to know if I was into pink for a good reason).

Anyway, the list is still there only the "girl" column is now longer. We both add a name to it when we come across one we like. We also regularly cross names off ("What was I thinking?!")

We have consulted books, websites and dictionaries, received newsletters and emails, suggestions from family members...

Nada, nil, squat. No winner on our list it seems. We are at a loss. Mademoiselle is still "bebek" most of the time. Or Mademoiselle B.

We have kept the (now dowdy looking) list and might short-list some names in the unlikely event that bebek will look like a definite Lea, Milla, Emma, Zoya, Chloe, Emily, Zoe etc. the moment we set eyes on her.

It's not only that we can't agree on a name - it's that neither of us has found the name, the one you are so 100% convinced about that you could convince your other half, the one you really love.


I can't believe how hard we are finding this!

Our criteria for the name:

• does not mean, sound like or rhyme with anything nasty in same or other language (e.g. Recently heard of "Anemique" = lack of iron in French, "Dana" which means beef in Turkish, or names beginning with "mal" (bad/wrong) like "Malena")
• is melodious yet simple
• can be easily pronounced and spelled in many languages (mainly all the ones spoken by our globally-sprawled out families)
• is suitable in "our languages" - some names are very cute in English but a disaster in French or vice versa
  
• is original yet not outrageous nor difficult to "wear"
• is suitable for a toddler, a young girl a woman and a granny (some names just aren't!)
• fits baby's surname (& so does not start with the letter B so as not to be BB)
• does not begin with S (our initials)
• if possible, it means something to us (has some kind of connection to our history)
  
• most of all: we both like it!

HELP!