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Help[Opinions] BA
My brother's godmother gave birth to a daughter who she named Helena (heh-LEH-na) yesterday, joining older sister Oliwia (aw-LEE-vya). What are your thoughts? I love Helena, but dislike Oliwia.
masculine list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124079
feminine list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124080
masculine list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124079
feminine list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124080
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Helena is amazing, I love it regardless of popularity in Poland.
I don't hate Oliwia, but I dislike its trendy feel and here the popularity does bother me. Plus I don't think it's a very well-matched sibset in terms of style. Helena is quite vintage whereas Oliwia still feels quite modern. Olivia and Helena would make for a feminine, classic sibset in the English-speaking world, but Oliwia doesn't really feel quite as classic. As much as I love Helena, I think that, in terms of style, Lena would fit better with Oliwia.
I don't hate Oliwia, but I dislike its trendy feel and here the popularity does bother me. Plus I don't think it's a very well-matched sibset in terms of style. Helena is quite vintage whereas Oliwia still feels quite modern. Olivia and Helena would make for a feminine, classic sibset in the English-speaking world, but Oliwia doesn't really feel quite as classic. As much as I love Helena, I think that, in terms of style, Lena would fit better with Oliwia.
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Yes, she's Polish.
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I prefer this pronunciation of Helena to the standard English one, which puts the emphasis on "hell."
Good set all around. Nice to see some Polish BAs, I feel like that's a country often overlooked on here!
Good set all around. Nice to see some Polish BAs, I feel like that's a country often overlooked on here!
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I love them both!! They work real well together.
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I know very few children and yet I know two little Helenas! It's so cute, especially when used in its full form to refer to a little preschooler. So adorable! If not for the over-representation of Helenas in my very small sample, I'd consider them mismatched but as it is, they both now seem trendy to me and I like them both so I think it's a nice set.
This message was edited 2/23/2021, 2:43 AM
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Luckily pronunciation isn't an issue here since Polish is a phonetic language. The naming laws are also quite strict here - foreign names are not technically allowed unless one or both of the child's parents are foreigners.
This message was edited 2/23/2021, 1:53 AM
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That sounds like a sensible rule; sometimes it must be difficult to identify a foreign name, though ... would Olivia count as foreign, or as a kre8iv spelling - if people do such things in Poland?
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Polish parents would probably not be banned from naming their daughter Olivia anymore, since the laws have gotten more lax, but they would probably be discouraged from doing so by the name registry. Apparently, 205 girls were named Olivia in 2020, which is surprising, considering the low numbers of migrants, so maybe the law is getting more lax. Olivia would likely be perceived as pretentious and try-hard on a Polish girl, since the letter v doesn't occur in the Polish alphabet.
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Oliwia actually makes Olivia more interesting for me! I feel like Helena kinda loses out in this situation. But that's just me.
Hmm what would I choose as a sister to an Oliwia...
Aleksandra?
Anastazja, now we're getting somewhere
Urszula oooh wow I never thought of putting Ursula and Olivia together but they are wonderful
Krystyna! I adore this Polish name, it's so overdramatic.
Anyways, that was fun. They are both nice names, congrats to her.
Hmm what would I choose as a sister to an Oliwia...
Aleksandra?
Anastazja, now we're getting somewhere
Urszula oooh wow I never thought of putting Ursula and Olivia together but they are wonderful
Krystyna! I adore this Polish name, it's so overdramatic.
Anyways, that was fun. They are both nice names, congrats to her.
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Ooh, thanks for these suggestions!
Aleksandra probably wouldn't work with Oliwia, since it's inevitably nicknamed Ola, which is rather too similar.
Anastazja could work, it's very dramatic. It was the name of a Ukrainian classmate of mine back in middle school.
Urszula sounds very serious and solemn to me compared to Oliwia, which is seen almost exclusively on under-25s. Ula is sweet, though.
To be honest, I don't really like Krystyna. It's considered dated, and I only know one under 40. She goes by Krysia, which, unfortunately, is also an inevitable nickname here. It's pronounced KRI-sha, which I thinks sounds thoroughly unpleasant.
Aleksandra probably wouldn't work with Oliwia, since it's inevitably nicknamed Ola, which is rather too similar.
Anastazja could work, it's very dramatic. It was the name of a Ukrainian classmate of mine back in middle school.
Urszula sounds very serious and solemn to me compared to Oliwia, which is seen almost exclusively on under-25s. Ula is sweet, though.
To be honest, I don't really like Krystyna. It's considered dated, and I only know one under 40. She goes by Krysia, which, unfortunately, is also an inevitable nickname here. It's pronounced KRI-sha, which I thinks sounds thoroughly unpleasant.
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Wow, Krysia is fantastic! It's so....crunchy.
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