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[Opinions] Rose vs Lily?
Hi, thanks so much everyone for responding to my Rose question the other day, Rose is a serious contender now, but so is Lily. Anyone care to compare and contrast Rose and Lily? I'd really appreciate it!
Also...do either names have any strong associations for you?

This message was edited 3/6/2008, 9:18 AM

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I don't know anyone with the name Lily, but I do know a Rose (her full name is Rosalie and she gets called either Rose or Rosie). She's my maternal grandmother's younger sister and quite a loud person and a real go-getter, even though she's in her 60's now! Both names a lovely and I'd have a hard time choosing between the two myself, but I'd probably be more inclined to go with Lily, since no one in the family has that name. That said, Lily is very popular right now for a fn and Rose is very popular as a mn, so it would be lovely to see Rose as a fn for a little girl. I also love Rosie as the nn for Rose, it's so sweet. All in all, my vote goes to Rose.
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but I prefer the name Lily, but only by a hair. Lily is my favorite flower name, but I think Rose is a nice mn.
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RoseIt's much less popular, and a little more substantial sounding to me. Although I like Rosalind or Rosamond nn Rose even more. ^__^
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LilyI love them both, so you cannot go wrong but I prefer Lily. I plan to name my second daughter this with another daughter with Rose as her middle name. Lily is a beautiful name with a great sound, traditional, and not old-fashioned. People still picture Rose as an elderly woman if that matters to you...
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Between the two, I prefer Rose or Rosa - though you could do Shoshana which can be either ;) (the joys of translation).

This message was edited 3/6/2008, 9:04 AM

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As a fn I much prefer Rose. Lily is beautiful, but everyone and his dog is using it right now. Rose is being used too, but usually in the mn position. So as a fn Rose is much fresher.
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nt
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AgreeIn general, when I'm debating between two names that are equally nice (etc), I go for the less common one. Lily will be one of several Lilys in her class, and when this generation becomes old Lily will become "dated" like Linda or Barbara or Betty or Doris. Rose will be alone, and won't be as tied to her time period.
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My thoughts exactly.
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agree
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I agree
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DittoWe used to have dog named Lily, so when I hear/see that name, all I can think about is a curly-white-haired dog that jumps really high and everyone says has a spring up her butt, LOL.Anyways, I agree, Rose makes a very pretty FN
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I agree
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I really think Lily should only be used as a nickname for Elizabeth or Lillian.In my opinion, Lily sounds and looks like someone from the backwoods, or like a barmaid.

This message was edited 3/6/2008, 8:58 AM

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Lily sounds and looks like someone from the backwoods, or like a barmaid.Interesting. What makes you think so?Also, Lily as a nn for Elizabeth? Is that common where you are? I'm unfamiliar with that association. It's typically Lizzie where I am (as far as nn's that sound similar to Lily, I mean; the most common Elizabeth nn here is Beth).
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Well, when I was writing a story in school, and I was trying to think of a name, I thought of Lily Francesca for one of the characters, but my English teacher (who I worshipped) said, "No. That sounds like a barmaid to me." The association stuck.
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Lily Francescais very beautiful, even sophisticated, not at all like a barmaid. I'm quite stunned by your teacher's casual dismissal of it. Fascinating that you absorbed your much-admired teacher's opinion whole like that. I've done that too, flatly absorbed the opinion of someone I loved without reflection, though I don't recall if I ever did it with a name. Have you ever reconsidered? Ever wanted to re-examine why your opinion changed in a heartbeat simply because of one person's feedback?
Don't mind me. I'm just thinking out loud, as it were.Welcome to BtN, btw. :-)
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I suppose you're right, it was rather mercurial of me. But, admittedly, I do find Lily to be slightly diminutive now with my current tastes (whether pandering or not to Mrs. Norton). :-)I'm surprised others haven't heard of Lily used as a nickname for Elizabeth before. I thought it was quite widespread.Thanks for the welcome. :-)
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I've encountered oneI really like Lily as a nn for Elizabeth, I think it's refreshing and sweet. But I like Lily on its own fine, it's just sort of ubiquitous.
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It may indeed be widespread, I just haven't seen it done where I am (near Houston). I've seen Lilibeth once or twice, though. As I said, Beth being the most common Elizabeth nn here, I guess I thought Lilibeth must be a combination of Lily and Beth; it hadn't occurred to me that Lili- would be diminutive of Eliza-. But sure, why not.And, you're... welcome. :-)
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I have personally never seen or heard the nickname Lily for Elizabeth. The most common here is Lizzie or Liz, but I know that the nicknames go in stages. 50s Beth, 20s Betty, 1880s, Bessie
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nt.
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If you look at Lily on this site, it is the name of the flower, while Lilly is "varriant of Lily." So, Lilly is the misspelled one.
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Silly vs sillyThis site saying something doesn't exactly make it so, you know, especially about something as subjective as that.
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Well, what, would you prefer that I DIDN'T use references? *eye roll*
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It's not subjective. Lily's a flower name. It's hard to argue that Lilly is the correct way to spell the name of the white flower. If you can't argue that, you can't argue that Lilly is the most correct spelling. One could, however, argue that Lilly or Lillie, rather than Lily is the best way to spell a nickname for Lillian.I'm also wondering- if we can't rely on this site for accurate etymologies, which sources do you find more useful in that respect?
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"varriant of Lily."You misspelled variant.
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Yes, maybe I did, but is it really that big of a deal?That wasn't the point of my post.
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