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I adore Juniper! I think it's very usable, and I live in the Western U.S. too. :-D I love it with the nn Juni, but June is sweet too. I'm waiting for my niece that just got married to get pregnant before I suggest (Wren and) Juniper to her. She's now got a Japanese surname and I think it / they could really work well. So if you use it first, then I can tell her it's not so unusable. ;-) [If my very Catholic mother objects to the name I've already rehearsed where I explain about Blessed Junipero Sierra. That should cool her heels.]

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Esme and Juniper? Gawd that's great as a sibling set. Actually, Juniper Esme sounds wonderful as a combo.

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I would look for something more conventional for a mn. How about:

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Juniper Celia / Celeste
Juniper Hilary (= happy juniper)
Juniper Kate / Kay
Juniper Molly
Juniper Hannah
Juniper Sylvie (= juniper forest)
Juniper Coralie
Juniper Inez / Ines
Juniper Linnea (too botanical?)
Juniper Freya
Juniper Carys (= beloved juniper)
Juniper Ailsa
Juniper Cora

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This message was edited 4/4/2011, 2:34 PM

Thanks for the responses - I appreciate all of them. I love Juniper nn June and we are keeping it at the top of the list for now. I still have quite a bit of time to change my mind and there are still variables- IF we have a Dd and IF she "looks" like a Juniper/June. For now the combos Juniper Frances and Juniper Louise are my favorites. But I'm thinking she will be called June most of the time. Thanks for the comments!

Is it wrong that my reaction to the name Juniper is to think that we haven't cooked anything with juniper berries in our house for a very, very long time? I love that stuff. I don't ever think that when I hear Rosemary, but I'm weird... and seriously, I do like it. It's very interesting, lively and modern... and it might age well, in ten or twenty years. I definitely don't consider it too weird, but I too have never heard of or met a Juniper.

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June on the other hand... I've met many, many Junes, all elderly and many unpleasant. I'm going to blame the latter fact for my disliking of this name. Juniper 'June' would work, and maybe be a snazzy nickname with the right person, but as a name on it's own... no. Eugh, and Junie as a pet name! Blarghhh...

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Funny how a few syllables and chance encounters can change views of a name, eh? Using Pool as your placeholder surname, Juniper Pool sounds infinitely better than the two monosyllabic names of June Pool. As middle names are so rarely used, a middle name wouldn't save that in my eyes.

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So... Juniper has my vote!

I like Juniper better because it has more personality. June is sweet and that's about it. Next to Esme, June is a bit unsubstantial. Besides, June is a splendid nick name, and if your daughter grows up to feel that Juniper is "non-conformist" than she could always go ny June or Junie or even Nipper/Nipsey or evn Uni if she wanted to.

Juniper "June" is cute, and it goes nicely with Esmé. I don't think it's too out there. Most people have at least heard of the flower, so it's at least familiar as a word. It's also close enough to June and Jennifer that it probably won't strike many people as bizarre or anything.

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Combos:
Juniper Colette
Juniper Alexandra
Juniper Lisette
Juniper Gwendolyn / Gwendolen
Juniper Olivia
Juniper Livia
Juniper Lidia / Lydia
Juniper Helen
Juniper Helene
Juniper Helena
Juniper Gabrielle
Juniper Cosette
Juniper Victoria
Juniper Vivian / Vivien / Vivienne
Juniper Viviana
Juniper Elise
Juniper Anneliese / Annelise
Juniper Clara
Juniper Claire
Juniper Madeline / Madeleine
Juniper May / Mae
Juniper Maeve
Juniper Niamh
Juniper Neve
Juniper Maya / Maia
Juniper Beth
Juniper Laura
Juniper Nora
Juniper Guinevere
Juniper Naomi
Juniper Lila
Juniper Laila
Juniper Leila
Juniper Nola
Juniper Naima
Juniper Maren
Juniper Mary
Juniper Meredith
Juniper Olwen
Juniper Ophelia
Juniper Ophélie
Juniper Sophia / Sofia
Juniper Sophronia
Juniper Moira
Juniper Moya
Juniper Elizabeth
Juniper Colleen
Juniper Sidonie
Juniper Sidonia
Juniper Kathleen
Juniper Camille
Juniper Noelle
Juniper Estelle
Juniper Diana

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Edited to add Juniper Estelle and Juniper Diana.

This message was edited 4/3/2011, 2:58 PM

If my son would have been a girl he would have been Juniper Pearl. We also considered Juniper Margaret. We would have call her June or Junie. I love the name (obviously). We also liked it because my name is Julie my DH's name is John.... Junie was sort of a combo of those names (at least it was in our heads LOL).

I think they're usable. I think most people would know how to spell Juniper and June because of the tree and the month. June seems more "normal" than Juniper (but I prefer Juniper, maybe nn June). June "Pool" actually sounds kind of catchy, even though I thought it wouldn't work with a one-syllable ln. Still, Juniper "Pool" definitely has better flow.
I think Juniper has a lot going for it; sound-wise it's like Jennifer but without the 80's-ness, and it's a cute and spunky plant name that for once isn't a flower. :P I think it needs a short middle name.

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Juniper Anne
Juniper Wynne
Juniper Rose
Juniper Ava
Juniper Sage
Juniper Brynn
Juniper Myra
Juniper Lilac
Juniper Vinia
Juniper Mina
Juniper Lee
Juniper Helen
Juniper Ivory
Juniper Cora
Juniper Beth
Juniper Ione
Juniper Cleo
Juniper Olive
Juniper Hero
Juniper May

June is usable, and can make Juniper more so, if she's called June most of the time. (I love the name June)

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I think that Juniper (introduced as, and familiarly called Juniper) would be too much of a statement / too "out there," for me personally. The word as a name is pointedly not "pretty," only the Jun- part and the natural image makes it girl-namey. It sounds self-consciously nonconformist to me. The rarity of it as a name makes it seem very imagey, charactery, and remarkable - celebrity-styled. I can see the appeal of it. If you have a real misgiving about whether it might be "too" out there among the peers she'd be likely to have in life, I'd pay attention to that intuition and avoid it because it might feel too silly. I think people usually carry off unusual names less awkwardly than expected, though, so if you want the name more than you care what people think, I condone using it.

I like Juniper and i don't think it's too out there. Yes it's different but not in a bad way :)

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I'd team it with a more classic, well know middle name. Any that you like in that category would work, i'd go along the lines of

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Juniper Charlotte
Juniper Sarah
Juniper Lucy
Juniper Bethan
etc etc

June is absolutely one of my favorite names for a girl. I also like Juniper nn June, but I like just June on it's own even more. I don't think it would be too weird. June is a name that's familiar to most people- if anything they will think it's a little odd to use a name that's somewhat dated. If you love it, go for it. If people are surprised by it at first, they will get used to it relatively easily,I feel.

While I have never met a June, I think that one would be completely accepted by the general public. It doesn't seem out there at all.

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Juniper is less common, but I think it's still usable. People might make a comment about it being a bit unusual, but I think it'd be easier to get used to pronouncing and spelling than Esme.

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I'd say go for it! Chances are that people will already be expecting you to choose a non-mainstream name. :o) And have you thought of Juno as a nickname for Juniper? I like that one a lot.

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For Juniper, I'd go with a one syllable middle name I think. For some reason I'm feeling the alliteration at the moment:
Juniper Jade
Juniper Jane
Juniper Joy
But not everyone likes alliteration (I don't with most letters):
Juniper Mae
Juniper Beth
Juniper Liz

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With June I'd probably go for something longer:
June Alessandra
June Elizabeth

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Like any?

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Congratulations. Hope everything goes well.