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Dimity is more interestering to me. I know Kirrily is feminine, but it strikes me more as a masculine name. Dimity could go either way too, but it doesn't scream masculine to me the same way Kirrily does.

Dimity makes me think of herbs and dabbling in potions/ homeopathy. She is a bit of a flibbertigibbet but means well.

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Kirrily is inquisitive, youthful, and a bit cat like.

When is it set? If it’s more recently I’d go with Kirrily. If it’s further back than the 80s/90s I’d go with Dimity - it just gives older vibes to me.

Kirrily seems to be all Australian to me so I would choose that option.

Kirrily for sure! It looks and feels more "Australian" to me (as someone who only knows the most stereotypical things about Australians). It feels very sunny.

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Dimity feels more twee-British, like a character from a Dickens novel.

I prefer Kirrily but I suspect that is because I have a character with a similar name Kiriana Milatz

Kirrily sounds more convincingly (dinkum?) Oz than Dimity, which seems more like something from the bottom of the charts in the American Deep South in the 19th century. Another advantage is that, unlike Dimity, it isn't a lightweight cotton fabric. Granted, I haven't looked either of them up in the current charts.

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I once read a kid's story in which three English siblings climb over the wrong fence and spend time in Another World: the girl's name was Penelope and the Aliens' best attempt at it (they were nice Aliens and really did try) was peNELy. Kirrily could have worked as an Alien's attempt at Caroline; but you're doing it the other way round of course.

Dimity to me sounds very antebellum South or else Victorian England. Also too much like dippety or dimwitted.
So I guess Kirraly, which is even less familiar in American English. I'm assuming it's a native Australian word/name?
You could switch it up a bit if you wanted it to be more broadly known as a name, to not just Australian readers, by say, making her name Kira-Lee or Karlee.

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But bottom line is I'd avoid Dimity. (There is also a mystery series for adults called the Aunt Dimity mysteries. I don't know for sure but I think the character of Aunt Dimity is actually a ghost.)

Both give off masculine vibes to me. I keep misreading Dimity as Dimitry, which would distract me from the content of the story, so therefore Kirrily would get my vote. Kirrily reminds me a lot of Kirill, so to me it sounds Eastern European, but Dimity does the same bc of Dimitry.

Kirrily

Kirrily, definitely. Dimity sounds... dim.

I much prefer Dimity. Reminds me of Dimitri. Oh nevermind, I see it is a feminine name. In that case I like Kirrily better.

This message was edited 1/28/2025, 5:02 AM