I’m not a huge tennis fan. I knew that Roger Federer and wife Mikra were in the family way. But I wasn’t watching anxiously for news of the blessed event.

Except.

Roger and Mirka have welcomed twin daughters. And their names? Charlene Riva and Myla Rose.

Myla fits in just right with all the Mayas and Mias and Kylas out there. As it happens, there’s a pint-sized Mylah in my ‘hood.

But Charlene? Knock me over with a feather! Is it a logical extension of the Charlotte/Charlie craze, or signs of the New Retro in baby names?

And is it me, or is the pair a little bit mismatched?

Thoughts?

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What do you think?

22 Comments

  2. I just realized that their father is sweet, and which case, I believe they would be either pronouncing the French way of (shahr-LEHN) or the German way of (shar-LEH-neh). I’m guessing that, since the mother is Slovakian, they might have gotten it from the Slavic name Mila, pronounced (MEE-lah).

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  3. I don’t know, I do think they match. I think of Myla as a dated name that was popular in the 1950s, as was Charlene, so they work together to me. I like The flow of Charlene Riva even if Charlene is not my style. Rose is a boring middle name choice. Its very predictable. Their mother’s name fascinates me most of all.

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    1. I agree – Mirka is cool. I kind of like Riva, though. I’m blanking on where I’ve heard it before …

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  4. Well, if it’s MEE lah and shar LEH neh, that sounds better than MY-lah and shar-LEEN (I’m not fan of -LEEN enders). MEE-lah also sounds more like a “real’ name to me… MY-lah is just made-up sounding to me. Even so, I’m kind of meh on the names.

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  5. I’m a big Federer fan and was waiting anxiously for this news, very exciting but the names are a bit underwhelming.. Myla reminds me of Miley and Charlene makes me want to watch Designing Women. I wonder how they will pronounce them though?

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  6. Starbaby watch! Unrelated, I’m sorry. But WHY didn’t anyone tell me SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR is pregnant?

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    1. I think you’re on to something … I can’t find an interview yet where the names are actually pronounced … anyone?

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  9. Charlene and Myla, huh? I can get into Myla, but Charlotte offshoots always sound cheap to me. So it’s super retro and could be adorable on a hip baby or teen. I don’t know, I’m not feeling it. As a pair they do work for me. Both are pretty fugly.

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  10. I can’t quite match them together stylistically, but it’s not a bad pairing. They both sound kind of nouveau, blending well with other “of the moment” names. I’d wager Charlene leans more toward the Charlie/Charlize family in this case.

    My cousin’s little girls play with a set of twins named (to my complete delight!) Ruby and Scarlett. They get my award for best twin name pairing of the decade.

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