I don’t like it all that much , honestly. I don’t really like how it sounds. But hey it’s different, at least I haven’t heard of it before. And you never know, it may suit the child very well, and then the actual name becomes unimportant because what IS important, is that it’s associated with the person, and that makes it beautiful.
It’s not terrible, but I’ll have to go against the trend here and lean towards no. It’s yet another surname being converted into a girls’ name, an irritating and very trendy habit. Not as common as the horrible “Madison” and “Mackenzie,” but it’s the same thing. It’s also fairly masculine to my ears.
If you stick with it, though, do NOT spell it “Ardyn.” “Arden” is perfect. Always spell a name the simplest phonetic way or else your daughter will spend eighteen months of her life correcting people. It’s how it sounds, not how it’s spelled.
However, it IS better than “Arwen.”
Jeez people. What’s wrong with Mary, Elizabeth, Susan, Rebecca, Violet, Julia, Joan or Margaret? Ordinary names? Why does every parent these days have to invent something “remeniscent of the sound of waves beating on a rock on Maui” or some such shit? These “fashion” names will seem old in twenty or thirty years, trust me. My tip: keep it simple. If your baby wants people to call her Gobshite 43 in about the year 2020, she’ll fix it herself. In the meantime, Sue is a perfectly nice name for a baby girl.
- PW
Having considered the same name as a middle name for my daughter (it’s a combination of both my mother’s name and my SO’s mother’s name), I have to say that I love it.
Palewriter… because no one likes to be the 2nd through 5th Sarah in their class.
I have a fairly uncommon name (for now) and only encountered that phenomena recently… drives me nuts I can’t imagine the effect for a kid. Funny thing is now my not-so common name is becoming one of the more common ones. I’ve met more little girls with my name in the past few years than I have people my age.
Another vote in favor of Arden. Biblical and traditional names are good, but there’s a place for nontraditional names that aren’t blatant ethnic (mis)appropriation (like all the KATE-lynn Caitlins) or brand names.
Go for it.
Flash Gordon’s female counterpart: Dale Arden
Sounds good to me
I immediately thought of Eve Arden (of Our Miss Brooks fame) when I read the OP. There’s an [n]Arden Ranger** on these boards somewhere, so I also think of the forest. I think it sounds very Middle Earthy. Which means I like it.
I’m sorry, it doesn’t do much for me.
But then, it’s your daughter, so it’s your decision. Personally, Ivylad and I had a second daughter’s name picked out that we’re not using. I’ll leave it here on the table in case anyone is interested.
Cassandra Hope
(Then, we’d call her Kiss for short.)
Arden is lovely. It sounds feminine without being girly. I can picture a grown-up professional named Arden much more easily than I can a professional named Brittany or Tiffany. It also has an old-fashioned ring to it, which I like.
Again, thanks everyone for all your opinions. I am so happy about Arden now…Hopefully she’ll get here soon!
And btw, she will be Arden Fae - My husband’s grandmother was a Fae and she was a very cool lady.
No offense, but “Arden Fae” sounds a bit like Pig Latin. 
Good luck with your new arrival!
Actually Arden Fae sounds like a true Wiccan name. I like it even more.
Very nice! I love that name.
If I had had a girl she would’ve been called Amara Siobhan