38 weeks today and feeling lost!

[fisherlake]

Please help me to narrow down my list for baby girl. My DH won't really discuss names until baby is here unless it is to shoot something down or make a sarcastic suggestion. We brought our first dd home from the hospital unnamed for several days and I would like to have a shorter list to work from.

My older children have biblical names but honestly that is just coincidental although I worry that this baby's name won't "go" with her siblings.

Middle name will be Amanda or Jane, or possible a double middle name, Amanda Jane to honor my niece that passed away. I feel like Jane works best for the majority of my list.

Louisa (favorite but hesitate that people will call her Lisa)
Amelia (love but worry too popular)
Juliet (second runner up for dd#1)
Isla (pretty, not sure if it's trendy or will scream 2015?)
Rose (like very much but not sure of flow with mn)
Lucia (with the ch pronunciation)
Anna (have loved forever but now worried about Frozen)
Madeleine (don't like nn Maddie)
Alice (my DH thinks Brady brunch)
Iris (is this somewhat harsh sounding?)
Charlotte ( again popularity issues and dislike nn options)
Violet (so unlike my other kids names but I like a lot)
Eloise (I like nn Elle but probably overdone?)
Olivia (too common but have always loved)
Elizabeth/Elisabeth ( would use nn Tess but a reach?)
Valentina (pretty but may not work with last name)

Thank you!!!

[bromios]

There are no bad names on this list, so congratulations! But some are definitely more special than others.

Keep: Louisa, Juliet, Alice, Iris, Violet, Lucia, and Valentina (especially Juliet, Alice, Lucia, and Valentina!)

Toss: Amelia, Isla, Anna, Olivia, Elizabeth

I love that you would use the Italian pronunciation of Lucia. It is so much more gorgeous than the other pronunciations.

[dreadpiratebuttercup]

Louisa- LOVE. I don't think Lisa is a natural nn.
Amelia- Love. DD is Amelia, and we've never met anyone else with her name. We have met a couple people my parents' age with grandmothers named Amelia, but that's it. It is only #50 in my state, though.
Juliet- Love. It's a front runner on my own list.
Isla- Like, but it's probably my last favorite on this list.
Rose- I cannot express how much I love this name, and wish I could even consider it, but it sounds ridiculous with my ln. Rose Amanda sounds lovely. Rosalie Jane or Rosemary Jane would also be gorgeous.
Lucia- Love, but only with the cee pronunciation.
Anna- Love, and it has been a classic sound long before Frozen came along.
Madeleine- Love, but wouldn't use if you're not ok with her choosing to go by Maddie.
Alice- Love. Seriously one of my favorite girl names, ever. Maybe try to put a different Alice image in his head? Alice in Wonderland, maybe?
Iris- Love, another one on my sorry list. I don't think it's harsh at all. In fact, it's the name of a goddess.
Charlotte- Love, despite the popularity. Charlotte is only two syllables, and really doesn't need a nn.
Violet- Also love.
Eloise- Love, prefer Elsie as the nn.
Olivia- Prefer Livia.
Elizabeth/Elisabeth- Prefer Elisabeth. It's softer, IMO. I don't like Tess as the nn, and think it would be quite a stretch.
Valentina- Love, so much.

I guess I didn't really help narrow it down much, lol.

[fisherlake]

Jan 22, 2015 0:19:27 GMT -5 bromios said:

There are no bad names on this list, so congratulations! But some are definitely more special than others.

Keep: Louisa, Juliet, Alice, Iris, Violet, Lucia, and Valentina (especially Juliet, Alice, Lucia, and Valentina!)

Toss: Amelia, Isla, Anna, Olivia, Elizabeth

I love that you would use the Italian pronunciation of Lucia. It is so much more gorgeous than the other pronunciations.

Thank you for the feedback...I have such anxiety over naming this little one, my youngest is almost 15 so I haven't had to think about naming a human for quite some time!

[fisherlake]

Jan 22, 2015 0:30:54 GMT -5 dreadpiratebuttercup said:

Louisa- LOVE. I don't think Lisa is a natural nn.
Amelia- Love. DD is Amelia, and we've never met anyone else with her name. We have met a couple people my parents' age with grandmothers named Amelia, but that's it. It is only #50 in my state, though.
Juliet- Love. It's a front runner on my own list.
Isla- Like, but it's probably my last favorite on this list.
Rose- I cannot express how much I love this name, and wish I could even consider it, but it sounds ridiculous with my ln. Rose Amanda sounds lovely. Rosalie Jane or Rosemary Jane would also be gorgeous.
Lucia- Love, but only with the cee pronunciation.
Anna- Love, and it has been a classic sound long before Frozen came along.
Madeleine- Love, but wouldn't use if you're not ok with her choosing to go by Maddie.
Alice- Love. Seriously one of my favorite girl names, ever. Maybe try to put a different Alice image in his head? Alice in Wonderland, maybe?
Iris- Love, another one on my sorry list. I don't think it's harsh at all. In fact, it's the name of a goddess.
Charlotte- Love, despite the popularity. Charlotte is only two syllables, and really doesn't need a nn.
Violet- Also love.
Eloise- Love, prefer Elsie as the nn.
Olivia- Prefer Livia.
Elizabeth/Elisabeth- Prefer Elisabeth. It's softer, IMO. I don't like Tess as the nn, and think it would be quite a stretch.
Valentina- Love, so much.

I guess I didn't really help narrow it down much, lol.

Thanks for your insight, having too big of a list is probably better than too few choices at this point! Does your dd go by Amelia or a nn? I generally call my kids by their full names but wonder what people may try to call her if we go with Amelia. With Louisa I worry people will mishear her name and assume it's Lisa.

[dreadpiratebuttercup]

She goes by Amelia. We've tried nns but they don't feel right. No one else has ever tried calling her anything but Amelia. Except my dad; he insisted on calling her by her mn until I nipped that in the bud.

[fisherlake]

Jan 22, 2015 0:56:19 GMT -5 pineapplesmoothie said:

I am a total sucker for names that have the potential of an -ie nickname. Billie, Frankie, Josie, etc. I LOVE Louisa and I would call her Louie for a nickname, never Lisa. This may be an unpopular opinion.

I think if anything we'd call her Lulu or Lula but none of my kids go by a nickname, I guess we're boring that way lol. My DH and I also use our full names so yeah, probably boring!

[dreadpiratebuttercup]

Nothing boring about not using nns!

[mags]

I love many of those names!

Lucia with the ch being my favorite! Valentina and Louisa being my next two choices.
Alice and Iris are the 2 I don't like.

[roundtwoomg]

Jan 22, 2015 0:13:32 GMT -5 fisherlake said:

Louisa 
Juliet 
Isla
Lucia
Alice (my DH thinks Brady brunch)
Iris (is this somewhat harsh sounding?)
Violet (so unlike my other kids names but I like a lot)
Eloise (I like nn Elle but probably overdone?)
Olivia (too common but have always loved)

This is the shortlist for me. I love Louisa. Louisa Jane is gorgeous IMO. I also love the cutesy, only at home nickname of Lulu. My second choice would be one of: Violet, Eloise or Olivia (even though it is popular, it is popular and gorgeous for a reason!).







I left Lucia there because I think it is a gorgeous name but IMHO, it only *really* works with an Italian/Euro sounding last name. Lucia Smith wouldn't work. To me it is like a non-french person calling their kid "Juliette" with the proper french pronunciation of "joule-ee-ette". That's just me though.

Edited because I'm shitty with quote boxes.

[Divefrog]

Top 3:  Louisa, Iris, Violet. 

[MauiBliss]

Jan 22, 2015 0:44:43 GMT -5 fisherlake said:

Jan 22, 2015 0:19:27 GMT -5 bromios said:

There are no bad names on this list, so congratulations! But some are definitely more special than others.

Keep: Louisa, Juliet, Alice, Iris, Violet, Lucia, and Valentina (especially Juliet, Alice, Lucia, and Valentina!)

Toss: Amelia, Isla, Anna, Olivia, Elizabeth

I love that you would use the Italian pronunciation of Lucia. It is so much more gorgeous than the other pronunciations.

Thank you for the feedback...I have such anxiety over naming this little one, my youngest is almost 15 so I haven't had to think about naming a human for quite some time!

You should have a little anxiety; you're naming a person!!

But I think your options here are all so good that you don't need to have too much anxiety.

[gallumbits]

I love Louisa Jane!

[Idani]

Lucia (yay for Italian pronunciation) and Valentina are both on my list so they are obviously fantastic and the two top runners IMO. That being said your entire list is good.

[Widget123]

Based on your comments about the names I say you should go with Louisa, Anna, or Juliet in that order and eliminate all of the others, even though they are all good choices. I would really hope anyone would call Louisa by her name and not Lisa. Its not like you would be naming her a youneek name that is off from a common name by a letter or two. You can nickname your child whatever you want or don't use a nickname at all. DH and I call our DD Lu and some people call her Lulu (she is Lucy).

[fisherlake]

roundtwoomg regarding Lucia/Valentina ... Our last name is Hispanic but is often mistaken for Italian. I was almost thinking using either of these names might be too European or flowery sounding but perhaps that actually works better. I do get what you are saying, my sis named her kids Sophie Noelle, Sebastian Yves, and Genvieve Madeleine but her Dh's last name is French so it all works well!

[lulu783]

I love your list! It's very similar to mine and I'd like to have this figured out before my EDD 2/6.

I love Lucia Jane and, thanks to you, am adding to it my list

[lexisophie55]

Stick with Louisa!

[dreadpiratebuttercup]

Jan 22, 2015 12:09:44 GMT -5 fisherlake said:

roundtwoomg regarding Lucia/Valentina ... Our last name is Hispanic but is often mistaken for Italian. I was almost thinking using either of these names might be too European or flowery sounding but perhaps that actually works better. I do get what you are saying, my sis named her kids Sophie Noelle, Sebastian Yves, and Genvieve Madeleine but her Dh's last name is French so it all works well!

Your sister can really name some kids! I'm swooning over Sebastian Yves.

[roundtwoomg]

Jan 22, 2015 12:09:44 GMT -5 fisherlake said:

roundtwoomg regarding Lucia/Valentina ... Our last name is Hispanic but is often mistaken for Italian. I was almost thinking using either of these names might be too European or flowery sounding but perhaps that actually works better. I do get what you are saying, my sis named her kids Sophie Noelle, Sebastian Yves, and Genvieve Madeleine but her Dh's last name is French so it all works well!

Oh well that can work then. I also have an Italian name (that is also the same in Spanish) and both Italian and Spanish names work.

Okay well then keep Lucia my YES vote list for you!

[billyhorrible]

Alice is my favorite from your list. I think it's funny your DH thinks "Brandy Bunch" and not "in Wonderland!"


Louisa - love. Don't think people will call her Lisa.
Amelia, Charlotte - love, but also worry about popularity
Juliet (- NMS, but nothing inherently wrong with it
Isla - I have a similar concern about popularity
Rose, Violet - NMS, fine but not my favorite floral name
Lucia - my favorite pronunciation!
Anna - love. Wouldn't worry about Frozen, Anna's been used much more often than say Elsa or Kristoff.
Madeleine - Fine, I don't think the nickname is a given, but again with the popularity
Iris - I like this better than Rose
Eloise - love, but wouldn't use Elle
Olivia - I feel the same as you
Elizabeth/Elisabeth - fine, but wouldn't use Tess
Valentina - I love Valentine for a boy, but I'm not sold on Valentina for a girl

[fisherlake]

Jan 22, 2015 12:40:11 GMT -5 lulu783 said:

I love your list! It's very similar to mine and I'd like to have this figured out before my EDD 2/6.

I love Lucia Jane and, thanks to you, am adding to it my list

Glad I can help! I coincidentally found the name list I made for my older dd 18 years ago and I had a good laugh at some of my choices circa 1997. Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond, it's truly been really helpful!

[rachel]

Jan 22, 2015 0:57:47 GMT -5 fisherlake said:

Jan 22, 2015 0:30:54 GMT -5 dreadpiratebuttercup said:

Louisa- LOVE. I don't think Lisa is a natural nn.
Amelia- Love. DD is Amelia, and we've never met anyone else with her name. We have met a couple people my parents' age with grandmothers named Amelia, but that's it. It is only #50 in my state, though.
Juliet- Love. It's a front runner on my own list.
Isla- Like, but it's probably my last favorite on this list.
Rose- I cannot express how much I love this name, and wish I could even consider it, but it sounds ridiculous with my ln. Rose Amanda sounds lovely. Rosalie Jane or Rosemary Jane would also be gorgeous.
Lucia- Love, but only with the cee pronunciation.
Anna- Love, and it has been a classic sound long before Frozen came along.
Madeleine- Love, but wouldn't use if you're not ok with her choosing to go by Maddie.
Alice- Love. Seriously one of my favorite girl names, ever. Maybe try to put a different Alice image in his head? Alice in Wonderland, maybe?
Iris- Love, another one on my sorry list. I don't think it's harsh at all. In fact, it's the name of a goddess.
Charlotte- Love, despite the popularity. Charlotte is only two syllables, and really doesn't need a nn.
Violet- Also love.
Eloise- Love, prefer Elsie as the nn.
Olivia- Prefer Livia.
Elizabeth/Elisabeth- Prefer Elisabeth. It's softer, IMO. I don't like Tess as the nn, and think it would be quite a stretch.
Valentina- Love, so much.

I guess I didn't really help narrow it down much, lol.

Thanks for your insight, having too big of a list is probably better than too few choices at this point! Does your dd go by Amelia or a nn? I generally call my kids by their full names but wonder what people may try to call her if we go with Amelia. With Louisa I worry people will mishear her name and assume it's Lisa.

I have two family members named Amelia and one is nn Millie, the other Mimi...

[dreadpiratebuttercup]

As I said, Amelia is only #50 in my state. It's much less popular here.

[Nittany]

I don't care for Amanda because it seems dated, but I understand if it has family significance for you. I LOVE Jane as a first name! The rest of your list is pretty good too, hopefully YH will be able to help you narrow it down soon.

[fisherlake]

Jan 23, 2015 16:39:30 GMT -5 Nittany said:

I don't care for Amanda because it seems dated, but I understand if it has family significance for you. I LOVE Jane as a first name! The rest of your list is pretty good too, hopefully YH will be able to help you narrow it down soon.

It is significant and would likely use it as a middle name for Juliet if we choose that as I think most other names go better with Jane as a middle name. If we choose Amelia, Alice or Anna it will also be another way to honor my niece because she went by AJ.

[fisherlake]

Jan 23, 2015 16:28:26 GMT -5 dreadpiratebuttercup said:

As I said, Amelia is only #50 in my state. It's much less popular here.

I think it's in the low 40's in popularity here, at least in 2013. I wish the 2014 SS baby name popularity list would come out soon!

[Stormtroopooper]

This is a great list. My fave name on it is Alice.

[sweetpeabee]

Louisa-- NMS, but nice name. I don't think Lisa is a common NN for Louisa (not a NN I would pick)
Amelia-- LOVE, my DD is Amelia Lynn. We call her Amelia or Amé (pronounced ah-MAY)
Juliet-- LIKE, but think of Romeo & Juliet
Isla-- LIKE, would use Isla Jane out of your MN options
Rose-- LOVE, timeless, underused in the FN spot!
Lucia--NMS
Anna--LIKE, but I do immediately think of Frozen so I personally wouldn't use it
Madeleine-- LOVE, it was on my short list
Alice--LIKE, think of Alice in Wonderland first
Iris-- NMS
Charlotte--LIKE, it was on my long list
Violet--LOVE, would never use because of a bad personal association, but I love the name!
Eloise--NMS, but love Elle or Ellie as a NN
Olivia--NMS
Elizabeth/Elisabeth--LIKE, on my long list, not sure I would choose Tess as a NN
Valentina--NMS

[ruemorgan]

I like Eloise with nn Elle.

re: nicknames (Louisa/lisa)- if you want people to call your child by the first name and not a nick name, make a point to correct them. I personally wouldn't think to call a Louisa, Lisa.