Mumsnet Talk

Our shortlist (so far) for DD includes:
Jasmine
Ellen
Martha
Megan

Lucklily, Dh and I have agreed quite easily on the shortlist but now don't know how to whittle it down to the final choice. We would like to decide before DD arrives though.

We want something that is classic and won't date and that doesn't indicate one social class or another. Your opinions are very much appreciated.

Ellen and Martha are my definite favourites and I think fit best with what you want from a name.

Ah Martha was one of my favs when I was pregnant but DH vetoed it, luckily we didn't need it as DS is a boy

I love Ellen, it was my wee granny's name and is one if dd1s middle names, she may have been called Ellen but it sounds awful with our surname.

Wait to see your baby before you decide, honestly.
I like Martha best.

Martha is lovely - classy and underused. Reminds me Martha Wainwright, who is fabulous!
I like Ellen, but not so keen on Megan.
Jasmine is a bit princessy IMO.

Ellen is the name which best fulfils your requirements.

Not Megan btw if you want classic and timeless

Martha is my favourite, by a long way.

I love Martha and Ellen. I think Martha Ellen works really well too, as a first name & middle name. Ellen goes well with pretty much anything as a middle name I feel Mary Ellen is a name many women in my family have been given over the years (have just finished doing my family tree and its popped up SO many times) and I think it's very beautiful

Love Ellen. It is DD's middle name.

Thanks so far.

Hi rhondajean I detect you many have Welsh connections and therefore perhaps be knowledgable about the Megan! Can I ask why you think Megan isn't timeless?

Definitely Ellen, gorgeous name. Was on our list for dd and will be keeping it in reserve in case there's a dd2 one day!

Ellen is very nice.

Ellen and Martha are both lovely. My sister was married to a Welshman and wanted a Welsh name for their DD. He vetoed Megan as he considered it a dog's name. Have no idea whether this is true but I suspect it is one of those 'old lady' names yet to make come back.

I only like Jasmine from your list.

Megan and Martha I especially dislike.

Ellen is a very early 90s name imo.

There were hundreds of Megans/Meghans in the area of the US where I lived. A lot of them had sisters named Michaela. Their parents were wannabe Irish and believed both names were Irish. Put me off Megan (and Meghan) entirely. The supposedly Irish 'GH' combination also found its way into names like Loghann ('Logan'), Teaghan ('Tegan') and Keaghan ('Keegan'). I would never identify it as classic or timeless. Just sorta sad.

I live in Wales & think Megan is pretty & timeless. Know a few, all sorts of ages, & Meg is a lovely nickname.

I'd go with Martha or Ellen.

Megan & Jasmine have both been very popular for at least 15 years by now, judging by my GCSE classes; nothing wrong with that, both nice names, but if you're after something that won't date go with one of the others.

I'd also go for Martha or Ellen for the reasons above. I really love Martha... my favourite girl name, but couldn't use it as already have an Arthur. My advice would be to see how you feel after she is born. We were down to our favourite 5 girls names when our DD was born. In the end we still found it hard to decide, so DH and I each did a secret marking system from 1-5 and then compared. We both had the same top 2 but opposite way around. Mine won over in the end (smile).

They are all lovely! Can't go wrong. I'd wait till she comes along to decide, it focuses the mind to see the baby in the flesh!

I only like Jasmine.

They are all nice but I wouldn't quite describe any as classic, perhaps Ellen, certainly not Jasmine. Megan was fashionable 15-20 years ago, Martha more so now but not to a huge extent.

Also, I while I like Jasmine the best I think it probably does indicate social class in many areas, having slipped downwards in those terms in recent years (along with Jessica, whcih surprised me).

Martha because most people don't have it

Martha or Ellen.