Mumsnet Talk

I really like the name Camille, but am worried that some people will say 'Camel'. Do you know anyone with that name and does this happen?

Our other options are...

Esmé
Estelle
Arwen
Lois
Iris
Roslyn
Celeste

I love Esmé, but am a bit worried that it's becoming too popular. There are lots more names on my list too, but my dh isn't keen on them. Any other suggestions based on the style of name we like? Thanks.

People have heard of Prince Charles's wife Camilla so by now must be familiar with Camilla or Camille. Don't see 'camel' necessarily springing to mind; of course there's always the say-the-first-stupid-thing-that-pops-into-their-head brigade.

Your other suggestions are lovely too, do they all work with your surname?

I like Camille but it sounds incomplete, like its waiting for the A on the end.

I like your list but nothing grabs me tbh. Roslyn is probably my favourite, but I prefered Rosalind.

Oh and as an extra suggestion: Constance.

Thanks a million! I like Constance too, but the 'Co' part at the start wouldn't go with our surname, as it starts with those two letters.

All the other names I mentioned sound really nice with our surname. Not sure I'd like to go for Camilla, think I prefer Camille (pronounced ca-meal).

We've a long way to go yet though, so I'll probably change my mind a million times before the baby is born. I never thought this naming business would be so hard!

Camille is nice, although I do prefer Celeste.

Would you pronounce Camille the French way, or the English way?

Hi PhyllisDoris, I'd pronounce it the French way (ca-meal/ca-meel), not Ca-mil.

I like estelle best from your list

I like them all except Camille (my DN middle name). It reminds me of Kamilosan.

I like Camille but prefer Arwen.

The French pronunciation is actually "ca-mee", Ficidy!
It's been in the top 10 here in France for the past 10-15 years and I know loads of them!

I like the suggestion of Constance. Over here, the aliteration you mention is actually very popular and seen as something quite elegant

I have an Estelle who is very sweet and feminine. Other names I had on my list at various times include: Florence, Lavinia, Anaïs, Eloïse, Elisa, Ameline, Annelise, Sophie, Alix, Lucille...

Sorry vitaminC, my fault, I know that's how it's pronounced in France, but stupidly wrote it down incorrectly phonetically. What I meant was that I think people here would automatically always call her Ca-meal and I'd spend my life correcting them. What do you think?

I LOVE Anaïs from your list, but I know that's one that would definitely be mis-pronounced, unfortunately.

How old is your Estelle? Old enough to give you an opinion on her name? It's important to me to try to find a name that my DC will like - a difficult task, I know.

I definitely wouldn't pick Camille for the fact that most English people will pronounce it wrong. It should be Cam-mee (no l sound at all) which is lovely, but as you say, most people will say Cam-meal, which is horrid!!

Well I like Camille when it's pronounced Ca-meal. Many years ago I knew one and she was called Camel by irritating teenage boys at school but irritating teenage boys will always come up with something.

I also like Esme (Ez-may) from your list - don't know how to get the accent on the last e. In fact I like it so much I have one. It does seem to be growing in popularity but it can be hard to second guess what will be the next popular name.

Of your other suggestions I like Iris and Roslyn. But Iris is popular and Lois is even more so, so if that concerns you then you might want to avoid.

Other ideas; Eliza, Anita, Thea, Verity, Felicity, Pearl, Ivy, Violet, Ottille, Ramona, Rosalind, Rosa, Anwen, Shona, Ursula, Imogen.

Chances are you'll have an epiphany just before or just after she's born and you'll end up with a name you hadn't even considered before. It often seems to happen that way.....

I think she'd spend her life telling people how to pronounce Camille if you want to pronounce it the French way, and telling people how to spell it when she says it out loud.

Love Camille (ca-meel)! In fact all your names are lovely. How about Delphine? Camelia? Cecile? Matilda?

Love your names, especially Camille and then Lois. Also love Esme and Iris although these are slightly more common, if that bothers you. Not keen on Arwen.

I think it is an absolutely gorgeous name, and that is what I would have named DS had he been a DD.

I love Celeste the most. Fantastic name.

For Camille, the French way is so not working in English, it's the yeh thing at the end, it's hard to transpose...

Thanks everyone for your input. It's so nice to see the positive responses. This was my first time posting about our baby names and I was worried about how people would respond to our taste in names.

MoonHare I absolutely love Ramona, but dh has vetoed it. It's actually really hard to find names we agree on. He's a man of simple tastes. Men!

Calypso
Bette

Another vote for Delphine.

I don't like Camille. My favourite on your list is Iris. How about Helena or Fern?

Love Celeste and Anais. I love, love, Estelle - this is on my list as a middle ...... But I would love it even more if I could persuade my OH
I also like Claudia and Oriana however not french

Sorry, Ficidy, I missed your reply to me the other day.

My Estelle is almost 11 and loves her name. It definitely suits her,and I've always had lots of compliments on it, especially in the UK (we live in France).

She's by far the most girly of all my daughters. She's currently auditioning to get into a prestigious full-time ballet school for when she moves up to secondary in September. She's also the most organised and always has a perfectly tidy bedroom and desk. She puts me to shame in that respect!