Some names we are pondering over......

[daisy5]

Just wondering what people think of when they hear these names.....

Juliet
Genevieve
Portia
Gretchen
Francesca
Emilia
Helena
Anastasia
Alexandra

We have a short surname so the longer names sound really good but I worry that they can come across as pretentious (such as Anastasia - although very pretty I think).

Any thoughts.

Many thanks.

[Nancy66]

Anastasia is my favourite of the bunch. Portia is the only one I'd class as pretentious

[SAEJ]

Love Alexandra, like Helena, find people always spell/pronnounce Portia wrong (Porsche). Prefer Amelia or Amelie.

Also like Cecile and Cecelia.

[Boobz]

Alexandra is the best
Juliet, Genevieve are second best
Gretchen, Helena are good
No to Portia, Francesca, Emilia and Anastasia.

[mrsjuan]

I like Alexandra best.
Quite like Gretchen but don;t think I'd be brave enough to use it myself!

[chandellina]

have known Gretchens, Genevieves and Juliets and always thought those were great names. The others are ok but i like those three best.

[harpomarx]

I only like Francesca. Though Alexandra is ok.

Is Elizabeth too boring? Gabriela?

I don't really like long names, sorry!

[NotADragonOfSoup]

They're all OK except Gretchen which is horrendous.

[Hulababy]

Of your list I think I prefer Anatastia, and nn Ana. Emilia is nice too.

[pamelat]

Juliet - ok
Genevieve - don't like
Portia - terrible
Gretchen - no
Francesca - lovely but hard for little ones to say?
Emilia - like
Helena - very nice (my favourite on your list)
Anastasia - no
Alexandra - also very nice

So Helena, Alexandra and Francesca are my favourites.

[deleting]

like them all except genevieve, portia and gretchen

[CatchaStar]

Emilia is my favourite, you could have Emmy for short which is lovely.

Not overly keen on any other except for Juliet.

[HelenBurns]

Be brave, bluff it - no one will dare say you're being pretentious! Especially as you're not, you just like the names.

I love most of those,

Juliet is the nicest imo.
You can't have Gretchen as I have bagged it for my yet-to-be-conceived daughter!

[brimfull]

love
Helena,
Gretchen
Juliet

not keen on the others

[annasmami]

I love Anastasia and Helena!

I find Gretchen really ridiculous (sorry, I really do)! It is the German 'cute' form of Greta and would not suit a girl older than 3!! I also have no idea how you would pronounce the -chen in English . Sorry, but you did ask!

[LaDiDaDi]

Juliet-like it
Genevieve-ok
Portia-ok
Gretchen-really don't like it
Francesca-lovely
Emilia-very nice
Helena-very pretty and classical
Anastasia-ok
Alexandra-very pretty and classical again!

[Hassled]

Portia is a bit poncey.

Gretchen a bit Hansel and Gretel-ey - you expect pigtails and Germanic wholesomeness.

Genevieve was the name of a car in a 1960s film, but is lovely.

The rest all nice names.

[LiffeyMermaid]

Juliet - absolutely lovely. A really feminine but strong name which doesn't end in 'a' I like that.
Genevieve - probably ginny for short which is pretty. Genevieve hard to spell, hard to pronounce and a bit Disney Barbie.
Portia - lovely but I would use it as a middle name.
Gretchen - not keeen, but I love Greta and Margot
Francesca - not keen because I don't like Franky or Fanny
Emilia - nice. Jemma or Jemima lovely too.
Helena - ok. the H spoils it. ELena nicer
Anastasia - ok, bit long and fussy, so it would be shortened to Ana or Annie which are both nice. I prefer Annabel, especially as it is a pretty name like Juliet but doesn't end in 'a'
Alexandra - not overly keen. Sasha for short ok.

[Sesi]

Juliet - Classic, but a bit wet.
Genevieve - Classy, grown up, very nice.
Portia - Awful, quite chavvy, reminds me of a name like Chanel or Armani.
Gretchen - Ugly sound. Greta is ok.
Francesca - It's ok, Frankie isn't nice, so I would be wary.
Emilia - Nice, a bit close to Emily which is way over used.
Helena - Very nice, imo the nicest name of your choices.
Anastasia - I love this name but Ana & Stasi only nicknames are not great.
Alexandra - Safe, again can't go wrong but not very interesting.

[daisy5]

This is really helpful. Thanks for all the feedback. I love hearing all the comments.

liffey - I do like that Juliet and Gretchen don't end in an -a and our dd's name ends in -ia so I was trying to look for names where I could avoid that.

I really like Juliet, and it's interesting that so many of you agree. I'm not so keen on Julie (more because I have known so many over the years) but I don't think Juliet would necessarily be shortened. But my dp is not crazy about Juliet - thinks it is old fashioned!!!!

Portia - I think I will forget about this one - I had some reservations. Gretchen maybe too - although I do like it.

My dp's grandmother was Emily, and he likes the name, but I am not that into it, so I was looking for an alternative. I do like Emmaline - thanks for the suggestion.

Good point about nn's for Francesca.

Still pondering the others. Anastasia - Alexandra, Genevieve and Helena. There are two ways to pronounce Helena (helen-a or hel-lain-a) - that could get confusing.

[Spidermama]

I love the name Portia but I seem to recall looking it up during one of my pregnancies to discover it means 'piggy/pig-like' which is a bit off putting for a girl.

[daisy5]

Oh, Elizabeth too common in my family. Gemma is the name of my cousin. Gabriela - my brothers ex girlfriend (and he wouldn't thank me). Cecilia - the name of a girl that I find a bit annoying.

Thanks for all the feedback though as really needing inspiration.

[pointydog]

Juliet - no, there's only one
Genevieve - a car
Portia - posh and awful
Gretchen - german and ugly
Francesca - italian
Emilia - italian
Helena - ok
Anastasia - pop singer
Alexandra - ok

[ByTheSea]

My favourites of your list are Juliet, Genevieve and I also like Helena, although prefer Elena. One of these is DD2's name. I named her after my father in a way and it has really grown on me. It is a proper name, but not terribly common, and will work for her whole life as it's not a little girl name.