I'd use it as a middle name so you can honour your grandmother (sorry for your loss, by the way), but as a first name I'd call it adventurous.

Dory is quite sweet however! Maybe you could have Doreen on the birth certificate and call her Dory all the time.

Good luck with TTC!

This is why God invented second names.

I like Edie, Eda, Ada etc.

Not keen on Doreen but like Theadora and Dorothea.

OH yes, I love Dorcas.

I prefer Dorcas myself

Personally I do not like Doreen. At a push you could you it for a middle name but with a more modern/younger sounding first name.

No, it doesn't seem to be on the radar at all. Would you consider Dora (despite the chirpy little explorer) or Thoedora? Edie is back though, and very nice, imo.

No.

It is interesting I agree.
There is very little in the introductory blurb about class. Lots of interesting comments under some of the individual names, however (e.g Bert is described as 'somewhat plebeian'). Also gives exact date/source when name was first found/used.

Charlotte Mary Yonge, History of Christian Names is around Victorian era, and she does mention which classes used particular names. Though I'm afraid I don't have this.

Hmm, I guess I expected a reaction like this It's not really my cup of tea either, but I really would like to remember her. A girl couldn't ask for a better Grandma

I like the Dory/Dorie suggestion, hester, thanks for that. It's very sweet. I think it's also pronounce-able (and doesn't mean anything awful) in Japanese too, which a plus as dh is Japanese.

Thanks for the support anyway, tethersend, but I think you were the only positive reaction! I would be said to give that name to a future dd and then have her hate it, especially as she will never be able to know first-hand just how super-duper her Great-gran was.

Have to agree with becklespeckle about not going with Eda, though. It's not a name that anyone in the family associates with her - it was common knowledge that she hated it!

Now, just got to wait a couple of months till we're ready to start properly trying! Thank you for all the kind thoughts - seen some quite harsh comments on other threads in this topic so I'm quite touched.