Girls names shortlist: First Draft

[Imps7]

Hello

Just want to canvass opinion on the first draft of my shortlist . I must confess that I'm not actually pregnant yet, but in the spirit of being a bit of a saddo positive thinking I am adamant that my BFP is just around the corner.

This is what I am looking for in a name:

1. Nothing to princessy or girlie (eg Annabelle or Pollyanna - lovely names, but not my cup of tea)
   
2. Nothing too stern or school-ma'am-y (eg Margaret or Joan)
   
3. Nothing too popular - preferably outside the top 50 but if I love the name it won't matter where it is
   
4. Nothing too obviously traditional (eg Charlotte or Elizabeth)
   
5. Something a little quirky will be fine (within reason!)
   
6. Nothing to faddy/latest trend (if you see what I mean)
   

Here's the list:

Cassie
Esme
Esther
Elodie
Hazel
Heidi
Hetty
Jennifer
Lillian
May
Marcie
Phoebe
Zoe
Mirabelle (I'm aware that this sort of falls foul of rule 1 above, but I still quite like it)
April
Xanthe
Fearne
Marissa


Views and other alternatives gratefully received.

[kittensliveupstairs]

Of all of them, the only one I would consider would be Jennifer. I particularly dislike Hazel and Heidi and Lillian.
April (or any other month name) is fine, but what about if they were born in March?

[Imps7]

Yes, that is the difficulty with month-based names - would only really choose it if the birth date was nowhere near April. Even then I suppose it would be a bit silly. Maybe I'll scrap that one.

[DesertOrchid]

Esme, Heidi and Elodie are definitely in an upswing at the moment.

I like Cassie, but (unusually for me) not certain about it on its own. How about Cassandra with Cassie as a nn?

I like Hazel and Xanthe.

[helendigestives]

Of your choices I'd say that Elodie is quite faddy - it's becoming the new Amelie. Esme is very popular too.

All the other choices are really lovely. :)

[LottieBronte]

Why not spell Mirabel like this? Much less girly/princessy than Mirabelle.

From your others I like Xanthe. Hazel would be quite nice as a mn.

How about Harriet or Henrietta? You could always shorten this to Hetty. I find Jennifer a bit dated. How about Genevieve or Imogen? You could shorten both of these to Gen/Jen/Jenny.

Some other suggestions:

Beatrix
Blythe
Cecily
Claudia
Elinor
Juliet
Matilda
Saskia
Tamsin
Verity

[Offspring]

From your list I don't mind Zoe or Phoebe.

Other suggestions:

Eloise
Louisa
Sasha
Thea

Good luck for the BFP :)

[InstantAtom]

Cassie - lovely, especially if short for Cassandra
Esme - don't like the "ezz" sound
Esther - quite nice
Elodie - quite pretty
Hazel - not keen
Heidi - don't like
Hetty - don't like
Jennifer - like, due a revival
Lillian - quite like
May - like
Marcie - OK
Phoebe - like
Zoe - OK
Mirabelle - like
April - like
Xanthe - like
Fearne - don't like
Marissa - OK

How about Estella, Nina, Ivy, Louisa, Susan, Marina, Zara, Adele?

[tummytickler]

Cassie - lovely as a nn for Cassandra
Esme - very trendy round here
Esther - lovely,
Elodie - not keen, quite trendy
Hazel - really love this
Heidi - no
Hetty - brill, as a nn
Jennifer - ok
Lillian -like it with nn Lil
May - not keen
Marcie - LOVE
Phoebe - boring
Zoe - pet hate
Mirabelle (I'm aware that this sort of falls foul of rule 1 above, but I still quite like it) - ok, but not that fond of 'Bel/lle' names
April - not keen
Xanthe - ok
Fearne - ok
Marissa - nope

How about Lydia, Constance, Lilith, Iris, Margot, Astrid, Miriam, Blythe, Daphne?

[SaffronCake]

Cassie - I think of a dog, sorry. And Cassandra in mythology was pretty soundly cursed.
Esme - Nice
Esther - Nice
Elodie - My sister has been determined to call any daughter of hers this since she was 14, so I'm sick of it already and can't say anything sensible. (She has had sons).
Hazel - Lovely
Heidi - Very nice
Hetty - No is short for Harriet and I'm not keen there either.
Jennifer - Not for me.
Lillian - Very nice, I thought no one but me liked this one.`
May - Better in the middle.
Marcie - Strongly dislike.
Phoebe - Bored of now.
Zoe - Is ok.
Mirabelle - Mirror ball?
April - Nice
Xanthe - Like this a lot
Fearne - Prefer the botanical spelling but this may be seen as "trendy" and date badly later.
Marissa - Most anxious bag of nerves I ever encountered was a Marissa which puts me right off.

[Avinalarf]

Really like

Cassie - lovely. What will it be short for, though? I always thought Cass was a great name for a girl or boy.

Esme - popular and faddy, imo. there are gazillions where I am (London).

Esther - great name, strong yet feminine. My favourite.

Hazel - has really grown on me in recent times. very pretty without being too girly.

Phoebe - quite popular and quite girly, but I do like this name.

Strongly dislike

Elodie, Heidi, Mirabelle - princessy, girly, twee. Not my cup of tea. Mirabelle is ghastly.

Hetty and Fearne are horrid.

A bit 'meh' about

Jennifer
Lillian
May
Marcie ('ie' names annoy me for some reason. Marcella? Marcelle?)
Zoe
April
Xanthe
Marissa

[Avinalarf]

Esme shouldve been under 'dislike', sorry!

[Imps7]

Oooh goody, thank you for indulging me!

Really like Saskia. Estella (or maybe Estelle) and Miriam from your suggestions.

The main difficulty is the surname - it's difficult to match names that I like with it. It ends in -er and so names ending in -er and -a don't really go with it very well. It also starts with a "W" so names ending in -s or -th are out as they tend to blend with the W to sound like one word (if this makes any sense at all). My all time favourite name is Molly, but it sounds absolutely ridiculous with the surname which I am still quite gutted about!

Hadn't made the connection between Mirabel(le) and Mirror Ball, but now I won't be able not to so that one is definitely out!!

[BibiBelle]

Cassie sounds like a dogs name to me, have you considered Cassia?

Saskia
Celeste
Imogen
Tabitha nn Bitsy
Arianne/Arianna
Kitty
Talia
Beatrice nn Bea
Hebe

all lovely at the minute

[BibiBelle]

Estelle reminds me of Joey's agent in Friends

What about Penelope nn Nell or Penny

[Imps7]

Haaaaa would love it if any future DD of mine turned out like Joey's agent in friends

I really really like Kitty but alas a friend of mine has got there first. Nell is quite nice on its own actually. Cassia is a little too like Casio for my liking - I really like Cassie, but can't stand Cassandra! There isn't really another other name that Cassie could be short for is there? Cassidy maybe, but I don't actually think that's a name is it?!

Thank goodness we don't have to make any decisions imminently - this naming malarky is harder than I thought it would be!

[BibiBelle]

Nina

[exoticfruits]

Jennifer or Zoe

[mathanxiety]

Cassie -- ok, maybe you could use Calista on the BC?
Esme -- 'now'
Esther -- lovely
Elodie -- 'now'
Hazel -- lovely
Heidi -- goats (no)
Hetty -- nice as nn for Henrietta (which I prefer to Harriet)
Jennifer -- nice but safe
Lillian -- what's wrong with 'Lily'? Seems like unnecessary gussying up. Lilia is the nicest version of the name imo.
May -- nice
Marcie -- reminds me of the Brady Bunch (so NO)
Phoebe -- nice
Zoe -- lovely
Mirabelle -- like Mirabel better. However I like Mireille even more.
April -- very 70s
Xanthe -- lovely
Fearne -- too wispy and has all those extraneous letters
Marissa -- DD2 babysits a 6 yo whose favourite name of all time is Marissa. I think it's uber-frilly

Would you like
Mila
Aphra
Tess
Lara
Clara

[maxiewaxie]

My daughter's name is Charis (pronounced Caris) but is known to most people as Cassie.

[Reb3cca]

Cassie - I used to have a cat called Cassie - bit pet-like for me
Esme - cute
Esther - dislike - I have a lot of Dutch friends called Esther
Elodie - like
Hazel - dislike - it's my grandmas name so feels very dated for me
Heidi - like
Hetty - like
Jennifer - bit boring & common
Lillian - OK but prefer Lilly (which she would probs get as nn)
May - dislike
Marcie - umm unsure, i've never heard it before
Phoebe - dislike
Zoe - dislike
Mirabelle - I personally love as I love the whole Arabella princessy thing.
April - dislike (month names don't do it for me - april, may, june..nahh)
Xanthe - LOVE
Fearne - mm ok
Marissa - dislike

What about
Harriet
Darcey
Violet
Velvet
Florence
Francesca (Chesca for nn)
Tabitha
Layla

[manicinsomniac]

Cassie - quite like. Actually prefer Cassandra though.
Esme - mmm, it's ok.
Esther - like but it does have quite a harsh sound
Elodie - sweet
Hazel - I like this. Always shocked by how unpopular it is (not even top 300)
Heidi - not for an English girl imo
Hetty - Okay but not as a stand alone. Henriettta is ok. I like Harriet but the nicknames for that are Hattie and Hazzie I think, not Hetty.
Jennifer - I like this. Out of fashion now but nice. Don't like Jenny
Lillian - not keen. Prefer Lilly
May - Quite like it. Always seems to be a middle name though
Marcie - Not keen
Phoebe - it's ok
Zoe - Like this.
Mirabelle - quite sweet
April - Really like it.
Xanthe-- Love it
Fearne - Not keen at all
Marissa - Pretty

I'd go for Xanthe or April I think.

On similarish lines, how about:
Amy, Cerys, Emily, Flora, Georgia, Hannah, Jasmine, Kirsten, Lauren, Lana, Matilda, Natasha, Nicole, Sadie, Stephanie, Zara

[Rhubarbgarden]

I love Esther, Hazel, April and Fern (but really dislike it with the extra a and e), they are on my shortlist. How about Nadia or Simone?