i think boys names are easier than girls names...

[nameynamerson]

we're down to two for boys

charlie
benjamin

but girls are so hard:

sasha (dh likes)
ruby (too many about?)
anna
rosie
kit (my nan)
eva (too many about?)
emily
roxanne (roxy)

what do you think of them?

which would you choose?

can you add any others you think we'd like?

[mathanxiety]

Kit is lovely.

[nameynamerson]

but do you think it's too short as a name on it's own? my nan was short for kathleen but not that keen tbh.

also i think most people will assume it's a boy???

[akamummy]

I'm calling my son Kit.
If you ask me Kit is a boy's name.... what about Kitty?

[nameynamerson]

i like kitty as a nickname...

but my nan was known as kit.

[akamummy]

Hmmmm.... is that you definite shortlist?
It depends how common a name you want. Ruby and Rosie are both gorgeous names - but you have to accept that there are quite a lot of them out there now.
I called my daughter Ruby before that blasted Charlotte Church did and now its too popular for my liking. I still love the name but for my next Im trying to think a bit more out the box to avoid the same thing happening again....

[dizzydixies]

akamummy I wouldn't bother, we gave DD1 a name we loved without realising it was very popular. We thought 'out of the box' for DD2 and its now the highest climbing girls name - you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't

pick a name you love and use it - doesn't matter one bit if they're not the only one

[nameynamerson]

it's not definite for the girls.
completely open to suggestions.

[ManicMother7777]

Agree that Kit is usually for a boy. Kitty is a lovely name.

I think all the others are nice except Roxanne/Roxy, which (if you're as old as me) will always get you singing the Police song.

I like Saskia too. I have 2 ds and I love musing over girls' names.

[nameynamerson]

thanks mm7777

more girls names pls

[newpup]

Emily is beautiful, timeless classic.
Also Anna is rather lovely.

How about

Lucy
Stella

or Mabel?

[nameynamerson]

thanks newpup, yes lucy is lovely

already know a little stella

mabel, pretty but not to my taste

[ManicMother7777]

I quite like italian versions of popular names, eg Emilia, Lucia, Rosa - they're beautiful. Also Francesca is lovely.

[nameynamerson]

i like rosa. is rosie really very popular?

i'm not even sure if it bothers me that much.

[diddl]

Don´t like Roxanne.
Prefer Rosa to Rosie.
Think of Kit as a boys name.
Is your Grandmothers name short for anything?

[bellissima]

Are girls' names harder because there might be 'too many about'? Why do we worry about this with girls and not boys? I bet there are lots of Charlies and Benjamins out there - but those are still nice names, like your girls' ones.

I think the worst thing is to spend ages deliberately choosing a name for its 'unique' or scarce potential. You will inevitably find that the zeitgeist, tastes and cultural influences of the times means that it is far from unique. If anything your little darling will be one of a little rash of Esmes (mid-90s, especially in north-east), Mayas/Mias (circa 99), Amelies (post-movie) or whatever who can be dated to within five years.

[Mots]

We had the same problem. Had our DD been a DS we would have had the name sorted very quickly. As it turned out it took us 4 weeks after she was born to agree on a name for her.

You may find it easier once you have meet your little one. Maybe give it a break and don't think about it too much for now. I have friends who thought about it the whole time during the pregnancy (they knew they were going to have a DS as well) and constantly discussed it after the birth, and as a result their DS was registered with a name they are not happy with and 9 months down the track they want to change it, but can't decide - crazy.

Emily was one of our favourites - lovely pretty name, which has always been timeless. Would Alice be a possibility?

We ended up going through the alphabet listing the names we liked for each letter and got down to two - didn't think about it for 2 days - and then it was easy to decide.

Good Luck

[nameynamerson]

diddl we would christen roxanne but she would be known as roxy - do you like roxy? my nan's name was kathleen so i suppose we would christen kathleen, known as kit.

bellisima yes i agree that the individuality of names cannot be assured. i think i don't mind if it's popular, just want it to be special. i'm not sure if i think anna and emily are not special enougah for some reason. maybe because they aren't very contemporary. although anna is probably my fav from the list.

mots we've taken a big step back from it recently. in fact we haven't discussed for ages. now the weeks are ticking by i'm starting to feel pressure to at least narrow it down a bit. we had a name for boy and girl what pg with ds. this time around we've agreed to have maybe two for each to choose when we meet him/her.

ok new approach, which two girls names' do you like best from my list then?

[Mots]

Emily or Anna

But if those are too similar, I like Roxy as a fun, feisty name.

[bellissima]

You want an actual opinion??

Okay I like a number of them - already said I like Charlie and Benjamin. From the girls - Sasha (liked the dolls), Anna, Rosie, Emily. Yes okay fairly traditional, you got me! Do like some rarer names though, and nobody has ever heard of DD2s (her godmother's).

Not so sure on Eva, dunno why.

Kit to me is a boy's name (worked with one). Ruby to me is like Lola/Layla - 'my parents consider themselves cool, trendy art student types' etc (okay, in fact nowt wrong with that - updates of folk who in the sixties called their kids Jason, Ruben, Vanessa etc - ie basically my parents' friends!).

Don't like Roxy sorry (you wanted an honest opinion).

Okay two - Anna and Rosie. But that's today.

[CuppaTeaJanice]

I'm curious as to why you're so against having an overused girls name when the two boys names you have picked are incredibly popular at the moment.

I found it much easier to choose girls names - there are so many beautiful ones around. Boys names tend to be either really overused, too posh, a bit chavvy or something that would be embarrassing for the poor lad at school.

I know a female Kit. That's probably the name I'd pick from your list. Kittie is nice too. Do you dislike Katherine as well as Kathleen?

[CuppaTeaJanice]

...and I'd choose Benji or Kit for a boy!!

[nameynamerson]

thanks for the opinions everyone.

cuppateajanice, not really against names being to popular. charlie and benjamin both v popular as you said.

i guess the problem is that i like those names (anna, emily, eva) but it seems like i personally know a lot of them. whereas i don't with charlie and benjamin. maybe as i already have a boy who has a more unusual name, it feels easier to pick a more 'normal' name for him. sorry if this makes no sense!

bellisima, i'm curious about your dd2's name now!!

[bellissima]

Now that would be telling! But no seriously - wouldn't mind except that, as there are no others, that's my anonymity down the pan.

I love the name for what it is - a lovely name and her Flemish aunt/godmother's name. But I don't get a 'warm glow' at its 'yuneeqness' here. Had to spell it out only yesterday when there was a new instructor at her swimming lesson. Fact is DD1 named after my (much loved) grandmother and DD2 named after godmother. One has a name that happens to be well-used at the moment, one doesn't. I love both names equally for their associations. But then that's how I choose names I suppose. And I'm willing to bet that had I deliberately chosen DD2's name for its scarcity value, another one would have popped up by now just to spite my ridiculousness. But enuf patronising.

Remembered why I'm iffy about Eva - it's that bit in Dinnerladies/Victoria Wood(?) where Julie Walters served by some particularly sour-faced canteen lady and says 'Do you know, you've got a look of Eva Braun about you..."

It's not Rumpelstiltskina.

[jellybeans]

charlie OK
benjamin PREFER JUST BEN

sasha OK
ruby OK, TOO POPULAR
anna OK, BORING
rosie LIKE
kit DISLIKE
eva LOVE IT BUT MAYBE TOO MANY (USUALLY EVIE THOUGH)
emily DISLIKE
roxanne LIKE IT

[beryljinker]

If you like Kit and Kitty but aren't sure about Kathleen you could look for alternative names which Kit could be short for? I know a child called Keturah (pronounced Kit-yaura) shortened to Kitty. Kitra and Kitena are also fairly uncommon girls names which can be shortened to Kit or Kitty.