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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

please comment on the following:

39 replies

strugglingwiththepreteenbit · 23/08/2012 22:20

we've now ploughed through a baby name book and come up with a shortlist of things we just like. Please tell me your thoughts on:
Christabel
Clementine
Eleanor
Felicity
Gayle
Jacqueline
Rosalind

To go with the middle name Mary after a very special great aunt, and the most disturbingly dull surname that isn't Smith.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
TheWave · 23/08/2012 22:22

Quite like Rosalind. Interesting and sweet.

MoaningMingeWhingesAgain · 23/08/2012 22:24

I love Clementine, but not sure it goes with Mary.

Rosalind Mary 'goes', but a bit close to Rose Marie/Marie Rose eg the sauce on a prawn cocktail

Not sure about Christabel - I would have to use nn Bella for it - love Bella as a nn though. Not mad on Jacqueline or Gayle, they are 45 yr old women.

So Eleanor.

NanaNina · 23/08/2012 22:26

Eleanor Mary would be my choice.

mum47 · 23/08/2012 22:26

Eleanor Mary. Done!

SirBoobAlot · 23/08/2012 22:26

Not Clementine or Gayle. Not overly fond of Eleanor.

Love Rosalind and Christabel.

floranora · 23/08/2012 22:43

hate them all except Clementine!

christabel- is just not nice
Eleanor- very boring and quite a common name
felicity- meh, I just don't like it
gayle- humm... school will be fun for her!
Jacqueline- DPs exWs name, so i hate it straight away. also hate how it is shortened to Jackie.
rosalind- just not my taste

Gugglebum · 23/08/2012 23:17

Rosalind and Clementine are my favourites.

manicinsomniac · 23/08/2012 23:33

I love christabel and felicity. Eleanor and jacqueline are nice. I'm not keen on rosalind and really don't like Gayle.

cece · 23/08/2012 23:40

Interesting selection

Eleanor
Felicity
Gayle
Jacqueline
Rosalind
Christabel
Clementine

I like them in the above order. Prefer Eleanor but not shortened to Ellie.

Felicity and Gayle are both a close second.
Jacqueling seems a bit dated to me.
The other three really don't grab me at all.

shockers · 24/08/2012 00:01

In order of preference

Felicity-I really like, but could get the nn Flick (which I also like)
Rosalind
Eleanor
Clementine & Christabel
Jacqueline
Gayle... sorry, I really don't like this at all.

twonker · 24/08/2012 00:14

I love gayle, although I would spell Gail.

seeker · 24/08/2012 00:19

Love Jacqueline- and incredibly unusual.

How about Clemency instead of Clementine? No orange connection!

littlebluechair · 24/08/2012 00:22

Christabel - too cutesy
Clementine - fruit not human
Eleanor - perfect Smile
Felicity - nice enough
Gayle - 80s mum
Jacqueline - nn Jackie? no no no
Rosalind - clunky

BlueSuedeStiletto · 24/08/2012 00:31

Christabel- Not at all keen. Sounds a bit like a fairy. Belle or Bella are nice though.
Clementine- Dislike. Especially the thought of Clem as a NN
Eleanor- Lovely. A real classic. I know a grown up (25) Eleanor with the NN Nell instead of the usual Ellie which also I love.
Felicity- Love this too. Wide scope for NN
Gayle- Awful. Sorry OP
Jacqueline- The only ones I know are in their 40s. I like the full version but don't like Jackie or Lyn as NNs
Rosalind- Not bad, but would prefer Rosalie.

Eleanor (Nell) Mary is great as is Felicity (Flick, Fliss, Fli, Lissy) Mary.

BlameThePixies · 24/08/2012 00:55

Rosalind is my favourite from your list, it's charming and unusual, with plenty of shortening options which is great for your dd as she grows up. Flows well with Mary too.

Eleanor is nice and goes well with Mary, but is v popular these days, there will be tons of Ellies at school.

Clementine and Felicity don't work so well with Mary, sound a bit mismatched.

Christabel, Jacqueline and Gayle all sound rather 80's to me, in a Dynasty kind of way!

Tuo · 24/08/2012 01:19

Haven't read other responses, so as not to be influenced by them:

Christabel - really really like it.

Clementine - have a certain attachment to it, as it was one of my gran's middle names, but on the other hand she hated it, and it does make me want to sing 'Oh my darling..'.

Eleanor - dull. Every Tom Dick and Harry is called Eleanor these days.

Felicity - OK, but not great with Mary (too many 'y's)

Gayle - Don't like it. Don't know why. Just don't.

Jacqueline - OK. Scans nicely with Mary and a one-syllable surname. But doesn't thrill me.

Rosalind - really like this one too.

Can I suggest a name that I really like (although I have been told on here that it's ponce-tastic) and that goes well with Mary and a 'Smith'-like name?

Cressida.

Cressida Mary 'Smith'

No?

Just me then!

dimplebum · 24/08/2012 01:22

Eleanor Mary is beautiful

monsterchild · 24/08/2012 01:25

Isn't Cressida a Toyota? Hmm, I might avoid that one.

I like Rosalind (very Shakespeare) and Eleanor.

Christabel is good too but I can't say it without using a German accent, as it's my aunt's name (she's German). Jacqueline is ok too, but always makes me think of Charlie's Angels.

I don't like naming kids after attributes like Felicity or Charity.

I think of the song "oh my Darling Clementine" AND the oranges. I like both, nn could be Tina.

MrsHelsBels74 · 24/08/2012 02:06

Surely not Gayle Mary? To me it immediately made me think of Hail Mary.

I like Rosalind best out of your list.

Lannie33 · 24/08/2012 02:11

I love Eleanor!! Jaqueline would be next. Not keen on any of the others, sorry.

Ham69 · 24/08/2012 02:24

MrsHelsBels beat me to the 'Hail Mary' (Gayle Mary) thought!
I like them all except Jacqueline and Gayle.

randomimposter · 24/08/2012 08:24

Love Rosalind (also Rosamund) and Eleanor (Nell).

Much prefer Clemency to Clementine. Quite like Jacqueline (but not Jacqui/Jackie as NN as seems a bit dated).

Irrational dislike of Felicity and Christabel. Gayle's just a bit meh.

BergamotCourtyard · 24/08/2012 08:29

I like Felicity with Rosalind and Gayle tied at second place.

My thoughts:

Felicity: Feminine yet accomplished. Kendall comes to mind and that is not a bad thing. I also like the male version of Felix.

Rosalind: Not an unusual name and yet underused. It seems gentle and stylish, not shouting nor bragging about anything. Good natured and cultured. Shakespeare would have approved.

Gayle: Happy and joyful and a red coloured name. I like the rounded nature of the G in this name and prefer it in appearance to Gail as a diminutive of Abigail. I don't find it 80s in any way, none more so than Abigail, as it has been used as a nn for many years as Kate has been for Katherine. The spelling with a y is nearer to how it was once written IIRC. As well as meaning joy, I think it's also related to gala meaning rejoicing and to the word singer, as in nightingale and Keats's ode to the bird's song. Robert Le Carre used a Gail or Gayle (can't remember which version) in his recent book as a barrister and Gail Trimble, the classist now at Oxford also comes to mind as does Gayle Hunnicutt, a very striking actress in her time and involved with the National Trust.

Clementine: I like this although I'm not sure whether it will be rather faddy as it's only been used more recently. Clementine Churchill and Kate Winslet's character have helped boost its popularity. It vividly brings to mind the colour orange which is fine but what if she doesn't want to be associated with that colour for all her life? Just a thought.

Jacqueline: The nn Jackie would deter me and all I see are captions to photos of people with mullets in a magazine, I'm afraid. The Kennedy connection isn't entirely desirable either. I think if you were French if would be easier to get away with, perhaps. Apart from this name, I very much like the names you have shortlisted.

Like Cressida too. Regarding Mary as a middle name, have you considered Marigay if you like the name Mary and Gayle? I know of one who is great, may be a bit too SW3 sloane but it might be a way of adding in another name.

Eleanor - timeless, elegant, acceptable anywhere, it has the romance of the Acquitaine connection. The only downside is that I don't like Ellie much. If your surname is very plain, I think this might be a bit dowdy as the Rigby element might come into play.

Christabel - I think of a suffragete, so there is strength in the connotation and feminity in the sound of the name. There's also a Balenciaga scent that has a similar name.

How many syllables does your surname have?

strugglingwiththepreteenbit · 24/08/2012 10:05

thanks everyone, bergamot in particular that was really, thoughtful. The surname has 2 syllables.

OP posts:
HiHowAreYou · 24/08/2012 10:28

I like Rosalind, then Felicity.

I would like Eleanor if there weren't so many Ellies about.