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Baby names

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

Original poster

Our shortlist for a girl. Any opinions?

59 replies

BeccadeWinter · 03/11/2014 18:52

I'd love to know if MN has any opinions about our shortlist, good or bad! Some are favourites of DP, and some mine. I've put them in alphabetical order, rather than order of my personal preference Grin.

Alice
Ariadne
Daphne
Eleni
Frances
Georgina
Henrietta
Jemima
Juliet

DP has a strong, two-syllable surname. It goes well with almost anything, we think, so nothing particular to consider on that front.

Thanks :)

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mummyRhi6 · 08/11/2014 10:04

I really like Ariadne. It's different and I think a pretty, girly name. My children are at 4 different schools and I have never heard of it.

burgatroyd · 07/11/2014 20:37

I first heard of the name Eleni when I worked with a Greek lady of that name. She pronounced it Elaynie though.

I loved it so much I named my dd2 this.

Which pronunciation do you prefer for Eleni?

happypotamus · 07/11/2014 20:19

Choose Ariadne, please! I wanted it for DD2, but DH had never heard of it before so didn't.

Squtternutbaush · 07/11/2014 15:28

Haha I don't do middle names either, my son has his dads first name as his middle name (much to FIL's dismay) and my daughter has my mums middle name which doesn't flow very well :o

Original poster
BeccadeWinter · 07/11/2014 15:23

mummyRhi6 - Ariadne is pronouced arree-ad-nay (probably could have written that better, but hopefully you get the gist!)

OP posts:
Original poster
BeccadeWinter · 07/11/2014 15:21

I thought this thread had died, so thank you for resurrecting it :) I really appreciate all the responses.

Squtternutbaush - Mary is a family name and I've always been fairly set on using it for my first daughter (the alternative is Madeleine). I'm probably in the minority here but I'm not one who's hugely bothered about middle names - to me they're more about family tradition than what necessarily 'works' with first names, IYSWIM. I'm still slightly concerned that Jemima Mary might be a bit of a mouthful for a young child, though. I did laugh at the Sister Act comment, though - I have a Catholic background, though not practising any more Grin

Interesting to see a few suggestions for Arianne and Francesca - lovely though they are, they're two of the names likely to make my list for the 'names you irrationally dislike' thread! Oh dear!

OP posts:
pilates · 07/11/2014 13:42

Jemima Alice is my favourite.

mummyRhi6 · 07/11/2014 13:18

My favourite is Henrietta, love the shorter version of Hetty aswell. I haven't heard of the name Ariadne. How do you pronounce it?

Squtternutbaush · 07/11/2014 13:12

Just seen your post about middle name.

Are you set on Mary and are you bothered about it going with the first name? I ask as I don't actually think it flows well with any of your list and Frances Mary makes me think of nuns and Sister Act - Sister Mary Frances but that's probably just me :o

Squtternutbaush · 07/11/2014 13:07

Alice - nice
Ariadne - prefer Arianna
Daphne - I see and hear Daphne Broon
Eleni - prefer Elena (E-lay-na)
Frances - meh, prefer Francesca
Georgina - meh, prefer Georgie
Henrietta - frumpy
Jemima - Puddleduck
Juliet - nice but prefer Julia or Julianna

I do like your names but prefer variations of them IYSWiM.

Personally I love Francesca :o

MorelliOrRanger · 07/11/2014 12:55

I really like Jemima and Daphne

Not keen on Ariadne but that might be because I've never heard of it and dont know how to pronounce it.

islandinthestream · 07/11/2014 12:47

All lovely names. We also have Alice, Jemima and Daphne on our shortlist so I'd have to pick one of those.

neverenoughwine · 05/11/2014 20:04

Georgina (biased as I have a Georgia and Georgia was the compromise as wan't keen on Gina as an nn - love it now though)

Otherwise Juliet or Daphne are gorgeous names too! Good Luck.

Legionofboom · 05/11/2014 14:07

The only name I really like from your list is Juliet which is beautiful. Frances is also ok.

I really dislike everything about Ariadne. It sounds jarring to me and it looks like it's spelt wrong. But I suspect it is a bit of a marmite name.

minipie · 05/11/2014 14:03

Alice - nice, simple, classic. A bit of a safe option iyswim

Ariadne - I like the way it looks on the page but not how it's said (I hear it as " 'Arry 'ad me " or something similar...). Also think it's a leeetle bit try-hard.

Daphne - Pretty and unusual without being overly frilly. I like it.

Eleni - Lovely. I thought it was Welsh but just googled and it isn't.

Frances - Frances is pretty but I don't like Fran or Frankie and suspect one of those would be inevitable

Georgina - Nice, classic. I prefer Georgia, a bit more feminine. Georgie is a very sweet nn.

Henrietta - Never been a fan of this one, though I do like Hettie.

Jemima - I like it as a name but can't get over the fact that it's often used as the "spoilt middle class brat" name (eg "those parents who never tell off their darling Jemimas and Tarquins")

Juliet - Classic, pretty, not too many of them.

So... I'd probably pick Daphne, Eleni or Juliet. But tbh all of your list is nice, I'm nit picking really.

DertieBertie · 05/11/2014 13:49

(Nearly) all top names, with Juliet probably being my favourite. Ariafne is also lovely.

The one I don't like is Jemima. Always followed by "Puddleduck" in my head! If I was going to be extra picky, I find Georgina slightly on the boring side in comparison to the rest of your list, and Daphne isn't my favourite either.

TempsPerdu · 05/11/2014 13:32

Oh, and I'm another one who slightly prefers Arianne/Arianna to Ariadne.

TempsPerdu · 05/11/2014 13:31

A real mix here...

Alice - love it. It's one of the few 'classics' I never tire of
Ariadne - lovely in theory, but risky. There was an Ariadne in my year at school who was plagued with acne and was very overweight and mousy/geeky. She was teased mercilessly for not living up to her name's 'image', iyswim. One to think carefully about I think!

Daphne - quite like it; has a fresh, 'cheerful' feel to it. Daffy as NN is awful though. Suspect it's very much a Marmite name!
Eleni - pretty but feels insubstantial somehow
Frances - OK, but seems a bit plain. It's quite dull and stolid-sounding.
Georgina - meh
Henrietta - dislike; very stuffy and formal-sounding. To me it manages to sound masculine and overly frilly at once!

Jemima - not a fan
Juliet - very pretty; quite classic and known but not overused.

Personally I'd narrow it down to Alice, Daphne and Juliet - possibly Ariadne if you're feeling brave!

DecaffTastesWeird · 05/11/2014 12:14

I like Alice and Georgina best.

BeattieBow · 05/11/2014 11:31

I like Jemima, Alice and Frances.

I thought about Alice for my dd but it is too commonly used for me.

I really like Frances - I think it is elegant and unusual and not at all stodgy.

Jemima is sweet I think - I don't think the racist connotations should put you off.

I'm not particularly hot on the other names - we also thought about Henrietta, but it is just too 1980s pie-crust collar and pearl necklace like I think.

temporaryusername · 05/11/2014 11:22

I think it is just an 'intensifier' if you know what I mean..like hell on wheels etc..

MiddletonPink · 05/11/2014 07:02

I don't understand the jet ski bit?

Original poster
BeccadeWinter · 04/11/2014 21:50

Oh, temporaryusername, thanks for striking one off our list! I wasn't familiar with the Fry and Laurie sketch, but have just looked it up on Youtube (wow - wasn't Stephen Fry slim?!).

pandora37 - I think I'd seen mention of Jemima and racist connotations (possibly on another thread here?) but hadn't bothered to look into it until now. I wasn't aware of the issues, so thanks for the heads-up. We don't have American relatives, but do have some family members who now live in the US. As I mentioned previously, Jemima was always my favourite name for a girl, but I think with the 'Jemima Puddleduck' link, the fact that I'm not keen on any Jemima nns and the fact that I was planning on using Mary as a middle name (which - with Jemima - is perhaps a few too many 'm' sounds) I might have to rule it out.

Thanks again to all who've expressed their opinions!

OP posts:
temporaryusername · 04/11/2014 21:25

Sorry but whenever I hear Henrietta I'm just reminded of the Fry and Laurie sketch Grin.

Stephen
Am I right in thinking that you have a daughter?

Hugh
Yup. Henrietta.

Stephen
Did he? Did he really? That must have hurt. Hurt like hell on a jetski.

MiddletonPink · 04/11/2014 21:12

Henrietta! Hen for a nn.. lovely.