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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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whostimeisitanyway · 04/11/2014 13:29

Lovely list. Here are my thoughts:

Alice- beautiful, classic name, quite popular now if that bothers you.
Ariadne-I love it, came v close to using it but DH thought it was too difficult to say.
Daphne-I love it but many will dislike.
Eleni- no where near as nice as many other names on your list.
Frances- lovely and classic but not as pretty as your other names (love Francesca too)
Georgina- okay
Henrietta- not fond of this (much prefer the male versions of this and Georgina)
Jemima- lovely name, good nns
Juliet-beautiful, one of my favourites.

arseyfarcey · 04/11/2014 01:01

Love Daphne!

Sophronia · 04/11/2014 00:55

I absolutely love Ariadne. I like Ariadna as well which is the Spanish version I think.

I also really like Henrietta, and Georgina, Jemima and Eleni are ok.

bouncingbelle · 04/11/2014 00:44

I'm in scotland so daphne to me will always be daphne broon!!

bouncingbelle · 04/11/2014 00:43

Daphne and Henrietta are awful, the rest are ok, with the exception of Alice and Juliet which are fabulous!!! :)

SurfsUp1 · 04/11/2014 00:41

Daphne would get Daffy too.

I try and banish memories of daphne from old episodes of Neighbours and then i'm left with Scooby Doo.

SurfsUp1 · 04/11/2014 00:39

Alice - I love it
Ariadne - feels like trying too hard?
Daphne - nice flower not so good as a name
Eleni - very Greek to me.
Frances - Prefer Francesca
Georgina - v nice
Henrietta - Its a little posh, so depends whether that suits really
Jemima - Very now, but nice name with good nns
Juliet - lovely

temporaryusername · 03/11/2014 23:41

Alice - quite like this, not massively exciting but very pretty
Ariadne - hmm, thinking of Ariadne Oliver (in Poirot) but a little girl could make it her own. Not very keen on the sound of it.
Daphne - No. Not a 'strong' name.
Eleni - don't like this
Frances - don't personally like it as find it a bit boring but it is ok
Georgina - do not find this an attractive name on any level.

Henrietta - as above
Jemima - cute, I like it but will probably divide opinion
Juliet - as for Alice

Riverland · 03/11/2014 23:28

I love the diminutive Ari, and I far prefer Arianna over Ariadne.

Juliet is a lovely name, and I also admire the name Frances.

Henrietta is cumbersome and Alice is too twee, Jemima to me is Puddle Duck and will be called Jemma which I don't like at all.
Georgina is a bit of a mouthful really, with not a lot of pay off, I mean, it's neither beautiful nor sassy, it's just heavy.

Eleni is ok. A bit unassuming, could - do - better -ish. I used to know Eliana, which is a nice name, but there are lots of Ella's and Ellie's around now.

Daphne is the outsider which could come up on the outside and win the race, I think.

Pandora37 · 03/11/2014 23:16

I hate Frances, I think it's plain, stodgy and frumpy.

Ariadne makes me think of spiders (probably because I'm weird) but I do like it, it's pretty.

Jemima has racist connotations in the US which probably doesn't matter but thought I'd point it out in case you have American relatives or something.

I like Eleni but there's too many El- names out there, so I'd ditch it.

I'm not sure what to think of Henrietta. Seems a bit over the top and I don't think I'd want it to be my name.

Alice, Georgina, Daphne and Juliet are my favourites. I vote for Daphne, a great name that doesn't get enough love and needs to be used more!

Original poster
BeccadeWinter · 03/11/2014 20:53

Varied opinions! I'm grateful for all of them. No overwhelming hatred for any of them, which is both a blessing and a curse Grin.

Ariadne is my current favourite (by a mile!). DP really likes it too, but it only entered my mind as a possibility relatively recently, so I worry we might tire of it or simply stop loving it. Jemima is a long-term favourite (also liked by DP), though since actually becoming pregnant I'm beginning to doubt it - not helped by the fact I don't like the obvious nicknames!

OP posts:
MyNameIsSuz · 03/11/2014 20:52

I love Daphne! it would be on my list for a girl but a friend has a little daphne and I think it would be weird.

OooOooTheMonkey · 03/11/2014 20:44

Frances is horrid. It's my middle name and I hate it! The rest are lovely!

baskingseals · 03/11/2014 20:43

Love Daphne, I mean I really love it. My other two favourites are Juliet and Frances.

WittyUsername102 · 03/11/2014 20:40

Juliet and Alice are my favorites.

ParsleyCake · 03/11/2014 20:38

LOVE Ariadne, but my other half won't even consider it as it's so unusual. Next, Daphne - but maybe just because I study ancient greek!
I don't really like the others but Eleni is interesting and tbh Juliet because it's pretty but still practical

MehsMum · 03/11/2014 19:59

Lone fan of Daphne here. I think it's a lovely name and wanted it for one of ours, but DH didn't the miserable sod

DrMcDreamysWife · 03/11/2014 19:52

I like Alice best. Georgina is pretty as is Ariadne

Henrietta I really don't like, it sounds like Henry ate her...

GotToBeInItToWinIt · 03/11/2014 19:41

Frances, Georgina and Juliet are my favourite. Lovely names. Don't like Henrietta (but adore Harriet).

TsukuruTazaki · 03/11/2014 19:38

Juliet is the best

SirChenjin · 03/11/2014 19:35

Not so keen on Ariadne or Daphne, but love the others Smile

ashesandfire · 03/11/2014 19:35

Alice, Eleni & Juliet are my favourites. I also like Jemima and Ariadne.
Dislike Henrietta and Daphne. Georgina is ok but I teach loads of them so a bit bored of it. Prefer Francesca to Frances.

louiseb1242 · 03/11/2014 19:35

I love Ariadne. I also know a gorgeous little girl called Eleni (so I'm also biased in favour of that.)

verelab · 03/11/2014 19:34

Juliet and Alice are my favourites, though Alice is becoming more popular. Having said that, I've never met a little one!

Paddingtonthebear · 03/11/2014 19:32

Georgina. Def due a comeback