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Baby names

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

Original poster

Critique my girl names

39 replies

ABCFamily · 20/10/2015 06:17

I've just found out that I'm pregnant, and am having fun thinking of names.

Although I'm a Brit, I've been living abroad for a while, but intend to move back to the UK in the next year or so. How would these girl names be perceived back home?

Which of these names do you like/dislike, & why?

Alice
Astrid
Beatrice
Bronwen
Celeste
Demelza
Emily
Evelyn
Hannah
Hazel
Hester
Lorna
Louise
Megan
Penelope
Phoebe
Rachel
Simone
Sylvia

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Original poster
ABCFamily · 22/10/2015 18:35

educatingarti & Celtictoast - Thank you for the suggestions.

Carenza is quite pretty, but too close to my MIL's name (Karen) to be usable for me.

Eliza is ok, but I prefer Elizabeth. Unfortunately I already have a close relative called Elizabeth, so that one's out too. I do quite like Elspeth though.

OP posts:
celtictoast · 22/10/2015 16:11

Carenza as an alternative to Demelza

Or Eliza?

educatingarti · 22/10/2015 14:59

Carenza as an alternative to Demelza

Hayels · 22/10/2015 01:58

Sorry - didn't mean to copy your OP into my reply!! Blush

Hayels · 22/10/2015 01:56

I've just found out that I'm pregnant, and am having fun thinking of names.

Although I'm a Brit, I've been living abroad for a while, but intend to move back to the UK in the next year or so. How would these girl names be perceived back home?

Alice - nice but v v popular recently
Astrid - I really like this but don't know many people who do!
Beatrice - sounds a bit 'up itself'
Bronwen - feels very Welsh but I don't dislike it
Celeste -love
Demelza - never heard of this one?! Not sure!!! Might be a bit 'out there for me'
Emily - really overused
Evelyn - popular but not as much as nn Evie
Hannah - I like because it's a palindrome!! But again v popular recently
Hazel - like it. Hearing more of them recently but not overused
Hester- boys name surely??
Lorna - no but only because I know one I don't like!
Louise- bit boring. I like Louisa though
Megan- feels a bit late 90s but I quite like it. And nn Meg
Penelope- love
Phoebe- overused
Rachel- underrated these days I think but maybe a bit 70s/80s. I know a lot in their 30s!
Simone- love
Sylvia- i don't mind this, it doesn't feel like it's quite made it along with the recent flood of old lady names so not sure if it's a classic

Good luck!!

jorahmormont · 22/10/2015 01:20

Alice - meh
Astrid - meh
Beatrice - like it for the Divergent character Grin
Bronwen - love
Celeste - love
Demelza - yuk
Emily - nice but popular
Evelyn - lovely but SO popular
Hannah - nice
Hazel - meh
Hester - yuk
Lorna - lovely
Louise - meh
Megan - meh
Penelope - meh
Phoebe - nice
Rachel - nice
Simone - yuk
Sylvia - yuk

Original poster
ABCFamily · 21/10/2015 17:48

HeteronormativeHaybales - Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not really a fan of Verity. For whatever reason I always imagine the wife in the American Gothic painting when I hear it!

lornathewizzard - Glad you think so Wink

OP posts:
chrome100 · 21/10/2015 15:17

LOl at "Megan - works at Asda". That's my name. And I don't.

reuset · 21/10/2015 11:29

Yep, probably easier to use Demelza if you're Cornish as I imagine it's more well known there. Not to put you off though.

HeteronormativeHaybales · 21/10/2015 11:26

How about Verity? Much prettier than Vera.

HeteronormativeHaybales · 21/10/2015 11:24

The ones from your list I would consider using are Beatrice, Emily, Hazel, Louise, Penelope, Rachel (due a revival imo), Sylvia.

Ones I like but find rather overused: Alice, Hannah.

I don't like Astrid, Megan, Simone, Lorna.

Demelza/Bronwen I would only use if you are Cornish/Welsh.

Evelyn is OK but rather dull.

reuset · 21/10/2015 11:19

Lorna has a Dawn vibe, as far as names go, and feels a bit dated. I never first think Lorna Doone when I hear it, sadly.

lornathewizzard · 21/10/2015 11:11

Lorna is a great name Grin

manicinsomniac · 21/10/2015 11:06

Alice - quite like it but it's perhaps a bit unexciting. Classic though.
Astrid - love it. And though it seems so popular here, I've never met one.
Beatrice - not keen though I can't really think why
Bronwen - really like it but would assume you are Welsh
Celeste - really like it. I only know 1 (aged 12) and it's very elegant.
Demelza - not sure about this. Very different. Perhaps too much so
Emily - quite like it. So, so popular but that doesn't have to be a bad thing
Evelyn - like it. Prefer Ev-uh-lin to Eve-lin
Hannah - love it. Know masses of adult Hannahs but not many kids
Hazel - quite like it. Fairly unusual across all generations.
Hester - It's ok. Much prefer Esther though I don't know why.
Lorna - not keen. Laura is much nicer, imo
Louise - not keen. Seems quite dated. Louisa is nicer.
Megan - quite like it. Again, possibly a bit dated.
Penelope - don't like it. Penny is quite cute but still not keen
Phoebe - really like it.
Rachel - it's ok. I associate it with 80s/90s but I do know a couple under 13
Simone - don't like this at all. Also seems very dated.
Sylvia - quite like it. Old fashioned but elegant and classy.

Original poster
ABCFamily · 20/10/2015 18:31

ATrueNerd - Thanks for your suggestions. Elodie, Cora, Vera, and Ophelia are lovely. Unfortunately neither Cora nor Ophelia work with our surname (one clashes, and one has too much teasing potential). Will add Elodie and Vera to the list though.

OP posts:
Original poster
ABCFamily · 20/10/2015 18:24

Thanks for the feedback all. My absolute favourite is Lorna, although I also really like Alice, Hazel, Megan, Evelyn, Hannah, Sylvia, Astrid, and Phoebe. Quite like Lydia and Sorrel too, now that I think of it.

It’s a bit odd, but some of the names (e.g. Bronwen, Emily, Penelope, Beatrice) I only like as middle names. For example I love the following combinations: Lorna Emily, Sylvia Bronwen/Sylvia Beatrice, Hannah Penelope. Does anybody else get that?

Hester is a real guilty pleasure of mine. I’ve liked it since reading the ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy, but I'm aware I'm in the minority and I think you would need to be quite self confident to pull it off, so I don’t think I’ll be using it. I know the sound is almost identical, but I really don't like Esther. Reminds me too much of Esther Rantzen I think.

Looks like Simone is a marmite name too, but it gives me a sort of ‘smooth jazz’ feel. I once met a girl called Demelza at a party and liked it since then, but I wasn’t aware of the Poldack series, so thanks to whoever brought that up. Had forgotten that Celeste was a contraceptive pill! Blush

OP posts:
Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 20/10/2015 18:09

Alice. Gorgeous classical elegant
Astrid. No.reminds me of Astral cream.
Beatrice. Good name but not to my personal taste
Bronwen. Yes
Celeste Yes
Demelza. No sounds like s witch.
Emily. It'd okay a bit meh though
Evelyn. No very harsh sounding
Hannah. Yes
Hazel. Gorgeous.
Lorna. No
Louise. Yes and quite unusual now
Megan. Yes but I agree it's s bit unimaginative
Penelope. No awful
Rachel. Yes
Simone. Yes
Sylvia. No but Sylvie's nice

CakeRattleandRoll · 20/10/2015 16:11

Astrid and Celeste were both on our shortlist.

Also like Demelza, Hazel, Hester, Lorna, Penelope, Sylvia.

The rest are OK too, I don't dislike any of them.

BikeRunSki · 20/10/2015 14:35

I wouldn't raise an eyebrow at any of them. There are billions of Evies about, if that bothers you. Recent Sunday evening drama (Poldark) may trigger a flurry of Demelzas. Hester likely to be mispronounced as Ester.

ATrueNerd · 20/10/2015 14:28

Marnie? Elodie? Etta? Ada? Cora? Vera? Ophelia? Juliet? Iris? Edith? Clementine? Fleur? Lois? Mabel?

Sorry got carried away! I'm pregnant with a boy, getting all my girl ideas out of my system!

ashesandfire · 20/10/2015 14:12

Alice - love it
Astrid- like it. Kind of quirky. Has a hippy vibe IMO
Beatrice - I hate this. Do I pronounce it wrong? Like beer-triss? How is that a nice sound?
Bronwen - ugly
Celeste - I love this but loads of people will say it's a contraceptive pill
Demelza - no
Emily - nice but dull
Evelyn - variations in pronunciation would drive me mad ans there are loads of Evies around
Hannah - nice but dull
Hazel - lovely underused IMO
Hester - not a fan but I LOVE Esther
Lorna- no
Louise - dated. Love Louisa though
Megan - nice but dull
Penelope - ditto
Phoebe - irrational hatred for this name
Rachel - nice but dull
Simone - dated
Sylvia - quite nice, prefer Sylvie.

My favourite are Alice, Astrid and Hazel. Louisa and Esther if they were alternatives.

ATrueNerd · 20/10/2015 14:05

Alice - love, fairly popular

Astrid - like it, unusual

Beatrice - like it, very popular where I live, what about Beatrix?

Bronwen - sounds masculine to me

Celeste - quite like it but prefer Astrid

Demelza - love it but she may not thank you for it, depends on surname and how brave you are

Emily - boring, millions of them

Evelyn - prefer Eve

Hannah - dull, not that popular at the mo though

Hazel - maybe not quite ready for it's revival yet, but you could be a trend setter

Hester - I like it, 1940's socialite vibe but I had very negative reactions when I suggested it for dd2

Lorna - maybe not quite ready for it's revival yet, but you could be a trend setter

Louise - too soon since its 70's/80's popularity

Megan - ok

Penelope - like it, just the right level of unusualness

Phoebe - nice but popular

Rachel - too soon since its 70's/80's popularity

Simone - no, too mumsy

Sylvia - maybe not quite ready for it's revival yet, but you could be a trend setter

ENtertainmentAppreciated · 20/10/2015 13:42

My reactions are mostly by association with known people

Alice - in Wonderland or from the Vicar of Dibley. Very popular
Astrid - princess name from Belgian and Norwegian royal families. Does remind me of something in outer space though
Beatrice - princess of York and Paul McCartney's daughter with Heather Mills
Bronwen - sounds a bit elderly to me in a not attractive way, sorry
Celeste - Marie Celeste the deserted ship
Demelza - see previous comment
Emily - know lots, very popular and has been for decades
Evelyn - seems newly popular. Only one I've ever known is now in her 90s. Also man's name as in Evelyn Waugh
Hannah - as per Emily
Hazel - wouldn't choose as leaves itself open to Hazel Nut
Hester - as Bronwen really
Lorna - the novel, Lorna Doone, but I know and like a Lorna, so tend to like the name too
Louise - as for Emily and Hannah
Megan - I like Megan
Penelope - seems to be very popular, always makes me think of Penelope Keith
Phoebe - I know a lady called Phoebe, she's very elegant
Rachel -as for Emily, Hannah and Louise
Simone - Simone de Beauvoir, 20thC French intellectual
Sylvia - 'Who is Sylvia/Silvia?' from Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona
It's always seemed a very 1920s, 30s or maybe 40s old lady name to me, but it seems to be right back in vogue and I hear it a lot.
Also prefer Sylvie's softer sound

hollieberrie · 20/10/2015 12:30

My 5 faves from your list are: Alice, Evelyn, Megan, Phoebe and Sylvia (I think Sylvie is cuter)

AuntieStella · 20/10/2015 12:22

Alice - lovely, classic
Astrid - not keen (sounds too 70s to me)
Beatrice - like
Bronwen - not keen
Celeste - don't like, can't help thinking of the Marie Celeste
Demelza - don't like
Emily - lovely, classic
Evelyn - not keen, because I'm not wild about unisex names and Waugh means the masculine won't completely vanish
Hannah - like
Hazel - not keen (70s again)
Hester - OK
Lorna - lovely
Louise - like (prefer Louisa, though)
Megan - OK
Penelope - lovely
Phoebe - like
Rachel - like
Simone - OK
Sylvia - not so keen (bit old lady in the mothballs sort of way, prefer Sylvie)