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Baby names

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

Original poster

First baby, name decisions

29 replies

Joeybee · 25/01/2017 22:48

It's taken me ages, but finally I think I have picked out my shortlist for both girl and boy names.
These are names that I like the look/sound of, and they fit well with my surname, also my Husband likes these names too.
(We absolutely have a different taste in names, so it's taken a lot of discussion to find some we agree on).

Buuut I'm having difficulty deciding on first name/middle name combos from my list. My surname is double barrelled, both names beginning in R.
If anyone could help me out, it'd be so appreciated.

Girls:
Meredith
Bethany
Olive
Alice
Blythe
Ivy

Boys:
Raphael
Bryan
Noah
Zachary
Frederick
James

Thank you! Smile

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Singingforsanity · 29/01/2017 20:45

Raphael is gorgeous but I'd use it as a middle name because of your surname. Noah Raphael R-R?

I like Alice Ivy best from your list.

Yika · 29/01/2017 19:52

Meredith Olive or Blythe Alice.

A lot of similar sounds in your list so a bit difficult to pair some of them up. I thought these two combinations flow nicely (and Meredith and Blythe are the nicest names).

Raphael and Frederick are fantastic names. Could be combined either way round.

user1472334322 · 29/01/2017 19:46

Bryan is my ddad's name and was also my great uncle's (he was killed in ww2) so it holds a special meaning for me. So much so that ds1's middle name is Bryan! I think it's a great name!

MrsMeeseeks · 29/01/2017 16:05

I love Blythe.

Stuffedshirt · 29/01/2017 16:00

Meredith and James get my vote.

Redpramlady · 29/01/2017 15:58

Frederick James
Zachary James

Alice ivy
Bethany Alice

My fav combos

Buntysoven · 29/01/2017 00:43

Meredith Ivy and Zachary Noah

Girliefriendlikesflowers · 27/01/2017 18:39

Rafferty nn Raff/ Raffy? I know an adorable little boy with this name Wink

I love Meredith the most from the girls list.

Aquamarine1029 · 27/01/2017 18:36

Zachary James is perfect.

17caterpillars1mouse · 27/01/2017 17:18

Love Meredith, Olive and Ivy

Meredith Ivy would be beautiful. I've always though Olive Lydia was a nice combo. Ivy Emmeline?

From your boys I like Raphael, Noah (though it's too popular for me), Frederick ( but not Freddie) aand James. James is also a good allrounder middle name. I quite like Frederick Zachary actually

Have you considered Noa for a girl?

WankersHacksandThieves · 26/01/2017 18:30

Okay, I've sorted your shortlist and ranked them as well. :)

Girls:
Meredith - 2
Blythe - 1

Boys:

Bryan - 2
Frederick - 2
James - 1

fabulousfun · 26/01/2017 17:19

Oh and my Zachary is Zachary James too Smile

Willialwaysbelookeddownon · 26/01/2017 14:10

I really like Olive and Ivy. Alice is cute.

Defo Noah or Raphael for boys.

The rest IMO are pretty minging.

minipie · 26/01/2017 13:21

Meredith - like
Bethany - love
Olive - hate
Alice - it's ok
Blythe - love - and it doesn't need a nn as it's just one syllable already!
Ivy - it's ok

Raphael - love, but not with R-R surname sorry
Bryan - no!
Noah - it's ok
Zachary - like
Frederick - like
James - like

Meredith Blythe R-R
Blythe Meredith R-R
Bethany Alice R-R

Frederick James R-R
Zachary James R-R
James Raphael R-R
Frederick Raphael R-R
Zachary Noah R-R

BlytheOfWindyWillows · 26/01/2017 13:18

Obviously I like Blythe Smile

Sugarpiehoneyeye · 26/01/2017 13:14

Meredith Ivy and James Noah.

Sophronia · 26/01/2017 13:08

I like Blythe best from your girls list, and James, Raphael or Zachary from the boys

Jooni · 26/01/2017 13:07

Love Olive! I like Ivy and Meredith too.

Zachary and Frederick are my favourites from your boys. I like Noah and James too but they feel a bit boring as there are just so many around at the moment. Raphael with a double-barrelled R-R surname I think would be too much.

passingthrough1 · 26/01/2017 07:24

I adore Raphael also but yeah R R R too much. I don't think Bryan fits and is quite dated and isn't that nice of a name. Any of the other three boys names with James as middle I think.

I actually really like Meredith as a girls name.

rachelrcrossley · 26/01/2017 04:26

I like Bethany Alice or Bethany Ivy, and really like Frederick James x

chipsnmayo · 26/01/2017 02:52

I love Blythe, gorgeous name - not uncommon, not super popular either. I also quite like Olive.

Bethany seems quite dated to me, my dd is 18 and I know heaps of Bethanys around her age.

I'm not wild on any of your boys names but I don't mind Zachary, thats my favourite out of your list. Bryan also seems dated, and he could have issues with spelling if you spell it with a 'y'.

Original poster
Joeybee · 26/01/2017 01:12

Manumission Yeah, I think so too, and I don't hear it very often. My only concern is the lack of obvious nn's for Blythe. I'd probs go for 'Bea' which I think is lovely.

OP posts:
Original poster
Joeybee · 26/01/2017 01:10

MarilynWhirlwindRocks Thanks for your reply.
I like longer baby names, that have potential for various nn's.
I'm not overly keen on Beth though, so that is a concern for Bethany. So if people ten not to shorten it, then that is a bonus for me!

Got two people saying 'Zachary James' now Smile

OP posts:
MarilynWhirlwindRocks · 25/01/2017 23:39

Bethany Alice and Zachary James have a nice flow.

Raphael is one of my very favourite boys' names. Gorgeous. But, yes, I agree the alliteration might be a bit OTT.

BTW, not sure how you feel about NNs, but both girls (under 4s) I know always use the full name. Interesting, because everyone assumes Bethany automatically becomes Beth or Bethy (Bethie?). I think Beth pretty, but Bethany even more so Smile

Manumission · 25/01/2017 23:26

Blythe is a beautiful name.