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Baby names

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What girls names do you consider 'frilly'

36 replies

emmie841 · 21/01/2021 10:48

Interested to know x

OP posts:
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OwlWearingGlasses · 21/01/2021 22:19

Lacey

BettyAndVeronica · 21/01/2021 22:06

Emmeline would probably be considered 'frilly'. But to me it's far from. The opposite. Brave and dedicated.

Names are associated with people, to an extent.

BatleyTownswomensGuild · 21/01/2021 20:41

Anything with a excessive number of syllables and generally fussy sounding

Worst offenders for me are names like Arabella, Henrietta,
Georgiana, Theodora, Anastasia.

Not a fan of frilly names AT ALL.

partyatthepalace · 21/01/2021 20:32

Lots of 3 or 4 syllables names ending in a or y - Emily, Felicity, Amelia, Isabella. And in fact some two syllable - Clara, Lucy.

I quite like a lot of frilly names, but if you want to avoid, go for a noun end, or an a end with a strong sound or classic association eg Alexandra, Julia.

Avoid cottage core / Victorian early 20th C revival - from Emma to Mabel

No flower or nature or precious stone names either

Hyphenated names like Lexie May are clearly frilly but also thought of as downmarket...

Gudrun should be safe enough...

Scarby9 · 21/01/2021 20:14

Amarilla
Fenella

ParisJeTAime · 21/01/2021 20:14

@BettyAndVeronica

Is frilly a bad thing? Lots of these names are lovely.
I did ask op this up thread, but no response. OP? Is it because you want to avoid the names or because you like them?
BettyAndVeronica · 21/01/2021 20:11

Is frilly a bad thing?
Lots of these names are lovely.

lottiegarbanzo · 21/01/2021 20:03

I don't think Alice, Poppy, Nancy or Flora are frilly at all.

Aliciana, Poppitia, Annunciata and Fiorentina would be frilly.

I love Felicity and Christabel and don't think they are very frilly.

lottiegarbanzo · 21/01/2021 19:57

They usually end in 'a' too. I don't think Clementine is frilly, it's quite sensible but Clementina or Clemenciana would be frilly. Georgiana but not Georgia.

lottiegarbanzo · 21/01/2021 19:54

'Frilly' makes me think immediately of Arabella.

Then; Araminta, Pollyanna, Julianna, Vivianna.

Basically, anything that has a syllable more than is needed and is also very feminine.

ILoveShula · 21/01/2021 19:49

The lots of vowels and only soft consonants, usually l and v.

Some of the names don't seem frilly.Mandy and Wendy sound like women aged 60.

SionnachRua · 21/01/2021 19:47

Felicity
Fionnuala
Clarabelle
Clarissa
Arabella
Ginevra/Guinevere
Persephone
Alessandra
Lucretia
Eulalia
Primrose
Seraphina
Isadora
Priscilla
Cordelia/Cornelia
Mirabelle
Isabella
Araminta
Cecelia
Clementine
Georgiana
Jemima Envy
Valentina
Letitia
Alexandrina
Annabel
Desdemona (rare but I do know one!)
Ophelia

It's an almost endless list tbh Smile

bridgetreilly · 21/01/2021 19:42

Names with lots of ls and vowels.

BrandoraPaithwaite · 21/01/2021 19:38

Amelie, Amelia etc. Agree with PP about vowel pile ups being frilly.

I see the name Ottilie mentioned on MN loads but never ever hear it in real life. And I live in a naice twee town with a crusty element too. Where are the actual Ottilies?

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 21/01/2021 19:36

I quite like "frilly" names so this isn't a criticism, but I would say any name of 3 or more syllables with lots of vowels but few strong consonants can sound frilly.

For example I love the name Christabel - and I think of it as a strong name as it reminds me of the suffragette and the Coleridge heroine, but objectively it does sound a bit frilly (like Tinkabel the fairy!).

trifleandbaileys · 21/01/2021 19:30

My daughters name is on here, and a few other names that were on my list. I obviously like frilly names Grin

shiningstar2 · 21/01/2021 19:29

Mandy and Wendy. Always seem to me names chosen because they sound cute for little girls.

intheshallows · 21/01/2021 19:25

Elodie

marthastew · 21/01/2021 19:24

Both my daughters have sweet frou frou frilly names but they are not at all frilly by nature. Battlers both of them. Should have called them Boudicca or Brunhilda or something.

Changethetoner · 21/01/2021 19:22

Francesca
Lily
Lucy
Isabella

Mynextname · 21/01/2021 19:20

Felicity was the first name that came to mind. Nothing wrong with frilly names as long as they suit adults too.

SnottyLottie · 21/01/2021 19:16

My initial thoughts were Anastasia and Arabella

Palavah · 21/01/2021 19:12

-elle where - el would do eg Isabelle/Isabel
-elia (but Celia isn't)
-illy (but Romilly isn't)
-illie
-ette (but Bette isn't)

Melissa, Jessica, Arabella, Belinda, Emmeline, Gabriella, Tiffany - these

Hyphens

Sophia is fussy but Maria isn't

Stringofpearlz · 21/01/2021 19:09

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ as requested by the OP.

EdgeOfACoin · 21/01/2021 19:05

All the suffragettes had frilly names - Emmeline, Christabel, Sylvia and Millicent to name a few.

I don't mind a bit of frill but I dislike names that are sweet on a baby but which seem insubstantial on an adult (Daisy, Minnie, Poppy, Flossie, Honey, Posy.)

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