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Baby names

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

Original poster

Really struggling with girls names - help!!

54 replies

AgathaOvercome · 28/03/2022 10:37

As the title says we are really struggling with girls names. We like classic girls names but none are standing out. We loved violet but with my accent it sounds like ‘vile - it’. Loved Juliet but DH cousins name so a no go. Anyone know anything similar? Surname ends in an -ee sounds so names like Emily / Ottilee are out. This is the short list:

Lauren
Lylah
Olivia ( bit overused ?)
Evelyn (is it also overused and have a niece called Evanne)

Argh why is it so hard! Hoping someone can come up with something we haven’t thought of!

OP posts:
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Synchrony · 28/03/2022 14:21

Avalon

Flippy87 · 28/03/2022 14:11

I think you’re worry wayyyy too much about other people. Wouldn’t stop me using a name if my friends had used it and definitely wouldn’t not use Lila because my friends kid is lily?!? It’s a totally different name.

Pyjamagame · 28/03/2022 14:10

Vivian
Yvette
Gabrielle
Celeste
Georgia
Minette

Original poster
AgathaOvercome · 28/03/2022 14:04

Thanks all I’ve added

Iris
Meredith
Naomi
Laurel
Leah

To the list. Lydia reminds me of an absolutely spoilt brat I knew in uni so it’s ruined. I take the point about Lylah people are making. Unfortunately it sounds lovely with our surname and I can’t use lila spelling due to best friend using Lily.

Part of me thinks just go Olivia as it’s easy and hard to find fault with but I hoped I would love whatever girls name we picked rather than giving up out of exasperation and going with an easy option!

I’ll have a reread of all the names given again and run them past DH.

OP posts:
OverWorking9to5 · 28/03/2022 13:52

Oh Naomi is lovely OP, also love Noemi

OverWorking9to5 · 28/03/2022 13:51

Prefer Laurel to Lauren, just a bit more unusual and nature inspired.

Evelyn is nice but two ways to say it. I'd go mad.
Lyla is quite nice but so many of those leila lyla names circa 2003 that it already seems a bit of a dated fad.
Olivia is nice, more classic than Lyla, was v popular too but Livia or Lydia could make it less dated.

Really love Lydia, it's pretty but never got that popular.

Original poster
AgathaOvercome · 28/03/2022 13:45

I thought Lylah and Leila are two different names? One lie - lah one lay-la

OP posts:
MrsBertBibby · 28/03/2022 13:29

Lylah is an annoying spelling, Leila less so, although I don't much like it.

Celia
Elspeth
Lillian
Claudine
Justine

macon · 28/03/2022 13:29

Not Lylah! It looks like one of those made-up names, and she will spend her entire life having to spell it out and/or having it mis-spelt.

Lydia? Lyra?

ButterRose · 28/03/2022 13:28

Or possibly Lynae

ButterRose · 28/03/2022 13:27

How about Lidia it's not Lylah or Lilian but similar

emmathedilemma · 28/03/2022 13:22

The only Olivia I know is now in her early 20's so maybe the popularity is a regional thing?
I like Lauren, you don't hear of many these days, the ones I know are all my peers.
Laura
Lorna
Leah
Mary
Emma
Flora
Freya
Stella
Florence
Ada
Louisa
Martha
Claudia
Rebecca
Abigail

peanutpancake · 28/03/2022 13:21

Lauren is nice but a bit boring imo.
Lylah I like but I'd probably spell it lyla, there's no need for the h.
Olivia is very popular round our way so i suppose it just depends how much that would bother you.
Evelyn is pretty, my friends just called her DD Everly.

What about Cora, Lydia, Della, Eleanor, Rosa.

ozzyfroggy · 28/03/2022 13:16

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Faye

I'd put that in the underused classic category.

Original poster
AgathaOvercome · 28/03/2022 13:15

Thanks @halfsiesonapotnoodle re Amelia. I didn’t know that.

DH had unfortunately vetoed Juliet.

Our friends have used Eliza, Freya, Hannah and Esther believe it or not! We are so late having kids they all have 2-3 children so nice names are running out. I like Naomi thanks - will add it to the list.

Sorry I probably sound like I’m moaning or being too fussy when you’ve all taken the time to put names in, but I feel meh about all the names including our shortlist - bar Lylah which I worry is too faddy.

OP posts:
halfsiesonapotnoodle · 28/03/2022 13:10

I only like Lauren from your shortlist. Please don't add Amelia. It's a medical term for 'absence of limbs' and it sounds so ugly 'uh- MEALY-uh'. Juliet is lovely and I wouldn't think a cousin was too close to use the name.

Riverlee · 28/03/2022 13:03

Lauren always preferred Laura to Lauren
Lylah - not to my taste
Olivia ( bit overused ?) - okay
Evelyn - okay

Suggestions:
Naomi
Emilia
Hannah
Freya
Marnie
Esther
Eliza

Dora26 · 28/03/2022 12:57

Olwyn

Original poster
AgathaOvercome · 28/03/2022 12:47

Thanks everyone for taking the time. I will run these all past DH as there’s some names on them we hadn’t thought of. Unfortunately nothing that stands out to me!! Don’t know why it’s so hard - we came up with two boys names we loved in about 15 minutes!!

Anyone any thoughts on the shortlist?

OP posts:
Autumnwater · 28/03/2022 12:08

Laurel
Erin
Edith
Martha
Iris
Noa
Florence
Adrienne

Peaseblossum22 · 28/03/2022 12:05

Freya
Clara
Helena
Beatrice
Meredith
Dulcie
Tessa
Hannah
Eleanor

MrsBertBibby · 28/03/2022 12:04

Astrid
Tamsin
Nina
Edith

Rainbowqueeen · 28/03/2022 12:01

Lindsay
Lara
Tamara
Katherine
Philippa or Pippa
Tessa
Lucinda
Hannah

Original poster
AgathaOvercome · 28/03/2022 11:55

Thanks guys, I like Iris, Alice, Amelia so will add those to the list.

Other ones just won’t work - Annabelle no good as there’s an Isabelle in the family.

I agree @17caterpillars1mouse re spelling of Lylah but my best friend has a lily and I didn’t want to go with Lilah as too similar even though they’re pronounced differently. It sounds the nicest with our surname though which is why we thought we could compromise on spelling.

@ButterRose @ozzyfroggy I’ll run your lists past DH. Unfortunately our friends have used a good few of them. It took us years to get pregnant so it feels like all the good names are gone 😂😂

OP posts:
PatterPaws · 28/03/2022 11:51

Lauren - lovely
Lylah - not for me
Olivia - lovely (this is why it's popular)
Evelyn - not my taste

Also you might consider:

Alexandra
Sacha
Susannah
Megan
Amanda
Charlotte
Zoe
Meredith
Agatha
Caroline

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