Twin girls! Ottilie? Ophelia? Eloise?

It's not that Ophelia is pretentious to me, it's the origin.

What about Octavia, Opal, Olympia?
Ottilie I think is too frilly. Doesn't sound like a powerful woman but a perpetually limpid child with a lisp.

Eloise and Opal
Eloise and Letitia
Eloise and Zelie

Ottilie and Ophelia scream "we desperately want to sound posh". Female equivalents of Hugo.

Agree, with PP, if you're putting them through public school then it's less of an issue, but at the local comp you'll look like those parents.

It's more common now, people didn't really do this until the last decade or so.

Also, as a mum of twins, it really really helps not to have the same initial, for the umpteen double jabs, appointments, documents etc. Trust me.

If you want Lettie, then you would be better off with Scarlet, Violet, or Colette.

I'd go with Ophelia and Eloise as Ophelia and Ottilie rhyme!

Maybe not yet, but potentially later in life.

I’d agree with you 10 years ago, but all those names are Top 100 and rising now so are going to be much more commonplace by the time OP’s twins are at school.

I live in an area that is in no means wealthy but know both a toddler Ophelia and Ottilie (admittedly don’t know an Eloise personally) and no one seems to have anything to say about it - but then who would have thought boys names like Sebastian, Hugo and Rupert would be flying high in the charts? “Posh” names don’t seem to have quite the same connotations they used to imo.

Actually Ophelia and Ottilie would be good names for cats!

I agree with others - Ottilie and Ophelia are totally pretentious, fussy, toff names that would be okay in a posh private school but not so good in a state secondary! Eloise is okay but nothing special to me. Syllables is something to consider too. These names have 3 or 4 and depending on your surname, that could be flipping mouthful - especially for shy child to say.

I like Eloise (that spelling, not Elouise which I believe has a different derivation).

Of your other choices, I think I would choose Ottilie over Ophelia - mainly based on the fact that Ophelia has a specific touchpoint for most people in the English-speaking word, and it's not a positive reference - but also just because I think Ottilie is a nicer set of sounds.

On the question of short forms/diminutives - my parents consciously gave me what they thought was a classic, international name and then abbreviated it to an "everyday" diminutive pretty much unknown at the time outside of their home country. Some people initially misspelled and mispronounced my "known as" name, but they never disrespected it or tried to override it. I think that if you make it clear right away - for example, my parents did a birth announcement like: "Meet Lottie (Ottilie Elizabeth) Smith!" - you set the tone. Then just be consistent about it over time. If SHE eventually wants Tilly, then that can happen, but I don't think that most people will intentionally Tilly a Lottie against her will.

Ophelia and Eloise for me - both have an elegant, romantic feel imo, without sounding too matchy. But if you do want to embrace the matchy thing, you can always nn them Effie and Ellie! (until they rebel when older and insist on being Fi and Lou or something 🤣)

Are they adults trying to get loans, mortgages, applying for DBS checks? Come on. Don't make their life any more complicated than it needs to be.

I hope you are a very wealthy upper middle class family because anywhere else these names are pretentious and will stand out

the Ottilies I know are usually shortened to Otti rather than anything else (I know 3, 2 of whom are babies.)

I’d go with ottilie and Eloise, from your selection. Would you consider elodie? I always think Elodie and ottilie go beautifully together! I agree with PP about not both the same initial.

Lottie or Lettie are great.
But they feel a bit forced coming from Ottilie. How about Charlotte, Lettice or Letitia?

Charlotte and Eloise
Lettuce and Eloise
Letitia and Eloise

Ophelia is definitely too frilly and try hard for me.

Ottilie and Aurora

Ottilie and Oriel

Ottile and Aurelie

I love Ottilie and Eloise

The most famous Ophelia is the one from Hamlet, who was driven mad and drowned herself in the river. Quite a sad story to name a baby after!

Personally I know 3 young children called Ottilie so it’s become very popular. And personally not a huge fan of super popular names.

Same!

Alternatives:
Eloise and Iris
Eloise and Leonore
Eloise and Beatrix
Eloise and Rowena
Eloise and Arabella
Eloise and Romilly
Eloise and Jessamine

In that case, I'd go with Eloise and Charlotte.

Ottilie is unaccountably (imo) extremely popular, begs the nickname 'hottie', and Ophelia lends itself to 'feel ya' remarks.

ETcome home would be a great give to call out in the park!

Same here, but I'd go for Louise and Charlotte. Royal, non-faddy names, and not too long.

None of them are to my taste, so my opinion is probably irrelevant! But I think Eloise is the best of the bunch.

I find Ophelia very OTT and frilly, personally. And Ottilie seems to have come from nowhere and is now the name of every other baby girl. Plus, it sounds to me like “utterly”.

Charlotte is a lovely way to get Lottie! So I’d pick Charlotte and Eloise.

Ottillie and Eloìse. Ophelia killed herself, I think it has negative connotations