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Baby names

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

Original poster

Girls names opinions

86 replies

Firebird83 · 07/10/2025 22:38

Opinions on these girls names? DD1 is Elisabeth

Helena
Katherine
Louisa
Eleanor
Susanna (or Susannah)
Esther
Miriam
Caroline
Joanna

Any other suggestions welcome :)

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Moreteaandchocolate · 08/10/2025 18:40

Lovely list! Katherine is my favourite- it’s got the same timeless, classy charm as Elisabeth with lots of nice nn options.

HRchatter · 08/10/2025 18:30

Cheeky19863 · 08/10/2025 18:02

Theyre pronounced the same. The spelling might be different but its a popular Muslim name

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It’s almost as if there’s more in common than differences between the two isn’t it?

LandofTute · 08/10/2025 18:30

I love:

Katherine
Louisa
Susanna (or Susannah)
Esther
Miriam
Caroline

HRchatter · 08/10/2025 18:29

I like Elouise with Elisabeth

Plastictreees · 08/10/2025 18:27

manicpixieschemegirl · 08/10/2025 14:30

Eleanor is the best from your list but I’d avoid another E name. Not keen on any of the others - Esther, Miriam, Joanna and Caroline are particularly awful.

Audrey
Clare
Genevieve
Juliet
Isabel
Cecilia

Great suggestions here.

AdaColeman · 08/10/2025 18:18

I'm not keen on Esther or Miriam as they are too Biblical for my taste.
Helena and Eleanor would both get shortened to Ellie, Ellen etc and the rest of that group of names that were so popular recently, also I'm not keen on Sue or Jo as a nickname.
Louisa is my favourite, and I think it goes very well with Elisabeth.

DuchessOfNarcissex · 08/10/2025 18:10

@Cheeky19863 , they are similar but they are not the same and do not sound the same.
Maryam is a popular Muslim name, Miriam isn't.

Cheeky19863 · 08/10/2025 18:02

DuchessOfNarcissex · 08/10/2025 17:46

@Cheeky19863 , Miriam is a very Muslim name. It is definitely not a Muslim name. It is a Jewish and Christian name.
The Muslim form of Miriam/Mary is Maryam.

Theyre pronounced the same. The spelling might be different but its a popular Muslim name

DuchessOfNarcissex · 08/10/2025 17:46

@Cheeky19863 , Miriam is a very Muslim name. It is definitely not a Muslim name. It is a Jewish and Christian name.
The Muslim form of Miriam/Mary is Maryam.

Cheeky19863 · 08/10/2025 17:03

Miriam is a very Muslim name. I like Eleanor the best. The others are a bit boring and dated

RachTheAlpaca · 08/10/2025 16:03

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those names!

CJones11 · 08/10/2025 14:56

I'm biased because I have a little Esther. It's such a versatile classic that's not overly used. My girl is 9 months and is often called Essie.

The other comments about avoiding another E name is something to consider. But I think they would go wonderfully together 😇

Deneke · 08/10/2025 14:55

Those are all nice names. I would avoid using Eleanor or Esther as you already have a child with an E initial (and also discount any that have the same initial as you or your partner). My husband has the same initial as him mum and found it a pain when post arrived addressed with the initial when he lived at his mum's house.
I'd also not use Helena as some people pronounce it Helenna and others Helayna. Kids don't like it if people mispronounce their name.

manicpixieschemegirl · 08/10/2025 14:30

Eleanor is the best from your list but I’d avoid another E name. Not keen on any of the others - Esther, Miriam, Joanna and Caroline are particularly awful.

Audrey
Clare
Genevieve
Juliet
Isabel
Cecilia

Suffolker · 08/10/2025 14:30

I really love that list of names (and it’s not often I feel that way on here!).
My favourites are Helena, Louisa and Susanna. I think they all go well with Elisabeth, but I think I like Susanna best 😊

Wildrose83 · 08/10/2025 14:01

All way too 80’s for me. Old fashioned, but not in a good way, sorry!

TheNumberfaker · 08/10/2025 13:38

All lovely classic/ sophisticated names but like others I would avoid the same initial as others in the family, so that rules out Eleanor and Esther.

Plastictreees · 08/10/2025 13:14

Helena.

WhatK8DidNext · 08/10/2025 13:13

I would avoid another “E” - will be a pain having two Miss E Firebird83 in the house when it comes to post, appointment, life admin etc; especially as they get older.
So not Esther or Eleanor in my opinion.

I would also avoid Helena as you can’t control what nicknames their future friends give them and both Elizabeth & Helena could be El, Elle, Ellie etc; they have the same “sound” in them.

LoudPlumDog · 08/10/2025 10:54

Elisabeth and Caroline ❤️

Genevieve
Ella
Charlotte
Alice
Lillian
Freda
Frances
Victoria
Olive

DuchessOfNarcissex · 08/10/2025 09:08

@VeryViolet , I had.

VeryViolet · 08/10/2025 08:49

DuchessOfNarcissex · 08/10/2025 08:42

I don't think "Elisabeth and Louisa" works because the "lisa" of Elisabeth and "Louisa" sound too similar.
They sound quite different @VeryViolet unless Elisabeth gets shortened to Lisa.

Read the next sentence of my post!!

DuchessOfNarcissex · 08/10/2025 08:42

I don't think "Elisabeth and Louisa" works because the "lisa" of Elisabeth and "Louisa" sound too similar.
They sound quite different @VeryViolet unless Elisabeth gets shortened to Lisa.

DancingwiththeEuropeans · 08/10/2025 08:42

I like Katherine and Eleanor best, but to me Katherine wins out as it can be Kate, Katy, Kathy, Kitty, while Eleanor is likely to end up Ellie and get lost among all the Evie, Edie, Ellie, Ella names.
Prefer the spelling Katharine though.
Edited to add: also, I hadn’t noticed when I posted that Elisabeth and Eleanor are both El names so I think that rules Eleanor out

VeryViolet · 08/10/2025 08:38

Lovely, lovely names.

As others have said, I'd avoid another "E."

I don't think "Elisabeth and Louisa" works because the "lisa" of Elisabeth and "Louisa" sound too similar. We avoided Elizabeth and Lucy because we were worried Elizabeth might end up as Lizzie when she went to school, and Lizzie and Lucy wouldn't work at all. Unless you are confident your Elisabeth will never end up as a Lizzie, I'd avoid Louisa.

My favourites from your list are Katherine and Miriam.

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