about really plain names for girls?

[MrsBadger]

Now I swore I would never start a baby-name thread but I can't hold off any longer.

DH wants to give the impending BadgerCub a name that's been used in our families before. I'm fine with this - we have about 20 generations and 500 names to choose from.

The boy's names are generally fine by me (classics like Edward, John, James, Benjamin etc), but he always leans towards girls' names that I just find a bit... dull.

We have a short surname - think Stone or Rowe - and I can't help feeling that (eg) Mary, Susan and Jane don't sound especially nice with it.

Am I being overly picky or should I hold out for something longer and (oh the shame, never thought I'd say this) 'prettier', eg Eleanor or Susanna?

Come on, beat me with sticks now, I know I deserve it!

Agnes - good (if a little unconventional)

Brenda - [shivers]

ejt

No, just a French teacher!!

ejt

how would you pronounce agnes? Ag-nes or An-yes?

Agnes is awful, i know a few, the either change it to backwards 'Senga' or 'Nancy'

if we did, it'd probably be Agnes Clare

(though have just discovered that Agnes means 'chaste', and having suffered for the mildly ghastly meaning of my name I'm not sure I could do it)

REALLY do not like Agnes

dont mind the french version An-yes

Now Nancy has a ring to it Nancy Stow

An-yes ... I think it sounds beautiful ... and our French assistant this year is Agnès ... so it's a current French name at least!

ejt

yes Nancy is alright i suppose

not as nice as MARGARET though

Now you see how dangerous the name threads are? You just land on something you fancy and a handful of posters blow it out of the water.

I like Agnes too Mrs B.

what about a Margaret derivative eg Maggie or Peggy

ooh Mrs B
she would be Agnes B!

Is there not a danger of "Aggie" with Agnes?

yes my Aunt Margaret is known as Pearl sometimes

or Mags/Maggie

i love it

I know a little girl called Agnes

Agnes is a HatShit name (Hard To Shout In Tescos) so she gets called Aggie

love Maggie

hate Margaret

What about Marie instead of Mary?

Can you not explain to dh that one syllable first names and one syllable surnames sound dull to you?

I would be tempted to shout
maggie maggie maggie
out out out

though

HOOT!

What about Helena? That's a favourite of mine (one of my middle names by the waybefore people jump in).
Also my first name is also in your pretty list. Was lovely with my other middle name and a very very short surname.
Alas - all buggered up when I married dh.

CD - I did, and he accused me of double standards as I'm quite happy with John, James, Ben etc for boys... but the 'bam bam' 1 + 1 sounds so very male.

(pmsl at HatShit names though Enid - DH will love that)

If Margaret we'd end up with the glorious but poncetastic Miggie, which is what my grandmother was known as.

Oh yes all of this is immaterial when they get married if they decide to change their surname

We once rented a house in ireland from a Gerald and Geraldine O'Gerald (I kid you not)