Beatrice....comments?

[clarabellarocks]

I'm currently mulling this one over. Hadn't really thought of it as it has never been a name I thought wow to but the more I think about it the more I like it.

But I just want people's opinions on it. Does anyone find it a bit old fashioned (as in not very cool), ugly or just not very exciting? Or is it pretty and more unusual to Isabelle (one of my forever favourites but a few things put me off that lately - one being someone calling my daughter Imogen it so perhaps too similar?)

Other potential name is Florence or Iris but shorten my daughter's name so quite like to pick one I can shorten for this one.

It is absolutely the best girls name ever. Guess what my DD is called?
It's a grower.

Is she known to you as Bea Jaynie?
I think you're right, it really is growing on me and I haven't heard of another other than on mumsnet!

Beatrice is a beautiful name. It is becoming quite widespread these days but that doesn't take away from the fact that it is lovely.

I wouldn't call her Isabelle though. Hundreds of baby Isabelle's at the moment.

I like Iris very much too and am considering it for my own yet to be born babe.

Love it and love bea as a nn.

DD calls herself Beatrice but we all call her Bea.
Tiny intake at her nursery/school this September - 2 Beatrices out of about 6 kids!

I prefer Beatrix, but of the three you listed I love Iris.

I love it - it's my youngest daughter's middle name (not her first name because of very bad combination of initials with our surname!). I gather it's becoming more popular, but have so far only met one other little girl who has it as a middle name, none as a first.

I have to admit, I don't get Beatrice. Before I opened the thread I thought to myself that I'd put it in the same bracket as Florence - another 'old lady' name going through a massive renaissance that I also don't get - and lo, you mention that name too.

We obviously don't have the same taste in names and plenty of people love it, so I'm clearly in the minority. :)

I agree that Beatrice is a Florence type name. I love both of them.

Love it - it would be my DC1's name but DH says it's too English. Sigh.

(DH is American, I am English.)

It's a lovely classic name.

I have a Beatrice. We call her Bea or Beatrice.

I love love love it! and have no regrets.

It wasnt chosen as "another old woman" name
but because its a family name on my father's side (my grandmother and great grandmother).

Go for it. :) Its different, classic and lots of lovely things :)

I know a few, and to start with wasn't so sure, but now I LOVE IT!!!!! Really pretty but not twee, not silly, can be girly, can be grown up can be anything. Great choice.

I love it. It was on our list by DH veteod.

It wasn't our first choice, but the first choice name just didn't suit her when she arrived. DSD actually suggested Beatrice - I think it's also in that old lady/new classic bracket.

Just typed a great long reply and it got lost...!

Anyway, we have a 20 month old Beatrice. Obviously biased but it's my absolute favourite girls name because:

• both long and short versions are lovely
• pretty sounding name but strong and not prissy
• Beatrice is a Shakespearean heroine in Much Ado about Nothing
• Beatrice is the soul that guided Dante from Purgatory into Heaven in Divine Comedy
• Beatrice Webb was an English social reformer and economist who did some pretty cool and amazing things
• the name means 'bringer of joy' which seemed really appropriate

We call ours both Beatrice and Bea, and she calls herself Bee-bee...

We had never met another until on the beach last week at St Ives.

Just add on this one. My niece is a Bea and it provides endless bumble bee related fun too!

Beautiful name. Girly name, but she's a bit of a rough and tumble toddler and it still suits her.

I think it is a beautiful name BUT it is way too popular now, I think. Maybe it is just my group of friends but I have FOUR friends you have named their daughters Beatrice/Beatrix in the past two years. One of them now has a Beatrice and Florence.

So for that reason I would probably go with Iris.

Beatrice is gorgeous, imo, and I love the short version Bea. I also love Beatrix and Beata.

I think it far outshines Florence, which strikes me as rather a prim name.

Iris is nice, but I think of Iris Robinson unfortunately. If I had to go for a combination of Greek/flower names, I'd pick Calantha (lovely flower).

With all the different spellings of Isobel-Isabelle, etc., you get a really, really popular name.

Love Beatrice and Bea. Don't like Beatrix and detest Florence. I don't know any Beatrices

Bea is my dd's mn (not Beatrice) so I love it. It means 'bringer of happiness'.

Another lover of beatrice here .

She is usually known as Little B.

Getting quite popular, thoguh, I htink.

Beatrice lovely. Just don't call her sister Eugenie.

I have a three year old Beatrice and I think it is a great name. Bit worried to see it described as becoming more common though. Ours is after the Shakesperean heroine - I also have a Miranda and a Rosalind. When we had our Bea the name was only just inside the top 100 - must check on it now.