DH and I rather surprisingly settled on our imminent arrival's first name very easily, with virtually no squabbling. However, middle names are turning out to be a nightmare. He is absolutely hell-bent on giving her his grandma's name. As much as I liked his grandma and I know how much it means to him, I really hate the name.
The nature of our arguments is to go on for days until I give in out of sheer exhaustion, which has been the case with this. But as a conciliatory gesture he has suggested that I choose her another middle name, and he has promised not to contest it. Now, of course, I can't decide.
The agreed first name, which is (almost) definite, is Lucy.
The grandma's name is Barbara.
The prospective additional names I am considering are Elizabeth or Marianne (spot the Jane Austen fan!)
My concern is that both of these would make her full name rather a mouthful, but I can't think of any shorter names that I like, except possibly Elise, but I'm not sure it works with the other two names.
So I'm looking for opinions on all possible permutations...and maybe even the possibility of gracefully declining the offer of a third name and having just Barbara for a middle name. I will never accept that it doesn't mean "Carry on Camping" to everyone in the world except him, but how often does a person really use their middle name?