Struggling with girl's name...

[whenskiesaregrey]

A few weeks ago I put Aoife to the MN jury and it seemed to go down quite well, but we are still not sure whether it is the name to go for. We have a few others on our list, but still open to ideas on others too. We like names that are not very common, but not weird! The list at the moment is...

Aoife (a name we have thought about for a while, but still not 100%)
Eloise
Olivia (which we know is very popular, but DH's late mum was called Olive, so we both think it would be nice).

If we picked Olivia, we would have Amelie as a middle name. We don't think it goes with the other two. We have also thought about Olivia as a middle name to Aoife.

DH is rubbish at coming up with names, so it is basically down to me to come up with a list which he will tick/ cross.

Basically the brief for girls names are feminine but not flowery (not keen on the lily, poppy, daisy etc names), and ideally not a name where there will be another 5 in her class (I know Olivia contradicts that!).

Argh! Help??

Wow mathsanxiety, 4 DDs and I'm struggling for a name for one!

I totally understand the whole wait and see what she looks like thing, but I worry that if I am in no fit state after she is born, she might be nameless for a bit. I wouldn't like to pick her name under the influence of pain relief!

Ruth I love, but it is my sisters name.

Maths love your list too. Roisin and Meadhbh out of bounds due to friends names. Love Caoimhe too but think that one might be a bit too much to spell. It has helped me to realise how much I like Aoife though.

DH says he doesn't like Olive!

So could have Aoife _ Olivia/ Freya/ Eloise I think the name to go in the gap would have to be a one syllable name to counteract the abundance of syllables elsewhere. Is two middle names too much?

Aoife Lucy
Aoife Juliette
Aoife Coralie
Aoife Miranda
Aoife Ruby
Aoife Lauren
Aoife Megan
Aoife Holly
Aoife Jennifer

Aoife Eloise sounds nice to me.

I like the idea of three names (though I would have run out of names myself).

Aoife Madeleine Olivia
Aoife Katherine Eloise

I'm not sure Freya goes well as a third name, and as a second name there would be too many Fs running into each other.

I do like Aoife Eloise.

I like Aoife Madeleine Olivia too, but thinking maybe a bit of a mouthful?

Thanks filter, out of those I probably like Ruby the best.

Not impressed one of the bloody Saturdays has called their baby Aoife

I like Adeline

If you've ruled out Eva because of your friend's daughter, I'd consider ruling out Aoife too. It sounds a lot like Eva (in some accents more than others) and can be mistaken for it (by the uninitiated). It's a pretty name - expect a small spike now Una from the Saturdays has named her daughter it. Aoife's really popular in Ireland (top 10) - it might indicate a future rise here.

In case Irish names are your thing, you might want to think about Caitlin, Ciara, Saoirse, Niamh, Roisin, Erin, Clodagh, Tara, Orla, Orlaith, and Sinead. I think they are all very adaptable in England.

From what you've said, I like the idea of using Olive as a first name. It sounds soft and pretty, is easy to spell, honours a family member, and seems familiar because of Olivia's popularity. I like it. It's a shame your husband doesn't! The further you get from Olive, the harder it is to pin it down to honouring your husband's late mum but you might think one of the following would do the trick:
Odette
Olwen
Oona
Ophelia
Oriana
Ottilie

You could even give your daughter the same initials as her late grandmother too. You might like a name ending in O - there aren't too many for girls but there's always Cleo.

In ancient Greece, the olive was a symbol of Athena as well as a token of peace and fertility, and olive wreaths were awarded to the winners at the Olympic games. So Athena or Olympia (fitting with London 2012!) could be unusual ways to honour Olive.

But if you're not sure on Olive or Olivia, you could always 'save' the name in case you have a son later on and use Oliver or use it as a middle name.

I also really like Amélie as a first name - again, I really like the sound of it - but I'm not a fan of Eloise. It sounds a little bit harsh to my ears but I do like Louisa. It's just my personal preference and I think Eloise is a solid, sensible name (important criteria for me) nonetheless. There's also Heloise and Elodie is another one to consider - just gorgeous.

Other names that might fit the bill if you're not already sold on Aoife (following on from your vowel-heavy shortlist):
Ada
Aine
Aisling
Alice
Adeline
Anna
Eimear
Erin
Edith
Eliza(beth)
Emma
Evelyn
Ida
Ione
India
Iris
Isabel
Isla
Ismay
Ivy

Thanks for your post Stellan, I appreciate the effort you put into it. Loads of ideas there, so I shall show DH later!

You could go for Lavinia and still call her Livvy. :)

I'm not too keen on that, sounds a bit too much like Lydia, which is a name I really don't like. But thank you :)

I knew a girl at Irish college named Libhín (pr Liv-EEN).

Louisa, Erica, Alicia, Merryn,

Elowen - it's a Cornish name. Very pretty, unusual and suitable for all ages.

CPtart, out of those I probably like Alicia the best.

maths that's a good possibility, can be nn livvy too. Hmmm...

Redrubyshoes I like that, how is it pronounced eh-low-in?

That should say how is it pronounced? Eh-low-in?

El-O-Wen