Can't think past the 'obvious' names - help please with something more creative!

[BringBack1996]

think it's fair to say that DH and I are the least imaginative namers there are. Our first two DC are Edward James and Emilia Catherine. DS currently has 3 other boys with the same name in his form and DD is constantly being asked if it's Emilia with an 'A' or and 'E'.

So basically this time we're looking for a name which won't be constantly being spelled out and would mean there won't be four of them in a form (two I can deal with!). The only problem is we can't think of any names. So far we've loosely got together a list but no names jump out. Middle name will be Michael for a DS and Margaret for a DD. Again not exactly origional but they are family names! So what do you think? I like traditional names so nothing too trendy but at the same time can't think of any alternatives to Oliver and Sophie!

Please help!

Eloise? Are you sticking with 'E' for a first name?
Elijah
Elliot
Evelyn
Erin

I don't think we're sticking with 'E', although I do like Evelyn. Two 'E's was definitely an accident but I think a theme might be a bit strange.

Isobel is pretty. Or Annabel
Abigail
Hannah
Christian
Finlay

lily?daisy? lorna? sarah? freya? helen/helena? jenny/jennifer?
robert? matthew? max? jacob? ralph/raphael?

Boys:
Charles
Eric
Albert
Archer
Alfred
Oscar

Girls:
Cecelia
Lillian
Violet
Iris
Rose
Florence
Felicity
Charlotte - or Lottie
Evelyn
Louisa

Claire
Dorothy
Edith
Esther
Frances
Hester
Hope
Jessamine
Josephine
Julia
Juliet
Louisa
Millicent
Rachel
Rebecca
Ruth
Winnifred

Alan
Ambrose
Amos
Asa
August
Barnabas
Benedict
Bertram
Clement
Francis
Gabriel
Gideon
Hugh
Hugo
Isaac
Jasper
Jesse
Josiah
Julian
Lawrence
Mark
Martin
Oscar
Otis
Patrick
Paul
Reuben
Rufus
Silas
Simon
Simeon

How to tell if a name is about to get popular: swistlebabynames.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/baby-naming-issue-evelyn-and-how-to.html

Avoiding the trends: swistlebabynames.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/baby-naming-issue-avoiding-trends.html. Some good advice here: 'What you say you'd like is a common, non-unusual name that isn't going to get wildly popular; in that case, you need to avoid that fresh sound. If you get the "Whoa. WHOA. THAT'S fresh and new!" reaction, STEP AWAY FROM THE NAME. You need a name that has lost that freshness, but without wilting: a great name, but familiar enough to be unlikely to ignite the sudden interest of large crowds. A name that at first seems a little...meh...just because it lacks that element of surprise, but then grows on you until you can't believe you ever thought it was meh. Bethany. Bridget. Clarissa. Holly. Jocelyn. Kara. Laurel. Marissa. Meredith. Sabrina. Tessa.'

Ant(h)ony or Antonia.

I really like Jesse but not sure how it stands next to Edward and Emilia. Patrick has been my favourite boys name for ages but sadly DH dislikes it :(

Corinna
Tamsin
Meryl

Marcus
Conrad
Francis

I really like Stellan's advice and choices. How about names like Peter and Maria? They have the same traditional feel but aren't used much.

Tamsin is really lovely, as is Peter. Exactly the type of name we're after!

I like timeless, undateable names. Maybe a little bit left-field, or literary - the sorts of names that if you heard them, you'd struggle to place which generation its owner belonged to...

Miranda
Rosalind
Helena
Eleanor/Elinor
Marianne
Louisa
Zara
Hope
Hero
Merryn
Mallory
Alexandra
Tabitha
Audrey
Maeve
Celeste
Sylvia
Ida
Cora

George
Rafe
Jonathan
Arthur
Joseph
Alexander
Dominic
Gray
Matthew
Sebastian
Ewan
Robert
Louis
Ronald
Angus
Hamish

Sylvia Margaret
Honor Margaret
Nora Margaret
Camilla Margaret
Beatrice Margaret
Leonie Margaret
Audrey Margaret
Penelope Margaret
Lara Margaret
Daphne Margaret
Serena Margaret
Esther Margaret
Stella Margaret
Eliza Margaret
Charis Margaret

David Michael
Patrick Michael
John Michael
Jonathan Michael
Alastair Michael
Brendan Michael
Damien Michael
Owen Michael
Jonah Michael
Felix Michael
Fergus Michael
Anthony Michael
Richard Michael
Louis Michael
Thomas Michael
Albert Michael
Conrad Michael
Robert Michael
Dominic Michael

Vanessa Margaret
Vivienne Margaret
Ursula Margaret
Zoe Margaret

(mining the end of the alphabet there)

op Your post is a breath of fresh air, after people desperately trying to think of outlandish unique names for their children. Your children's names aren't boring, they will stand the test of time and won't be a source of embarrassment to your children in later life.

Philip Michael
Henry Michael
Hugh Michael
Miles Michael (too many M sounds though?)

I would normally say George, but not with Michael as a middle name.

Penelope Margaret
Rosamund Margaret
Winifred Margaret

I also quite like Margaret (Maggie as a first name)

I would also put a word in for Jonathan too, especially as I like all the nicknames that it can generate John/Johnny/Jonty.

Also having said I don't lime outlandish names, I do quite like Jago and Hector.

ellen
erin
ivy
isabella
isabel

Ewan is lovely but another 'E' name would seem more than a coincidence. Zoe and Honor are really lovely. Thank you everyone!

I'm trying to see what's not been suggested but a lot of bases have been covered! How about -
Seth
Sebastian
Frederick
Luke

Stuart? Lovely name and very overlooked.

I love Stuart ... had an uncle Stuart who sadly died young when we were kids :(

Yes, it's one of those timeless names that's never in or out. There are the two spellings of course (Stuart and Stewart) so you would have to accept that people will sometimes spell it the "wrong" way.

William
James
Matthew
David
Stefan
Joseph
Samuel

Rebecca
Charlotte
Emma
Romilly

Edward, Emilia and....

Clara
Anya
Iris
Cora
Saffron
Imogen
Lois
Nancy
Nina
Harriet
Selma
Lydia
Freya
Otillie
Arabella
Thea
Hazel
Pearl
Lucille
Verity
Polly
Cecelia
Phoebe
Matilda
Beatrice
Martha
Marianne

Edward, Emilia and ...

Francis / Frankie
Ralph
Jesse
Leo
Gene / Eugene
Asa
Chester
Gabriel
Seth
Laurence / Laurie
Nathaniel
Isaac
Hugo
Jasper
Felix
Sebastian
Arthur