Please be brutally honest...

[toobreathless]

I am about 5 seconds pregnant with DC2 :) but so excited & like to mull over names.

We have DD who is Hazel.

We have some criteria:

1. Easy to say & spell
2. Ideally not top 100
3. Not 'trendy', this is more important than not top 100 IYSWIM
4. Not too 'frilly'
5. Probably not ending in 'a' - names like Anna tend to run into our surname.

We like:
Lilith
Iris: I worry this will become trendy.
Ivy
Laurel: too similar an ending to Hazel?
Helena: two 'H's too much with Hazel?
Joy
Ellen

DH grandma was Rhoda & we would dearly love to use this as a MN but it's quite difficult to match up. Any ideas for good first names to go with this?

Boys:
Benedict: is this in danger if being trendy?
Clement
Hugo
Edwin
Ernest
Alec
Gregory
Percy
Ambrose
Seth

What do you think? Would like to know if any names really put you off in particular. Be as honest as you like!

seth and ivy for me. u like names that stick with a theme so hazel and ivy or fern.

Hoho RemusLupin, thanks for suggesting the nn Bartie, new reason for me to choose Barthelemy (I was planning on using Tolly - I hate Bart). No idea why I have not thought about it before since I love Artie, Ollie & co.

Thanks toobreathless! I am definitely going with Antonia, DH has just said he finally loves it (his other choice was Octavia). I won!!! :o

Here is another one for your list maybe: Roxane, Roxanna?

Roxanne though lovely rhymes with our surname. I do like Edith, might add that one.

I find boys so much harder than girls, not 100% sold on any of the boys names.

Not easy to spell: Lilith, Clement
Not easy to say (well, too debatable): Helena

I like your other girl names. I would have thought Joy Rhoda would work well. Full names are rarely used so don't worry about A running into A of surname.

I only like Alec & Seth of your boy names. Many folk will think it's Alex which is quite top 100 name.

Frances works well with Hazel

I love Ivy.
Was our top choice should DS have been a DD.

Iris, Joy, Ellen are lovely.

Boys names - only like Gregory

hmm, from your lists I would pick Ivy and Ambrose.

A lot of your boys names are quite trendy I think. Would definately swerve Benedict, Hugo etc.

Lovely names on this thread.

My favourites (and relatively underused ones) are Helena, Antonia, Valentina for girls and Clement, Quentin and Hugo.

(I once knew a Benedict called Bendy Dick.... that put me off the name forever, I'm afraid)

i think Joy is lovely. also like Ernest.

What about Marguerite or Pearl?

Ivy from your original girl list.
I also love Ruth and Frances both of which go well with Hazel imo.

Other ideas are Edith, Coral/Coralie, Yolande.

Love Edwin and Gregory. Like Alec and Seth.

Really like Clement and Joy.

Alec is too close to Alex that I think it will create a lot of confusion. I also think it sounds unfinished somehow.