Would anyone like to critique our shortlist/suggest alternatives?

[Aworryingtrend]

I am expecting DC1 in 6 weeks, eek! Our list is very much 'head' rather than 'heart' as our surname is ridiculous- double barelled, 4 syllables, starts with a 'Sh' sound.

On our list is:
Boys: (middle name to be Michael)

Toby (not sure wrt to using full name of Tobias on BC)
Edward (nn Ted or Ned)
William (sooo popular though)
Henry (DH not keen)
Elliott (is 3 syllables too much?)
Thomas (bit meh about this)
Finlay- quite like it but not sure it fits with rest of list.

Other names I love are Rory and Leo but both cannot be used for family reasons.

Girls: (middle name to be Rose)

Lydia
Laura
Eleanor (although close family member just named their daughter Ellie- too close?)
Katie (Katherine on BC)
Nina- but worried about getting the face/siren impressions
Alice- but this would give the initals ARSP- a problem?
Fay(e)

Any thoughts welcome.

Oops I left Lucy off the girls list.

Toby - OK, would use Tobias as full name
Edward - like, but not keen on Ned/Ted
William - lovely classic name, popular for good reason
Henry - like, and you can have Harry as nickname
Elliott - like
Thomas - OK
Finlay- a bit faddy, don't really like

Lydia - like
Laura - OK
Eleanor - like, but could get nicknamed Ellie so too similar to the other Ellie in your family
Katie (Katherine on BC) - like
Nina - lovely
Alice - a bit dull. What is ARSP?
Fay(e) - odd, too wispy and fairyish, don't like

Lucy - lovely classic name

Toby - Love it. Don't think you need Tobias
Edward - Love it. Don't like Ned though
William - Like it. Not that much more popular than your others I don't think?
Henry - Like it. Harry is a nice nn
Elliott - Like it. No, 3 syllables is fine
Thomas - Love it. No good if you're unsure though
Finlay- Love it. It doesn't need to fit with your list!

Toby and Finlay are my favourites but great list imo

Lydia - quite nice. Goes well with Rose
Laura - not overly keen
Eleanor - It's a nice name but she would get Ellie
Katie - Lovely, with or without Katherine
Nina- not keen
Alice- Like it. I wouldn't overthing initials, most won't notice
Fay(e) - pretty and you don't see it much. Prefer it with the e
Lucy - Lovely

I think I'd go for Katie or Lucy.

Toby: not mad keen
Edward (nn Ted or Ned): I quite like Ned, I don't like Edward
William (sooo popular though): as you say
Henry (DH not keen): I'm with your DH
Elliott (is 3 syllables too much?): ok
Thomas (bit meh about this): Tom is nice
Finlay- quite like it but not sure it fits with rest of list: very popular but I like it.

Other names I love are Rory and Leo but both cannot be used for family reasons.

Girls: (middle name to be Rose)

Lydia: love this
Laura: really like this
Eleanor (although close family member just named their daughter Ellie- too close?): yes, I think so
Katie (Katherine on BC): nice
Nina- but worried about getting the face/siren impressions: really like this
Alice- but this would give the initals ARSP- a problem?: I think ARSP may be a problem
Fay(e): not mad keen

So it's Finlay/Ned/Tom and Lydia/Laura/Nina for me.

Toby - I'm not op keen on this name
Edward - good strong name
William - again, another good strong safe name
Henry - feels a bit too bland for me
Elliott - like this name, feels traditional and modern at the same time
Thomas - I like it but if you feel it's meh I wouldn't even consider
Finlay- not keen

Other suggestions - Theo? cory? Harrison?

Lydia - not massively keen
Laura - nice enough, safe name
Eleanor - I like this name, I don't think it's too close to Ellie worth considering I think
Katie - no opinion either way
Nina- not keen
Alice- lovely IMO
Fay(e) - not keen at all

Other suggestions - Mae? Violet? Elle?

Toby like it and would go with Tobias
Edward (nn Ted or Ned) - love Edward/Teddy
William (sooo popular though) -it's popular because it's nice but it always makes me sing 'William it was really nothing'
Henry (DH not keen) - nor am I!
Elliott (is 3 syllables too much?) - don't like it
Thomas (bit meh about this) - it's ok
Finlay- quite like it but not sure it fits with rest of list - don't like it

Lydia - nice
Laura - ok
Eleanor (although close family member just named their daughter Ellie- too close?) Too close
Katie (Katherine on BC) - fine but prefer Catherine/Kitty
Nina- but worried about getting the face/siren impressions - don't understand what you mean but am not fond of it tbh
Alice- but this would give the initals ARSP- a problem? - love it and wouldn't worry re initials
Fay(e) - like it a lot with an E but I don't think it will be popular on here

Edward and Alice or Faye are my favourites.

Thank you all for your feedback- sorry its taken me a while to come back. It's good to get such a positive response to most of our names.

By Nina and the siren impression i meant a few people have made a face and then said 'nee-naw' like a police siren, which has put us off a bit.

I am probably over-thinking the Alice initials issue- I just thought ARSP looked too much like ARSE?!

I love Alice and Katie (not Katherine), and Elliott.

Your boys name shortlist is exactly the same as ours was expect we had George and Samuel on it as well. I really like all those names. My favourite girls name in your list is Nina,I think its a lovely name. My friend's daughter is Nina and she has never had the siren thing (wouldn't have occurred to me).

I have a Teddy (Edward) and would obviously choose Katherine

Toby - Like it but not sure of nicknames
Edward - Love this, especially with nickname Ted
William - too popular
Henry - again, very popular where I live
Elliott - I have no rational reason for why I'm not a massive fan of this name
Thomas - good strong name
Finlay- Lots of Finlay's around

Lydia - very pretty name
Laura - meh
Eleanor - Beautiful name, you could use nickname Elle
Katie (Katherine on BC) - ok name
Nina- not keen
Alice- no problem with the initials, lovely name
Fay(e) - not so keen