Tessa or Saskia

[BananaHammocks]

I find something wrong with every name I like!

Tessa - Originally a nickname for Teresa, does it hold up on it's own? Doesn't seem to have done Tessa Jowell much harm!

Saskia - Is it too Dutch? I have a mixed European heritage but no Dutch!! Also is it a bit.... low rent?

Aaargh the perfect name just doesn't exist!!

Tessa - was 2nd choice for dd, like it
Saskia - dislike, even though the only one I know I perfectly nice.

Tessa - beautiful and shortens to Tess which I also like.

Saskia - don't like it at all, awkward on the tongue and shortens to Sassy, which I hate, one of those adjectives that only ever seems to be applied to girls/women and isn't terribly complimentary.

I've looked up other threads for the name Saskia (on here and other parenting websites) and about a quarter of the replies were about how it is a bit chavvy/stripper/glamour girl.

Unfortunately despite all the nice comments on here I think it's already clouded my opinion :(

OP I really like your taste in names!

Tessa, to be called Tess, is our front runner for our DC due later this year (if a girl of course).My main concern was that some would think it was a bit meh & that is seems a bit simple. My other preferred girls names are 3 syllable with European influence! On the positive side,I think it classic, elegant, timeless & can suit someone of all ages. It's also not too common, which I love.

I also suggested Saskia to DH. Not for him. I tend to think it's a little posh. However, I can see how it could be considered a little less than posh too! Perhaps not a middle of the road name if you know what I mean!I am not sure I like Sassy for short.

Hope that helps.

I have a Saskia - don't think it is at all stripper - I get people telling me it sounds posh (although I guess they wouldn't tell me if it sounded stripper-y)

Think there was someone on BB called Saskia a few years ago that maybe gave it that label

But we haven't met another yet

I also like Tess, though knew a not very nice one at school.

What about Tamsin?

I don't think Saskia is stripperish at all.

I think Euro Chic.

Both nice names.

I think I agree with Squoosh - Tessa more country and Saskia more city chic. Definitely not chav or stripper.

I like Tessa, its a sort of universal name, fits in anywhere and you can't really make any assumptions about it. Whereas Saskia sounds try hard, shouty and MC

All the positive things said about Saskia haven't swayed me more towards it, so looks like I've decided on Tessa!

Hooray! Great name. And Tess is very cool.

Great choice!

I like them both, but have a slight preference for Tessa. Really love Tess.

I love Sukey.

Saskia is excellent. we know a few of them (all Dutch or Belgian)

Saskia is really lovely. Tessa is ok but I think Tess is far nicer than Tessa for some reason Tess seems stronger, feisty but pretty for me Tessa seems to cutesy

Tessa aka Tess is stunning and chic.

Saskia is like laila and lexy. More of a sexy name

I wrote about this on another thread, but Tessa was used as a stand-alone name - not a nickname for Theresa/Teresa - in medieval Tuscany. Some people think it might be derived from Countessa. Monna Tessa, a 13th century nurse and a Franciscan oblate, helped to popularize the name. It's hard to go wrong with Tessa, I think.

It's funny how we all get different images from names, isn't it?

To me Saskia is a chic young woman who maybe works in an art gallery or attends RADA.

Whereas Tessa is a bouncy school girl who loves her pony. Love Tess, though.

So both pretty upmarket names.

"I thought people might see Saskia as a name that fits in with Savannah, Sienna, that kind of thing? Bit too glam, I've seen it called a chavvy/towie type name on other threads which had made me wary of using it."

I'm hurt :(

Saskia

don't be hurt.
people talk shit. you are as classy as classy gets.

Thank you Zing :)

I'm slightly biased, but I'm a Tess (just a Tess, not short for anything), so Tessa "Tess" gets the vote from me.

I've spent 34 (gulp) happy years as "just" Tess!