opinions please...

[annabenbow]

I am pregnant with my first child dont know the gender ... i have shortlisted names for boy or girl ... (James is a family name )...

Phoepe Danielle
Lyra Elise
Emilia Grace (Millie)
Lacey Marie
Elizabeth Marie (Ellie)

Darren James
Hayden James
Isaac James
Theo James
Reuban James

x

Phoebe*

Phoebe, Lyra, Theo, Reuben (more usual spelling I think?) are my favourites.

Lyra and Theo

You'd be very ahead of your time with a Darren revival!

I like Phoebe and Elizabeth (though not so keen on Ellie as nn) and Theo or Isaac.

Absolutely love Isaac, and Reuben is ok.

Never heard of Lyra and think it's quite unique. Lyra Elise is my favourite.

Lyra and Reuben are my favourites out of that list. Especially Lyra, what a lovely name!

If you go for Elizabeth, bear in mind that Ellie might not stick past early childhood as a nickname with Liz/Lizzy so entrenched. We discounted Elizabeth because of this - I liked Lizzy, Eliza, Beth...but not Liz

Love Lyra Elise or Emilia Grace for a girl, Isaac or Theo for a boy.

chosen to spell Reuban with an 'a' as thats how my childhood friend spells his name .
i first heard the name Lyra in Philip Pullmans, His Dark Materials trilogy and fell in love with it
thankyou for your opinions :)

I think i will discount Elizabeth for the same reason, although i like Elizabeth and Ellie or even Beth i really dislike Liz or Lizzy .

My friends have an Elizabeth who has always been Beth - she's 10 now.

They said at the time that they wanted to use Beth but that she could always choose another nn with Elizabeth as a full name.

IMHO this is a bit of a nonsense, as she has always been Beth, at nursery, at school, to everyone she has met. Deciding at 15 to be Lizzy would be almost as much of a change as deciding to be called Holly or any other new name.

If you like Ellie and use it for her when she meets people and starts school then it will stick. If you introduce her as Elizabeth then people might use other nns for her.

I do like Lyra though (and Philip Pullman!)

Lyra or Emilia (though don't like Millie)

Isaac or Reuben (I really wouldn't spell it Reuban, he'll spend his whole life having to ask people to correct it, plus I think it just looks weird).

Please don't spell it Reuban! It's simply wrong. It's a lovely name but spelt Reuben.
Emilia Grace is very dated. Lacey Marie sounds like an 80s pop star. Elizabeth (NN not Ellie though) is lovely. Lyra is nice.

I love Phoebe but npt with Danielle. From your boys names Theo is the best. I like Isaac too but it's very popular.

I like Phoebe, Elizabeth, Reuben (not a fan of Reuban tbh but it's only a letter) and Isaac best.

I don't really like Millie due to 'milly' being a derogatory term for a girl / woman where I am from. It's a bit like the word "chav" in England but only ever seems to be used to describe young women.

I think Elizabeth is lovely and there are lots of options for nns. It doesn't have to be Ellie. She could be Ellie at home and Beth at school or Eliza or whatever.

Phoebe Danielle- I like Phoebe but not Danielle
Lyra Elise- I know a Lyra, will she forever be misheard as Laura? Lycra?
Emilia Grace (Millie)- Amelia is very popular and people will get mixed up with the spelling.
Lacey Marie- I dislike Lacey. Marie is lovely though.
Elizabeth Marie (Ellie) - My favourite, but if you like Ellie then call her Eleanor.

Darren James- Not a fan of Darren
Hayden James- Quite unusual though I have bad associations wth an annoying Hayden I once knew.
Isaac James- I like Isaac but it is getting popular
Theo James- Theodore or just Theo? I like it.
Reuban James- Reuben is a better spelling. I like it though, goes well with James.

Phoebe Danielle- Quite like both
Lyra Elise- Very pretty. Lyra isn't unknown enough to be unrecongisable at all it's top 300 at least)
Emilia Grace (Millie)- Not overly keen (I like Grace but not Emilia especially)
Lacey Marie- Quite like it. Prefer Maria to Marie
Elizabeth Marie (Ellie) - Not very keen on either.

Darren James- I teach a Darren. It seems strange on a child to me.
Hayden James- Love it
Isaac James- Love it
Theo James- Really like it
Reuban James- Really like it

Lyra and Hayden or Isaac would be my choices.

I like Phoebe or Lyra for girls (tho don't think Elise flows well with Lyra).

Isaac or Reuben for boys, but only if Reuben is spelled with an e.

Lyra Elise is lovely

I think Darren James actually sounds really good but also like Theodore James

Lyra and Theo for me too

Lyra Elise

Isaac James