Totally stuck for girls names - overthinking this ??

[MrsPretoria]

Our DS has an unusual but 'old fashioned' but strong name. We love it, family loves it and it totally suits him. But I am not stuck on theme names, so girls name doesn't need to also be old-fashioned but I do like Unusual-Classic. Both DH and I have got unusual names. Mine so much so it has never featured on any MN list, ever!

No names that end with 'ee' (as DS's name is a **y and two names ending with Y or an ee sound make me think of a pair of small lap dogs )

Names that that have made it as far as a being considered are :

Pepper
Cressida
Willow

1. Cressida was extremely popular with both of us as a name for DS if he has been a DD when he was born 5 years ago but less so now as now there is Cressida Bonas (my objection)

1. There is a very unattractive car called a Cressida - albeit not in production anymore and not in our main country of residence (DH's objection)

Would these things matter to you ? I have visions of Harry marrying Cressida Bonas and there being a wave of little Cress's..

Pepper is pretty unusual (odd to some I am sure) but is a family name further back. Both previous Pepper's were very successful women.

I like Willow but only a bit, but it sounds a bit.. hippy and although we are a quirky, kind of international kind of family, we are not at all bohemian really! And, although both of us are very tall, slender isn't really a family trait, we are more 'Oak' or 'Plane' and Willow, to my mind creates a tall, slender image.. Is that just me ? Am I just preggo-hormone mad and overthinking everything ?

I dont like Cressida as to me it sounds a bit Disney Villain. And a nn Cress would make me cross.

Willow is lovely but becoming more popular if that is any barrier.

Pepper is interesting. As a nn for maybe Phillippa or Penelope yes, but I dont like it as a stand alone name.

People may also think you have named your dd after Peppa Pig or Pepper Potts.

Willa ?

Piper doesn't do it for us, we briefly considered it. It's a bit too.. Hunter/Chase/Walker .. kind of american ?

I really like Willa.. DH thinks it would lead to teasing about willies ..

There is the Peppa/Pepper Potts but I don't really worry about TV associations. There are just so many. I get a few with the diminutive of my name as it's a very very famous song. And those that are short of imagination think it's funny to sing it to me..

Friend just called her gorgeous DD 'Sidney' and lots of people said - but everyone will think of 'Scream'... Another friend called her son Marley and the whole Marley and Me thing was brought up, especially by her MiL, who cried about it!! MiL now loves it.

I wouldn't have a name that wasn't as is on the birth cert. Not a fan of that. I like Phillipa but OH doesn't but if we had that I would call DD 'Phillipa', not Pippa or Pepper.

Like Cressida

Cosima....

Oh.. Cosima. That fits the Unusual-Classic idea and also quite pretty.

Cressida is ok but I'm not a fan of Willow and I don't like Pepper at all.

Amarys
Marissa
Georgeann
Maeve
Blaine
Meadow
Tamar
Fallon
Avery
Amabel

Thank you for your list - I am going to sound like a nightmare though , none of them are for us. Again, Blaine/Fallon/Avery sound very american* to my ear. And a bit made up (I know they aren't, they are proper names!)

I don't like names with Y in the main body, it makes me think of people trying to be 'Unique' and spell things mad ways to make them so.

I couldn't call my child Meadow.. we live rurally.. I may as well call her 'Field' or 'Crop' or 'Barley' .. no.. immediate local mirth with that one!

Tamar/Marissa would have zero connection with our backgrounds - European/SA.

See, I/We are impossible to please.. it is a scourge!!

Disclaimer!

I have nothing against Americans/The USA/American names. They just are not for us

Glad You like Cosima....

I also hate American sounding names this side of the pond....especially surnames used as Christian names....

What about Octavia? It was top of our list and seems to fit the bill. I love Tavi as a shortening.

Ooh, or Lyra? I love it but sounds wrong with our surname.

I am desperate for a MNer to give in and use Aphra. DS would have been Aphra. Lovely name, old, unusual but not silly and you have the marvellous Aphra Behn as a namesake.

Rowan?

Ophelia
Meredith
Louisa
Eliza
Rowena
Robina
Umm... Running out of ideas now!

Showy - I jnow a little Aphra! And she is as beautiful as her name!

Cosima is lovely. Unusual but classical. I love that it has musical connections too. I wonder if DH will like it.

I loved Octavia. But we have a Skoda Octavia. Obv this could change but DH is opposed car names entirely.. No Cressida/Portia - even spelled like that / Octavia etc.

This is SO hard. DS was easy. Heard the name, loved it, turned out to be a family name. Attached other family name/2nd favourite name as a middle name. Hey presto - done!

The answer's clear to me - get a new car!

Hope Mr P loves it ....

What about Cecilia? That has musical connections too.

Hmm, Fallon etc are Scottish and Tamar is european too. Amaryis isn't made up either, it's biblical. But if you don't like it then you don't :)

Actually not many of those were my taste either but I was trying to suggest more unusual names.

If my boys had been girls then they would probably be Mairi and Kirsty or similar, though I am living Lorna a lot at the moment (not having anymore children!) those wont be to your taste at all though :).

Willow is quite popular atm isn't it?

What about Athena?

I have a Willow. Obviously biased but we love it!

Had never heard of Aphra - I kind of like it I like Lila over Lyra, but DH not sure about Lila (Kate Moss.. Everyone, bar me perhaps, knows someone with the same name, right ? Does it really matter if a sleb has a child of the same name ?)

MyNameIsSuz - .. "Darling, I've sold the car so we can call DD Octavia" ... I would but I love my Octavia! Our other car is a Kia Sorento, I know a child called Kia. She's a beautiful little thing. Her parents are Asian, one is from South Korea and they don't give two hoots! Perhaps Sorento ? (joking!)

Cecilia is lovely but I have a 2nd cousin called Cecilia after her greatGF, Cecil. So can't use it.

myotherusername - They just sound American to me/us. Dynasty as a child might have ruined Fallon for me. Tamar is Hebrew isn't it ? Sorry if it is European, I thought it wasn't. Amarys is fine, I just don't like the Y in the main body of a name

I liked Willow until I realised it's much more popular than I thought. That and the fact tall is very likely for our children but willowy might not be and it might look odd on a girl likely to be more bodacious than supermodel..

What about some of the Latin names
Claudia
Ursula
Aurelia