I have a longlist and I can't cut it down

[dogdaysareover]

DD due in a matter of days (in fact I have a few twinges today) and I am stuck. I like all of the names on the long list and I just can't make a choice. DH not much help either and family all have different favourites. Can't decide on a front runner. Middle name will be Joy (after grandmother) and I already have a Frederick nn Fred. So, hoping there will be a MN clear favourite

Heidi
Francesca
Luisa
Claudia
Enid/Edith
Dorothea (DH but I like)
Iris
Aphra
Alicia
Beatrice

Heidi - like it but feels little girly
Francesca - not keen
Luisa - love it
Claudia - very nice
Enid/Edith - Enid is grim, Edith is nice but a bit 'now' eg Mabel, Ivy
Dorothea - I like it!
Iris - love it
Aphra - lovely, it's AFFra not AFEra isn't it? Heard it both ways at uni.
Alicia - a bit fussy, like Verity
Beatrice - lovely

I knew an Alicia pronounced Al-ee-sha as a child and she was in her 70's then, so I'd say at least 100 years ago? She was of Spanish origin if that's relevant.

I'd remove Francesca as you could end up with Freddie and Frankie once nicknames hit.

Francesca and Claudia are two of my favourite names but I don't think they work with Fred. I would choose Luisa (or Louisa)

Alicia Joy is lovely. (Presume you are pronouncing it A-LISS-i-a?)

OP, are you in labour ? The ones I like from your list are Claudia and Francesca. But, I also like Beatrice and think it goes well with Fred.

I don't like Alicia (bit twee), Dorothea (She will end up Dottie, not Thea and you will regret it) or Aphra (eh?)

Okay well here are the ones I would cross off:

Francesca - I love it but it's way too much Fr- with Frederick
Enid/Edith - Neither are very pretty. Edith is preferable to Enid though
Dorothea - I think it would go really well with Frederick but if your husband isn't keen then I'd let it go
Iris - I don't like it. I like the flower and the meaning, I just don't think it sounds very pretty. Iris Joy sounds quite abrupt to me as well.
Aphra - I like it but am never sure how to pronounce it. Too much fr- sound again as well.

So I guess that leaves:

Heidi - I like it but not sure how well it "goes" with Frederick. You may not care about that though
Luisa - I'd use the Louisa spelling though unless there's a reason behind Luisa
Claudia - Goes well with Frederick
Alicia - I absolutely love it but of course there may be pronunciation problems. I think a minority of people will pronounce it a-leesh-a, depends on whether you like it enough to put up with it. If not, cross it off
Beatrice - Getting quite popular now, I think it's going to be the next Florence in that it will suddenly shoot up. Goes well with Frederick though.

For me the winners are Claudia and Louisa/Luisa, with Alicia as runner-up. I'm really liking Claudia with Frederick though and Claudia Joy is lovely so if I have to pick one then my vote goes to Claudia.

Francesca is lovely. Beautiful but strong stand alone name and has good nickname potential.

I like Dorothea and Beatrice, but not as much as Francesca.

Aphra is quite a spiky name, but I like it a lot. Good connotations.

Luisa, Alicia, Claudia- meh.

Enid is frightful. Heidi is way too cutesy.

Iris is alright, bit its such a middle class 'go to' name for girls at the moment.

Claudia or Alicia or Iris

Tis true. My DN is Alicia ('Al ee see ya', well really 'A lee thee ah' but let's not sound too pretentious) and it boils her piss when people call her Aleesha. Even more so when they try to convince her that she is pronouncing her own name incorrectly!

Heidi (Lovely name, first BFF was named that)
Francesca (Uh. Reminds me of Horrid Henry)
Luisa (Love!)
Claudia (Love!)
Enid/Edith (Love!)
Dorothea (DH hmm but I like) (I love it!)
Iris (No)
Aphra (Yes!)
Alicia (Yes!)
Beatrice (BEST. NAME. EVER)

Without question I'd choose Alicia Joy.

Good luck with the birth

Iris.

Alicia, Iris, Heidi or Claudia. Not keen on the others, particularly can't understand the love on here for Dorothea! Good luck!

I don't think Iris Joy works, other names from your list work far better. I don't think Heidi Joy is great either

I really dislike Aphra and Edith.

I love Francesca, Luisa/Louisa and Beatrice.
Claudia, Dorothea and Alicia are OK. I think Dorothea is my least favourite of these though.

Not Iris Joy...does not work using two nouns. But Aphra Joy is wonderful. Dorothea is gorgeous too. NN Doro, or Dot or Thea etc.

Alicia or Iris

Aphra is fab!

How about pretending each name is your own name and see how you feel about it as an actual name rather than one of many on a list. It might help narrow down the selection.

I would knock out
Heidi -- too cutesy beside Frederick
Francesca -- too frilly and also two F names
Enid -- you can't do this to a baby
Iris -- a really prim name imo. Also too Edwardian, whereas Frederick belongs in the 18th century
Alicia -- too frilly. Alice would be nicer imo.
Luisa -- too Spanish beside Frederick, but fine if spelled Louisa

So I would be left with:
Claudia -- nice classic name, goes well with Frederick.
Edith -- same formality level as Frederick, and same sort of feel to NNs Edie and Freddie, Edie and Fred...
Dorothea -- much nicer than Dorothy imo, and has the same classic ring to it as Frederick.
Aphra -- nice historic feel that echoes Frederick. Unusual name.
Beatrice -- again, solid, classic name that goes well with Frederick.

And if you wanted to use Alice or Louisa then I would vote for them too.

All the names go well with Joy too imo.

Luisa & Francesca are my favourites although I prefer Louisa spelled like this.
Francesca & Frederick is maybe a bit match-y so I would choose L(o)uisa Joy - gorgeous!