Aldous and Alba?

[opalstones]

These are our shortlists. Surname the same as two Mancunian rockstar brothers.

Boys:

Aldous
Conrad
Ellis
Ford
Jude
Rocco
Stellan
Sterling
Warwick

Girls:

Alba
Charis
Coral
Ivy
Lilac
Morgan
Opal
Romy
Vivian/Vivienne
Zara

Any ideas for firstname-middlename combinations, or any similar names we might like?

For boys I like: Warwick Ford, Warwick Ellis, Jude Ellis, Jude Stellan

Aldous and Rocco sound pretentious to my ears (sorry)

Ford = car so wouldn't use as first name.

Stellan is lovely but I think he'd get "you're called Stella?!" all the time so again wouldn't use as 1st name.

I've always liked Sterling for a girl..

Is it Alba as in the gailic word for Scotland, pronounced "al-a-pa" ?
Dh wanted that as a boys name and I vetoed. We settled on James

Of the boys I like Conrad and Jude
Girls: Ivy and Vivian

Aldous and Alba together sounds like the capital of Ethiopia! Throw in your surname and it feels like the verbal equivalent of being stuck on a roundabout!

For girls I like Ivy and Romy (and I think they go well with your surname). Maybe

Ivy Romilly
Romy Lillian

Morgan is not a name I would usually choose (just not my style) but I think it sounds pretty good together with your surname iyswim

Morgan Romy
Morgan Alba

Alba is the Gaelic name for Sotland. It's seen on all sorts of things here, from the Scottish Parliament to the name of a TV station. As Dash says, said the Scottish way, it has three syllables, not two. Put together with your surname, it might sound rather awkward, especially if said quickly.

On the other hand, in Italian, Alba means 'white' and is the feminine form of the adjective. Just two syllables - 'Al-bah'. It sounds rather pretty with your surname.

Of your boys' names, I like Jude and Conrad- both v good names. Sterling is too strongly identified with the currency and I've never been fond of calling children after places, eg Warwick.

Of your girls' names, I like Charis: would you say Kar-iss or Ka-riss (with the 'a' as in 'car' or in 'cat'?), Morgan and Vivien (preferably that spelling). Ivy is popular at the moment, but I'm not keen. If it matters, Romy is a nn - traditionally short for Rosemary.

Not too keen on any tbh. At a push, I would say Conrad and Ivy.

With your surname I think Conrad, Jude, Ivy or Vivian go best.

Deerhound We are quite pretentious (know your own faults and all that) so that doesn't bother me. If anything, I'm encouraged

I don't dislike Romilly as a name, but DH and I both knew one at university who was a pretty terrible person and she has tainted the name for us.

DropYourSword Good job I'm only having one baby! I just didn't know what to call this thread.

Flora I'd prefer Alba to be pronounced the Italian way, but DH's family are Scottish, so there might be a conflict of interest. At the same time, you tell somebody how to pronounce a name, that's how they should pronounce it. Bet that doesn't work in practice though!

Charis as in Ka-riss (cat version). Pronunciation issues are putting me off though.

I like Rosemary actually, but given current trends, I'm staying well clear of 'Rose' for any part of her name.

Revised thoughts:

We don't know what we are having - so these are choices for our surprise.

Some names feel more like middle names than first names to us now too.

Boys first names:

Aldous
Conrad
Rocco
Stellan
Warwick

Boys middle names:

Ellis
Ford
Jude
Sterling

Girls first names:

Morgan
Vivian/Vivienne
Zara

Girls middle names:

Alba
Charis
Coral
Ivy
Lilac
Opal
Romy

So I'm looking for suggestions now - particularly girl's names and combinations to use them in. Boys welcome too of course!

Vivienne Coral - I'm not a fan of Coral myself, but the two go well together. Consider Alba Sterling for a girl...?

I don't like Sterling for a girl, sorry moxon. The name is unisex though, I appreciate that.

Problem here is that I just don't love any girls name. I'd happily call my son anything on that list, but I'd pass very easily on any of the girls names.

To go with a short (two syllable) first name, I suggest a longer middle name to make a pleasing rhythmic pattern with your surname, for example Zara Vivien.

For a longer (three syllable) first name, then a shorter second name might be better, for example Vivien Ivy.

I like Alba and Romy
Vivienne is great and doesn't require a middle name
Robin, Ursula, Dorothea, Ariadne…?

I like Aldous.

Really like Ariadne. Think I am quite fond of Claudia and Allegra too.

Octavia?

Ooh excellent! I'm exploring Roman and Greek names now I think, I like quite a few.

I would just go for Ivy or Jude.

Pretentious? Moi?

Big Stellan fan here. Stellan Jude sounds good. Girl wise I'd say Zara Lilac as I have an irrational problem with Vivian. I love Ivy though - Ivy Morgan or Ivy Charis. Fun lists!

How very helpful Middleagedmotheroftwo.

I am pretentious. I see no problem with this. You should hear DH and my names!

Thank you Belazu!

I'm definitely going to mix name lengths up. Leaning towards longer first names, with a 1 or 2 syllable middle name for a girls name. Need to find a couple of longer names that I love.

Stellan is my top name for a boy I think. I would love Stella too, but I can't get past the beer.

What about Astrid?

Stella is more designer than beer these days.

Roman for a boy?

I love Octavia. :)

Marguerite?