Chloe or Penelope (irish mum's input especially please!)

[babyblabber]

Just over a week until she arrives and joins siblings Noah & Sophia!

I've always loved the name Chloe but wonder if it's become a bit "meh" having been so popular for so long. I'm Emma and there are 3 of us whereever I go so really want to avoid that. Even my mum who usually likes the most vanilla names thinks it's boring. I know two babies called Chloe although friends of friends so wouldn't see them.

Penelope with a potential nickname Poppy is a recent favourite while searching for a name that was pretty, girly etc, like Sophia, and not very common. DH not loving it but probably could be persuaded when we're discussing it as I lie in a hospital bed post section!

So do I go for a name I've always loved or a more unusual but still lovely name?! Am really really torn!

Personally I don't like Chloe, I think it's very 15 years ago, it's very much like Emma and every other teenage girl in our area has this name!

Penelope is beautiful, I only actually know 2 Penelope's, 1 school friend (penny) she is mid 30's now and my neighbors granddaughter who is 4 months old

Plus I think Penelope goes lovely with your other children's names

I think Penelope is always going to be more unusual. I am assuming you , like me, are in Ireland? If so, then I think you are inevitably going to come across more Chloes than Penelopes. I also think it fits in better with your other names.

I know one Penelope - she's in her 60s. nn Penny or Pen but Poppy is lovely nn too.

I'm irish and I'm voting for Penelope too, more unusual than Chloe too, which definitely had a popular moment a few years back.

Yeah am in ireland. Have never come across a Penelope here but posted about it in a couple of irish forums and most people didn't like it. Don't know why that bothers me if I like it but it does! I guess I don't want friends and family going "what we're they thinking?!!"

I need to grow a pair! Noah was very unusual when we had him and got a few raised eyebrows but loved it so much I didn't care.

I'm not Irish and vote Penelope.

Other suggestions Clara and Cleo.

I prefer Penelope too.

The only negative connotation I can think of in an Irish context (and it's a tiny one) is that the nn Penny lends itself to teasing about the shop Penneys (aka Primark in the UK). Usually just at xmas when the ad comes out with the catchy song...

Nell is another nn for Penelope (I know one).

I prefer Penelope.

What about just penny, or Zoe which sounds like Chloe but has two dots.

but if it was between the two I would pick Penelope. (I am irish, honest to god and isn't it a soft day)

I'm irish. I like Penelope however overtly English names have never been popular in Ireland but I think that's changing. I know a baby Harriet and Beatrice for example. So I think in practice Penelope will not raise eyebrows

I'm in Ireland too and would definitely prefer Penelope to Chloe (think about Chloe in a bad Dublin accent - there are a lot of them about!)

Irish people are pretty conservative when it comes to naming their children. People are generally in the Sophie/Jack camp or the Saoirse/Oisín camp. Names that are pretty standard in the UK would be considered unusual in Ireland.

So go for the name you like best and prepare yourself for a couple of 'that's fierce fancy' comments.

You'd only get the comments for Penelope. I think Chloe is in a top 10 name in Ireland.

Both are lovely names. Yes there are a good few Chloe's in Ireland but actually I think the majority will be much older than your wee bundle. I work in a paediatric ward and all my Chloe's in my caseload are high school age. It's a beautiful name.

Penelope really pretty too as is nn Poppy.

Best of luck!

I'm in Ireland but not actually Irish

I know lots of Chloes, mostly teenage but a couple of little ones including a newborn.

I've never met a Penelope, even an adult one, in Ireland. Nice name, though, and nothing wrong with having an unusual name.

As a PP said, the only worry I'd have is that the nickname Penny will remind people of Penney's, but if you insist on Poppy (which is cute for a nickname) you won't have that issue.

I think the main criteria for choosing a name is that you & your DH really love it, so if you really love Chloe, go for it & take no notice of anyone else's opinions.

Chloe Penelope is nice.

Chloe

Penelope for me always goes with Pitstop. Sorry! Not keen on Chloe either. Poppy is lovely though

You should go with exactly what you like, rather than roadtesting names for culturally-inflected acceptability.

I'm Irish, and agree with Squoosh you might get the odd 'that's fierce fancy' comment with Penelope, but Chloe is safe to the point of banality, and yes, very 15 years ago. I know a rake of Chloes in their mid to late teens. But why Penelope-nicknamed-Poppy? If you want to call her Poppy, call her Poppy! It's a bit of a leap from Penelope to Poppy, and if you really dislike Penny or Pen, I'd bear in mind she may end up being called that by her friends anyway...

Tbh, I'm not keen on either - Penelope for me will always be the ghastly, bossy English godmother of a childhood friend, who used to insist on being driven everywhere in the passenger seat with all car windows down and her arms stretched out so she didn't get sweat stains on her dress... But you should ignore other opinions.

I'm Irish and I love Penelope. I don't like Chloe at all though but I do know a beautiful, funny little Chloe.

Poppy or Penny are well known nicknames for Penelope. Please ignore a previous poster who said it was a 'big leap' Perhaps it is for her, but not for most.

I think Chloe is way too common and very meh.

Def stick with Penelope. It's much classier and interesting

I disagree that Irish people are "pretty conservative" when it comes to naming their babies, yes some are, but, the same is true in any country. I would vote for Penelope, I know one who is 2.5 and she is adorable (Dublin born and bred) she is known as Penny or Penn.

Chole is far too popular for my liking.

Oh and I am Irish.

Well in my experience you're far more likely to come across unusual names in the UK. Three of my friends in Ireland have had daughters in the last 18 months, all of them called them Sophie. I know my poll of three isn't definitive evidence but all the Irish babies I know (and I know a lot) have either Irish names of Jack/Sophie type names. Not a Matilda or Arlo among them.

Ireland isn't much different to the UK (or at least England & Wales) when it comes to conservatism in baby names.

I was curious so I took a look at the official stats.

In Ireland, the top 5 baby names (Jack, Sophie, etc.) accounted for 8.6% of all babies born in 2013. In England & Wales, it was 7.2%. Given the broader cultural and ethnic mix in England & Wales compared to Ireland, I would guesstimate that those hugely popular names occur at about the same rate amongst babies from the dominant ethnic group in each country (i.e., white-British and white-Irish, respectively).

I think there are always some people who prefer popular names, and others who prefer more unusual names... but it's the unusual names that tend to differ most from country to country. Hence Arlo / Matilda are becoming increasingly common in the UK but hardly ever used in Ireland. And Odhran / Caoimhe are increasingly common in Ireland but hardly ever used in the UK.

It's true that many Irish people looking for unusual baby names dip into the huge range of very old and unusual names of Irish origin, but it's not a conservative choice to name your child Ferdia or Beibhinn. It's quite likely to be a consciously hip or alternative parent choosing those names.

I'm 49, from north of the Irish border and was very nearly named Penelope! I think it's a lovely name-far prefer it go Chloe but if you want to call her poppy, then use poppy??

Thanks all. I love Poppy but just don't think it'd suit a grown woman and can't get past that. I love Penelope too and if can convince DH to call her that we would only use Poppy over Penny but we'd actually call her Penelope. Will have to see what he says post section!