Main contenders... any alternatives in the same vein?

[BadIdeaBear]

So, we managed to get down to a bit of a shortlist, having discounted any names with J, given far too many in the family already, and taking into account the fact our surname is three syllables with a /k/ sound to start.

When we looked at the shortlist together, we've got to our two top names at the moment, but I'm wondering if I've missed alternative options with a similar feel. I'd love your ideas!

So, girl's top name at the moment is Olivia. Too popular at the moment? I'd ideally thought of trying to aim at around the 40-50 in the top 100 lists, you know?

And top boy's name is Finlay, shortening to Finn. We also like Benjamin, but thinking that's a bit of a mouthful with a longish surname.

So, if you've thoughts in the same ilk, I'd love to hear them! Thanks!

I love Benjamin, it can be Ben for short which is cute but also a good man name!

Claudia

Samuel
Isaac

Toby

Hannah

Olivia is a well-rounded, respectable and feminine name. Others fitting that description could be:

Amy, elizabeth, Hannah, Lydia, ophelia, Jessica, Frances, cara, Cora, Martha, Sara, penny, Nina, Esther, Ella, anna, maya, Mia, violet, vivienne, Hayley, Ashleigh, Bethany, holly, Laura, Rachel, Kate, Katie, Emma, Suzanne, Jane, Joanna, felicity, Charlotte, Emily, Gina, Juliet, Christina, Ruby, Isabelle

Finlay seems quite 'modern' and surname-ish so perhaps it would be worth researching popular american boys names, since names like that (Taylor, Mason, etc) are much more popular over there

If popularity matters, Olivia was no 2 in England and Wales in 2013, with approx 4600 babies having that name.
See Table 6 here: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-318125

or this is a useful summary of Top 100 names for boys as well as girls: www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/aug/15/the-top-100-baby-names-in-england-and-wales-2013

Thanks for thoughts! I can't work out if popularity matters. I have a name that massively dates me and that was so popular that 3 out of the 4 girls in my A level history class had the same name (although with spelling variations). I don't want to wish this on my child. However, I agree that it's a good well-rounded, respectable name.

Some great girlie suggestions there - thanks! Toby and Samuel are not go-ers, though (ex husband's name and nephew's name!). Isaac was on my shortlist, actually, but I then discounted cos of the /k/ /k/ combination! I'm into phonetics, I'm afraid!!

If you like Olivia, what about Octavia? It has a very similar sound, and it's a bit less common, but not really "out there".

If you like Benjamin, there are lots of options to shorten it a bit for every day use.

Olivia is more of a mouthful than Benjamin!

Hehe I know what you mean - syllable-wise, yeah. But it's the consonants in Benjamin that were worrying me - Olivia is very vowell-y!