Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Holly or Phoebe - discuss

45 replies

Nightstar · 02/02/2015 00:44

We go back and forth on this. We've spent the last nine months trying to find the "perfect" name, and none seem to hit the spot. So we've narrowed it down to two favourites and keep changing our minds. I'm kind of scared of picking the wrong one, or even if either is right!
My husband says we're trying too hard and it isn't worth getting upset over, but we will have to live with it forever, and so will the baby! So it is actually rather important, don't you think?

Anyway. Our thoughts:

Holly, sounds lovely, definitely a happy and pretty name.
But perhaps a bit over-used, and not a lot of "clout" to it?
No decent nicknames.

Phoebe, lovely meaning, Goddess of the moon, (plus Biblical and Shakespearian too), but does it sound as nice? It certainly doesn't sound as cheerful, but perhaps beautiful rather than just pretty? Not at all sure about nickname of Pheebs, sounds a bit "feeble"? I start to wonder if it is wishy washy sounding, as well as a little harder to spell. Then I swing the other way and decide it does have gravitas and that a girl called Phoebe could be whatever she wants with no stigma or connotations to the name at all.

Honest opinions would be most appreciated. Even if it is just that you think they both suck ;-)

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
TheyLearnedFromBrian · 03/02/2015 12:08

Oh x posts, sorry! Didn't read your update.

No to Holly. Start again. You will always regret it - you don't love it enough.

Start a new thread and ask for help.

Like any of these?

Melissa
Juliette
Portia
Hebe (!)
Verity
Anna
Linnet
Deborah
Merryn
Aurelia

StrawberryTallCake · 03/02/2015 19:17

Is it a close relative? If not I'd still go for it!

Other names I liked (we may have the same taste as they were my favourites and I used the more popular of them by the sounds of this thread) I also love Matilda.

Georgina - shortened to Georgie
Isabelle
Isabella - Bella
Heidi
Annie

StrawberryTallCake · 03/02/2015 19:18

When is your due date? I would have loved to use Summer if I'd had a summer baby!

Leeds2 · 03/02/2015 19:47

I much prefer Holly.

I know several dogs called Phoebe, which sort of puts me off it as a name for a baby girl!

scratchandsniff · 03/02/2015 19:50

Dc2 due in 8 weeks will be a holly if it's a girl

Qwebec · 03/02/2015 20:08

Ivy?

Maeve?

ralinax294 · 03/02/2015 20:32

Phoebe is loads nicer. Smile

StrawberryTallCake · 03/02/2015 21:04

I know cats called Phoebe but never met a dog called Phoebe.......

Nightstar · 04/02/2015 09:45

LOL, I'm due in 2.5 weeks

We have been through the baby name book from cover to cover and failed to find anything at all that made us say "yes"

At least not together. DH adores the name Penelope but I don't, and I like the name Harriet but he doesn't.

What with Penny or Hatty being out of the question, I figured Holly is a good compromise, shrug....

Seems wrong though to not be able to find something we both love. I'll try starting a new thread and see if anything pops that we have not thought of.

OP posts:
squoosh · 04/02/2015 10:15

Nightstar have you looked at the name statistics from 2013? Table 6 on the spreadsheet gives you a list of all names used (rather than just the top 100). Thousand of names there to sift through.

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-318125

PrincessOfChina · 04/02/2015 10:24

I have a bit of a thing about using Holly out of season. In the same way that I wouldn't call an autumn baby April, or a winter baby Autumn. Seems weird to me.

scratchandsniff · 04/02/2015 11:47

Princess I wondered if it would be considered a bit odd to call a spring baby Holly but it's literally the only girls name I really like. DS1 would have been an Elsa but thanks to bloody Frozen coming out since he was born there's no way I would use it now.

GoooRooo · 04/02/2015 13:20

You could combine the two and have Henny

Pandora37 · 04/02/2015 18:52

I don't know why there's this obsession on here that Hollys must be born in December. I'm a Holly born in the summer. Do I think it's weird? Nope. Do other people think it's weird? Nope. Or at least they've never commented on it to me. I'm pushing 30 and can count on one hand the amount of times I've been asked if I was born near Christmas. I very, very rarely get asked. Maybe I've just been lucky. Besides, the holly is an evergreen plant plus the hollyhock is associated with summer. Holly is absolutely fine for a spring baby, don't over think it.

For what it's worth, I absolutely love my name. If you don't feel it's special enough maybe you should go back to the drawing board. I agree with your associations though, I don't know many Hollys but I've never met a nasty one.

PrincessOfChina · 04/02/2015 19:01

Sorry, didn't mean to cause any offence. It's just one of my personal name rules.

GettingFiggyWithIt · 04/02/2015 22:24

Mine tooBlush but I suspect it has more to do with us being Sheldon-like. So:
April May December born in those months Exception: Juno
Days of the week born on those days
Summer Autumn born in those seasons
Holly December name Bluebell Poppy Daisy Heather Iris Lily: any time at a push but prefer springtime

Bazoo23 · 05/02/2015 14:10

Love Holly, I know phoebe is out the window but there are three little phoebes at my daughters nursery and its also a colleaguesDDs name. Very popular, I only know one holly and i think her spelling is actually hollie.

Pandora37 · 06/02/2015 08:46

No you didn't cause any offence, I guess it's completely normal to me as I've lived with it. I don't really associate my name with Christmas, I forget it's a plant most of the time if that makes sense it's just my name to me. I think Holly in December is quite cliched so I'm glad I wasn't born in December but everyone's different. :)

htf2 · 10/02/2015 08:19

At 2.5 weeks out if Phoebe were my favourite (& I do like it) I would go ahead with it - you're hardly jumping in on anyone when you can say we have been calling her Phoebe for months and couldn't change it now (slight embroidery but no-one need every know that), and there would be two little Phoebes in the family ....

Orangeboat · 10/02/2015 14:38

Love Holly it's one off my favourites. phoebe is ok don't dislike but don't love it.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page