Critique my girl names

[ABCFamily]

I've just found out that I'm pregnant, and am having fun thinking of names.

Although I'm a Brit, I've been living abroad for a while, but intend to move back to the UK in the next year or so. How would these girl names be perceived back home?

Which of these names do you like/dislike, & why?

Alice
Astrid
Beatrice
Bronwen
Celeste
Demelza
Emily
Evelyn
Hannah
Hazel
Hester
Lorna
Louise
Megan
Penelope
Phoebe
Rachel
Simone
Sylvia

Alice - lovely, classic
Astrid - yuk
Beatrice - posh but nice
Bronwen - not keen
Celeste - name of oral contraceptive
Demelza- not keen at all
Emily - lovely
Evelyn - lovely
Hannah- pretty
Hazel- not keen
Hester - never heard it and don't like it at all
Lorna - old fashioned
Louise- also old fashioned
Megan - lovely
Penelope- not keen
Phoebe - pretty and popular
Rachel - old fashioned
Simone- awful
Sylvia- v old fashioned

Congratulations!

Alice - fine, plain
Astrid - lovely
Beatrice - posh and stuffy
Bronwen - love
Celeste - nice, reminds me of babar
Demelza - reminds me of am ran old cat/the name Grizelda
Emily - boring
Evelyn - ok, Evie dull
Hannah - nice
Hazel - nice
Hester - see Beatrice
Lorna - ok, dated
Louise - dated
Megan - fine
Penelope - fine
Phoebe - plain
Rachel - dated
Simone - I've inly known mean ones
Sylvia - ok

*Demelza - 'Am ran' = mean old!!

Alice - classic, nice, quite popular at the moment
Astrid - sounds a bit like asteroid, not keen
Beatrice - nice, classic
Bronwen - bleuh
Celeste - not keen, no reason why
Demelza - Demelza sounds like the name of a crazy, (probably Irish) Catholic nun. Dreadful.
Emily - classic, nice, dull
Evelyn - lovely
Hannah - fine
Hazel - fine
Hester - this has to be one of the ugliest names I've ever heard. I would feel incredibly sorry for any child called Hester. I can't get past the fact that it rhymes with "molester"
Lorna - very dull and old fashioned
Louise - as per Lorna
Megan - nice
Penelope - bit of a mouthful. Also quite trendy at the moment
Phoebe - dislike, again not sure why, just the way it sounds doesn't appeal to me
Rachel - fine, quite 80s/90s
Simone - again it sounds a bit dated now. I'd would imagine a Simone to be in her 30s or 40s
Sylvia - not keen, too old lady-ish for me, trendy now, I know a few under 2

Alice, Evelyn and Megan are the best from your list.

Like:

Celeste - pretty, unusual
Emily - classic
Evelyn - quite nice though Eve/Evie/Ava names are very popular
Hannah - classic
Louise - underused classic
Megan - simple, pretty
Penelope - OK, Penny a nice nickname
Phoebe - OK
Rachel - OK, perhaps a little dull
Sylvia - quite like

Dislike:

Alice - dull
Astrid - harsh, reminds me of "get rid"
Beatrice - a bit self-important
Bronwen - OK, prefer Anwen
Demelza - don't like the sound
Hazel - not keen
Hester - a bit over the top. Prefer Esther or Estella
Lorna - prefer Laura or Louisa
Simone - a boys name with an e

No one's mentioned Demelza the character from Poldark?
It's Cornish.

It's also the name of a children's hospice.

Alice- classic but tad boring
Astrid - not keen
Beatrice- ok
Bronwen- like it
Celeste- not keen
Demelza- awful sounds like a Disney baddy
Emily- nice maybe tad boring
Evelyn- ok very popular though
Hannah-90's
Hazel-80's
Hester- no
Lorna - not good
Louise- ok
Megan- ok
Penelope- love and love Nell as nn
Phoebe- dislike
Rachel- ok
Simone- love
Sylvia- really like

Alice - quite nice, bit boring
Astrid - don't like but only because I know 3x old women called Astrid so I think of it as an old person's name
Beatrice - bit twee
Bronwen - quite like
Celeste - too flouncy/posh for me
Demelza - sounds like a witch
Emily - boring
Evelyn - don't like, do like Evie but it's quite popular
Hannah - quite like
Hazel - don't like, also feel like it's an old woman's name
Hester - don't like
Lorna - quite like, think of Lorna Doone
Louise - boring
Megan - quite like
Penelope - quite like though it makes me think of wacky races :)
Phoebe - love, one of my favourite girl's names but DH wasn't having any of it
Rachel - bit boring
Simone - quite like but for some reason can't imagine a baby called simone
Sylvia - don't like as had a rabbit called sylvia so to me it's a pet's name...

Alice - classic, simple, nice
Astrid - like it, bit different (in a good way) not overly popular
Beatrice - pretty, Bea as nn is sweet
Bronwen - not keen, unless you have a Welsh connection, quite frumpy
Celeste - Disney
Demelza - Love it! But the Poldark connection might put me off. If you have a genuine Cornwall connection though, go for it!
Emily - pretty, bit dull
Evelyn - like it a lot, although every other baby is called Evie, Ava at the mo
Hannah - never liked, boring
Hazel - old lady with baggy tights
Hester - bit too biblical for me
Lorna - like it
Louise - boring, the middle name of everyone born in the 70s (inc me)
Megan - works at Asda
Penelope - pretty
Phoebe - love it! pretty and ballsy
Rachel - dull and mousy
Simone - awful, moany Simoney
Sylvia - pretty in an old lady vibe

Hester ????????

Alice - boring
Astrid - love
Beatrice - very current
Bronwen - very 80s/70s and not in a good way
Celeste - not keen
Demelza - looks made up, sorry
Emily - dull, has been done to death for the past 20 years
Evelyn - really like
Hannah - lovely but also overused
Hazel - no
Hester - god no
Lorna - not keen
Louise - dated
Megan - love it (on our shortlist)
Penelope -nice
Phoebe - okay
Rachel - decent name but very bland
Simone - god no
Sylvia - nice

I love Demelza. I know one in her late 20s.

Also like...

Alice
Astrid
Beatrice
Bronwen
Celeste
Demelza
Emily
Hannah
Lorna
Louise - prefer Louisa
Rachel
Sylvia

Demelza stands out as nice, though I wondered if there would be a slight upsurge in use after Poldark. There's a ballet dancer (RB) named Demelza.

Alice - lovely
Astrid - ok, slightly fashionable at present
Beatrice - like
Bronwen - nope
Celeste - nice and unusual
Emily - ok
Evelyn - fine
Hannah -fine
Hazel - like
Hester - not really, but not terrible
Lorna - dated
Louise - Louisa is prettier
Megan - popular but fine
Penelope -good name
Phoebe - fine
Rachel - also fine
Simone - not keen
Sylvia - lovely

Alice - lovely, classic
Astrid - not keen (sounds too 70s to me)
Beatrice - like
Bronwen - not keen
Celeste - don't like, can't help thinking of the Marie Celeste
Demelza - don't like
Emily - lovely, classic
Evelyn - not keen, because I'm not wild about unisex names and Waugh means the masculine won't completely vanish
Hannah - like
Hazel - not keen (70s again)
Hester - OK
Lorna - lovely
Louise - like (prefer Louisa, though)
Megan - OK
Penelope - lovely
Phoebe - like
Rachel - like
Simone - OK
Sylvia - not so keen (bit old lady in the mothballs sort of way, prefer Sylvie)

My 5 faves from your list are: Alice, Evelyn, Megan, Phoebe and Sylvia (I think Sylvie is cuter)

My reactions are mostly by association with known people

Alice - in Wonderland or from the Vicar of Dibley. Very popular
Astrid - princess name from Belgian and Norwegian royal families. Does remind me of something in outer space though
Beatrice - princess of York and Paul McCartney's daughter with Heather Mills
Bronwen - sounds a bit elderly to me in a not attractive way, sorry
Celeste - Marie Celeste the deserted ship
Demelza - see previous comment
Emily - know lots, very popular and has been for decades
Evelyn - seems newly popular. Only one I've ever known is now in her 90s. Also man's name as in Evelyn Waugh
Hannah - as per Emily
Hazel - wouldn't choose as leaves itself open to Hazel Nut
Hester - as Bronwen really
Lorna - the novel, Lorna Doone, but I know and like a Lorna, so tend to like the name too
Louise - as for Emily and Hannah
Megan - I like Megan
Penelope - seems to be very popular, always makes me think of Penelope Keith
Phoebe - I know a lady called Phoebe, she's very elegant
Rachel -as for Emily, Hannah and Louise
Simone - Simone de Beauvoir, 20thC French intellectual
Sylvia - 'Who is Sylvia/Silvia?' from Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona
It's always seemed a very 1920s, 30s or maybe 40s old lady name to me, but it seems to be right back in vogue and I hear it a lot.
Also prefer Sylvie's softer sound

Alice - love, fairly popular

Astrid - like it, unusual

Beatrice - like it, very popular where I live, what about Beatrix?

Bronwen - sounds masculine to me

Celeste - quite like it but prefer Astrid

Demelza - love it but she may not thank you for it, depends on surname and how brave you are

Emily - boring, millions of them

Evelyn - prefer Eve

Hannah - dull, not that popular at the mo though

Hazel - maybe not quite ready for it's revival yet, but you could be a trend setter

Hester - I like it, 1940's socialite vibe but I had very negative reactions when I suggested it for dd2

Lorna - maybe not quite ready for it's revival yet, but you could be a trend setter

Louise - too soon since its 70's/80's popularity

Megan - ok

Penelope - like it, just the right level of unusualness

Phoebe - nice but popular

Rachel - too soon since its 70's/80's popularity

Simone - no, too mumsy

Sylvia - maybe not quite ready for it's revival yet, but you could be a trend setter

Alice - love it
Astrid- like it. Kind of quirky. Has a hippy vibe IMO
Beatrice - I hate this. Do I pronounce it wrong? Like beer-triss? How is that a nice sound?
Bronwen - ugly
Celeste - I love this but loads of people will say it's a contraceptive pill
Demelza - no
Emily - nice but dull
Evelyn - variations in pronunciation would drive me mad ans there are loads of Evies around
Hannah - nice but dull
Hazel - lovely underused IMO
Hester - not a fan but I LOVE Esther
Lorna- no
Louise - dated. Love Louisa though
Megan - nice but dull
Penelope - ditto
Phoebe - irrational hatred for this name
Rachel - nice but dull
Simone - dated
Sylvia - quite nice, prefer Sylvie.

My favourite are Alice, Astrid and Hazel. Louisa and Esther if they were alternatives.

Marnie? Elodie? Etta? Ada? Cora? Vera? Ophelia? Juliet? Iris? Edith? Clementine? Fleur? Lois? Mabel?

Sorry got carried away! I'm pregnant with a boy, getting all my girl ideas out of my system!

I wouldn't raise an eyebrow at any of them. There are billions of Evies about, if that bothers you. Recent Sunday evening drama (Poldark) may trigger a flurry of Demelzas. Hester likely to be mispronounced as Ester.

Astrid and Celeste were both on our shortlist.

Also like Demelza, Hazel, Hester, Lorna, Penelope, Sylvia.

The rest are OK too, I don't dislike any of them.

Alice. Gorgeous classical elegant
Astrid. No.reminds me of Astral cream.
Beatrice. Good name but not to my personal taste
Bronwen. Yes
Celeste Yes
Demelza. No sounds like s witch.
Emily. It'd okay a bit meh though
Evelyn. No very harsh sounding
Hannah. Yes
Hazel. Gorgeous.
Lorna. No
Louise. Yes and quite unusual now
Megan. Yes but I agree it's s bit unimaginative
Penelope. No awful
Rachel. Yes
Simone. Yes
Sylvia. No but Sylvie's nice

Thanks for the feedback all. My absolute favourite is Lorna, although I also really like Alice, Hazel, Megan, Evelyn, Hannah, Sylvia, Astrid, and Phoebe. Quite like Lydia and Sorrel too, now that I think of it.

It’s a bit odd, but some of the names (e.g. Bronwen, Emily, Penelope, Beatrice) I only like as middle names. For example I love the following combinations: Lorna Emily, Sylvia Bronwen/Sylvia Beatrice, Hannah Penelope. Does anybody else get that?

Hester is a real guilty pleasure of mine. I’ve liked it since reading the ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy, but I'm aware I'm in the minority and I think you would need to be quite self confident to pull it off, so I don’t think I’ll be using it. I know the sound is almost identical, but I really don't like Esther. Reminds me too much of Esther Rantzen I think.

Looks like Simone is a marmite name too, but it gives me a sort of ‘smooth jazz’ feel. I once met a girl called Demelza at a party and liked it since then, but I wasn’t aware of the Poldack series, so thanks to whoever brought that up. Had forgotten that Celeste was a contraceptive pill!

ATrueNerd - Thanks for your suggestions. Elodie, Cora, Vera, and Ophelia are lovely. Unfortunately neither Cora nor Ophelia work with our surname (one clashes, and one has too much teasing potential). Will add Elodie and Vera to the list though.