OH likes boring names!! Help us meet in the middle!

[babyunicornvomit]

I always liked weird names. Not Jamie Oliver's kids weird, just unusual. Partner likes VERY usual names. Isabella, Emily, Olivia are his favourites - all SUPER common and popular.

I was one of 3 Rebecca's in a class. I don't want a common name! I love the names Sapphire, Dottie and Merida. He isnt keen.

The ONLY name we've both been able to agree on liking so far is Florence, it's exhausting but we have to decide!

Please help! Any middle of the road, less common but also pretty girls names, please?!

This was me and my X

How about Elizabeth with Eliza for short?
Margaret with Maggie for short
What about Marianne - Unusual but classic for him?

If youre looking for something a bit different. Id ditch Florence. Im tripping over them.
Vivienne
Felicity.
Fiona
Miranda

Antonia
Aurora
Cecilia
Cordelia
Daisy
Delilah
Emmeline
Esme
Eve
Francesca
Hazel
Helena
Jasmine
Juliana
Juliet
Lorna
Mara
Marcella
Mona
Naomi
Rosalind
Thalia
Vanessa
Veronica
Viola
Willow

I think you'll do best looking at the more unusual classics...o

Beatrice
Cecily
Guinevere
Rose

Hebe
Hermia
Pandora
Cleo
Zoe
Aurora
Leonora
Zillah
Thomasin
Moravian
Marla
Sylvie

Clemency
Dulcie
Helena
Dorothy
Linda
Lucia
Juno
Honoria
Martha
Jerusha
Fenella
Amy
Kathleen
Margot

I had this with DH. I think he just likes names he's used to. I didn't want something which is overused where we live (I would class Olivia, Amelia and Isabella as a bit overused here really), so we ended up going for something that was popular when we were born, but not so much now. I've never met another baby with DD's name!

How about:

Laura
Katherine
Rachel
Elizabeth
Alison
Emma
Margaret
Sarah

Darcy
Kiera
Ellen
Louisa (Lulu)
Hannah
Henrietta (Hetty, Ettie)

What about Susan and John?

Classic, but it's unlikely your child will be in a class with either a Susan or a John.

Also, just reading back over your OP. You said you like 'weird' names, but what exactly is it you like? Is the criteria that they be not well used or is there something else? If you said you love nature names or Ancient Greek names or something then it might be easier to find a middle ground.

Tabitha
Angelica
Miriam (could shorten to Mimi)
Faye
Anastasia
Robyn

Love Dottie !
Clementine
Victoria
Abigail
Emmeline
Kristina
Josephine
Caroline

i always like names you can make more or less formal using nicknames, like:

cassandra (cassie)
persephone (sephy)
marianne
elizabeth but with a cute nickname i.e. bess, betsy, eliza
elinor
constance (connie)
grace (gracie)
henrietta (hetty or ettie)
rosamund (rosie)
katherine (katie, kate, kitty)
flora
theadora (thea)

ooh how about dorothea, dottie for short? i always think you want a name that works for both a toddler and a high court judge should she decide to become one

or ruby?

a lot depends on surname - ours is also a first name iyswim so we had to pick quite carefully!

I think his choices are lovely to be honest, and yours not so much, I'm sorry, I'd hate to be called Dottie for example. Plenty of good suggestions on here and hopefully you can find a middle ground.

Juliet
Naomi
Alice

also - of your original list i LOVE florence

My own children have less used but known (by adults) names and they are very happy with them. I used the death columns of national papers for inspiration!

Olive?

Go Austen: Very traditional names, some of which are used rarely but are still recognisable:
(putting aside Elizabeth, Charlotte and Catherine from the beginning as so popular)
Elinor
Marianne
Margaret
Ann
Lydia
Jane
Harriet
Emma
Mary

Isabeau? French variant of Isabel so not too out there but a bit more unusual. Can also be shortened to Bo/Beau which has a similar sound to the Flo that Florence usually ends up as.

*might actually be the French version of Elizabeth.

Margot
Stella
Pearl
Iris
Lilah
Rose
Summer
Esther
Cora
Coralie

Nothing to startle the horses there. Have you considered LTB?

ARSEY 😂😂😂