Please come and help with our girls’ shortlist - down to 5 but going round in circles!

[TempsPerdu]

I’m 33 weeks with DD1, C-section booked for 6th December but also have placenta previa so she might end up arriving sooner. After much agonising (and arguing!) DP and I have whittled down a very long ‘shortlist’ to five, but now we’re stuck. We’re after something fairly unusual, but not too try-hard or pretentious (I am aware that my taste does veer towards try-hard/pretentious, but we’ve already rejected the worst ones!)

Surname will be double-barrelled and made up of two common one syllable names - think ‘Flynn-Bell’

Your honest thoughts/opinions on the following are very welcome (no further suggestions please as it’s taken us 33 weeks to get this far )

Greta
Rowan
Gaia
Viola
Aster

Middle name/s will be some combination of Rowan, Emmeline and Alice, depending on what works best. Thanks!

Not Gaia, there’s far too much teasing potential there.

I don’t like the guttural sound of a hard G so really not keen on Greta.

Viola is ok but I think I’d pick Rowan out of those names.

Aster is a flower .... oh OK, I didn't realise. But Asta is also a Scandinavian name, and it just looks more feminine spelled with the 'a' ending, IMO. Sound is the same, presumably.

Thanks again for all the responses - such a range of opinions! Still keen on Greta, in spite of the ‘harshness’ - think my taste in girls’ just veers more towards the strong/edgy/slightly clunky rather than the obviously pretty - can’t bear all the flouncy ‘-ella’ and ‘-ee’ names that are popular at the moment.

DP is still stuck on Gaia, but I think it might be too out there for us, and I do see the potential for teasing unfortunately. He’s not sold on Viola, and I’m not sure about Aster/Asta, so we’re still at a bit of an impasse!

Also been reconsidering Rosa over the past couple of days - another one that was on our list but got edited out! DP thinks it’s too girly, but I see it as elegant and classic rather than frilly. Also like the Rosa Parks/Luxemburg link, but I know for others it conjures up middle-aged Spanish or Italian women!

Think we might just have to see what DD looks like when she arrives at this rate...

I love Rosa as well. But she might get Rosie, is that too girly for you?

I love Greta

Greta is the nicest.
Don’t like the others apart from maybe Viola

Doggington Aphra is right up my street, but I don’t think I could get it past DP!

Bertrand Is the Greta pronunciation issue a regional thing? I’m in London and have never heard it pronounced anything other than ‘Gretta’ here (by English speakers). I know in other European languages you tend to get ‘Grayter’, but I could cope with that - are there other alternatives in the UK?

Iona Yes the Rosie (or even Posy!) thing was what put me off originally - too cutesy for us.

This is so much harder than I expected - I’ve been a bit of a name geek for years, but adding a real live person into the mix (plus all those pregnancy hormones) has thrown me completely!

I love Viola, Rowan and Gaia (especially Gaia).
I am put off Greta for a silly personal reason. Many years ago we knew a lovely couple named Greta and Leslie. She was very tall and chunky and he was slight and quite wispy. A rather mean colleague referred to them as The Great Greta and The Lesser Leslie and although it was cruel it made me laugh. They’d be in their 70s now.

These names are all great. Aster is just beautiful, I'm crazy about that name. Knew two female Rowans at school, v cool. And Greta sounds like a cool actress/ singer. But Aster the fav.

Love Rowan - and only one I know is female. (I also love Alice)
Quite like Aster, as it is a good strong name, have never met one which might be why I have no preconceptions.
Not as keen on the rest of your list. Hope baby stays put a while longer!

LOVE Greta (i know lots of boy Rowans, if tht makes any difference)

I love, love, love Greta!
Greta Emmeline sounds amazing...with a name like that she would suit any profession in the future..film star, lawyer, scientist, doctor....

Greta by a country mile

Rowan Greta
Rowan Alice

Love rowan!

Greta
Or Gretchen, which I really love

I know a really cool teenage Greta. It's a lovely name.

How about Yana (Yar-na)

Hm, my previous post seems to have disappeared. So I'll throw another one in the ring.

How about Inanna?

Also really digging Aphra. Like the play-wright Aphra Behn, correct?

Greta

I love Gaia and Aster. Greta is nice but a tad harsh sounding to me.

Viola I wouldn’t use because of the different pronounciations - VYE-uh-luh, vye-OH-luh, vee-OH-luh

I quite like Rowan for a boy but I’m less keen on it for a girl.

I love Rowan. Greta is too old lady for my liking. Rosa is nice too.

Rowan Emmeline is the coolest name ever, conjures thoughts of a feisty feminist rebel girl for me!

I love Rowan and would have chosen it for my DD but DH didn’t like it. Xanthe was on our shortlist too. I know an Emmeline (she’s Em or Ems though).

Let us know what you pick!

I would eliminate Aster as not being a 'real name'. (Astra is good though.)
Rowan is a (wussy?) boy's name.
Greta is attractive but sounds as if it should be short for Margarethe or similar.
Gaia is pretty cool and sounds better followed by Xanthe than by the other names.
Rosa is beautiful.

Viola’s by far the best. Greta is awful.