What are your opinions on my shortlist for girls names....be honest!

[OurNextAdventure]

I'm still TTC at the moment but already have a shortlist of girls names I really like and I'd love your honest opinions on each.

After writing a long list on my phone it was obvious that I have a penchant for girl names beginning with "E", and only E names will do it would seem :)

So here is my shortlist....some I like more than others and I have a favourite (I think) but would love to hear everyones opinions.....

Elena (pronounced e-LEN-ah)
Elle
Ella
Emma
Emmy

If it matters we have a two syllable (quite boring) surname and we will be choosing two middle names (family tradition).

Love Etta. If ds3 had been a dd Etta was in the running

Love Etta. If ds3 had been a dd Etta was in the running

I love Emmy! My little one is called Emily and I find myself calling her Emmy

Emily, Esther, Eliza, Elise, Elsa, Evangeline, Edith, Eleri, Elodie, Elora

We have an Emma who we call Emmy too. Classic, strong name which suits all ages.

It's actually not as popular as some think. It was something like 54th in the ONS list in 2016 and 61st in 2015. I think Mumsnetters think it's so popular due to its prevalence in the 1980s when some of us were at school.

I like Elle and Emma, which I agree is a classic name. I’m not keen on Ella because it just makes me think of salmonella and and Emmy is just a bit of a silly/girlish name.

Other ‘E’s I love are Erin, Eve, Elsie

Wow, thank you everyone for taking the time to reply with your opinions....so nice of you all; I wasn't expecting there to be so many.

Great comments, many of them echoing my own niggles about some of my own choices.

I think my thoughts now are;

Elena - (this was my original fav) it still is really BUT I fell in love with the name when I first saw it and read its pronunciation as "E-LEN-A". It was like a feeling that you just know "that's the name I want to call my daughter one day". HOWEVER...I just don't really like the other ways of pronouncing the name (they are not "wrong"; just not the same name to me. I don't know if it's something I could get past as, from experience, it's annoying having to correct people when they pronounce your name. But I LOVE it......I don't know.....name stays on maybe list.

Emma - I really really really like it. Agreed, it's strong and classic and beautiful at the same time and suits all ages. My only hesitation is I'm a child of the early 80s so it was as common as my own name when at school (therefore is it a tad boring for a name choice?)

Elle - you are all to spot on with saying it's "sticky". I think it's so pretty BUT it's like the end E sound is hard to say if that makes any sense?!? Still do like it though as an alternative to the Elena dilemma (oh god, that kind of rhymes)....

Ella - I think it's super pretty but (at the risk of causing a mumsnet storm) I feel it might be a tad "common" as in not just popular. Not that these things really matter but...

Emmy - totally agree, it can't really be used as an actual name can it. Far too cute and childlike for a grown woman one day. That said, if I was on a deserted island and didn't have to worry about anyone else I'd use it as I think it's so sweet.

Thank you for all the other E name suggestions. LOVE "Etta", very cute...but love James as a boys name so maybe not lol!

Elodie is also lovely - where has this name come from? It's like Melody without the M....but do really like it.

Elise is in the consideration pot for a middle name :)

Thanks everyone....much food for thought.....now just have to actually make a baby....and figure out my boy list too of course!

Xxx

I think elodie is french, very pretty

The Elena I know (Italian routes) is pronounced Ell-eh-na.

How about Eleni? Pronounced Ell-en-ee

I chose and “E” girls name. It’s unusual and we don’t know of anyone with the same name. I still like it but in all honesty I did not realise at the time how popular E names were/are for girls. She is now 5 and we’ve not come across anyone else with her name yet but it does sound quite similar to lots of other very popular E names.

Elena - Very pretty, but I prefer Eleanor.

Elle - This one's slowly growing on me recently. I think it's nice.

Ella - Love this. I just think of Ella Fitzgerald when I hear this name.

Emma - Good, classic name but might be a bit of a safe name. Still love it though.

Emmy - I know a young girl called this, it suits her a lot. I do prefer it as a nickname for Emma or Emmeline.

Other E names I like: Eva, Emer, Eloise, Elisa, Emmeline, Everly, Evelina

What this thread has demonstrated is the multiple ways folk will pronounce elena
So, either you (and dd) habitually correct people or you live with the multiple pronunciation
I like all the other names except Emmy. Emmy is a labradoodles name
If I heard it shouted in the park id expect to see a scampering dog

Love Elena!
Emma is lovely too.

I love Elena. What if it's a boy?

Elodie, Esther?
There is no second 'e' sound in Elle... is there? It's just pronounced L like the letter.

Yes Elle is L and Ellie has the second e sound.

The names in this list are all very popular and if your surname is boring like you say, you're likely to be picking an all round boring name (sorry).

My favourite is Elle. But only if it is pronounced 'Ell'. However, there will be a lifetime of people saying it like 'Ellie'.

Elena- Eleanor spelt differently. A 90s name. It's had its day.
Ella- extremely popular, will be one of many at school.
Emma- another boring 90s name.
Emmy- it's a nickname or a dog's name.

TabbyCat864 What names do you like? I always find girls names harder to choose than boys weirdly

I'd pronounce Elena as Ell-EH-na . I do know a couple and they both say Ell-EH-na. This is my favourite out of your list.

Esther is the girl's name I will never use as I had my last DC nearly 20 years ago.

Still think it's a lovely traditional, firm-sounding name that doesn't "age" a person or sound flowery.

I have an Eleanor (pronounced Ell-Eh-Na) and it is a very adaptable name...Ellie, Elle, Ella. Eleanor will suit her into adulthood, feminine but strong I think.

Like them all except Emmy. Also worth considering Erin and Esme maybe?

Emma is classic and beautiful, I'd definitely go with it.

Elena and Emma are lovely. The others are like shortened versions of those really. Love Emily though.

I know someone else has suggested Eleni, but I wanted to suggest it with a different pronunciation - El-LEN-ee. It's the Greek version (and Greeklish spelling) of Helen.