Girl baby names - Help required

[Ruthshaw1980]

Hello all.

This is my first post so go easy on me . Expecting baby number 2 in July. Have agreed boys name with DH but really struggling with girls. Our preferred name for a long time was Esme, however we then discovered the huge debate about the correct pronounciation of this name, since it really should be Esmay which we like less. Thus, we have had to go back to the drawing board. Our current list in alphabetical order is:

Arabella
Elodie
Matilida
Otillie

Would be grateful if people could comment and rank these names in order of preference. Please feel free to offer any other suggestions which could be described as classic, vintage or unusual. We do not want an overly popular name hence I have grave reservations about Matilda but hey our list is so small and we can’t agree on anything else, so it has to stay on there for now. Would really appreciate any help!!

Matilda. I dont know a single Matilda, nor is there one in dcs entire (large) Primary.

Matilda
Arabella
Elodie
Otillie

My order of preference:

Matilda
Elodie
Arabella
Otillie

I know statistically Matilda is the most popular but I actually know more Elodies.

1. Arabella
2. Matilda
3. Otillie
4. Elodie

I like Arabella best but Matilda is also fine.

Other suggestions:
Caitlin
Margaret
Alexandra
Harriet
Emmeline
Geraldine
Catherine
Anna
Pearl
Dorothy
Gemma
Heather
Lillian
Sarah
Abigail
Nancy
Hester
Lavinia
Belinda
Eliza
Jennifer
Iseult
Georgia
Carole
Virginia
Jillian
Frances
Susan
Maude
Maureen
Eileen
Elaine
Colleen
Winifred
Jean

Otille
Elodie
Matilda
Arabella

I think they are all lovely though.

Other ideas

Anna
Emma
Jemima
Clara
Elsbeth

Elodie by a country mile.
Then Matilda, with Arabella and Ottilie in a very distant 3rd and 4th place.

Thanks Gwen25, some really interesting suggestions. Particularly love emmeline but poo pooed by DH

Arabella
Matilida
Elodie
Otillie

Can't say that I particularly like any of them though...sorry. Arabella sounds a bit horsey, Matilda is too close to Hilda for comfort and the last 2 sound as if you are pretending to be French, although if you are French, then perfect!

Some suggestions which might go with your style:

Genevieve
Annabel
Ophelia
Viola
Nerissa
Emmeline

Re the “pretending to be French” comment, I often say the same thing about Amelie but I think Elodie is OK because it’s a less common name, there isn’t an English equivalent, and the pronunciation is less of an issue.

Unfortunately not French, therefore I am aware of the problems with using Elodie. Also is it a bit of a fad name? Ottilie is a Marmite name anyway but there is something about it I like. From other suggestions so far really like Jemima, Elsbeth and Emmeline but all previously discounted by DH. This is the battle I am up against!

In order:
Matilda
Arabella
Ottilie
Elodie

You might also like:
Evie
Elsie
Ivy
Tabitha
Annabel
Annie
Adeline
Adelaide
Ava

Ottilie is a real Marmite name. I’m in the “hate it” camp, I’m afraid.

Arabella is what I wanted to be called when I was about six but it just sounds ridiculously frilly to my adult ears.

LoveInTokyo - agree 100% on Ottilie but wanted to gage opinion on it. Thanks for being explicit, if people hate/love it then say so.

Arabella is kinda frilly but also very pretty imo. The natural shortening of this name is Bella, which is not offensive for a nickname

Bella is nice but I prefer just Bella. (Or Isabella, but obviously that’s a really popular name right now.)

In order of my preference

Elodie
Ottilie
Matilda

Arabella (really like your other choices but I dislike this one!)

Matilda is brilliant!
Arabella
Ottilie
Elodie

Other suggestions:
Violet
Mabel
Greta
Rosa
Martha
Beatrice

Ottilie is awful!

Matilda and Elodie are both beautiful but there are loads of Matildas round here (south east) if that puts you off.

I feel fairly similar about all of your names- I don’t hate them but would rank them all similarly. What about Esther for a similar sound to Esme but it’s classic?

Elodie
Arabella
Matilda
Ottilie

Love the first two especially.

They are all lovely names. I would rank
Otillie
Matilda
Elodie
Arabella.

Similar :
Elsie
Tabitha
Aurora

I'm not wild about any of them, really, though they're all OK.
Elodie is just a bit...wet.
Arabella...too frilly (I think these fancy-type Victorian names are going out of fashion now.) Less frilly but a similar vibe might be Clementine, Marianne, Miranda, Annabel, Eleanor. But Arabella is is probably my favourite name out of your list.
Matilda - medieval vibe, which I do like, but unfortunately not this name - too associated with the Roald Dahl musical.
Otillie - I think this is just ugly and it won't be pronounced correctly. It's German and has four syllables, which is better than saying it the French way with three and sounding like otterly or utterly. Ottoline?

My DD's middle name is Matilda, I would have loved it for her first name but thought it would be really popular/common in her age group.
What I thought would be a rare first name, I have heard far more than Matilda.
What about Aurora?

Elodie is pretty. Not a huge fan of your other options...can't decide whether Ottillie is pretty or ugly (and can't spell it apparently). I think Arabella is awful sorry. Too Harry Potter, which is normally consider a good thing but not in this instance.

How were you pronouncing esme out of curiosity? Esmé is the only pronunciation I've ever heard.

I know of an adult Arabelle which is a bit leas frilly than Arabella.