Alice? Anna? Thea? And what about boys names!?

[PickUpStep]

Can I have your opinions on some names please?

Our girls shortlist list is unfixed but we keep coming back to Alice, Anna and maybe Thea. I can imagine using Alice or Anna, and Anna was in the running when we named our DD. I think Thea sounds and looks really nice, but I think I'm struggling to imagine using it, maybe because I've never met one. Any opinions on these?

Boys names - 😭
I like Toby but dh not so keen. I like Oscar, but can't imagine as a little baby. We both like Luca, but I do go hot and cold on it. Matthew maybe but does it sound a bit dated now? I just don't love any boys names!

Neither of us are keen on obviously shortened names as first names (Ellie, Alfie etc).

So-
Alice, Anna, Thea,
Toby, Luca, Oscar, Matthew

Any opinions on these to help me love or disregard them or any other suggestions gratefully received!

Alice was on our list. I think Anna is lovely as well, but I work with someone with that name and thought it would be weird. Not a fan of Thea personally.

I like Matthew (another one we would have considered if not literally every man I work with was called Matthew 😂), less popular now obviously but I don't think it's a name that dates particularly. I prefer Luke over Luca.

That's the Matthew problem isn't it! It sounds nice, I've only come across one or two children... but every other grown man is Matt!

I want to like Luke but for some reason I've never been keen. I think I've known of a few Lukes who are a bit... wet.

Haha, Winter 😊 I decided on dd's name from a shortlist once she was born and we did have a cat called Toby as a child - I thought maybe the passing of 25 years or more was enough to break the association, but...

Love the name Alice, not so keen on Anna. I know one Thea (adult), short for Dorothea.

Quite like Toby actually and Matthew always been a favourite, but agree it's out of favour for babies at the moment. Oscar's OK, but I'm not a fan of Luca, sorry.

How lovely to see such nice name suggestions. Alice and Oscar, Anna and Matthew, Thea and Lucas (prefer Lucas).

Thanks all. I do like Lucas, it just didn't stick somehow

I probably should've said, my DD is Eleanor.

Hmm. My dd is known as Allie - not sure Ellie and Allie are bedfellows - might sound a bit daft. Ellie and Anna work better. I think Anna and Thea work; not so sure about Ellie and Thea - they are different genres for me.

She is definitely Eleanor not Ellie.

Get it about different genres though... Arrgh! Right that's it, boy or girl it's gonna be Dave.

I like Toby and Matthew. Not hugely keen on your girls shortlist.

James
Alexander
Christopher

Alexandra
Harriet
Olivia

How old is she though? nn are given by schoolfriends and parents have no say in reality. Not that I wish to dissuade you from Alice which obvs I think is a very good name!

I like Anna best, it's a lovely name.
Matthew is timeless and I had Luca on my shortlist but dh vetoed it.

I like Anna and Matthew best.

She is 7. So a bit borderline whether or not a nickname will emerge but it hasn't yet.

Thanks Morris, I do like Harriet a lot. How much does it matter though that my accent has a bit of, er, North London to it and I struggle to get the 't' on the end without it sounding like a deliberate after-thought, whereas DH is quite well spoken so the way we pronounce certain names sounds a bit different (Harriet. And George is another example).

Thanks all 😊

Alice and Anna are both lovely names. I'm not sold on Thea , I've never met one either !

I do like Matthew, it's a classic name and i do like Matt. I've a cat called Oscar so can't picture a baby Oscar lol.
I used to like Luca alot, but I actually prefer Luke.

Eleanor is a lovely name. I know you don't want her to have a nn but I think Elle is much nicer than Ellie , if that's any help lol

Alice and Matthew are 2 lovely names. Love Matthew..its not too common but sounds friendly. I know a few Matthews who have managed to still hold full name through adulthood.

Your girls shortlist is very similar to ours! We went for Alice in the end- and the Mumsnet jury were very anti Thea when I posed our name conundrum to them 3 years ago. Thea can be tricky for anyone who can’t say the “th” sound- and they end up saying fe-a, which isn’t great.
From your boys list, I like Matthew best- and think it goes with Eleanor too. If it’s any help, our little boy is Zachary James.
Good luck!

Anna is one of my favourite names ever. So simple, timeless and beautiful. I like Luca and Oscar a lot as well.

Eve
Rose
Clara
Flora/Florence
Ines
Tessa
Ailsa

Theo
Louis
Leo
Henry
Samuel
Thomas
Arthur

Anna is beautiful.
Matthew is a great name too, love Matt as a nn.
Other names ;
Sarah
Emma
Laura

Max
George
Samuel

I like all of your shortlist, Luca the least.

Anna! It’s so simple yet stunning. I love it.

I like Anna and Matthew :)

Definitely Anna and Matthew.