Girl after two boys - the shortlist

[snowrevolution]

We've narrowed down the options to Phoebe or Helena. Her older brothers are Hector and Jasper. Our surname starts with F. So slight concern about an alliterative sound with Phoebe (although it runs together nicely). And Helena would share a first initial with Hector, but I'm not sure that matters too much.

Would be great to get some views on the following combinations of first name / middle name. Middle names all chosen because of significant meaning or association with an individual.

Phoebe Marianne
Phoebe Helena
Phoebe Maia
Phoebe Beatrix

Helena Marianne
Helena Phoebe
Helena Beatrix
Helena Florence

Thanks!

I think Phoebe goes better with her siblings' names, although I do like Helena too. Marianne and Maia are my favourite of your middle names.

Helena is such a fiddle to pronounce. Will be forever correcting people or feeling irked

Use phoebe - better with your surname too

Helena is really classy
Phoebe sounds more trendy

Phoebe by miles. It’s a stunning name. Helena is meh.

Phoebe is much nicer imo. Helena is a bit dated I think, and with Phoebe all the names will be six letters with a different initial which is quite neat. Phoebe sounds good with any of the middle names

Phoebe Helena!

Phoebe is very pretty

missmouse101 - I like Hebe, but too close to "heebyjeebies" for me.

Edging towards Phoebe, with middle name of Helena or Marianne...

Phoebe Helena!

I'm not keen on Helena, though that's very subjective. To me it sounds like a soft, slightly plump young woman who doesn't know how to assert herself. Maybe because of literary characters, I don't know. I also feel like it's been overused in the past. It's one of those names like John or Jack that you see everywhere, and as a result doesn't have a lot of personality.

Phoebe is fine though. I wouldn't mind the alliteration, on the contrary. Boris Becker for instance sounds pretty cool.

Phoebe Beatrix

Forgot to add, regarding the middle name I like Maïa, but if you like Helena so much that you're considering it as a first name (unlike Marianne) then it sounds like that's what you should pick as a second name. Though bear in mind that means you won't be able to use it if you have another daughter.

Helena Marianne

I have a 2 year old Helena and always get lovely comments on her name. Great nickname possibilities- Lena, Nell etc. Lovely meaning and roots (Greek, Shakespearean). Pronunciation hasn't been a problem for us. Occasionally it's pronounced 'wrong' but it sounds nice any way and very easy to correct.

Just a query, but if you're going for hel-ay-na rather than Helen-a, shouldn't there be an accent over the second e?

ReganSomerset - I haven't seen a version of Helena with an accent. I think it has a number of different pronunciations (eg Helena Christensen pronounced as Hel-AY-na).

I think we've ruled out a number of options, but still torn between the following:

Phoebe Marianne
Phoebe Helena
Phoebe Beatrix
Helena Marianne

Decisions, decisions!

Helena Florence

Helena is much much much nicer than Phoebe, which sounds too much like feeble.

Helena Marianne or Helena Florence are beautiful!

Phoebe Helena gets my vote, I think.

Helena Marianne is lovely too, though a very different feel from Phoebe Helena - more 'glam' (for want of a much better word), sophisticated.

Helena (pron HEL-e-na in our case) is what our second boy would have been had he been a girl (like yours, our third was a girl - we called her something else, though - and she and he share a first initial and it's not a problem at all).

Phoebe

We've set ourselves a deadline of tomorrow to register DD1's birth (she's been nameless for 11 days after a very early arrival catching us all by surprise).

We've decided to go for Phoebe as a first name. And now just deciding between the following two full names:

Phoebe Helena
Phoebe Beatrix

Phoebe Helena feels slightly more elegant, with the option of being known as Helena later, if Phoebe doesn't suit her quite as well (as she's so premature, we're finding it hard to work out whether she is more of a Phoebe or Helena!). We like the meaning of Helena.

Phoebe Beatrix feels a bit more spunky. As a name, Beatrix has significance for both sides of the family. And we like the meaning - bringer of joy. But Beatrix is very much a middle name for us - we wouldn't consider swapping it round and using as a first name, so she would be stuck with Phoebe. Which I think is fine.

Being very indecisive - any final views very welcome!

Hector and Helena are a bit too similar.,I’d get them confused all the time!!

Phoebe F.... is fine, I love alliterative names!

BikeRunSki - yes, I already mix up my two boys, whose names sound nothing alike. So I agree Hector and Helena would be even more tricky!

We've decided to go with Phoebe. Just deciding between Phoebe Helena and Phoebe Beatrix now.

I think Phoebe Helena is so lovely! Beatrix is getting quite popular (but still lovely).

I love the name Hector. It's on our list if second is a boy.
If you don't mind me asking @snowrevolution what sort of reactions have you had re Hector and does he like his name?

Phoebe Beatrix definitely. Helena pronounced Hel-ay-na makes my teeth itch. Whiney and common sounding. Hel-E-na is so much classier 😁

fairybeagle - I'm not sure the grandparents loved "Hector" to begin with, to be honest (although they were too diplomatic to say so). But he's grown into his name brilliantly, and I think most people (grandparents included!) now see it as a strong name with plenty of character. We gave him a more traditional / standard middle name - James - as a fallback in case he really didn't suit Hector. But that's never been an issue. He loves his name and the fact that there aren't that may other Hectors around. We've come across a handful of other young Hectors since he was born. I think it's climbed the charts steadily since he was born, which perhaps means it's not seen as quite as left-field as it once was.