Help us narrow down our baby name list please!

[Secretlifeofme]

Not due until October but DH and I have got the list down to 10 names for each sex (chosen not to find out whether it's a girl or a boy) and we're stuck! Please critique our list :

Girls :
Alexandra
Cassandra
Catherine
Charlotte
Elizabeth
Felicity
Helena
Jessica
Madeleine
Nina

Boys:
Alexander
Benjamin
Daniel
David
James
Jonathan
Joshua
Samuel
Thomas
William

Please don't suggest any new names - we want to narrow the list down, not add to it! Thanks

Love your lists!

From your shortened version my top three for each would be:

Jessica, Cassandra, Felicity

Alexander, Benjamin, James

But I don't think you could go wrong with any of them.

Since you have so many great names I would immediately cross off any that don't sound good with the surname.

That said my favourites for a girl are Alexandra, Catherine and Felicity. This is based on what I would most like to be called. However I also like (just not as much) all the other girl names except Nina. Nothing wrong with Nina but the others just feel more substantial to me - and I personally like strong names with history.

All the boy names are good, my favourites are: Alexander, Jonathan, David and Thomas. David is not so much used these days which gives it some appeal to me. For all though it may depend on use of nickname

Alexandra- not keen
Cassandra- like also like nn Cassie and not too popular
Catherine- not keen
Charlotte- like but too popular, doesn't have such a wow that's a nice name feel
Elizabeth- don't mind, like some of the nn.
Felicity- dislike since I heard someone calling their child 50 times who wasn't listening, something about it just sounded horrible, vowed I would never use this name
Helena- not sure how this would be pronounced, this would be an issue for me
Jessica- really like, not wow but a nice name to see her throughout life
Madeleine- like but the huge media coverage of this little girl will always spring to people's minds
Nina- ok

Boys:
Alexander- love
Benjamin- love
Daniel- like
David- dislike
James- love
Jonathan- dislike and not keen on nn Jonny
Joshua- ok, a little bit boring and doesn't sound very strong
Samuel- ok
Thomas- dislike
William- not keen

Alexandra, Elizabeth and Felicity are all beautiful names. I think Elizabeth is probably my favourite overall.
Benjamin or Alexander for a boy. I think I prefer Benjamin if I had to pick one.

Some lovely classic names. I would go for Cassandra and Benjamin.

Lovely names! We used one of them and had lots of the others on our list.

Catherine, Helena, Jonathan or David would be my pick.

Daniel and Nina

Make a list of all the possible shortenings each name could have, and if there are any you HATE maybe cut them? Even if you insist on calling Madeleine 'Madeline', it's bound to be shortened to 'Mad' at school, and Alexander could become 'Alex or 'Al' or 'Xand', so if there are any that set your teeth on edge maybe rule them out.

The girls list are a bit meh, except Nina which is gorgeous.

Cassandra was the Trojan doubly cursed as a prophet whom no one would believe. Post Trojan war she was raped and dragged back to Mycaene as Agamemnon's sex slave where his wife and her lover murdered them both . Hideous.

Also say them all out loud, several times, in conjunction with your surname. See which flow the best. And the same for various combinations of middle names. Think about initials. Does anyone in the family have trouble forming particular sounds? I lisp with 'Sk' words for example, which makes a family member, Skye, a pain to pronounce.

My personal favourites from your list are Charlotte, nn Lottie, and Daniel or Benjamin.

Don't stress too much about choosing the name yet though. Wait and see what he or she 'feels' like when they arrive. I've known people be adamant their munchkin is going to be called xxxxx and then realise that's just not who they are. Someone even changed their baby's name several weeks down the line as her personality was emerging and it didn't seem to fit.

Looks like my class register from school, names very popular about 30+ yrs ago....and all a bit boring IMO.

Are these names inspired by people you know? Or could you look up names on google to see if there are any characters that might bend you towards or away from any of them?

For the girls, Cassandra, Elizabeth or Felicity. Classic, elegant names which are unusual enough that she won’t be one of several with the same name in her class.

For the boys Benjamin, Joshua or William.

Looks like my class register from school, names very popular about 30+ yrs ago....and all a bit boring IMO.

Better than 'Passionfruit', 'Contrlaltdlte', 'Rainbow-Vixen' or other such interesting and unique modern names!

My top 2 from each:
Felicity
Charlotte

Benjamin
James

You've got a lot of lovely names. I pretty much like all your girls names except Cassandra and Nina. Catherine is maybe a bit dull.
I would choose Jessica, Alexandra or Charlotte, all gorgeous. Elizabeth and Felicity are beautiful too (not helpful)

In terms of boys, again lots of classic beautiful names but please not David or Jonathan. It feels like half of men aged between 30 and 50 are called Dave or John which makes them feel very dated. Who wants a 'dad' name when they are a teen?
I really like Samuel, Benjamen and Alexander.

Girls :
Alexandra - yes, love
Cassandra - really like
Catherine - love
Charlotte - inoffensive but nice
Elizabeth - as above
Felicity - love
Helena - my favourite of your list
Jessica - very 90s but again inoffensive
Madeleine - lovely
Nina - really lovely

Boys:
Alexander - like
Benjamin - not a fan for some reason
Daniel - ok
David - yes, love
James - love
Jonathan - like
Joshua - ok, bit overdone
Samuel - classic
Thomas - nice but overused
William - my favourite of your boys names

Nina and Alexander. Stylish, classic and timeless.

Alexandra clunky
Cassandra feels 80s but I like Cassie
Catherine boring
Charlotte boring
Elizabeth lovely
Felicity horsey
Helena hhm, not sure why I don’t like this
Jessica twee
Madeleine love it
Nina love it

Alexander ok
Benjamin I like it, but not Ben
Daniel v v popular and a bit dull
David feels v dated
James most boring MN name ever
Jonathan ok
Joshua don’t like it at all
Samuel nice
Thomas boring
William nice

Helena is one of those names that people will hesitate over as there are two ways to say it.
Daniel and Thomas are very popular and chances are he'll be one of a few in his class.

Alexandra - I like it but it will be shortened to Alex or Lexie and I don’t like either
Cassandra - v dates, v 80s
Catherine - v dull
Charlotte - v dull and currently too assoc with the princess
Elizabeth - But dull but nice, like Beth
Felicity - I like it but a bit dated
Helena - meh
Jessica - fine but dull
Madeleine - I like it but still have McCann associations
Nina - my fav, classic, timeless, international, fun, not over used.

Alexander - fine
Benjamin - dull and a bit dated
Daniel - fine
David - v dull and dated
James - quite like but a bit dull
Jonathan - hmmm, not sure
Joshua - every naughty boy ever
Samuel - like v much
Thomas - like
William - currently too associated with future King who is fucking around behind his wife’s back

I like Nina and Jonathan.

Some of your suggestions are overused and dull. Also, William can be teased with Willy.

Alexandra- love
Cassandra- not keen
Catherine - I like the look of it but I’m not overly keen on the sound
Charlotte- too boring
Elizabeth - lovely
Felicity - my DD’s pony is named this
Helena- lovely
Jessica - too popular. My DD is friends with several
Madeleine - love it
Nina - ambulance siren (sorry!)

Boys:
Alexander - not keen
Benjamin - love it. My favourite
Daniel - no
David - time for a revival I think
James - not keen
Jonathan - not keen at all!
Joshua - no
Samuel - no
Thomas - lovely though super popular
William - not keen

I’d go for Benjamin or Madeleine

I’m torn between Helena and Nina for a girl, but they’re both gorgeous. And out of the boys I’d chose Alexander, because there’s a wide range of nicknames.

Nina and Alexandra are both lovely. From your boys list I like Alexander, William, Samuel and Thomas.

You've got some lovely strong names there, no wonder you're having difficulty choosing!