Shortlist- please help me decide!

[fireworkbaby]

I'm 21 weeks pregnant with baby number 2, we don't know the sex. We have a son called James so it needs to sound ok with that. We are decided on middle names which will be William or Elizabeth.

Boys:
Gabriel
Theodore
Samuel
Benjamin
Noah

Girls:
Clara
Matilda
Iris
Josephine
Astrid

Ahh gorgeous names. My votes are for Benjamin and Matilda but I actually really like all of them.

Boys:
Gabriel - love
Theodore - not sure
Samuel - love
Benjamin - love
Noah - hate, it’s so overused too. I was at a baby group the other day. There were 5 of us chatting, 5 boys, 3 called Noah.

Girls:
Clara - love
Matilda - ok
Iris - love
Josephine - ok
Astrid - love

Great lists!

Benjamin or Noah, Clara or Matilda

Congrats OP, my vote goes for Gabriel then Theodore, Iris then Josephine
Both sound good with your chosen middle names.

I think Samuel and Benjamin work best with James and also William as the second name

Matilda my my favourite for the girl's names. Josephine is nice but people might think you've chosen it so you have two J's which is fine if you don't mind but you might get comments.

Girls:
Clara
Matilda
Iris
Josephine
Astrid

I absolutely LOVE all the boys names (you have both my sons' names in there and yoru others were on the shortlist.

For girls my favourite is Clara. I really like Mathilda and quite like Astrid.

I don't like Iris for lots of reasons - weird to be named after a part of an eye (I know it's a pretty flower too, but still) I don't like the emphatic 'I' sound - it's a bit whiny. And I knew a very difficult iris who has put me off the name. Not keen on Josephine but for no good reason.

So Clara or Mathilda and any of the boys' names.

Not Clara- Disney nutcracker was released last Christmas and I think it's going to be so much more common this year as a result.

Others are fine.

Your boys list reads like a top ten popularity. Sorry I just find it a bit uninspiring

Girls names- I like Josephine but Jo and James is a bit twee
Iris is nice and goes with James well

I really like all your boys names. Noah and Theodore are my faves.
The only one I like on your girls list is Clara

Gabriel - I really like this.
Theodore - its ok, seems a bit faddy
Samuel - Love, love, love. I had daughters but if I ever had a boy it would have been called Samuel.
Benjamin - really nice and seems to be less popular these days
Noah - faddy, overused

Girls:
Clara - ok but seems way to popular these days, same vein as Theodore
Matilda - really lovely
Iris - really love this
Josephine - its ok, seems a bit dated and I don't like Jo as a nickname
Astrid - not keen at all, does not go well with James at all

My pick would be Samuel and Matilda.

Lovely names Benjamin and Astrid get my vote.

Josephine or Iris for girls. Gabriel or Theodore for boys

Benjamin and Clara

Samuel William
Clara Elizabeth

Benjamin & Matilda

All of them go well with James with the exception of Noah, which sounds weak & whiny to me.

I love all your names except Noah. I'd go with Gabriel and Astrid if I had to pick.

I like Theodore, Benjamin and Samuel on your boy's list. Gabriel is not my taste but it works okay. Just cross Noah off. I agree with pps - Noah is not strong and classic like James and like your others.

I like all your girl's names but wouldn't want 2 Js so not Josephine. Clara, Iris and Astrid are the most interesting as Matilda is very popular, but I do still love Matilda.

I love all your names! Good taste

Any of them except Astrid.

Benjamin or Noah for a boy
Iris for a girl.
some lovely names on your lists

Benjamin and Josephine
I like Astrid and Theodore too

For the boys: Theodore (Theo is a nice nn) or Gabriel. For girls - Astrid. This is my 11 yo DD's name and she gets lots of compliments on it. She likes being the only one in her school too.

Gabriel and Iris or Matilda.

Gabriel and Matilda