Rate our shortlist of names!!

[clarenceduke]

Could you please comment on each of these names on our shortlist and state why you like them or don’t like them and which you like the most etc please:

Elizabeth
Margot
Charlotte
Margaret
Coco
Cleo/Clio
Esme
Blanche
Blair
Cassie

Please don’t suggest anymore as we’re trying to shorten our list! Thank you

Errm Coco should say Clover, not sure what happened there?

Blanche makes me think of that dour sourpuss on Corrie. Not a nice person, not really a nice sound.
Esme looks better on paper than it sounds aloud.
Blair is boring. American preppy folk use it for girls. Traditionally a boys name. It's fine but not outstanding.
Coco is a very cute idea but takes a particular sort of person to pull it off on adulthood. Save it for a pet. That's what I decided after considering Coco.
Clio/Cleo is cool and after a week everyone will have the car jokes out their systems.

Oh then definite no to Clover. It is very much a farm animal name to me. It also does not sound nice in my accent

@whatausername I have quite a ‘posh’ London accent so Clover sounds quite nice to my ears when I say it I think but I agree, it was DHs favourite so had to include

What do you think about the other ones on the list? Margot, Elizabeth ect

Elizabeth--good for nicknames but is a bit dull
Margot--don't like the sounds that make up the name or the nickname marge
Charlotte--pretty name but overused
Margaret--dull, same issues as margot
Clover--really dislike, sounds like a name for a pet
Cleo/Clio--unusual and interesting
Esme--pretty and possibility of nice nicknames
Blanche--just a horrible sounding name/word
Blair---hate the sound... Bit like bleurgh
Cassie---very pretty and feminine

@FindaPenny DH agrees re Elizabeth but I just love how strong it sounds and the people who held that name in history stand out to me.

Would you spell it Cleo or Clio. It was Dh’s suggestion and I like it but he couldn’t figure out the best way to spell it

Elizabeth - fine
Margot - too trendy
Charlotte - fine
Margaret - ok
Coco - no
Cleo/Clio - yes
Esme - no. Nice but Esme/Esmee/Esmae, accent on e
Blanche - Deirdre Barlow's mum, Dubois
Blair - Tony
Cassie - not sure

@MikeUniformMike

What do you mean re Esme? I’m confused

Yes. Can’t stand Tony Blair whatsoever but would he even be someone who is spoken about or well known to DDs generation? I have 3 children (one who is an adult and two teenagers) with my ex husband and they were all born in the Blair years from the late 90s to mid 00s and they do know a lot about him and the Iraq war etc but the DDs especially think of Gossip girl before him and they’re all 15/20 years older than our soon to be DD will be as well.

I really like Elizabeth. It is very likely to end up being shortened and most of the diminutives are pretty. It's a true classic and it would be refreshing to see someone use the full name.

Margaret is a firm no from me. It has no redeeming quality apart from reminding ne of a beloved departed relative. It should stay in the past - so many lovely options out there but Margaret isn't among them.

Margot is sweet, seems to be quite 'in' on MN. I like it but if you are worried about it dating (you might not care) then I would get a feel for popularity first of all.

Charlotte - pretty, inoffensive, really not much to say about it tbh.

Cassie - pretty, feminine, no real 'weight' to it. I like a strong sounding or at least memorable name.

Elizabeth fits the the bill for stong sounding and has namesakes such as Elizabeth I, Elizabeth van Lew, Elizabeth Mallet who in 1702 published the first newspaper and so on.

My preferences are very much for Elizabeth and Cleo but Margot, Charlotte and Cassie are fine.

@whatausername

Yes. I love the use of the whole name Elizabeth too! I quite like the nicknames on offer but would ideally use the whole thing as it just sounds wonderful to me.

Elizabeth- Strong name with great nicknames
Margot- Ok- quite like Maggie as a sweet nickname
Charlotte- Lovely but completely boring
Margaret- Ugly on it’s own but like Maggie (as above)
Clover- This is a pet’s name
Cleo/Clio- OK
Esme- Pretty
Blanche- Awful
Blair - Ok if American. For someone British I would just think ‘Tony’
Cassie- Not keen

Esmein the uk is pronounced Ess may or Ezmee
Esme is a french boy's name, the feminine in Esmee - both have an accent on the second e.
some spell it as Esmay or Esmae - probably the same ones as who spell Eloise as Elouise

I would go for the classic Cleo spelling x

@clarenceduke funnily enough using Elizabeth as a full name would get you quite close to that uniqueness that everyone seems to be striving for these days!

Elizabeth - nice but not to my taste
Margot - not my favourite
Charlotte - pretty, very classic!
Margaret - too old fashioned for me
Clover - cute but wouldn't personally use it
Cleo/Clio - love Cleo! Not keen on the spelling Clio as it's the same as a Renault clio
Esme - nice but maybe overused
Blanche - dont like, too old fashioned
Blair - quite like
Cassie - like! Also really like Cassia

My favourites on your list are Cleo and Charlotte :)

@TheLovelyOtherDinosaur DH is American but we’re in the UK so your concern would still be valid sadly

@whatausername Funnily enough, you’re right, it would

Elizabeth— love it! Lots of nickname options and ages well
Margot— getting very popular, isn’t attractive to my ears but nice enough
Charlotte — good nick name options, quite like it
Margaret— very old lady, fits in with the trend but not popular. I like it
Clover—don’t like at all
Cleo/Clio— the car
Esme — very pretty but popular
Blanche— don’t like
Blair—don’t like
Cassie—too nicknamey

We know a Margarita (Italian family) who is Margie for short and I think its a lovely name. Think that would work with Margaret too 🙂

@some I do love that name but DH vetoed it

Elizabeth - it’s ok I find it boring but it’s fine
Margot - I really dislike this
Charlotte - love this name, not sure why I don’t find it boring as it’s been popular a long time but it’s just lovely to me
Margaret - Thatcher, no.
Coco - can’t remember what this was meant to be
Cleo/Clio - Cleo is quite cool - feels trendier rather than the classics above
Esme - it’s ok
Blanche - hate this
Blair - hate this
Cassie - this is really sweet but feels incomplete

Elizabeth - overused and a bit boring
Margot - like it
Charlotte - always liked it
Margaret - don't like it
Clover - like it, but people seem to have an adverse reaction to it
Cleo/Clio - like Cleo
Esme - really don't like this, can't understand its popularity tbh
Blanche - not sure about this one
Blair - no, definitely not
Cassie - it's OK

Love Elizabeth- classic, not over-used.
Margot - ok.
Charlotte - not a fan.
Margaret - it's quite nice actually, sort of fits with the current 'old fashioned' trend.
Clover - no.
Cleo - like, quirky and unusual.
Esme - very popular in my area, lots of little ones with this name running around.
Blanche - dislike.
Blair - makes me think of gossip girl but it's ok.
Cassie - like.

Elizabeth: classic good choice of nn
Margot: I like this
Charlotte: classic but probably more popular, due to royal connection.
Margaret: ok
Clover: no makes me think horse.
Cleo/Clio: Cleo ok but not a fan.
Esme: ok but has pronunciation issues.
Blanche: no
Blair: like
Cassie: ok

If I had to choose from you list it would be Margot or Blair.

Elizabeth- dull and lispy
Margot - classy, a bit cool, fast rising in popularity
Charlotte - classic but also a bit bland due to popularity
Margaret- Thatcher.
Coco - the name a zoo would give to a chimp, or a child to a soft toy
Cleo/Clio - Love this, especially the Clio spelling. Shame about the car.
Esme- Overused a few years ago. Confusion about pronunciation - is it may or mee?
Blanche - makes me think of a middle aged southern American lady during the US civil war. A bit posh.
Blair - Witch Project. Also Tony.
Cassie - Nice, sweet, bit unremarkable, but there's nothing wrong with that