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Baby names

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Original poster

Well damn, it's a girl. HELP

127 replies

CassandrasCastle · 09/12/2019 13:20

I have just found out I'm having a girl at my 20 (ish) wk scan. For some reason I had it very firmly in my head that it would be a boy, and had my very favourite name ready, which DP and I both love - handily. (I am being ridiculously over prepared I realise. But I just like names...)
Anyway, girl - lovely news, but I can't do girls names v well :/

This is the shortlist made with DP, we have quite different tastes:

Juliana (poss shortened to Nia. NOT JULIE)
Evangeline (I like long version)
Lilias
Laurel
Iris

Have at me...

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Original poster
CassandrasCastle · 10/12/2019 21:37

I know a Lilian and a Kirsty very well, dear friends, but both would find it quite odd if I named my baby after them. Leila does nothing for me oddly.
Evangeline is dropping down my list...

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Original poster
CassandrasCastle · 10/12/2019 21:39

Seraphine/Seraphina pretty nice...

I really do think I'm stuck between Lilias and Laurel though. Out of those 2 DP prefers Lilias, but I just don't feel wholly on bored/sad for little non-existent Laurel somehow...
Aaaargh

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Original poster
CassandrasCastle · 10/12/2019 21:39

*on board 🙄

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Downton57 · 10/12/2019 21:40

Lilias is a lovely traditional Scottish name and will be great when she's older too. Some of the very cute names don't work quite so well when the child becomes an adult.

CheeseyBeano · 10/12/2019 21:41

Sephy as a nickname, OP. Go on, you know you want to.

Astronica · 11/12/2019 06:47

I think Lilias and Iris are both lovely.

Juliana and Evangeline are okay but feel a bit over the top to me. I do love Julia and Juliet though. I really dislike Laurel which is just a frumpy middle-aged person to me, having known a few. Laura is beautiful however.

Frances/Frankie?

Original poster
CassandrasCastle · 11/12/2019 09:53

Oh no! I just can't see Laurel as frumpy.

I do love the Sephy shortening, also of Persephone, but someone mentioned the Noughts and Crosses book series to me, and said it might be problematic to name a white baby the name of the main black character, from books all about racial injustice. Hmm

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Original poster
CassandrasCastle · 11/12/2019 09:54

I think I am edging to Lilias...thanks chaps! Oh well, I've got quite a few weeks to swing back and forth, ha.

Ohh Seraphina is lovely though..

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Flymetothestars · 11/12/2019 10:26

Come back and update us @CassandrasCastle

Original poster
CassandrasCastle · 11/12/2019 12:03

Aww, I will do! Flowers

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midsomermurderess · 11/12/2019 12:27

Of your choices I like Iris the most. I simply don't understand how the utterly preposterous Ottilie turns up again and again. Do people think it's sophisticated or something?

Togepi · 11/12/2019 18:39

If one of your names has an obvious nickname that you hate, probably best not to use it - you can't control what their mates call them at school! If they start going by Julie at 12 or 13 you'll be powerless to change it.

mathanxiety · 12/12/2019 03:53

I love Laurel, but Lilias is really nice too.

The Laurels I know are very stylish and creative.

Seraphina is lovely but I can't help feeling it's a bit frilly for the long haul.

FizzyGreenWater · 12/12/2019 12:52

Well things have moved on a bit, but of your originals:

Juliana (poss shortened to Nia. NOT JULIE) - no. Don't, she will be Jules/Julie - she may even CHOOSE to be known as Julie!
Evangeline (I like long version) - I don't really like this, clunky, and she'll almost certainly end up as one of the billion trillion Eve/Evies around.
Lilias - sounds very male somehow.
Laurel - ok. People will mishear as Lauren.
Iris - the nicest by far.

By the way, your DP is doing a lot of vetoing. Can I ask whether the baby is having your surname, as is traditional? :)

Original poster
CassandrasCastle · 14/12/2019 17:19

DP is doing a lot of vetoing because I am the one suggesting all the names 🙈 (I think almost all of the, v few, names he has tentatively mentioned I've shut down...)

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Original poster
CassandrasCastle · 14/12/2019 17:20

It's having his surname, because his is lovely and mine is boring as hell

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Original poster
CassandrasCastle · 14/12/2019 17:21

I don't get Lilias sounding male, don't think I ever well - so I suppose that's fine! Grin

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Amelia732 · 14/12/2019 17:22

Iris

CatalogueUniverse · 14/12/2019 17:30

Topaz Wink
Ishbel
Greer
Ailsa
Sorcha
Tibby
Cicely

TreesSandSea · 14/12/2019 17:34

You do you, but IMO Lilias is not nice and Laurel is a boy’s name.

ThisLittlePiggyWentTo · 14/12/2019 17:41

I was about to say the same about Ottilie. It's so awful. Just makes me think people are super fans of a certain disgraced instamum.

Iris is beautiful OP. I agree with the poster above about Laurel being a bit frumpy.

BlueEyedFloozy · 14/12/2019 17:42

I'm Scottish and have never heard of Lilias, how do you pronounce it?

I can't decide if I would say Lily-a or Lily-ass or if any of those are even right!

Not Iris - every Iris I've ever known is Iris the virus...

Postmissposte · 14/12/2019 17:51

I love Seraphina too.
I also like Iris and know a few little ones.

How about...
Gretchen
Ingrid
Anoushka (nn Ana)
Ophelia
Ishbel (another great underused Scottish name)

Original poster
CassandrasCastle · 14/12/2019 19:59

Its like Liliy-iss/Lilly-us. Sort of in between.

To me, Iris is probably the frumpiest from my list, though I do like it.

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Hillaria · 14/12/2019 20:18

Ottilie is very common (as in 'there are lots of them').

I know a little Lilias, and I like her name. It's unusual, but not try-hard.

(She'd probably end up as 'Lils', but there's no accounting for nn. My DD has a long and unusual name and we have always called her by a very nice nn - but all her friends call her Poot Confused).