Opinions on girls shortlist

[Mrsducky88]

Due second girl soon and struggling to settle on a name. We already have a Bryony (nn Bee)

Current shortlist below but welcome other suggestions.

Merryn
Olivia
Astrid
Phillipa (Nn Pip)
Alexis
Freya
Helena
Eleanor (Nn Nel)

Merryn - don’t like
Olivia- love
Astrid- too out there for me
Phillipa (Nn Pip) - strong name
Alexis- it’s a name that imo can become very common sounding easily
Freya- nice but getting more common
Helena- awful, dated in a non classic way
Eleanor (Nn Nel)- will be shortened to Ellie, your nn is too far from the full name. If you want a Nel go with Nell or Nelly

Not keen on Merryn or Alexis.

All the others are lovely, though I’d spell Philippa this more usual way.

Astrid is my favourite from your list.

I like Helena, Eleanor and Merryn and Philippa - spelled this way.
Laurel
Daphne
Rowan

I think Merryn is lovely! Meredith too - nn Meri?

Astrid is by far the best.

Eleanor is good but risks Ellie which is very bland. Nell is a good nn.

Love Bryony!

Tamsin
Edith

Nell is a nn for helen so not miles away from eleanor. Could also be helena’s nn. So if you want nel go for it. People will call her what you call her. Nobody has ever shortened my nephew’s name from samuel to sam because his parents dont.

Bryony is gorgeous with Bee nn so it would be lovely to have another name with a cute nn.
From your list it has to be Philippa nn Pip, but fave on this list is pp Meredith nn Meri however now I've written it Bee Meri doesn't really work.
How about Felicity nn Flick?

Olivia, Philippa or Eleanor are my fave

Philippa is my favourite but with Bryony I would assume you really wanted boys. I would choose Helena

Bryony is gorgeous, such an underused name. I know one who goes by Bree (she's 17)

Anyway on to your name list..

Merryn - I love Merryn, it has such a happy feel to it. It also has the known but underused and a bit different vibe that Bryony has

Olivia - I love Olive, but find Olivia a bit Meh. I think it's because it feels a bit overdone as I hear it all the time

Astrid - I like it, though known 3 Astrid's who are under 1 so it seems to be having a bit of a moment atm which personally makes me avoid names

Phillipa (Nn Pip) - Phillippa I love! Also love Pip and Pippa though to a lesser degree. Goes lovely with Bryony too

Alex is - not a fan

Freya - I like but it's very popular in my area

Helena - I like but only the Helen-uh pronunciation so would avoid personally

Eleanor (Nn Nel) - I like but worry it would be naturally shortened to Ellie. I really like Nell though, and Ella. I personally prefer Eleanora nn Nora

I would go for even Bryony and Merryn or Bryony and Phillippa. Both are gorgeous and go really lovely together

Nell is a well known nickname for Eleanor so don’t know what some posters are on about! Also hate Mumsnet-nickname-nazis who act like there’s only ONE acceptable given name for every ONE nickname... it’s really odd and doesn’t seem to be an issue in the real world thankfully!

Anyway. About the list:

Merryn - Pretty, fresh and a bit different
Olivia - lovely but overused
Astrid - very strong and cool
Phillipa (Nn Pip) - I really don’t like this
Alexis - This just doesn’t appeal to me
Freya - Pretty but seems a bit ‘meh’
Helena - lovely! Love this with nickname Nell
Eleanor - same as above! I love it and think Nell is a great nickname

Do agree with a PP that Ellie might be a more natural shortening for Eleanor (among school friends etc) simply because it’s been more commonly used as a nickname recently, so if you do want Nell I’d go for for Helena. (I’m pronouncing it Helen-a in my head though - if you want to He-leen-a pronunciation it might not work so well. Personally I don’t like this pronunciation.

Also hate Mumsnet-nickname-nazis call your
Kids what you like but we are prewarning u can’t control the nicknames others will give your kids

Merryn - St Merryn was a monk
Olivia - overused. No
Astrid - nice. Probably more popular than you think
Phillipa (Nn Pip) - ok
Alexis - ok
Freya - overused. no
Helena - ok
Eleanor (Nn Nel) - prefer Helena nn Nell

Philippa spelling.
I really dislike the name Meredith.

Where I grew up, Nel was a nickname for Eleanor.

I like
Merryn
Astrid
Phillipa (Nn Pip)
Eleanor (Nn Nel)
But not the others at all.

Bryony and Astrid sound great together I think!

Imogen?
Genevieve?
Both could nickname Gen, if you like that - I see them as similar to your other choices and I think sound nice with Bryony

Merryn - quite pretty
Olivia - really like Olivia, theres a reason its popular
Astrid - love
Phillipa (Nn Pip) - not keen on philippa but love pippa/pip
Alexis - ok
Freya - love
Helena - not keen
Eleanor (Nn Nel) - like and love the nn Nell