Honest opinions? Cut down my girl names list!

[SarahTTCx]

Hi! Looking for honest opinions on my girls names list, cut it down and tell me why you've removed the ones you have? It's so long and me and OH constantly argue about which names deserve to be at the top (not pregnant yet but on month 5 of trying).

Amelie

Lyla/Lilah/Lylah

Leila/Laila

Sophia

Elia

Elliot

Ruby

Lilia

Nora

Elsa/Elsie
Sylvie

Aurora

Jolie
Joie
Jovie
Sienna

Elodie

Zoey

Caoimhe

Dolly/Dollie
Avie
Adelie
Nina

17caterpillars1mouse Dolly was my great grandmothers name... her real name was Dorothy but to us she was always granda Dolly and I loved it so maybe i'm bias!

Dorothy with Dolly as a short is ok, but not Dolly as the whole thing.

People comment on names being ‘sweet’ and ‘cute’ as if it’s a good thing, but I think sweet & cute only works for babies & toddlers & rapidly becomes a negative as girls get older & need to be taken seriously.

I Iike Nora and Nina the best

Amelie - so many Amelia’s and Emily’s and this just sounds like you’re trying to be different to those. Too cutesy
Lyla/Lilah/Lylah - like Lilah
Leila/Laila - like Leila
Sophia - classic. Great name.
Elia - boy’s name (well in Spanish and Italian)
Elliot - boy’s name. Absolutely no way.
Ruby - Curry
Lilia - tampon
Nora - batty. Quite like Norah though.
Elsa/Elsie - Elsie is too sweet. Elsa is to ‘let it go’
Sylvie - awful bit seems popular on here
Aurora - princess
Jolie - Angelina
Joie - spin 360
Jovie - no
Sienna - it’s ok
Elodie - too cutesy
Zoey - no but Zoe is ok
Caoimhe - no. One pn is nice and the other not so
Dolly/Dollie - no absolutely not. It isn’t a toy.
Avie - no. Sounds like you didn’t want Evie or Ava
Adelie - penguin
Nina - siren

So Sophia

Amelie
Lyla
Sophia

Elliot
Ruby
Lilia
Elsie
Elodie
Caoimhe
Nina

Not much rhyme or reason other than these are just the ones I prefer from your list!

Here goes - I’m not sure whether this will be helpful to you but I find myself with time on my hands!!

Amelie - no. Don’t like Amelia, too popular, and Amelie is a trying-too- hard version of this. Will get confused with Emily. But - lovely if you’re French.
Lyla/Lilah/Lylah - no, dislike
Leila/Laila - much prefer this - would go with Leila. Pretty name.
Sophia - nice but just so so overused, avoid unless you love it so much you can’t bear to part with it
Elia - no, just doesn’t sound right.
Elliot - I like this, on my long-list. In two minds over whether it should be Eliot or Elliot. Or Elliott??
Ruby - the only acceptable jewel name IMO. (Hate crystal, pearl...). Does make me think of a dog but that’s just because our neighbours had a bulldog called Ruby.
Lilia - sounds made up, would stick with Lily if you must.
Nora - I really like this.Husband has vetoed :(
Elsa/Elsie - no. Frozen. Too common. Feel like this type of name is going to be the Sarah/Emma of this generation
Sylvie - Love Sylvie and Sylvia. For various reasons can’t use them. Do wonder whether it’s getting a bit trendy perhaps, not sure.
Aurora - don’t like this, trendy just now, but I do love Rory as the nickname.
Jolie - no, doesn’t seem right to name your kid “pretty” and makes me think of Angelina. Johanna, Josephine etc all better variations IMO.
Joie - is this pronounced Joy? Or the French way? Again don’t love it, I think I also have a bias against “virtue” type names and this makes me think of those
Jovie - makes me think of Juvey, slang for juvenile detention, ie where the bad kids get sent
Sienna - quite like, just not my cup of tea
Elodie - another el- name that I think we will are too many variations of. I think I would like it but I knew one who has put me off.
Zoey - like it a lot. But would spell Zoe for sure. Feisty and cool. Can’t use myself otherwise would be on my list.
Caoimhe - I love this, really like Irish names but I do worry about pronounciation depending on where you are. Saoirse is on my shortlist but causes me the same worries.
Dolly/Dollie - ok if short for Dorothy. But I don’t love it
Avie - no. Mish mash of Evie and Ava, extremely popular names that every kid is probably called - if you like them use one of them but not Avie.
Adelie - no. Have you read about Adelie penguins and their sexual depravity? Adele I like though.
Nina - I like this, would be on my list but a friend has used it. Does sound kind of high maintenance though for some reason.

Good luck w TTC and eventual name choice :)

I prefer :-

Amelie
Sophia
Ruby
Elsa
Sylvie
Zoey - but as Zoe
Avie
Nina

Good luck!

Amelie
Lyla/Lilah/Lylah
Leila/Laila
Sophia
Elia - ditch this one. It's a bit wishy-washy and has several ways to pronounce it. Doesn't look complete to me.
Elliot
Ruby
Lilia
Nora
Elsa/Elsie
Sylvie
Aurora
Jolie
Joie - ditch this. It's a brand of baby buggy/car seat.
Jovie
Sienna
Elodie
Zoey
Caoimhe
Dolly/Dollie
Avie - ditch this for similar reasons to Elia.
Adelie - not sure how to pronounce so would ditch. It's not Adele or Adela so get rid.
Nina

@nonicknameseemsavailable honestly I think people lean way too much on the "they'd constantly have to spell it" excuse. I have 2 cousins named Maia (like Maya) and Lucie and they both love their names and it takes 2 seconds to correct someone if they get the spelling wrong. Neither of them get irritated by correcting or spelling out for someone. (I do think that's within reason mind, I wouldn't go crazy and spell Ruby "Roobiey").

You have got a lot of very popular names in your list (Sophia, Elsie, Amelie, Lilia, Lilah, Ruby) - how do you feel about this? I grew up with an unusual name and hated it, my dc have very mainstream names and both have another child with their name in the class. They don’t consider this to be a problem.

“Alternative” spellings such as Zoey for Zoe, Joie for Joy, and the variations on Liliah don’t do anyone any favours unless you have cultural reasons for using them.

Despite “Scrubs” , Eliot is almost always a boys’ name. Even then, the variations of Ls and Ts are not standard and leads to all sorts of confusion.

Caoimhe - if you have Irish heritage and live in Ireland or have a lot of patience. Having said that, Niamh and Siobhan have become integrated into mainstream English-speaking names, so you never know. My surname is Irish though, and spelling and pronunciation is always a problem for other people.

@TildaTurnip lot's of people seem to think Dolly is too cutesy/childish and they'd grow out if it, but I had a grandma Dolly (her name was Dorothy but she never used it) and nobody ever questioned her name as an adult. I wonder if it's because there were lots of names like that back then and now not so much? It might be something I use as a middle name as I do love it and it pays tribute to my grandma but maybe doesn't work as a first name these days.

@BikeRunSki the overly popular names do concern me slightly. My name is Sarah and I always hated being 1 of many Sarah's in school growing up. But I also don't want anything too weird. All those names do seem really popular on here but out of the ones you listed I've only ever met 1 Elsie and she's an adult, I don't know any kids or anyone for that matter with any of those other names. My sister is a primary school teacher and from that list she's only ever taught 2 kids with the names, a Ruby and a Sophia, so they don't seem so popular where I live YET.

I do have Irish ancestors but waaay back so I don't know if that's enough of a tie in to use Caoimhe and I do agree the pronunciation will get butchered constantly so maybe that one should be benched!

@SarahTTCx, you can check the popularity of a name on the ONS website. They have regional breakdowns.

Amelie - lovely name, french connotation
Lyla/Lilah/Lylah - l like the first 2 spelling, but the last looks made up.
Leila/Laila - can also spell this Layla
Sophia - bit meh, lovely name but just simplistic.
Elia - nice underused name, very on trend with the 'el' beginning and 'ia' end. Could be mistaken for a number of other names.
Elliot - lovely name
Ruby - not my cup of tea but I know some lovely rubys.
Lilia - Lovely name
Nora - I'm just not a fan of this name. Makes me think of an old granny.
Elsa/Elsie - Always liked Elsa (even before frozen)
Sylvie - Lovely french name
Aurora - bit too frilly for my taste
Jolie - no don't like it sorry. Reminds me of slug lips angelina..
Joie - I don't know how to pronounce it. Is it the french 'jwah' is it 'joy' or is it 'joey'? Too much hassle.
Jovie - Too much like bon jovi.
Sienna - Nice name but is becoming more popular.
Elodie - Nice french name again.
Zoey - This name is not actually that common in children now. It's ok.
Caoimhe - NONONO. As a teacher I have taught a few of these and it is 1. impossible to spell, 2. at least half of your child's teachers will always get it wrong on the register. 3. It sounds like 'queef' (i.e. fanny fart)....
Dolly/Dollie - too frilly...
Avie - Don't like this, sorry!
Adelie - Not keen on this one either!
Nina - This is alright.

Caoimhe is not impossible to spell. You managed (presumably) a degree but can't take time to learn the standard 7-letter spelling of a name from another part of country? What a narrow-minded attitude for a teacher. If it were made up for the sake of being "youneeq" or for an Instababy I'd see your point but it's not.

@SarahTTCx ah I see why you like Dolly so then. But you said it was a nn of your grandmother's? Then go for Dorothy, perhaps as a middle name. Back then women were supposed to look pretty and youthful, to produce children and to keep a well-run house so to have a youthful or infantile name was nbd. These days we, in theory, have more options to choose from but we still face nonsense biases. It will change eventually after a lot of hard-work but, meantime, I wouldn't give a girl a name that screams infant or toy. Whether this a is a good reason or not I can't say but it is a pragmatic one. Also, who, as an adult, wants to feel like a child every time they open their mouth?

By all means honour your GM with a middle name though, she was clearly an influence on you.

Just so you're aware OP! Lived all over the country.
Amelie never gets confused with Emily.
Lyla never gets mispelled.

I agree with Empress. The child will be a tiny girl for a very short time. Cute names are lovely for small children but can be a bit weird for forty-something women with a house, car and job.

@Greggers2017 that's good to know, you have 2 lovely names there even if they do, it takes 2 seconds to correct people so i'm not worried about that sort of thing anyway!