Judge my girls' list / any other suggestions?

[Mumtobe2020A]

DP and I are sorted for boys' names but really struggling with girls' names. Ideally it will be something classic (ie not something people have only started using as a name in recent years) but not very plain (the surname is quite common and I don't want her to be the equivalent of Jane Smith - DP prefers really simple names like Jane and Jess and Sarah so we may wrestle a bit with that criterion!). I also quite like 'strong' names rather than cutesy ones, don't really like flower names, and don't want her to be one of a million in her school year (not to sound too picky!)

My current favourites:
Ada (veto'd by DP who says it's an 'old lady name')
Juno (is this too kooky / will people think of the movie?)
Phoebe (really love this right now but is it too popular?)
Audrey (veto'd by DP as he knew one he didn't like)
Rory as a nickname for either Aurora or Aurelia (but will people just think I watch too much Gilmore Girls and/or are the full names too poncy?)

On my 'quite like' list:
Viola
Vivienne
Hazel
Cora
Hannah (but it's a bit plain combined with the surname)
Alice
Iris (love the fact that it's the Greek goddess of rainbows, which feels appropriate for a pandemic baby given we see them everywhere, but don't love the 'iss' sound much)
Kathryn

I like these but think they're too popular
Evelyn
Ava
Eva

I quite like these but DP has rejected them
Ida ('too old lady')
Stella
Edith
Lilian
Maria
Judith
Elena
Maya
Emilia
Mae
Joy
Leah

Now that I've seen them all written down I'm not sure it's a great list. Opinions very welcome! And are there any others that fit what we're looking for that people could suggest?

Read last year’s ONS baby names statistical release. It highlighted Ada and Arthur as two of the fastest rising names last year. So I would be cautious about using Ada if you care about how popular a name is. There are also lots of very popular and similar names eg Ava/Eva.

I really like Rory as a nickname for Aurora and considered using it myself recently, so don’t think that’s mad!

Also like Phoebe, Cora, Stella.

Love Juno, Vivienne, Phoebe, Alice
Alice is classic and will never date.
NOT Rory. Aurelia and Aurora are nice though, I know a few.
Kathryn - not keen at all but K/Catherine fine.

Ones I had on my list
Genevieve nn Evie
Penelope nn Nel
Iona
Elsa (this was pre-Frozen!!!

Don't like any of your favourites, they're all too popular and/or kooky.

I love Alice, Judith, Hannah and Elena

I only like Juno or Hazel from your list. Agree about Ada being an OAP name. Rory is just awful! I hate the 'roar' sound. Hebe is a lot prettier and rarer than Phoebe. How about that?

Ada is lovely. I don't think Phoebe is too popular. I only know one and she's 8. Love Alice, Vivienne and Evelyn.

Some other ideas :

Zara
Iona
Thais
Nina
Jade

Ada - I definitely don't dislike it but I think it's very up and coming.

Juno - I think it fits your criteria of being strong and classic. But I do think it's a bit faddy. The parents I know with Junos are a bit try hard.

Phoebe - I really dislike this name which makes me think "feeble" but it's classic and not especially popular right now as far as I'm aware.

Audrey - ok. I don't think it's pretty.

Rory as a nickname for either Aurora or Aurelia - I'm not keen on Aurora but I quite like Aurelia.

On my 'quite like' list:
Viola - I like it but I never know whether it's Vee or Vie at the start
Vivienne - not a fan at all. I know two many called Viv which is so unattractive
Hazel - I feel like I ought to like this but can't for some reason
Cora - again. I adore Cara and Clara but can't get on board with Cora.
Hannah - dull dull. I know a thousand. I like Anna though
Alice - one of my favourites of the classics

Iris - love it

Kathryn - I love Catherine and Katherine but am not keen on this spelling

I like these but think they're too popular
Evelyn - Uber popular
Ava - much nicer than the Ev- versions in my opinion but popular
Eva - very very popular

Other strong classic names (sorry for any repeats):
Anna
Ellen
Eleanor
Eliza
Elizabeth
Meredith
Freya
Susannah
Thea
Verity

Oh my word, so many replies! Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate all the feedback, even the criticism as it's good to get a range of opinions.

Of the new suggestions I like Sylvie, Marianne and Martha; I love Xanthe but I'm not sure if it's a bit too bold for us. I hadn't thought of Iona which several of you have suggested and that's a good strong name too (but will it lead to lots of puns?) @KatnissK It's funny you suggest Alexandra, this is completely outing but the only reason I can't use it is it's my name! I love it.

Thank you @toastofthetown and @17caterpillars1mouse and @Hawknotdove for flagging that Juno and Ada are rising in the charts. It's so hard to pick something that will be a bit different but not too crazy!

@DramaAlpaca you're right that I should probably focus more on narrowing the long list than widening it... I guess I'm hoping there's a perfect name I haven't thought of yet that we'll both love, but maybe we just have to compromise on something we both don't hate?

@sorryiasked I do like that idea but would worry people might think it's about our political preferences or something...

Rory seems divisive which is fair enough, Juno less so which is a pleasant surprise, I thought you might all think it was too out there. I think of the goddess rather than the movie too, @4amWitchingHour, it's a shame in the myths she was jealous and angry but I would just try to focus on the 'queen of the gods' aspect! And Phoebe is still a favourite I think...

@captainraymondholt ooh, faddy and try-hard - I think you've put your finger on what I'm worried people will think about Juno! Argh. It's tricky.

I like your taste OP. My favourites would be:

Cora
Hazel
Alice
Phoebe

My current favourites:
Ada (veto'd by DP who says it's an 'old lady name') - ❌ agree with your DP sort of, it's too common now
Juno (is this too kooky / will people think of the movie?)❔- not sure I can't help but think of the movie
Phoebe (really love this right now but is it too popular?) - ❔ I don't know any phoebe's but I'm just not keen on the name
Audrey (veto'd by DP as he knew one he didn't like)- ❌ reminds me of Audrey from corrie
Rory as a nickname for either Aurora or Aurelia (but will people just think I watch too much Gilmore Girls and/or are the full names too poncy?)❔ - I like Rory but not the full name options

On my 'quite like' list:
Viola - ❌
Vivienne-✔️
Hazel-❌
Cora-❔
Hannah (but it's a bit plain combined with the surname)-✔️
Alice-❌
Iris (love the fact that it's the Greek goddess of rainbows, which feels appropriate for a pandemic baby given we see them everywhere, but don't love the 'iss' sound much)-❌ agree don't like iss name
Kathryn-❌ not keen

I like these but think they're too popular
Evelyn-❌ common
Ava-❌ no
Eva-✔️ like, not as popular as Ava, evie ect

I quite like these but DP has rejected them
Ida ('too old lady')❔- not but love names like Idelle
Stella-✔️ love
Edith-❔ not keen but edie could work
Lilian-❔not keen
Maria-✔️ definitely
Judith-❌ no
Elena-❔common ish
Maya-❔not sure
Emilia-✔️like, prefer emilie
Mae-❌ middle name
Joy-❌middle namd
Leah-❌ no

What does your DP like beyond simple names? Lots of the names that begin and end with a vowel are extremely popular at the moment so if you don't want popular, steer clear of any of those. If you're after classic and strong, I'd avoid most names that end with an 'uh', 'ee' or 'bell's sound. I like...

Agnes
Alice
Edith
Ellen
Eloise
Harriet
Jennifer
Judith
Madeleine
Megan
Meredith
Miriam
Rachel
Robyn
Ruth
Winifred

If you don't mind about the endings...
Anna
Bethany
Dorothy
Ella
Eliza
Emma
Hannah
Louisa
Lucy
Lydia
Mary
Matilda
Nancy
Peggy
Verity

FWIW, Juno does make me think of the film. I think Phoebe is a fabulous name and don't come across that many even though it's supposedly very popular. I'm not a fan of Aurora or Aurelia although I'm quite fond of names that have fun/funky nicknames. I think I'd worry that Aurelia may prefer Ray or Lia as her nickname and so would avoid it because I don't really like either.

Of your list, I like: Ada, Juno, Alice (I have one of my own, so highly biased), Iris and Ava.

Other names: Sophia, Eleanor, Imogen, Faye, Felicity, Rhea.

Phoebe!

Ada - bland
Juno -ok, but try hard
Phoebe - fine
Audrey - yes
Rory as a nickname for either Aurora or Aurelia - no. Both names are a bit silly.

Viola - yes, but pronunciation?
Vivienne - only if it’s spelled as Vivien.
Hazel- boring
Cora- OK
Hannah - ok but dull
Alice - fine
Iris - yes
Kathryn - spell it Catherine or Katherine.

Evelyn - ok but will end up as another Evie
Ava- bland
Eva- bland

Stella - yes. Good strong name.
Edith - yes. But please not Edie.
Lilian - yes.
Maria - yes. But pronunciation?
Judith-yes.
Elena- prefer Eleanor. Pronunciation?
Maya- bland
Emilia- Amelia or Emily. Emilia is silly.
Mae- bland.
Joy- yes, OK.
Leah-fine.

Oh I LOVE Audrey and it fits your criteria perfectly. Can you not bring DH around?

Ada is going to be really popular this year. It's all over this board! Don't pick it if you DON'T want a popular name.

(Ironically, Sarah would actually be kind of unusual right now and Jane very unusual)

Of your list, I like Cora, Kathryn and Hazel the best.

Phoebe is lovely
How about freya

Viola - Not sure about.
Vivienne - Love this. Very pretty. I like the nn Vivi or Vivvy.
Hazel - Neither like nor dislike.
Cora - I like this.
Hannah - My daughter's name so obviously I love it.
Alice - Lovely classic.
Kathryn - I prefer Kathleen or the Catherine spelling.

Evelyn - I like as long as pronounced Ev-lyn rather than Eve-lyn. Most are shortened to Evie that I know of.
Ava - Lovely name, but very popular.
Eva - I prefer Ava or Evie for some reason.

Stella - Dislike as it reminds me of a grumpy old lady I once knew.
Edith - Love this.
Lilian - I don't like, but love Lilia.
Maria - Not sure about.
Judith - I actually like this and would love to see it make a come back.
Elena - Pretty.
Maya - I always get confused how to pronounce this one, whether it's "May" or "My".
Emilia - Another of my favourites.
Mae - Quite like. It would be a refreshing change to see it as a first name.
Joy - Love the meaning behind it.
Leah - Pretty.

Thanks so much everyone! Lots of food for thought...