DPs choice is Arabella. I know a few, so the fact it’s quite common puts me off. It’s a bit too long and “princessy” for me. Also, I feel it would be shortened to Bella and there’s a lot of those too.
My choice is Phoebe. We don’t personally know any and I think it’s cute. It’s a little more common than I’d like in general but it goes with DPs very common surname. DP isn’t keen at all, he’s also not keen on Rosa which is another one of my choices that I’m scribbling off my list.
The only name we’ve both said we like is Hazel. I don’t know any and I love old names (our eldest son has an old name that made a comeback). I like that it’s not too long and can’t really be shortened to anything. The only thing I don’t like about it is how it looks written down which isn’t a major issue, and it’s possibly because I’ve stared at it for so long now as it’s the only name we can both agree on. I like that it’s an older name so that doesn’t put me off. It’s a nice balance of being unique (for where we live anyway) and not so uncommon you question it (in my opinion). Interested to see what others think!
We’re not telling our families the name, mainly because my side of the family are very opinionated and would put anyone off their chosen name and DPs family start calling the baby by the chosen name before they’re here and I don’t like that (can’t explain why, I just don’t).