Name wars

[PancettaPie]

Ok so not exactly wars but we are reeeeally struggling for a name for our impending DD.

His top choice: Calista
My top choice: Faryn (pronounced farren)

Neither of us like each others names. We want something we both really like but there are so few we agree on.

We have an Italian surname (well, he does, I'm double barrelled), 4 syllables ending in "oh". Girls in his family traditionally have a "rose" middle name so we've picked Rosalie (we agreed!!! Yay!) And we're having Jeanne as a second middle name after my Nana.

Names we both kind of like:

Athena
Cora
Viola (Pronounced Vi-ah-la not Vi-oh-la)
Astrid

That's it. That's literally it.

Help us!

Love viola. Such a pretty feminine name!

I think if you can't decide between names, but there are some you have to explain the pronunciation for, then you should cross those off (so it's a no to Faryn and Viola for me, which pains me as I love Viola but prefer the European "Vee -oh- la" pronuciation, just to confuse things further).

I like all the other choices - although my personal faves are Calista and Athena as they feel especially elegant to me (but Calista may get the nn Callie if you mind that? and Athena is perhaps the "stronger" feeling of the two, thanks to the Goddess namesake). But with a longer surname vintage Cora or cool Astrid might flow better (being only 2 syllable) so that doesn't help much!

Rosalie is lovely (or Rosalia nice with an Italian surname). Could that be promoted to the first name spot?

Cora Rosalie Jeanne
It flows nicely!

Ines Rosalie Jeanne
Juliet Rosalie Jeanne
Corinne Rosalie Jeanne
or corrine Rosalie Jeanne
Caterina Rosalie Jeanne
Florin Rosalie Jeanne
Nora Rosalie Jeanne

What about Farrah? Same ending as Calista, same beginning as Faryn.

Camdyn?

A vote for Cora here! Lovely name.

Cora, beautiful

Cora is bloody beautiful and fits with the other names really well.

Carmila Rose Jeanne

Carmel.

Hmmm this is a tough one. Faryn and Calista are very different in style. Maybe a longer, elegant name would suit your DH, with a shorter/possibly unisex nickname to suit you?

Rosalie is beautiful.

Maybe

Marina Rosalie Jeanne (Mia)
Alexandra Rosalie Jeanne (Alix/Alex/Xan/Andra)
Bryony Rosalie Jeanne (Bree)
Madeleine Rosalie Jeanne (Maddy)
Keziah Rosalie Jeanne (Kizzy)

Or
Ada Rosalie Jeanne
Lila Rosalie Jeanne
Leah Rosalie Jeanne

Athena - nice
Cora - apple corer
Viola (Pronounced Vi-ah-la not Vi-oh-la) - Most people say it as Vie-OH-la, VIE-uh-la strays into sounding like Viler
Astrid - nice

Faryn - awful, Farrah is ok

Calista - nice

Faryn is awful. Not keen on Calista. Astrid is too harsh sounding. Viola will have pronunciation issues. Cora is ok. Athena is beautiful.

Camilla
Cecilia
Serena
Lyra
Norah
Elora

Why the odd pronunciation of Viola?
Don't make it awkward for the child.
It's a really pretty name.
Cora and Astrid are not too common and really pretty as well.

If you like Astrid what about Aster?

Astrid or Cora are both lovely.

Viola will be pronounced with the middle “oh” sound in the UK so don’t choose that if you live here and don’t want it pronounced like that.

Viola will always be pronounced "vie oh la" here. There will be a lifetime of correcting people.

Thanks for the replies, some great suggestions!

I love Julia, Corinne and Caterina. Not so keen on Carmel but maybe Carmella?

I'm pretty set on Cora but DH is meh about it. Athena is my second choice but wasn't sure if it's too strong.

@Maireas I've heard it pronounced both ways, Google lead me to a MN thread which assured me its VI-uh-la! Happy to stand corrected though and definitely don't want to saddle her with a name she'll constantly have to correct so I think it's off the list.

Another vote for Cora Rosalie Jeanne here

Miranda?

I prefer Corinne to Cora as it flows into Rosalie better.

Cleo
Sasha
Saskia
Elina
Maya
Celine
Celeste

Your last choices are lovely. Julia is classic.

Personally I love Astrid.

However, there's no need to decide now. Have a short list (which you do) and see what she looks like when you see her. One might just stand out. Even a name you weren't too keen on at first can be perfect once you see them.