Girl name help!

[catmum789]

Really struggling with girl names, we like the below but not sure how popular they are. I have a very popular name and as a result lots of people in my class at school had the same name and I hated it! The names we like are:

-Elodie
-Dorothy
-Willow
-Darcey

Please could you also advise which names you prefer out of these or alternatives!! Having a meltdown

As for popularity, this website uses the ONS data from England and Wales and plots is over time, which is a really nice way for viewing name trends.
Elodie - El- names are so popular right now that anything with that start just feels tired to me
Dorothy - trendy, but nice enough. I prefer the similar Dorothea
Willow - popular name, but again nice
Darcey - combining the three main spellings of the name (Darcie, Darcy and Darcey) would put the name at 26 in England and Wales, so this name is more popular than just plugging the name into the stats might suggest. Darcey is also the least common spelling, with Darcie being the mot popular.

A small note on popularity, is that the popular names today are used far less than the most popular names when we at school. Year on year the percentage of babies given the top ten or top hundred names drops. This means in general the five Sarahs in a class thing is much less likely today. Not impossible though, obviously. I'd probably avoid Elodie of all the names you've suggested though. Even though it's less common than Willow, she'll be around Ellie and Eliza and Ella and Eleanor and Elsie (and that's without even leaving the top hundred names).

@toastofthetown

As for popularity, this website uses the ONS data from England and Wales and plots is over time, which is a really nice way for viewing name trends. Elodie - El- names are so popular right now that anything with that start just feels tired to me Dorothy - trendy, but nice enough. I prefer the similar Dorothea Willow - popular name, but again nice Darcey - combining the three main spellings of the name (Darcie, Darcy and Darcey) would put the name at 26 in England and Wales, so this name is more popular than just plugging the name into the stats might suggest. Darcey is also the least common spelling, with Darcie being the mot popular.

A small note on popularity, is that the popular names today are used far less than the most popular names when we at school. Year on year the percentage of babies given the top ten or top hundred names drops. This means in general the five Sarahs in a class thing is much less likely today. Not impossible though, obviously. I'd probably avoid Elodie of all the names you've suggested though. Even though it's less common than Willow, she'll be around Ellie and Eliza and Ella and Eleanor and Elsie (and that's without even leaving the top hundred names).

names.darkgreener.com/#

Oops, forgot to link the website I mentioned.

I don't think any of these are super popular. Probably the most popular is Darcey? (Just based on my experience - I haven't checked the website or anything.)

My favourite is Willow but they're all pretty

Elodie - just another Ellie. Meh
Dorothy - lovely
Willow - not my taste
Darcey - horrible

Elodie will get lost in the Ellie/Emmie/Ella names imo.
Dorothy is ok but still a little before it's reincarnation to me personally.
Willow. Too popular for my liking.
Darcey is the nicest way to spell it I think.
I like the name. All the ones I know are pre-teen.
Of them all I'd go for Darcey.

Other suggestions
Heidi
Marnie
Stella
Abigail
Sadie
Carrie

Willow is my favourite out of those

I love Dorothy, it was on our list. It’s not that popular yet. Willow seems very popular around here. Have you seen the website dark greener? It shows you the trends for all names.

Love the first three. Darcey is the most popular and is dated now.

Elodie is lovely and I’ve never met anyone with that name. There are a lot of Willow and Darcey in my children’s school, very popular. I love the names Walker and Layne for a girl💕 I’m sure which ever you decide on you will forever love. Good luck.

Willow would be my choice - it is fairly popular but at least sounds distinct from other names in the top 100, plus it's a beautiful name imo.

Elodie is nice and would be my 2nd choice - it's well known but not super popular yet (although on the rise), but yes you might risk "Ellie" which is much more commonplace.

Dorothy is retro/vintage/"old lady" trendy so not my taste, sorry and Darcey is both very popular and has spelling issues.

I love Elodie and Dorothy.

The other two, not so keen.

Dorothy is increasing in popularity but isn't much used

I know a few Elodies and don't much like it

Dorothy is the least common I think, Elodie is my favourite by far.

If you'd rather avoid popular names, I wouldn't go with Elodie, or anything starting with El-

Darcey also strikes me as a name that will become dated

My favourites are Dorothy (lovely) or Willow (more cool than nice sounding in itself, little bit popular but probably not too badly so)

I quite like Elodie, but it's a bit faddy and will date (like Amelie and). Quite like Dorothy, but prefer Dorothea.

Willow and Darcy are going/have gone very downmarket and will date big time.

Verity
Felicity
Cecily
Ismene
Ione
Circe
Rosemary
Xanthe
Ianthe
Polly
Mary
Zoe
Chloe
Assuming you want an ee sound at the end..

Yes, if you'd like less popular "ee" or "oh" ending names (or at least to get in while they are still rising but not in the top 100) -

Cleo, Juno have a similar feel to Willow imo,
Sylvie, Coralie, Rosalie similar to Elodie,
Audrey to Dorothy?,

I think they're all reasonably popular but not ridiculously so.

I like Elodie and Darcey.

I do like Willow but I would worry about the child being teased if they turned out not to be willowy.
Less keen on Dorothy - it still seems quite old lady to me although I know it's very trendy now.

I think Elodie, Darcey and Willow belong in the same sort of style of names and would say others like them include:
Ava, Aimee, Alyssa, Amelie, Bella, Chloe, Cleo, Caitlyn, Daisy, Emily, Evie, Freya, Gracie, Georgia, Holly, Hallie, Isabella, Isla, Jessica, Jasmine, Katie, Lily, Lucy, Layla, Lola, Luna, Matilda, Mia, Molly, Millie, Olivia, Phoebe, Poppy, Ruby, Rosie, Sienna, Sylvie, Sophie, Sophia, Tilly, Zoe

I think Dorothy is a bit different and think it is in the same style as names like:
Annie, Agnes, Agatha, Bonnie, Betty, Betsy, Carrie, Daphne, Elsie, Esme, Edie, Edith, Flora, Florence, Greta, Hazel, Harriet, Ivy, Iris, Joyce, Jocelyn, Lydia, Louisa, Maggie, Martha, Mary, Maisie, Nancy, Nora, Nell, Olive, Peggy, Polly, Queenie, Ruth, Rose, Rosemary, Susan, Stella, Tabitha, Teresa, Violet, Winifred

I like Dorothy best. I can't use it because my husband refuses to say th properly. He says it's more relaxing as f

Edie
Ava
Etta
Elsie
Rosa

I quite like Elodie, but it's a bit faddy and will date (like Amelie and). Quite like Dorothy, but prefer Dorothea

Willow and Darcy are going/have gone very downmarket and will date big time

@Luredbyapomegranate nails it.

Agree that Felicity makes a change - it keeps appearing on here, but I don't know many in real life.

Clarissa?

I love Elodie and Willow! Beautiful names

Out of those names, I’d go for Dorothy - simply beautiful and I love Dot/Dotty as a nickname.

Not keen on any of those OP, sorry.

Similarly old fashioned names with a nicer ring to them though:

Hettie
Thea
Georgia/Georgina

Elodie - I like it but I agree with those who say that, whilst it's not popular in itself, it's just another El- name
-Dorothy - I really like this. I know a 20 year old with this name and a baby (and several old ladies). I think it will become more popular but I don't think it will become super popular
-Willow - it's ok. I want to like this more than I do.
-Darcey - I dislike this. It's also quite dated and quite popular.

I would pick Dorothy. Second choice would be Elodie probably.

Elodie has been rapidly increase in the Uk since 2007, but it is so so so lovely. It is now at 96.

Dorothy is nice, but I prefer Dorothea. It should be due a comeback in 3-5 years, and is currently at 175.

Apparently Willow is popular now and is almost in the top girls names. It’s pretty, but I don’t love it.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Darcey. It has been slowly decreasing over the years. It was at 72 (it’s peak) in 2014 and is now at 127.

All are lovely names, my favourites being Elodie and Darcey.