Really struggling with the girls names

[bisoua]

Hi there, we really need your help please….. we cannot decide on the baby name. I really like Amelia (Mia), Olive, and Eleanor (Ellie). He likes Eleanor too, but also keeps pushing on Riley and Prudence. I find his choices a bit off for me, as Riley doesn’t strike me as an elegant name, more of a girl who will do skateboarding and wearing converse (nothing wrong with that, I just fancy a classy and elegant name). And Prudence I don’t like full stop. Any advices, and/ or other name suggestions please??

From Prudence I go to
Faith
Hope
Charity
Grace
Serendipity

Abigail
Frances
Francesca
Elizabeth
Ruth

The problem with virtue names like Prudence is that your DD may not be the prudent type and it would be irritating for her to be constantly reminded of this.
I know Riley is used as a girl’s name but it seems to me to be more suited to a boy.
Maybe point out some girls/women with names you like so he can have a pleasant association. Wher does he get Prudence from? It is not a name much used now — was it borne by an ancient relative? Is there someone in his past who he liked who had a name you like?
Good luck.

Prudence makes me think of the St Clare's character, so I think of Patricia, Isobel, Alison, Angela, Pamela, Janet, Roberta, Hilary, Alma, Pauline!

Eliza or rose would be front runners for me if I was having a girl now

I also love Olivia but he’s not agreeing to it as it’s so over used these days. Other names came in as they are more “rare”, so anything with elegance but not a mouth full to pronounce will be helpful 🤓

Your names are nice but I find that Riley and Prudence are at opposite ends of the scale so surprised he like both tbh!

Based on longer names like Prudence:
Primrose
Clementine
Constance (Connie)
Florence
Evangeline

Names that give me a similar vibe to Riley:
Piper
Sawyer
Sloane
Amber
Ailey

Names similar to Amelia, Eleanor, Olive:
Elsie
Olivia
Aurelia
Alice
Aurora
Evelyn
Eliza

Amelia, Mia and Eleanor are lovely, albeit very overused. Prudence and Olive are pretty awful. Riley is dire.

How about..
Constance
Hope
Honor

Edith
Frances
Beatrice

Estella
Adela
Alicia
Stella
Flora
Esther

Susannah
Serena
Claudia
Marianne
Louisa
Cassia
Caroline
Luella
Rosanna
Emma

Aurelia
Rhian
Rowena
Lydia
Pauline
Persephone

Constance/Connie was my first thought. I like Prudence but the names in the OP otherwise are meh through overuse. Riley will be higher than the stats as used for boys and girls - I don't like it as it's a surname.

Eleanor is classic and elegant sounding, plus gives her a lot of options if she wants which is nice (Ellie/Ella, Nell, Nora, even Leni) - so would be my pick of your choices, despite it's current popularity.

Amelia is super popular/overused (especially when you count all the soundalike Emilia's too) - have you considered classic Maria instead, as Mia is a traditional nn for that? Or there is uncommon but elegant/Shakespearean Marina to get "Mia" as well.

Olive is too retro trendy for my taste, Prudence quite dowdy imo, and Riley too surname/unisex for me.

Verity instead of Prudence?
Julia/Juliet or Antonia instead of Olivia/Amelia?
Helena instead of Eleanor?

Grace
Isolde (pronounced Is-ol-da)

Sophie, Corinne,Corrine, Celeste, Rebecca

You both like Eleanor, so that's the important information. Stand firm on saying no to Prudence or Riley. Finding the one name in the crossover of the Venn diagram is all you need to do, and there it is : Eleanor. (a lovely name)

My kids know the names that they could have been called if either I or DH had had our individual ways. It's a family joke and a nice 'what might have been' thought experiment. Sometimes they tease me by saying they would like to have been called by DH's favoured names (They were dreadful options). One day you'll be saying "just think, you could have been called Prudence"

PS they don't prefer my "favoured options" over their real names either, despite being much nicer names than DH's options ha ha, so it's a win-win

Agree with @chillied that Eleanor seems to be up there for both of you. And just because it's a classic doesn't mean it's common. I personally don't know any in any age group.

You also have Elinor, Elena, Leonore and Eleonora as variants.

Riley -- cod-Irish and dated.
Prudence -- dowdy. Constance, Verity, Felicity and Serena are virtue names with more euphony.

Not Amelia. Mealy is an incredibly ugly word (uh mealy a) and the medical definition of amelia is 'absence of limbs'. Prudence is not good. How about Rosalind, Holly, Faith, Cassia, Hazel?

Prudence gets shortened to Prue which is too much like prune for my liking

I've just had a DD and the other front runner name was Olive but she just didn't look like an olive at all. I love it so that's my vote. Flora was also high on my list.... my DH hated both of these tho

Eleanor is by far the nicest.
Tell him Rliey is the name of the porn star Riley Reed, that should put him off.
You need a name you both like and Eleanor fits that description.

You say Olivia is over used these days but I know 1. I know more Alba's (3) than I do Olivia's or any of the top 10 names!

If Olivia is overused, stay away from Eleanor! I know so many more Ellies than Olivias. So many different names shorten that way, and there is no way to guarantee that she wouldn't shorten it.

@Swearwolf

If Olivia is overused, stay away from Eleanor! I know so many more Ellies than Olivias. So many different names shorten that way, and there is no way to guarantee that she wouldn't shorten it.

I find that names like Olivia, Amelia, Ellie and Evie are now the names of colleagues and they are probably the ones names when the names were fresh. The names are now becoming so overused that they are Sarah, Emma and Clares or of their generation.

You get instances where there are more than one Sarah Jane or Laura Jane in a workplace or even family.

If you are going for a name that has been popular for quite a few years, use a more imaginative middle name

So so many good answers, thank you so much.

Middle name will be Margarita (not Margaret), as it’s my nana’s name

Eleanor is so lovely and you both agree on that one!