Will we ever agree on names?

[showmethegin]

DP and I seem to have polar opposite views on names! Suggestions please!

Boys

I love Casper, Felix, Kit, Otis and Ray.
DP likes Oscar, Reuben and Rory

Girls

We were set on Etta but a close friend due ahead of me has just picked it!
I love short, strong girl names like Iris, Rhea, Frida, Delia, Astrid
DP seems to like flowery, super girly names like Annabelle, Olivia and Elodie (all perfectly lovely but just not my taste)

HELP!!!

I can’t see that your boys’ names are very far apart. I know someone with a Felix and Oscar, and I’m pretty sure DD’s friend Reuben has a brother Felix as well, thinking about it. What does he dislike about Felix, or you about Oscar?

For girls, would something short like Clara or Helen suit you both?

He just straight vetoes Felix; I love it as it means happy and lucky and we have had three losses before this so feel it's appropriate. I don't hate Oscar either but just not sure it does anything much for me

I feel like we're both stuck in our decision and need some new ideas thrown in the mix

Helen is lovely!

When is the baby due? Having a 5 week old baby still nameless tends to focus the mind.

Agree with the previous poster though, they look pretty similar to me! How about something like Thea or Sophia for a girl or Etienne for a boy?

Benedict (blessed, shortens to Ben)?

I think your boys names are similar, so you should get a match there.

For girls, could you have a longer frillier name for him that could be shortened for you?

Florence/Flo or Floss or Flora
Francesca/Fran or Frankie or Chess
Alexandra/Allie or Alex or Lex. For eg.

Have you tried namedtogether.com

I think you need to 1) meet halfway on style, but there isn't that much difference there. If anything I'd say your choices are slightly more hipster, and his a touch more traditional but not 'dated'; or 2) go for something completely different.

Hugo
Xander
Rufus
Nathaniel
Orson
Max
Luca
Eric
Roman

Cora
Rosa
Carys
Lena
Sophia
Juliet
Zoe
Robyn
Greta

Also Felicity, the girls' version of Felix with the same meaning.

The boy names are not dissimilar, only Ray seems a little out of place, there must be others that kind of fit with both your tastes:
Jude, Otto, Max, Rudy?

For a girl, I'd ask him how he feels about a longer, more flowery name but with a short snappy nickname and go from there. A different kind of compromise.

Jasper
Milo
Hugo
Rex
Rowan
Rufus
Rupert
Rudy
Ivo
Orson
Walter
Sidney
Loki
Jude
Caspian
Rafe
Raphael
Ludo
Rafferty

Erin
Eden
Stella
Esther
Estelle
Eloise
Olive
Ottilie
Romy
Clara
Enid
Meredith
Martha
Helena
Tabitha
Penelope
Seraphina
Ida
Daphne
Dorothy
Edith

Your boys names don’t seem so far apart..

How about Jude, Rufus, Leon, Jerome, Kester, Guy, Jethro, Lorne, Caleb, Francis, Rafe, Lucas, Linus, Magnus, Elijah nn Eli, Noah, Ronan, Jonah, Jonas, Aaron, Cassian, Alistair, Nathanial nn Nate, Gabriel nn Gabe, Tobias

Girls are a bit more of a gap

How about Aphra, Freya, Stella / Estella, Lois, Astra, Ines, Cassia, Cleo, Leonie, Esther, Elowen, Ffion, Aster, Seren, Catrin, Lowenna, Annis, Annalise, Meredith, Adela, Frances, Rosanagh, Ismene, Ione

So many good suggestions here! Thanks.

I never knew picking a name was so hard!

Did anyone have to compromise so much they ended up picking a name both of you liked but didn't love? And if you did, did it grow on you?

Your boy names are really similar, my son is called one of your names and I had one of yours and two of your husband's on my list!

Have you done the thing where you both make a list of, say, 20 names (not ones already vetoed) and then combine to see if there's any overlap? We were stuck so read through the list of top 100 baby names and eventually found one we both liked.

Heather is lovely for a little girl.

Freya
Priya
Phoebe
Margot
Nina
Sarah
Sophie
Lucy
Daisy
Holly
Charlotte
Erin
Robyn

Rosie
Esme
Eva

Ellis
Magnus
Elliot
Lucas / Luca
Finlay / Finn

Heidi
Eilidh
Mary
Katherine
Thea
Freya
Genevieve
Sasha

There's an app that you can use that works like Tinder but for baby names and if you both spend a couple of hours swiping it'll come up with a list of names that both of you like!