Thoughts on my girls long list

[17caterpillars1mouse]

What do you think of the following names for a girl?

Nigella
Magnolia
Thomasina NN Tamsin
Bryony
Amalia
Mary NN Mitzi
Alexandra NN Andie or Alex
Amity
Cosette
Bronwen
Anwen
Blanche
Alouette
Fleur
Roberta NN Bobbie
Isadora
Rowan

Nigella - nice flower
Magnolia - yuk paint
Thomasina NN Tamsin, both ok but I'd just use Tamsin
Bryony - ok
Amalia - too many Amelias
Mary NN Mitzi - Mary yes, Mitzi no
Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - yes but no to Andie, Zandie would be a bit different
Amity - no
Cosette - C30, C60, C90
Bronwen - nice
Anwen - ok
Blanche - Deirdre Barlow's mum
Alouette - I don't think so
Fleur - ok
Roberta NN Bobbie - ok
Isadora - ok
Rowan - ok

Nigella no
Magnolia - really like
Thomasina NN Tamsin - love
Bryony - like
Amalia - no
Mary NN Mitzi - okay
Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - okay
Amity - no
Cosette - sounds French
Bronwen - love, Welsh connection?
Anwen - love, Welsh connection
Blanche - no, made me think of blanching vegetables
Alouette
Fleur
Roberta NN Bobbie
Isadora
Rowan

Definitely an interesting list!

I have a Bryony,she's 30 and I got sick of people saying eww what a weird name. Registrar asked if I wanted a boy and was it a male version of Brian!!!

Isadora - ok
Roman - popular

Nigella- Lawson

Magnolia - paint

Thomasina NN Tamsin - I have never heard of Tamsin being used as a nn for this. They sound like two separate names.

Bryony - neither like or dislike

Amalia - is this a name?

Mary NN Mitzi - Mary is an underused classic. Mitzi reminds me of a pets name.

Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - nice

Amity -

Cosette - reminds me of cassette but it's not terrible.

Bronwen - Elf like.

Anwen - also elf like.

Blanche - Deirdre's mum.

Alouette - dislike a lot.

Fleur - very feminine and pretty.

Roberta NN Bobbie - Bobbie is sweet.

Isadora - Wizadora

Rowan - I prefer this as a boys name but it's absolutely my favourite on your list.

Nigella - absolutely not. Ugly name.
Magnolia - paint colour.
Thomasina NN Tamsin - just call her Tamsin. I can't bear names that are just feminised male names.
Bryony - nice.
Amalia - too close to anal.
Mary NN Mitzi - stupid nickname for Mary. Just call her Mitzi if you like Mitzi.
Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - nice, but Andie is a daft nickname.
Amity - Amityville Horror
Cosette - dying damsel in Les Mis.
Bronwen - nice.
Anwen - nice.
Blanche - an old prostitute.
Alouette - "all wet"
Fleur - quite nice.
Roberta NN Bobbie - gorgeous.
Isadora - a bit fussy.
Rowan - gorgeous.

Said DD came round last night, told her most people liked her name (Bryony)

@toastofthetown

Nigella - very linked with Lawson and not a pleasant name. A feminisation that didn’t need to happen Magnolia - I like it. I can see why people say it’s a bit much, but I think it’s pretty. Maggie seems inevitable Thomasina NN Tamsin - pretty sure Thomasina is Nigella Lawson’s sister! Not my favourite and Tamsin feels very dated to me Bryony - love Bryony Amalia - too similar to the ubiquitous Amelia to hold any appeal Mary NN Mitzi - I quite like Mary, but Mitzi feels contrived. I’d expect it to be dropped after childhood. I wouldn’t want to introduce myself as Mitzi! I love Polly as a Mary nickname Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - nice name Amity - not a fan Cosette - Les Miserables Bronwen- dislike Anwen - quite sweet Blanche - I really don’t like Blanche. Something I do to broccoli rather than something I’d want to name a baby Alouette - don’t like this one, but I dislike almost every -ette name Fleur - ok Roberta NN Bobbie - don’t like Roberta or Bobbie Isadora - love it Rowan - I quite like it, though I prefer it for a boy

My Gran always used to say all the Marys of her generation were called Polly. Do you know where it originates from? (one of the many things I wish I'd asked my Gran while she was here).

I really like Bryony and Amalia

@Cryingintherain99 Way back it was quite common for names with an r sound to be replaced with an l nickname (like Sarah/Sally, Mary/Molly Dorothy/Dolly). People in the Middle Ages also loved letter swapping so Molly becomes Polly. All these nicknames probably came about because the pool of names was so much smaller and you needed a way to differentiate all the Marys. At the moment though, Molly and Polly are probably more standalone names than nicknames. Both are more popular in their own right than Mary and I'd be surprised to meet a young Mary "M/Polly".

Nigella- there is only one
Magnolia- boring paint, unfortunately
Thomasina NN Tamsin- absolutely love the full name but not the NN
Bryony- nice
Amalia- a lifetime of misspelling
Mary NN Mitzi- again, love the full name but not the NN
Alexandra NN Andie or Alex- ok
Amity- house of horror
Cosette- I can only think of Victor Hugo, sorry
Bronwen- nice
Anwen- don't love it, sound like the start of a question (And when do you intend to do this...)
Blanche- Golden Girls
Alouette- I would be constantly singing the song, sorry
Fleur- nice
Roberta NN Bobbie- best of the bunch
Isadora- ok, makes me think Isadora Duncan- which is great except that the main thing anyone knows about her these days is how she died
Rowan- ok

Nigella - Lawson. Nigel with an 'a' at the end. Dislike.
Magnolia - I actually quite like it but I couldn't pull it off myself, it's a bit frilly
Thomasina NN Tamsin - Hate Thomasina and Tamsin is just an entirely separate name and not a nickname at all
Bryony - it's okay
Amalia - a bit nothing-ey
Mary NN Mitzi - Mary is lovely, why ruin it with a nn like Mitzi which is a bit naff?
Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - it's okay
Amity -ville Horror
Cosette - it's okay
Bronwen - it's okay
Anwen - it sounds like a boy name
Blanche - a bit boring. How about Blythe? Similar feel but lighter and prettier
Alouette - no
Fleur - pretty but prefer Flora
Roberta NN Bobbie - cute
Isadora - pretty
Rowan - pretty but quickly becoming overdone

Id choose Mary but without the nickname.

How about:

Martha
Harriet
Flora
Blythe
Merryn
Genevieve
Martha

Similar vibe to some on the list

I only like Bryony from your list.

Nigella - Lawson - no
Magnolia - bush - no
Thomasina NN Tamsin - no
Bryony - quite nice
Amalia - meh
Mary NN Mitzi - Mitzi is too far a stretch from Mary.
Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - so is Andie
Amity - No - ville horror
Cosette - no
Bronwen - quite nice
Anwen - ok
Blanche - no
Alouette - no - means lark in French
Fleur - nice
Roberta NN Bobbie - no
Isadora - no
Rowan - no sounds like a boys name

Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - Andie is really rather a long way from Alexandra (there's no 'd', for instance). The traditional 'Alix' is much nicer than 'Alex', IMHO

Eh? There's no 'd' in Alexandra? 🤔 Check again!!

Also, Alix is a completely different and unrelated name: a Germanic version of Alice, rather than an 'Alex' name.

I sometimes call my Alexandra "Alexandie" when I'm being silly, but usually she's Alex or Ali. It's (unsurprisingly) my favourite name on your list, OP, but I also like Bronwen and Anwen.

Nigella - There is but one Nigella!
Magnolia - Lovely flower, but the drab paint shade was the first thing that came to mind.
Thomasina NN Tamsin - Don’t think of Tamsin as a NN for Thomasina, rather Tommy
Bryony - Nice
Amalia - Nice. DD has a lovely friend named this.
Mary NN Mitzi - Too cat
Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - Okay
Amity - Amitiville House of Horror
Cosette - Les Miserables
Bronwen - Nice
Anwen - Nice
Blanche - Du Boise
Alouette - “Alouette, gentille alouette. Alouette, je te plumerai…”
Fleur - Nice
Roberta NN Bobbie - Okay
Isadora - Duncan
Rowan - Nice

Love Bryony, Rowan and Isadora

Thomasina or Fleur.

Mitzi is pushing it as a NN for Mary!

I wouldn't overthink the NN thing, OP. You'll likely find that she will be known by something different from the NN you imagine for her anyway. One of my DC is known by her friends as Grog, which has nothing to do with her name.

Lowbrow I should of course have said 'no d in the first syllable of the name' (on which most nicknames are based). I still find 'Andie' a very odd short form of Alexandra. Possibly because 'Andra' is the Gaelic for Andrew, which is, as I'm sure you know, a male name meaning 'Manly'. So about as far from a girl's nickname as you can get.
And again of course I know the origins of 'Alix' but I ALSO know of more than one person named Alexandra who uses that abbreviation, for right or wrong. Even 'Behind the Name' gives 'Alyx' (same sound) as a recognised short form of Alexandra.

Nigella - ugly
Magnolia - it’s ok I suppose
Thomasina nn Tommy is lovely. Tamsin is not a nn for thomasina
Bryony - it’s ok
Amalia - no
Mary NN Mitzi - just call it Mitzi and stop coming up with fake nicknames!
Alexandra nn Alex - fine. Andie is not a nn for alexandra
Amity - no
Cosette - tape
Bronwen and Anwen are both hideous
Blanche - streetcar named desire
Alouette - no
Fleur - lovely
Roberta NN Bobbie - no
Isadora - bit over fussy
Rowan - boys name

Nigella - voluptuous chef

Magnolia - bog standard white paint
Thomasina NN Tamsin - Thomasina is lovely,,Tamsin is dull and dated
Bryony - daughter of Bryan. Bit pudding-y.
Amalia - stupid. Everyone will think it’s Amelia
Mary NN Mitzi - better than actually calling her Mitzi (are you giving birth to a tiny dog?)
Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - nice
Amity - …ville horror , or possibly an obscure legal term
Cosette - a sweet French hooker, or an old fashioned way of cooking an egg
Bronwen - nice
Anwen - great
Blanche - blah
Alouette - a bitchy French hooker, or a fancy pastry that looks better than it tastes
Fleur - bleuur. Ugly
Roberta NN Bobbie. Sweet, Robin also a good nn
Isadora - lovely, but realistically will blur with the zillions of Isabel/las
Rowan - lovely but v overused

I like Rowan.i would've used it but it doesn't work with our surname

Cosette is the most annoying character in Les Mis so no to that from me.

Nigella - no 7 (if it was ella or another variant it would be in the top 3)
Magnolia -no 13
Thomasina NN Tamsin - ok 4
Bryony - not bad not my favourite 5
Amalia - like 3
Mary NN Mitzi - ok 6
Alexandra NN Andie or Alex - ok 4
Amity - not keen 10
Cosette - no 8
Bronwen- like 2
Anwen- ok 7
Blanche - no 14
Alouette - no 12
Fleur - no 11
Roberta NN Bobbie - like 2
Isadora - like 1
Rowan -no 9