Eleanor or Isolde - final vote :)

[TIPosy]

Hello,

So it looks like it’s down to these two for baby #5.😅

DH likes Isolde and I like Eleanor. What are your thoughts?

Our other children are:

Josephine, Iris, Theodore and Charlotte.

Thank you for your help. 😊

I'm sorry I can't choose, they're both beautiful.

I'm an Eleanor and I've always loved my name - though perhaps it's felt slightly less special since I moved to the UK where it's more common in my age group than in my birth country, and popular for younger generations as well. But it's a great name to take one through life.

Isolde is also lovely and romantic.

Sorry, no help.

Isolde, because it is mysterious and beautiful. Eleanor is a very nice name but it's so popular now, Ellies everywhere - it's another Helen - classic, unassuming, elegant, but not distinctive. Your other children's names suggest you like something out of the ordinary. As a fellow large family mother I'd say go for something different.

Have you heard Kate Bush's Song of Solomon? Get people to listen to that for the pronunciation of Isolde - "Is Older". Nice shortening to Izzy if needed.

One of my kids has a very unusual name with a short version that's a common name. He loves being able to play his name up or down depending on his he feels.

Your other children's names suggest you like something out of the ordinary.

charlotte and Theodore? Iris is pretty popular currently too.

personally I prefer Eleanor, I’m not that keen on the sound of Isolde and the different pronunciations you’ll get would annoy me

Team Isolde !

Not only because it geniunly is my favorite, but I know so so so many Eleanors and Ellies these days :)

Eleanor

Eleanor is one of my favourite names but I didn't use it as so many people pronounce it Elena and that would annoy me.
Isolde is a beautiful name.

Isolde!! Lovely and unique.

Eleanor.

Eleanor.
Totally agree with pp that Isolde is a lifetime of mispronunciation/ spelling.
I’m not sure how to say it! She might well end up an Izzy or something like that

Eleanor

I vote for Isolde, because I have one! But if you do go for that, OP, it would be best if you are the sort of person who is untroubled by repeated mispronunciation, and also for 99% of people to have never heard of it. Honestly, since our Isolde arrived, I have felt so disappointed in the standard of education in this country! 😂 I must admit, I don’t particularly love the sound of Isolde, but I love the drama, romance and art behind it.

Eleanor is lovely, but like PPs, I’d feel a bit disappointed if she ended up an Ellie. But then I think I prefer Ellie to Isolde’s obvious shortening Izzy.

I'd go Eleanor, Isolde is more unusual but as others have said it's just a life time of correcting spelling and pronounciations and explaining the name. Eleanor is very unusual (I've never me an Eleanor) and you can just make sure school etc know it Eleanor and not Ellie

I love both, but Isolde pips it for me.

I wanted to consider Iseult for our baby because Isolde/Iseult is the local saint where we live but DH thinks it's weird. I know one Iseult but have never met an Isolde.

Eleanor

Eleanor, I love it. It was a first pick for me but my partner didn't want it

Eleanor - she will have a different initial to Iris if post is still a thing in the future :) It's a beautiful name too.

Isolde - Eleanor is nice if it's pronounced ell-en-or but everyone where I live says it ell-uh-nuh which is much less nice, IMHO. I didn't even know the "proper" way to say it until I was about 18. Also she will be nicknamed Ellie which is a bit blah and easy to nickname smelly Ellie, big belly ellie, etc.

Isolde is really nice, Eleanor is a bit too popular for me but does go well with the other names.

Love Isolde, but as someone who called her son a name which is constantly mispronounced or misspelt,make it easy on yourself and go with Isolda. Still an accepted variant.

Iseult does not look like in any way it could be pronounced is-ol-da, which is how pp said Isolde is spelled, and apparently Isolde and Iseult are the same? I just think it will confuse a lot of people at first introduction. My son has one of those names and it’s a bit irksome! Whereas your 4 other kids names are pretty straightforward.

I like Eleanor but not if it’s going to be ela-NOR, and not Ellie 😄 picky, me?

*pronounced, not spelled, obviously

Eleanor.

I wanted Eleanor (nn Ella) for ours but DP at the time said she'd get called Ella the elephant at school and vetoed it. It wasn't as popular back then as it is now.

Isolde - glorious underused name

Eleanor is lovely but overused

Eleanore x