Is our list too boring?

[hazeleyes94]

I showed our list to a friend, and she told us to pick whatever we love but gently let us know that she considered the names to be a bit out of fashion and too popular in the past...

I'd love some comments on:

Chloe
Sophie
Emma
Sarah
Sarah-Jane
Annabelle
Eva
Jolie
Zoey
Hannah

Would be helpful if you could comment on all of them or some if you don't have time.

Are they too boring? We like how classic and grounded they feel. Zoey is the exception but I grew up watching films featuring Zoey Deutch so it looks nice to me.

If you like them, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. They are classic names, and probably mean your child won't be known as "first name, surname initial" in class as they aren't super common. They are all pretty names, and ones that will suit both a small child and an adult.

All lovely. Ignore your friend.

What they said. They are lovely names snd it’s not up to anyone else.

If they're the names you both like it doesn't matter a jot if they're not currently uber fashionable.

Chloe - pretty, quite 90s
Sophie - I do find this one pretty boring to be fair. Just know so so many of them
Emma - classic
Sarah - classic
Sarah-Jane - don't usually like double barrel names but quite like this one
Annabelle - always think of this as being a doll's name
Eva - elegant
Jolie - this one is a bit left field. Unfamiliar with it as a first name. Would wonder if you're an Angelina super fan
Zoey - love it but prefer the Zoe spelling
Hannah - good solid name

I love Chloe Sophie Emma and Hannah. I really dislike hyphenated names though.

Chloe. Like this
Sophie. Like this
Emma. Like this
Sarah Like this
Sarah-Jane. Like this without hyphen
Annabelle. Ok
Eva ok
Jolie Not keen
Zoey Not keen
Hannah ok

45 year old me googling 'zoey deutch'

A twist on a few of those:

Cleo or Clio, though I love Chloë too
Sophia
Zoë without the y
Joely as in Richardson
Ava sounds really elegant too.
Anya

They’re lovely, especially Chloe.

I do know three 7 yr olds called Eva though.

The baby name chat is so tricky because people give you their opinions and it’s such a personal decision. I don’t think your friend should have been negative about you choices (unless you were calling your child Apple Rainbow or something like that).

I like most of them.
I am not a fan of hyphenated names, so don't like Sarah-Jane
I don't like Jolie
I would spell Zoe without the 'y'

But apart from that, the rest are all nice names.

There is nothing wrong with them. That is just one person's opinion and they clearly have different tastes. Go with what you love. They are classics for a reason.

I'd say sarah and sarah-jane, possibly Hannah are a bit dated now but the others are fine. Like Eva and Annabelle a lot. They are mostly classic names and nice.

Is the list boring? No, it's got a few different vibes

Chloe - seems dated, was #1 25 years ago so will be a mum name
Sophie - I like it a lot but it was taken
Emma - love it
Sarah - ok, but know a lot of them, mainly 50+ yrs old
Sarah-Jane - most Sarahs I know are Sarah Jane. Hyphens tend to ruin the two names
Annabelle - too frilly for me. Anna is much nicer
Eva - too popular if you consider all the Evies and Avas
Jolie - just no
Zoey - Zoë or Zoe is much better
Hannah - I like it

I like Joely too. I don't like Eva at all.

They're conventional and rather on the safe side, which is absolutely a good thing!

Made-up yoonique names are just so cringy. It would be a kindness to give your child a classic timeless name. Don't worry!

Yes, they’re unremarkable and dull, apart from Sarah-Jane and Jolie which are a bit affected for me — I’d also go with the Joely spelling unless you want people to pronounce it the the French way with the French ‘zh’ sound.

Hannah is the only one I like — for me that’s plain in a good way.

Chloe - relatively unusual nowadays. Was super popular in the late 90s / early 2000s. Pretty enough
Sophie - super popular. Again pretty name.
Emma - a classic. The could be 2 in her class or none in her school. This is one of my favourites from your list because it's less popular
Sarah - relatively unusual nowadays. A real 70s/80s name. But pretty.
Sarah-Jane - I would avoid double barreled first names. They're so awkward and honestly a bit tacky nowadays with the thousands of Something-Mays
Annabelle - nice. Another classic.
Eva - very very very popular
Jolie - I don't like this because it's hard to be called "pretty" and also it sounds as though you're naming her after Angelina
Zoey - I love love love Zoe but I don't like this spelling
Hannah - ok. I do think this is a bit boring. I prefer Anna.

Emma, Zoe and Annabelle are my favourites from your list.
Generally though it's a relatively classic list which isn't the same as boring.

Eva and Sophie are very overused. I also like Zoe but with no y

The first few are very 80s/90s.

I don't know any little Emmas or Sarah's. Both are lovely names.

I think they are all safe names noone will bat an eyelid when you use any on that list. Your friend perhaps prefer more unusual names?

I really like Annabelle personally

Chloe - has been popular for a while but still going strong. I know a couple of baby Chloes. Nice.

Sophie - Very popular, though personally I don't know any little ones named Sophie. Pretty, classic, safe.

Emma - Very big in the '80s and '90s and on a downward trend here, but currently popular for babies in the US (where it wasn't so popular in the '80s.)

Sarah - Was the top girls name in England between the early '70s and mid '80s. A pretty, classic 'safe' name, that would be more unusual now among your daughter's classmates

Sarah-Jane - every Sarah-Jane I knew (admittedly only a couple) shortened it to SJ. Do you like SJ?

Annabelle - On the rise as an alternative to Isabel/Isabelle/Isobel. Nice enough. Prefer the spelling Annabel, but suspect Annabelle will shortly take over as the default spelling.

Eva - Currently very, very popular. Pretty but likely to date.

Jolie - not to my taste. Personally, I would avoid a name so closely linked to a celebrity on the basis that Angelina Jolie may do something terrible and forever tarnish the name!

Zoey - Far prefer the Zoë or Zoe spelling.

Hannah - Very popular in the '80s. Classic but I prefer Emma and Sarah as names from that era.

Ignore your friend, there are some lovely names in your list. More refreshing than another Isla or Lily. Except Jolie which is a bit odd as a name really, how are you pronouncing it? Bit awkward to be named 'pretty' if she ever goes to a French speaking country.

But as far as spellings go, I would say :

Sarah Jane, not Sarah-Jane (hyphens are a bit tacky, no need for them)
Annabel not Annabelle (belle ending too frilly and unnecessary, plus the association with those horror films about the doll)
Zoe, not Zoey (more classic, though I realise that you would be naming her after that actress)

I don't like the addition of Jane on the end of other names. Sarah-Jane or Mary-Jane etc. However, I do like the name Jane on its own. It feels quite fresh and different for now. Perhaps a bit 70s but then that's a while ago now. Could be quite cool.

I like Hannah of all those. Sophie and Chloe and Zoe all ok but not my favs. Jolie is different. What about Jodie? Also like Jo names like Josephine and Joanna and Johanna which might fit with the kinds of names you like. Annabelle's feels a bit frilly for me but I like Anna, Annie, Annaliese, Anya, Annika and Anneli. Reading anne names, apparently Nina is another variant which is nice too.

Aww Jolie is lovely and definitely not boring!

I love the classic names Zoe/ Zoey and Hannah. I'd have used them myself if I didn't have some in our lives already :)

I'd avoid Sarah-Jane (sounds a bit old western cowgirl or doll to me) and Annabelle personally.