Isobel, Emma or Eleanor?

[Vexxa]

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my previous thread about middle names for Isobel. It was very helpful and I thought we'd settled on Isobel Anne for DD2!

Now I'm having a wobble after the other thread going around about people's names being continually misspelled. It's made me worry a bit that the spelling variations of Isobel will be an issue, and look back at our original list.

Which would you choose please?

Isobel Anne
Emma Elizabeth
Eleanor Rebecca

Emma has the advantage of there only being one spelling but I like the possibilities of shortening Isobel and Eleanor.

For context our surname is 2 syllables beginning with W and DD1 is Beatrice.

Thanks! 😊

Love Isobel.

What about Anna?

Definitely not Emma, it’s so 1980s. I know three women who used to be called Emma who have changed their names because there were so many Emmas of all ages about, they said it didn’t feel like “their” name. It’s a running joke in our friend group.

Emma's boring
Eleanor's ok
Isobel is lovely
Stay with Isobel Anne

The Emmas that were popular around 1980s arent the ones being boorn now though are they? Its been far less used the last 10-20 years than in the 1980s!

I have an Emma - she’s 17 - she was the only one in her primary and there is one other in her 6th form. There are loads of Emily’s Amelia’s Amelie’s etc her age.

MN loves saying it’s a full name but I think it’s lovely - and so does she. It’s a name which is fun and serious. We’ve called her Emmy and Ems over the years - I think all her friends now call her Emma.

Also never underestimate the joy of having your name on personalised plastic tat - mine never was!

Emma Elizabeth for sure! Emma may have been popular years ago but feels refreshing in a sea of Ellie & Izzy's now!

Or Emilia?

Exactly. I think Emma is a timeless name. It's a bit like James. Works for all generations.

Definitely Emma Elizabeth

Emma Elizabeth

I like Isobel and Eleanor but right now they and their variations are very overused. Emma is popular but it’s been consistently so so she won’t grow up around so many., It’s also a lovely name.

I have an Isabel and yes, we’ve had every possible variant on the spelling, even from her own family (and we thought we’d picked the simplest, most obvious version !). She prefers being Izzy, and that also gets spelled in many different ways. It doesn’t trouble her particularly though, and so far we’ve never had an issue with it being wrong on any official documents. Still love the name!
Also, she’s the only one in her year (although she’s a teenager, so might well be different among the younger generation). For a time there was an Isabella too.

Also never underestimate the joy of having your name on personalised plastic tat - mine never was!

Mine never was and I didn't care. My name was not particularly popular in my age group but sometimes comes up (favourably) in Baby Names.

All really lovely names. I wouldn’t worry about spelling issues, just pick the one you like the best. You’re not going to go wrong with any of them to be fair.

Isobel is one of my very favourite names. But I'd hesitate as it's been so popular or versions of it have for so long.

Eleanor is quite nice. I like Elinor as a spelling. I absolutely love Nell though, so might be tempted to go for that. I also like Nora a lot.

Emma's a nice nice but I quite like a name that has shortening options. I know quite a few so it's maybe a generational thing for me with that one.

I’m actually considering Emma Beth for my little one if they are a girl! (If I can get my partner to agree to Beth as he wasn’t keen during my first pregnancy lol) So I would def pick Emma Elizabeth xx

I love all your names.
With Beatrice I love ..
Emma Elizabeth
Rebecca Eleanor
Alanna Isobel
Isobel Emma - IsObee

One of my children changed their name as a teenager. They were sick of people mispronouncing and misspelling their name. They chose a four letter name which has a very clear pronunciation. As a result I would never chose a name with multiple spellings. People also mishear my name constantly and are not sure of the spelling. It is only four letters too but an old-fashioned name not heard much these days. I have to spell my name all the time.

Have yout thought of Gemma as a name - a little bit more rare than Emma but still easy to spell?

If I had adaughter instead of sons, I'd be inclined to Verity which is rare but easy to spell.

Emma is rare in this generation “Izzy’s” are two a penny. Its overuse has killed that name.

Emma...every day of the week ♥️

Emma Elizabeth, but I'm biased as I have an Emma!

There's far's less Emma's than Isobel's at DDs school. Eleanor is always shortened to Ellie, IME.

They are all lovely names. I’d go with Isobel.

Emma

Emma is lovely so is Mary. Simple and under used amid all the Eves/Isabels/Graces of which there are hundreds!

Emma

Thank you, we have a family member called Gemma, and another called Annie so sadly Anna is out as another poster suggested.
Verity is actually on our shortlist but I'm not sure I love it as much as the others!

Thank you all. I think DH and I are clear that this is our shortlist of 3, but I don't feel any closer to a decision right now! That's ok as we still have plenty of time.

I'm curious as to why people think Eleanor (and Ellie) is much more common than Emma - on the latest ONS list for 2021 there are very similar numbers (they are 55 and 61 on the list) and looking at darker greener I can't see that Eleanor has been that much more popular over the years. Is it just that there are lots of other names which might shorten to Ellie too?