Cassia & India or Isabella & Emilia

[Sayler]

My DH and are due twin girls any day now (36 weeks) and are having a massive name disagreement.
I love Cassia and India, he loves Isabella and Emilia. We both like the others names, but I feel his are very popular, he thinks mine lack timelessness and class.
Neither of us like the two sets combined (we thought about India and Isabella for a but but matching initials is a no).
Which set do you prefer? Any suggestions that might please us both?

I loved a pp's suggestion of including a consonant ending name like Iris with one of your -a endings. Thinks it sounds like a really beautiful pair.

The conversation around India is fascinating to me because I have a lot of Spanish family/spend a lot of time in Spain and as a pp said Africa is a really common name. The Spanish also have a bad colonial history in northern Africa, but I don't think Spanish people make the link at all.

Some other consonant forward names you could pair with Cassia/Emilia: Margot, Frances, Carmen, Yasmin

Iris and Emilia
Emilia and Margot
Cassia and Margot
Cassia and Frances
Frances and Emilia
Emilia and Carmen
Cassia and Yasmin
Yasmin and Emilia

Callie and Mia

Then you've got combinations of Cassia/Isabella and Emilia/India

Cassia and India I love because they sound free spirited and hippyish. Sounds like you’ll take them off backpacking in a VW van for a couple of months on Mat leave and send them to forest school. I’m a bit like this (and wish I was more like this!) so love them.

I also love Isabella and Emilia as they are pretty, classic and conjure up images of upper middle class pony mad private school girls. Which I wish I had been 🤪🤣

Which fits your lifestyle best?

Cassia and Emelia in order of birth (also appreciate not turning question).

I think India is about to tip over into the offensive range, I like it as a name but I do see huge issues using it and would cringe if I had to announce it as my DCs name now.

I also know an Italia! Cute name.

Cassia is nice, Isabella is way too common and Emilia will be Amelia too often.

What other names have you got?!

@GiddyUpH , Emelia wasn't on the list, Emilia was.

Why?

I’m not a fan of India or Cassia.

I know an Indie and I love that name. I think I feel a bit weird about India too, I always remember Katie Hopkins arguing her daughter India wasn’t named after a place, revolting woman!

I vote for Cassie and Emilia. You get to pick one each.

Wondering why people are so offended by "popular" names. I've always chosen names we like, whether they're in the top 20 or not! Just seems that some people sneer a bit at popular names.

Personally prefer Isabella and Emilia. Lots of options for shortening both names as well.

India and Emilia for me

Mark Antony's nickname for Cleopatra was Egypt. You can see why.

If your family has no connection to India I would wonder why you chose to name your child after a country with no link and I think as an adult I would be embarrassed to have that as my name. Maybe it's just going out of fashion now but definitely a bit of a marmite name these days.

However, if you lived or travelled extensively in India, or had family connections, or even at a push if the child was born there, it would make more sense I think.

'Egypt, thou knew'st too well My heart was to thy rudder tied by the strings, And thou shouldst tow me after'

So romantic

I think your H is confusing two-a-penny with 'timelessness and class'.

I think your choices veer toward the more boho end of the girl name spectrum while his are more safe and boring.

Suggestions:
Cecilia
Annabel
Cecily
Naomi
Rebekah
Vita
Jessamine
Katherine
Eloise
Beatrix
Vera
Jessica
Alice
Miranda
Leonora
Constance
Francesca
Isadora
Rowena
Susannah
Charis
Madeleine

Cassandra (Cassie for short) and Emilia

I'm not a fan of Cassia and India and Emilia would forever be correcting the spelling of her name..

I think with those options I'd adjust to
Cassie and Indie
Cassie and Emily
Cassie and Amelia
Cassie and Emmy/Emma
Cassie and Millie

Best of luck with your choice!

I think your two choices are lovely so a vote for Cassia and India. I also think Cassia and Emilia would be a good option if a 'one each' approach is a possibility.

I like Cassia and Emillia but would shorten to Cece and Em

Cassia and India...

I really like Cassia, and I don’t think anyone could possibly say it lacks class. India however is not a good idea unless you have Indian heritage, and having been posh in the past it is now a bit Hello mag

Isabella and Emilia are done to death.

Cassia and…

Francesca
Verity
Marianne
Beatrice
Serena
Allegra
Fernanda
Eloise
Emma
Flora
Rosalind
Emmeline
Emerald
Jasmine
Ianthe
Constance

Cleo.. also

Cassia is the name of a local restaurant here, I'm with your husband on the timeless, classic names.

I prefer your husband's choice from those two options but agree they have been done to death in recent years. I personally try to go for ones not in the top 100 from recent years

Not eh-MEALY-uh (Emilia/Amelia). Why do people think this is a nice name? All I hear is mealy, which is about the ugliest sound ever.