Please help! Phoebe or Elsie (or Freya)? Baby is several weeks old

[NeedToName]

Really want to name daughter by end of this weekend. She’s several weeks old.

Looking for thoughts/preferences on Phoebe, Elsie (or perhaps Freya)?

Or any similar suggestions we may have missed?

I seem to be in quite an anxious spin about it. Want to continue to enjoy baby girl knowing and sharing her name. And move on from the naming dilemma!

Likely last child. Perhaps why I’m finding confirming her name so hard. Partner less so.

Elsie is current favourite. A new name in the mix for partner and I. I originally wrote off as “too cutesy” for want of a better phrase. It seems to suit daughter and be nice-ish to say frequently when trying out.

Phoebe is a long-term like for partner and I. Love the meaning and just found out it’s also the name of a type of bird which enhances it’s meaning for me more so. But I’m sadly not a fan of nickname Pheebs. I seem to feel inclined to shorten/adjust the name slightly when trying out, despite knowing this! A local friend of friend went with this name for their new daughter a few weeks before our baby arrived. She wouldn’t mind if we still went with it -turns out we have very similar taste. Worry we may regret not using this name in some way. Also aware we may hear it quite a bit due to the above so need to be prepared for that either way.

Freya is a name I’ve always liked/been intrigued by. I have a close friend with this name. She was the first Freya I met (approximately 20 years ago). She wouldn’t mind if we had a baby Freya. My partner isn’t so keen on this one.

I’m based in the UK, a little outside London in case helpful context.

I have a Phoebe and I would say your daughter is bound to get Pheebs as a nickname.

My friend always calls her Pheebs, even though my nickname for her is Bee and I use it in front of her.

My other daughter also refers to her as Pheebs.

If you really hate that nickname, I’d go for Elsie. There are plenty around now for it not to be seen as an old lady name.

Elsie is too cutsie for me. I'd use both of the others - Freya Phoebe is lovely.

I love Phoebe, that would have been my choice if I’d have had a girl. I don’t think I’d naturally shorten it but others might. We have a friend with a girl called Ophelia and they shorten it to Phi, and it’s actually quite cute, that could be a nickname.

Im personably not keen on Elsie but I think because there are soooo many around us. And all seem to be Elsie May/Mai/Mae. I don’t see it as old lady like though. Names come in generational waves, this generation will be full of Elsies, Ivy’s, Violets, Arthurs etc. the next generation might have a lot of Lindas, Helens and Carols that will then be old people names but we can’t imagine giving a baby now because they’re our parents names.

Freya I think would be my last choice because I hear Frey Bentos 🙊 although I know someone who has a girl called Freya and they actually use Frey Bentos as a funny pet name so it didn’t put them off 😂

You seem most set on Elsie, but i think Phoebe is a strong contender too if you can move past the nickname.

Some other suggestions based on the type of names you like :

Ophelia
Penelope
Marnie
Edie
Margot
Harriet
Darcy
Felicity

Esme?

i work in a school and there are a lot of Elsie’s at the moment. More than one in some classes. I think it is a lovely name and even though was my grandmothers name def does not feel ‘old lady’

Phoebe is my favourite out of those but if you're drawn to Elsie then go with it. Does she look like an Elsie?

Elsie isn't an old lady name at all these days. It's so popular she may well not be the only one in her class, and even if she is there will be lots of Edies, Evies etc. (But that doesn't mean they're not nice names! It's just like being called Rebecca or Emily when we were kids.)

I like them in this order: Freya (beautiful name, feminine and strong), Phoebe and then Elsie. Elsie is nice but a bit cutesy and old ladyish.

Not helpful for your dilemma I know but I have two girls, Freya and Phoebe 🥰

Love Phoebe!

I honestly believe that once you have a few ideas, babies ‘tell’ you which is their name. Tune in to HER and never mind what anyone else thinks. Which name comes through most strongly when you look at her / think about her / hold her. I have always felt this feeling during pregnancy so had names set (though don’t share until baby is born).

Good luck with it. Would love to know what you went for!

Would be Phoebe for me :)

Phoebe is beautiful with the nn bee, Fifi or bibi!

Phoebe and call her Bee/Bea as a PP suggests to get in with a preferred nickname before Pheebs takes hold.

I love Phoebe. I worked with a Phoebe once (the only one I ever met) and she didn't have a nickname. She'd be in her late 20s now.

What about Elsa?

Kind of combo between Elsie and Freya, but not as popular as either.

@NeedToName have you decided yet?

Ella
Faye
Eloise
Eve
Delia

The name Freya means a noble woman if that's any help

What did you choose, OP?

Imagine being 18 and having a name like Elsie. I cannot think of a more old lady name than that, maybe ivy. Absolutely not

I like Phoebe with Phe (fi/fee) as a shortening. It was in the running for our second daughter