Please, tell my wife that her names suggestions are awful!

[Demainsdeslaube]

Hello everyone!

I am 5 months pregnant, and my wife and I are having a hard time agreeing. After weeks of "arguing", we decided to forget about all the previous names suggested before and make a new list.
I absolutely hate all the names she wrote down :

• Bradleigh ( her favourite)
• Dallas
• Paris
• Lisandry
• Helen ( The only one I like)

Whereas my favourite names are:

• Romy ( She likes it but not love it)
• Dahlia
• Neva

She is so sure, those are pretty names. Pleaaase help, she'll be reading all the comments!

All awful....

Dallas isn’t a baby’s name. It’s a television programme!

Not sure that is a name which many school children will know. I had to Google it and I am 40.

Only Romilly I have heard of is Romilly weeks

I'm positive she winding you up. And I'm not one who likes tame names. They are very 90's American teen mum, nobody can possibly like those.

People on here tend to only like very plain names. I prefer your list. Seems like Romy is the biggest winner so far. My usual advice is to not discuss it until you have done all the hard work of labour then try and get your own way when they are feeling grateful for your efforts but that will obviously backfire when it's her turn.

I also think that family names with some background do Trump generic names that you just like the sound of. It's good when it's something meaningful. The worst thing you can do is come up with something wishy washy which neither of you are too enamoured by. What about Sandry? Or Lindy?

Helen is a nice normal name but quite boring. Helena is much better.
The rest are awful I’m afraid.
Helen is a different vibe to the rest. Very different.
If she likes a short simple name like Helen I would say you both consider some others such as Anna, Emma, Emily, Ava, Ada, Heidi, Ivy etc.
Short and simple but much better imo.

Some suggestions based on your lists

Hallie
Hayley
Daphne
Elena
Emilia
Neve (or Niamph for Irish spelling)
Maeve
Delilah
Willa

Helena, Emma, Maude are all much the nicest suggestions. Also Romilly is both pretty and strong, though it's a bit now and will date.

Those are all fine.

Romy’s ok but I prefer Romilly, and Helen is very dull but it’s not awful. Helena is nicer?

All of your names are horrible, other than Emma, which is lovely.

You need to do what all other couples do, is to work out what kind of names you like, and narrow it down.

For instance, I like Biblical names (not because I'm religious because I'm not) and out of 6 first/second names my three kids have, 4 are Bible names.

Please don't choose anything too left-field, because your baby is going to have a lifetime of living with her name!

Think about how she will feel about her name through school, uni, and when she's older, in her 50s/60s etc.

I chose classic names for my kids which will stand the test of time.

OP you really have to stop and think about what you and your wife are doing. You are creating a person. You’re not getting a pet, or buying a toy, or picking a Mumsnet name.

You might think it’s fun to have a wacky unusual name that no one has heard of, that makes people do a double take and check they heard correctly. You might like the idea of your baby having a name that sounds “normal” but is spelled in a strange and unpredictable way. You might think it’s fun to have to spell out your child’s unique name every single time you book something over the phone. But you are only going to be “in charge” of your child for a very small fraction of their life. For most of their life, they’re on their own, spelling and correcting and surprising people for decades.

Give your child a normal name with a normal spelling. If they want to be wacky and different, they can show it in their behaviour. Don’t saddle them with a weird name.

Romy or Rory

I second the video of Lisa or Emma

The thing about dahlia is that earwigs always seem to crawl out of them. There was a Romy Schneider who was a famous German actress but you're probably not German.

bradleigh for a girl?dont do that to them

my name is on one of your faves but i hate it myself everyone tells me how lovely it is ?

Quite like Dahlia

Why do people get so angry about unusual names? I would go with Lisandry now based on everyone's narrow minded reaction. People are so dull. It's 2023 people! What if they were Vietnamese or Hindu? Would you tell them to 'think about what they are doing' and say their kids would get bullied for their names then? Thankfully we live in modern times and maybe people with dull names will be embarrassed by them one day! Jeez.

The other thing about dahlias is they go in and out of fashion as flowers and are a bit “ fruit, flower and veg show” when out. Mumblesparty makes a very valid point that the name has to be “life-proof.” It’s not just for when they are young and the name is surprising or fashionable; it needs to last through adulthood too.

Dallas…😬

Levi is kind of of cute for a girl.
Clementine?
The name you are looking for though is Helena. It really is.

It’s not all unusual names. It’s just when going with one it’s good to consider associations. Lisandry sounds a LOT like misandry.

All awful

All absolutely awful - some about as awful as you get- apart from Helen which is just ok.

I've only found one interpretation of the name Lisandry snd the website says it means Lion Man.

Because naming a person is a massive thing to do, and you have to consider their feelings. A baby is not an extension of you, and an opportunity for you to express your personality. A baby is a future individual. Being different should be a choice that people make for themselves, not for others.

Helen is beautiful and historical/classic

I do like Dahlia as I enjoy flower names, but I keep thinking of that poor cut-up woman...

The rest are pure garbage