Opinions please

[Internationalpony]

We’re having a girl and there are lots of names I like but none I love or that I’m 100% sure on. I’d love opinions on the names on my current list to help me narrow it down (if you don’t like them please say why).

I’ve scoured through the top 1000 names so don’t necessarily need new suggestions unless it’s something you really think I wouldn’t have come across yet!

Otherwise, these are my favourites so I’d just love to get opinions on which you prefer and why and any you’d rule out.

• Etta
• Margot
• Ophelia
• Camille
• Emily
• Octavia - with the nickname Occie.
• Caroline - with the nn Carrie.
• Eleanor - with no nn as don’t like the nn Ellie.
• Catherine - I love the nickname Kitty but strongly dislike Kathy!
• Mariella - I’d love to use this name because we could use the nn Marie which was my grandma’s name but is it a bit “frilly” and less sophisticated for an adult woman than the other names?
• Felicity - I love this name and the nicknames flick and fliss and DH likes it too but he worries it sounds too much like felatio and she might get teased at school!

Thanks mumsnetters!

I like most of the names on your list! I would prefer maybe Violetta over Marietta, as it sounds less like a newly made up name, but it obviously doesn't include the Marie element!

I also feel the same about Eleanor but disliking Ellie so if we had chosen that in the end we might have tried to give her the nickname Nora - not sure if it would have stuck though!

Etta and Felicity are my favourites.
Caroline sounds very old fashioned by now. Margot is very popular now but for some reason I don't like it, that's just my taste really.
I think Ophelia is a sad name as it is so closely associated with the character in Hamlet .

Caroline was popular in the 1960s and 70s, true, but why can't it come back? It's a classic name (there have been queens etc). It has the same origin as Charlotte but sounds a bit fresher than that now, as Charlotte has been so popular over the last 30 or so years.

• Etta-coolest one on the list
• Margot-cat's name
• Ophelia-over used
• Camille-second coolest
• Emily-SO BORING
• Octavia -Gorgeous, but would use Tavie as nickname.
• Caroline -A bit old fashioned, will be due a revival soon, but not now.
• Eleanor -Nice
• Catherine -Nice
• Mariella -Gorgeous, definitely don't shorten
• Felicity -Lovely but over used.

Etta - ate a what?
Margot - maggot
Ophelia - Oh feel yer
Camille - Cam-eel or Cam-ee?
Emily - fine, prefer Emma
Octavia - nn Occie. - Occie? No
Caroline - with the nn Carrie. - fine
Eleanor - with no nn as don’t like the nn Ellie. - will be Ellie
Catherine - will be Cathy/Cat. If you want Kitty, use Kitty or Katherine
Mariella - nn Marie -just Marie is better but it's ok
Felicity - Fliss is nice, Flick is awful. Felicia more likely to get teased

Marietta = Biscuit

https://thequeenspantry.com/jacobs-marietta-biscuit/

Nell is also a nickname for Eleanor.

I think Marietta is the one!

Etta - fine. First thought is makes me think of Etta James the jazz singer.
Margot - very popular. No strong feelings either way.
Ophelia - very popular. Fine.
Camille - not a fan.
Emily - good name
Octavia - with the nickname Occie. So i think with all your nn suggestions, beyond a certain age you won't be able to control the nicknames. I don't like Occie. Octavia is ok. I had a toy octopus called Octavia.
Caroline - with the nn Carrie. Yes, good name.
Eleanor - with no nn as don’t like the nn Ellie. Good name.
Catherine - ok. Kitty is more trendy than Kathy anyway so that might all work out.
Mariella - It's fine. Certainly not more frilly than Octavia or Ophelia. But if you like Marie you could just use Marie?
Felicity - I wouldn't worry at all about teasing. I don't like Felicity though, but I'm not a fan of virtue names. Felicity in particular seems a bit wet.

Etta - a bit nothing-y
Margot - I think this is probably one of the most popular names in 2022 so would avoid
Ophelia - dislike and I think your DH should see more innuendos here than Felicity!
Camille - it’s ok. Are you pronouncing the French way?
Emily - I’d avoid as there are so many.
Octavia - Occie is terrible but I quite like the full name.
Caroline - it’s ok. I prefer Caro as a nickname.
Eleanor - I like this but agree on Ellie which I think is unfortunately almost inevitable as a nickname so I’d go with something else and use this as a middle name.
Catherine - I like this, it’s my confirmation name actually. I like Cat and Kate as nicknames as well.
Mariella - I really like this, it’s unusual but easy to pronounce and spell.
Felicity - I like this but don’t like either of the nicknames, especially Flick. I don’t think your DH needs to be worried about fellatio.

I don’t like Marietta - it sounds like marionette. Mariella is better.

I know a really lovely woman called Marielle (she is French, so Marielle rather than Mariella) and I've always thought it was a gorgeous name. Elegant and feminine without being frilly.

I prefer Mariette to Marietta- it was Catherine Zeta Jones' character in Darling Buds of May.

I love Catherine and prefer the full name, or nicknames can happen organically.

Also love Octavia but not Occie!

I have a friend called Occie (short for Octavia) and had never thought of the nn Tavia but I actually much prefer that (although I still think Occie’s cool)!

I think if you use a nn all the time you can control it to some extent as people just see it as the person’s name (e.g. I also had a friend called Kitty when I was younger and it would have never crossed my mind to call her anything else). With a long form name like Eleanor though I agree I couldn’t stop other people calling her Ellie if they wanted to!

I don’t like the name Marie on it’s own, only as nn and it’s often pronounced mar-ee rather then mar-i in the UK which I don’t like and isn’t how my grandma’s name was pronounced.

For Camille we’d also use the French pronunciation.

Etta - dreadful washerwoman name
Margot - very very popular atm. Boringly so
Ophelia - awful, and dreadful nn
Camille - dislike
Emily - safe but dull
Octavia - really dislike
Caroline - dated
Eleanor - lovely in its entirety but it will likely get shortened
Catherine - love it in its entirety. Classy, uncommon. Really lovely.
Mariella - no. A right mouthful.
Felicity - no, Flick and Fliss are even worse.

I like them all and ultimately you’d be fine with any of them. Things I’d consider:

Margot is very trendy at the moment.

i love Ophelia but personally wouldn’t use it because of the tragic association.

You could try to impose Ella or Lena for Eleanor if you liked those, but Ellie might be hard to avoid (I like Ellie though). I know a couple of Eleanors who are always Eleanor.

I like Felicity but I’d more nervous about that bye Felicia meme than felatio. That said the meme will have almost certainly disappeared by the time kids in her class would be old enough to pick up on it.

I really like Mariella, probably my favourite on your list. I don’t think it falls into the frilly category.

Clearly we don’t have the same taste in names 🤣

I have an Octavia in my class. She's known as Via which I absolutely love ❤️

Like all of your names except for Margot, as it's my neighbours Frenchie's name and it's such a yappy bloody dog 😬

Occie is a terrible nn. I know a Tavie - much cuter imo.
Margot I love but seen the French spelling Margaux which I prefer.
Etta is lovely and much better than Marietta. Marietta sounds like an old dairy farmer from the 60's!
Ophelia I like.
Kitty I like but hard to be a Kitty is you're not a stunner!
Felicity I love and the felatio resemblance never occured to me!
Have you thought of Marisa?

I know an adult Marietta, she's known as Matty.

Marielle is lovely and less frilly than Mariella.

I like Camille best…only have ever known one at primary school and remember thinking it sounded “posh.”

Would you pronounce it Cah-meal or Cah-mee?