Thora, Astrid or Ilse?

[Taggys]

Hey all...

We are still undecided on which Scandinavian baby name to use if we have a girl? We are a half Swedish/half English family living in the UK.

Choosing between:
Thora
Astrid (nn "Asta")
Ilse

What's your opinion? Need some help here as we are going around in circles 😅

Many thanks!

I love Astrid

I adore Astrid. Would you mostly use it in full with Asta as an occasional diminutive or Asta day to day?

I love Thora and Astrid. Ilse is beautiful too it wonder if it's still too soon after Frozen / Elsa mania?

All fab (sorry not helpful!)

I like Astrid the best - but is quite popular atm (if you care about that stuff).

If she is to live mostly in the UK, she might have difficulty with the spelling/pronunciation of Ilse

Thora is lovely. So sweet. But an 'old-lady' name in the UK - 'vintage' names are also super-popular.....

They are all good names though, so you won't go wrong. Maybe try what sounds best with your surname/initial combination/middle names....

Thank you <3 So, I actually really love the name "Asta", but hubby says that he would prefer if it was "Astrid" on the birth certificate - otherwise, I'd be up for calling her just "Asta".

I think we would end up calling her "Asta" as the nickname, but "Astrid" as full name if that makes sense.

Oh, thank you! 😊I don't actually mind the "old-lady" vibe of "Thora", but yes a lot of people have told me just that!

Astrid is also super popular in Sweden right now, which makes me think that one of the other would be more fun!

Combine all three to make Thorasse.

You're welcome.

I love Thora and it will be one of my top choices if I have a DD.

Thora

I love Ilse and Astrid. Considering Ilse for my current bun in the oven but I know that the spelling trips some people up. Then if you spell it Ilsa it gets mixed up with Isla.

Thora definitely feels a bit too old-lady but maybe that's because of Thora Hird who was a professional quintessential old lady for decades... as a name maybe it's ready to be reclaimed though?

I love Astrid - one of my favourite names.

Not so keen on the other two. Ilse is pretty.

Love Astrid (was on my baby girl name list) but that was 15 years ago now and it seems to be having a moment atm. Thora is delightful and I’m surprised it’s not more popular.

Love Thora.

I don’t like Astrid at all, it’s so harsh sounding.

Astrid is my favourite- a gorgeous name, not overused, easy to spell and pronounce, not dated to any particular era and I love Asta as a nn - perfect!

Thora - I could imagine myself introducing myself as Thora and people saying, “spelt like Thora Hird?” to clarify - it’s a really strong association for many. Do you say it Thora or Tora in Scandinavia?

Ilse is nice but I think I’d get fed up of saying, no not Elsa, Ilse ..

Thank you so much for your thoughts!! I also adore "Asta" as the nn och Astrid <3

In Scandinavia you say it "Tora", but I feel like the difference in pronunciation wouldn't matter too much...

Thora (Thora Hird)
Astrid (pretty)
IIse (would have no idea how to pronounce it. Is that a capital I then a lower case L?)

Love Astrid. Sparky, unusual, classic, clearly pronounceable!

Not sure you'll need a nickname as it's short enough and they can't be pre-cooked anyway. You'll just have to see what her personality is like, what sticks, what her mates call her. Still, it's a gorgeous name and works in diff cultures and languages too.

Absolutely Astrid.

I like them all, but Ilse is by far and away my favourite though. Beautiful name.

Astrid would be my choice. No need to think about nicknames at the moment, they should just happen naturally.

That's right! 😊I-L-S-E, pronounced "IL-SUH" 😄

I think they are all pretty. Astrid is lovely but becoming quite popular. I'm not keen on Asta (hasta la vista/Asda price vibes).
Thora is lovely but Th/T confusion - Thora Hird was a terrific actress.
Ilse is nice but will get Ils or Elsa a lot.

I am Scandinavian

I LOVE Ilse and of the 2 I have known they were both wonderful clever women I admired a lot as a child.

I dont like Thora personally and while I don't mind Astrid I dislike how harsh it becomes in the English language compared to the Danish version I know.

Of the 3 I would use Ilse

I’m not sure the Thora Hird reference is that relevant nowadays. Kids won’t know who she was.

I really Astrid, there are a lot round here though. I have always loved Ilse since reading Emily of New Moon. Couldn't use it for dd as our surname didn't fit at all.
Use Ilse for me!