Girls name shortlist - help!

[BromptonBay]

DD is due next month and DH and I are still arguing over names.. all of these are life long favourites of mine - I just can’t choose!!

Isabel (Izzy/Ella)
Beatrice
Maeve
Pippa
Lara

Not overly fussed re: popularity or meanings, just want options on the names themselves.

Isabel (Izzy/Ella) - my favourite spelling of the name. I do like it. I know you said you aren't bothered by popularity - but she might be correcting spellings etc a bit, there are loads of Isabelles around.
Beatrice - fine. Love Bea as a shortening.
Maeve - not a fan
Pippa - I've always liked Philippa with Pippa as a shortening
Lara - I don't like the 'ar' sound, prefer Laura or Lyra, but that's just personal taste.

Lovely list - I like all your ideas! My order of preference would be-

1. Lara - pretty, easy to spell / pronounce, doesn’t get shortened, great for all ages, not overused or dated.
2. Maeve - same advantages as Lara.
3. Pippa - love this. Only disadvantage is some people may assume it’s short for Philippa.
4. Beatrice - pretty. My only thought is that Beatrice sounds quite formal to me and Bea is very informal - there isn’t an everyday “middle ground” option for a nn.
5. Isabel (Izzy/Ella) - I know you don’t mind popularity but I think it’s the most commonly used name where I live if you include all the spelling variations, which has taken the shine off it for me

Basically they are all fine.

I’d pick maeve.

1. Isabel (Izzy/Ella) - lovely name and great nicknames if she wants them.
2. Maeve - I think it's a great name and known enough in the UK (assuming that's where you are?) not to be too mispronounced.
3. Beatrice - pretty but I'm not a fan of the nickname Bea. Could be seen as a little dated by some. I do think it's a classic though and great literary associations.
4. Lara - not bad but not really a fan, it feels a little pretentious. I really prefer Lana, Lorna, Cora.
5. Pippa - not a fan personally 1. I don't love nicknames as names and 2. It just reads very horse-owning posh girl to me (sorry!)

Lara Beatrice is beautiful.

My favourites from your list are Beatrice and Maeve.

Isabel (Izzy/Ella) I prefer Isabelle
Beatrice I love this and would have chosen it. , but we had George
Maeve no
Pippa I like Phillipa ,
Lara like this

All nice names. My favourite is Lara, Least favourite is Maeve.

Yes

Love Pippa and Maeve.

After further discussion with DH we’ve also got Emma, Sasha & Amber added to the mix! 🙈

Amber is pretty.

I like these too! Amber is my favourite! I’d pick Amber or Lara from your ideas so far ☺️

Isabel Amber
Go well together

Isabel is so beautiful.

Beatrice is lovely. Maeve would go well as a middle.

I like Beatrice, Emma and Maeve from your list. Beatrice and Maeve because they don't have an 'uh' or 'ee' sound at the end but Emma because it somehow sounds a bit different from the other very vowely names e.g. Eva, Ava, Amelia, Isla etc etc.

Isabel is a lovely name but if you want Ella as a nickname, Isabella would be the more obvious one to go for.

I like them all. Emma and Lara are my favourites followed by Sasha and Beatrice.

Personally I’d only use Pippa as a nickname. And I’d avoid Maeve, although it’s lovely, as it’s very trendy… Isabel has been very popular for ages and that wouldn’t particularly bother me, whereas Maeve seems to have come from nowhere and now every other baby girl has that name!

We have a Isobel Maeve, we don't shorten it

Second pregnancy due first week of April we've decided on Elanor Vivienne

Elanor - lotr reference & grandparents name was Nora

Vivienne after an aunt who passed.

Understand it's not everyone's cup of tea

Obviously just my opinions, and it all comes down to personal taste.

Isabel (Izzy/Ella) - I like this spelling, but much prefer Isabella. The Ella shortening would also work well.
Beatrice - I quite like. I don't think I have ever met one in person.
Maeve - Love this!
Pippa - I like as an independent name (not keen on Philippa).
Lara - It's okay. I prefer Cara.
Emma - One of my all time favourites. It just seems timeless. I know Emmas of all ages (and all the ones I know are lovely).
Sasha - Pretty. I picture a little girl in a party dress for some reason!
Amber - It's okay. I know a few in their teens and 20's but no little ones. I also like Ember which I heard recently.

All nice. Isobel (I prefer this spelling personally!) or Lara are my favourites. I like Beatrice as a middle name for either. Pippa I'd prefer shrt for Philippa

Emma. Classic, simple, everyone knows how to spell it, very few of them around as babies these days.

Yes, I’m not keen on Philippa either - she would definitely just be Pippa! X

We’re in Northern Ireland so Maeve is very much a timeless classic here and in ROI - not sure why it has suddenly exploded in the rest of the UK though!

Lara is nice
Prefer isabella

Not keen on the others.
How about:

Eloise
Lila
Georgia
Seren