Teacher struggling with names

[ARodeoQueen]

I'm 25 weeks and we don't know if I am having a boy or girl. We love old man boys names like Walter, Wilfred, Oswald but we are struggling on girls names. I really love long girls names. My favourites are Genevieve and Evangeline. The problem is I have one lovely niece and her name is Evie. So I feel that they are too close to her name.
To complicate things further me and DH are teachers. I would really like a name that I haven't taught - which narrows it down significantly. Whenever I hear a name I just picture a face of a child I've taught. If that makes sense! I want a 'new' name. It was really hard naming my son 5 years ago and this one is harder. Middle name will be Joan if it's a girl. I do like Gwen so potentially Gwendolyn or Guinervere. I'd be greatful of any suggestions. Thank you!

Susannah
Leonie
Josephine
Lindsay (or Lyndsey)

Euphemia
Evelina
Genevieve
Dominique
Christabel
Savannah
Helena

I loved Genevieve and Evangeline - would happily have called my daughter either of those but my husband wasn’t sure.

We called her Cecily instead. I’m biased obviously but it’s a beautiful name - classic but not common.

I think Evangeline & Genevieve are possibly too close to Evie.

Gwendoline Joan is lovely, I like Gwen/Gwenny as a nickname.

Other ideas - Clementine, Beatrice, Constance 'Connie', Rosalie, Sylvie

For a boy - Austin, Frank, Albert, Montgomery, Sidney, Stanley

I know a lady who chose Seren and Iris for her DD. I was a vet nurse when I was preganant so didn't want any names that reminded me of pets I'd looked after 😆 so no Poppy, Lily type names.

Names that are older that are still nice I think are;

Audrey
Caitlyn
Hannah
Heather
Rosemary
Adele
Madeleine
Lydia
Cassandra
Heidi
Charlotte

I was born 1975 & my class was full of kids called Sarah, Helen, Caroline, Jenni, Amanda, Elaine, Louise, Alison, Catherine, Rebecca, Samantha etc.

My mum's generation (around 80 now) were called Christine, Beryl, Barbara, Sharon, Jane, Gill, etc.

Good luck in your name search OP 💗👏

I would try and go for names from before you ever taught like 90s names maybe or 80s? Its a hard one alright I do like the name Genievieve
You could try
Elizabeth
Deirdre
Laura
Ruth
Sarah

Hope this helps

My mum’s name is “Margaret Joan” !

“Autumn” is a beautiful but not widely used name which I have never come across as a teacher for 25 years.:.

Autumn Joan has a nice ring to it!

If you like Guinevere - spelled like that! - you could consider Jennifer, which is a more modern adaptation of the same name.

I went to school in the 70s with lots of girls called:
Jacqueline
Karen
Jane
Charlotte
Heather
Sarah
Nicola
Elaine
Carolyn

Some we considered unusual then were:
Nadine
Michaela
Ailisa
Martine
Melody

Duplicate post

A gorgeous name, but may cause problems for people unable or unwilling to pronouse the Welsh letter 'll' correctly. GWEN LEE ANN is not nearly as beautiful

@LadyMonicaBaddingham , they say Gwenly-un and if corrected say Gwenthly-Ann.

Loveee these off of pp’s lists! Cordelia (Delia) or Rosalind (Rosa)

I know 3 Amalias. One is 9, one is mid 30s, one is 11.

I like Genevieve a lot, and Gen/ Jenny/ Ginny for short, which is nothing like Evie.

There’s also Ginevra which is pretty and you could go for Ginny as nickname

How about Leontine, or Emmaline?

My DD is called Aubree. “Aubree strawberry”Different spellings of course, but it was one of my patients names. He was an old man lol Aubrey I think his was spelled. It means leader of the elves. I thought we would call her Bree for short but we don’t lol. It’s a rare name where I’m from but I believe more common in America

Honor
Meredith
Iris
Martha
Elspeth
Xanthe
Juliet
Savannah
Ophelia

All proper spellings and not that easy to shorten.

Genevieve Joan sounds wonderful.
Just neevr use Evie as a nick name.
Viv, Gen, GenJo.

Gwen is also smart.
Gwen Joanna is a name I'd love to have.
Think Joan and Joanna Lumley. Gwen is bright and not common.

Angelica Joan

I don’t think Evangeline is too close to zevie, because of where the stress falls.

if you’re going to call the baby Guinevere, please do spell it right!

Diana

Gwen is gorgeous but is very popular in Wales for babies.

@Mylittlebobble, Only 127 Gwen- names were registered in England and Wales in 2024, so it can't be that popular.

Terrence
Percival
Wilbur
Phillip- Pip
Malcom
Edwin
Bruno
Merrick
Fenton
Reginald
Roscoe
Magnus
Spencer
Fergus
August
Rupert
Montgomery
Sullivan
Hartley
Albert

Primrose
Estella
Colette
Sylvie
Kitty
Pearl
Rosemary
Celine
Saskia
Tabitha
Emmeline
Ines
Odette
Bronwyn
Marigold
Octavia
Clementine
Isadora
Daphne
Camille
Dorothy