Massively struggling to pick a girl's name!

[goldenlabby]

My husband and I have very different taste in names, and are really butting heads over what to name our daughter. We also have a long and unusual surname to consider.

Here is the full list, some are his favourites and some are mine so I'm keen to get some unbiased responses to them.

Daphne
Octavia
Tamara
Celine
Helena (Hel-ee-nuh)
Dorothy
Vera
Beatrix (Bea or Trixie)
Catherine (Kitty)
Clara
Tabitha
Margaret (Maggie)
Penelope
Maud

We are really struggling and as such have gone a bit off-piste in a desperate attempt to find something we can agree on.

Thanks in advance.

Love Daphne, Dorothy, Clara, Helena, Tabitha

Be aware Maudie may become ‘muddy’ at school.

The names seem to be very old fashioned / very boring or a bit ‘out there’ but not in a good way!

Clara is my fave.

All really nice but Tabitha, Penelope, Margaret and Catherine stand out for me.
Love the diminutives Penny and Maggie particularly.

Daphne - no
Octavia - Pipkins! No.
Tamara - ok
Celine - no
Helena (Hel-ee-nuh) - no
Dorothy - no
Vera - no
Beatrix (Bea or Trixie) - Prefer Beatrice
Catherine (Kitty) - ok
Clara - no
Tabitha - ok
Margaret (Maggie) - no
Penelope - lovely
Maud - ok

Other names

Louise
Eloise
Erin
Persephone

Favourites

Beatrix
Clara
Margaret (Maggie)
Penelope

These are all really lovely names and I'd pick one of those.

Daphne - ok but a bit soft. Daffy isn't a great nickname.
Octavia - Dislike. Long name with no good nickname potential. Might make me assume she's the 8th child.
Tamara - It's fine. How do you feel about Tammy?
Celine - It's hard to not hear Dion but yes it's fine. CeCe as nickname?
Helena (Hel-ee-nuh) Nice but you will always have pronunciation issues. I think I prefer Hel-e-na. With your pronunciation it's quite a long name, have you got a nickname?
Dorothy - It's ok. Dotty very cute when little but I'm not sure about being a teenage/ adult Dorothy.
Vera - Dislike.
Catherine (Kitty) - Nice. Not a favourite but works really well. Katherine if sure on Kitty?
Tabitha - Very nice.
Maud - Bit like Dorothy, it's ok but not great. Not sure I'd like it to be my name.

Love Clara. Tabitha also nice.

We know a Penelope who is shortened to Nella, which is super cute. So it doesn’t have to be Penny.

All of the names are lovely. Personal choice is understandably diferent for two people.

My favourite names from your list:
Catherine
Clara
Helena
Maud
Octavia
Beatrix
Margaret

Names I quite like:
Tamara
Celine
Vera
Penelope

Names I wouldn't use:
Tabitha
Daphne
Dorothy

Others ...
Claire
Mary

Have you looked at potential nicknames for all of the names to see if there are any you could compromise on if the other likes the nickname even if not in love with the first name?

Eg:
Daphne - Didi
Celine - Cece
Dorothy - Dotty
Vera - Vivvie
Penelope - Penny
Maud

If still no names can be agreed on some alternatives I think have a similar vibe to your list:
Mauve/ Mauva
Elise
Constance (Connie)
Jemima
Clementine (Clemmie)
Cora
Matilda (Tilly or Tildy)

The only ones I like are Daphne and Clara. Maud is awful!!

Maude is a nicer spelling
Tamara seems like an outlier on your list

how about Dorothea? With Thea, Dottie or Dolly as shortenings

Daphne -ok
Octavia. - reminds me ostrich (70s kids tv) but ok name
Tamara - quite like
Celine - not keen
Helena (Hel-ee-nuh) - quite like
Dorothy - love, or Dorothea
Vera - quite like
Beatrix (Bea or Trixie) - prefer Beatrice
Catherine (Kitty) - not keen
Clara - ok
Tabitha - love
Margaret (Maggie) - not keen
Penelope - live, quite popular where I live
Maud - not keen

I can see there’s a mix of traditional classic names, and less popular ones.

Dorothy or Vera.
The other old lady names on your list are over used and the rest are bland.

Similar names:
Lucinda, nn Lucy , Cindy
Henrietta , nn Etta,
Alexandra
Marnie
Maisie
Victoria
Elspeth
Esme
Jasmine
Cassandra
Jessica

Great list, like all of them except Dorothy and Margaret which sound very fuddy-duddy to me.

I especially like Daphne (but it’s quite trendy now), Tamara, Tabitha, Catherine and Maud.

ideas:
Caroline
Veronica
Miranda
Serena
Nadia
Justine
Maria

I like Tamara, Catherine (I knew a fabulous Kitty), Clara and Tabitha (though the only one that I knew went by the nickname Tabby).

Dorothy is still in the "great-aunt" category for me, as are Vera and Maud/ie, but they could grow on me.

I really like these:
Dorothy
Beatrix (Bea or Trixie)
Clara
Tabitha

But Maud is my favourite.

I love Clara & Maud/Maude from your list. Maudie is so sweet for a little girl. I’m going to throw in Theodora for you, nn Teddie. I think it combines the styles and sounds you like and it may edge some of your other choices potentially.

Not keen at all on Maud, Dorothy, Tamara, or Octavia.

Love Daphne, Helena, Vera, Beatrix, Margaret, and Catherine (but I'd spell it with a K).

Meh about Celine, Clara, Tabitha, and Penelope.

From your list my favourites are Helena (with correct pronunciation), Catherine and Penelope.

@Plastictreees Hel-ee-nuh tends to be how it's pronounced in Ireland. Who deems what the correct pronunciation of a name is, you?

Why are so you hostile?

Helen-a is the most common pronunciation. There is no indication the OP is Irish. Other posters are saying the same thing.

As you were…

What about Camille (NOT Camilla!)

Daphne- cute!
Octavia- not a fan
Tamara- really not a fan
Celine- I like it!
Helena (Hel-ee-nuh)- I like it. My daughter is called Eleanor though so I automatically think Eh-leh-nuh
Dorothy- LOVE
Vera- like!
Beatrix (Bea or Trixie)- my favourite!
Catherine (Kitty)- never been a huge fan of the name Catherine but it is a perfectly nice name! Nothing wrong with it just not my personal favourite
Clara- cute! I like it
Tabitha- I really dislike the name Tabitha. Makes me think of cats like tabby cat
Margaret (Maggie)- not a fan (but think that’s because I have a very unpleasant aunt called Margaret 😂
Penelope- love! I really like Penny
Maud- really don’t like

I think Hel-ee-nuh/ Hel-ay-nuh is a more common pronunciation worldwide, I could be wrong but I think think Helen-uh is really more of a uk thing (maybe a bit in the us).

If you don’t want it to be popular and meet a few other children with the same name I would avoid:

Bea & Penelope as these are popular at the moment.

I don’t think Helena would be pronounced the way you like - more like ‘hell-uh-nuh’

Tabitha and Clara are sweet.

Daphne reminds me of scooby doo.