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.

Daphne - no, poor child
Octavia - no no no
Tamara - awful
Celine - no, just no
Helena (Hel-ee-nuh) - I like Hel ane a
Dorothy - nope
Vera - awful
Beatrix (Bea or Trixie) - passable
Catherine (Kitty) - Kitty?? are you having a cat
Clara - no
Tabitha- again I ask, are you having a cat
Margaret (Maggie) - classical, I like Maggie
Penelope - no
Maud - no no no

Clara or Tabitha for me

I have never heard of Helena being pronounced Hel-ee-nuh. And this is my name!

Multiple posters have said the same thing.

No

Maud
Celine
Penelope
Margaret

Yes
Helena
Octavia
Catherine - but actually, rather Kate

All the rest, not that bad but not that keen either.

Love Daphne.

like the sound of Octavia but it’s a pity about the car connotations…Ottalie or Anastasia as alternatives?

Maud and Margaret personally would steer clear of.

Not very keen on all the others but that’s just a personal preference thing, they are perfectly fine names and many children are currently growing up with them. Agree with PP re Celeste instead of Celine

In Scandinavia ee/ ay is very common :)
and as another poster mentioned, in Ireland the ee sound is common too. So whilst it’s your name, it’s very closed minded to state that only your way of pronouncing is “proper” - your way is perhaps standard in the UK but not around the world.

@Bettedaviss Yeah it’s really not that deep. No need for insults. 🙄

Daphne - love this one
Octavia - not keen, sounds a bit trying too hard somehow 🤔
Tamara - not keen, sounds a bit dated to my ear
Celine - I like but prefer Celeste
Helena (Hel-ee-nuh) - like but prefer Hel-ay-nuh pronunciation.
Dorothy - quite like and like Dotty
Vera - not keen
Beatrix (Bea or Trixie) - like
Catherine (Kitty) - like, don’t know any little Catherines
Clara - love
Tabitha - love
Margaret (Maggie) - love
Penelope - beautiful
Maud - I’m on the fence! It’s cute but also reminds me of a pinched scullery maid. Mabel is similar style.

Constance - Connie
Harriet - Hattie
Juliet
Margot
Victoria - Tori
Annabell
Belinda - Belle
Aurora
Angelica
Claudette - Claudie
Delilah
Francesca - Frankie
Giselle
Lysette
Mirabel - Mirrie
Seraphina
Vivienne
Wilhelmina - Winnie

Love Helena. Could have Lena, Leni or Elle as a nickname

How about Meredith?

You seem to have a mix of older names or known but less used. So Meredith could fit.

Could be Meri, Edie or Edith for short if you want to have nicknames.

Sorry, I just thought you sounded narrow minded and wanted to point out that the definitive pronunciation of Helena isn't dictated by you. But as you say, as you were...

@Dee51121 I don’t need to be patronised by you.

I think Maud is lovely!

The island of St Helena is called Saint
Hel-ee-na by those who live there.

From your list, I really like Catherine but not Kitty. Conversely, I love Maggie but dislike Margaret.

I'm not keen on Clara but love the similar Cara and Ciara.

Not keen on Maud but I know a baby Claudie, and have grown to really like that.

I have a sophie middle name orla (means golden princess) & an Ellie I'm pregnant currently with a boy but I had chosen Alice as my girls name , I also like ivy & penelope .. congratulations x

No, no one else has referred to a ‘correct’ pronunciation, just said that they prefer the Helen-a pronunciation or pointed out that the OP may have pronunciation issues due to that or other pronunciations (Hel-ay-na is also known) being more common/widely known, which is fair enough. Helena is a name with multiple pronunciations and the ‘correct’ one is however the person whose name it is pronounces it. And yes, my name is Helena, pronounced Hel-ee-na.

@MyNameIsHelena 🥱

I love the name Celine so much! Also from your list I like Dorothy, Margaret and Maud.

Exactly. Perfectly stated

😂😂

You come across as being unpleasant.

Helena (Hel-eena) is a family name. It follows the same pattern as Serena, Athena etc.

So do you.

Celine is absolutely beautiful.