Baby Girl - if we like these names

[Confusedmermaid1]

We’ve got a while left yet but we’re due a baby girl in January. For years DH and I thought we had a girls name sorted, Robyn, but I’ve gone off it as I don’t like the nn Rob/Robbie.

Names I like but DH isn’t keen on
Lilith (nn Lily) - our surname is one syllable ending -LL so he thinks it’s too many L’s 😅
Genevieve (nn Evie) but he prefers Evelyn which is too popular for me
Hazel - It’s in our address so DH says no but we probably won’t live here forever!
Sylvie/Sylvia - he’s just not that keen

His names that I’m not overly keen on
Rosalie (nn Rose/Rosie) - bit too cutesy for me but I do prefer other Rose names
Florence - lovely but too popular
Olivia - way too popular for me
Cecelia (nn Cece) - I could probably come around to this but I don’t love it
Arya - doesn’t sound great with his family’s regional accent 😅

I don’t want anything too popular, I have a name which is so of it’s time you could guess my age within a year or two I bet 😂 there was 3 in my class at school. DH has a super popular but more timeless name so he’s less bothered.

We want to avoid names beginning EL.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for us, maybe something that combines our tastes?

Constance. Connie

Please do not call your child Lillith.

You need to research this name, but briefly it has been roughly translated as screech-owl or demon of the night. In some forms of Jewish belief Lillith was Adam's first wife, made of dust(?) who would not submit to Adam and was banished from the garden. In other words, not a happy ending for her, and she is not fondly viewed.

Then in the Narnia series, CS Lewis takes Lillith and blends this story with some of his own details, such as her having mixed giant blood, and she is, essentially, the Witch or "baddie" throughout that series. It just is not a good set of associations, regardless of your beliefs.

ETA it would be similar to calling your son Lucifer.

I doubt many people would nickname Robyn to rob/robbie, they’re very masculine

From CS Lewis;

That’s what I don’t understand, Mr. Beaver,” said Peter. “I mean isn’t the Witch human?”
“She’d like us to believe it,” said Mr. Beaver, “and that’s how she is trying to call herself Queen. But she’s no Daughter of Eve. She comes from your father Adam’s first wife, Lilith. She was one of the Jinn. On the other side she comes from the giants. No, there isn’t a drop of real human blood in the Witch.”

ETA and for the Jinn (of which Lillith was said to be one) i found this definition:
1.(in Arabian and Muslim mythology) an intelligent spirit of lower rank than the angels, able to appear in human and animal forms and to possess humans:

Rosalind/Rosamund
Cicely
Tamsin
Hebe
Vivienne
Marnie
Phyllida

As Robyn is unisex, I think Evelyn works, as do Vivienne, Hilary, Lindsay. Could Lillian work instead of Lillith?

Rosemary (nn Rose)

Why not go with Robyn and just not call her Robbie? It's quite easily avoided!

I like most of your names. Lily is nice but don't like Lilith. It's too witch like.

I don’t think Robyn would become Robbie. It’s a lovely name!

Ideas

Iris
Stella
Emmeline
Adeline
Leonora
Vivienne
Daphne
Juniper / Juni
Wren
Violet
Lorelei
Merryn
Seren
Arwen
Flora
Eira
Nina
Gwen
Kaia
Kira
Amaya

My favourites are Cecelia, Florence, Rose, Genevieve and I think Sylvie is quite cute.
Olivia I agree has been done to death and I'm not so fond of/familiar with Arya. Is it like Aria? It seems less classic than the others and you both seem to like classic names on the whole.

Oh and Hazel is sweet.

But it seems to me the one you both like is Florence but you are worried it's too popular. I don't really see the harm in that; it's not in Olivia league!

Cecily

I find the popularity of names like Arya/Aria odd due to the Aryan link (unless that's your thing I suppose!)

I've known a couple of Robyn's and they've never been shortened.

Roberta
Laurie
Adeline
Celeste
Missy

Rosara? nn Rosie

ETA does this have a bit of the Arya sound your DH likes?

Penelope (Nell)
Abigail
Katherine
Martha
Aurora
Honor
Ivy
Isla
Gabrielle
Claudia
Lydia
Stella
Heather
Yasmin

I also like Elizabeth and Eliza but they don’t meet your criteria

Robyn is lovely. Just call her Robyn.

I don't think your name choices are so different ultimately.

Some ideas:
Rosarie
Rosamund
Celia
Selena
Florentina
Fleur
Sienna

Vivienne
Penelope
Lillian

Cora
Colette (nn Lettie)

Robyn is my favourite and I’ve never known it be shortened. I also love Genevieve and Hazel.

What about
Rosalind
Cecily
Flora

Cecily
Robena and shorten it to Bena?
Phoebe
Tamsin
Laura

I love Sylvie. Sylvia a?

Yes, Cecily is a good meeting ground between Lily and Cecelia.

Laura is sweet and underused.

I think Robena sounds too much like Ribena!

I’m with your DH those names are lovely.

Rowan
Althea
Willow
Rosalyn

Thank you everyone!

Some lovely names and some we have already discussed and still disagreed on 😅
Vivienne, Celeste and some of the Welsh names, especially Eira, were on my list. I’m Welsh and DH isn’t and he/his family have a very strong accent so we sort of ruled out Welsh names.

I had Rosalind on my list for nn Rose but DH preferred Rosalie and didn’t know if it would be Ros rather than Rose for nn.

Rosemary and Lilian are both lovely but feel more ‘old fashioned’ than the alternatives we had. I think either way the Lilith/Lilian is still too many Ls for DH 😂

I agree that we can just call her Robyn and family will follow our lead. I think the shortening thing is more so when she goes to school or something. We all call my niece her name in full and now she’s gone to school she insists it’s not her name, her name is nickname, because that’s what all the teachers call her..

Arya/Ariya/Aria is DHs nerdy pick from some fantasy thing (either GOT or LOTR I expect) which might explain why it’s a bit of a mismatch compared to the rest of the list. We’re not white supremacists I promise 🙈