Help me whittle down my shortlist...

[BettyButterknife]

DC2 is due in July, and my list at the moment looks like this:

Girls:
Decca
Clover
Edie
Nina
Betty/Betsy
Maude
Clementine
Mirabelle
Peggy
Dot
D olly/Dorothy

Boys:
Hector
Ted
Wilfred
Percy
Rex
Ernest
Frank
Laurie

Girls:
Decca - doesn't it mean 10, if so perhaps you should wait awile...
Clover - poor child and cow jokes
Edie - OK
Nina - like this
Betty/Betsy - like but would have Elizabeth as proper name and use as nn
Maude - not one I like that much
Clementine - no
Mirabelle - no
Peggy - as nn for Margaret then yes
Dot - as nn for Dorothy
D olly/Dorothy - see above!

Boys:
Hector - no
Ted - as nn for Edward yes
Wilfred - not sure
Percy - no
Rex - like
Ernest - no!
Frank - like
Laurie - no!

Gosh, I can whittle that down no problem.

Girls:
Edie
Nina
Clementine
Dolly/Dorothy

Although I would have Dolores if I wanted to shorten to Dolly, and Dorothy if I wanted to shorten to Dot/Dotty.

Boys:
Hector
Ernest
Frank
Laurie

Thanks, all. I feel a spreadsheet coming on, with each name ranked as yes, no or maybe.

Then I will want the one with the most nos, and DS the one with the most yeses

Decca: not nice
Clover: cow
Edie: OK
Nina: like
Betty/Betsy: like Betsy as a short form of Elizabeth
Maude: sounds like a plain Victorian scullery maid
Clementine: no
Mirabelle: prissy
Peggy: no
Dot: don't like
D olly/Dorothy: like Dorothy

Boys:
Hector: love
Ted: don't like
Wilfred: like
Percy: don't like
Rex: don't like
Ernest: OK
Frank: don't like
Laurie

Girls:
Decca - don't like
Clover - love
Edie - love
Nina - not for me
Betty/Betsy - nice but prefer as nn for Elizabeth
Maude - yes
Clementine - no
Mirabelle - no
Peggy - no
Dot - no
D olly/Dorothy - no

Boys:
Hector - love it
Ted - no but love Edward
Wilfred - no
Percy - god no
Rex - no
Ernest - yes, yes
Frank - gads no
Laurie - fabbo

Girls:
Decca - double decker if fat, without a doubt
Clover - lovely esp re: what katy did, but like everyone else think of cow instantly
Edie - lovely
Nina - beautiful name
Betty/Betsy - don't do it! What about Bess (short for Elizabeth)
Maude - rhymes with bored and sounds like mould - nooooo
Clementine - it's a fruit and not a nice name
Mirabelle - i like this! unusual but pretty
Peggy - tolerable but margaret is awful. Margot?
Dot - have you got a thing for soap grannies? no
D olly/Dorothy - Dorothy is ok but not dolly!

Boys:
Hector - nice
Ted - Teddy is nice (short for Edward)
Wilfred - smashing name, wilf or freddy for short
Percy - not unless you're planning to point him at the porcelain
Rex - the alsatian
Ernest - drippy I'm afraid, Ernie is not nice
Frank - fashionable i think but a bit blunt
Laurie - lovely, and if he meets a girl called Jo make sure he marries her!

So to whittle, yes to Nina, Edie, Mirabelle for girls. Wilfred, Hector or Laurie for boys.

Laurie was soooo insipid once he married Amy. I do love Jo's Mr Baer too though: pity she couldn't have a threesome and forget boring princess Amy. AND Dan should have been able to snog Amy's daughter, at the very least.

Slight diversion there - shuffles out.

Totally agree janeite - and why bother with Meg's kids when they're so dull like their mother? Loved Nan though

Oh yes, Nan is great. And right not to fall for Tommy. Dan is the man for me though!

My culled list would be

Nina
Betty
Maude
Peggy/ Peg

Hector
Ted
Wilfred
Percy

i do know an Ernest and his mother used to say she wished she'd never called him that as he felt he had to live up to the name.

Girls:
Decca - hadn't heard of the Mitford sisters so I'm seeing it for the first time and to me it sounds masculine and made-up
Clover - pretty but does make me me think of cows and butter
Edie - not for me, but would only use as nn, short for Edith
Nina - don't like this
Betty/Betsy - pretty but again only as a nn. I know a little Bette and like it much better spelt like this for some reason
Maude - I think it's an ugly name
Clementine - beautiful, DC2 would have been this had he not been a DS
Mirabelle - don't like, agree with previous poster that it sounds a bit 'Disney princess', also Mama Mirabel's Home Movie's springs to mind
Peggy - Mitchell. Don't mind as nn for Margot/Margaux though. Know an 8 year old Margaux who is very cool and really suits this name.
Dot - horrible
Dolly/Dorothy - like Dolly as a nn, but not Dorothy. Much prefer Dorothea.

Boys:
Hector - quite like
Ted - like as nn for Edward but quite common
Wilfred - really like this, and Wilf as nn
Percy - no
Rex - good name for a dog
Ernest - love this, and Ernie for nn although does make me think of Benny Hill and the Fastest Milkman in the West but quite a few years ago now so wouldn't be an issue with his peers.
Frank - not keen, not sure why though
Laurie - sounds a bit feminine. Not keen at all

Nina or Frank - don't like any of the others, really

Both my DSs' names are on your list for boys. And my fave that I wasn't allowed to have for DS2 coz it was too canine - Rex. So I have to say it's a tasteful and classy list! I also fancied Clement (Clem) for a boy.

Several of the girl options were on my list too - love Clementine, Maud (without the 'e') and quite like Edie, but not keen on Edith. Elsie was a fave of mine too.

I like:
Nina
Clementine
Mirabelle
Laurie - prefer Laurence, with NN Laurie as I think he may outgrow that - perhaps a bit too girly?

Girls :
Decca - NO
Nina - NO
Clover - JUST NO!
Betty/Betsy - No, Blue Rinse
Maude - Way too old
Mirabelle- sounds like a resort
Peggy- Michell from Eastenders
Dot - Cotton from Eastenders
Dolly/Dorothy - Wizard of Oz

Girls Names I prefer from your list...
Clementine - (Clemmie) nice
Edie - possible??

Boys :
Percy - The Park Keeper, NO!
Hector Nah
Ted - Big Ted
Rex- Dog, NO
Ernest - NO
Frank - NO
Boys Names I prefer from your list...
Laurie - REALLY LOVE THIS NAME
Wilfred - would use Wilf

Good names.

From your boys list, I like Hector, Ted, Wildred and Frank best.

I really don't like Percy.

From the girls I like Peggy, Dorothy and Mirabelle.