Need traditional/classic girls' names, but am very picky!

[Lorelai]

Hi

I'm only 9 weeks, but I like to plan ahead DH and I have a boy's name we like, but are struggling with girl's names (well, I am anyway!). I like names that are very traditional but classic (timeless rather than old-fashioned) - boring some might say but that have good (and unusual) nicknames, oh, and nothing too girly!

To give you an idea, here are some names that I either like but can't use, or don't like, or am considering but am not sure of:

Elizabeth (DD's name - love it - something like this ideally)
Kathryn (my mum, and same first initial as me, not sure I want to use it)
Rebecca (like it, but one of my cousins used it, plus I don't like the nicknames)
Charlotte (too girly)
Anne (love it, but doesn't sound good with our surname)
Margaret (am considering it because I love the nicknames, but a bit old-fashioned possibly)

Any other ideas? I don't want to decide just yet, but want to get a shortlist in my head that I can mull over whenever I am bored at work I have some free time. If it helps, the boy's name we like is William Thomas (to be known as Billy - I have to plan nicknames too!)

Jane

Louisa - can call her Lola, Lulu, Lou
Harriet - Hattie
Caroline - Carrie
Frances
Hannah
Victoria - I don't like Vicky but maybe you could find a better nickname
Rose
Eve/Evelyn/Eva
Claire
Eleanor - Elsa, Nora, Ellie
Lucy

Some great ideas, thanks!

Jane is nice, and might use it as a middle name, but same problem with Anne - our surname is one syllable and ends with ne so doesn't sound good.

Louisa - possibly, hadn't considered that
Harriet - maybe, but something is putting me off it, not sure what
Caroline - Carrie - Carrie is waaaaay too close to my name
Frances - bad connotations with someone at church
Hannah - like it, but doesn't work with surname
Victoria - my best friend's name, so might use as a middle name, but too 'girly' for a first name
Rose - like it, but worried it would turn into Rosie, which I am not so keen on
Eve/Evelyn/Eva - maybe
Claire - my cousin's name, otherwise it would be a maybe
Eleanor - another one I hadn't thought of - may add it to a shortlist!
Lucy - maybe...

I am really picky I know - and it doesn't help that I want to avoid family names.

Mary-I love this name

Louise

Katherine

Rose - i know you said you didn't like rosie but my dd is a Rose and in all her 18yrs has never been called rosie

Helena

Joy

Maude

Beatrice

Chloe

Emma? Not sure about nicknames though.

sophie ,

Joanna
Miriam
Louisa
Caroline
Dorothy

Ruth
Emily
Rachael

Alexandra
Antonia
Phillippa
Susan/ Susannah

Sarah/Sara?

Mary is DD's middle name

Interesting that you say your Rose has never been Rosie - might keep that one on a backburner.

Helen/Helena I do like, but there are surname issues.

Emma is nice - what do people think about having siblings with the same first initial - does it cause problems?

Sophie - is this quite a popular name at the moment? Want to try and avoid names that are used a lot (although Elizabeth is popular, DD is always known as Beth which is less common)

What do people think of Margaret, nickname Daisy? I keep getting drawn to it, and DH likes it, but something is putting me off it.

I didn't know Daisy was a nickname for Margaret, but I do love the name. Love 'Maggie' as a nickname, too.

Olivia? Grace?

MY mum is Margaret nickname Rea , don't know where that came from.

I like Daisy and Margaret , may be a bit confusing at school.

Wow - loads more replies

I had thought about Miriam, but not sure if it is too old-fashioned/uncommon - any thoughts? I do like the idea of using biblical names to carry on a theme with DD - Ruth would also work with this.

Emily I can't use for very complicated reasons, but I do like it. Sarah is similar - DH's ex best friend's name; I love it though.

Susan is nice, I do know someone with that name; does anyone else worry about using the name of aquaintances in case they think you have named the baby after them/copied their name?

I like both Ruth and Miriam. Ruth makes me think of 'Swallows and Amazons' .

Daisy is quite an old-fashioned nickname for Margaret (common at the end of the 19th century/beginning of the 20th) - I think it comes from the fact that another name for a daisy is a marguerite (in terms of the flowers I mean!)

Ah yes, the Margaret/Daisy link makes sense now you say that!

Laura
Stella
Nicole
Josephine
Romilly
Jemima

So people don't think Margaret is too old-fashioned? I quite like the idea of using it as it is a family name (my Dad comes from a small village in Pembrokeshire, and it seems every relative he has there for about 3 generations is Margaret!) Full name would be Margaret Jane, nn Daisy.

My grandmother was a Margaret (also from Pembrokeshire!), which might be why I like it.

Ooooh, Laura - I like that!

Josephine is nice - if I have twins I could use that and Margaret and be three-quarters of the way to the full set of Little Women

Jemima may make the short-list too...

Not from Neyland was she Jackie?

(well, technically she was Freda Margaret, but it was part of her name, and my cousin has named one of her children Margaret, abbreviated to 'Maggie').

No, not from Neyland .