Girl names - again!

[tex111]

I'm expecting a baby girl and have started putting together a list of possible names. Unfortunately, nothing is really jumping out at me right now and I would love some input from all you Mumsnetters!

We tend to like quite traditional names - Beatrice and Maud are on our list - but I'm open to anything as long as it isn't too popular or trendy. Can you guys help me?!

MandM, it's funny though because Marlowe/Marlo was on our list for a while and we would've shortened it to Marly!

These may have already appeared, but I think Agnes, Edith and Lydia are old-fashioned without being too wenchy...

I love the American sounding names. Would have Harris or Cole for a boy - but that's another thread!

Tex11 - OMG My ds is called Toby too!! You have great taste.

We call dd Beth.... but I like Libby as a shortened version.

GhostofNatt, I really liked Lydia and it's my great-grandmother's middle name but when I mentioned it my sister piped up with 'Lydia Chlamydia (sp?)' which put me right off. Amazing how such a little thing can totally change my view of a name!

QueenFlounce - great minds think alike! I like Libby too. DH not so keen. He likes Betty which is cute but I'm not so sure about it.

florence (flo / floss / florrie for short)
martha (love that name)
mathilde

It's funny how that can ruin a name for you, Tex. I gave up telling people what I was thinking of because someone would always say "oh, that was the name of a really smelly dog we had when I was a kid..."

My grandma is Josephine, and my mums middle name is Olga. My middle name is Justine which i don't hear that much. I love Betty

GofN, that is so true. I remember one friend trying to decide on a name for her DD and her husband would come out with the funniest descriptions that would totally ruin the name. One I remember clearly was Roxie to which he replied - prostitute!

Oh,Mathilde is lovely and lots of good shortenings. The names that are hopelessly overdone where we live (tho maybe not in Texas) are: eva/ava
any variant on millie/mollie/maisie/amelia
ella/ellie
maya/maia
What about Persephone, could shorten to Percy...runs away quickly....

Now Josephine is nice and Joey very cute for a little girl... (must do some work...)

I would never tell RL people my name choices either. We didn't with dd and we won't be doing when I eventually get pregnant again. Family and friends will always have an opinion, and often a negative one if you tell them your choices before birth. Afterwards, they are just so in love with the baby, they just accept the name whatever it may be.

Except my Grandma, who, when I was born told all her family and friends for a month, that my mum hadn't decided on a name for me as she was so embarrassed by my mum's 'modern' choice!

GofN, I have friends who have used almost every name you've mentioned. They are very popular. Intrested to hear that Millie/Amelia are so popular. They're on our list but I wouldn't want to choose a name that five other girls in her class might have as well.

tex111 - Lizzie is a nice way to shorten Elizabeth.

A friend of mine called her daughter amelia and said sadly that when she went to a school fete the other day, everyone was calling out "amelia, amelia" and running after small girls. But it may just be a London thing, tex.

MandM, you are so right but I did mention the name Maud when we were in Texas. I knew it might be especially contentious so I thought I would try it out. Very bad reactions all around. My mother would definitey be the type to be embarrassed by a name and I can even imagine her calling the baby something else if she really hated my choice. In fact, she already refers to the baby as 'Elizabeth'!

GofN, we'll be in Blackheath so I'm sure that applies.

My favourite girls name is Elsie,

we were going to call our baby it and bought her clothes and decorated her room and everything.....

and then went and had a boy!!!!!!!!

(the moral of the story is dont trust 20 week scans to determine the sex of the baby LOL)

Message withdrawn

Lizzie is a good shortening of Elizabeth but so is Libby. How about Veronica shortened to Ronnie - I love that!

Amelia, Lois, Isabella, Chloe, Maisie, Daisy, Molly, Matilda, Lydia, all pretty and all VERY SE3 at the mo Tex111.
Ahem, if you want your dd to stand out in Blackheath I recommend something either seriously plain like Susan or Jane, or something likely to be perceived as dead common in those parts...

Tex lol at your mum calling the baby Elizabeth, my Mum wanted to call me Deboroah Leigh when I was born but my dad came to the hospital and said I looked too much of a bruiser and called me Tracey Anne instead, but strangely they both call me Lucy when wherever they are referring to me or trying to get my attention!

So if I have a girl I might as well just call her Lucy to save any confusion as that's what they are bound to call her too!

By the way love your son's name Tex, good choice! I like Sally as well, my dh's cousin is called Sarah but is always referred to as Sally.

Still if you do call the baby Maud and we're in the Pru at the same time then your identity will definitely be blown after all these months of using a computer name!!!

Damn this list, so far it's wiped out 3 of my favourite names Isabel(la) & Amelia, back to the drawing board for me too!

lol Marina, you've got to be a local girl

I like Alethea. If you're looking for an old name, what about the Quaker ones? Temperance, Prudence, Charity, Constance, Capability, etc.