We are expecting a little girl this spring! We quickly closed in on a favorite combo, but I didn’t want to miss the chance to tap the creativity of the Nameberry community 
I would love to see what you all come up with!
I tend to be partial toward more “literary” names - rich but not frilly. My all-time favorite name is [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] (I love its rich etymology and history, and to me it evokes a snowy image). I also love [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] and [name_f]Matilda[/name_f].
My husband leans toward names that you could call “spunky” and “energetic.” His all-time favorite name is [name_f]Petra[/name_f]; he also really likes short-and-sweet, down-to-earth names like [name_f]Tess[/name_f].
We are both fans of nature names, especially in the middle. Favorites include [name_f]Ivy[/name_f], [name_u]Juniper[/name_u], [name_f]Willow[/name_f], and [name_f]Laurel[/name_f] (a variation of my own name).
Finally, there are a few family names we would be very glad to use. The most important to me is [name_f]Grace[/name_f] (my mother’s middle name) - it doesn’t work as a first with my husband’s last name but it would be wonderful to be able to use as a middle. Other beautifully-named, admirable women in our family include [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] (my grandmother), [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] (my husband’s grandmother - I’d use the nickname “[name_f]Nell[/name_f]”), and [name_u]Simone[/name_u] (my great aunt).
In all, we’d love to strike a balance between spunky/outdoorsy and reflective/intellectual - imagine a girl who hikes to the top of a mountain and then pulls out a book
What combinations would you choose? And what other suggestions would you add?
And [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] [name_u]Simone[/name_u] has an especially nice rhythm to it. I agree with you that [name_f]Nell[/name_f] works well in its own right and evokes a very similar feeling to [name_f]Tess[/name_f]!