I am stuck on finding a name for a certain character. It is rather strange since I have not even decided what she will be like, but I go through name after name and I know that none is “the one” for this girl. She is an ordinary English girl in the prime of childhood, perhaps about twelve years old, who lives in the countryside. I would like her to have a classic name, but not denoting to a specific era; a name which is ordinary without being mega-popular for a girl of her age; not too classy or frilly or grand but not too plain; and I would like it to be feminine at the same time as evoking a rough-and-tumble-British-countryside sort of feel. I have considered [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f], [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] and [name_f]Clover[/name_f], but neither of them is quite right for this character. I thought of [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] because I associate it with a friend of mine who has exactly the same lifestyle as this character has, but I can’t separate the name from my friend’s face, so it doesn’t exactly work. [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] to me is too pseudo-vintage-more-popular-in-the-twenty-first-century-than-it-has-ever-been-before, and I love the name [name_f]Clover[/name_f] so much that I can’t give it to a story character; I want to wait and see if I can give it to a daughter in the future. I also thought of the name [name_f]Flora[/name_f], but I have decided to give it to this character’s sister instead.
I would like to rule out names beginning with J, L, X, Y and Z.
I’ve come to a blank and would be very pleased to have some suggestions!
The first name that popped into mind was [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f]. If [name_f]Clover[/name_f] is out, how do you feel about [name_u]Clove[/name_u]?
Here are some more:
[name_f]Romilly[/name_f]
[name_f]Mabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]
[name_f]Elise[/name_f]
[name_f]Meadow[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophie[/name_f]
[name_f]Evie[/name_f]
[name_f]Eugenia[/name_f]
[name_f]Lillian[/name_f]
[name_f]Helena[/name_f]
[name_f]Augusta[/name_f]
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosaline[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f]
[name_f]Viola[/name_f]
[name_f]Olive[/name_f]
[name_f]Tabitha[/name_f]
[name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]
[name_f]Annabella[/name_f]
[name_f]Darla[/name_f]
[name_f]Lisbeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Sybil[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosaleen[/name_f]
[name_f]Magdalena[/name_f]
[name_f]Dolores[/name_f] “[name_f]Dolly[/name_f]”
[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Mirabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosalind[/name_f]
Thank you so much for your rapid response and great suggestions! I’ll be thinking about all the names and building on the character in my head, and trying them all on her in turn. [name_u]Clove[/name_u] is lovely but is not quite the style for this character, and [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the colours (I’m synesthetic and I think of the name [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] as being dark slate-blue and golden, which I’m beginning to see doesn’t suit this character), but [name_f]Sophy[/name_f] is a strong contender. [name_f]Sybil[/name_f] and [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f] have the right feel and are names I love, but they are not quite ordinary enough for a child born around 2002 or 2003.
[name_f]Poppy[/name_f]
[name_f]Elspeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Lola[/name_f]
[name_u]Padget[/name_u]
[name_f]Kirsten[/name_f]
[name_f]Alison[/name_f]
[name_f]Taryn[/name_f]
[name_f]Ursula[/name_f]
[name_f]Orla[/name_f]
[name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]
[name_f]Violette[/name_f]
[name_f]Bonnie[/name_f]
I’m going to call her [name_f]May[/name_f]. Thank you!