Alice or Elizabeth or ... something else?

Girl Names
1

A long time ago, my husband and I decided that we would have two children. The names we decided on were [name_m]William[/name_m] and [name_m]Henry[/name_m] for two boys and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] for two girls and [name_m]William[/name_m] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] for a boy and a girl.

We have our [name_m]William[/name_m] who is now 18 months old and we are expecting a baby girl in [name_u]March[/name_u] next year. I thought we had settled on [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], but my husband now says that he prefers [name_f]Alice[/name_f].

Sooooo… I am looking for advice - do people prefer [name_f]Alice[/name_f] or [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]? Or should we ditch both and go with something else (we like classic names, obviously)? Or is there a way to combine both names? Or should we simply go for [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] or [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_f]Alice[/name_f]? I don’t know which is better.

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!

2

Hmm. [name_m]William[/name_m] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_m]William[/name_m] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] are both well matched. Which sounds better with your last name, is one deciding factor?

[name_f]Eliza[/name_f] might lie somewhere in between, as might [name_f]Elise[/name_f]. Or [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] nn [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] or [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f] nn Lissy / [name_f]Alice[/name_f] nn [name_u]Allie[/name_u] or [name_f]Alice[/name_f] nn Lissy.

Beside [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] as a combo, [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Beth[/name_f] as a combo kind of sounds like [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t necessarily recommend it as a double barrel, but it works as a combo.

3

All four of your names are really nice, and go well together.

Personally I prefer [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] to [name_f]Alice[/name_f], and I like the way you can make it your own with the huge variety of nicknames.

[name_f]Alice[/name_f] is also a very nice name though, so I don’t think you could go wrong with either. Could this be a wait and see what she looks like situation perhaps?

4

[name_f]Alice[/name_f]! [name_m]William[/name_m] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] sound great together.

5

I prefer [name_f]Alice[/name_f], and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] flows nicely as a compromise.

6

I much prefer [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], but also consider [name_f]Victoria[/name_f], [name_f]Allegra[/name_f], [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], and [name_f]Jane[/name_f].

7

Congratulations, @eloise!

Excited for you!

[name_m]William[/name_m] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] is a better match than [name_m]William[/name_m] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f].

[name_m]Henry[/name_m] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is a better match than [name_m]Henry[/name_m] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f].

And as a foursome, they’d make a fantastic sibset.

Nameberry refers to all four names as “core classics” – the most classic of classic names in the United States.

Here’s their full list:

{b} [name_m]Albert[/name_m], [name_m]Alexander[/name_m], [name_m]Alfred[/name_m], [name_m]Allan[/name_m], [name_m]Andrew[/name_m], [name_m]Anthony[/name_m], [name_m]Arthur[/name_m], [name_m]Charles[/name_m], [name_m]Christopher[/name_m], [name_m]Daniel[/name_m], [name_m]David[/name_m], [name_m]Donald[/name_m], [name_u]Douglas[/name_u], [name_m]Edward[/name_m], [name_u]Francis[/name_u], [name_m]Frederick[/name_m], [name_m]George[/name_m], [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_m]John[/name_m], [name_m]Joseph[/name_m], [name_u]Lawrence[/name_u], [name_m]Louis[/name_m], [name_m]Martin[/name_m], [name_u]Michael[/name_u], [name_m]Nicholas[/name_m], [name_m]Patrick[/name_m], [name_m]Paul[/name_m], [name_m]Peter[/name_m], [name_m]Philip[/name_m], [name_m]Raymond[/name_m], [name_m]Richard[/name_m], [name_m]Robert[/name_m], [name_m]Stephen[/name_m], [name_m]Theodore[/name_m], [name_m]Thomas[/name_m], [name_m]Timothy[/name_m], [name_m]Victor[/name_m], [name_m]Vincent[/name_m], [name_m]Walter[/name_m], [name_m]William[/name_m]

{g} [name_f]Alice[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_f]Christina[/name_f], [name_f]Claire[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Emily[/name_f], [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Frances[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Helen[/name_f], [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], [name_f]Julia[/name_f], [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], [name_f]Laura[/name_f], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Theresa[/name_f], [name_f]Victoria[/name_f], [name_f]Virginia[/name_f]

8

Personally, I much prefer [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] to [name_f]Alice[/name_f]. I also think it matches [name_m]William[/name_m] better.

9

[name_f]Alice[/name_f] is my favorite! I love all your names, though!

10

My own personal preference would be [name_f]Alice[/name_f]. However, you definitely can’t go wrong with either choice, and they both are excellent matches for [name_m]William[/name_m]. Are you inclined towards nicknames? If so, then I’d choose [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] for the wide variety of great nicknames. If not, I’d choose [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]. Good luck!

11

[name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] sounds more youthful and vibrant to my ears. I’m not a fan of [name_f]Alice[/name_f], sorry.

12

I would suggest [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] because it’s a name I prefer in general and I don’t like [name_f]Alice[/name_f] for personal reasons! But I think if your husband and you can’t agree on either names then maybe you should pick something else classical.
[name_m]How[/name_m] about:
[name_f]Constance[/name_f]
[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]
[name_f]Audrey[/name_f]
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f]
[name_f]Cassandra[/name_f]
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]
[name_f]Rebecca[/name_f]
[name_f]Chloe[/name_f]

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] I helped!

13

I prefer [name_f]Alice[/name_f], if she wants a more modern feel it can be shorted to [name_f]Ally[/name_f]/[name_u]Allie[/name_u] which is very cute as well.
[name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] is nice together and goes perfectly with [name_m]William[/name_m].

14

Thanks very much for your input everyone.

We think that we are going to choose [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] (middle name will be [name_f]Violet[/name_f] as it was the name of my great-grandmother).

[name_m]Even[/name_m] though we both like both names, I prefer [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and my hubby prefers [name_f]Alice[/name_f]. It is so funny the associations that you have with names and the way it makes you feel.

For my husband, he feels [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is a light-hearted, innocent, sweet name; for me, it is a little bit frumpy and wallflower-ish (not that there is anything wrong with being a wallflower. I’m a wallflower!). I think my main problem with [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is that it reminds me of the maid in the [name_u]Brady[/name_u] Bunch! Whereas my husband never watched that show, so he doesn’t have that association.

For me, [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] is the absolute premier girls name! It is beautiful, powerful and feminine. For my husband, he also thinks [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] is powerful, but also a little bit stern and cold (I think he is thinking about [name_f]Queen[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] II).

Anyway, we will be calling her [name_f]Bess[/name_f] or [name_f]Bessie[/name_f], which my husband really likes because these names sound more sweet and light-hearted which is what he likes in a girl’s name!