Looking for opinions, arguments, and suggestions!
I’m not quite sure how to define this group of names in my head- they are the ones that are ‘warmer’ than, say, [name]Ingrid[/name] (which is elegant, I think, and I love, but can seem a bit distant), more solid than [name]Ginevra[/name], [name]Clemency[/name], and [name]Amabel[/name] (all of which I also love, but might be a bit too whimsical), but not as solid as, for example, [name]Helen[/name], [name]Frances[/name], and [name]Maud[/name].
These are ones which I think fit that middle ground- warmer than just elegant, lovely but not too whimsical:
[name]Diana[/name], [name]Marion[/name], [name]Cecilia[/name], [name]Adele[/name], [name]Juliet[/name] (and most of the time, I put [name]Margaret[/name] here).
On the distantly elegant side:
[name]Ingrid[/name], [name]Leonor[/name], [name]Delphine[/name], [name]Ines[/name], [name]Damaris[/name], [name]Estelle[/name], [name]Constance[/name].
Maybe too solidly classic:
[name]Helen[/name], [name]Frances[/name], [name]Maud[/name], [name]Carole[/name], [name]Joan[/name], [name]Barbara[/name], [name]Ellen[/name], [name]Roberta[/name].
Too much whimsy?:
[name]Ginevra[/name], [name]Beatrix[/name], [name]Amabel[/name], [name]Zuleika[/name], [name]Halcyon[/name], [name]Christabel[/name], [name]Marilla[/name], [name]Phaedra[/name].
I’m definitely looking for more names in that middle-ground category, and would love to hear your suggestions!
I also have a large pile of names I love that sort of rotate through these categories in my head-- where would you put: [name]Harriet[/name], [name]Artemis[/name], [name]Rosamond[/name], [name]Margot[/name], [name]Margery[/name], [name]Petra[/name], [name]Winifred[/name], [name]Aphra[/name], [name]Francine[/name], [name]Georgette[/name], [name]Sibyl[/name], [name]Mavis[/name], or [name]Pascale[/name]?
…should add that usually I would refuse to admit that there is such a thing as too much whimsy. But if I had a daughter who wanted to be a mechanic, or accountant, or medical researcher or somesuch, she might not appreciate her editor mother’s taste 