See the results of this poll: Dorothy or Dorothea?
Respondents: 39 (This poll is closed)
- Dorothea Cecily Pearl: 19 (49%)
- Dorothy Cecelia Pearl: 20 (51%)
I adore [name]Dorothea[/name], but must admit I much prefer [name]Theodora[/name] (or even [name]Feodora[/name]). [name]Dorothy[/name] feels like the odd one out somehow.
([name]EDIT[/name]: Sorry, you’re probably not looking for more suggestions, but I’ll still give you some. Cristanta, [name]Eartha[/name], [name]Fiorella[/name], [name]Melora[/name], [name]Nerida[/name], [name]Oriana[/name], [name]Petronella[/name], [name]Raleigh[/name], [name]Rosalind[/name], [name]Rosamund[/name], [name]Tamar[/name], [name]Tierra[/name], [name]Varana[/name], [name]Waverly[/name], [name]Zorina[/name])
I voted for [name]Dorothy[/name]. [name]Dorothea[/name] to seems like it is trying too hard.
My vote is for [name]Dorothy[/name].
I love [name]Dorothea[/name] written, but I always feel sorta awkward saying it outloud.
[name]Hi[/name]!
I think they both have pros and cons, so I’m not really inclined to choose either over the other, you know?
[name]Dorothea[/name] is quite a mouthful (a tad difficult to say), but it has a feminine, theatrical charm that [name]Dorothy[/name] doesn’t possess. [name]Dorothy[/name], on the other hand, rolls right off the tongue (it’s easier to say), but it has a much more humdrum, stuffy feel for me.
One thing that could set [name]Dorothy[/name] over the edge is that it is a different end-sound for you, whereas [name]Dorothea[/name] has a similar end-sound to [name]Ambrosia[/name]. But, at the same time, if you use [name]Dorothea[/name], you get to use [name]Cecily[/name], which I find much more charming than [name]Cecilia[/name], personally.
See? I really can’t go either way…
Take care,
[name]Lemon[/name] 
To me, [name]Dorothy[/name] is spunkier, while [name]Dorothea[/name] is more romantic - since your children have romantic-sounding names with spunky nicknames, I’d go with [name]Dorothea[/name] nn [name]Dottie[/name]. If you use [name]Dorothea[/name], you could also have the [name]Dorothy[/name] nickname.
While I like [name]Dorothy[/name] better and the flow of [name]Dorothy[/name] [name]Cecilia[/name] over [name]Dorothea[/name] [name]Cecily[/name], I am changing my vote to [name]Dorothea[/name] for you, because it is more like [name]Ambrosia[/name]. I guess it depends on how much you want your kids’ names to match.
I’m with lemon that it’s hard to choose - pros and cons both ways:
[name]Dorothea[/name] is (of course) very similar to [name]Jasper[/name]'s middle [name]Theodore[/name] while [name]Dorothy[/name] with its different sound is a step further away. On the other hand, I prefer [name]Cecily[/name] to [name]Cecilia[/name] - but this is a middle name and won’t be used or said as often as the first name. [name]Dorothea[/name] is more romantic maybe/matches [name]Ambrosia[/name] in style but [name]Dorothy[/name] fits better with [name]Marigold[/name], I think.
[name]Dorothy[/name] is my current favourite for a girl. I just love it. It is traditional but is now fresh and spunky. I love the nickname [name]Dottie[/name] too.
I think [name]Dorothea[/name] is lovely, but I don’t like it’s similarity to [name]Ambrosia[/name]. If you used [name]Dorothy[/name], all your girls would have unique endings - [name]Ambrosia[/name], [name]Dorothy[/name] and [name]Marigold[/name]. I feel like [name]Marigold[/name] would be the odd one out if you used [name]Dorothea[/name].
My vote is with [name]Dorothy[/name] [name]Cecelia[/name] [name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Dorothea[/name] definately. I love how the thea ending softens it all. [name]Dorothy[/name] seems very ordinary and I always imagine [name]Dorothy[/name] as being more plain and a little run down whereas [name]Dorothea[/name] is a bit more noble and exotic.
Thank you all! Your opinions have really helped me to sort through my doubt. I think that we will be sticking with [name]Dorothea[/name] - it has that romantic edge which I like with [name]Ambrosia[/name] and [name]Marigold[/name], which I think [name]Dorothy[/name] might be lacking. Thank you again
[name]Dorothy[/name] is lighter and reminds me of ‘The [name]Wizard[/name] of [name]Oz[/name]’, which I love
[name]Dorothea[/name] sounds a heavier, so that it seems unlikely that she would use her full name but it does have a lovely old fashioned, artistic quality. I prefer [name]Cecily[/name] to [name]Cecilia[/name] so my vote has to go to [name]Dorothea[/name] [name]Cecily[/name] [name]Pearl[/name].
I voted for [name]Dorothea[/name]. For me, it just has that special something. It’s a little more youthful than [name]Dorothy[/name] in my opinion.
[name]Dorothea[/name] [name]Cecily[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] is just a perfect combination in my opinion! I love all of those names individually, and altogether its just beautiful.
I love your kids names Best of luck Twinkle .
[name]Dorothea[/name] is horrid (but so are Ambosia - which means food of the gods) and [name]Marigold[/name] - like a Greek goddess. [name]Dorothy[/name] is much cooler.
Thank you for giving your thoughts, Mummyto3 - it really helps to know that others agree with me!
And thank you so much for the compliments, Kaybee
Thank you for your opinion, Jakki. However, for future reference I might say that it is not very nice to insult a name which has already been picked ([name]Marigold[/name] - also, I am confused both as to how it sounds like a Greek goddess, and how that is a bad thing), and especially a name which has already been bestowed upon a child ([name]Ambrosia[/name]). It insults someone’s taste, and while it is of course not, it feels a little like a slight against the child. [name]Ambrosia[/name] is not to everyone’s taste, and I am aware that it is very unusual and perhaps clunky, but it is very special to us. It honours three people ([name]Amanda[/name], my best friend; [name]Amber[/name], my sister-in-law; and [name]Primrose[/name], my mother), and that family connection was essential to us, as [name]Ambrosia[/name] was adopted. I am also aware of the mythological connotations, and like them, as I studied Classics at University, and feel that it is a nice link. But I am very glad that not everyone likes the same names, because I wouldn’t want my children’s names to become hugely popular 
Twinkle!
[name]Glad[/name] you’ve reasserted your own confidence in [name]Dorothea[/name]!
Also, I just was curious - did you ever consider using [name]Cecily[/name] as a first name for one of the girls? I love it so, so much!
Take care!
[name]Lemon[/name]
We did consider [name]Cecily[/name] in place of [name]Marigold[/name], as we love it so much. However, we have a niece named [name]Cecelia[/name] who we see quite often, which put us off slightly as we wouldn’t want their names to be so similar. In the end, what decided us against it was that I am a compulsive nicknamer, and the temptation to call her [name]Silly[/name] would be too strong! I think [name]Silly[/name] would have been sweet within the family, but to have twins named [name]Dottie[/name] and [name]Silly[/name] … (I’m not sure if the word is used outside [name]England[/name], but certainly here ‘dotty’ is a colloquial term for someone who is a little mad!).
Thank you so much for all of your help and encouragement during our naming of the twins - you are just unfailingly polite and helpful and kind
We did consider [name]Cecily[/name] in place of [name]Marigold[/name], as we love it so much. However, we have a niece named [name]Cecelia[/name] who we see quite often, which put us off slightly as we wouldn’t want their names to be so similar. In the end, what decided us against it was that I am a compulsive nicknamer, and the temptation to call her [name]Silly[/name] would be too strong! I think [name]Silly[/name] would have been sweet within the family, but to have twins named [name]Dottie[/name] and [name]Silly[/name] … (I’m not sure if the word is used outside [name]England[/name], but certainly here ‘dotty’ is a colloquial term for someone who is a little mad!).
Thank you so much for all of your help and encouragement during our naming of the twins - you are just unfailingly polite and helpful and kind :)[/quote]
Ha! I’d not heard of that use of “dotty,” but [name]Dottie[/name] and [name]Silly[/name] would’ve been quite the pair then. Good call, mommy!
And, you don’t have to thank me for being polite, Twinkle, but thank you for saying so. I really think that’s how we should all behave on Nameberry, but I’m sorry some others haven’t treated you with the most respect. It’s truly unfortunate.
When are the girls due again?
PS Where did [name]Imelda[/name] come from, again? It always makes me think of Elphaba in “Wicked.” Ha!
[name]July[/name] 3rd, although that date doesn’t take into consideration that they are multiples - our doctor said any time from [name]June[/name] 15th onwards was more probable. [name]Raffy[/name] was a week before his due date, although I actually don’t know if that means other children are likely to be early, as well. Hmm, a question for our next visit!
I love that musical! And you were spot on with your comment on our other thread that it reminded you of “I’m melting!” - those are my thoughts, too
[name]Imelda[/name] is DH’s favourite name (alongside [name]Maggie[/name] and [name]Dorothea[/name], which are our joint favourites, and of course [name]Ambrosia[/name], for sentimental reasons). He is bizarrely against influencing my decision by mentioning his own favourites, unless I bring them up (like I could be influenced!), but I noticed how he mentions it almost every time a girl needs naming - when we adopted [name]Ambrosia[/name], before we knew [name]Raffy[/name]‘s gender, when my sister-in-law announced that she would name her first daughter [name]Claudia[/name], even when his parents’ puppies need naming (they breed dogs). So I said I was considering it, and he was so enthusiastic! So I wanted to include it for him, especially as he lets me have so much control of the naming process. And I’m growing to love it, too, melting and all!