El- names... for a real baby!

Girl Names
1

We finally got a positive on [name_m]Saturday[/name_m]! We’re thrilled and not quite believing it yet :slight_smile:

I’ve been looking at names for years and we’ve picked a few out, but now that we’re naming a real live baby we just want to make absolutely certain we have the perfect names.

We’re still thinking about boys names, but if it’s a girl we definitely want an [name_f]El[/name_f]- name. We are honouring a recently deceased grandma who was very dear to us. Her name was [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f]. I don’t want to use [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f] exactly, and I’m not into [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] (for some unknown reason - it fits perfectly into my usual style!) [name_f]Beth[/name_f] variants are out too - my husband dated a [name_f]Bethany[/name_f] before he met me and it’s too weird for me.

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] was our perfect choice, and maybe still is. I love the sound of it, and the meaning ‘shining light’, and it’s a bonus honour name for [name_m]Alan[/name_m], another relative. Plus we can use the nickname [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]! We’re big nicknamers - it’s cultural - so this is important to us.

But we’ve been considering a few others to make sure;
[name_f]Elena[/name_f] - the most similar to [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], and has a similar meaning
[name_u]Eloise[/name_u] - we like this, but don’t like the meaning ‘wide’
[name_f]Eliora[/name_f] - [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] the meaning, but I’m not 100% on the sound of it
[name_f]Elora[/name_f] - I might like this better, but is it too similar to [name_f]Laura[/name_f]? There is a [name_f]Laura[/name_f] in our immediate family, but we wouldn’t be naming it after her.
[name_f]Elsie[/name_f] - we like this, and it’s even closer to [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f], but it sounds very nicknamey already and we can’t think of a full name for it that we like.

Thoughts? Any other ideas? My husband is more picky than me - he doesn’t like anything ‘that sounds like it’s made up’ which apparently includes [name_f]Elodie[/name_f] & [name_f]Elowen[/name_f]. It’s a shame - I love [name_f]Elodie[/name_f] particularly.

2

I love [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]!
It’s sweet but strong, has great nicknames and fits any age.

3

Thanks @aleerakate! We may still use [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] yet!

4

My favorites are [name_f]Eliora[/name_f] and [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. [name_f]Eliora[/name_f] is just so pretty and charming. Definitely a beautiful choice. I’ve always loved the classic feel of [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. Both are great choices. Have you thought of [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f]?

5

Congratulations on your pregnancy! :slight_smile:

And lucky you, having so many options for honour names! There are so many [name_f]El[/name_f]- names. I think any name starting with or containing “el” could get you to [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] as a nickname if you like.

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is absolutely gorgeous, so elegant and regal, and would be my pick too. It has a lot of great namesakes, from [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] of [name_f]Aquitaine[/name_f] to [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_u]Austen[/name_u]'s [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] Tilney to [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_m]Roosevelt[/name_m], etc.

[name_f]Elena[/name_f] is a lovely name, and very versatile/international. There are a lot of pronunciations though- I’ve heard ell-in-ah (like [name_f]Ellen[/name_f] with “ah” at the end), uh-lay-nah (like [name_f]Alaina[/name_f]), etc.

[name_u]Eloise[/name_u] doesn’t feel quite as classic, and it’s not my personal favourite, but it could be a lovely choice for you too. I wouldn’t worry about the meaning- it’s not going to define or affect your daughter as a person, and most people wouldn’t know the literal meaning of her name anyways!

A nice meaning is a plus, but you’ll be saying/hearing the sound of the name a lot more than you’ll be thinking about the meaning! So if you don’t like the sound of [name_f]Eliora[/name_f], I would take it off the list.

[name_f]Elora[/name_f] is very sweet, and doesn’t sound too much like [name_f]Laura[/name_f] to me. The E at the beginning is a strong and distinctive enough sound to distinguish the two for me. And if she’s going to be called [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] or another nickname anyways, it won’t be an issue at all.

Some people don’t like nicknamey-sounding names as full names (myself included), but if you did want to use just [name_f]Elsie[/name_f], it wouldn’t be considered too weird. [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] is #73 in Australia, making it about as common as a full name for babies as [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] or [name_f]Paige[/name_f].

What about [name_f]Elisabetta[/name_f]? It has not just the [name_f]El[/name_f]- beginning but the “bet” part from [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f]. You could use [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] as a nickname. I also like [name_f]Elsa[/name_f] for you, if you don’t mind the Frozen connection- it has similar sounds to [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f] and is familiar but not popular.

Other [name_f]El[/name_f]- names:
[name_f]Elise[/name_f]
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f] (too nicknamey?)
[name_f]Elyssa[/name_f]
[name_f]Elysia[/name_f]
[name_f]Elaine[/name_f]
[name_f]Estelle[/name_f]/[name_f]Estella[/name_f]
Elestren (too unusual? It’s Cornish, pronounced uh-LESS-tren.)

Here is a list of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] variants: Meaning, origin and history of the name Elizabeth - Behind the Name. Some contain the “el” and some don’t, like [name_f]Lise[/name_f], but I think any [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] variant could honour an [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f], since they’re versions of the same name.

6

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] sounds like the perfect choice, and is my favourite of those you listed. I love [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] too, but I would use it as a short form for [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. I also love [name_f]Ellen[/name_f] and [name_f]Elodie[/name_f].

7

I really like [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]! The only other [name_f]El[/name_f]- names I really like are [name_f]Elise[/name_f] and [name_f]Eliana[/name_f] ([name_f]Ellie[/name_f]-Awn-ah)

8

I like [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] (classic, sophisticated), [name_f]Elena[/name_f] (lovely), and [name_f]Elora[/name_f] (unconventional). What about [name_f]Eliana[/name_f]? Or [name_f]Elina[/name_f]?

9

I have to throw [name_f]Eluned[/name_f] in there as a suggestion, I love that name!

10

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] are lovely!
Maybe:
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
[name_f]Elise[/name_f]
[name_f]Eliana[/name_f]
[name_f]Elara[/name_f]

11

I really like [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] and I don’t think it sounds too nickname-y, but you can always use [name_f]Elsa[/name_f] or [name_f]Elisa[/name_f] “[name_f]Elsie[/name_f]”.

12

Wow, thanks for all the feedback everyone!

@saintdollface, I thought about it but it kind of feels like we’re just using [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f] but we don’t know how to spell her name? Although I do prefer the [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f] spelling.

@bonfireazalea, thanks for such comprehensive feedback! I think I might add [name_f]Elaine[/name_f] & [name_f]Estelle[/name_f] to the list. I kind of want it to start with [name_f]El[/name_f]-, but [name_f]Estelle[/name_f] is so pretty I’ll make an exception :slight_smile:

@araminty, I was thinking about using the combo [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_f]Zoe[/name_f], and sometimes using the nickname [name_u]Elzie[/name_u] in addition to [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]. That’s almost [name_f]Elsie[/name_f]!

@rylane46, I tried [name_f]Elise[/name_f], but hubby wasn’t interested! I’ve never seen that pronunciation for [name_f]Eliana[/name_f] - in Australia it’s ell-i-[name_m]AH[/name_m]-na.

@silversky109, I might add [name_f]Elina[/name_f] to the list to try!

@elenacroatia, I didn’t think of [name_f]Eluned[/name_f]! I’ll add it to my list, but I suspect my husband won’t like it unfortunately :frowning:

@nooshi, thanks, I’ll try [name_f]Elara[/name_f]!

@handsallover, I did think about [name_f]Elsa[/name_f], but if we have two daughters the second will likely be [name_f]Annette[/name_f] ‘[name_f]Annie[/name_f]’. [name_f]Elsa[/name_f] & [name_f]Annie[/name_f] is a bit too Frozen! Perhaps [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] & [name_f]Annie[/name_f] is too, now that I think of it. Maybe I should stick to [name_f]Ellie[/name_f].

13

I love [name_f]El[/name_f] names, too! Our daughter is [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is the name we’re planning to give our new baby. ([name_f]Libby[/name_f] and [name_f]Nora[/name_f]).

From what you’ve said, [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] sounds really perfect for you. :slight_smile:

I adore [name_f]Elsie[/name_f]; it’s second to [name_f]Libby[/name_f] for me when it comes to [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] nicknames. If you don’t love [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], then I think [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f] is a great alternative - well, obviously, I guess, since [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] was originally a diminutive for this Scottish form of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]!

But - I agree that [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] and [name_f]Annie[/name_f], while super cute together, might be a bit too Frozen. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they went through a stage where they wanted to be called [name_f]Elsa[/name_f] and [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-na. Argh! :wink:

14

From your list, my favorite option is [name_u]Eloise[/name_u], but I also like [name_f]Elena[/name_f] and [name_f]Elsie[/name_f]. I don’t think [name_f]Elora[/name_f] is too similar to [name_f]Laura[/name_f].

For a FN for NN [name_f]Elsie[/name_f], you could also do a FN/MN combo to create the sound… like [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f], [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] [name_f]Seraphine[/name_f], etc.

A few more [name_f]El[/name_f]- name options:

[name_f]Elin[/name_f] (EE-lyn)
[name_f]Eleanora[/name_f]
[name_f]Ella[/name_f]/[name_f]Elle[/name_f]
Ellabeth
[name_u]Ellison[/name_u]
[name_u]Elliot[/name_u]

15

[name_f]Elma[/name_f]
[name_f]Elise[/name_f]
[name_f]Eleanora[/name_f]
[name_f]Elva[/name_f]
[name_f]Elysia[/name_f]

16

Congratulations! I didn’t read through all of the posts, but my favourites [name_f]El[/name_f]- names are [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f]/[name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], and [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] (my favourite of the 4).