[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there! My husband and I are expecting our first child in [name_u]July[/name_u], and I’d love your thoughts and ideas for her name. Our last name starts with S, two syllables, ends with “up”. I would love a name for our girl that is classic but not overly popular (the line for “overly popular” is negotiable), feminine, strong, and maybe a little spunky.
Her middle name will likely be [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], a family name (particularly after a baby girl born stillborn who would have been my husband’s sister.)
Our top contenders for a first name thus far are:
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Others I like: [name_f]Siena[/name_f], [name_f]Helena[/name_f], [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f], [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f], [name_f]Isla[/name_f], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], [name_f]Fiona[/name_f].
One last thought. The other day I reached down, touched my bump, and said, “I think your name starts with an R!” No idea where that came from, and I haven’t thought of an R name I like (not a fan of [name_f]Ruth[/name_f], [name_u]Ruby[/name_u], or [name_f]Rachel[/name_f].) If you have ideas that fit my style, I’d love to hear them.
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f] is my favorite of the names you listed! I like that it’s vintage, strong, yet not as much of an “old lady” name (to me, anyways, I know there are others whose opinions differ!) than [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] or some of the other suggestions. [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] would be a good choice if naming your daughter after a relative is very important to you.
[name_f]Leona[/name_f] isn’t bad, but [name_f]Leonora[/name_f] is my second favorite of your names. It’s more out-there, but still recognizable.
As far as R names go, the only ones I can think of that I think might fit your style would be either [name_f]Regina[/name_f] or [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f].
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps! Congratulations!
I love the charming, spunky, beautiful [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] [name_f]Caroline[/name_f]. [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is my next choice, although personally I would prefer [name_f]Nora[/name_f] [name_f]Caroline[/name_f]. [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f] [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] would be my third choice. All lovely combos.
For R names, do you like any [name_f]Rose[/name_f] names, like [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f], [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f], or [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]? There’s also [name_f]Romilly[/name_f].
I love [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] and [name_f]Leona[/name_f] the best. I think they’re both really spunky with a fresh sound. [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] is a little more “classic” and safe, but really cute and fun. [name_f]Leona[/name_f] is more daring, but it’s gorgeous, elegant, and I think she’d receive a lot of compliments throughout her life. Also love the meaning. [name_f]Lea[/name_f] is a super cute nickname and definitely works! [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] and [name_f]Leona[/name_f] both go well with [name_f]Caroline[/name_f].
I like [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] in general (it’s a family name for me as well), but I do think the name is a little dated and stuffy in 2017. I knew a girl with this name and she only went by [name_f]Ella[/name_f]. It’s a good, solid name, just feels a bit…old for a kid. As for [name_f]Felicity[/name_f], I’m not personally a fan. It reminds me too much of the American Girl [name_m]Doll[/name_m] I think.
[name_f]Leonora[/name_f] is a good option. I actually know someone named [name_f]Lenora[/name_f], and I always loved her name. She’s an artist and it fits her well. I kind of like how “clean” the [name_f]Lenora[/name_f] spelling is. Although my brother once pointed out that it sounded like “the nora” in [name_m]French[/name_m], so that tainted it for me a little bit. Still a lovely name!
For the record, I love [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] from your “others” list. Regarding “R” names, what about [name_f]Renee[/name_f]? [name_f]Rhea[/name_f]/Reya? [name_f]Rowena[/name_f]? [name_f]Rania[/name_f]? [name_u]Rowan[/name_u]/[name_u]Rowen[/name_u]?
Overall my vote goes equally to [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] and [name_f]Leona[/name_f] :).
I love [name_f]Leona[/name_f], [name_f]Leonora[/name_f], and [name_f]Felicity[/name_f], although I kind of agree with you that [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] feels like more of a “little sister” name. If [name_f]Leonora[/name_f] feels like a mouthful, maybe you’d like [name_f]Leora[/name_f] or [name_f]Lenore[/name_f]?
But overall, based on your description of each name, [name_f]Leona[/name_f] gets my vote. I think it’s just the right balance of familiar and unusual, and really fun to say. I can absolutely picture it on a child because of the little lion character from that PBS show “Between the Lions” (probably not an association most people have, but there you are.) But at the same time, I agree that it also works great on an adult—it sounds like the name of both a cute little girl and a driven career woman to me.
[name_u]Love[/name_u] the classic [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] & the slightly spunkier [name_f]Leona[/name_f]. As one of the PP’s said, I think the way you described [name_f]Leona[/name_f] really made it stand out more as the front-runner. I think its absolutely lovely and fits any age - try not to overthink it too much, it’ll make it harder to say you really love a name
If you looking for compromising names - do you like [name_f]Elena[/name_f] at all?
P.S. sweet username
I really love your names. I can see how you’re torn between them. [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] has long been one of my favourites too, and I also love [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] and [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]. I think [name_f]Leonora[/name_f] is fabulous, and has lots of nickname options: [name_f]Lea[/name_f], [name_m]Lenni[/name_m], [name_f]Lena[/name_f], [name_f]Nora[/name_f], Noni, [name_f]Lora[/name_f], [name_f]Lori[/name_f], [name_u]Lee[/name_u], [name_m]Leo[/name_m]. There’s also [name_f]Leonor/name_f which is a name used in some of the European royal families - Spain is one of them.
There’s a [name_u]Noel[/name_u] Coward British movie of the 1940’s - can’t think of the name- where one of the main characters is [name_f]Leonora[/name_f]. When she is introduced the [name_u]Noel[/name_u] Coward character says ‘[name_f]Leonora[/name_f], how mellifluous’.
[name_f]Ramona[/name_f] and [name_f]Rowena[/name_f] are among my favourite R names. [name_u]Romy[/name_u] is a great nickname.
I like [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] and [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. Have you considered [name_f]Lenora[/name_f], which sounds a bit more modern/streamlined than [name_f]Leonora[/name_f]?
