After a lot of umming and ahhing my list is where I want it to be (for the moment). Thank you to all the berries who helped, many of these names are lifted directly from your fantastic suggestions and I am so grateful. If you want to hear my ramblings, please do click underneath the names. Would appreciate thoughts/comments/general vibes etc. Be mean if you feel like it, my clunky names definitely aren’t to everyone’s taste!
Maude [name_f]Constance[/name_f]
Summary
Battle mighty steadfastness Two names I love separately and together. Both names give me a mature, thoughtful feeling, like someone who will go on to achieve great things. I first fell in love with [name_f]Maude[/name_f] through the [name_f]Christina[/name_f] Rossetti poem [name_f]Sister[/name_f] [name_f]Maude[/name_f], who is not a lovely namesake, but the name has stuck with me ever since.
Arabella [name_f]Lucille[/name_f] "[name_f]Belle[/name_f]"
Summary
Yielding to the light. [name_f]Arabella[/name_f] is such a beautiful name - uplifting, light and whimsical but with the mature, firm edge I like in girls names. [name_f]Lucille[/name_f] is just a lovely name and I feel like the consonant ending grounds the frillier [name_f]Arabella[/name_f].
Primrose [name_f]Leonora[/name_f] "Prim"
Summary
Compassionate rose. The name reminds me of a wonderful fairytale. [name_f]Primrose[/name_f] is a princess name in the best sense - feminine and beautiful but the Prim- start gives it a firm edge. I’ve always liked [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] but [name_f]Leonora[/name_f] just stood out to me.
Dorothea [name_f]Rosamond[/name_f] "[name_f]Thea[/name_f]"
Summary
Protected gift of God. [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] is the name of an important woman in my life who I love very much. Her faith, while not one I share, has never wavered and I know she would do anything to protect my family and me. She’s someone I would absolutely love to honour, with no children/grandchildren to do it for her. [name_f]Rosamond[/name_f] always makes me think of the strength she has shown and the unwavering firmness she holds.
Clementine Lyris "[name_u]Clem[/name_u]"
Summary
Merciful; lyre. [name_f]Mercy[/name_f] and forgiveness are important traits to me. They are tenets I hold dear as part of my own worldview. I never used to get the appeal of [name_f]Clementine[/name_f] but it has crept up on me. Again, it has the strength from the hard consonants, balanced with the unusual beauty and softness of Lyris.
Melody [name_f]Susannah[/name_f]
Summary
Lily song. [name_f]Music[/name_f] has always been very important to me. I was in the school and church choir growing up, as well as orchestra and band. It’s something that really links me to my father, who shares this love and encouraged me to follow my dreams. In the end, I didn’t follow my dreams of being a composer and went for something more practical (boo), but [name_f]Melody[/name_f] has always reminded me of him. [name_f]Susannah[/name_f] is just a fantastic name I would love to hear more of.
Hester [name_u]Anne[/name_u]
Summary
Star of grace. [name_u]Anne[/name_u] is a family middle name and reminds me of my grandmother who I loved very much. [name_f]Hester[/name_f] is a name that feels right to pair with such a special middle - it conveys the strength and optimism she showed, even facing sickness in the last years of her life.
Winifred [name_f]Olive[/name_f] "[name_f]Winnie[/name_f]"
Summary
Blessed peacemaking; olive branch. Both names have meanings of peace, which really appeals to me - with olive branches being such a prominent symbol. [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] is such a gorgeous name and is one I would give if someone wanted a name I felt best showed all the qualities I want in a name in one go. It’s strong, traditional, a little bit clunky but has a softness to it thanks to [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] as a nn.
Blythe [name_f]Cressida[/name_f]
Summary
Golden; carefree. If you told me I could only keep one name off my list it would be [name_f]Blythe[/name_f]. In my eyes, she’s just the most gorgeous name in the world. There’s a lilting sweetness to the name but a strength in that unusual -the ending. [name_f]Cressida[/name_f] is a fantastic balance, giving a softer end to what could be a harsher name otherwise.
Sylvia [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f]
Summary
Farmer from the forest. [name_m]Just[/name_m] two really pretty names. That’s the description 
Honora [name_f]Marigold[/name_f]
Summary
Golden flower of honour. Coming in a very close second to [name_f]Blythe[/name_f] for my favourite name, [name_f]Honora[/name_f] is just gorgeous. I love the idea of honouring each other, honouring the planet and having honour in ourselves. Holding ourselves to account is such an important quality and is the kind of virtue name I can really get behind. [name_f]Marigold[/name_f] is another name that has really crept up on me but I love the summery vibes I get and the sunshine it makes me think of.
Marjorie [name_f]Petronella[/name_f] "[name_u]Jorie[/name_u]"
Summary
Pearl; stone The second of three honour names for my grandmother. [name_f]Marjorie[/name_f] is such a refreshing name. She’s classic but ready for revival. Open and honest with a playful undertone. I love the meaning of [name_f]Petronella[/name_f] of rock or stone. [name_f]My[/name_f] grandmother was my rock and is a lot of the reason I became a teacher. She continues to be my rock after she has gone.
Isadora [name_u]Harmony[/name_u]
Summary
Gift of agreement [name_u]Harmony[/name_u] is what I strive for - in personal relationships, in the wider world and when looking into the future. [name_f]Isadora[/name_f] is a name that I feel can carry such lofty ambitions. She’s Victorian without being stuffy and recognisable without being expected.
Gwendolen [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] "[name_f]Gwen[/name_f]"
Summary
White ring; woman from [name_f]Lydia[/name_f]. I first heard [name_f]Gwendolen[/name_f] in the [name_f]Malory[/name_f] [name_m]Towers[/name_m] books and loved the name then. It’s so pretty, maybe a little over the top, but so pretty and girly without being wishy-washy. Plus it still has the consonant ending I like but can’t find as much as I want. [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] is just so pretty. I love the sound, I love the L- start. [name_m]Just[/name_m] fantastic.
Evangeline [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] "[name_f]Lina[/name_f]"
Summary
Bearer of good news; ice ruler. [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] was a name I fell in love with when I heard it on [name_f]Nanny[/name_f] McPhee years and years ago. Cue my mum telling me you can’t actually name a child [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]. But she fits so well with the rest of my names. A little sickly sweet, maybe, but grounded with the strong, battle-ready [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] of folklore past.
Rosemary [name_f]Virginia[/name_f]
Summary
Pure dew of the sea. [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] is my perfect old-lady name. It’s grounded with all the other [name_f]Rose[/name_f]- names we know, has a strong history of use but can hold its own. [name_f]Virginia[/name_f] is a new love in the middle spot.
Araminta [name_f]Seraphine[/name_f] "[name_f]Minty[/name_f]"
Summary
Defender of burning ones I keep going backwards and forwards on whether [name_f]Araminta[/name_f] is too much, especially with a cutesy nickname, but I just love it. [name_f]Seraphine[/name_f] sounds so heavenly and goddess like, almost ethereal.
Minerva [name_f]Amaryllis[/name_f]
Summary
Sparkling intellect. [name_u]Strong[/name_u] like McGonagall, with a fantastic meaning. Who doesn’t want to be valued for their intellect and inner strength? It’s something I want for everyone - to be recognised for what they know and are good at that nobody else is. Both names are fairly clunky, just the way I like them.
Sybil [name_f]Corisande[/name_f]
Summary
Prophetess; chorus-singer [name_m]Just[/name_m] put the two HP names together here. I just like [name_f]Sybil[/name_f], it’s pretty fabulous. [name_f]Corisande[/name_f] feels Medieval and European and just a little bit mysterious.
Wilhelmina [name_f]Lavender[/name_f] "[name_f]Minnie[/name_f]"
Summary
Resolute protection. [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f] is my ultimate clunky name love. She’s just so brilliant and there’s no names that sound quite like her. [name_f]Lavender[/name_f] is one of the few colour names - with [name_f]Olive[/name_f] - that has managed to slip through my ‘no colour names’ boundary I thought I had put up.
Beatrice [name_f]Cornelia[/name_f]
Summary
She who brings happiness; horn. Why does [name_f]Cornelia[/name_f] mean horn? Genuinely? Anyway, I like both names even with a strange meaning.
Ada [name_f]Zephyrine[/name_f]
Summary
Noble wind [name_m]Ah[/name_m], [name_f]Ada[/name_f], my first great name love, nearly retired. And yet I can’t shake her even with the huge upswing in popularity here in [name_f]England[/name_f]. She’s just great. Short, sweet, to the point. [name_f]Zephyrine[/name_f] is none of those things so together they balance.
Margaret [name_f]Amabel[/name_f]
Summary
Lovable pearl. The final grandmother tribute. Downside, she hated her name, upside is that the combo sounds great.
Persephone [name_f]Eudora[/name_f] "Sephy"
Summary
Bringer of destruction; generous gift. Maybe it’s the political rebel in me pushing against my harmonious dreams but I don’t hate the idea of destruction. Organised chaos. Anyway, I loved [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] the first time I read Noughts & Crosses by [name_f]Malorie[/name_f] Blackman and now I am brave enough to use her. [name_f]Eudora[/name_f] feels light and mythical alongside [name_f]Persephone[/name_f].
Mirabelle [name_f]Alouette[/name_f]
Summary
Marvellous lark Too [name_u]French[/name_u]? [name_f]Lovely[/name_f] meaning.
