Father-to-be needs opinions

[name]Hi[/name] everybody,

My wife and I are having trouble coming up with a name for our first, a daughter, due in [name]October[/name]. I’m South [name]African[/name], but have lived in the UK since I was a teenager, and my wife, [name]Zoe[/name], is American. [name]Baby[/name] girl will be raised in [name]London[/name], primarily, if that’s of concern for popularity.

Here are a few names we’re throwing around. I’d love to know what you think and to hear any suggestions. A few of them might seem “out there” to [name]Zoe[/name]'s family as they might not be frequently used in the States, so I’d love to hear whether they’d work in a bi-continental family. Last name is Ondaatje–pronounced “On-[name]Dot[/name]-[name]Chay[/name]”

[name]Audrey[/name]
[name]Alexandra[/name]
[name]Laine[/name]
[name]Esme[/name]
[name]Imogen[/name]
[name]Hadley[/name]
[name]Anna[/name]
[name]Orly[/name]
[name]Quinn[/name]
[name]Chiara[/name]
[name]Eva[/name]
[name]Anwen[/name]
[name]Freya[/name]
[name]Allison[/name]
[name]Clio[/name]/[name]Cleo[/name]
[name]Darcy[/name]

Thanks much,

[name]Kai[/name]

[name]Hi[/name] everybody,

My wife and I are having trouble coming up with a name for our first, a daughter, due in [name]October[/name]. I’m South [name]African[/name], but have lived in the UK since I was a teenager, and my wife, [name]Zoe[/name], is American. [name]Baby[/name] girl will be raised in [name]London[/name], primarily, if that’s of concern for popularity.

Here are a few names we’re throwing around. I’d love to know what you think and to hear any suggestions. A few of them might seem “out there” to [name]Zoe[/name]'s family as they might not be frequently used in the States, so I’d love to hear whether they’d work in a bi-continental family. Last name is Ondaatje–pronounced “On-[name]Dot[/name]-[name]Chay[/name]”

I’m not aware of what is popular in [name]London[/name] among the people you hang out with, so I will just make comments about each name. I live in L.A.

[name]Audrey[/name] - love this name, but it is getting popular in [name]America[/name].
[name]Alexandra[/name] - such a beautiful name, but way too popular.
[name]Laine[/name] - don’t like it that much, but I love [name]Elaine[/name].
[name]Esme[/name] - I really like it.
[name]Imogen[/name] - I really like this name, but I would never name my own daughter this. It just seems too odd.
[name]Hadley[/name] - this was my sister’s best friend’s last name, so it seems odd to me as a first name.
[name]Anna[/name] - I love this name. But I would name my own daughter [name]Annika[/name] and call her [name]Anna[/name] for short sometimes.
[name]Orly[/name] - makes me think of the airport in Chicago.
[name]Quinn[/name] - too unisex for me. But a lot of the Nameberry posters really like it.
[name]Chiara[/name] - it’s pretty
[name]Eva[/name] - this is pretty
[name]Anwen[/name] - I really love this name!
[name]Freya[/name] - love it!
[name]Allison[/name] - dated, and I hear [name]Alice[/name] is too popular in [name]Britain[/name].
[name]Clio[/name]/[name]Cleo[/name] - I had a cat with this name, and we got tired of calling her [name]Cleo[/name], so we called her Clee-Clee.
[name]Darcy[/name]

Thanks much,

[name]Kai[/name]
You are welcome!
[name]Susan[/name]

[name]Esme[/name] [name]Laine[/name] Ondaatje
[name]Imogen[/name] [name]Esme[/name] Ondaatje

I really love [name]Freya[/name] and [name]Quinn[/name] from your list.

I like [name]Freya[/name], [name]Cleo[/name] & [name]Esme[/name].

Also [name]Zahra[/name] sprang to mind and [name]Zahara[/name] and [name]Mahalia[/name].

These are my favorites from your list:

[name]Esme[/name] - such a pretty name, coming back a little (probably because of Twilight) but I doubt it will get very popular. I’ve considered using it, particularly as a middle name.
[name]Imogen[/name] - This is my absolute favorite from your list. It means beloved, it was a gorgeous sound and has cute nn possiblities. ([name]Immy[/name], [name]Mo[/name], [name]Genie[/name], [name]Gen[/name]… depending on your taste and her personalility)
[name]Quinn[/name] - simple, beautiful, also loved by me for a middle name especially
[name]Eva[/name] - I love this name, but its similarlity to very popular [name]AVA[/name] is a problem for me.
[name]Freya[/name] - I’ve never met anyone with this name nor considered it, but it has a pretty and distinctive sound that I very much like!

Good luck!

[name]Audrey[/name]: Like
[name]Alexandra[/name]: Like
[name]Laine[/name]: Cute
[name]Esme[/name]: [name]Love[/name]
[name]Imogen[/name]: [name]Love[/name]
[name]Hadley[/name]: OK
[name]Anna[/name]: Always liked [name]Anna[/name]
[name]Orly[/name]: Not my style NMS
[name]Quinn[/name]: NMS
[name]Chiara[/name]: NMS
[name]Eva[/name]: [name]Love[/name] - favorite
[name]Anwen[/name]: Like
[name]Freya[/name]: NMS
[name]Allison[/name]: Ok
[name]Clio[/name]/[name]Cleo[/name]: [name]LOVE[/name]
[name]Darcy[/name]: Ok

Good luck!

I like [name]Esme[/name]. Normally I would never like anything first-last name combination that rhymes, but Ez-may On-dot-chay is just too cool!

[name]Darcy[/name] is pure boy to me because of Mr. [name]Darcy[/name].

I love [name]Esme[/name] but the real spelling for a girl would be Esmee

[name]Freya[/name] is a lovely choice! [name]Freya[/name] [name]Diane[/name] would be nice.

[name]Allison[/name] is also nice.

[name]Anna[/name] is such a beautiful classic choice! My combo was [name]Anna[/name] [name]Fleur[/name] (french for flower)

[name]Imogen[/name] is beautiful if said correctly.

[name]Anwen[/name] is very pretty.

Not a huge fan of [name]Imogen[/name] or [name]Freya[/name]. I know they’re big here, but I’ve never really cared for either one. I do like [name]Darcy[/name] and [name]Audrey[/name], and [name]Anwen[/name] is quite interesting.

[quote=“kai664”][name]Hi[/name] everybody,

My wife and I are having trouble coming up with a name for our first, a daughter, due in [name]October[/name]. I’m South [name]African[/name], but have lived in the UK since I was a teenager, and my wife, [name]Zoe[/name], is American. [name]Baby[/name] girl will be raised in [name]London[/name], primarily, if that’s of concern for popularity.

Here are a few names we’re throwing around. I’d love to know what you think and to hear any suggestions. A few of them might seem “out there” to [name]Zoe[/name]'s family as they might not be frequently used in the States, so I’d love to hear whether they’d work in a bi-continental family. Last name is Ondaatje–pronounced “On-[name]Dot[/name]-[name]Chay[/name]”

[name]Audrey[/name]: It’s very popular in the US, but I think it’s very pretty…

[name]Alexandra[/name]: Ditto, although with so many [name]Alexis[/name]’ running around, it feels trendy to me.

[name]Laine[/name]: Not my style, but I can see its appeal.

[name]Esme[/name]: I love [name]Esme[/name]…

[name]Imogen[/name]: I think it’s pretty, but I’m not sure about it with your last name.

[name]Hadley[/name]: Not my style…

[name]Anna[/name]: I really love [name]Anna[/name], but because it ends in a vowel, the flow sounds “off” to me with your last name.

[name]Orly[/name]: I fear she
will be teased in middle school with “orally” and “oral” jokes…

[name]Quinn[/name]: Not my style, but I can see its appeal.

[name]Chiara[/name]: I think it’s pretty, but I personally find it awkward to say with your last name (ending in an a).

[name]Eva[/name]: Ditto…

[name]Anwen[/name]: I think it’s pretty…

[name]Freya[/name]: I have to admit that I think of frayed fabric when I hear [name]Freya[/name], but that’s just me.

[name]Allison[/name]: [name]Allison[/name] is very dated…

[name]Clio[/name]/[name]Cleo[/name]: I think this name is lovely…

[name]Darcy[/name]: I’m not a [name]Darcy[/name] fan, but that’s just me. :slight_smile:

Best wishes to you! :slight_smile:

I adore the name [name]Quinn[/name] and almost used it for our oldest daughter. A family member has since used this name for their son. I really wish we could still use it.

[name]Audrey[/name] - I love this name. I have so far only met one [name]Audrey[/name] and she is an infant.
[name]Alexandra[/name] - Might be to popular but I like [name]Alex[/name] for a unisex nn.
[name]Laine[/name] - I prefer it spelled [name]Lane[/name]. Again I love unisex names and [name]Laney[/name]/[name]Lainey[/name] would be a cute nn.
[name]Esme[/name] - I love the spelling of this name. It is still too unfamiliar to me to form an honest opinion.
[name]Imogen[/name] - Not my favorite but I like that it’s vintage appeal.
[name]Hadley[/name] - I like Hady/Hadie better.
[name]Anna[/name] - Very classic and I haven’t met an [name]Anna[/name] in long time.
[name]Orly[/name] - I do love this name but have also received warning from my husband that it reminds him too much of the word “oral”. He thinks she would be teased.
[name]Quinn[/name] - Hands down my favorite!
[name]Chiara[/name] - Not sure about this one.
[name]Eva[/name] - Reminds me of the ever popular [name]Ava[/name]. All though both are lovely names. I would lengthen the name to [name]Evelyn[/name], [name]Evan[/name], or even [name]Evangeline[/name].
[name]Anwen[/name] - Not sure about this one.
[name]Freya[/name] - It is not a familiar name to me. I love the spelling.
[name]Allison[/name] - Oddly enough a favorite of mine and the nn [name]Ally[/name]/[name]Allie[/name].
[name]Clio[/name]/[name]Cleo[/name] - I think this is a very pretty name.
[name]Darcy[/name] - Not my favorite. I like [name]Dora[/name] better.

Thanks, everyone!

I am american but lived in [name]London[/name] for many years. So when I was pregnant I also had [name]Freya[/name] and [name]Esme[/name] on my list. The reaction i got from my american friends was that [name]Freya[/name] sounded like “fea” spanish for ugly. For some reason a handful of unrelated people told me that [name]Esme[/name] sounded like a disease. [name]Chiara[/name] is nice but would have to be spelt either [name]Kiara[/name] or ciara if not your wifes family will get confused. My vote is for [name]Imogen[/name]. I hope this helps.

I am american but lived in [name]London[/name] for many years. So when I was pregnant I also had [name]Freya[/name] and [name]Esme[/name] on my list. The reaction i got from my american friends was that [name]Freya[/name] sounded like “fea” spanish for ugly. For some reason a handful of unrelated people told me that [name]Esme[/name] sounded like a disease. [name]Chiara[/name] is nice but would have to be spelt either [name]Kiara[/name] or ciara if not your wifes family will get confused. My vote is for [name]Imogen[/name]. I hope this helps.