Help me decide - Opinions, please

I have three names for each (boy & girl) and can’t decide which one I like best of them, can you help?

They are: [name]Barnaby[/name], [name]Rufus[/name] & [name]Cosmo[/name], for boys.
And [name]Jemima[/name], [name]Zelda[/name] & [name]Winifred[/name] for girls.

Would you be so kind as to review these for me?

[name]Barnaby[/name]-I like the name [name]Barnaby[/name], but am not as fond of the nn [name]Barney[/name], however, [name]Barn[/name] sounds quite nice and rugged
[name]Rufus[/name]-I know a [name]Rufus[/name] and am afraid this has clouded my judgment here :slight_smile:
[name]Cosmo[/name]-first thing I think of is Seinfeld’s [name]Cosmo[/name] Kramer

I prefer [name]Barnaby[/name] for a boy.

For girls,
[name]Jemima[/name]-though I think of the Aunt [name]Jemima[/name] of syrup, this isn’t a negative connotation for me. I also really like the nn [name]Jemma[/name]. Cute for a child and also sounds nice for an adult.
[name]Zelda[/name]-Can’t get past the Sega game from my childhood, but this is probably only true for a small sampling of people.
[name]Winifred[/name]-has a nice ring to it. The nn [name]Winnie[/name], however, I’m not as fond of as [name]Jemma[/name].

I would choose [name]Jemima[/name] for a girl. You have some nice, solid names here! Good luck.

[name]Lola[/name], you had me converted to [name]Cosmo[/name] and now you’re making me rethink it?! I’m sticking with it-- flows better with the other kids’ names. [name]Don[/name]'t get me wrong, I like [name]Barnaby[/name] and [name]Rufus[/name]. If you went with [name]Barnaby[/name], would you plan on calling him [name]Barney[/name]?

For the girls, I’d bypass [name]Jemima[/name] just because [name]Josephine[/name] & [name]Jemima[/name] is a mouthful. I like [name]Winifred[/name] (nn [name]Win[/name]? Very cool…) but of the three, [name]Zelda[/name] just steals my heart. What a fun, cool flapper girl she must be!

I like [name]Cosmo[/name] and I loooooooooove [name]Zelda[/name]!

Aww, [name]Cosmo[/name]'s still a possibility, It’s just that He prefers these 3 a bit more and since he really got no say with the older boys, I thought I’d be nice, since I can. He’s giving me freer reign with a girl than he did last time in exchange.

But thanks, and yes, [name]Barnaby[/name] would be [name]Barney[/name], at least occasionally. Maybe [name]Barnes[/name], or since his combo’s [name]Barnaby[/name] [name]Edward[/name] [name]Rex[/name], maybe Bex once in a while too.

I don’t find [name]Josephine[/name] & [name]Jemima[/name] much of a mouthful at all, but I will conceed that there are folks who probably would. And they’d be [name]Josie[/name] & [name]Mimi[/name] more often than not anyway. I could see [name]Josie[/name] & [name]Jemma[/name] getting confused occasionally!

[name]Winfred[/name] would be [name]Winnie[/name] (like in “the Wonder Years”) or maybe [name]Freda[/name] once in awhile, i was thinking.

[name]Hi[/name], [name]Lola[/name]! [name]Love[/name] your names. Okay, I have been thinking about what sounds you love. For example, I’ve noticed that you love the long “o” sound-[name]Lola[/name], [name]Leo[/name], [name]Josephine[/name]. You also love the “n” sound-[name]Simon[/name], [name]Simeon[/name], and [name]Josephine[/name] and “s”-[name]Simon[/name], [name]Simeon[/name], [name]Josephine[/name]. Another thing you like is lots of interesting vowel sounds in the name like [name]Josephine[/name] has two long vowel sounds plus a short vowel sound. [name]Leo[/name] is short, but is two syllables and has two long vowel sounds. [name]Long[/name] vowel sounds give a name a lot of kick. With that in mind:

[name]Barnaby[/name] (I would think this would work really well for you. Three syllables like [name]Josephine[/name] and [name]Simeon[/name] and interesting vowel sounds. has that “n” and an "s’.)
[name]Rufus[/name] (This name is a lot like [name]Leo[/name] because it isn’t very long, has two syllables and interesting vowels. No “n” sound but I love that “f” and it does have an “s”.
[name]Cosmo[/name]-(has the “s”, interesting vowel sounds and the long “o”. Reminds me of [name]Leo[/name]. Great brother name for the other three siblings.)
[name]Jemima[/name] (I love this, it has varied vowel sounds, but it does start with “J” like [name]Josephine[/name].)
[name]Zelda[/name] ( this has an “l” like [name]Lola[/name] and [name]Leo[/name]-nice- and sounds magical and Bohemian.)
[name]Winnifred[/name] (is a great name, but I think I like [name]Jemima[/name] and [name]Zelda[/name] more. Of course the nickname [name]Winnie[/name] is amazing. But I don’t think enough vowel action is going on in [name]Winnifred[/name] and [name]Winnie[/name].)
So the winners for the day, maybe for the half-minute are:
[name]Cosmo[/name] (I just realized that [name]Cosmo[/name] has a soft “z” sound in it like [name]Josephine[/name] and [name]Zelda[/name] have!) and [name]Zelda[/name] (the “Z” in [name]Zelda[/name] gives it so much pizzazz that it’s okay that the “e” is a short vowel.)

My goodness, [name]Susan[/name]! You really dug in, didn’t you? I’ve never thought about why certain things appeal to me, but I think you figured it out for me! I do love L, S & N sounds and long vowels as well.
[name]Cosmo[/name] & [name]Zelda[/name] are definitely in the top 3 or 4 right now and are very likely going to be used. He’s rooting for [name]Rufus[/name], I’ve got [name]Cosmo[/name], I suppose we’ll see which when we see the kid!

[name]Susan[/name] is a wonder, isn’t she? While I’m quite confident voicing my opinion on people’s choices (!), I can never come up with lists the way she can.

I know I am obsessed with sounds and letters. It’s how I go to sleep at night. I love to write poetry, too. I love the sound “r” in a first name combined with my own last name. My last name is [name]Chesney[/name]-very sweet and soft and so it needs some punch for the first name. That’s why my kids are [name]Peter[/name] and [name]Laura[/name]. I think my name sounds nice with [name]Chesney[/name], too, although it doesn’t have an “r”. But I do think you can predict whether you will like a name over the years by thinking of what sounds you like in your existing family members’ names.

You are fantastic, [name]Susan[/name]! Thanks a million for opening my eyes! Now I can look at my list a bit more objectively!

I’m glad I was able to help! It must be fun to name four kids.

really great list!! you can’t go wrong, IMHO.
I was trying so hard to convince my husband on [name]Winifred[/name] and [name]Jemima[/name]. I wish he had come around!!

[name]Barnaby[/name] & [name]Winifred[/name] for me