I am driving myself crazy trying to name my daughter. I have a 17 month old son. Naming him was a breeze, but with my daughter it has been completely different. I settle on a name, and then 2 weeks later I start doubting my choice. My husband likes very plain, usual names for girls. I do not. My name is [name]Jennifer[/name]. There was never any less than 3 Jennifers in my class in school. I hated that, and I don’t want to do the same thing to my daughter, but I want my husband to love the name as well. The only thing I am sure of is the middle name. I will be using my grandmother’s middle name which was [name]Ruth[/name]. [name]Leslie[/name] is also a possibility as that was her first name. It just depends on what we decide on for a first name. My recent favorites are [name]Helena[/name] [name]Ruth[/name], [name]Francesca[/name] [name]Ruth[/name], and [name]Carys[/name] [name]Ruth[/name]. Our last name is Icenhour, so I don’t want her first name to start with a vowel. I’d love some feedback or recommendations. I’m looking for something familiar, but not common.
Something familiar but rare…
[name]Loretta[/name]
[name]Lorraine[/name]
[name]Anya[/name]
[name]Bethany[/name]
[name]Bonnie[/name]
[name]Clarissa[/name]
[name]Carissa[/name]
[name]Cara[/name]
[name]Carolina[/name]
[name]Diana[/name]
[name]Donna[/name]
[name]Danica[/name]
[name]Dana[/name]
[name]Frances[/name]
[name]Felicity[/name]
[name]Jeanne[/name]
[name]Raquel[/name]
[name]Kira[/name]
[name]Marielle[/name]
[name]Raya[/name]
[name]Raina[/name]
[name]Tamsin[/name]
[name]Veda[/name]
[name]Willa[/name]
[name]Zara[/name]
No idea if these match your taste, but they feel uncommon but not too out there.
I love [name]Helena[/name] [name]Ruth[/name]. [name]Helena[/name] is so pretty, and you get some cute NN possibilities, if you so desire. I could see [name]Carys[/name] being a “meet in the middle” type of name between you and your husband. It’s different and very pretty, but seems to blend in well with current name trends. Good luck!
Congratulations on expecting a girl! You’re considering some pretty names, and you’ll get there. Your surname is on the longer side (like 3.5 syllables), so I’m kind of liking shorter names for you. [name]Helena[/name] is gorgeous and work but I think there might be better (maybe this is part of your indecision). [name]Francesca[/name] is really quite long and there are a lot of s sounds with your surname (I’m imagining Icen is like Ice-in, but let me know if I’m wrong). Similar for [name]Carys[/name], although the length is better.
Please be aware that even the #1 name is not getting nearly as many girls using it today as [name]Jennifer[/name] did in its heyday. Not to dissuade you from going rare/uncommon, but just something to chew on if you consider somewhat more common names down the road.
Some two syllable names that I think would work great ([name]Ruth[/name] as the middle, your surname, is 2-1-3.5 rhythm, perfect).
Really like pp’s suggestion of [name]Cara[/name] for the following reason –
[name]Cara[/name] (like [name]Carys[/name] but more familiar for your husband, less -s with surname)
A few more…
[name]Clara[/name] (similar to above)
[name]Cora[/name] (similar to above)
[name]Farrah[/name]
[name]Hope[/name]
[name]Laura[/name] (classically familiar but at #273)
[name]Lena[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name] (3 syllables but fewer sounds than [name]Helena[/name], and very similar in style, and not even in the top 1000, while still familiar!)
[name]Maren[/name] (if initials MRI would be OK with you)
[name]Margo/name
[name]Nina[/name]
[name]Opal[/name]
[name]Orla[/name]
[name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Rosa[/name]
[name]Sonia[/name] (very European like [name]Francesca[/name] but more streamlined)
[name]Tana[/name]
[name]Vera[/name]