How are these powerful names?

Girl Names
1

FYI: [name_m]New[/name_m] member, but I’ve been visiting Nameberry’s forums since 2013 without an account.

I’ve been torn lately about how fitting the names I like would be for someone throughout their life, particularly a girl.

Firstly, I’ve always adored the middle name [name_m]Fitzgerald[/name_m], whether for a male or female I think it’s fitting. So, for the sake of this post, I’ll be posting all these names with the middle name [name_m]Fitzgerald[/name_m], but I’d still really love some feedback on how you feel about it as a middle name.

For boys:

Alastair Fitzgerald
Homer Fitzgerald
Ollivander Fitzgerald

For girls:

Abigail Fitzgerald
Alice Fitzgerald
Antigone Fitzgerald
Esme Fitzgerald
Ortensia Fitzgerald
Theodosia Fitzgerald

Some feedback on each name specifically, and the middle name [name_m]Fitzgerald[/name_m] is greatly appreciated! As well as any other uncommon old-timey name suggestions that are fairly secular!

2

Is [name_m]Fitzgerald[/name_m] a family name, or a name with special meaning or connections for you? Because if it isn’t, I will have to say I am not fond of it for a girl’s middle name. It just sounds clunky and extremely masculine. And not even very handsome masculine. But of course that is only my opinion, and if you are set on it and love it, go for it. I’d pair it with a very feminine first name. For a boy it makes a fine middle name.
[name_m]Alistair[/name_m]- I love this name! Great choice.
[name_m]Homer[/name_m]- Definitely clunky and old timey. It’s a bit of an overload on clunkiness with [name_m]Fitzgerald[/name_m]. I’m not too fond of this name or combo.
Ollivander- I find myself kind of unexpectedly liking this one. It is a little much with [name_m]Fitzgerald[/name_m] tho. Maybe Oleander or [name_m]Leander[/name_m] instead?

[name_f]Abigail[/name_f] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f]- Great, solid, reliable names.
[name_f]Antigone[/name_f]- I’ve never liked this name. I look at it and see auntie gone. I know it’s a guilty pleasure name for a few nameberries tho! It also seems a bit much with [name_m]Fitzgerald[/name_m].
[name_f]Esme[/name_f]- I adore [name_f]Esme[/name_f]. It is my favourite of all your names probably! [name_f]Esme[/name_f] and [name_m]Alistair[/name_m] would make an incredible sibset!
[name_f]Ortensia[/name_f]- I don’t think I’ve ever seen this name before. It seems fine. A little over the top with middle name [name_m]Fitzgerald[/name_m].
[name_f]Theodosia[/name_f]- Very cool. A step cooler then [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] for a boy :). I like it.

As for suggestions, “uncommon, old time and secular”, what about-

[name_m]Augustine[/name_m]
[name_m]Barnaby[/name_m]
[name_m]Benedict[/name_m]
[name_m]Cedric[/name_m]
[name_m]Cyril[/name_m]/[name_m]Cyrus[/name_m]
[name_m]Edgar[/name_m]/[name_m]Edwin[/name_m]
[name_m]Edison[/name_m]
[name_u]Ellis[/name_u]
[name_u]Francis[/name_u]
[name_u]Harley[/name_u]
[name_m]Julius[/name_m]
[name_u]Lionel[/name_u]
[name_m]Louis[/name_m]
[name_m]Nelson[/name_m]
[name_m]Otto[/name_m]
[name_m]Phineas[/name_m]
[name_u]Ray[/name_u]
[name_u]Roscoe[/name_u]
[name_m]Rufus[/name_m]
[name_m]Rupert[/name_m]
[name_u]Tristan[/name_u]
[name_m]Winston[/name_m]

[name_f]Alma[/name_f]
[name_f]Araminta[/name_f]
[name_f]Athena[/name_f]
[name_f]Augusta[/name_f]
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f]
[name_f]Elspeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Gloria[/name_f]
[name_f]Henrietta[/name_f]
[name_f]Irene[/name_f]
[name_f]Jemima[/name_f]
[name_f]Johanna[/name_f]
[name_f]Lavinia[/name_f]
[name_f]Leona[/name_f]
[name_f]Marguerite[/name_f]
[name_f]Opal[/name_f]
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]
[name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f]
[name_f]Tabitha[/name_f]
[name_f]Ursula[/name_f]
[name_f]Viola[/name_f]
[name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f]

Am I way off here? Or is there anything that appeals? All the best.

3

For boys:

•Alastair - I love it. It’s a very chic, vintage-esque choice that is both handsome and charming, with a fair bit of elegance to it as well, which I very much appreciate in boy names.

•Homer - Not overly keen. It’s not a bad name, but I’m not fond of the Simpsons, and I don’t think that the level of gender-stereotypical stupidity that the character exhibits is a particularly positive connection. That aside, I just don’t care for its sound, and it has a completely different feel to all your other names which are much more light and flowing.

•Ollivander - Being a HP fan, I’m automatically on board with this. I love the sound, I like the character, I adore how unusual it is and, out of all the first names, I think it works best with Fitzgerald. It’s just a really handsome choice overall.

For girls:

•Abigail - It’s sweet, and has a kind of humble, down-to-earth feel. There’s really nothing I can say to critique it, as it’s just an all-around nice name.

•Alice - It’s okay. It’s not one of my favourites, to be honest. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s a little bit underwhelming when compared to the other choices. Plus, I find Alistair is the more interesting ‘Alice’ name of the two.

•Antigone - I like the gist of the name which boils down to: long, rare and pretentious. These are qualities that I value very highly, so I like it for that reason. But I slightly dislike it because its not as flowing or lyrical as Persephone. Plus, the reality is that Antigone is going to be shorted to “Anne” - there’s no two ways about it and I don’t see how it could possibly be avoided. And to my mind there’s no point in picking a big, extravagant name when it’s liable to be shortened to something small and underwhelming by comparison.

•Esme - I like it quite a bit, as I think it’s rather pretty. But, like with Alice, it’s a tad underwhelming next to all the other names. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but, for me personally, the longer the name is, the more striking and distinctive it is.

•Ortensia - I love this name and have done for several years now. Admittedly, I prefer the Hortensia spelling, but given the fact that it’s likely to be unflatteringly pronounced, the ‘O’ spelling is definitely the more appropriate one. It just has such a presence to it that I can’t really describe but, at the end of it all, this is a pretty amazing name.

•Theodosia - Again, love it! It’s so strong and sophisticated and, for some odd reason, totally rare and obscure in comparison to the more widely recognised Theodora. It just has such a classy appeal! You’d be hard pressed to find a better name than this, in my opinion, at least.

Surname:

•Fitzgerald - I think it’s cool, and I quite like seeing older, sort of unusual or underused surnames being revived as middle names, and sometimes first names as well. However, with the exception of a few select choices, I personally think that very few surnames truly work for girls, and Fitgerald is a prime example of one that really doesn’t.

Fitz is a masculine name, and so is Gerald. The two combined create an exceedingly masculine surname, no androgyny present whatsoever, which is made all the more obvious when its paired with such an array of delicate, feminine first names. Overall, I really love Fitzgerald combined with your boy names - the combinations all flow well, look great, and sound excellent. But I really dislike Fitzgerald paired with any and all of the girl names, and unless (in future years) you only ever have daughters, I don’t see any reason why Fitzgerald would need to be used on a girl. But that’s just my opinion…

Suggestions:

Euphrosyne
Amabel
Victoriana
Dido
Annis
Ambrosia
Cressida
Apolline
Minerva
Rowena
Seraphine
Ourania
Ophelia
Diamanta
Florentina
Galatea

Llywelyn/Llewellyn
Ambrose
Octavius
Auberon
Ichabod
Julius
Constantine
Peregrine
Ulysses
Augustine
Oswin
Valentine
Nehemiah
Aurelian
Ignatius
Florian

Just some older, more unusual names off the top of my head.