Hello Ladies! Last friday we finally got to know april’s surprise’s gender - it’s a GIRL! It’s strange, because I had this feeling in my guts telling me it’s a boy. I’m still getting used to it!For boy, we were almost sure to name him [name_m]Leopold[/name_m] Bror, as for the girl it’s not so easy anymore. Our favourites are:
[name_f]Djuna[/name_f] [name_f]Romola[/name_f] and
[name_f]Edwina[/name_f] [name_f]Iris[/name_f]
We are looking for the name with retro vibe, willingly from inter-war literature and modern literature at all. It has to match [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] and [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] [name_m]Roman[/name_m] [name_m]Leif[/name_m]. Possible middle names - family names - are [name_f]Sofia[/name_f]/Sofina, [name_f]Romola[/name_f], [name_f]Dora[/name_f], [name_f]Viola[/name_f] and [name_f]Saskia[/name_f]
[name_f]Zelda[/name_f] and [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] are absolutely fantastic!
The first name that popped into my head was [name_f]Ramona[/name_f] - [name_f]Ramona[/name_f] [name_f]Violette[/name_f], perhaps?
Others that I think are lovely in the sibset -
[name_f]Gretel[/name_f] [name_f]Sofia[/name_f]
[name_f]Lyra[/name_f] [name_f]Saskia[/name_f]
[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] [name_f]Viola[/name_f]
Best of luck!
Also - [name_f]Mathilde[/name_f] or [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] would be lovely!
Congratulations!
[name_f]Zelda[/name_f] and:
[name_u]Dagny[/name_u], [name_f]Imogen[/name_f], [name_f]Isolde[/name_f], [name_f]Minerva[/name_f], [name_f]Portia[/name_f], [name_f]Rowena[/name_f]
[name_f]Love[/name_f] your list and the other suggestions!
Like [name_u]Jem[/name_u], I adore [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Tillie[/name_f]). Also love [name_f]Ramona[/name_f], [name_f]Viola[/name_f], and [name_f]Edwina[/name_f]! I would stay away from [name_f]Dora[/name_f], just because I immediately think of the cartoon (and also just don’t like the sound). What about [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] nn [name_f]Dora[/name_f] or [name_f]Ro[/name_f]? Though actually that seems a bit classic for your taste.
I love the suggestion of [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], nickname [name_f]Tilly[/name_f]. I’m honestly not a fan of [name_f]Edwina[/name_f], but would you consider [name_f]Etta[/name_f]? Or [name_f]Henrietta[/name_f] nickname [name_f]Etta[/name_f]? As for [name_f]Djuna[/name_f], it’s cute, but [name_f]Junia[/name_f], [name_f]Juna[/name_f], or just plain [name_u]June[/name_u] would eliminate any pronunciation problems. Would you consider using [name_f]Sofia[/name_f] as a first name? It’s a lovely choice. : ) [name_f]Sofia[/name_f] [name_f]Iris[/name_f] is a cute combo to me.
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps, and congrats again! : )
I love [name_f]Djuna[/name_f] with [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] and [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m], unless you’re a bit weary on the repeating initials.
Have you read [name_u]James[/name_u] Salter’s gorgeous novel [name_m]Light[/name_m] Years? I’m sure your husband’s familiar with his works, he’s one of the finest writers I know of, he writes so effortlessly and beautifully. Anyway, in [name_m]Light[/name_m] Years there’s a character named [name_f]Nedra[/name_f], and I kind of think this name is perfect for you. [name_f]Zelda[/name_f], [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] and [name_f]Nedra[/name_f]. [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] de Vigan’s latest book Rien ne s’oppose à la nuit (I believe it’s called Nothing hold back the night in English) is a memoir of her mother, [name_f]Lucile[/name_f], and her childhood. [name_f]Zelda[/name_f], [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] and [name_f]Lucile[/name_f] might be a bit corny, but [name_f]Zelda[/name_f], [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] and [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] sounds cute. One of her other novels, [name_u]Les[/name_u] Heures souterraines, has a main character named [name_f]Mathilde[/name_f]. [name_f]Zelda[/name_f], [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] and [name_f]Mathilde[/name_f]. [name_m]Marcel[/name_m] [name_m]Proust[/name_m]'s In Search of Lost Time. This book is packed with good names. [name_f]Oriane[/name_f], [name_f]Odette[/name_f], [name_f]Gisele[/name_f] (although this has the -ell thing again). [name_m]Ian[/name_m] [name_m]McEwan[/name_m]… Sweet Tooth has a [name_f]Serena[/name_f]. [name_f]Zelda[/name_f], [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] and [name_f]Serena[/name_f] sounds lovely to me. [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] from Atonement, [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] from Enduring [name_f]Love[/name_f]. [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f]'s also the first name of Mrs Dalloway from the [name_f]Virginia[/name_f] [name_m]Woolf[/name_m] book. Maybe [name_f]Virginia[/name_f] would be nice? Or [name_f]Rhoda[/name_f] from her novel The Waves. [name_f]Katharine[/name_f] from [name_m]Night[/name_m] and [name_u]Day[/name_u]. [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] for [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] Plath? [name_f]Esther[/name_f] from her amazing book The [name_u]Bell[/name_u] Jar? I’m rambling…
Anyway, congrats, sweetie!! Girls are great.
I also have a [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] 
It goes smashingly well with [name_f]Zelda[/name_f].
I actually like [name_f]Djuna[/name_f] but I have a weird thing about sibling names not starting with the same letter, so even though the sound is different that might bother me.
What about:
[name_f]Augusta[/name_f] [name_f]Dora[/name_f] (this is tough with all of your MNs ending with -a)
[name_f]Harriet[/name_f] [name_f]Viola[/name_f]
[name_f]Willa[/name_f] [name_f]Romola[/name_f] (again with the double -a)
[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] Sofina
[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] [name_f]Saskia[/name_f] ([name_f]Saskia[/name_f] [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] actually has better flow though [name_f]IMO[/name_f])
@jem: [name_f]Lyra[/name_f] is fabolous and definitely worth considering, but I’m not sure if it stands in the same row with [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] & [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m]… or maybe I don’t have enought guts to use it?
@apollonia: I love [name_f]Rowena[/name_f] but it’s totally different in style than the names I’ve already used. [name_u]Dagny[/name_u] is worth using as a middle!
@nameweary: I know, [name_f]Dora[/name_f] the explorer! :). It’s my grandma’s name, but I will rather not use it.
@carlasworld: I know it may cause some spelling differencies, but I’m in love with [name_f]Djuna[/name_f]. We’re still thinking can [name_f]Sofia[/name_f] be a first name
@ottilie & thunderbolt: all your suggestions are great, but… [name_f]SYLVIA[/name_f]! [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] beats all the rivals! [name_m]How[/name_m] could I forget about this name?
What do you all think about [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]?
Almost forgot - what do you think of [name_f]Ada[/name_f]?
My favorite for you is still [name_f]Djuna[/name_f], but I do like [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f]/[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] quite a bit as well (I only went with the -ie ending to avoid the double -a with your middle name choices.) I’ve always liked that it’s both a literary and a nature name - 2 of my favorite things!
I didn’t see ottilie’s response before; I actually love [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] with your other names as well.
Forgot to comment on Ada - to me, it feels a little too ordinary next to your other choices.
First off, [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] and [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] are awesome names! Your naming style rocks. Anyways, on to the subject at hand… the names that came to mind when I thought to go with [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] and [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] are: [name_f]Amoret[/name_f] and [name_f]Isolde[/name_f].
Good luck!
Inter-war literature huh? That’s pretty specific… yet broad. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you have particular favorites in mind, or is it just a theme you’re having fun with? I love [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] and [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m], and I’m a huge [name_f]Djuna[/name_f] [name_m]Barnes[/name_m] fan. [name_f]Djuna[/name_f] is great. It was on my list, but I decided the silent D was too fussy.
[name_f]Thomasina[/name_f] is a wonderful name, if you like T.S. [name_u]Eliot[/name_u] (or [name_u]Dylan[/name_u] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] for that matter.) In the same vein, there’s eccentric and adorable [name_f]Ernestine[/name_f], as in [name_m]Hemingway[/name_m].
I like [name_f]Gertrude[/name_f], but I’m in the minority. Hipster-granny chic. [name_f]Gertie[/name_f]!
Somerset is so fricking beautiful. Somerset Maugham was a man of course, but it could be great as a middle name to a simpler first… [name_f]Viola[/name_f] Somerset.
More randomly: [name_f]Maxine[/name_f]. It sounds smashing with [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] and it makes me think of [name_u]Paris[/name_u] and the roaring 20’s.
[name_m]Hi[/name_m] otters I think you should be a book reviewer! I was fascinated to hear about all the books that you mentioned.
I liked the suggestion of [name_f]Imogen[/name_f], I like its strength and how it compliments [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] and [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m].
[name_u]Vivian[/name_u] also has that vibe for me eg [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] [name_f]Sophia[/name_f]
I am a long time lover of [name_f]Clarissa[/name_f] and she should be more loved and I think she is a great match for [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] and [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m].
rollo
@emmabobemma: My hubby adores 'Parade’s End by [name_m]Ford[/name_m] [name_m]Madox[/name_m] [name_m]Ford[/name_m] but it has no effect on our interest in the topic:)
I really like [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] with [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] and [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m]. I agree with @thunderbolt that [name_f]Ada[/name_f] sounds a bit too ordinary with a sister named [name_f]Zelda[/name_f].
When I read your story on waltzingmorethanmatilda, I suggested [name_f]Agnes[/name_f] [name_f]Axelle[/name_f] and [name_f]Iris[/name_f] [name_f]Cosima[/name_f], but perhaps you have moved on from [name_f]Agnes[/name_f] and [name_f]Iris[/name_f]. I still think they are lovely choices though.
Edited for privacy.
I really like [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] [name_f]Amoret[/name_f] [name_f]Djuna[/name_f]