Less than a month til due date.. Last 2 names!

See the results of this poll: Which do you like best if our babe is a girl?

Respondents: 99 (This poll is closed)

  • Dorothea Esther Pearl : 27 (27%)
  • Matilda Esther Peral: 72 (73%)

[name_f]Matilda[/name_f] [name_f]Esther[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] is lovely! I’m not a fan of [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f], it feels a little too clunky for my tastes.

[name_f]Dorothea[/name_f]! It’s highly uncommon and I love the nickname options.

[name_f]Matilda[/name_f] [name_f]Esther[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]!! Adorable! [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] is too heavy for my taste.

Those that voted for [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]… you don’t think it’s too popular? That’s what scares me about it.

Much prefer [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f]. [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] is getting to feel like [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] to me - lovely and classic, but so common/well-used that I can’t help thinking “Isn’t there any other name they liked?” [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f], on the other hand, is equally gorgeous and extremely under-used (imo). Definitely deserves your support! It also has pretty nickname options - [name_f]Dot[/name_f], [name_f]Thea[/name_f], [name_f]Rhea[/name_f], [name_f]Dora[/name_f], [name_f]Dorrie[/name_f], [name_f]Thora[/name_f], [name_f]Dee[/name_f], [name_f]Dottie[/name_f], [name_f]Doe[/name_f], [name_f]Ro[/name_f]. To be fair, so does [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] - I love the diminutive [name_f]Maud[/name_f], and you may like [name_f]Tillie[/name_f], [name_f]Maddie[/name_f], [name_u]Mattie[/name_u], [name_f]Tilda[/name_f], etc. better than I do. I just think you ought to go for [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f]!

[name_f]Esther[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] is beautiful and works well with whichever fn you choose.

I love both names, but [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] is my favourite. At the school I work, there are several [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]'s and no [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f]'s. However, I am the type of person who likes my child to be the only one in his/her class with their name (guilty!) :wink: both names are lovely though, and beautifully vintage, so either one you choose will be a fantastic name for your daughter!

It is growing in popularity, but if you love the name, you should use it. I love [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], but there is no way that I would use it, because of its popularity. I love [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] ([name_f]Winnie[/name_f]) despite a lot of people disliking the name, but I know that it is not a common name. Growing up as a [name_f]Bethany[/name_f] with four other [name_f]Bethany[/name_f]'s in my class, and always being referred to as “[name_f]Bethany[/name_f] B” or “The other [name_f]Bethany[/name_f]” was never fun… However, not everybody is bothered by that :smile:

I prefer [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]

Thank you for all the input! @morning_glory, I think you hit the nail on the head regarding my hesitation of [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]. I adore the name but would be disappointed if it starts to feel unexciting in the coming years. Plus, there is a [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] Broadway musical out now I just saw a commercial for… Oh no!

We’ve also liked [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] for a couple years. Yes, it’s clunky and old but that’s part of the charm of it, for me anyways. [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] is new since being pregnant, but we do really really love it. I hate the nickname [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] / [name_u]Mattie[/name_u] though. Hmm…

I don’t have kids, but [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] is #535 in the US and [name_f]Mathilda[/name_f] is not on the list. [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] was never lower than #300 in the past 100 years. I think [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] is a little too funky to ever catch on as much as [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]. But who knows. [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] is pretty but it’s so close to [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] which just feels frumpy to me. Is [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] still on the table? [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] [name_f]Esther[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] would be my pick if so.

I like that you provided those stats @sarah1800! Very interesting, I never knew [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] was that steady. [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] is probably my favorite name but our last name starts with Wi so it’d be a bit much

[name_m]Ah[/name_m], well I’m in the UK and [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]'s at #27, so that could account for my feeling that it’s become very trendy. Plus I’ve heard of a couple of small Matildas recently.

[name_f]Matilda[/name_f] [name_f]Esther[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]. I like [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] but I think what’s throwing me on the combo is the repeated -th sound in both [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] and [name_f]Esther[/name_f].

[name_f]Dodo[/name_f] or [name_f]Dodie[/name_f] is another nickname for [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] - In [name_m]George[/name_m]'s [name_u]Eliot[/name_u]'s classic novel Middlemarch the heroine’s name is [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] but her family call her [name_f]Dodo[/name_f]. If you like them both the same then go for the less popular name, there is another [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] in my daughters toddler group and that bugs me and I wish I’d called her [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] even though I till love her name.

[name_f]Matilda[/name_f] for sure! :slight_smile:

We are open to different middle name suggestions if [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] [name_f]Esther[/name_f] doesn’t sound right. But I don’t hear two of the same sound in those names. I pronounce [name_f]Esther[/name_f] Est-her not Es-ther, no Th sound. I wonder if other people pronounce it differently? [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] is clunky and old… That’s part of the reason we like it… But is it TOO clunky and old?

[name_f]Matilda[/name_f] being in the 500s does seem popular to me for some reason but maybe I’m exaggerating its actual popularity in real life. The play [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] coming out bugs me too… But I still do love it. I wish the SSA list came out before my due date so I’d know how fast it is really gaining but it’ll probably come out a couple weeks after babe is born.

I think both are beautiful! I voted for [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] [name_f]Esther[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] because I love the full name AND the potential nicknames. I think with a longer name like [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] or [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] you do need to think seriously about how people are likely to shorten it, because they will try even if you don’t intend to shorten it yourselves.

[name_f]Matilda[/name_f] is fab in full (my daughter’s middle!) but like you I’m not a fan of [name_u]Mattie[/name_u], [name_f]Maddie[/name_f], [name_f]Tilly[/name_f]… I could cope with [name_f]Tilda[/name_f] maybe but I don’t love it and I think the others are more intuitive.

[name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] on the other hand is stunning in full (love a bit of elegant clunkiness, myself!) and there are tons of nickname options to suit any personality, all of which are lovely.

I really think you’re exaggerating the popularity of [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], though. The 500s is still really rare! My daughter’s first name is in the 500s here and we’re yet to meet another, or even hear of another [name_m]IRL[/name_m]. [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] definitely has the potential to get more popular as it is already top 30 here, but at over 500 currently where you are I wouldn’t be worrying too much about it.

Eek, best of luck! :slight_smile:

@katinka eeek! Thanks for your comment! I think we have agreed tentatively on [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] even though it’s not getting as many votes on here. It truly would bug me if my daughter start to getting called [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] and I think that you’re right, it likely would happen despite our best efforts to avoid it. I think we are 80% [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] right now and feels like a relief to have some clarity, when we’ve been 50/50 for months! Thank you!

Good for you! Go with your gut even if it doesn’t follow the poll results.