Looking for a strong, classic, not-too-common girl name

The only name we love so far is [name_f]Violet[/name_f], with [name_f]Juliette[/name_f] as another runner up. Other names we’ve discussed have included [name_f]Rivka[/name_f] (though neither of us really like [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f] as a full name) and [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], which has dropped in our list over time. We both have “M” names, and a hyphenated last name starting with “S” with far too many “M’s” in the middle, so we’re trying to avoid softer sounding names, which seem to get swallowed up by the last name. Our style is generally pretty classic - no funky spellings or names that feel super modern or made up. We’d love literary or feminist references, but a lot of those names are falling short for us. Thoughts? Suggestions?

[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]
[name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f]
[name_f]Millicent[/name_f]
[name_f]Bernadette[/name_f]

Maud!! A hundred times Maud (or Maude)! It fits your criteria perfectly. Strong, classic, and literary (Maud - A Monodrama, Maud Gonne [though I wouldn’t consider her a particularly good namesake], Lucy Maud Montgomery), you certainly can’t accuse her of being wishy-washy, a good meaning (“battle-mighty”), and yet she’s got a soft vintage lavender/lilac tint too that fits with the feel of Violet, Juliette, and Margaret. Matilda - for which Maud is a traditional diminutive - could make the cut too.

Otherwise, have you considered the below? All classic, most end in consonants, practically all have literary and/or ‘feminist’ references.

Viola (Shakespeare play)
Isolde (Iseult & Tristan story - perhaps not the best from a moral POV, but certainly literary)
Beatrix (Beatrix Potter)
Violette (Violette Szabo - French-born British agent, one of only 4 women to have received the George Cross; you could consider that a feminist reference)
Dorothy (Dorothy Wordsworth and L. Sayers)
Eleanor (Eleanor/Alienor of Aquitaine, Eleanor Roosevelt)
Rosalind (Rosalind Franklin, As You Like It)
Rosamund (Rosamond Clifford . . . not sure she qualifies for either though!)
Astrid (Astrid Lingren & Tollefsen)
[b]Ingrid /b
Winifred (Holtby - an author and feminist apparently)
Adelaide (Beethoven and Schubert both wrote voice + piano songs called Adelaide)
Charlotte (Charlotte’s Web, Charlotte Bronte)
Kate (Middleton, Sheppard)
Harriet (Beecher Stowe)
Millicent, Melicent (Millicent Fawcett)
Hildegard (Hildegard of Bingen; I love this name, but many people don’t :()
Annaliese (Annelies “Anne” Frank)
Annabel (Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe; another reference I’ve just forgotten)
Philippa (Philippa of Hainault; Queen’s College Oxford was founded in her honour.)
Genevieve (medieval saint who helped to defend Paris against Attila the Hun in 451; in 464 [I think] bargained with Childeric I for release of prisoners)

Also, what about Marguerite instead of Margaret?

What about [name_f]Saskia[/name_f]? It has a similar flavor to [name_f]Rivka[/name_f] but is a full name on it’s own, it’s Dutch. I think it’s lovely and strong, though not sure if it will work with the S last name as well, i think you said only Ms are a problem.

Other names you may want to consider that I think are classic yet strong enough to work with your double last name.

[name_f]Portia[/name_f]
[name_f]Greta[/name_f]
[name_f]Greer[/name_f]
[name_f]Briar[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosemonde[/name_f]
[name_f]Tanis[/name_f]
[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]
[name_f]Gretchen[/name_f]
[name_f]Henrietta[/name_f]
[name_f]Ingrid[/name_f]
[name_f]Lavender[/name_f]
[name_u]Merritt[/name_u]

Maybe I’m the only one in the world who loves [name_f]Hildegarde[/name_f], but you could call her [name_f]Hildi[/name_f] and it certainly holds it’s own and has history.

[name_f]Margot[/name_f]*
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f]
[name_f]Alice[/name_f]*
[name_f]Edith[/name_f]
[name_f]Clementine[/name_f]
[name_f]Audrey[/name_f]*
[name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]
[name_f]Adeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]*
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]
[name_f]Arabella[/name_f]
[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]
[name_u]Eloise[/name_u]
[name_f]Christine[/name_f]
[name_f]Johanna[/name_f]
[name_f]Sybill[/name_f]
[name_f]Berenice[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilian[/name_f]
[name_f]Angelica[/name_f]
Isault
[name_f]Phedra[/name_f]
[name_f]Zinnia[/name_f]
[name_u]Adair[/name_u]
[name_f]Iola[/name_f]
[name_f]Iolanthe[/name_f]
[name_f]Georgia[/name_f]
[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]
[name_f]Clara[/name_f]
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
[name_u]Ruby[/name_u]
[name_f]Stella[/name_f]
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Theodora[/name_f]

[name_f]Diana[/name_f] - goddess of the hunt and Wonder Woman ([name_f]Diana[/name_f] [name_m]Prince[/name_m])
[name_f]Vashti[/name_f] - Persian queen who defied her husband
[name_f]Judith[/name_f] - slayer of Holofernes
[name_u]Yael[/name_u]/[name_u]Jael[/name_u] - slayer of Sisera
[name_u]Joan[/name_u] - St. [name_u]Joan[/name_u] of [name_m]Arc[/name_m]
[name_f]Ines[/name_f] - [name_f]Juana[/name_f] Inés de la [name_u]Cruz[/name_u]
Gwenllian - 12th-century Welsh princess who led an attack against Norman forces
[name_f]Salome[/name_f]

Perhaps too out-there but strong namesakes: [name_f]Hypatia[/name_f], [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f]/[name_f]Zinovia[/name_f], [name_f]Artemisia[/name_f], [name_f]Lucretia[/name_f], Lotfia.

Also feel strong and classy to me: [name_f]Zoya[/name_f], [name_f]Adelais[/name_f], [name_f]Leonie[/name_f], [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], [name_f]Bridget[/name_f], [name_f]Varda[/name_f], [name_f]Axelle[/name_f], [name_f]Clea[/name_f], [name_f]Berenice[/name_f]/Berenika, [name_f]Veronika[/name_f], [name_f]Constance[/name_f].

I like [name_f]Rivka[/name_f]. I think it sounds like a name on its own and has more personality than [name_f]Violet[/name_f] or [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] for me. I like [name_f]Greta[/name_f], [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f], and [name_f]Edith[/name_f] from pps.

[name_f]Anne[/name_f]
[name_f]Bianca[/name_f]
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]
[name_f]Georgia[/name_f]
[name_f]Harriet[/name_f]
[name_f]Ida[/name_f]
[name_f]Irene[/name_f]
[name_f]Jane[/name_f]
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f]
[name_f]Petra[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosa[/name_f]
[name_f]Ruth[/name_f]
[name_u]Simone[/name_u]
[name_f]Vera[/name_f]

[name_f]Violet[/name_f], [name_f]Juliette[/name_f] and [name_f]Rivka[/name_f] are lovely! You may also like these:

[name_f]Daphne[/name_f]
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f]
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f]
[name_f]Louisa[/name_f]
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]
[name_f]Mila[/name_f]
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f]
[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f]
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Neve[/name_f]
[name_f]Daisy[/name_f]
[name_f]Magdalena[/name_f]
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]
[name_f]Magnolia[/name_f]
[name_f]Luna[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f]
[name_f]Jade[/name_f]
[name_f]Mallory[/name_f]
[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]
[name_f]Amelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Margot[/name_f]
[name_f]Victoria[/name_f]
[name_f]Anna[/name_f]
[name_f]Anastasia[/name_f]
[name_f]Belle[/name_f]

Thanks for all your suggestions! Many have been on our list at one point or another, but there were definitely some out of the box options! We’ve considered [name_f]Margot[/name_f] and variants including [name_f]Marguerite[/name_f], but have family members by those names, so that could get weird. [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] has met a similar fate, though I love the sound and style. [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] got the spousal veto, and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] gets swallowed up by the last name I think. We’re trying to avoid names beginning with M, ending with S, and with a more classic profile. I grew up with a super unusual name, so I’m hesitant to give our child a name that constantly has to be spelled or re-pronounced, but I don’t want it to be too popular - no [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Jessica[/name_f], [name_f]Brittany[/name_f], etc here! [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think [name_f]Violet[/name_f] falls in the too-popular camp? I hadn’t heard it at all, and was shocked to see that it was #50 in 2015. I really like short spunky nicknames a la “[name_f]Vi[/name_f],” which is another reason we were leaning in this direction.