My husband and I do not have the same taste in baby names. He prefers popular pretty names with -el and -ia sounds like [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Eva[/name_f], [name_f]Melody[/name_f], [name_f]Elena[/name_f], and [name_f]Alyssa[/name_f]. I love serious, traditional-but-unusual names with a lot of gravity like [name_f]Judith[/name_f], [name_f]Susannah[/name_f], and [name_f]Bethany[/name_f]. I tend to favor names with -oo and -th sounds. We have been trying very hard to find a compromise, but nothing seems to stick. The closest we have is [name_f]Elaine[/name_f], which we both like a lot but don’t love, and I can’t shake the feeling that [name_f]Elaine[/name_f] sounds kind of dated. I’ve tried to talk myself into [name_f]Helena[/name_f], but that terminal -a just bugs me and my husband doesn’t like [name_f]Helen[/name_f]. I would consider [name_f]Thora[/name_f], but my husband thinks its too weird for a first name. [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] works on paper, my husband really likes it, but I don’t love it - it feels a bit too frilly to me - and it’s very very trendy. I’m starting to run out of ideas, and my husband has started to joke about wishing for a boy so we don’t have to talk about girl names anymore :P…Help us out?
[name_f]Gwyneth[/name_f] - pretty and feminine (ironically actually a male Welsh name) with a “th” sound.
[name_f]Helene[/name_f]? More “pretty” than [name_f]Helen[/name_f] but removes the ‘a’ ending you don’t like.
I suppose [name_f]Edith[/name_f] is too stodgy for your husband’s taste.
[name_u]Meredith[/name_u] - same reasons as [name_f]Gwyneth[/name_f]
I love [name_f]Gwyneth[/name_f] and [name_f]Edith[/name_f], unfortunately both have already been vetoed. I might have to try to push for [name_f]Gwyneth[/name_f] again though, I really do love it! I do prefer [name_f]Helene[/name_f] to [name_f]Helena[/name_f], but my husband doesn’t like it and I don’t love it enough to force the issue. [name_f]Elaine[/name_f] is the [name_f]Helen[/name_f] variant that we agree on the most, it seems. I haven’t tried [name_u]Meredith[/name_u] though, I’ll have to suggest it!
I’m the same way, hubby and I have such different taste 
One approach could be to abandon both your tastes for just a moment and think of a whole new class of names to see if anything works. For example nature names, “word” names, modern, vintage, literary, some whole new category.
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f] came to mind - classic/literary with “oo” sound, but also beautifully feminine.
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f] has also already been vetoed unfortunately! I love [name_f]Juliet[/name_f]! He suggested [name_f]Julia[/name_f], but I just don’t love it. I like your suggestion though, we’ll have to try that!
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f] is a wonderful suggestion!
A few more ideas for you:
[name_f]Alice[/name_f]
[name_f]Florence[/name_f]/[name_f]Flora[/name_f]
[name_f]Cecily[/name_f]
[name_f]Amelie[/name_f]
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f]
[name_f]Tabitha[/name_f]
[name_f]Louise[/name_f]/[name_f]Louisa[/name_f]
[name_f]Viola[/name_f]
[name_f]Thessaly[/name_f]
[name_f]Jemima[/name_f]
[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]
[name_f]Millicent[/name_f]
[name_f]Junia[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]
[name_f]Ida[/name_f]
[name_f]Antonia[/name_f]
[name_f]Gloria[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilith[/name_f]
[name_f]Lillian[/name_f]
[name_u]Vivian[/name_u]
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
[name_f]Jessamy[/name_f]
[name_u]Eloise[/name_u]
[name_f]Camille[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucille[/name_f]
[name_f]Harriet[/name_f]
I second the suggestion of [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f]. Also wanted to add [name_f]Harriet[/name_f] or [name_f]Henrietta[/name_f]. Both give the nn possibility of [name_f]Etta[/name_f], which seems sweet, while having a more serious formal name. Another suggestion would be [name_f]Susannah[/name_f] which has that oo sound your looking for. Some cute nn for [name_f]Susannah[/name_f], (that sound a bit fresher than [name_f]Sue[/name_f]) are [name_f]Zuzu[/name_f], or [name_f]Annie[/name_f]. Good luck!
Thanks so much for all of the suggestions, some of these look really great!! I’ll have to run them by my husband and see if any stick!
[name_m]How[/name_m] about:
[name_f]Cecelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f]
[name_u]Vivian[/name_u]
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]
[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]
[name_f]Clementine[/name_f]
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]
[name_f]Lillian[/name_f]
[name_f]Cynthia[/name_f]
[name_f]Thalia[/name_f]
[name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]
[name_f]Agatha[/name_f]
[name_f]Martha[/name_f]
[name_f]Athena[/name_f]
[name_f]Forsythia[/name_f]
[name_f]Cathleen[/name_f]
[name_f]Darla[/name_f]
[name_f]Xanthia[/name_f]
[name_f]Talullah[/name_f]
[name_f]Martha[/name_f]
[name_f]Sandra[/name_f]
[name_f]Gillian[/name_f]
[name_f]Susie[/name_f]
[name_f]Harriet[/name_f]
While it sounds like you two have gone through every name (I would, too! 
) what about [name_f]Vera[/name_f]? It is a strong name with an “a” sound at the end.
Suggestions:
[name_f]Lauren[/name_f]
[name_u]Eloise[/name_u]
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f]
[name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]
[name_f]Ashleigh[/name_f]
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]
[name_f]Alice[/name_f]
[name_f]Elise[/name_f] / [name_f]Elyse[/name_f] /
[name_f]Chloe[/name_f]
[name_f]Jasmine[/name_f]
[name_f]Hannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Natalie[/name_f]
[name_f]Savannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Faith[/name_f]
[name_u]Cassidy[/name_u]
[name_u]Julie[/name_u]
[name_u]Julianne[/name_u]
[name_f]Justine[/name_f]
Ruthanna
[name_u]Meredith[/name_u]
[name_f]Aliyah[/name_f]
[name_f]Alannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Esther[/name_f]
[name_f]Elspeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Jannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilah[/name_f]
[name_u]Micah[/name_u]
[name_f]Blythe[/name_f]
[name_u]Hillary[/name_u]
[name_u]Jody[/name_u]
[name_f]Juliana[/name_f]
[name_f]Julia[/name_f]
[name_u]June[/name_u]
[name_f]Bethan[/name_f]
[name_f]Bethia[/name_f]
[name_f]Thea[/name_f]
[name_f]Therese[/name_f]
[name_f]Elaine[/name_f] was actually the first thing I thought of when I saw the title.
(sorry for any repeats)
[name_m]How[/name_m] about:
[name_f]Louisa[/name_f]
[name_f]Agatha[/name_f]
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f]
[name_f]Blythe[/name_f]
[name_f]Cora[/name_f]
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f]
[name_f]Irina[/name_f]/[name_f]Irene[/name_f]
[name_u]Eloise[/name_u]
[name_f]Moira[/name_f]
[name_f]Paula[/name_f]/[name_f]Paulina[/name_f]
[name_f]Thea[/name_f]
[name_f]Polly[/name_f]
Lol! Well I’m glad [name_f]Elaine[/name_f] isn’t completely off the wall!
Thanks so much for all the suggestions, everybody! There are so many great ideas and I love so many of them! Sadly my husband has also vetoed a lot of them already…I absolutely love [name_f]Harriet[/name_f], [name_f]Irene[/name_f], [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], [name_f]Martha[/name_f], and [name_f]Esther[/name_f], but all have gotten a very solid no. I think some variation of [name_f]Cecily[/name_f]/[name_f]Cecelia[/name_f]/[name_f]Celia[/name_f] could have worked very well for us, but I have a cousin named [name_f]Cecily[/name_f], so it’s sadly off the table.
I do especially love [name_f]Thalia[/name_f], [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f], [name_u]Vivian[/name_u], [name_f]Thessaly[/name_f], [name_f]Louisa[/name_f], [name_f]Elowen[/name_f], [name_f]Moira[/name_f], and [name_f]Jessamy[/name_f]…I’ll have to present them to the DH and see if anything sticks! I’m also going to try to push [name_f]Susannah[/name_f] again, I absolutely love [name_f]Susannah[/name_f] and maybe I can sell him on a cute nickname like [name_f]Susie[/name_f] or [name_u]Sunny[/name_u]…
Have you considered the french form of [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] - [name_f]Amelie[/name_f]? Less trendy, still beautiful.
Other suggestions:
[name_u]Julianne[/name_u]
[name_f]Claire[/name_f]
[name_f]Mabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Louise[/name_f]
[name_f]Greer[/name_f]
[name_u]Marlowe[/name_u]
[name_u]June[/name_u]/[name_u]Juniper[/name_u]
[name_f]Holly[/name_f]
[name_u]Kennedy[/name_u]
Good luck!
Instead of [name_f]Elaine[/name_f], how about [name_f]Elaina[/name_f]?
I think [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] is a beautiful suggestion. [name_m]How[/name_m] about [name_f]Lydia[/name_f], [name_f]Viola[/name_f], or [name_f]Junia[/name_f]?
What about [name_f]Thea[/name_f]? It gives you the th and your husband the a…
Might be good middle ground and I don’t believe it’s overly popular.
I had suggested [name_f]Amelie[/name_f], the husband says it sounds too much like [name_f]Emily[/name_f], which he doesn’t like lol! He is open to [name_f]Elodie[/name_f] though, which we’re considering. He does like [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] a lot but I can’t get past [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] [name_m]Bennett[/name_m] (because I’m a massive nerd :P)…sadly he’s already vetoed [name_f]Junia[/name_f], [name_u]Juniper[/name_u], and [name_f]Viola[/name_f]. I actually really like [name_f]Thea[/name_f], but I have a co-worker with that name so it might be a bit weird…I’m going to suggest [name_f]Thalia[/name_f], [name_f]Greer[/name_f], and [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] though!
Maybe: [name_f]Antonia[/name_f], [name_u]Eloise[/name_u], [name_f]Juliana[/name_f], [name_f]Eliana[/name_f], [name_f]Marina[/name_f], [name_f]Delia[/name_f], [name_f]Eve[/name_f], [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Jessamine[/name_f], [name_u]Teal[/name_u], [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Romilly[/name_f], [name_f]Elise[/name_f], [name_f]Calista[/name_f], [name_f]Thea[/name_f], [name_f]Willa[/name_f], [name_f]Bethel[/name_f], [name_f]Ruth[/name_f], [name_f]Geneva[/name_f], [name_f]Nell[/name_f], [name_f]Viveca[/name_f] / [name_f]Vivica[/name_f], [name_f]Tabitha[/name_f], [name_f]Annabel[/name_f], [name_f]Lelia[/name_f], [name_f]Lilla[/name_f], [name_f]Clara[/name_f], [name_f]Belle[/name_f], [name_f]Belia[/name_f], [name_f]Lucinda[/name_f], [name_f]Olympia[/name_f], [name_f]Olive[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], [name_f]Neve[/name_f], [name_f]Angelica[/name_f], [name_f]Felicity[/name_f], [name_f]Amity[/name_f], [name_f]Honor[/name_f] / [name_f]Honour[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Diana[/name_f], [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f], [name_f]Sabrina[/name_f], [name_f]Ginevra[/name_f], [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f], [name_f]Saskia[/name_f], [name_f]Petra[/name_f], [name_f]Freya[/name_f], [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], [name_f]Fiona[/name_f], [name_f]Alba[/name_f], [name_f]Iris[/name_f].
Have you considered [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]? To me it strikes a balance between [name_f]Judith[/name_f] and [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] because it has [name_f]Judith[/name_f]'s serious and polished vibe but [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]'s flowing and beautiful persona. It’s -o instead of -oo and -ph instead of -th, but I feel it could work for you. Best of luck!