Here’s our (my) list so far. I’m looking to add more names but am feeling a bit uninspired at the moment. We’ve talked about using a few of these [name_m]IRL[/name_m] but I haven’t gotten his opinion on the others. Please comment and feel free to suggest others. Ideally, I want something not too common but not unheard of, either. Trendy names are ‘in’ in my area so I’d like to get something that stands out, but is refreshing, not polarizing (I love [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f] but I think it’s a bit polarizing).
Some are family names… I think the front-runner is [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] for a girl and [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] for a boy.
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f] “Josie”
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f] “Maggie”
[name_u]June[/name_u] – he’s said he doesn’t like this as a FN but I’m still pushing it somewhat)
[name_f]Edith[/name_f]
[name_f]Margot[/name_f]
Alodia/[name_f]Elodia[/name_f]
Lilith – Is this too polarizing for a Christian family?
Penelope “Penny” – I love the nickname Penny but think Penelope is just okay. I don’t care for any other Penny formal names (Millicent, Pennina, etc.)
ETA: Bonus points for using saints names, although that is NOT a requirement!
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f] “[name_u]Josie[/name_u]” - love this one!
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f] “[name_f]Maggie[/name_f]” - great name, I like some other nicknames more than [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] but still solid.
[name_u]June[/name_u] – he’s said he doesn’t like this as a FN but I’m still pushing it somewhat) - Like [name_u]June[/name_u]. There’s also the NT [name_f]Junia[/name_f] if you both like it more.
[name_f]Edith[/name_f] - very nice, although I like it more with nn [name_f]Edie[/name_f].
[name_f]Margot[/name_f] - I prefer [name_f]Margot[/name_f] over [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] (although I also like [name_f]Margaret[/name_f])
Alodia/[name_f]Elodia[/name_f] - this just seems likely to confuse people. I’d go with [name_f]Elodie[/name_f] or skip this name.
[name_f]Lilith[/name_f] – Is this too polarizing for a [name_m]Christian[/name_m] family? - probably? I wouldn’t want to use it. I see the appeal of the sound.
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f] “[name_u]Penny[/name_u]” – I love the nickname [name_u]Penny[/name_u] but think [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] is just okay. I don’t care for any other [name_u]Penny[/name_u] formal names ([name_f]Millicent[/name_f], Pennina, etc.) - hmm. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you love [name_u]Penny[/name_u] enough for [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]? [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] has so many other potential nicknames too.
some thoughts
Corinth/Corinthia
[name_f]Elodie[/name_f]
[name_f]Eve[/name_f]
[name_f]Junia[/name_f]
[name_f]Lily[/name_f]
[name_f]Lydia[/name_f]
[name_u]Penrose[/name_u]
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f] “[name_u]Josie[/name_u]” – I like this. I think it’s cute for a little girl and works well for an adult. I’m not a huge fan of [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], but I agree with giving her a full name from which to draw the nickname [name_u]Josie[/name_u]
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f] “[name_f]Maggie[/name_f]” – I love this one. I think it’s one of those classic names that you could never go wrong using. It’s a plus that there are so many nicknames for it should she decide she doesn’t like her name. I think [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] is cute
[name_u]June[/name_u] – This is okay. Not my favorite. I usually don’t like month names
[name_f]Edith[/name_f] – I really don’t like this name. Nothing about it sounds youthful to me. I picture an old lady with this name, not a baby, toddler, grade-schooler, teenager, college coed, young adult, or middle aged career woman
[name_f]Margot[/name_f] – I love this. I think it works well on its own or as a nickname for [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]
Alodia/[name_f]Elodia[/name_f] – Not a fan, sorry
[name_f]Lilith[/name_f] – Ditto
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f] “[name_u]Penny[/name_u]” – Ditto for this one too. I never understood the appeal of [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] and the Kardashian link just made me dislike it more
Other names that aren’t too popular that I like (though they may not be your style):
My favorites are [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], and [name_f]Edith[/name_f]. And yes I don’t think [name_f]Lilith[/name_f] is a good name for a [name_m]Christian[/name_m] family. Some other names which are saint names: [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], [name_f]Helena[/name_f], [name_f]Adela[/name_f]/[name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]/[name_f]Adele[/name_f]/[name_f]Adelina[/name_f]/[name_f]Adeline[/name_f], [name_f]Juliana[/name_f], [name_f]Mariana[/name_f], [name_f]Agusta[/name_f], [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f].
I really adore [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Margot[/name_f] and [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]. [name_f]Edith[/name_f] is growing on me, too; love [name_f]Edie[/name_f].
Alodia/[name_f]Elodia[/name_f] I believe is way more polarizing than [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f] is. [name_f]Willa[/name_f] or [name_f]Mina[/name_f] are darling nicknames. I agree to go with [name_f]Elodie[/name_f] or even [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] or [name_f]Elise[/name_f].
Other suggestions:
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f]/[name_f]Katherine[/name_f] - ALMOST named my daughter [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_f]Elise[/name_f]/[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] but my husband made me panic because he said it was too popular. For our generation, perhaps, but I don’t believe so for the current generations. I just love the nickname [name_f]Cate[/name_f]/[name_f]Kate[/name_f]. It ages well, too.
[name_f]Tabitha[/name_f] - I think this is spunky yet sophisticated. [name_f]Tabby[/name_f] is a fun nickname.
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] - Similar to how I feel about [name_f]Catherine[/name_f]. I would love to see this make a comeback.
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f] “[name_u]Josie[/name_u]” – [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t love [name_u]Josie[/name_u], but I think [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is an amazing name. And if your daughter doesn’t love [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] or [name_u]Josie[/name_u], there are a bunch of other nickname possibilities there. Very excellent choice.
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f] “[name_f]Maggie[/name_f]” – I don’t love the full name, but I like it well enough, and the nicknames are great.
[name_u]June[/name_u] – he’s said he doesn’t like this as a FN but I’m still pushing it somewhat) – I like it. I think it’s cute.
[name_f]Edith[/name_f] – A tough name, but it’s safe on paper, and [name_f]Edie[/name_f] is so fun and lovely.
[name_f]Margot[/name_f] – I like it on it’s own, I like it as a nickname for [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], I like it all around.
Alodia/[name_f]Elodia[/name_f] – I can’t really explain why, but I don’t like these. It sounds like something else I can’t put my finger on, but not something pleasant. Yodel? I’m not sure, I just dislike the sound.
[name_f]Lilith[/name_f] – Is this too polarizing for a [name_m]Christian[/name_m] family? – I have no idea why this would be polarizing, but I think it’s fine. My first though it of the Rugrats. Awesome!
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f] “[name_u]Penny[/name_u]” – I love the nickname [name_u]Penny[/name_u] but think [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] is just okay. I don’t care for any other [name_u]Penny[/name_u] formal names ([name_f]Millicent[/name_f], Pennina, etc.) – I’m with you. I think [name_u]Penny[/name_u] is so sweet, but I don’t like [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] much at all. I can see a name like [name_m]Peregrine[/name_m] turning into [name_u]Penny[/name_u]…but you’d have to like [name_m]Peregrine[/name_m].
[name_m]Peregrine[/name_m]'s kind of cool… for a boy. It doesn’t sound feminine to me at all. Would [name_u]Penny[/name_u] work as a stand alone name?
Great list, sllah, thank you! My favorites:
[name_f]Anastasia[/name_f] - I think all [name_f]Anne[/name_f]/[name_f]Anna[/name_f] names might be out though because his ex is “[name_f]Annie[/name_f]”.
[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]
[name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]
[name_f]Demetria[/name_f] - [name_f]Love[/name_f] it, just not sure I’d be brave enough to use it. I don’t care for [name_f]Demi[/name_f] though.
[name_f]Natalia[/name_f] - But, this is one letter off of [name_u]Tally[/name_u]'s name!
[name_f]Susanna[/name_f] - This has actually grown on me as a path to [name_f]Sanna[/name_f].
[name_f]Frances[/name_f] - I like this with the nickname [name_u]Frankie[/name_u].
[name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] - I want to like this but just can’t, for whatever reason. I love it the NN [name_f]Evie[/name_f].
[name_f]Victoria[/name_f] - It’s on the list but I don’t like any nicknames for it.
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] - It’s a form of my mom’s name so it’s on my list, not sure why I didn’t mention it. I like it as a FN but will probably end up using it as a middle.
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] - I do like this, and [name_f]Mae[/name_f]. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] was my great-grandma’s name so it has special meaning for me. [name_f]Mae[/name_f] is my mom’s middle name.
Oh, [name_f]Verity[/name_f] and [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] are also on the list. I wouldn’t use [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] with [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], but I looove the NN [name_f]Eve[/name_f]/[name_f]Evie[/name_f]. [name_f]Verity[/name_f] would get the NN [name_f]Vera[/name_f] (I’d pronounce it VAIR-uh and dislike the [name_m]VEER[/name_m]-uh prn).
The only one I like from your list is [name_f]Margot[/name_f] although I prefer the spelling [name_f]Margo[/name_f] which may be trendy for you since you seem to prefer old fashioned names. The other names are ok but nms.