First of all, we are not yet expecting, but have been ttc for almost two years now. I have serious baby fever, and love dreaming of our future babies and what we’ll name them. The other night my husband agreed to look over my loooong list of girl names and give his opinion on them - he’s such a sweetie! Anyway, we came up with 6 we both would consider. But we can’t for the life of us seem to settle on one, and it doesn’t help that my favorite seems to change daily. I know we still have tons of time, but I’m just currious what you all think of taking a list of 4-6 names to decide once you meet the baby. Anyone done this before? Is it better to narrow it down to 2 or 3?
Here’s our current list. [name]Feel[/name] free to share your thoughts on it!
[name]Coralie[/name] [name]Diane[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Diane[/name] “[name]Lottie[/name]”
[name]Laurel[/name] [name]Diane[/name]
[name]Arielle[/name] [name]Diane[/name] (prn. are-ee-[name]ELLE[/name])
And these two aren’t quite as high on our list. We both like them, but aren’t totally sure we’d actually want to use them for our baby girl.
[name]Lorraine[/name] [name]Diane[/name] (Not sure I like the flow of this though.)
[name]Irena[/name] [name]Diane[/name] (Does this combo make it sound like she’s an old lady instead of a baby?)
I understand your baby and naming fever as I have it too! It sounds like you already narrowed your list to four which isn’t too many at all. I’d set this list aside for a while, maybe a month or two or three even and come back to it and see how you both like the names then. It will give you a better idea of how you would live with the names and whether you can see them being used every day for a lifetime. This strategy has helped me and my husband consider our favorites and revise our list a few times. Also, you may be influenced by the popularity changes in names when the SSA stats come out in [name]May[/name]. Good luck!
btw, my favorites on your list are [name]Coralie[/name] [name]Diane[/name] and [name]Laurel[/name] [name]Diane[/name]!
I would eliminate the last two on the list since you said quite frankly they are not your favorites. Taking 4 names to the hospital will be much more manageable and you do not want to feel overwhelmed when making the decision, as it will be hard enough already. Use the top 4 names and feel good knowing they literally are the TOP 4 on your list. GL!
If I were in your shoes I’d nix [name]Arielle[/name] and [name]Lorraine[/name].
[name]Arielle[/name] sounds trendy to me. I love the male (though fairly androgynous) character [name]Ariel[/name] in The [name]Tempest[/name]. [name]Arielle[/name] really cheapens the name imo. Sorry!
Since you’re set on [name]Diane[/name] for the middle, I’d steer clear of names with N-sound endings. Sorry [name]Lorraine[/name]. Too repetitive, especially since both names are two-syllable, with emphasis on second syllable.
Good idea to have a few choices and see what fits.
My favorite is [name]Laurel[/name] [name]Diane[/name]. I think of the huntress, goddess of the moon… garlands of laurel branches… victory, valor, female power.
Plus, it has such a silvery, clear sound. [name]Just[/name] wonderful!
I honestly love the top four just about equally! If I have to say, I would say [name]Charlotte[/name], then [name]Arielle[/name], then [name]Coralie[/name], then [name]Laurel[/name], but I would be so happy to meet a little girl with any of those names! It sort of pains me to see me put [name]Coralie[/name] third, because I love it just as much as [name]Charlotte[/name] or [name]Arielle[/name].
You all are so helpful, thanks you! It helps just to have some new eyes and new feedback on the names we have been talking over for so long. I talked again with my hubby tonight and asked him what his top 3 would be, and they were the same as my top 3 - [name]Coralie[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name] and [name]Laurel[/name]! So I think we could pretty much scratch [name]Lorraine[/name], [name]Irena[/name], and [name]Arielle[/name] off the list for now. I think I could be perfectly happy with waiting to meet our baby girl before making the final choice between those 3. [name]Do[/name] any of those 3 work for sisters - [name]Charlotte[/name] ([name]Lottie[/name]), [name]Coralie[/name] ([name]Cora[/name]/[name]Cori[/name]/[name]Coral[/name], [name]Laurel[/name]? I feel like [name]Coralie[/name] and [name]Laurel[/name] would be a little too similar for sisters (especially if we ever called [name]Coralie[/name] [name]Coral[/name]), but that means whatever one we pick we can’t use the other. Also I feel like if we pick [name]Charlotte[/name] and she goes by [name]Lottie[/name], than [name]Lottie[/name] and [name]Laurel[/name] is kind of too matchy. ??? But then [name]Charlotte[/name] and [name]Coralie[/name] seem like different styles, so not sure they work together either. What do you think? Of course if we never have two girls it won’t matter anyway. I just feel like I have to think about it now, because whatever name we choose it might rule out our other favorites. [name]Coralie[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name] & [name]Laurel[/name] have been at the top of our list for over a year now, and we still love them, so I feel pretty confident that we could be happy with any one of them. [name]Just[/name] can’t seem to settle on our very favorite, especially if it means we can’t use the others for any other future baby girls. I love all three!!
I feel like [name]Coralie[/name] is the rarest, but also the one with many similar (possible replacement) names.
[name]Cordelia[/name] (Lear connection is a little heavy for my taste, but lots of Berries love this)
[name]Cordula[/name] (saint’s name, means “heart”)
[name]Cornelia[/name] (ancient [name]Roman[/name], also granny-chic)
Coriander (wonderfully androgynous, fragrant, unusual)
[name]Corinne[/name] (my friend [name]Corinne[/name] uses the nn [name]Coco[/name], which could work for any of these really)
On the other hand, nn [name]Coral[/name] is fabulous for [name]Coralie[/name]. I see vermillion reefs teeming with life.
Then again, [name]Laurel[/name] is also very evocative, but there’s the rhyming problem with [name]Coral[/name]. [name]Laurel[/name] [name]Diane[/name] is a magical combination.
Maybe you should take these two for a test-drive - try ordering something and hearing the names called aloud across a crowded cafe, or strike up a conversation with a stranger about your soon-to-be daughter [name]Coralie[/name] or [name]Laurel[/name]… see how it feels.
I’m not as fond of [name]Charlotte[/name] as I am of [name]Lottie[/name]. [name]Charlotte[/name] is very popular in my neighborhood, but it’s a classic so I can’t say it’s trendy. [name]Lottie[/name] is just delicious!
I think you should choose your favorite and worry about sister names later.
I don’t think 6 names is too much to bring to the hospital with you. Right now I have about 3-6 names on my list and I’m due in a little less than 3 months now, haha. But I really like [name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Diane[/name] nn [name]Lottie[/name]. Stands out to me from all your others. [name]Charlotte[/name] has got to me one of the prettiest names ever!! [name]Love[/name] it
The other night my husband agreed to look over my loooong list of girl names and give his opinion on them - he’s such a sweetie! 
Anyway, we came up with 6 we both would consider. But we can’t for the life of us seem to settle on one, and it doesn’t help that my favorite seems to change daily. I know we still have tons of time, but I’m just currious what you all think of taking a list of 4-6 names to decide once you meet the baby. Anyone done this before? Is it better to narrow it down to 2 or 3?
Also I feel like if we pick [name]Charlotte[/name] and she goes by [name]Lottie[/name], than [name]Lottie[/name] and [name]Laurel[/name] is kind of too matchy. ??? But then [name]Charlotte[/name] and [name]Coralie[/name] seem like different styles, so not sure they work together either. What do you think? Of course if we never have two girls it won’t matter anyway. 
I just feel like I have to think about it now, because whatever name we choose it might rule out our other favorites. [name]Coralie[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name] & [name]Laurel[/name] have been at the top of our list for over a year now, and we still love them, so I feel pretty confident that we could be happy with any one of them. [name]Just[/name] can’t seem to settle on our very favorite, especially if it means we can’t use the others for any other future baby girls. I love all three!!