Need Help Narrowing Down

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] Berries,

My husband and I have a few top contenders for names for our future son/daughter who is due in [name_u]January[/name_u]. We are not finding out the sex, so want to have a boy and girl name at the ready. We are not sharing our potential names with friends and family, so really need you input in helping us!

Boy names (middle name will be [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m], a family surname):

[name_m]Calvin[/name_m]
[name_u]Rory[/name_u]
[name_m]Joel[/name_m]

Side note: [name_m]Joel[/name_m] would be to honor a [name_m]French[/name_m] family member who passed away, who pronounced his name [name_u]Jo[/name_u]-[name_f]EL[/name_f]. I prefer this pronunciation but imagine that it could cause teasing.

Girl names (middle name will be DeBaisieux, a family surname):

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Nellie[/name_f])
[name_f]Rosanna[/name_f]
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]

If it helps, our last name is 2 syllables and starts with N.

Thank you in advance - we are really looking forward to your feedback!

I love your mn choices being family surnames. Stunning.
Personally I have always adored [name_m]Joel[/name_m], but with the standard pronunciation. I think it would still do the job of honouring.
I really like all three of your girls choices, [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] being my favourite.
Good luck!

I also love your mn choices. they are fab and are so different.
Boys
I really like [name_m]Joel[/name_m] and [name_u]Rory[/name_u] too. I think [name_u]Rory[/name_u] may be my fave

Girls
I love [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] and [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] from your girls list.

I like [name_u]Rory[/name_u] and [name_f]Rosanna[/name_f] best, but all of your choices have a nice sound to them. Best of luck with the new baby!

I think [name_m]Joel[/name_m] [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] sounds the best from your boys’ names. [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] is nice too but I think the sounds in [name_u]Rory[/name_u] and [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] are too similar.

I like [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] and [name_f]Rosanna[/name_f] from your girls’ names. [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is lovely but not sure on [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] as a nickname if your surname begins with an N. All 3 go really well with the chosen middle name.

My picks are [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] & [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]

My choices are [name_m]Joel[/name_m] and [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. And the mn are stunning as well.

I agree with some of the comments above-- [name_m]Joel[/name_m] or [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] for a boy as these flow better with [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] and although I like all your girl names, I would probably go with [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] because the N there is a little further away from the beginning of your last name (for instance, I don’t think [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_m]Norman[/name_m] or [name_f]Rosanna[/name_f] [name_m]Nathan[/name_m] work as well as [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] [name_m]Norman[/name_m] or [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] [name_m]Nathan[/name_m]).

I would go with [name_u]Rory[/name_u] or [name_m]Joel[/name_m] because I’m afraid [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] N- might sound a little awkward with the n’s running into each other. I would personally not insist on the [name_u]Jo[/name_u]-[name_f]EL[/name_f] pronunciation if you’re in [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_u]America[/name_u], because yes it does sound like the feminine [name_f]Joelle[/name_f] and it would be a life-long fight always correcting people.

You could still have [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] as a nickname for [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] and I think that is the best choice with the middle & last name.

My faves are [name_f]Rosanna[/name_f] and [name_m]Calvin[/name_m].
I love the name [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] and I love the nicknames for [name_f]Rosanna[/name_f] like [name_f]Roxie[/name_f] and [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] or the simplistic [name_f]Rose[/name_f]

My favourites are [name_m]Joel[/name_m] (pro. the English standard way) and [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. Beautiful choices!!!

I love [name_u]Rory[/name_u] & [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]. :]

Thank you, everyone, for your responses. Your thoughtful feedback has given us lots of good fodder for further discussion. As there were no clear front runners, we may just end up waiting to see which name best fits our baby when we finally meet him/her!

[name_m]Calvin[/name_m]
[name_u]Rory[/name_u]
[name_m]Joel[/name_m]

All your boys names are nice [my favourite is [name_u]Rory[/name_u]] but none seem to flow with [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m] [which I [name_f]LOVE[/name_f] BTW]

[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Nellie[/name_f])-[name_f]LOVE[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosanna[/name_f]-Not my favourite name but still pretty
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]-[name_f]LOVE[/name_f]

Whirligig (and really, anyone!), could you recommend some names that you think flow better with [name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m]? We are looking for traditional but not overly used names.

[name_m]Joel[/name_m] and our three girl names are family names, but [name_u]Rory[/name_u] and [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] were just names whose “feel” we liked.

[name_f]Penelope[/name_f] and [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] get my votes!!