I feel like I have reached my Nameberry posting maximum! Thankfully nobody seems to mind that I am obsessing over naming my daughter due in [name]January[/name].
I would love some feedback on these names, our last name is Yoshitomi. Middle name wise I would like it to be a family name, other MN options are [name]Georgia[/name] and [name]Lucille[/name].
[name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Hazel[/name] ([name]Hazel[/name] is my great grandmothers middle name)
[name]Adele[/name] McClure (McClure is a family surname)
[name]Fiona[/name] [name]Grey[/name] ([name]Grey[/name] is a name that has meaning to my husband)
[name]Sela[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name] ([name]Elisabeth[/name] was my grandmother’s name)
All lovely options, so in the end it will just come down to a gut feeling. [name]How[/name] do you feel about the idea of taking these four names to the hospital and waiting to see which one she “looks” like? I have no personal experience in this area, but have heard other posters mention that once they saw the child it was clear that “she was a [name]Beatrice[/name]” etc.
Posters will weigh in on their favorite names, but they can’t answer the question for you in the end. I think it would be different if there were something blatantly problematic about one or more of the names (bad initials, bad associations, overwhelming popularity etc.) but with these names, there’s not!
Some decision-making strategies:
Keep a journal/log recording which one you’re favoring each day. You may find that you’re favoring one more days than the others.
Fake yourself out: Put the names on pieces of paper and crumple them up in a bowl. Tell your husband to draw one and that will be the name you guys use. Draw one and see how you feel: are you disappointed? relieved it wasn’t one of the other ones? That might give you some clues
[name]Say[/name] them out loud–especially the first name–in different contexts. I’ve discovered that some names I thought I loved, I actually don’t like to say out loud very much. Other names I never looked twice at I discover that I love through saying them. Maybe do one per day: [name]Monday[/name] pretend you have an invisible daughter named [name]Fiona[/name] and see how it goes. Call her for dinner, comfort her, scold her. Act it out!
Write them down. Picture them on a birthday party invite, a holiday card, a college diploma, a book jacket, etc.
One trick that is used in wedding dress shops when a bride is torn between two dresses is to have her hold one dress up in front of her (as if she’s wearing it) then close her eyes, switch to the other dress, and open them. Then she give her gut reaction. Sometimes seeing them back-to-back in quick succession makes the decision clear. Maybe you could do that with the names. . . not sure how, though!
Maybe you need a doll: put a nametag on the doll and then look in the mirror while holding the doll. Then switch the nametag (write a different name on it). I know it sounds really silly, but it might help!
I really like all your choices! The one that sounds the least appealing to me is [name]Sela[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name], but that is probably because I have a similar first name and therefore [name]Sela[/name] sounds incomplete to me.
If I had to pick one from the other three options I think I would choose [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Grey[/name]. I the flow of [name]Fiona[/name] Yoshitomi (and I love the mn grey, particularly spelled this way!).
As someone else suggested above, you could consider waiting until you meet your daughter to choose. We recently did this with our twins. It wasn’t as if everything became suddenly clear once we saw them, but we clearly saw that one of them was NOT an [name]Oliver[/name] (although as it turns out his brother is) and that neither of them were a [name]Dean[/name]. It took us about 2 days to make our final decisions, but we are very happy with our ultimate decisions.
Good luck!!
[name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Hazel[/name] is beautiful. My absolute favourite.
[name]Fiona[/name] [name]Grey[/name] is also very elegant - it’s my second favourite, followed by [name]Adele[/name] McClure and then [name]Sela[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name].
Walshe44 had some great suggestions! To add to that, when I go to Starbucks (or anywhere they ask for a name to call out) I give them one of the names off my top 10 to see how I like it when another person says it and to see if I get any reactions! You’d be surprised how people will stop you to tell you how pretty or different “your” name is!
With that being said, my favorite is [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Grey[/name]. I have to admit I wasn’t a huge fan of [name]Fiona[/name] but with the mn [name]Grey[/name] I just love it!!
[name]Sela[/name] is a bit dull and insubstantial next to your other names. I really like [name]Eleanor[/name] and [name]Fiona[/name], but “[name]Fiona[/name] Yoshitomi” sounds a little sing-songy because of the repeated “yo” sounds. [name]Eleanor[/name] works well with your last name, as does [name]Adele[/name]. You couldn’t go wrong with either one, but [name]Eleanor[/name] is one of my favorites, so it gets my vote.
I love [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Grey[/name] and [name]Adele[/name] McClure best but I agree on both of the suggestions, to try the names out and wait to see your daughter for who she is.
[name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Adele[/name], and [name]Fiona[/name] are all really nice choices, and I see the appeal of each one. [name]Sela[/name] is by far my least favourite of the bunch.
[name]Fiona[/name] [name]Grey[/name] is fantastic as a combo, and I also like [name]Eleanor[/name] paired with [name]Hazel[/name]. I’m less of a fan of [name]Adele[/name] paired with McClure. What about [name]Adele[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name] instead?
I love the suggestions for trying out names, need to do some of those.
I like [name]Hazel[/name] and [name]Grey[/name] individually, but [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Grey[/name] is a great combo.
I love [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Hazel[/name], so beautiful! [name]Adele[/name] is lovely too, but I wouldn’t pair it with McClure. I’m not a huge fan of [name]Fiona[/name] & [name]Sela[/name] but the combos are still very interesting, and I think you’ll just have to see which option feels right.
I am a name Aholic as well haha I had my dd’s name decided upon at 8 weeks and we are currently trying to conceive again and have our names pretty much nailed down… So while I think some of the suggestions on waiting are super great if you are anything like me naming your baby is part of preparing and bonding I loved being able to talk to [name]Lola[/name] while I was pregnant and call her by her name and refer to her by her name while talking to others instead of just calling her baby so don’t feel alone in your name stressing… that being said I think [name]Grey[/name] is beautiful…have you thought of using it as a first name? I think [name]Grey[/name] McClure is beautiful but I also like [name]Fiona[/name] [name]Grey[/name] and [name]Adele[/name] McClure. best of luck !
haha I had my dd’s name decided upon at 8 weeks and we are currently trying to conceive again and have our names pretty much nailed down… So while I think some of the suggestions on waiting are super great if you are anything like me naming your baby is part of preparing and bonding 
I loved being able to talk to [name]Lola[/name] while I was pregnant and call her by her name and refer to her by her name while talking to others instead of just calling her baby