Our third baby is due in a few months and we’re naming her [name_f]Helen[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]. Nicknames are one of those things that come about on their own, in time, but I wondered if anyone had any suggestions.
I’d considered [name_f]Nell[/name_f] or [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] but my husband vetoed those options.
[name_f]Leni[/name_f] or [name_f]Lena[/name_f] would be my first ideas. I’m a huge fan of [name_f]Leni[/name_f] (and [name_f]Lena[/name_f]!), so my mind instantly goes there, though. The only other one I can think of is [name_f]Ella[/name_f]? Or even just [name_f]Elle[/name_f], or [name_f]Ellie[/name_f].
OP, do you mind sharing other middle names that you considered to go with [name_f]Helen[/name_f]? I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Helen[/name_f], but I’m having a hard time finding a middle name that I like to go with it. I’m wondering what you liked.
For nicknames, I was thinking [name_f]Lena[/name_f].
[name_f]Lena[/name_f] is very cute 
@soneedaname, we are set on [name_f]Helen[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f]; besides loving it, it honors my grandmother.
[name_u]Lennie[/name_u] [name_u]Jo[/name_u]
[name_f]Hennie[/name_f]
Hay-[name_u]Jay[/name_u]
I like the idea of [name_u]Lennie[/name_u] or [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]!
[name_f]Helen[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is stunning! Why use a nn? [name_f]Helen[/name_f] is short enough. If you really want one, I would use [name_u]Lennie[/name_u].
Edited for Privacy
[name_f]Nell[/name_f] is definitely my favorite. An underused, old-time classic!
Maybe [name_f]Eleni[/name_f]? (Greek version of [name_f]Helen[/name_f])
Thank you for all of the feedback! Likely we will call her [name_f]Helen[/name_f] unless a name emerges; but I really love the mention of Nini!
I don’t think my post was clear. I wasn’t AT ALL suggesting you consider a different middle name for your child – [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] is lovely! I was asking what other names made it onto your short list before you decided (if there were others) so that I could borrow one of the rejected names for my own child!
I just wanted to be clear that I wasn’t criticizing [name_f]Helen[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] at all. Congrats on finding a name!
Sorry for the misunderstanding, @soneedaname. I honestly think I considered every name out there before we narrowed it to [name_f]Lauren[/name_f], [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Helen[/name_f] (joining [name_f]Jane[/name_f] and [name_m]Henry[/name_m]). My husband took [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] and [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f] off the list and I chose [name_f]Helen[/name_f].
Good luck!