Thank you for all of the opinions so far. I am much more set on my girls names than I am on my boys, although I do have a few soft spots for some of the boys combos.
@jem - Thank you for your opinions. I do agree that [name_u]Easton[/name_u] is quite trendy, and I’m slowly falling out of love with it. I do, however, adore the nickname EJ, and would love any suggestions for the middle name [name_u]James[/name_u], which is an honor name for me. I also agree that [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m] [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] flows better, but much prefer [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] in the first name spot.
@kittymomma246 - Thanks for your opinions. Samaire is pronounced sam-air and would honor my younger sister [name_f]Samantha[/name_f]; while her name is nice it’s not my favourite, and of the other options to honor her I like Samaire and [name_f]Samara[/name_f]. [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] is pronounced like [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] as opposed to [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f], and [name_f]Thisbe[/name_f] is pronounced the way you assumed. I’m not overly fussed about the nickname [name_f]Maddy[/name_f], as I know it would be inevitable, but I much prefer the sweeter, softer sounding [name_f]Maisie[/name_f]. I am pronouncing [name_m]Emrys[/name_m] like em-riss, and would prefer the spelling of [name_m]Nathaniel[/name_m] to be [name_m]Nathanael[/name_m] but have decided that the simpler spelling would be better with [name_m]Emrys[/name_m]. Not a fan of [name_m]Rick[/name_m] for [name_m]Frederick[/name_m].
@jame1881 - Thank you for your opinions. I wholeheartedly agree with your general warning, and would never pick a name without making sure that I loved it in its entirety, which is partly why I have just [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] on my list as opposed to a longer name with the nickname [name_f]Poppy[/name_f]. I am definitely a nickname lover though, and while I’d probably use the full names about 80% of the time, it’s nice to have something shorter to use at times. I’ve never heard of the frozen pizza [name_f]Celeste[/name_f], but it reminds me of the stars, and it has a fresh clean sound in my head. I go back and forth on the spelling of [name_f]Cecelia[/name_f], but at the moment that is the spelling that I prefer. I also have a rather large soft spot for [name_f]Cecily[/name_f], which I think also goes nicely with [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] which honors my grandmothers. I’m not necessarily trying to avoid [name_f]Maddy[/name_f], I would just prefer a different nickname or just [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]. I have no doubt that she would get [name_f]Maddy[/name_f] at some point though. I do like [name_f]Ellie[/name_f], but would probably call her [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] most of the time. I also quite like the [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] spelling. I was a little worried about my [name_u]Percy[/name_u] combo, maybe [name_u]Percy[/name_u] [name_m]Robert[/name_m] would be better? [name_m]Both[/name_m] [name_u]Robin[/name_u] and [name_m]Robert[/name_m] honor my father, as does [name_m]Leonard[/name_m]. I was also worried about the bs in [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m]. Maybe [name_m]Henry[/name_m] [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m] and [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]?
@joel613 - Thanks for your opinions. I agree that [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] needs something more formal but I am at a loss as to what. I’m not a fan of [name_f]Pauline[/name_f] or [name_f]Paula[/name_f], and while I like [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] it’s definitely not my favourite name. I can see your point about [name_m]Jack[/name_m] being a nickname, but I think that by now it has a good history of use as a given name in its own right for people to accept it as such. There are a lot of Jacks in the UK (where I live), so it wouldn’t be out of place here.
Thank you again 