Should I stick with my style?

Girl Names
1

I love names that are timeless and elegant, but I like cute nicknames and sometimes unexpected (though still classic) middles.

Boys are easy, my current shortlist is made up of four names, [name_m]William[/name_m] “[name_m]Liam[/name_m]” [name_u]Francis[/name_u], [name_m]Henry[/name_m] “[name_m]Harry[/name_m]” [name_m]Alexander[/name_m], [name_m]Christopher[/name_m] “[name_u]Kit[/name_u]” [name_u]Michael[/name_u], and [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] [name_m]Eugene[/name_m].

Girls are tougher. I’ve become slightly obsessed with [name_u]James[/name_u] as a middle for a little girl, but I fear the trendiness of borrowed from the boys middle names won’t allow for the classic and timeless qualities I do admire.

Another issue is that I feel like all my daughters would have to have traditional men’s names as middles, which is great for
[name_f]Virginia[/name_f] “[name_f]Ginny[/name_f]” [name_u]James[/name_u] and [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] “[name_f]Kate[/name_f]” [name_u]Michael[/name_u] (two of my favorites), but then I fear that a [name_f]Lillian[/name_f] “[name_f]Lilibet[/name_f]/[name_f]Lily[/name_f]” [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] would be out of place. Is that irrational?

Other girls names I could see myself using include [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_f]Claire[/name_f], [name_f]Emma[/name_f], and [name_f]Julia[/name_f], which have always been relatively common since SS began recording names.

2

I really like [name_f]Virginia[/name_f] [name_u]James[/name_u] but don’t much care for [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_u]Michael[/name_u] (just not a fan of either name but I don’t see a problem with you using [name_u]Michael[/name_u]). [name_f]Lillian[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] is beautiful. I actually think they all go nicely together! [name_f]Emma[/name_f] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] would be pretty too

3

I don’t know, normally I would advise against backing yourself into a corner with naming trends, but I do think it would be slightly odd if you gave one daughter a male middle name and not the other. I think it would be one thing if [name_u]James[/name_u] was an honor name, but I don’t know…I guess it wouldn’t be a huge deal either way, because middle names aren’t used very often.

I’d say just take it one child at a time. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t feel like you have to put yourself into some pattern. If you have [name_f]Virginia[/name_f] [name_u]James[/name_u] then find yourself pregnant with a little girl, still loving [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_u]Michael[/name_u], then use it.