EDIT: We’re now leaning towards Phoebe Gwendolen and Stella Beatrice. Thoughts?
My husband and I have been at a standstill with what to name our twins, and we’re both growing frustrated and tired of the naming
process. We just need to decide.
We have a son named [name]August[/name], who goes by [name]Gus[/name] quite often.
We’re focusing on girls’ names first. There are four names that we’re strongly considering: [name]Cora[/name], [name]Gwendolen[/name], [name]Phoebe[/name], and [name]Stella[/name].
[name]Cora[/name]-
pros:
It looks pretty. Whatever that means.
It sounds very fresh to our ears. Again, whatever that means.
It seems very vintage and pretty. I think the Downton [name]Abbey[/name] association reinforces that.
Cons:
There’s not a literary association that we love.
~[name]Gwendolen[/name]~
pros:
I absolutely love The Importance of Being [name]Earnest[/name].
[name]Gwen[/name] is a fabulous nickname.
It’s not overused.
cons:
It may seem a bit frilly for us. I’ve heard people call it princess-y. That’s not what we’re going for.
It would be misspelled. I know [name]Gwendolyn[/name] is more common, but we much prefer [name]Gwendolen[/name]. Spelling it with a Y takes away the literary references we love.
~[name]Phoebe[/name]~
pros:
My husband’s absolute favorite name. [name]Ever[/name]. It’s really sweet how much he wants a little [name]Phoebe[/name].
The [name]Salinger[/name] reference.
The nickname [name]Bee[/name]. It’s too cute. And Phoebs is great, too.
cons:
Something is holding me back. Maybe it’s that it sounds a little hard?
~[name]Stella[/name]~
pros:
We both love A Streetcar Named Desire
It just seems so sweet.
To us, [name]Gus[/name] and [name]Stella[/name] seem like they’re meant to be siblings.
cons:
So popular!!!
So, given our somewhat arbitrary pro and con lists, which ones should we choose? If you think of any names we may like, feel free to suggest them! We’re still open to suggestions, but we’d really like a literary name.
[name]Gwendolen[/name] and [name]Stella[/name] are the ones I like best.
[name]Gwendolen[/name] does not seem all that frilly to me, and the nn [name]Gwen[/name] definitely is not. I don’t think [name]Gwendolen[/name] is misspelled, either.
I really like [name]Phoebe[/name] and [name]Cora[/name] but then I read this ‘To us, [name]Gus[/name] and [name]Stella[/name] seem like they’re meant to be siblings.’ SO now I think [name]Phoebe[/name] and [name]Stella[/name]
’
[name]Gwendolen[/name] is on my list, too–also because of The Importance of Being [name]Earnest[/name]. I don’t think it’s frilly at all–especially with the nickname [name]Gwen[/name]. That’s my first choice of your list, then [name]Cora[/name], although I wonder if you would regret not having a great literary reference if you used [name]Cora[/name]. ([name]Cordelia[/name] nn [name]Cora[/name] has [name]King[/name] Lear plus [name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables, but that name I think actually is frilly and princess-y.)
Interestingly, my husband also loves [name]Phoebe[/name], and I don’t love it as much as he does.
[name]Phoebe[/name] is my top girl’s name right now also because of Catcher in the [name]Rye[/name], so that’s my #1, choice for you. And #2 would be [name]Cora[/name]. Could you find a literary connection to use as a middle for her?
My favourites are [name]Stella[/name] (#1) and [name]Phoebe[/name] (#2). You’re right- [name]Stella[/name] and [name]Gus[/name] are perfect together, and it’s a very pretty name. [name]Phoebe[/name] is adorable, and I agree it’s sweet how much your husband wants a [name]Phoebe[/name].
So, [name]Phoebe[/name] and [name]Stella[/name] are clearly winning at the moment.
Regarding [name]Stella[/name]'s popularity, we’re sort of torn about how we feel. On the one hand, it scares us off. But on the other hand, if we love the name, it has a great literary history, and it sounds great with her sibling(s), should that really matter? It’s not like it’s the #1 name.
Also, I really like the idea of giving [name]Cora[/name] a great literary middle name! I mean, [name]Cora[/name] has “The Last of the Mohicans” and “[name]Cora[/name] Unashamed”, so it’s not like she’s literary-less. We just don’t love those stories. But, we could do something like [name]Cora[/name] [name]Gwendolen[/name] to add in one of our favorites. I like this idea!
I like [name]Cora[/name] best! and [name]Cora[/name] [name]Gwendolen[/name] is a great idea. (: [name]Cora[/name]'s cute and pretty, but it will age well too.
[name]Phoebe[/name] is such a cute name, and the nickname [name]Bee[/name]. I don’t think it sounds harsh at all (:
[name]Stella[/name] is a great name, but it has always seemed harsh to me. (maybe because it rhymes with cruella?)
[name]Gwendolen[/name] is my least favourite from here. But I think it’s really good as middle for [name]Cora[/name] (:
I love [name]Cora[/name] and [name]Stella[/name]. And [name]Stella[/name] is at 186, so although more popular than [name]August[/name], not in the top 100 either. She likely wouldn’t have another [name]Stella[/name] in her peer group.
I love the all! [name]Stella[/name] is my least favorite, but I don’t think you could go wrong with any. I especially love the literary significance of [name]Gwendolen[/name]–I absolutely adore The Importance of Being [name]Earnest[/name]! I would use [name]Gwendolen[/name] for that alone, haha. And I love [name]Winnie[/name] and [name]Leni[/name] as nns, too. I think [name]Gwendolen[/name] would get my vote for that alone, but [name]Cora[/name] is a very close second, and I do love the The Last of the Mohicans reference (which was half the reason I almost added [name]Cora[/name] to my own list!). I think [name]Gwendolen[/name] [name]Cora[/name] or [name]Cora[/name] [name]Gwendolen[/name] would be perfect. I sort of like the idea of [name]August[/name] and [name]Cora[/name], just because it would get rid of the alliteration between [name]Gus[/name] and [name]Gwen[/name]–which is cute, but for some reason, [name]Gus[/name] and [name]Cora[/name] appeals to me a bit more.
I do love [name]Phoebe[/name], too, and it’s so sweet that your husband wants a [name]Phoebe[/name] so bad, but [name]Gwendolen[/name] and [name]Cora[/name] appeal to me slightly more.
Have you though about using [name]Coraline[/name] or [name]Cordelia[/name]? I’m sure you want a classic literary reference, but [name]Coraline[/name] is from a book and movie. I just love it!
[name]Cordelia[/name] is from [name]King[/name] Lear and she is the good daughter in it.
There is a literary reference for [name]Cora[/name]. She is the heroine of The Last of the Mohicans. [name]Cora[/name] is my favorite on your list.
[name]Stella[/name] is my 2nd favorite, but yes, it does seem rather popular. I prefer [name]Estelle[/name] and [name]Estella[/name] anyway. [name]Estella[/name] is in [name]Charles[/name] Dicken’s Great Expectations.
Some other names you might like: (I think most of them have literary connections)
[name]Nora[/name]
[name]Daisy[/name]
[name]Dahlia[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Lyra[/name]
[name]Cecelia[/name] ([name]Celie[/name])
[name]Beatrice[/name]
[name]Esme[/name]
[name]Alma[/name]
[name]Lenore[/name]
[name]Evangeline[/name]
[name]Penelope[/name]
[name]Adelaide[/name]
P.S. I adore the name [name]August[/name] ([name]Gus[/name])!
So funny we have some of the favorites [name]Phoebe[/name] is my hubby’s favorite too
[name]Love[/name] all of your options!
But if I had to rank them…
[name]Phoebe[/name]
2.[name]Gwendolen[/name]
3.[name]Cora[/name] ( Like [name]Coraline[/name])
[name]Stella[/name]( I put [name]Stella[/name] last just because it’s gotten so popular it’s lost it’s spark for me;))
I think you could use all four-- I like the suggestion above of [name]Cora[/name] [name]Gwendolen[/name] and [name]Stella[/name] [name]Phoebe[/name] or [name]Phoebe[/name] [name]Stella[/name] works well too!
[name]Gwendolen[/name] and [name]Phoebe[/name] take the lead for me, with [name]Cora[/name] and [name]Stella[/name] being very close behind!
[name]Gwen[/name] is absolutely adorable, and [name]Bee[/name] is so cute as well. Couldn’t you just see [name]Gwen[/name], [name]Bee[/name], and [name]Gus[/name] running around? Plus, [name]Salinger[/name] is a personal favorite, so I love that connection.
If I had to rank them, it would be:
[name]Phoebe[/name] is my hubby’s favorite too