The father was born into country gentry in reduced circumstances but made a fortune for himself, so his daughter had an upper class education. The father would probably be named something practical and respectable, in an early draft I used the name [name_m]Horace[/name_m] for him but I don’t know if that fits.
He would have named his daughter something upper class/upper middle class, maybe one of the more practical royal names. Her name needs to be sufficiently down-to-earth but I’d like her name to have some sort of literary/poetic/romantic connection. In an early draft I’ve tried Catherine and Alexandra but I don’t know if those fit either.
If personalities would be helpful, the father is good-natured, practical and family-oriented; the daughter is quietly spunky, a daydreamer, and fiercely idealistic.
I’d really appreciate any help or suggestions you could give me! Thank you in advance!
I think [name_m]Horace[/name_m] sounds alright! [name_m]William[/name_m] (nickname [name_m]Will[/name_m]), [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m], [name_m]Warren[/name_m], [name_m]Aaron[/name_m], [name_m]Abram[/name_m], [name_m]Victor[/name_m], and [name_m]Alfred[/name_m] could world too!
For his daughter, [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f], [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_f]Morgana[/name_f], [name_f]Cora[/name_f], [name_f]Harriet[/name_f], [name_f]Violetta[/name_f], [name_f]Corinne[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], [name_f]Lydia[/name_f], [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f], [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], [name_f]Elena[/name_f], [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f], [name_f]Lucia[/name_f], [name_f]Mirabella[/name_f], [name_f]Marie[/name_f], [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Ada[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Eva[/name_f], [name_f]Julia[/name_f], [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], [name_f]Stella[/name_f], [name_f]Esther[/name_f], [name_f]Elaine[/name_f], [name_f]Adela[/name_f], [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f], [name_f]Augusta[/name_f], [name_f]Eugenia[/name_f], [name_f]Valentina[/name_f], [name_f]Cassandra[/name_f], [name_f]Cynthia[/name_f], and [name_f]Diana[/name_f] are some options!
Is your story set in the USA or UK? The names differ somewhat depending on where it takes place, also, is it towards the start of the Victorian era (1831-1860’s) or end (1860s-1901)? That also makes a large difference in what names would have been used.
Going by accuracy, [name_m]Horace[/name_m] would be a bit later on - more likely to be a son than a father at the time, if it’s the [name_u]Early[/name_u] Victorian era, and [name_m]Warren[/name_m] was more 1920s than 1800s. I do second [name_m]William[/name_m], [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m], [name_m]Victor[/name_m] and [name_m]Alfred[/name_m] though.
Girls name wise, again, it would depend on the location and era - in Victorian [name_f]England[/name_f], names like [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Susan[/name_f], [name_f]Rachel[/name_f], etc were seen as ‘low class’. The following poems from the 1800s highlight this well:
For Upper-Class [name_f]England[/name_f] (most of these would translate into the [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] O’[name_f]Hara[/name_f] type names):
Since you said you previously considered [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] and [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], I will leave out the Gothic/Steampunk names of the era, but I’ll give you a link to the lists
For the father, I’ve gone for the Georgian/Revolutionary names, as they sort of carried on into the early Victorian era - the names that most of us feel are ‘Victorian’ came from the later portion of the era.
I hope this helped As for US names, they’re a bit trickier to pinpoint - British [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names has done an outstanding job with the UK aspect though. I imagine the ideas would be somewhat similar, and most would be the same, but some names, such as [name_f]Georgia[/name_f], [name_f]Essie[/name_f] and [name_f]Lucille[/name_f], were more common in the US. I recommend checking out the SSA list for some more ideas as well.
In my own family – which was aristocratic [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_f]England[/name_f] – names were quite limited: [name_m]Stephen[/name_m], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_m]Charles[/name_m], [name_m]George[/name_m], [name_f]Parthenia[/name_f] (she was a second wife, lol), [name_f]Louisa[/name_f], [name_f]Mildred[/name_f], [name_m]Bertram[/name_m], [name_m]Waldo[/name_m], [name_f]Edith[/name_f], [name_m]Louis[/name_m], [name_f]Martha[/name_f], etc. The only truly unusual name was Alphaeus.
