These are our top contenders for DD #2, due in 7 weeks. Big sis is Sylv1e (Sylvi@) Gr@ce. We will use [name]Josephine[/name] as the middle name for any of the other firsts, as it’s a family name. For [name]Josephine[/name], we’re still undecided on a middle, but leaning toward [name]Pearl[/name]. [name]Freya[/name]'s definitely the “dark horse” - we both like it, but it’s unknown status in the US turns me off, as I had an unusual name and got SO tired of spelling/pronouncing it over the years. I’m also worried about how close it is in sound to “fea” in Spanish, which means ugly. But I do love the sound. Any opinions/advice?
P.S. Our last name is very French in spelling, starts with a “Br” and includes the sounds “oo” and “oh.”
Because [name]Sylvia[/name] means forest (sylvan), [name]Hazel[/name] would go well as a companion name. [name]Freja[/name]/[name]Freya[/name] has an English version – Frith/Fritha. It’s a lovely Anglo-[name]Saxon[/name] name that is rarely used but might be easier to spell/pronounce in English. Where I come from, [name]Vivian[/name] is a guy’s name…[name]Josette[/name]/[name]Josie[/name] are great nns for [name]Josephine[/name].
[name]Vivian[/name] is my favorite out of your list. It would go well with [name]Sylvia[/name].
[name]Sylvia[/name] & [name]Vivian[/name], nice pair 
I love [name]Freya[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]. I think [name]Freya[/name] & [name]Sylvia[/name] sound so lovely together!
Second choice would be [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Josephine[/name].
For me, its a tough call between [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] and [name]Josephine[/name] [name]Pearl[/name]. [name]Both[/name] are lovely and vintage and sound beautiful with your daughter’s name. If I HAD to pick one, I’d probably say [name]Josephine[/name] [name]Pearl[/name], but its really close. Good luck!
I am torn betwen [name]Freya[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] and [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] - both are incredibly lovely and compliment [name]Sylvie[/name] beautifully.
I really like [name]Josephine[/name] as a first name too. I love all the nickname options, and it’d fit really nicely with [name]Sylvie[/name]: I just feel [name]Freya[/name] or [name]Hazel[/name] would fit slightly better.
I’m not as keen on [name]Vivian[/name] for two reasons. First, I can’t help but see it as a boys’ name, or a name that was once a boys’ name, which I find off-putting. Second, a previous poster mentioned that [name]Sylvia[/name] & [name]Vivian[/name] go well together, and they do, but I feel that they are too similar in sound.
Good luck!
[name]Freya[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] is my first choice. Beautiful name. [name]Vivian[/name] is a distant second.
I adore [name]Freya[/name]! I think it is exquisite and goes beautifully with your daughter’s name. I love [name]Freya[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]. Gorgeous! I don’t think that [name]Hazel[/name] or [name]Vivian[/name] even come close to the beauty of [name]Freya[/name].
[name]Hi[/name]! Here’s my order of picks:
- [name]Vivian[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] - love these two names! As I’m sure you realize, in the US this isn’t even remotely on the radar as a boys’ name, and I’m not sure it ever was (?). [name]Vivienne[/name] does fem it up a bit if you like it, although it’s a toss-up for me and I probably like [name]Vivian[/name] ever so slightly more. You probably would too for straightforward spelling. I too like the union of the V’s and don’t think they sound too close. Sylv1e and [name]Vivi[/name] might be a little close though? And if you are planning future children you might or might not care about needing a V in the name. Up to you!
- [name]Josephine[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] - This carries a bit of the same old-lady chic as Sylv1@ and I love them together. Actually, it’s a really tough call between this and [name]Vivian[/name]…not sure why I made the call the way I did! [name]Love[/name] the nn’s [name]Josie[/name] and [name]Posy[/name], and Sylv1e and [name]Josie[/name] also sound made for each other.
- [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] - [name]Hazel[/name] has massive fans on NB, and I’ve never quite been one of them, although I am coming around to it relative to where I used to be. It just sounds too much like [name]Haze[/name] to me, if that makes sense? It does go well with your other daughters’ name in some ways but to me this is a bit “plainer”. S’s name is not frilly, it is also kind of serious, but it has a just a nice completely noticeable but not over-the-top touch of prettiness - [name]Vivian[/name] and [name]Josephine[/name] strike me as being exactly the same in that regard. [name]Hope[/name] I’m explaining this well enough. [name]Hazel[/name] may have a totally different feel to you so that’s cool if so.
- [name]Freya[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] - I do love the name [name]Freya[/name], but it feels mismatched to the sister’s name to me, and I agree in the US people wouldn’t know what to do with it - it took me a long time to finally bother to look up the prn, so I didn’t know for a long time and I’m a name nerd. I had assumed Fry-a (ick) or [name]Free[/name]-a (better…). I do hear the overlap with Spanish fea too…do you live in a Spanish-speaking area.
Good luck as you decide! They’re all great names, even [name]Hazel[/name] that I don’t personally love, I definitely think it’s a great pick for someone else!
Thank you all so much for your feedback! Although it was quite split across the board, so I’m not sure I’m any further along in my decision-making process. But everyone helped me think about different aspects of the various names. And Jesba, it’s like you articulated all of the thoughts swirling around in my mind perfectly. Thank you so much for taking the time to post! I read it to my husband and he was blown away by how thorough you were.
[name]Vivian[/name]- [name]Sylvie[/name] and [name]Vivian[/name] sound too similar imo. With all those Vs you are bound to get toungue tied.
[name]Freya[/name]- Cute and vintage. Def. the most uncommon on your list.
[name]Hazel[/name]- [name]Hazel[/name] gets my vote. It is vintage and spunky but not overly common. I dont think it will reach the top 100, where as [name]Vivian[/name] and [name]Josephine[/name] likely will. Plus [name]Hazel[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] is darling.
[name]Josephine[/name]- I love this one too. [name]Josephine[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] is lovely.
My favorite is [name]Hazel[/name], followed by [name]Josephine[/name].
I love [name]Josephine[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] (so beautiful!) and [name]Josie[/name] is a cute nicname to go with [name]Sylvie[/name] (which I also love!) best wishes!