Wondering what kinds of reactions I can expect if I told someone our baby was named one of these names - [name]Cecily[/name], [name]Laurel[/name], [name]Irena[/name] or [name]Eliza[/name]? [name]Do[/name] they fit into the familiar but unexpected catagory, or are they just dated, old lady name? We probably won’t share our baby name until he or she is here, so it’s nice to be able to bounce some ideas off of those here at nameberry! All thoughts on these would be apprecited! 
I think [name]Cecily[/name] and [name]Eliza[/name] could fit right in with today’s little generation. (I recommend [name]Eliza[/name] [name]Jane[/name] as a double-barrel first…I adore it!) I would [name]LOVE[/name] to see an [name]Irena[/name], but she may not fit in as well with the other children. She and her friends may consider it an old, dusty name, but name nerds such as myself would likely be thrilled to see it. [name]Laurel[/name], to me, sounds more like it is from the '70s or '80s. I generally like names from those decades, but I have never cared for [name]Laurel[/name]/[name]Lauren[/name]/[name]Laura[/name], as people tend to pronounce the first syllable like “[name]LORE[/name]” and I feel like it’s supposed to be “LAWR”…?
I think all of your names are wonderful and would fit right in today’s world - they’re very nimble sounding, yet they’re also “grounded.” If that makes any sense? I’d particularly love to see a little [name]Irene[/name]/[name]Irina[/name] - what a sweet name!
I love love love these! [name]Laurel[/name] is on my list, and [name]Cecily[/name] and [name]Eliza[/name] are both other favorites of mine. I do, however, like the spelling [name]Irina[/name] over [name]Irena[/name], because I think it modernizes the name a bit. Overall, I think these names are stunning.
I love all of those. I agree that they’re unexpected in a nice way, especially [name]Cecily[/name]!
[name]Cecily[/name]. [name]Laurel[/name] and [name]Eliza[/name] are well loved nameberry names. I am especially pleased to see that [name]Laurel[/name] is coming back I think it is such a sweet name. I like the quirkiness of [name]Cecily[/name] and it seems like a name for a very busy little lady and [name]Eliza[/name] is kind of dominating in a nice way, a leader I think I would name her [name]Eliza[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name].
rollo
[name]Irena[/name] is one of favorite names ever (with the Polish spelling that you have here), and I’ve developed a love for [name]Cecily[/name] as a result of loving [name]Cecilia[/name].
[name]Eliza[/name] and [name]Laurel[/name] are very sweet names too.
All are totally usable!
I know too many [name]Irene[/name] but I love [name]Irena[/name]! That’s my favourite variation.
[name]Cecily[/name] and [name]Lauren[/name] are also so pretty and no, I don’t think they’re old lady names.
I kinda like [name]Eliza[/name], but not so much. I prefer the classic [name]Elizabeth[/name].
All name very nice. [name]Laurel[/name] is more 70’s to my ear as mentioned in a previous post. [name]Irena[/name] probably the farthest afield, probably my favorite. [name]Eliza[/name] and [name]Cecily[/name] both have a [name]Brit[/name] vibe for me, I like that! Good to hear you aren’t sharing name until birth. What if they don’t look like the name you have picked?!
You all are so helpful! It’s nice to have people to bounce my ideas off of. My husband really likes [name]Laurel[/name], and i do too, but he tends to pronounce it more like lore-ull and I usully say Lar-ull. I like the sound of both pronunciations, but I feel like it would annoy me to have everyone pronouncing the name differently. And then there’s the whole issue of the similarity between [name]Laurel[/name]/[name]Laura[/name]/[name]Lauren[/name], it would probably always be misheard.
I really love the name [name]Cecily[/name], but the meaning does kind of bother me some. Unless I could use a middle name that made the meaning a little better. Another thing, would this name work on a girl that ends up being kind of tomboyish? Seems like such a girly girl name.
Any thoughts on the best spelling of [name]Irena[/name]? What about [name]Irina[/name]? My husband actually prefers just [name]Irene[/name], but to me [name]Irena[/name]/[name]Irina[/name] sounds a little fresher and we could always use the nn [name]Irene[/name]. Any thoughts?
Thanks again for helping me sort through all this!
I like all these names, but [name]Cecily[/name] and [name]Eliza[/name] are my favorites. I prefer [name]Irene[/name] to [name]Irena[/name]/[name]Irina[/name] as well. If you’re willing to move [name]Laurel[/name] to the mn position, the mis-pronunciation issues might not be so common-- [name]Irena[/name] [name]Laurel[/name] works well. [name]Irina[/name] seems more Russian to me than [name]Irena[/name], but I think either spelling is fine. [name]Cecily[/name] could definitely work for a tomboy-ish girl-- since it doesn’t have an -a ending, I don’t think it’s too girly. Someone posting on namberry a while back had a little girl named [name]Cecily[/name] [name]Margaret[/name] and I think that name combination is lovely. [name]Cecily[/name] [name]Jane[/name], [name]Cecily[/name] [name]Vera[/name], [name]Cecily[/name] [name]Ann[/name], [name]Cecily[/name] [name]Aurora[/name], [name]Cecily[/name] [name]Ruth[/name], [name]Cecily[/name] [name]True[/name], etc. all work well and help the meaning.