Respondents: 64 (This poll is closed)
Personally? [name_m]French[/name_m] first name obviously so but not bother about the meaning but something that has possible short versions that wont be completely butchered. Irish middle name.
I suppose the most imporant thing is something that represents who they are, that is feminine but can last them throughout their life
Great points @ailisa
I love your names. 3 years of [name_m]French[/name_m] for a reason beautiful language!
The most important thing is that we love the name and that it just feels like The Name. You will see, say, yell, hear this name for decades. You need to love that name so much that you will love it decades down the road as much as you loved it when you chose it. When it comes down to it, there are only a handful of names that truly fit that category but it’s the most important. I also find it very important to honor loved ones. The great thing is the names I truly love are also honor names.
For me, a girls’ (first) name needs to be feminine, elegant and sophisticated yet youthful, have a history of usage, it should be familiar and easy to pronounce; popularity doesn’t matter to me if I truly love the name - actually, in some ways, I prefer popular names as you know how you’ll react to meeting other children/people with that name, if the name is uncommon, a lot of people are always dreading a name getting more popular as unfamiliarity was one of the reasons the chose the name to begin with.
For me, the most important thing is that the name feels sophisticated and chic.
I suppose the most important thing to me is that it is feminine. It also has to sound pretty and have a good meaning. Honoring loved ones is also very important to me.
That was the hardest poll that I’ve ever voted on. I don’t really ever think about the reason I love a girl’s name. I just love it! I ended up choosing 2 - ‘it’s feminine’ and ‘it stands out’.
For me, there’s a few things:
For me, a girls’ name should have a beautiful meaning, either in the name itself or to us personally. I prefer classic, vintage but not overused girls’ names. I don’t like frilly names, but I do like some elegance and a good flow. If it’s a longer name, I want it to have a nickname that I love just as much as the full name.
Beautiful, have a good meaning, feminine, not so popular (there are some exceptions on my list because I just love them too much, and I pair them with more unusual middles), have certain personal significance and -just for the first name- work internationally would do it for me. 
Getting aside the basics of myself and my partner LOVING it. I like a name with meaning either with honoring someone important or something that has an impact on mine or my partners life. Then it needs to be in my own opinion pretty/feminine.
I have a question on whether a name should be still used based on honour and personal meaning or due to negative feedback should be changed.
Girls - Nameberry - Welcome to the Nameberry Forums
Boys - Nameberry - Welcome to the Nameberry Forums
For me, it’s that it is the name I love, simple as that. Bonus points if it’s not overused, brings good associations and has nice meanings and several nickname options.
Voted for ‘stands out’ and ‘feminine’, but both of these two are very subjective. I tend to like what could be described as ‘feminine’ names for both boys and girls, and I think names like [name_f]Jane[/name_f] and [name_m]John[/name_m] can stand out despite being ‘plain’.
[name_m]History[/name_m]/associations and sound are probably the most important factors for me. If I don’t like the sound of a name, it’s nowhere near my lists despite having centuries of history. Popularity, or perhaps commonness also matters to me. Names that ‘everyone’ loves hold little appeal, this often coincides with popularity. Names that follow a common pattern also fall into this category, [name_f]Lilia[/name_f] is not a popular or common name, but next to [name_f]Lily[/name_f], [name_f]Lillian[/name_f], [name_f]Liliana[/name_f], [name_f]Leah[/name_f] and hundreds of other names with lots of vowels and L/M/N sounds end up feeling very weak and commonplace to me, and it’s only special associations that can salvage these for me. By associations, I mean anything. Songs I love, mythology, literature, people I’ve met, imagery the name conjures for me typically with links to places I love (I love [name_f]Heather[/name_f] and Calluna for teir link to my grandmother’s cabin where I spend at least a week every summer, where heather can be found all around), historical figures, being favoured by persons I admire, links to family members ([name_f]Iris[/name_f] is my sister’s name backwards), meanings of names, some kind of link to magic helps, names from films/series I love…
So ultimately, if a name has a pleasing sound, I can overlook a lack of positive associations, if a name has positive associations I can overlook some jarring sounds, if a name has a lovely sound and meaningful associations, it’s a staple in my top 100 (can’t narrow it down further, sigh).
These are seriously fantastic responses 