First Name for Girl
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| Sun, 02-12-2006 - 6:59am |
My partner and I can not seem to agree on ANY names. She is crazy about all of the popular names. I grew up with a very common name, so I very much want to stay away from the chart-toppers. My three favorites are Cheyenne, Jordana and Cecelia. A couple of her favorites are Emily, Olivia and Madeline.
Any ideas on where to find a patch of middle ground? And speaking of middle ground, we are terrified to start thinking of middle names. I know that I could most likely "bully" her into any name that I want, but I would really like to choose a name that we both like.
I should probably note that my last name (which will also be the baby's last name) is awful. It sounds like mister and starts with a silent P, not-so-silent F.
(I cannot for the life of me figure out how my grandparents named all eight of their children and managed to maintain their sanity.)

Well what I did for my daughter was we bought 2 of the same baby name books and we went through and highlighted every name we liked. Then we went through togather and wrote the ones that we had in common.
From your picks:
Cheyenne Rose, Cheyenne Dawn, Cheyenne Olivia, Cheyenne Emilia, Cheyenne Belle, Cheyenne Noelle
Jordana Alexis, Jordana Leigh Jordana Madeline, Jordana Celine, Jordana Simone, Jordana Marie
Cecelia Grace, Cecilia Kristine, Cecilia Therese, Cecelia Renee, Cecelia Adele, Cecelia Rosali
Emily Cheyenne, Emily Nicole, Emily Elisabeth, Emily Victoria, Emily Cecilia, Emily Josiane
Olivia Simone, Olivia Grace, Olivia Jeanine, Olivia Vivian, Olivia Gwendolyn, Olivia Annelise
Madeline Rose, Madeline Elyse, Madeline Sophia, Madeline Breann, Madeline Alexa, Madeline Kelley
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Here are some names that aren't common, but aren't unrecognizable either. Show her these and see what she thinks and hopefully you can agree on one.
Savannah
Alexis
Felicity
Naomi
Althea
Avelyn
Adeline
Bridget
Tabitha
Corinna/Karina
Corinne
Layla
Lila
Abigail
Emmaline
Annalise
I think Annalise would be a nice compromise. It has the nn Annie which is especially common which she likes, and then the nn Liesel or the full name itself which makes it different. You could also use Abigail with the nn Aila. I suggest finding a more common name and using a creative nn.
If it helps at all, Cheyenne and Jordan(a) are uber-trendy for little girls where I live, so they're pretty common here (actually more-so than Olivia - which I've heard is popular but never met one once - and Madeline - although Madison is quite popular here). Cecilia is more like you mentioned ... familiar, but not unheard of.
Since her names are more "chart-toppers" and you say you'd like a less-common name (but obviously nothing too "out-there"), perhaps you could try looking at the BOTTOM 50 or so names on the SSA's top 100 list? I'm sure lots of those would fit the bill of familiar, but not too common, KWIM? Maybe something like Avery (has the trendier feel of some of your choices, AND a similar sound to Emily, one of hers), Maya, Amelia, etc.
Here's the link:
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/
You can also search for the top 100 by state if you'd like, which might give you an even better indication of the popularity of certain names in your actual area.
Good luck! Let us know if you see anything you agree on! :)
~Kelli
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It's hard to compromise. I like some of the suggestions like highlighting names in two copies of a big babynames book. I also agree that even though Cheyenne (152) isn't very popular, it
Cecilia/Cecelia/Cecily does actually sound like a good "compromise" name, but maybe that would seem like she's giving in to you :P
Emily, Olivia and Madeline are all classic Victorian/Edwardian names that have recently become popular again, so maybe the compromise lies in another one of those names that hasn't quite caught on as a super-popular name again.
Along those lines, then (with 2004 popularity rankings if they're on my long list):
Anne, Annabel(le), Anneliese (398, 845(299), 746)
Claire, Clara (98, 285)
Eleanor (305)
Harriet (not listed in top 1000)
Frances (maybe not with Pf___ ln, but I love the nn Frankie for a girl. Sigh! #639)
Rosemary, Rosalind (718, not listed)
Helen, Helena (364, 555)
Beatrice, Beatrix (not listed, but has hovered around 1000-mark for 10 years)
Philippa (nn Pippa, not listed)
Winifred (nn Winnie, Freda/Freddie?)
Maxine (not listed)
Adele (not listed)
Matilda (Mattie, Tillie, Tilda- not listed)
Bronwen
Imogen
Stella (291)
Alice (405)
Eliza (320)
Lucy (204)
Jane (460)
Ellen (498)
Freya
Margot, Margaret (nn Maggie, Meg, Molly, Peg/Peggy, Maisie, Daisy, Greta, Griet...)
Louise, Louisa
Geneva, Genevieve
Evelyn
Flora, Poppy, Daisy, Violet, Iris, Rose
Hope you see something you like!
Could you use your partner's surname as the middle name? Or a grandma/great-grandma's name?
-Sisi.
Trinity Grace or Triniti Nicole