Baby girl name--not too common, easy to spell, good nickname, at least 2 syllables, etc.

MandyMost

I've seen some good suggestions on this board, so I'm hoping someone may have a great idea for us! Here are some names I like objectively, but don't meet the criteria or just don't like enough: Ava, Avery, Isla, Delaney, Quinn, Sterling, Rowan, Emery, Sage, Adele. 

Here's what we're looking for:

1. Not too common--I'd say nothing that's been a top-100 name for the last 20 years or so
2. At least 2 syllables. One-syllable names just don't work with the middle and last names (my last name, husband's last name). 
3. A good nickname available. I just like nicknames--these make-it-or-break-it for a lot of names for me. I love "Adele" but I don't like "Addie", for example. 
4. Easy to spell. I can't stand "alternate" spellings of names. 
5. It can't end in an "-er". People will be saying the name with a thick Boston accent, and I don't want it butchered!
6. Unisex names are great, but just haven't found the right one. 

Any suggestions?! Or any good websites/apps to search? I've looked through a ton, but haven't found an app/website that I love. 

holli0801

Will do my best to meet criteria.... Larissa (Rissa) Madelyn(Maddie, Lynn) Juliette (Julie, Jules), Lorelei or Aurora (Rory), Gretta/Loretta ETC (Etta) Eloise (Ellie), Aurelia, clementine (Clem), Harriet (Etta, Hattie), Lucinda (Lucy, Linda), Matilda (tillie) 

Bringmemylongswordho

Rosalie 
Rosalind 
Agnes
Ariadne 
Astrid 
Cosima 
Bernadette 
Cecily 
Diane
Florence 
Harriet 
Henrietta 
Isadora 
Justine 
Louise
Lucinda 
Maura
Maureen 
Melinda 
Millicent
Minerva 
Ophelia
Octavia 
Roxanne 
Sybil
Lyra
Reina 
Zelda
Veda
Corinne 
Maxine
Selena
Loretta
Margot
Lenore
Daphne 
Celeste 

MandyMost

I find the ones I like all have a reason why I feel the need to dismiss them. Anyone else struggling with this?

Clementine I love, but I can't get past "Clem" as a nickname
Zelda I love, but all my husband can think of is the video game
Celeste is really pretty, but just not quite "it"
Sybil makes me think of the Sally Field movie with multiple personalities
Madelyn/Madeline is just way too common--I think I know a thousand "Maddie"s under the age of 10
Corinne I love, but I have a friend with that name and do NOT want to name the baby after her


Thanks for the suggestions, though! I'm hoping someone will suggest something and it will be "That's it!" and I can suggest it to my husband. 

SmrBrd2012

MandyMost said:

I find the ones I like all have a reason why I feel the need to dismiss them. Anyone else struggling with this?

Clementine I love, but I can't get past "Clem" as a nickname
Zelda I love, but all my husband can think of is the video game
Celeste is really pretty, but just not quite "it"
Sybil makes me think of the Sally Field movie with multiple personalities
Madelyn/Madeline is just way too common--I think I know a thousand "Maddie"s under the age of 10
Corinne I love, but I have a friend with that name and do NOT want to name the baby after her


Thanks for the suggestions, though! I'm hoping someone will suggest something and it will be "That's it!" and I can suggest it to my husband. 

What about Cecilia (Cece)?
Lena
Carolina
Corinna? Probably still close to Corinne.

lm45678

It's been in the top 100 - but I think Savannah meets the rest of your criteria.

Thats what we will name this LO if it's a girl!

I also love Amelia and Eloise.

lkane_1999

Cordelia
nn options: Cora, Cordy, Delia

libby+nate

This may be out there for you, but since your like Clementine we have it on our list with the NN Lemon I also knew one who went by Lemmie. I agree I don't love Clem. 
Probably too popular but Penelope is also on our list with the NN Poppy. That makes it less common 

emilyray14

Josephine, Guinevere, Gwendolyn, Gwyneth, Seraphina, Evangeline or Genevieve 

yellowbean15

Hmm maybe Helena, Georgia, Ophelia, Margaret, Magdalena, Francesca, Danica, Olive....?

ellebee2

Annette 
Bronwyn 
Colette
Diane
Florence
Gillian/Jillian 
Jocelyn
Kira
Louise/Louisa
Stella
Theodora
Vivienne 

GABRIELLE2011

We plan on using Natalia, Talia for short 

LNic5

Elin
Esme
Bianca
Lucia
Valentina
Calista
Cassidy
Julianne 
Jillian
Margot
Colette

MandyMost

You guys are great! Some more that I really like, but still disregard for a reason, like I don't like any "place" names because all I can think of is it's probably where the baby was conceived. And Cordelia=Buffy the Vampire Slayer for me.

Everyone else has these weird associations, too, right?!

With our families, I just don't think we'll be able to get away with picking a nickname that's not the most obvious one for a name. Clementine will be called Clem, not Lemmie, or Penelope would be called Penny not Poppy. no matter what we say or do. (What's that saying, you choose your friends, you don't choose your family?). 

jonas9980

These might not all meet your requirements but it's all I can think of at the moment: 
Tessa-Tess 
Leslie
Theresa-Terri 
Sierra
Natalie-Nat 
Valerie-Val 
Meredith-Mer 
Katrina-Kat 
Melanie 

SusieG85

Some great names above!  Suggesting a few - hope they meet the criteria:
Leanna (Lee or Anna)
Marguerite (Maggie, Rita)
Amaris (Rissa, Mary)
Elena (Elle, Lane)
Good luck!

danielladxxx

Maya (mae) for short

TheHauntedHauswife

Just a note to a fellow not-common-name Mama - I dont know why you decided on over top 100 but I just wanted to share. I found that going all the way to 100 was unnecessary. I found that starting around 85 was uncommon enough that DD wouldn't know anyone else with the name, but the names were still known names and wouldn't encounter issues with spelling, pronunciation, etc. (of course this is not 100% of the time, just some of my findings) Just passing it along as i tried very hard to figure out where my personal cut off point was in many different ways, and I found that going to 100 cut out a few great options that were still extremely uncommon. Additionally, check the SSA site regionally. Because I found that some generally popular names, were much much less popular locally.

A lot of names i would have suggested were already here. But just encase any of these work..
Analiese (Ana)
Willow (Willa)
Wisteria 
Magdalena (Maggie, Magda)
Sibyl 
Viola (Vi)
Dahlia (Dahl/Doll)
Edith (Eden)
Amethyst (Amy, Ame)
Pearl 
Opal

momma2char

^ adding to above names:
Serafina 
Andrea
Angela
Delilah
Josephine (Josie)
Juliana (Jules)
Daisy
Athena
Genevieve 
Evangeline (Eve)
Alandra 
Camilla (Cami)
Annalise (Annie/Anne)
Eliza/Aliza 
Hallie
Beatrice (Bea)
Meredith 

ETA: an app called Nametrix is awesome. I think it costs $1-$2 but there's a ton of info on each name (i.e. Popularity #, similar names, where in the world it's most popular, meaning)

yellowbean15

I'll throw a few more out there. Some may be in the top 100. I'm not sure.

Ramona (Mona)
Amalia (Molly) - I really like this!
Morgan (??...Morgy?)
Althea (Ally or Thea) - and this! 
Adrianna (Adri or Anna)

Cassandra (Cassie)

Pauline/a (Polly)

Alessandra (Ally or Sandy)

ktomorrow

I love Miriam(Miri) and Marian (Mari or Nan) and both barely register on the name radar despite being easy and recognizable

aldarr

Our 2nd daughter is Gwyneth and we call her Gwen, Gwennie, or Winnie.  We wanted an older name that isn't trendy and not very popular. I will be honest though, we usually call her by her nicknames and not her full name.

Mamabeagle

Celeste and Corinne are both "C's" and you seem to really like them...what about Camille or Camila? 

e=mc21

Apologies in advance if any of these are wrong spellings... And some of these may be too popular. 

Amelia
Brooklyn (Brook)
Lilian (Lilly)
Julianna (Jules)
Julia (Jules)
Marjorie (Marj)
Sophia (Sophie)
Vivian (Vivi)
Cassidy (Cass or Cassy)
Cameron (Cam or Cammy)
Connelly
Chelsea (chels)
Taylor (might be too close to the -er)
Abigail (abbey)

givemepenguinss

My little one is named Rosemary. I liked that it is a plant/herb, and there are lots of nicknames to choose from. Rosie, Rose, Mary, Romy, Rory.

I smiled at your criteria #5, we live in Boston, too. Lotsa Harpas 'round here!

MandyMost

Thanks again for all your thoughts! I think I'm going to officially add Cassidy to the list for now. :-)

nativetexan512

Caroline (Cara)

Eleanor (Ellie) or Eleanora (Nora)

Eliza (Eli)

Lillian (Lily)

Alexandra (Alex or Andy)

Frances (Frannie)

Virginia (Ginny)

Beatrice (Bea)