Help me narrow down my list (girl names)

jupiterthecat · May 2011

I'm nervously posting my long list of names for our little girl. Some of these are more my husband's names (I haven't ruled them out, but I'm not in love either), but I thought I'd include them to be fair. Some background: I'm half Swedish, and ideally I'd love a name that reflects that heritage, but my first priority is coming up with a name that my husband and I both love (most of these names are not Swedish). I don't want anything trendy, and I'm nervous about picking something too popular-- I have a really boring, common name, and I'd like for her to have something more unique (but not yoo-neek). The last name will be hyphenated (3 syllables all together). I guess I'll post the names without posting any of my reservations, to try to get unbiased opinions. The #s in parentheses are the SSA rankings-- I had them in my Word document, so left them in in case they're helpful. OK, I'll shut up and get to the names now.

Leila (204)

Sylvia (Sylvie) (555)

Vera (675)

Violet (123)

Maja (Swedish spelling of Maya, pronounced just like Maya. Mayais #67)

Lily (17)

Willa (968)

Iris (316)

Astrid (not in top 1000)

Ramona (not in top 1000)

Matilda (800)

Laurel (not in top 1000)

Eliza (240)

jlhook0 · May 2011

I like Vera, Lily, Astrid, and Laurel. I think that Laurel is my favorite though. Good luck!

alliejo725 · May 2011

I love Vera, Astrid and Matilda.

How are you pronouncing Leila? lay-luh or lee-luh? If it's lay-luh, I strongly encourage spelling it Layla, like the Eric Clapton song. There's no question on how it's pronounced. (Obviously, I'm also a fan of this name.)

KearaD · May 2011

I really like Violet, Iris, Ramona, and Eliza. (Ramona is by far my favorite!)

Every time I hear Astrid I think of The Office and how all of the characters pronounced it!

cogbot · May 2011

My favorites are Sylvia, Willa, and Eliza.

festivus · May 2011

Love Violet and Laurel. FWIW, I have a Swedish frend with a DD named Kajsa. Love that name, although she does have to repeat the name and spell it frequently.

zaramarie81 · May 2011

jupiterthecat:
Leila (204) - Like but don't love. Seems pretty "common" with so many Lily's and Lilah's out there too
Sylvia (Sylvie) (555) - Love. Both the name and nn.
Vera (675) - Like but don't love
Violet (123) - This seems to be growing in popularity. Like but don't love.
Maja (Swedish spelling of Maya, pronounced just like Maya. Mayais #67) - Pretty! Like.
Lily (17) - Way too common for me.
Willa (968) - Love
Iris (316) - Pretty but kind of old-ladyish
Astrid (not in top 1000) - Not a fan
Ramona (not in top 1000) - Pretty
Matilda (800) - Not a fan
Laurel (not in top 1000) - Okay
Eliza (240) - Pretty

ObLaDi · May 2011

You have great taste--I actually pretty much love ALL your choices.

Particularly: Sylvie, Vera, Violet, Iris, Astrid

missesBAD · May 2011

laurel is my favorite

sugarpumpkin716 · May 2011

Is it "Lee luh" or "Lay luh" ? Either way I love Leila. I also like Lily and Violet. The others I either strongly dislike or they're just nms.

scoutkate · May 2011

I like Astrid best because of your Swedish heritage. But I also love Sylvie and Eliza. Honestly, all of your choices are good!

mocknine · May 2011

Matilda and Sylvia.

beekernbaby · May 2011

I like Laurel and Willa.

shopgirl_07 · May 2011

I think Sylvia, Violet, Astrid, Vera and Ramona are really ugly names. Especially Ramona, not a fan of the -moan sound.

I really like Maja, Willa and Eliza.

The rest are ok.

Manderlin923 · May 2011

zaramarie81:
jupiterthecat:

Leila (204) - Like but don't love. Seems pretty "common" with so many Lily's and Lilah's out there too

Sylvia (Sylvie) (555) - Love. Both the name and nn.

Vera (675) - Like but don't love

Violet (123) - This seems to be growing in popularity. Like but don't love.

Maja (Swedish spelling of Maya, pronounced just like Maya. Mayais #67) - Pretty! Like.

Lily (17) - Way too common for me.

Willa (968) - Love

Iris (316) - Pretty but kind of old-ladyish

Astrid (not in top 1000) - Not a fan

Ramona (not in top 1000) - Pretty

Matilda (800) - Not a fan

Laurel (not in top 1000) - Okay

Eliza (240) - Pretty

Pretty much all this except I adore Iris. That and Willa are my top two of your list.

sweetpealee · May 2011

I like Lily, Violet, and Laurel.

KFACE08 · May 2011

I love all pretty much all of these.

My favorites include Sylvia, Violet, Lily, Iris, Astrid, Eliza.

KBLT · May 2011

Great list! My favorite is Willa (that is my DD's name) followed by Lily and Iris.

mandyhall2882 · May 2011

I like Lily and Leila

wanderlustsoul · May 2011

Love: Leila, Vera, Violet, Lily, and Eliza

Dislike: Astrid and Ramona (oddly I know 2 people with this name)

magsugar13 · May 2011

i like laurel and maya(not maja)

stefsaut · May 2011

Favorites are Leila and Laurel!

jupiterthecat · May 2011

Thanks for all your responses! Leila was one of my husband's additions-- he liked the Layla pronunciation, although I might prefer Lee-lah (he said that reminded him of Futurama). I find that name visually appealing, but I can't decide if I like the sound, which is of course the important thing.

I am probably the only person in the world who doesn't watch the Office. Can someone explain the Astrid joke? I love the name (and of course it's so Scandinavian) but I'm worried about how it sounds to American ears. I'm worried it'll become Assturd-- I mean, I know kids will make fun of anything, but that one is just right there.

I *think* my favorites right now are Iris, Eliza, maybe Astrid, maybe Willa (that one has family significance because both of us had grandfathers named William), and then I keep coming back to all the others. Narrowing down is HARD.