Kate and Lee are expecting their third child soon: a little girl, to join siblings Oscar Antoni and Ottilie Violet.
Their elder children have very meaningful names. Oscar and Ottilie are both names of cyclist -- something they follow and love to do as a family -- while Antoni honours Gaudi and Violet reflects their love of nature.
They would like a flower middle name also for this baby, and are swaying towards Primrose as well as Lucy in honour of a good friend.
Their current favourites are:
Élodie Lucy Primrose
Eliza Lucy Primrose
Neither are really exciting them like Oscar and Ottilie did, however.
Kate describes their styles as "classic and also somewhat European...unusual but not made up."
They also like that Ottilie is three syllables that gets shortened to Lottie and Tillie, and would prefer not to have another O name.
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Well, firstly, I must say that I love the meaningful associations that both Oscar and Ottilie have. Élodie and Eliza are lovely choices -- chic pretty Edwardian ladies with an international flair.
Cycling Connections:
I think it's lovely that both Oscar and Ottilie share a connection to your passion for cycling in their names. With that in mind, here are some other cycling-related names which would make a sweet link for their new sister:
Marianne -- There's Marianne Martin, who won the first Tour de France for women in 1984 and current champion Marianne Vos. Both a vintage English rose and sleek French choice, Marianne has heaps of nickname choices including Mari, Mia, Merry and Annie.
Ramona -- Ramona d'Viola is a veteran of the Tour Feminin who also captained the first team of women to attempt crossing the Florida Straits. Ramona is an elegant Spanish gem, introduced to Victorian Britain. Romy and Mona make for great nicknames.
Her surname, Viola, is also worth considering.
Leontien -- Leontien van Moorsel is one of the most successful women cyclists of her generation. She bears the striking and lovely Dutch form of Leontine, both of which are elegantly European.
Felicia -- Triple Olympic champion, Félicia Ballanger, was herself named after the Italian Tour de France winner Felice Gimondi. Potential nicknames include Flissy, Lissy, Ceci, Flix, Leesie to name a few.
Linnea -- Linnea Sjöblom is a Swedish road cyclist. Linnea, the feminine form of Linnaeus (born by the famous botanist) is both a chic continental choice as well as the name of a flower.
Annie -- Annie Londonderry was a pioneering woman and the first to cycle around the world.
I feel Annie is more suited as a nickname in your set, so how about pairing it with Annabel, Anneliese,, Anaïs, Antonia, Annora, Angelina or Anastasia?
Billie -- In a similar vein is Billie Fleming (born Lilian Irene Bartram), a long distance cyclist who set the woman's record for greatest distance cycled in a year in 1938. Like Annie, Billie would work as a nickname for Lilian, Willa, Willow and Wilhelmina.
Clara -- Clara Grace was a pioneering Victorian competitive cyclist alongside the likes of Lisette Marton and Monica Harwood.
Christabel / Sylvia -- Both the suffragettes Christabel and Sylvia Pankhurst were avid cyclists and active members of the socialist Clarion Cycling Club.
Delphine -- There are a few cyclists named Delphine, such as Delphine Astier, but this pretty French form of Delphina also brings to mind the Critérium du Dauphiné cycling race. Both Dauphiné and Delphine are connected to the Greek delphis "dolphin."
Claudia -- The Via Claudia Augusta is an ancient Roman road which is now a famous cycling route. Claudia is a graceful Latin heritage choice, adopted all over Europe.
Cadence -- Not only is cadence a musical term, it is also used in the cycling to describe the rate at which a cyclist pedals.
Other suggestions:
Moving away from cycling, here are some choices which reflect the same elegant exotic-traditional style as Ottilie, Elodie and Eliza:
Eloise -- A medieval French choice, revived as a Victorian belle. Chic, classic and continental.
Clementine -- Like Eloise, Clementine is a pretty Victorian favourite with a chic French flair. It's lovely meaning -- mercy -- is coupled with the numerous nickname choices such as Clemmie, Mena and Lettie.
Genevieve -- Also add in French heritage choice and elegant Edwardian Genevieve. Ginny, Evie, Vivi, Neve, Gena...the nicknames go on and on.
Evangeline -- Dramatic and a la mode, Evangeline is another Evie inheritor. There's also Emmeline, which shares the chic continentale -line suffix.
Romilly -- A stylish placename-turned-firstname. There is a slight ccyling connection in that both Ru de Romilly and Romilly-sur-Andelle in France are routed by cyclists. Milly and Romy make for ideal nicknames.
Anaïs -- One way of getting to Annie, Anaïs is a polished yet spunky Occitan name, popular in France, Belgium and Catalonia.
Alessia -- A striking Italian form of Alexia, also found as Alessa.
Eulalie -- An underused French gem, Eulalie derives from the Greek Eulalia "well-spoken." Lalie, Eula and Lula are sweet diminutives, while the Catalan Laia is striking.
Alethea -- Another elegant ancient Greek name meaning "truth." Like popular Amelia, but much rarer.
Hopefully some of these ideas will help. Best wishes on the name-deciding. Please keep us updated.
UPDATE: Welcome Paloma Primrose!
