Hannah and David are expecting their third child, a brother or sister for their sons Hugo and Myles. Their surname is short, beginning with R.
Hannah writes: "We have a short list of boys names (although any new ideas and opinions welcome) but when it comes to girls we are totally clueless. I feel like I have been looking for a name I love for so long without any luck and the handful of names I 'like' my husband does not."
Hannah's Favourites:
Margot - Hannah's favourite; Dave hates it.
Flora - Dave dislikes and Hannah worries that the final 'ra' sounds odd with their short 'R' surname.
Xanthe, Arabella, Octavia, Cressida - Hannah likes but worries that they sound "a little 'trying too hard'. Dave dislikes.
Amber, Lola, Bella, Bethany - Hannah likes but doesn't feel they are special enough or are too popular.
Amelie, Lily, Eloise - Likes but is unable to use.
David's Favourites:
Autumn - Dave's favourite; Hannah finds it too common.
Aubrey - Hannah doesn't like the way the 'r' runs into the surname. She likes the nickname Aubs however.
Zelia - Hannah likes the meaning, and that it was the name of her grandfather's boat when she was little, but is unsure of the 'ze' sound.
Boys' Names:
Angus - Hannah's top choice
Montague/Monty - David's choice.
Ralph - They both like but it doesn't flow well with their surname.
Hannah also likes Rufus, Felix, Xavier, Isodore,
※ ※ ※ ※
You have a lovely sibling set already, so I can see why you would want to continue that with another boy. The good thing is, it seems your taste for boys are very similar. For girls, I agree, the field is much wider -- who says siblings have to match perfectly anyhow? -- which gives you so much more scope. The trouble is that makes it harder to pin "the one" down. Let's see if we can find a perfect middle ground.
Girls:
Beatrix – Classy yet cool. Elegant and edgy. Beatrix for me fits the criteria for strong, uncommon yet wearable. And it isn't just adults who think it. When a young Beatrix joined our Nursery last year, my class of ten-year-olds reacted to it with the words "cool," "great," and "adorable."
Elodie – If Eloise takes your fancy but you are unable to use it, how about the similar, equally stylish, medieval, saintly French choice Elodie?
Zelie – I love the family connection to Zelia and how fresh and bold it is. If you want a softer variant, the French Zelie (properly Zélie) is a sweet alternative.
Bellamy – A striking surname-turned-firstname, derived from the French bel ami "good/beautiful friend." It ties in the same familiar sounds as Bella and Bethany but is far more unexpected and striking. It also has the same surname heritage of Aubrey.
Romilly – Bellamy brings me to Romilly, a French place name with ties to ancient Rome. It fits the "a bit posh without sounding pretentious" criteria (I think of newsreader Romilly Weeks, or Emma Thompson's daughter Gaia Romilly) as well as being unexpected yet wearable.
Primrose – A sweet and gentle flower name with plenty of backbone. Prim, Posy and Rosie make for great nickname choices.
Bryony / Briony – Another stylish botanical choice that, much like Flora, doesn't feel too frilly or too common.
Emilia – Amelie is out, and Amelia is perhaps too popular, so how about the subtly different Emilia? It's Latin roots give it a chic continental feel.
Sylvie – An elegant vintage gem, softer than antique and upright Sylvia yet with just as much strength and style.
Adele / Adela – Both Adele and Adela are elegant, ladylike choices. Uncommon yet familiar.
Tessa – Not as heavy as Theresa but with just as much history and drama. The shorter Tess is equally sweet and unexpected.
Lydia – Sitting at #94, Lydia is the most common choice on this list. Yet, having never made it "big", it doesn't feel overdone or too popular, just classic and elegant.
Lois – Very similar in sound to Lola, sweet biblical Lois works well for a girl in the same unexpectedly antique way that Bonnie and Olive do.
Fearne / Fern - A nature name which is pretty without being fussy.
Aoife - A striking Irish choice meaning "radiance, beauty" with roots back to ancient mythology. Aoife is a name that people take notice of. The spelling can be daunting, but the good news is its becoming much more familiar to English -speakers with each passing year, joining the likes of Siobhan and Sinead.
Willa - Willa has the same soft feminine charm as Ella, Lila and Mila, but as a feminine form of William, it also has a strength and determined lilt.
Cassia - Considered either a feminine form of the stately Roman name Cassius, or taken directly from the sweet-smelling cassia plant, Cassia has all the key ingredients of a successful girls' name yet is still relatively undiscovered.
Amaya - A striking yet accessible Spanish name, also spelled Amaia. Pretty with a dash of drama.
Everly - In the same vein as surname-turned-firstname Aubrey, how about Everly? Similar to top 50 favourites Evie, Eva and Evelyn but with a stylish, edgy twist.
Boys:
I think you have a fantastic set of boys names to choose from. Had you not told me your favourites, Angus, Monty and Ralph would definitely have been on my list to add to Hugo and Myles. I have little to add except these few suggestions for you to consider:
Rafferty – Ralph is such a great name in your sibset. It's such a shame that it doesn't work well with your surname. With that in mind, how about refined Rafferty? The nicknames Rafe or Raffi get you close to Ralph (you could even use Ralph as a nickname at a push) but with a longer formal name to balance your surname.
Bennett – It seems like just a surname, but before it was, Bennett was a given name in Britain -- the medieval vernacular form of Benedict. In my mind,this gives Bennett the same stylish, medieval credentials that Hugo and Myles share.
Fletcher – Sticking with the medieval knight theme brings me to Fletcher, a modern-sounding name which harkens back to the heroic archers of the Middle Ages.
Digby – Monty's charm, refinement and adorable-factor also makes me think of Digby, the name of a notable aristocratic family which has long been used as a given name.
Fraser – Like Angus, Fraser is a solidly handsome name with ties to a Scottish clan.
I hope this has been useful. Please keep us updated!
