We have an Elspeth. Unusual enough that we’ve not met another, but similar enough for her to still be able to use popular nicknames like Elsie, Ellie or Beth if she wants to. We love it!
I named my second daughter Avery Violet, and had very similar taste to you with names (according to the ones you listed!) - our first daughter is Ella Hayes. Avery felt like a great not super popular name that felt like a lot of the others you listed and we loved but also couldn’t use for various reasons (Maeve, Audrey, Evie, etc). Good luck!!!
Isadora just came to mind. And a whole bunch of flower/plant/word names: Magnolia, Dahlia, Phyllis, Amaryllis, Azalea, Amber, Ember, Calla, Florentina, Holly, Ivy, Jasmine, Laurel, Meadow, ...
Sylvana is like Elizabeth, classic and has so many variations from sweet to powerful - Sylvie for old time style, to Syl for some vintage hipster cool, to Vana for your teenager with attitude, before back to Sylvana as CEO. And I’m an older single mother by choice too (to a three year old boy). The naming struggle is real.
Jun 18, 2023Liked by Sophie Kihm, Emma Waterhouse, Clare Green
My name is Asrune (azroon) and I've never met another one. It means "gods secret" and is an old out of use swedish feminine given name. Your welcome to it if you want something unique!
My paternal grandmother was Darthea. It sounds classic - to my ears at least - but I've never met another one! A nickname could be Darcy, or even Thea.
It can help to think of someone who's inspired you, or someone you admire, to name her after. That way you could have a positive association to a name that you like.
I think I share your taste too — tons of overlap between our lists. Our daughters are Isabelle Hope (I like Belle for short but she already prefers Bella though she’s only 2) and Evangeline Claire (Evie or Eva for short). Names that I love that you didn’t mention include “super classics” Anna and Elizabeth as suggested above, but also Adeline, Astrid, Brigitte/Bridget, Cecily, Coralie, Elodie, Florence, Imogen, Millicent, Mirabel, Miriam, Natalie, Rosalie, and Rosamund. I tend to love long, feminine, but not too frilly names with a few cute nickname options.
My daughters name is Lucelia. Feminine but still strong. We thought it was unique enough that there won’t be a lot of them but it sounds common enough so people don’t have difficulty pronouncing it.
Imogen is a beautiful but oft forgotten classic
We have an Elspeth. Unusual enough that we’ve not met another, but similar enough for her to still be able to use popular nicknames like Elsie, Ellie or Beth if she wants to. We love it!
Elspeth is fabulous!
I named my second daughter Avery Violet, and had very similar taste to you with names (according to the ones you listed!) - our first daughter is Ella Hayes. Avery felt like a great not super popular name that felt like a lot of the others you listed and we loved but also couldn’t use for various reasons (Maeve, Audrey, Evie, etc). Good luck!!!
Ella and Avery are such a stylish duo! I love how both have one feminine and one gender-neutral name too.
Isadora just came to mind. And a whole bunch of flower/plant/word names: Magnolia, Dahlia, Phyllis, Amaryllis, Azalea, Amber, Ember, Calla, Florentina, Holly, Ivy, Jasmine, Laurel, Meadow, ...
Ooh and Marigold, Lilac!
Sylvana is like Elizabeth, classic and has so many variations from sweet to powerful - Sylvie for old time style, to Syl for some vintage hipster cool, to Vana for your teenager with attitude, before back to Sylvana as CEO. And I’m an older single mother by choice too (to a three year old boy). The naming struggle is real.
Sylvana is great! Sylvie in particular feels like a nice fit for Lydia's style.
My name is Asrune (azroon) and I've never met another one. It means "gods secret" and is an old out of use swedish feminine given name. Your welcome to it if you want something unique!
What a pretty name!
Margot/Margaux
Adelaïde
Raphaëlle
Manon
Ombaline
Ophelia
Adeline
Alula
Valentine
Mabel
Avery
Constance
Celeste
Iris
My paternal grandmother was Darthea. It sounds classic - to my ears at least - but I've never met another one! A nickname could be Darcy, or even Thea.
Such an interesting name, I've never come across it before (in this spelling at least!)
Phoebe, Nora, Cora, Corinne
What about Lyra, Grace, Esme? Or Nora or Frida? We loved Clara, Vivienne, Phoebe and Claudia. Annie?
I would look in the Cool Classics Below the Top 1000. So many sweet names that are familiar, but unlikely to have existing associations. Maude is my personal favorite! https://nameberry.com/list/491/100-classic-girls-names--below-the-top-1000
This is a real gem of a list for this kind of dilemma. Thanks for sharing!
Clara is the first name that came to mind when reading your list of names you love but can't use :)
Clara
Eloise
Elena
Lilia
Molly
Millie
Emmeline
Amara
Elise
Eliza
Maren
Margot
Lucia
Penny
Wendy
Evelyn
Yes! My daughter is Clara, which means bright or clear, such a beautiful name.
I also love Nora, Elodie, Eve, Vivienne (Vivi), Genevieve (Vivie or Neve), Delilah, Josephine (Josie), Valentine, Clementine
My daughter is Clara too!
It can help to think of someone who's inspired you, or someone you admire, to name her after. That way you could have a positive association to a name that you like.
Such good advice! Kids love to hear about the personal stories behind their name too.
I would suggest Adela. It's similar to some of the names you are drawn to, like Audrey and Ella. It's classic and feminine but uncommon.
I think I share your taste too — tons of overlap between our lists. Our daughters are Isabelle Hope (I like Belle for short but she already prefers Bella though she’s only 2) and Evangeline Claire (Evie or Eva for short). Names that I love that you didn’t mention include “super classics” Anna and Elizabeth as suggested above, but also Adeline, Astrid, Brigitte/Bridget, Cecily, Coralie, Elodie, Florence, Imogen, Millicent, Mirabel, Miriam, Natalie, Rosalie, and Rosamund. I tend to love long, feminine, but not too frilly names with a few cute nickname options.
My daughters name is Lucelia. Feminine but still strong. We thought it was unique enough that there won’t be a lot of them but it sounds common enough so people don’t have difficulty pronouncing it.
Ooh, Lucelia is gorgeous!