I want to narrow my top 10 to a top 5, at least for now. I’m going to either/or them and pick one? Thanks!
Ottilie or Jemima?
Winifred or Clementine?
Maud or Zelda?
Beatrix or Cecily?
Lucretia or Pomeline?
Cassius or Clarence?
Remy or Cosmo?
Rufus or Barnaby?
Alasdair or August?
Arthur or Francis?
I couldn’t choose if my life depended on it. One minute it’s one way, the next it’s the other. I love them all and just cannot decide which 5 are best! Can you help? I’d really appreciate it!
As always, Thanks! 😀
Lola's Onomastic Fits 
Feb 02, 2009 @ 10:21:42
Jemima
Winifred
Zelda
Beatrix
Pomeline
Clarence
Cosmo
Rufus
Alasdair
Francis
You paired them to make it hard, didn’t you? 😀
Feb 02, 2009 @ 10:51:42
No, honest! I was thinking “Feel” when I paired them. Remy feels like Cosmo, light & airy Arthur & Francis are both classics, Cassius & Clarence are both familiar but not common, Alasdair & August both start with A. See what I mean? 🙂
Feb 02, 2009 @ 11:11:24
Hi, I found your blog through Emmy Jo’s Much Ado About Naming.
What an interesting list this is!
I have to admit, that when choosing, I am a little biased because some of these are family names, and I love family names.
Ottilie
Winifred (I absolutely love Winnie)
Maud
Beatrix (Trixie and Winnie – I used to say if I had twins…)
Pomeline
Clarence
Remy
Rufus
Alaisdair (although, I love both, too)
Francis
Feb 02, 2009 @ 11:35:30
Thanks for stopping by, Caitlin B! Emmy Jo’s fantastic, isn’t she? 🙂
I appreciate the votes. We can’t seem to narrow it ourselves and are driving each other bananas going back & forth on the merits of each. Every vote helps! (You guessed right, a Beatrix of mine would most definitely be Trixie!)
Feb 02, 2009 @ 12:00:15
Here are mine, though out of the full ten I would have chosen differently, I didn’t care for both in one pairing, loved both in another. For girls, I would take out Lucretia and add Cecily. Jemima, Clementine, Maud, Beatrix and Cecily-perfect. I wouldn’t change the boy’s though, I like those five the best out of the ten.
Jemima
Clementine
Maud
Beatrix
Lucretia
Cassius
Cosmo
Barnaby
Alasdair
Arthur
Feb 02, 2009 @ 12:51:21
Thanks Chanel (am I spelling that right?)
Lke I said before, every vote helps. Funny, I’m really liking Ottilie right now and both Pomeline & Lucretia. I suppose Lucretia Pomeline or Pomeline Lucretia would be too much, hmm? 😉
Feb 02, 2009 @ 14:11:06
Jemima -So cute! Ottolie sounds too much like oddly for my taste.
Clementine -I think Clementine and Josephine look really nice next to each other, but they sound complimentary but totally different. Winifred is really sweet too, though.
Zelda -I love both, but I think Zelda and Posie/Poppy/Fifi sound better together than Maude and Posie/Poppy/Fifi.
Beatrix and Cecily, notLucretia or Pomeline. Both Beatrix and Cecily are just wonderful; they’re quirky and colorful. Lucretia and Pomeline are both nice, but I think they’re both a bit too far out for a first name.
Oh no! I love so many of your boy names! I can’t pick between a lot of your pairs. If I had to rank them, I guess it would be:
Arthur
Rufus
August
Alasdair
Francis
Barnaby
Clarence
Cassius
Remy
Cosmo
That said, I think Rufus, Barnaby, or August would be the best choices for you. Still, I love them all!
Feb 02, 2009 @ 14:30:54
Thanks for trying Kayt! 😀 Yeah, Clementine’s appealing big time right now, she’s so sweet and spunky/funky/awesome! Aww, Lucretia
& Pomeline would most likely be Lucy & Millie.
Beatrix & Cecily are like default parteners in my head. I see one, I expect to see the other too. When it comes to Zelda & Maud, think Josephine in full, since that’s what she goes by far more often than any other nickname. I do still rotate Josie/Poppy/Fifi/Posie but she’s Josephine in full three times more often.
Feb 02, 2009 @ 15:38:20
Love them all, but…
Jemima, Clementine, Maud, Beatrix, Pomeline, Clarence, Remy, Barnaby, Alisdair, and Arthur.
Feb 02, 2009 @ 15:52:52
(My real name is Channelle Tara, but I spell it Chanel most of the times, I really hate it how my mother spelled it!)
I really like Pomeline and Lucretia, just not as much as Beatrix, Maud, and Cecily. I adore Milly and I forgot about it when I thought about Pomeline, it really has me smitten right now! I think Lucretia Pomeline/Pomeline Lucretia is a wee bit much but not too bad…it would make a great middle name combo…for a shorter spunky first name…Mina Pomeline Lucretia?
Feb 02, 2009 @ 16:09:18
Thanks Emma! Yeah, Cosmo’s in fourth place these days, Behind Rufus, Remy & Barnaby all of whom I adore right now. I don’t know if it’ll stay that way, but for now… and the girls are tougher than the boys, I’m keeping Ottilie for Tillie potential, Clementine, Maud, Winifred & Pomeline. Losing Millie saddens me more than losing Lucy.
That’s fine then. Chanel’s easy to remember! Maybe I will try to fit Pomeline in there somewhere. I always need something to occupy my head when watching a movie at night. 🙂 I have a whole host of little names that do appeal to me, I’ll have to try them out. I do rather love her combo though: Pomeline Frances Elinor. Maybe Lucy Pomeline ____? *shrug* there’s tonight’s puzzle for me! 😀
Feb 02, 2009 @ 17:45:22
Ottolie or Jemima: Hmm, I like both. Jemima might require less spelling / repeating, so it tentatively gets my vote here?
Winifred or Clementine: Haaard. But I am so enchanted by Clementine nn Cleo that I vote for this. Plus Josephine and Clementine is so very enchanting.
Maud or Zelda: If I met a baby Zelda I would be extremely, extremely happy. Same with Maud, but here I arbitrate in favor of Zelda because I think less people will have the guts to use it than Maud in coming years. There will be lots of names with Maud’s vibe running around pretty soon, I predict – not that that’s a bad thing at all! It just means there should be more Zeldas to balance. 😀
Beatrix or Cecily – Beatrix has been enchanting me lately with nn’s Bea and Trixie, but something about Cecily’s sweet, gentle feel makes me reach out to her. Josephine and Cecily is just darling.
Lucretia or Pomeline – oh well Lucretia is usually in my top 5 so it’s hard for me not to vote for it. But, well. There’s something so sweet about Pom, isn’t there? Or maybe not. This is really hard. I have to go with Lucretia I think.
Cassius or Clarence: for me, this is Clarence hands down. Cassius is so extremely modern and harsh and materialistic to me, and Cass and Cash are these things also. Really dislike it. Clarence, on the other hand, is dashing and bold at the same time as being frumpy and counterfashionable. A real winner.
Remy or Cosmo: hard. Cosmo’s “gutsier,” though, so it gets my vote. I guess this is the same as Maud and Zelda. KWIM? Lots of names like Remy and Maud will be floating around the babysphere even if you don’t provide them. No one’s gonna name their baby Cosmo though.
Rufus or Barnaby: aaaaaah hard. Hard. Two real winners here. I think Rufus but aaaaa
Alasdair or August: Aside from my liking August a lot more and thinking it makes the sibset just ten million kinds of wonderful, there’s a lot fewer ways to misspell August.
Arthur or Francis: Oh my gosh hard.
Francis I am digging a LOT lately so that is my own vote, but man is this hard.
Feb 02, 2009 @ 18:59:47
My Goodness, Emma! you really thought this out, didn’t you? 😀 Thanks, it’s awesome to see the thought process.
Lucretia is so elegant, isn’t she? Lucretia Mott has been one of my heroes for a looong time and I like the idea of having a daughter named for her. And it would honor my Mom in a roundabout way too, as she wanted to name me Lucy (Pop said it was too Beatles).
I’ll post the winners tomorrow, I’ve got ties right now that I’m going to have to break and I really have to think about which ones I’ll regret losing down the line or not. Big thinking ahead!
Feb 02, 2009 @ 21:34:22
Just a dad to be’s opinion:
Ottilie
Clementine
Maud
Lucretia
Pomeline
Clarence
Rufus
Barnaby
Arthur
Francis
I didn’t use the either/or option, either. Some just didn’t appeal in ways that others did. Hopefully it will still help in some way.
Feb 02, 2009 @ 21:44:58
Hi, Lola! You really have made this difficult. Here are my votes:
Ottilie or Jemima?
Ottilie, but only by a small margin. (I like both.)
Winifred or Clementine?
Clementine, by a fairly large margin. (I love Clementine and I only like Winifred.)
Maud or Zelda?
Maud. On its own, I’d pick Zelda, but with your awesome combos, I have to go for Maud India Scarlett. Prettiest name ever.
Beatrix or Cecily?
Both! If I have to pick, then Cecily, but these are my favorites on your list. Cecily is fabulously Edwardian. You can’t drop her. You just can’t.
Lucretia or Pomeline?
Neither. These are my least favorites on your list. If I have to pick, then I suppose Lucretia. Lucretia sounds like “ludicrous” and Pomeline sounds like a Pomeranian.
Cassius or Clarence?
Clarence. I like it better, though I suppose Cassius is a lot cooler.
Remy or Cosmo?
Remy maybe. I’m not crazy about either.
Rufus or Barnaby?
Rufus. I’m actually reading a book with a minister named Rufus Lyon. (It’s George Eliot’s “Felix Holt, The Radical.” Have you ever read it?)
Alasdair or August?
Both! If I have to pick, I’ll go with Alasdair, but I adore both these names.
Arthur or Francis?
Arthur. I love Arthur. While I also like Francis, it has the potential to be interpreted as a feminine name, while Arthur is so masculine and regal.
Hope this helps!
Feb 03, 2009 @ 08:03:57
Jemima
Winifred
Zelda
Beatrix
Pomeline
Cassius
Cosmo
Rufus (Hard decision there. I do love Barnaby.)
August
Arthur
Feb 03, 2009 @ 09:01:17
Vague, are you sure you’re not related to my other half? 😛 You sound like him sometimes! Thanks, it did help. 😀
Emmy Jo, thanks for breaking it down like that, seeing the thought process really helps me out, a lot. I am so waffly and the kid’s theoretical again!
Mia, thanks to you too, you surprised me with Zelda, Pomeline & Cassius. I didn’t think you were much of a fan of them, but it’s lovely to see them on your list for me. 🙂
I think I’ve got it narrowed, thanks to all of you and an intense discussion late last night. I’ll be posting it in a bit as well as updating the girls & boys pages. Thank you all!
Feb 03, 2009 @ 15:14:13
It appears I’m late to the party, but hey, I will add my two cents anyway:
Jemima
Winnifred
Zelda
Beatrix
Pomeline
?? Can’t decide on these two!
Cosmo
Barnaby
August
Arthur
Oddly, for me, most of the pairs were quick to decide upon… not sure what that means, if anything… I just ove Barnaby right now… and Cosmo…. and Winnifred and Beatrix are great for the gals… just thought I’d say, even though you’ve done your deciding!
Feb 03, 2009 @ 15:37:18
Thanks, Jade! Late but always welcome here. 🙂 About half those are sticking, and I think Jemima’s staying a wildcard too. I feel sad when I think about losing her.