Elspeth redux

I’ve been loving Elspeth, nn Elsie forever, it seems. I’d thought Elspeth Scarlett Jane was pretty perfect. Sweet, lovely Elspeth, spunky Scarlett, refined Jane. But the more I said it, the more I thought ‘I can do better’.
So I went digging and found a few that appealled a bit:
Elspeth Juno Violet
Elspeth Guinevere June

and then I stumbled upon perfection:
Elspeth Iris Guinevere.

Irises were my Grandmother’s favorite flower. She had them all around the house. When I was 11, Grandpa died and Grandma moved. Before she did, I asked her for some Iris bulbs from the yard. I got a dozen. And I brought them with me when we moved north. I now have a hundred purple Irises ’round the yellow house! It looks so lovely in the Spring.

Granted,*if* this one’s a girl, (or a boy), it’ll be born in early November. Irises aren’t around then but the thought is still nice. 🙂

Guinevere charms Him,who’d rather Guinevere/Gwen up front/. She’s too much for me in front, but I can handle her as a middle. Hence Elspeth Iris Guinevere.

What do you think? I’d love to hear any thoughts.

And, as always, thanks for stopping in and reading!

The Official Girls List!

After three weeks of neverending name discussions we have a tenative girls list!
And boy, do I mean neverending. They start before breakfast, ” Which do you like better, Poppy, Penny or Nell”. Continues throughout the day in texts/chat/email, “What do you think of Philippa Andromeda”? and winds down over supper, “I still like Maud, could we give her initials that spell it out”? So I’m happy to report that from here on out, it’ll be a less intense discussion. 🙂

The list has 7 names plus 2 wildcards, one for Him (1) & one for me (2). Without further ado, the
‘Official’ Girls List!’

Penelope Juno Alice
Cecily Pandora Jane
Beatrix Juno Frances
Winifred Elinor Plum
Elspeth Scarlett Jane
Ottilie India Violet
Jemima Lucy Frances

(1) Philippa Guinevere Alice
(2) Clementine India Jane

Noot a bad set of 9,if I do say so myself. What do you think? Aw, c’mon, you know you wanna say something!

As always, thanks for reading! 😀

Loverly Elspeth!

I’m completely taken with Elspeth. Sweet, pretty and fun to say & spell, the possibilty of Elsa or Elsie just makes me sing.
So I sat down the other day and came up with something like three dozen combos. Then we weeded through them, tweaked a few and the following (that I’d like you to look at) are the ones that survived. A mere 6 combos. Would you please give me your thought on them or at least tell me which one You’d choose & why?
I’d appreciate it immensely!

Without further ado, Elspeth:

Elspeth Coralie Jane
Elspeth Violet Elinor
Elspeth Cleo Violet
Elspeth Poppy Elinor -my favorite
Elspeth Honey Ophélie – his favorite
Elspeth Honey Aurelia

And that’s all folks. I really appreciate the time it takes to comment or just read, thank you so very much! 😀

Penelope, Araminta & Elspeth

Beyond Cecily, Cleo & Maud, these three are top favorites for both of us:

Penelope: She’s galloping, sweet and I love the potential for Poppy & Nell and she can always go by Lola should I stop using it someday! I love her mythical counterpoint and the fact that Penelope’s familiar to almost everyone but not very common.

Araminta: Has long fascinated me. I think She’s strong but oh so lush & rich. I adore Minna/Mina & Min as possible nicknames and I love how Araminta seems familiar to most but it’s so rarely heard for real. It’s stunning in full, too!

and

Elspeth: Charming, feels other-worldly. Completely feminine but no fluffy thing, Elspeth has a steel core. And she would honor Grandma Lily and me, as the Scottish form of Elisabeth, which we both had/have. I adore Elsa
& Elsie as possible nicknames (not to mention the far flung Bess & Lily)!

I have combos I love for each of them:
Penelope Violet Jane
Araminta Lucy Violet
Elspeth Scarlett Jane

Now, my dilemma. Should I move these onto the primary list or leave them as wildcards? What should I toss if I did move them to Primaries? Do you like these better than the ones already there or not? What? Just help, because we can’t decide what goes where beyond Cecily (or Cleo) at #1 and Maud at #2.

Anyone have a theory why boys names come so easily to us but girls names we have to struggle with? I’m baffled!

So any thoughts are most welcome, indeed. As always, Thanks for stopping in!

😀

Inspirations from Elspeth & Margery

I figured, since these two are such big hits about now (Margery & Elspeth are #2 & 3 atm), I should look around for other names that feel similar, see if anything jumps out at me. Came up with these:

Graeme/Graham                                                         Susannah
Gerard                                                                                 Aurora
Crispin                                                                                Rafaela
Reid/Reed                                                                         Marian/Marion
Sinclair                                                                               Edna
Elias                                                                                     Niamh
Declan                                                                                 Eleri
Bram                                                                                    Rosemary
Clark                                                                                    Amelia
Hugh                                                                                   Willa
Hollis                                                                                  Eleanor
Kenneth                                                                         Bryony
Simon                                                                             Alice
Duncan                                                                             Anne
Charles                                                                              Anna
Bertram                                                                           Verity
Archibald                                                                        June
Callum                                                                             Beatrix
Malachy                                                                         Lilias
Arthur                                                                            Maisie
Evander                                                                           Sibyl
Finlay                                                                             Mina
August                                                                           Effie
Rupert                                                                           Fiona
Edward                                                                         Maeve
Finn                                                                                 Cecily
Colin
Ivor
Eamon
Edmund
Barnaby
Gareth
Cormac
Alasdair

 

As you can see  there are a fair amount of my ‘already on the list favorites’ up there already. Which tells me I’m at least staying within my own stylistic arena and I think that’s good. 🙂  beyond the few already on my lists, is there anything up there I should add to my lists? Whether it be the “working list”, the “collected favorites” list or just the “Names I admire” list, anything strike you as decent up there?

Anything you like and think I should too?  Let me know!

 

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Elspeth, Once Again

I am firmly enchanted with Elspeth, but am still looking for the combo that feels just right to me. Elspeth Margery Violet is still on the charts but there are days when I think she’s a bit too story-bookish. So I went to him and we had another big run through of the lists and sat and talked over lunch (it’s so nice having him home sometimes!) and this is what we came up with:

 

Elspeth Iris Pearl – He put this one together, I think it’s pretty! But this is the only non honoring combo on the potential list and I wonder, will she feel slighted?
Elspeth Primrose Maud – another all honoring combo, but feels a bit more fanciful than  EMV!
Elspeth Margery Violet – stays because while it feels a bit fanciful, it definitely honors, all the way around
Elspeth Matilda Violet – rather than Maud, I thought I’d try the related Matilda out. And I’m liking EMM initials, maybe a sometimes nickname? Elsa, Bess, Lily, Emmy?
Elspeth Jemima Lily – Jemima’s still floating around off list, (Jemima Frances Ruby) but I thought to try Jemima out in the middle, Lily’s for Grandma. Is it too weird, with Lily being a potential Elspeth nn as well?
Elspeth Romilly Jane – he dug this one out of his memory, maybe that’s a sign?

So that’s where she stands for now, with those pairings.  You’ve got my basic thoughts on each of these, and I can elaborate, if you want. What do you think of these few? Anything there strike you?  I think we have a winner of a pairing,  well, at least three up there charm me to pieces.  How about you?

The Girly Wildcards

I have far too many wildcards, those combos I love but not as much as the top ones. Or in some cases, more, but I find them a tiny bit unwieldy for day to day use.

 

Ideally, I’d have a top 10 and 10 wildcards. Recently I’ve added three names to the wildcard list, bringing the total up to 16 Wildcards. There’s already 11 girls in the top 10 (I know, I know…) so I need to cull these down to three or four at best and am having the hardest time getting rid of any of them!

 

Ottilie Alice Ghislaine – Tillie, Ottilie, Leeloo, Lina
Susanna Ottilie Pearl – Sukie, Zuzu, Zanna   
Pomeline Frances Elinor – Poppy, Polly, Millie, Molly, Lina
Laetitia Amabel Violet – Lettie, Etta, Lettice
Araminta Lucy Violet – Minna, Mina
Euphemia Elinor Glory – Effie, Mia, Fifi
Elspeth Margery Violet – Elsa, Elsie
Aurelia Romilly Jane – Goldie, Rellie
Mathilda Lucy Elanor – Tillie, Maud, Maudie
Henrietta Ruby Lilias – Hattie, Hettie,  Etta, Harriet
Lucretia Ruby Iris – Lucy, Lulu, Lux
Jemima Frances Ruby – Mimi, Jemma
Zuleika Esme Violet – Zuzu, Zooey
Zenaida Ruby Frances – Zen, Zeni,  Aida, Zinnia, Flower
Florence Lila Ghislaine – Flora, Flory, Fleur, Ren
Romilly Alice Kathleen – Romy, Millie

 

If pushed, I’d say probably the bolded 4 are the biggest loves but I’m already mourning the loss of 6 others not bolded. If you had to pick 4 from this list to use on a girl, which 4 would you pick and why? See why I’m having problems?   Any help at all would be completely appreciated!  Thanks!

Elspeth

Charming, beautiful, princessy Elspeth. Yep, she’s back!

 

I’ve been toying with her in my head again and I must admit being thoroughly charmed by her.   She feels as though she belongs in a fairytale of sorts, doesn’t she? Elspeth. I love the way she looks too.

I argued Elspeth Margery Violet out of him (he had originally preferred it Margery Elspeth Violet) but EMV is a firm favorite these days.  Went looking for other inspiration as well and came up with these few that appeal in various ways:

Elspeth Coralie Frances
Elspeth Mina Violet
Elspeth Maud Primrose
Elspeth Romilly Jane
Elspeth Poppy Caroline
Elspeth Cleo Marilyn/Cleo Violet
Elspeth Lily Irene

 

Think eh-REEN-eh  for Irene. That’s how the family says it and how I say it by default. I actually have to consciously think before saying Eye-reen. Isn’t that a hoot?!   I’m fond of all of them for various reasons but find myself most drawn to Elspeth Maud Primrose, Elspeth Romilly Jane and Elspeth Cleo Violet, as well as the original Elspeth Margery Violet.  Anything there jump out at you? What would you think if you ran into a girl named Elspeth? How about a sister set of Josephine & Elspeth?  

 

Talk to me, any thoughts at all, anything you think is more than welcome here, and, as always, thanks a million!

Lucy

I’ve been loving Lucy (pardon the pun) most of my life. My Mother wanted to name me Lucy but was shot down by Pop. So she called me Lucy as an affectionate nickname. Is it any wonder I turned into the name-freak I did? Let’s see, Laura, Lola, Lucy, Lily.. those are the names I was called as a kid. Confusing to say the least, and that’s not counting all the names I insisted they call me!  If the name starts with an L, I’m rather likely to answer to it thanks to my family!  😀

I’ve been putting Lucy in the middle because she almost vanishes when I put her next to Josephine, in full. While she’s sweet, I think for me, she’s better there although I am toying with the idea of her in front.

Lucy Raphaela is my favorite two name pairing of Lucy to date, although Lucy Primrose appeals too.

 

I’ve had her in the middle loads of times, but wonder if I flipped some of them around… maybe they’d appeal to me more? Here’s a handful or so of Lucy-in-the-middles/flipped arounds:

Euphemia Lucy Jane/Lucy Euphemia Jane
Edith Lucy Valentina/Lucy Edith Valentina
Mathilda Lucy Imogen/Lucy Mathilda Imogen
Mathilda Lucy Elspeth/Lucy Mathilda Elspeth
Ottoline Lucy Maud/Lucy Ottoline Maud
Winifred Lucy Adele/Lucy Winifred Adele

 

and now some Lucy up front, playing around:

Lucy Clementine Pearl
Lucy Raphaela Elinor
Lucy Mina Raphaela
Lucy Elspeth Primrose 
Lucy Romilly Primrose
Lucy Ottoline Viola
Lucy Violet Adeline
Lucy Kathleen Grey

 

 

 

While  I can close my eyes and see my Mother’s glee over this one,   I don’t know, maybe Lucy up front isn’t for me. What do you all think? 

Susanna

Susanna’s new to my lists, sort of. I’ve toyed with her before. She’d honor me; Susanne is my second middle for my mom’s best friend.  I really dislike Susanna with the ‘H’ on the end, that ‘H’ clunks it up too much for me. But Susanna, just beautiful.  I like the potential for Sukie/Sookie and have been wondering if Daisy as a possible nickname isn’t too far-fetched. After all black-eyed susans are a type of daisy, right? So yeah, another way to get Daisy. I love Daisy. My Grandma would be thrilled!  Of course, now the house would be K, L, L, S, J & S, which rather annoys me but not so much that I still want to consider Susanna.

 

I have a few combos that make me happy in various ways:

 

Susannah Edith Plum
Susanna Iris Pearl
Susanna Ivy Jane
Susanna Jane Petronel
Susanna Margery Jane
Susanna Caroline Violet
Susanna Elspeth June
Susanna Romilly Violet
Susanna Poppy Adele
Susanna Ottilie Pearl
Susanna Lucy Pearl
Susanna Violet June
Susanna Viola Marilyn
Susanna Zoya Ruby/Alice/Jane/Frances/Maud
Susanna Sylvie June

 

 

 There are a few that really stand out to me, but I want to see if any stand out to anyone else. Would you all be so kind as to flip though these and tell me what you like or really hate? I’d really appreciate it!  I’ll state my favorites later.

 

As always, thanks for stopping by and also for commenting!

A completely new thought

What do you think of Daisy Angeline? I stuck them together in my head and am rather pleased with the overall image and sound. I came up  with a  few combos for them as a middle. I could never use Daisy as a standalone name!
What do you think of these:

Cecilia Daisy Angeline
Elspeth Daisy Angeline
Matilda Daisy Angeline
Beatrix Daisy Angeline
Penelope Daisy Angeline
Winifred Daisy Angeline
Tallulah Daisy Angeline

 

Just random thinking today. I’m a bit scattered, oddly.  What do you think?  I’d love to know!

Margery Elspeth-Elspeth Margery

I mentioned this combo a few days ago on Cat’s blog. And of course, that made me start thinking again. As if I’m not already up to my ears with girls names I like and can’t choose between!   😀  So anyway,  I’m trying a few combos out with this pair. Margery Elspeth or Elspeth Margery. I can’t decide which way I prefer it. Margery would be Daisy as it’s the one Marg- nickname that hasn’t been used yet in the family or maybe Pearl once in a  great while. Elspeth is for my Elisabeth, which was for Grandma. Elspeth would likely get Lily (again, for Grandma) or Elsa/Elsie or maybe even Bess. I like them both together, either way I turn them. I added a second middle but still can’t decide which way I like them. See, here:

Margery Elspeth Jemima
Margery Elspeth Lenore
Margery Elspeth Primrose
Margery Elspeth Louisa
Margery Elspeth Violet

Elspeth Margery Jemima
Elspeth Margery Lenore
Elspeth Margery Primrose
Elspeth Margery Louisa
Elspeth Margery Violet

 

And now you see my dilemma, I like them both ways! Margery Elspeth Violet in particular and Elspeth Margery Primrose.  The Jemima ones I almost want to flip again and make them Jemima Elspeth Margery or Jemima Margery Elspeth, but that’s a whole different post, apparently. 

I think Elspeth fits with Josephine the tiniest bit better, but That doesn’t make me like Margery any less. Margery’s been my favorite form of Margaret for years. I have a cousin named Margery that I haven’t seen in at least 20 years  (one of the many hazards of a great big family).  And the possibility of the lovely medieval Margery, nn Daisy is almost too pleasurable to bear.  So sweet yet grows up well.    Elspeth charms me. I find her strong with a storybook feel. Not much, just a touch. I think it’s the -speth that does it. I think Bess is my favorite nickname for any of the Elis/zabeth variants and Elis/zabeth. Bess charms me with her bounce and verve, yet feels soft and ladylike. My Mom would approve of Elspeth, nn Bess  I bet.  Lily &  Elsa/Elsie would be alternatives like Fifi & Posie are for Josephine.

So you see my dilemma. I couldn’t decide flipping a coin.  Anyone want to help me decide? I’d appreciate it greatly!  😀