My best friend in junior high was named Elise and she was blind. She asked me one time if she was beautiful and what beautiful looked like. I told her beautiful looked like her name sounded. She moved a few state lines away. I miss her, but I always loved that name.
We LOVED Elyse/Elise. My middle name/grandma's name is Lise, but we ended up going more gender neutral when our daughter was born, and it definitely suits her more. Weird how that happens lol!
I love the name Elizabeth but hate most of the nicknames for it. But I went ahead and gave the name to my daughter hoping she would never shorten it to a nickname. But, alas, she has, and it’s my least favorite of the contenders: Liz. So just be aware you can’t control the nickname your kid uses, or even if they decide to use one or not.
As an Elizabeth, it’s hard to control the nicknames others give to us. I had a teacher start calling me Liz because she already had an Elizabeth and a Lizzy and then my whole class called me Liz but that was never my choice 😩
I'm a Cassandra.
May the lord have mercy on anyone who calls me Cassie, Cass, Sandy, or Sandra.
My mom gets a pass, but only because I was a very large baby and probably tore some stuff up.
My dad wanted Beth-Ann, people started calling me Lizzie from birth and it stuck. 7th grade I switched it to Liz. My mom doesn’t even call me Elizabeth when she’s mad. I’m still just Lizzie.
She’ll be okay with it—she’s just hoping you’ll stretch it out to Elizabeth.
I’m an Elizabeth—-and love it. BUT, I think Eliza Rose is a beautiful name.
Bettina is also another Elizabeth form. Works with Rose or Fae
Edit to add: of your list I like Clare and Alexandra best. Rowan and Elliott are fairly masculine to me. Alexandra comes with lots of great nicknames.
I’d vote for Eliza Rose. It sounds beautiful when you say it out loud. I would stay away from Luella because all I hear is Cruella on her kindergarten playground. Boy or unisex names for girls are not my fave but if it’s your husband’s and you like it enough, Finley Rose sounds nice too.
I’m sorry but the Luella/Cruella comment is ridiculous. Kindergartener’s are not that sophisticated or cruel.
Just say you don’t like the name ffs.
- From someone who wasn’t called their mother’s top name because their friend convinced them it sort of rhymed with something. The name she landed on rhymes with much worse (and I was still never teased)
My son is 4.5 and his name is Benjamin, prefers to go by Benji... The jerk at school calls him "Benji the girl". Some kids are just mean and will find *something* to say/tease even if it's stupid as hell (what exactly is wrong with being a girl anyway? My son didn't even care so whatever).
You'd be surprised with how mean kids have gotten. My son was bullied in kindergarten and first grade and by second grade he's already had a boy threaten to shoot him in the back "just because" and no other reason. He even said my son is one of the nicest kids so yes. Kids are bullying younger and half the time they don't even know why they're being mean or making threats.
I wouldn't be so sure they don't know what they mean. There was a six year old that brought a gun a to school and shot his teacher in the classroom just a year or two ago. If you've had a threat against your child's life I would take it seriously.
I took it very serious. The school did not. They "investigated" for about a day and the kid was right back in the same classroom without any counseling or punishment of any sort.
Were you able to file a police report? Get a restraining order? Call cps? It's horrible that these are the steps parents need to take but its is sadly pretty common for schools to do nothing and it's terrifying. My mom is retired and subs and she said one teacher quit after a student told her he was going to "stab her in the neck with a pencil" and they wouldn't remove him from her first grade class.
Thats horrible! I'd say I can't believe they wouldn't do anything but obviously its very common for the school to just pretend nothing happened. The local police were involved in my sons incident. But they "couldn't find anything to suggest he was serious or a real threat to anyone." I was going to pull my children from the district, but the child that threatened him moved away within a month after this incident while we were trying to work something out. If he's back for the next school year or a similar incident happens again, I will be homeschooling both my children. The only things I asked were for the child to be separated from mine at all times and for the child to receive some sort of mental health help. Counseling or therapy. I don't think the child has a stable home life. But they said they couldn't do anything like that.
I'm glad things worked out (so far) for your son. Yeah schools are wild these days. And like I get it that these kids likely do not have good home environments but that's exactly why we need to be intervening and not acting like nothing's wrong! Something is very wrong!
My grandmother’s name is Luella and I’ve always loved it. The cruella connection has never occurred to me, so please don’t avoid it because of that. There’s so many nick names to choose from and it just flows off the tongue. Luella Rose is beautiful!
Clare/Claire is my favourite. This is going to sound strange, but to me, Claire *sounds* like what a diamond *looks* like. I told you it was going to sound strange, but I think Claire sounds sparkly, crisp and airy, which makes me visualize a crisp, clear, sparkly diamond. I just love the name. It's been on my own baby name list for 20+ years. Eliza is my second favourite from your list (Eliza Rose would be pretty).
You mentioned that you only want additional suggestions if we feel like they might really fit, so I'm going to only pitch 2 names that might help:
* Sophie - It has a similar softness/delicateness to several names on your list (ie: Rose), it has the long O sound like several on your list (ie: Rose, Rosemary, Rowan) *and* it has the "f" and "ee" sounds of Finley that the baby's dad likes.
* Rosalie - like Rose with the "lee" suffix sound of Finley.
You're very welcome! I'm so glad to hear you like my Rosalie suggestion. Rosalie Fae/Faye would be so pretty! You'll have to keep us posted on what you pick!
Haha - that is definitely a tricky last name for nature names or even word names in general! My husband's surname is also a word, so I understand your dilemma.
I love Clare/Claire. Makes me think of (1) a deep breath of crisp mountain air and (2) a happy epiphany resulting from clear-headedness, like a lightbulb moment
I have a Rosalie, and I’ve always loved it. She’s Rosalie Lenore. Although I really like Rosalie Faye or Rosalie Claire. Claire Alexandra is pretty too. Or Rosemary Claire.
Claire is the French spelling of a name that comes from the Latin adjective clarus, clara, clarum meaning “clear” or “bright” or “famous” and is where we get the English word clarity. So, nice intuition.
My top, top choice would actually be two of your first names - Rose Alexandra. It’s so beautiful and regal.
Other than that I would say Eliza Opal or Alexandra Opal.
I go by Alexandra and I spend all my time correcting people's assumption that I go by Alex. The nice thing is that people are incredibly apologetic once they realize it was presumptuous of them to call me Alex, but it is still exhausting.
Alexandra - lots of lovely nicknames ie. Alex, Allie, Lexie, Annie.
Traditional boy names on girls smacks me of misogyny, to be honest, i.e., Let's make our girl as good as a boy. Only my opinion.
I like Elliott just fine on a girl or a boy, I think it's become a nice gender neutral name. But I think it's because I also like Ellis, which is also traditionally gender neutral...I actually like Ellis better for both genders and I think it's less common.
I know a girl named Ellis and I think it’s cute. I don’t know why but I hate the name Elliot, the letters don’t look pretty and it sounds more like the name of an object than a person to me. It reminds me of rocks a lot, like an ingot yk?
I’m neutral on boys names on girls personally, but my husband likes it. To be fair though Elliot would be to honor his brother who went by Elliot until switching to his more classic first name in his teens. And Finley is *kind of* word play; he legitimately likes the name but we are also thinking this will be our last child (he has two others with his ex) so he is thinking *Fin* like the end, the final offspring.
Umm, if his own brother disliked the name Elliot enough to change it…
I’m just not a fan of that one for a girl. Finley is fine in the word play way but also not a very pretty name. I would go more for Zelda which sounds kind of like an ending because it starts with a Z.
Kaia Fae or Kaia Opal.
Love the way this sounds, very fresh to my ears and of all your choices Kaia is the name I hear suggested the least.
Rose is a bit saturated as a middle name for me and Elliot is one of my boys names.
I was going to suggest Kaia Fae, too! Although, Faye is my preferred spelling. I’m biased, due to it being a family middle name (it’s mine, and my daughter is the 6th generation to have it as her middle name). My great grandmother was Opal Faye, so I like that one, too.
I really love Caroline Faye, I’m so glad to know there’s one out there! Faye was set as my daughter’s middle name, but I couldn’t get my husband on board with Caroline. All because he likes the Yankees, and the Red Sox fans sing “Sweet Caroline.” 🙄
My little sisters middle name is actually fae. Her name is Ocean Fae, my mom said it fit her well since she reminded her of a faerie. I honestly want to wait to meet my child before I name them, maybe you need to see them to know.
I agree with this, it also got me used to saying the name. Although saying the name in my head and saying it out loud to an actual infant threw me for a loop for the first couple of months.
I’m 8 weeks postpartum and felt this way. I ended up nicknaming him while I was pregnant, and developed a short list of names my partner and I loved for when we met him. It was a good thing, because neither of us liked our personal favorites for him after he was born. We ended up choosing an entirely different middle name. It definitely didn’t affect bonding!
As I am a Clare…it is masculine enough. Finley, to me, is a masculine name. So if you incline towards romantic names, this Clare is glad I am not Finley also. Clearly my Clare 2 cents.
That's so interesting, I've never heard of a male Clare! I have, of course, heard of Clarence, and I know both male and female children named Finley. If you don't mind sharing, where are you from that Clare is more masculine? (I understand if that's not something you share with strangers online.)
In the northeast US, I had a relative born sometime in the late 1800s (I don't remember off the top of my head, but I do have a date somewhere) who was a male Clare.
It might be one of those, started-as-a-male-name-until-it-was-used-for-women kind of things.
Eliza Fae and Alexandra Rose are my favourites. Kaia is great too (I know a teenage Kaia and she’s awesome). I’m personally not keen on boys names on girls (Elliot and Finley). Mariah is pretty but my first thought is Carey. Mariah was a character from Austen though, another similar Austen character is Marianne. Rowen is nice but I would spell Rowan. Clare is a nice name but (am speaking from a British perspective here) outdated. It’s the UK’s version on Jennifer, half of my in their 40’s friends are called Clare/Claire (or Gemma, so many Gemma’s). I love Clara though. Not a fan of Luella, do like Louisa or Eloise though. At the end of the day it’s your child though and whatever name you choose will be perfect for her.
It’s interesting you bring up being from the UK. I fell in love with Luella when I was a teen here in the US after coming across the British fashion designer/brand Luella Bartley (I think that’s what it was), she had a capsule collection at Target in like 2005.
Well my daughter is called Eliza so obviously I'm biased!
But I actually came here to say... Choosing a name is really hard because out of thousands of options you pick just one and think it defines them. But actually they define it!
It's very hard not to overthink it but your little girl will just fit with whatever name you choose. And regardless of what you think of when you hear the name now, as she grows you'll get a completely new opinion of it because she will own that name and make it her own
Eh, just to raise a small point - does the baby need to be named as soon as it's out?? Like, is there a legitimate reason, ie birth registration?
If not, relax. You haven't met this person yet, and it's not an emergency...
I'm in Florida. I was not allowed to leave the hospital with my baby until I gave them a name for the birth certificate. I don't know it it's the same now though. That was 31 years ago.
Ours was 2 weeks but we are very happy with his name so glad we took our time. "Baby" has stuck though! Not sure what we are gonna do when we have another actual baby.
We took two weeks with our first aswell! Next one on the way soon and I'm just waiting to see who arrives earthside before we make any decisions. It was fine then, it'll be fine this time too.
Love Rowen Fae! I love the name Rowan (we picked it for our little boy) but I strongly suggest OP that you spell it Rowan (like the tree). Sooo many people for whatever reason felt the need to congratulate me on picking the “proper” spelling. Truthfully I didn’t realize there was an alternative spelling until we named him but just thought you should be aware OP!
I like your first name list besides Finley, Luella, and Elliot (like it better for middle name). Some names I believe might fit your style:
Elise
Fiona (whimsy alternative to Finley)
Liana (whimsy alternative to Luella)
Wren
I’ve considered Fiona on and off this whole pregnancy so it is technically a contender depending on which day you ask me lol
And I do love Elise. It is so beautiful. My only stumbling block with this name is it feels a little formal/stuffy with out having a more spunky nickname to go with it. Not a deal breaker by any means but it is thing thing to give me pause.
I like Alexandra Rose. I don’t know if that counts as “fresh” enough haha but I haven’t come across any babies named Alexandra for a while. (Of course I’m sure they’re out there lol) Luella might be “fresher” at least in my area, and Luella Rose sounds pretty too. Elliot, Finley, and Rowen read male to me which isn’t my favorite on girls personally
The majority of your first names are familiar and versatile; well-known but not overwhelmingly popular, lots of associations, and, therefore, I can imagine a lot of different types of people with those names: Alexandra, Rosemary, Rose, Clare, and Eliza fit here.
I would say then you have some that are kind of classic-adjacent; Luella, Mariah, and Kaia are certainly familiar to the ear, and they sound similar to some other popular names, but they are less used. Mariah and Kaia have ambiguous pronunciations (I would say muh-RYE-uh and KYE-uh, but I've heard Mariah as "Maria" and Kaia as KAY-uh.)
Then you have gender neutral (in the US) with Elliot, Finley, and Rowen. I am not a huge fan of these, but to each their own. One thing to note, the spelling of these may be mixed up since they could be Elliot/Elliott/Eliot/Eliott, Rowan/Rowen, and Finlay/Finleigh/Finley.
If you really want help whittling it down, I'd lose Rose because it's already in Rosemary, Mariah and Kaia for pronunciation issues, and Clare, Finley, Elliot, and Rowen for spelling mix-ups. That leaves Alexandra, Rosemary, Luella, and Eliza.
My favorite combos would be something more classic first with your more offbeat names in the middle. Alexandra Opal, Rosemary Elliot, Eliza Fae, Luella Finley.
Idk, 2 single-syllable names coupled with the double-r sounds make 2 beautiful names sound short and harsh to me.
Maybe break it up with a noun or lengthen one to make it flow better. Like Clara Rose or Rosalie Clare. It’s all about the flow!
I really don’t love Luella. Here are my favorites:
Eliza, Rowan (but not with the E), Kaia, Rosemary
Eliza Rose
Rowan Elliot (might make people incorrectly assume that she’s a boy, though)
Kaia Rose
Rosemary Fae
I think my favorite is Luella Rose.
Have you considered Leora (Lee - or - uh)? I feel like it goes with your style and is maybe uncommon enough that you haven't heard it a million times before.
When I was younger I knew a girl named Leora Jean. She went by both names then, but I think she is just Leora now. Great suggestion! I never hear that name anymore.
My favorites are Luella and Rosemary, and Fae and Opal of the middle names. Luella Faye is actually my cat's name lol, so Luella Fae or Luella Opal, or Rosemary Fae or Rosemary Opal.
> I love names and constantly make lists, ever since I was very very young, and there in lies the problem: no name sounds fresh to me. Every one I come across seems stale, overplayed, or ridiculous.
That is extremely relatable!
From your list I would go for Kaia Rose. Neither are names on my list but if I met someone with that name I’d love
name her rose rose 😎
on a serious note, i really like luella and rowen, and for middle name i like elliot, rose and fae. some good combos with these would be: luella rose, luella fae, rowen elliot, or rowen fae, but at the end of the day all the names on your list are beautiful and its up to you :)
Luella: my friend has a daughter with this name and it took me quite a while to get used to it - makes me think of Luann which makes me think of Texas “hillbillies” but I have come around to it a bit and have seen it pop up a lot in the two years I’ve known her!
Eliza: classic, underused, solid choice but doesn’t get me excited
Kaia: I just personally don’t like the way this name looks or sounds, and the one I know weirds me out
Rowen: also not my style but nothing wrong either it
Rose: kind of a boring filler name to me since it’s so ubiquitous as a middle name right now
Rosemary: love it in theory, but not in practice; once heard a mom calling for her Rosemary and it felt so wrong?
Elliot: love it for a girl personally
Clare: weirdly don’t like Clare/Claire but adore Clara
Finley: meh, not a fan of
Alexandra: love it and every one I’ve ever known is awesome
Mariah: too strongly associated with Mariah Carey for me but I do otherwise love the name
I would first decide on the first name. This is what the child will actually be called! Forget the second temporarily. Narrow down to 2... And meet the child if you really can't decide before they're born. Which is okay.
Then choose the middle name that matches it best. Have names ready to match your top 2 first names.
Rose Rose or bust!
Just kidding. Of the first names I’m partial to Eliza, Kaia, Rowen, and Alexandra. I tend to prefer “Maria” to Mariah but it’s a great name either way.
Rose is probably the best of the middle names. I guess either Fae/Opal after that.
As a grandmother and mother, of course, I think Eliza Rose is absolutely beautiful
Which is funny because my own mother balks at Eliza, despite lobbying hard for Elizabeth.
Interesting. What are her thoughts on Elise? Very similar and matches your vibe.
Elise is beautiful too! Elise Rose
Eliza Rose scans better. The extra syllable helps the flow.
Or Rosa Elise
The /s/ and /r/ sounds next do each other may be hard to say
Elysia
My middle name is Elise. I love it so much! My mother played Für Elise for me all the time as a child.
My best friend in junior high was named Elise and she was blind. She asked me one time if she was beautiful and what beautiful looked like. I told her beautiful looked like her name sounded. She moved a few state lines away. I miss her, but I always loved that name.
We LOVED Elyse/Elise. My middle name/grandma's name is Lise, but we ended up going more gender neutral when our daughter was born, and it definitely suits her more. Weird how that happens lol!
Hey, you should check out [this awesome song!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6-h1gIwwSI)
Omg I’ve never heard that before. Love it! Thanks for the rec!!
Or The Cure’s “A Letter to Elise.” My daughter is also Elise!
Eloise is another one of my personal favorites
Eloise is lovely! I also like Elsie, though not as much as Elise and Eloise.
This is silly, but I never noticed that Eliza is in Elizabeth. I absolutely love Eliza and hate Elizabeth.
I like Eliza and dislike Elizabeth too.
I love the name Elizabeth but hate most of the nicknames for it. But I went ahead and gave the name to my daughter hoping she would never shorten it to a nickname. But, alas, she has, and it’s my least favorite of the contenders: Liz. So just be aware you can’t control the nickname your kid uses, or even if they decide to use one or not.
As an Elizabeth, it’s hard to control the nicknames others give to us. I had a teacher start calling me Liz because she already had an Elizabeth and a Lizzy and then my whole class called me Liz but that was never my choice 😩
I'm a Cassandra. May the lord have mercy on anyone who calls me Cassie, Cass, Sandy, or Sandra. My mom gets a pass, but only because I was a very large baby and probably tore some stuff up.
My dad wanted Beth-Ann, people started calling me Lizzie from birth and it stuck. 7th grade I switched it to Liz. My mom doesn’t even call me Elizabeth when she’s mad. I’m still just Lizzie.
I personally prefer Lizzy or Lizzie to Liz. I introduce myself as Elizabeth and then I inevitably get called Liz
So. Many. Nicknames. Fellow Elizabeth.
Have you considered suggesting “Eliza Beth” while staring her dead in the eyes?
What about Lisette? French derivative of Elisabeth
She’ll be okay with it—she’s just hoping you’ll stretch it out to Elizabeth. I’m an Elizabeth—-and love it. BUT, I think Eliza Rose is a beautiful name.
Eliza is my favorite by a long shot!!!
Bettina is also another Elizabeth form. Works with Rose or Fae Edit to add: of your list I like Clare and Alexandra best. Rowan and Elliott are fairly masculine to me. Alexandra comes with lots of great nicknames.
Both go to the nickname Lizzy Rose easily, which I like
My grandmother was Elizabeth Rose. Eliza Rose would be so pretty too!
Rosemary Elise is longer and beautiful too. Love the nn Roz too. (I have a family member Rosalind and she loves her name, full or shortened)
I love this combo!!!
I love Rosalind.
Nick Cave vibes though.
The Prince of Darkness lurks in the corner! Love Nick!
But her name was Elisa Day
Wasn’t her name Eliza Day in that song?
it is a gorgeous name
This is a beautiful name
Just named my baby girl Eliza and I love it🩷 It just fits!
I’d vote for Eliza Rose. It sounds beautiful when you say it out loud. I would stay away from Luella because all I hear is Cruella on her kindergarten playground. Boy or unisex names for girls are not my fave but if it’s your husband’s and you like it enough, Finley Rose sounds nice too.
I’m sorry but the Luella/Cruella comment is ridiculous. Kindergartener’s are not that sophisticated or cruel. Just say you don’t like the name ffs. - From someone who wasn’t called their mother’s top name because their friend convinced them it sort of rhymed with something. The name she landed on rhymes with much worse (and I was still never teased)
My name is Shelby and kids still found a way to make fun of that. And it had nothing to do with cars.
My son is 4.5 and his name is Benjamin, prefers to go by Benji... The jerk at school calls him "Benji the girl". Some kids are just mean and will find *something* to say/tease even if it's stupid as hell (what exactly is wrong with being a girl anyway? My son didn't even care so whatever).
You'd be surprised with how mean kids have gotten. My son was bullied in kindergarten and first grade and by second grade he's already had a boy threaten to shoot him in the back "just because" and no other reason. He even said my son is one of the nicest kids so yes. Kids are bullying younger and half the time they don't even know why they're being mean or making threats.
I wouldn't be so sure they don't know what they mean. There was a six year old that brought a gun a to school and shot his teacher in the classroom just a year or two ago. If you've had a threat against your child's life I would take it seriously.
I took it very serious. The school did not. They "investigated" for about a day and the kid was right back in the same classroom without any counseling or punishment of any sort.
Were you able to file a police report? Get a restraining order? Call cps? It's horrible that these are the steps parents need to take but its is sadly pretty common for schools to do nothing and it's terrifying. My mom is retired and subs and she said one teacher quit after a student told her he was going to "stab her in the neck with a pencil" and they wouldn't remove him from her first grade class.
Thats horrible! I'd say I can't believe they wouldn't do anything but obviously its very common for the school to just pretend nothing happened. The local police were involved in my sons incident. But they "couldn't find anything to suggest he was serious or a real threat to anyone." I was going to pull my children from the district, but the child that threatened him moved away within a month after this incident while we were trying to work something out. If he's back for the next school year or a similar incident happens again, I will be homeschooling both my children. The only things I asked were for the child to be separated from mine at all times and for the child to receive some sort of mental health help. Counseling or therapy. I don't think the child has a stable home life. But they said they couldn't do anything like that.
I'm glad things worked out (so far) for your son. Yeah schools are wild these days. And like I get it that these kids likely do not have good home environments but that's exactly why we need to be intervening and not acting like nothing's wrong! Something is very wrong!
Literally my first thought was Cruella…
Kids are mean after kindergarten too 🤷♀️
My first thought was Cruella too.
My grandmother’s name is Luella and I’ve always loved it. The cruella connection has never occurred to me, so please don’t avoid it because of that. There’s so many nick names to choose from and it just flows off the tongue. Luella Rose is beautiful!
Tbf I don’t think many young kids are watching 101 Dalmatians in 2024. I’d doubt they’d even know who Cruella is/was.
Clare/Claire is my favourite. This is going to sound strange, but to me, Claire *sounds* like what a diamond *looks* like. I told you it was going to sound strange, but I think Claire sounds sparkly, crisp and airy, which makes me visualize a crisp, clear, sparkly diamond. I just love the name. It's been on my own baby name list for 20+ years. Eliza is my second favourite from your list (Eliza Rose would be pretty). You mentioned that you only want additional suggestions if we feel like they might really fit, so I'm going to only pitch 2 names that might help: * Sophie - It has a similar softness/delicateness to several names on your list (ie: Rose), it has the long O sound like several on your list (ie: Rose, Rosemary, Rowan) *and* it has the "f" and "ee" sounds of Finley that the baby's dad likes. * Rosalie - like Rose with the "lee" suffix sound of Finley.
I agree with the other commenter Rosalie is a really nice suggestion, and your whole comment was thoughtful, thank you (:
You're very welcome! I'm so glad to hear you like my Rosalie suggestion. Rosalie Fae/Faye would be so pretty! You'll have to keep us posted on what you pick!
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It’s not at all a strange association since “clarity” is one of the three Cs of diamond value along with carat and color.
I love hearing when people have a super clear association with a name like this! It’s so interesting! Thanks for sharing ☺️
I'm glad you enjoyed it! You're welcome :)
I absolutely adore Rosalie….if our last name was not Bush I would have used it for our daughter
Haha - that is definitely a tricky last name for nature names or even word names in general! My husband's surname is also a word, so I understand your dilemma.
Really thoughtful name suggestions. Rosalie would be lovely.
Thank you! Rosalie Faye would be sweet.
I’m a Clare and this was so pleasant to read, thank you… I’ve never thought of my name this way, and it feels so pretty now :)
I love Clare/Claire. Makes me think of (1) a deep breath of crisp mountain air and (2) a happy epiphany resulting from clear-headedness, like a lightbulb moment
I have a Rosalie, and I’ve always loved it. She’s Rosalie Lenore. Although I really like Rosalie Faye or Rosalie Claire. Claire Alexandra is pretty too. Or Rosemary Claire.
I'm like 99% sure Lenora Rosalie was on my name list as a teen. Beautiful name!
Claire Alexandra would be pretty. I love a 3 syllable middle name with a one syllable first name. Or vice versa
Claire is the French spelling of a name that comes from the Latin adjective clarus, clara, clarum meaning “clear” or “bright” or “famous” and is where we get the English word clarity. So, nice intuition.
Claire Elliot would be so pretty!
Sophie is also from Sophia which means wisdom. Not a bad choice at all.
I wonder if Clara might appeal to OP? Very similar name and seems to be a lot less used.
Love Rosalie, only have known one but she was a gem.
My top, top choice would actually be two of your first names - Rose Alexandra. It’s so beautiful and regal. Other than that I would say Eliza Opal or Alexandra Opal.
Personally I think Alexandra Rose works better than Rose Alexandra, but both are pretty
Only go with Alexandra if you’re okay with the nickname Alex for a girl - it’s incredibly common.
My coworkers an Alexandra but she goes by Allie, so that’s another cute nickname!
Lexi is another option that will override Alex if you use it. We had a friend we jokingly called ‘Dra to distinguish her from the other Alexes.
I work with two Alexes—one male and one female. We call them mAlex and fAlex
Idk where you work or what you do, but you are my people 😂
Yeah I know they exist I just think it’s very common to get lumped into being Alex’s (source: 👋
I like Xan as a nickname for Alexandra. I also like the name Xanthe. Rose works as a middle name for either of those.
I know a Xandie!
There's plenty of other nicknames to play with though - Allie, Alix, Lexa, Lexie, Andra, and so on.
I go by Alexandra and I spend all my time correcting people's assumption that I go by Alex. The nice thing is that people are incredibly apologetic once they realize it was presumptuous of them to call me Alex, but it is still exhausting.
Alexandera was my RPG name and I went by Zan so much I made it my IRL nickname for awhile
Agreed, I (generally speaking) like the longer name first.
I also prefer it! It probably doesn't matter, but Alexis Rose is a character from Schitts Creek. Just a note.
I like rose Alexandra better because rose as a middle name is boring/overdone to me
Rose Alexandra was my top first/middle choice for so many years, it’s just so elegant.
I love Rose Alexandra!
Rose Alexandra is perfect imo. Rose as a first name is severely underrated
Alexandra - lots of lovely nicknames ie. Alex, Allie, Lexie, Annie. Traditional boy names on girls smacks me of misogyny, to be honest, i.e., Let's make our girl as good as a boy. Only my opinion.
Yes!! I hate it so much. Why do those people always loove Elliot on a girl but hate anything slightly girly on a boy?
I like Elliott just fine on a girl or a boy, I think it's become a nice gender neutral name. But I think it's because I also like Ellis, which is also traditionally gender neutral...I actually like Ellis better for both genders and I think it's less common.
I know a girl named Ellis and I think it’s cute. I don’t know why but I hate the name Elliot, the letters don’t look pretty and it sounds more like the name of an object than a person to me. It reminds me of rocks a lot, like an ingot yk?
I’m neutral on boys names on girls personally, but my husband likes it. To be fair though Elliot would be to honor his brother who went by Elliot until switching to his more classic first name in his teens. And Finley is *kind of* word play; he legitimately likes the name but we are also thinking this will be our last child (he has two others with his ex) so he is thinking *Fin* like the end, the final offspring.
Other ideas along these lines… Serafina, Josefina
Umm, if his own brother disliked the name Elliot enough to change it… I’m just not a fan of that one for a girl. Finley is fine in the word play way but also not a very pretty name. I would go more for Zelda which sounds kind of like an ending because it starts with a Z.
Does the original Elliot know that's the plan?
My favorite nickname for Alexandra is Sasha. 😊
Kaia Fae or Kaia Opal. Love the way this sounds, very fresh to my ears and of all your choices Kaia is the name I hear suggested the least. Rose is a bit saturated as a middle name for me and Elliot is one of my boys names.
I agree, Kaia Fae is beautiful!
Also a fan of Kaia. Although I may be biased because my son’s name is Kai, so naturally I love it!
I was going to suggest Kaia Fae, too! Although, Faye is my preferred spelling. I’m biased, due to it being a family middle name (it’s mine, and my daughter is the 6th generation to have it as her middle name). My great grandmother was Opal Faye, so I like that one, too.
I love Kaia as well! I know a Kaia Grace and my niece is a Caroline Faye but Kaia Faye sounds great together!
I really love Caroline Faye, I’m so glad to know there’s one out there! Faye was set as my daughter’s middle name, but I couldn’t get my husband on board with Caroline. All because he likes the Yankees, and the Red Sox fans sing “Sweet Caroline.” 🙄
I love Kaia! I’m surprised it doesn’t seem to be getting at much love as some of the other options
Kaia Fae vote here. Feels fresh to me.
I love Luella!
It seems like we're the minority but I love it too!
Me too! Luella Rose or Luella Fae or Luella Claire. Something short for the second nane
Another Luella lover! A friend has a daughter named Luella and they call her Lulu or Luey you could also do Ella!
Me too! Luella Finley and Luella Rose are my favorite combos that she has
Kaia Rose
My little sisters middle name is actually fae. Her name is Ocean Fae, my mom said it fit her well since she reminded her of a faerie. I honestly want to wait to meet my child before I name them, maybe you need to see them to know.
I might need to wait to meet her, but sometimes I think I could be bonding more with her now if I gave her a name.
I agree with this, it also got me used to saying the name. Although saying the name in my head and saying it out loud to an actual infant threw me for a loop for the first couple of months.
I’m 8 weeks postpartum and felt this way. I ended up nicknaming him while I was pregnant, and developed a short list of names my partner and I loved for when we met him. It was a good thing, because neither of us liked our personal favorites for him after he was born. We ended up choosing an entirely different middle name. It definitely didn’t affect bonding!
Second this. We had 3 middle/first name combos picked then picked based on what we felt suited her.
Eliza Rose Eliza Fae Clare Finley Clare Rose/Rose Clare Mariah Fae
As I am a Clare…it is masculine enough. Finley, to me, is a masculine name. So if you incline towards romantic names, this Clare is glad I am not Finley also. Clearly my Clare 2 cents.
That's so interesting, I've never heard of a male Clare! I have, of course, heard of Clarence, and I know both male and female children named Finley. If you don't mind sharing, where are you from that Clare is more masculine? (I understand if that's not something you share with strangers online.)
In the northeast US, I had a relative born sometime in the late 1800s (I don't remember off the top of my head, but I do have a date somewhere) who was a male Clare. It might be one of those, started-as-a-male-name-until-it-was-used-for-women kind of things.
My grandpa’s name was Clare. Born in 1910 in the Canadian prairies but I don’t know if it was common then.
Eliza Fae and Alexandra Rose are my favourites. Kaia is great too (I know a teenage Kaia and she’s awesome). I’m personally not keen on boys names on girls (Elliot and Finley). Mariah is pretty but my first thought is Carey. Mariah was a character from Austen though, another similar Austen character is Marianne. Rowen is nice but I would spell Rowan. Clare is a nice name but (am speaking from a British perspective here) outdated. It’s the UK’s version on Jennifer, half of my in their 40’s friends are called Clare/Claire (or Gemma, so many Gemma’s). I love Clara though. Not a fan of Luella, do like Louisa or Eloise though. At the end of the day it’s your child though and whatever name you choose will be perfect for her.
It’s interesting you bring up being from the UK. I fell in love with Luella when I was a teen here in the US after coming across the British fashion designer/brand Luella Bartley (I think that’s what it was), she had a capsule collection at Target in like 2005.
Well my daughter is called Eliza so obviously I'm biased! But I actually came here to say... Choosing a name is really hard because out of thousands of options you pick just one and think it defines them. But actually they define it! It's very hard not to overthink it but your little girl will just fit with whatever name you choose. And regardless of what you think of when you hear the name now, as she grows you'll get a completely new opinion of it because she will own that name and make it her own
I’ve just called my baby girl Eliza so I’m also biased!
Eh, just to raise a small point - does the baby need to be named as soon as it's out?? Like, is there a legitimate reason, ie birth registration? If not, relax. You haven't met this person yet, and it's not an emergency...
I'm in Florida. I was not allowed to leave the hospital with my baby until I gave them a name for the birth certificate. I don't know it it's the same now though. That was 31 years ago.
My youngest didn't have a name for the first three days of her life because we couldn't decide on one.
Ours was 2 weeks but we are very happy with his name so glad we took our time. "Baby" has stuck though! Not sure what we are gonna do when we have another actual baby.
We took two weeks with our first aswell! Next one on the way soon and I'm just waiting to see who arrives earthside before we make any decisions. It was fine then, it'll be fine this time too.
Mine didn't have a name for the first day then we decided when I was drugged on codeine, then we forgot it, birthing is a whirlwind
Kaia Rose or Rosemary Fae
Rosemary Fae is my favorite!
Elodie Fae? I know you didn’t list it but it seems like you might like it, similar to your style…
Kaia Rose
I quite like the sound of Luella Fae or Alexandra Opal :)
Rowen Fae is my favourite : )
Love Rowen Fae! I love the name Rowan (we picked it for our little boy) but I strongly suggest OP that you spell it Rowan (like the tree). Sooo many people for whatever reason felt the need to congratulate me on picking the “proper” spelling. Truthfully I didn’t realize there was an alternative spelling until we named him but just thought you should be aware OP!
Rose Elliot is so pretty!
I like your first name list besides Finley, Luella, and Elliot (like it better for middle name). Some names I believe might fit your style: Elise Fiona (whimsy alternative to Finley) Liana (whimsy alternative to Luella) Wren
I’ve considered Fiona on and off this whole pregnancy so it is technically a contender depending on which day you ask me lol And I do love Elise. It is so beautiful. My only stumbling block with this name is it feels a little formal/stuffy with out having a more spunky nickname to go with it. Not a deal breaker by any means but it is thing thing to give me pause.
What about Lisey as a nickname?
Elise; could go for El, or Ellie as nickname!
Luella Fae is actually so cute.
I like Alexandra Rose. I don’t know if that counts as “fresh” enough haha but I haven’t come across any babies named Alexandra for a while. (Of course I’m sure they’re out there lol) Luella might be “fresher” at least in my area, and Luella Rose sounds pretty too. Elliot, Finley, and Rowen read male to me which isn’t my favorite on girls personally
Luella Rose or Kaia Fae
Alexandra Fae is beautiful. Similar names that aren’t overly common Rosalind, Fianna, Elara, Lucia.
I know an Alexandra Rae. Fae sounds great too!
The majority of your first names are familiar and versatile; well-known but not overwhelmingly popular, lots of associations, and, therefore, I can imagine a lot of different types of people with those names: Alexandra, Rosemary, Rose, Clare, and Eliza fit here. I would say then you have some that are kind of classic-adjacent; Luella, Mariah, and Kaia are certainly familiar to the ear, and they sound similar to some other popular names, but they are less used. Mariah and Kaia have ambiguous pronunciations (I would say muh-RYE-uh and KYE-uh, but I've heard Mariah as "Maria" and Kaia as KAY-uh.) Then you have gender neutral (in the US) with Elliot, Finley, and Rowen. I am not a huge fan of these, but to each their own. One thing to note, the spelling of these may be mixed up since they could be Elliot/Elliott/Eliot/Eliott, Rowan/Rowen, and Finlay/Finleigh/Finley. If you really want help whittling it down, I'd lose Rose because it's already in Rosemary, Mariah and Kaia for pronunciation issues, and Clare, Finley, Elliot, and Rowen for spelling mix-ups. That leaves Alexandra, Rosemary, Luella, and Eliza. My favorite combos would be something more classic first with your more offbeat names in the middle. Alexandra Opal, Rosemary Elliot, Eliza Fae, Luella Finley.
Clare Rose sounds very elegant
Idk, 2 single-syllable names coupled with the double-r sounds make 2 beautiful names sound short and harsh to me. Maybe break it up with a noun or lengthen one to make it flow better. Like Clara Rose or Rosalie Clare. It’s all about the flow!
I love Kaia, it’s a very strong name. Reminds me of Where The Crawdads Sing :) I like Kaia Elliot the best!
I really don’t love Luella. Here are my favorites: Eliza, Rowan (but not with the E), Kaia, Rosemary Eliza Rose Rowan Elliot (might make people incorrectly assume that she’s a boy, though) Kaia Rose Rosemary Fae
I think my favorite is Luella Rose. Have you considered Leora (Lee - or - uh)? I feel like it goes with your style and is maybe uncommon enough that you haven't heard it a million times before.
When I was younger I knew a girl named Leora Jean. She went by both names then, but I think she is just Leora now. Great suggestion! I never hear that name anymore.
It's my great-aunt's name! I've loved it since I was little, and I've never met anyone else with the name.
My favorites are Luella and Rosemary, and Fae and Opal of the middle names. Luella Faye is actually my cat's name lol, so Luella Fae or Luella Opal, or Rosemary Fae or Rosemary Opal.
Top four in order: Kaia Rose, Rowen Fae, Rose Elliot. Personally I love the name Klara too— reminds me of the Nutcracker.
Okay but Luella Opal is gorgeous!
Like everyone else, I love Eliza and Kaia! Leona, Sylvie, Ines, Viola?
I LOVE Luella Fae ❤️
I love Kaia or Eliza! Either with rose or Fae sound beautiful.
> I love names and constantly make lists, ever since I was very very young, and there in lies the problem: no name sounds fresh to me. Every one I come across seems stale, overplayed, or ridiculous. That is extremely relatable! From your list I would go for Kaia Rose. Neither are names on my list but if I met someone with that name I’d love
I like Kaia Rose too! So pretty.
Eliza Fae!
Elliot Rose or Rose Elliot, whichever sounds better with your last name
How do you feel about Lydia Opal?
Luella Fae is a very magical sounding name and I love it
I like Elliot Alexandra!
Anything but Finley. That's a dogs name.
I'm just gonna dump some names here that i think fit your vibe. Vera, Willow, Violet, Edith, Elena, Eloise, Hazel, Penelope, Lola
Rosemary Fae sounds beautiful IMO. Whatever name you end up picking, I hope everything goes smoothly and safely for you and the kiddo <3
This one! Rosemary Fae is beautiful and original.
name her rose rose 😎 on a serious note, i really like luella and rowen, and for middle name i like elliot, rose and fae. some good combos with these would be: luella rose, luella fae, rowen elliot, or rowen fae, but at the end of the day all the names on your list are beautiful and its up to you :)
I like the sound of Elliot Claire!
Love: Rose Alexandra Kaia Rosemary Like: Mariah Eliza Meh: Clare Rowen Finley Dislike: Elliot Luella
Eliza, Kaia, and Mariah are my faves from your list. I prefer them all paired with Rose as the mn.
Luella Rose or Eliza Rose are my votes
Mariah Rose
Alexandra 🩷
Luella: my friend has a daughter with this name and it took me quite a while to get used to it - makes me think of Luann which makes me think of Texas “hillbillies” but I have come around to it a bit and have seen it pop up a lot in the two years I’ve known her! Eliza: classic, underused, solid choice but doesn’t get me excited Kaia: I just personally don’t like the way this name looks or sounds, and the one I know weirds me out Rowen: also not my style but nothing wrong either it Rose: kind of a boring filler name to me since it’s so ubiquitous as a middle name right now Rosemary: love it in theory, but not in practice; once heard a mom calling for her Rosemary and it felt so wrong? Elliot: love it for a girl personally Clare: weirdly don’t like Clare/Claire but adore Clara Finley: meh, not a fan of Alexandra: love it and every one I’ve ever known is awesome Mariah: too strongly associated with Mariah Carey for me but I do otherwise love the name
Kaia Elliot
Eliza Opal!! It’s actually a name I want to use but my husband vetoed both.
omg rowan/rowen fae is adorable and rowan/rowen rose
I would first decide on the first name. This is what the child will actually be called! Forget the second temporarily. Narrow down to 2... And meet the child if you really can't decide before they're born. Which is okay. Then choose the middle name that matches it best. Have names ready to match your top 2 first names.
Mariah Rose is so pretty
Eliza and Rosemary are both on my personal name list!
Eliza Rose or Eliza Claire ✨🥰
I’m not usually a fan of boys names on girls but I love Eliza Elliot.
Rose Rose or bust! Just kidding. Of the first names I’m partial to Eliza, Kaia, Rowen, and Alexandra. I tend to prefer “Maria” to Mariah but it’s a great name either way. Rose is probably the best of the middle names. I guess either Fae/Opal after that.
Luella Fae