First name for a girl to go with these middle names?

[gumshoegirl007]

Now that we know we're having a girl, we get to work on whittling down some names.  I thought this would be the fun part, but frankly I'm finding it quite stressful.  I can't get anyone to agree (we decided that at the time of labour we'd have five names selected and agreed upon by my DW and donor and that when we meet the baby I get final choice on matching a name to the baby).  We'd really like a unique name for our child.  One that is different, but not too different.

We have decided upon the middle names for the baby (both are family names), so she will be BLANK Réal Alexis LastName.

There are 3 names that have made our shortlist so far, only over time, DW and I have become divided.  The options thus far are:

(1) Priya

(2) Addison

(3) Harper

I'm a big fan of Priya, but DW has come to find it in disfavour.  I think because it's too Indian sounding and she's a bit concerned giving an ethnic name to a multiracial kid. We both like Addison, but don't love it, and I'm not sure how I feel about the inevitable shortening to Addy.  My DW loves Harper, and I'm just okay with it. I actually like the name but since we currently have a jerk of a conservative prime minister that has this last name I feel like I'm paying homage to someone I don't like very much.

So, what first names do you think we should consider?

[bleumoose]

Love Harper, and think it would go well with the middle names. But if it goes against your politics about the PM, then yeah I'd say that one's probably not good. Although, will anyone make that connection in ten years? Is he likely to be a memorable PM, or will his name fade into oblivion?

I don't know what names are popular in your part of the world, but what about these?

Amelia

Charlotte

Deanna

Fallon

Gemma

Mallory

Tara

[Bird Girl]

I love Priya, but it definitely sounds Indian. If you kind of like Harper, what about something similar like Hazel or Heather or Hannah? Addison will definitely become Addy, which I think is cute, but there you go. Sometimes you get stuck down a dead end--do you want to go back to a longer list or longer separate lists?

[StarCat]

I love, love, love Harper.  DH doesn't like it- so I sadly had to scrap it- But we are having a boy anyway so no biggie. 

I also really liked: Matilda, Piper, Eliza, Nora

I like nameberry.com for baby names.  except its not helping me much with boy names!!

[puddle]

I'd probably stay away from Harper, because unless everyone agrees with you politically, it may end up being a more common name than you want due to people who really are naming their babies in PM's honor.

I like these with those middle names:

Violet

Scarlett

Jordan

Caroline

[midwestmeg]

I still really like Harper!!

Uh, OT (sorta) but how popular is Hazel? I really like that one.

Yes, Priya is beautiful but very Indian.

Naming is stressful, at the end of the day I don't know exactly how I feel about our kids names... I hate admitting that! They have my last name, so dh gets the final say on the first name. Dh claims to only like Frank- boy or girl, this time around. Sigh.

[gumshoegirl007]

Hazel is not too popular, but perhaps more so now because Julia Robert's named her kid that.  The funny thing about the love of Hazel here, which I like too, is that it's my mother's name!!!  We were going to use either Alexis or Hazel as part of the baby's name.  With Réal (pronounced Ray-al) as the other family name to be used, we felt that Alexis was the best fit.  But it could always change...

And, MidwestMeg, I'm sorry about Frank ;)

I think we're going to have to go back to a longer list for now, so keep those suggestions coming.

[Jessie123]

My name is unusual and would go well with the two middle names - Jesserie (pronounced Jess-SIR-ree).  I also like Carina... what about Hunter??

[StarCat]

I had a patient yesterday who had a little girl named Quinn.  I loved it and think it would go well with your middle names. 

Midwest Meg- I think Frankie is super cute for a little girl.  kinda eh for a boy though. 

[midwestmeg]

Originally Posted by StarCat 

I had a patient yesterday who had a little girl named Quinn.  I loved it and think it would go well with your middle names. 

Midwest Meg- I think Frankie is super cute for a little girl.  kinda eh for a boy though. 

thats the way i have always felt.. like frankie, eh on baby boy frank.

[Oregonicmama]

I love Harper with those middle names, but agree if you don't like the PM it may not be a great choice.  Hazel is a great alternative and I like that it is a family name. 

Midwest Meg- my father's name is Frank.  I would love to name a son after him, but that name is so blah. 

[meg007]

My dad's name is Frank, too, and I agree that it is not all that appealing, haha! 

Girl names:

Parker (met the cutest little girl in the world with that name once, and I've loved it since)

Finnley or Phinley

Chloe

Charlotte (I like this one, and can be nicknamed "Charlie" if you like that, or can just stay Charlotte)

Zoe

[bleumoose]

I interviewed a girl named Frankie for a job once. She was perky and cute, the name was really cute on her. We also have a...well complicated family tree happens there :D , so I'll just say niece and a nephew named Francesca and Francis respectively and both are called Frankie. I like those variations much better than simply Frank. There's a lot more to the names that way.

Originally Posted by StarCat 

Midwest Meg- I think Frankie is super cute for a little girl.  kinda eh for a boy though. 

[mclisa]

I think if you are looking for uncommon/unusual names, then Harper doesn't really fit.  I know 5 in this are all less than 3.  I think Addison is more popular than you might think.

How about Xanthia or Zariah?

I love your middle name choices!

[gumshoegirl007]

I'm finding this discussion really interesting because of the Canadian and American differences.  As we've been exploring more names, I've also done some research into the popularity of the names Harper and Addison.  Harper has never appeared on a top 100 list in Canada.  It's never made the top 100 list in the states, but has been consistently under the top 1000 in the past 5 years (I wish we had access to the same sort of data, here).  Addison on the other hand has been in the top 1000 in the states for the past 10 years, and in the top 100 for the past 4 years, and near the top of the list at that (under 20)!  In Canada, Addison only appeared on the top 100 list last year for the first time and it was at number 73.  So, yes both have become popular, but just not as popular here.  We still would like something unique-ish, so the name search continues.  I love all your suggestions so please keep them coming.  Here are some other names that have made some sort of short list, but not the final short list:

aria
linden
afton
auden
ryden
mika
livia
calla
lila
sevy
myla
kalli
ellery
carmen

Eventually, we'll get it down to five.  Any other thoughts?

[midwestmeg]

gumshoegirl- well, that list should get down to 5 pretty fast once you show it to dh- haha! mine just runs around yelling 'veto!!'

K, you guys are breathing new life in to Francis for a boy and I've always like Frankie (Francesca) for a girl. Tiny problem is McNair sounds, well is, so Scottish... does Francesca McNair sound funny?!!

I'm sticking with Hazel and maybe I'll humor DH with the straight up 'Frank' and go with Reid for a middle name and then just use Reid. :) I'm getting pretty desperate to use Reid- I LOVE that name, boy or girl!!

but back to the op--- by #4 I care less and less about 'how popular' and I STILL really like Harper and Addison. What about Scout? I'm not kidding. I like it.

[puddle]

OP--I LOVE the name Lila.  I would have definitely considered it for DD if it hadn't been my supervisor's name at the time.  And now it's out for any future kids, because we went with Lola for DD so it's way too close.  I really like it with those middle names too!

[mclisa]

Instead of Lila, have you thought of Lillya?  Or Lillia?

[audreyhorne]

i like hazel, and i like flora."flora real alexis lastname" is what immediately jumped into my head when i read your name choices. i actually prefer addy/addie to addison, as there are a million addisons and madisons in our local playgroup,  and i had a childhood friend named addie whose full name was adelaide, which is another name i love...

good luck!

[EricaRN]

Flora is a cute name but I just had to post to say I'm not sure it would work well with your middle name choices... when I saw Flora Real the first thing I thought was "for real" lol. I know it sounds crazy but if you read it fast that's what your brain sees... and I'm not sure that would be ideal for a baby... but maybe, I dunno... maybe it IS you :-) Good luck! I really like Piper. Piper Real Alexis ____.