(Caroline vs Hannah) 2 weeks to go & need to compromise w/ hubby. HELP!

[saraallison]

I like Cora, makes me think of the Downton Abbey show. I love both Caroline and Madeline. My DD's name is Madeline, and we had the same Maddie hang up, but eventually decided to combat ppl's tendency to want to call her Maddy and just go with it! I amso glad we did. Most ppl ask if we call her Maddy, and when we say no, we call her Madeline, they make an effort to remember. There is always the chance she may choose to be called Maddy when she gets older, but at that point it will be out of our control. Anyway, don't avoid the name if you really love it bc of a potential nn. Good luck!

[kittyx2]

I prefer Hannah to Caroline actually.

As for other options, I second Clara! Lovely & classic name.

Cris

[isirapjl]

I am one of the few people on this site that doesnt love Cora but I do love Caroline. I also love Madeline and as long as you stick with the full name others will too! I also think Caroline and Carol are worlds apart and only hear Caro not Carol when I say it. Good Luck!

[savvyg2]

Caroline over Hannah - definitely. Have you thought about Carolina? It might give the name it's own identity away from Carol. Also, I'm on board with Coraline. It's a nice twist on a classic name that isn't too try-hard.

[garnet]

I love Cora for you! It's the perfect compromise - you love Caroline and Corrine, and he loves Kara. What a perfect fit!

[ashthedreamer]

I love Caroline! I think it'd be a nice nod to his mother, and you could always call her Cara or Callie (or even Ari or Aro, if you wanted). I know a Carol, and I call her Carolina and Caroline half the time, because I love them so much. She plays right along, lol, I think she loves them just as much as I do.

I love Hannah, too, could you maybe do Hannah Caroline or Caroline Hannah (Caroline for his mum)? I think that'd be a lovely compromise, but I actually adore the names together, haha. Is Hannah that much more popular than Caroline? I just did the math, there are slightly less than double the number of Hannahs (ranks #25) than there are Carolines (ranks #87) born in the last year--and that averages out to less than 2 Hannahs born in each county, and when you take into account that there are generally about 20 school districts in each county, that averages out to be approximately 1 Hannah in every 10 grades in each school district (and that's just public schools, that doesn't take into consideration all the private (both secular and religious) schools there are out there. Sure, it's popular, but it's not terribly popular, imo, and it's going down in popularity consistently.

I do love some of your other options, as well--Cora is just so sweet and literary (which is half the appeal for me--the other half is that it's a family name, but that doesn't really apply to you, haha) and Adele. I think the idea of Caroline Hannah nn Cara would be great--it would incorporate his Hannah, his Cara, honor his mom, and yet use your favorite... although, that doesn't seem entirely fair to you, lol. I really like some of the suggestions you've gotten, as well--Adeline, Clara, Helena, Annabel, Gemma, etc. I can see Isabelle/Isabel really fitting in with your favorites, as well, but it seems like it'd likely be too mainstream for you.

What about:

Juliet
Fiona
Olive
Penelope
Viola/Violet
Naomi
Natalie/Natalia
Gwendolyn/Gwendolen
Tess
Vienna

Good luck!

[catheyc]

Cora seems like a great compromise for you guys. I'm still deciding what I think about that name because I've only just heard it recently. Obviously, it's got a great and beautiful sound to it, but I like more formal names and it seems a little like a nickname. It's gorgeous though. It could also be a nickname for Caroline if your husband would go for it. I love Caroline and Hannah almost equally with Caroline getting the slight edge. I'm not fond of the nn Caro, but I love the possibility of Cora or Callie as a nn. I can see, though, where your husband might not like it if it's close to his mom's name and the intention isn't purposely to honor her -- it could get confusing.

Sorry for babbling. Cora gets my ultimate vote. Good luck!