Throw some weird ones at me!

[leosma]

I think Opal is pretty enough, definitely not too common, but just to complicate an already complicated thread, it totally makes me think of Opie from the Andy Griffith show :/

My vote for you would be Echo...

Also I wanted to suggest a book that I think you'd enjoy. It's called The Complete Book of Magical Names by Laurel McFarland. It might help you out

Good luck! This IS a interesting thread!

[betsy buttercup]

Whirligig - yeah I think I want to distance myself from Marigold altogether, I feel like the universe is telling me it would be bad for this baby! Are you from England? Is Marigold popular over there? Everything I've found on the name makes it seem like it would be. Is there any site out there where you can find the English or British popularity rankings? I think there are a bunch of names that are more popular over there and less likely to be popular over here because they don't sound as pretty in an American accent. Like leosma said, it makes here think of Opie from the Andy Griffifth show. I think that's probably a common reaction over here.

I'll definitely have to check that book out, leosma! Echo is a pretty name, I'll add it to the list. I just imagine the teasing, within my own kid group alone. They're always shouting "Echo! Echo!" in garages and stuff, and while they'd get used to it I think the poor kid wouldn't hear the end of it until at least the teen years.

[malk]

Marigold isn't at all popular in the UK. It's a brand of rubber gloves there so that puts most off. Same with Opal, there until recently was a candy called Opal Fruits and that seems to hex that name. I've been considering it as well. I'm not sure if I like it or the sound puts me off.

This is a good site for checking out popularity of names in the UK. http://names.darkgreener.com/

[marinadancel17]

Would you consider a planet name? Like Jupiter? It's close to Juniper, but way less common(although Juniper isn't very common)
Venus
Pluto
Mercury
Mars

[marinadancel17]

Oh can you do an update on what's on your list? There are so many names that have been mentioned, so I was just wondering what you've kept.

[betsy buttercup]

Oh my gosh, sooooo glad I gave up Marigold! I was just messing around on the Huffington Post, and saw at the bottom of whatever article I was reading a series of pics of new NBC shows for the fall, and the first one was "1600 Penn" starring Bill Pullman as the President and it's all about his whacky family, and guess what the young daughter's name is? Yup - Marigold! Looks like this rare little flower name is about to get a ton of exposure! If I hadn't given up on it on Friday, I'd be crying right now!

Thanks for the info, malk, I'm definitely going to check that out. It seems like what's trendy in the UK becomes trendy in the USA a few years later. I looked up that candy and it looks like it's the UK version of Starburst, which I really dislike. I can see how that would deter people. Starburst is theoretically a cool-sounding word name, but the candy is so raunchy I'd never divorce it from that in my mind.

I do like planet names a LOT. Neptune was on my list for my third son. But planet names are definitely gender-specific to the deities they were named after, so really the only female planet is Venus, and I can't get over the rhyme of it, even though I think it's really cool.

Here's my list as it stands right now. Except for the number one spot, the rest aren't ranked. A lot of it is filler I'm keeping for inspiration.

Opal

Moonstone

Gardenia

Starling

Bunny

Cinnamon

Begonia

Magenta

Frostine

Ginger

Ursula

Meadow

Strawberry

Starlight

Moonbeam

Zelda

Luna

Honeysuckle

Prairie

Pixie

Silverbell

Galaxy

Ocean

Snowdrop

Seaflower

Snowflake

Moonflower

Snapdragon

Echo

[starophie]

If the "Opie" connection is bugging you about Opal, I wouldn't worry about it at all. Like I mentioned before, there's a children's book where the main character's name is Opal, but other than that, I don't think most people (in the US, anyway) will have any other connection, if they even have that one. I'm 18, so maybe there's an older connection that I just don't get, but if I heard of a little girl named Opal, I would just think, "What a sweet name!"

The Echo thing I can see being a bother moreso than the Opal/Opie. Also, the Echo story isn't too cheerful...

[melissaintlouis]

This is probably stuff that has already been suggested/stuff you won't like/stuff you've already decided you dislike, but I'm going to give it a go anyway.

Pallas (or, Palace?)
Remedy
Berlin
Josalie
Unity
Merula
Tisiphane
Alder
Hypatia
Chalice
Obsidian
Valiant
Galatée
Faraday
Avalon
Clarity
Sunniva
Westerly
Beryl
Feraby
Pendant
Bengaline
Carousel
Esmerée
Bergamot
Laramie
Mayapple
Eventide
Velouria
Alcian
Perennial
Onyx
Ceremony
Dreama
Tristesse
Myrtle
Safranin
Felice
Sonnet
Persimmon
Lilac
Divinity
Aether
Hera
Oleander
Berix
Amethyst
Breviary
Cedar
Pola
Foxglove
Desdemona
Fig
Indigo
Solstice
Affton
Neroli
Thistle
Musette
Silver
Erzulie
Fanchon
Pear
Tourmaline
Valley
Andalusia
Peridot
Orchid
Baranie
Whisper
Lowe
Timber
Fernandine
Sunset
Morinda
Victory
Jardeau
Chatelaine
Lullaby
Chrysalis
Mozelle
Topaz
Ursuline
Myth
Hibiscus
Ostara
Lazuli
Romance
Welsa
Oakley
Egypt
Anemone
Snowlily
Floret
Madrigal
Whimbrel
Bonamy
Mauveine
Rosary
Lumetta
Chime
Aphrodite
Ballad

[malk]

Have you come across Windrose yet?

Opal Fruits are now Starburst in the UK as well, but people my age still mention them.

Your revised list:

Opal - like this for someone else, just doesn't work for me soundwise

Moonstone - love the stone, couldn't use it as a name 'Moonie' just comes to mind.

Gardenia - agree with you about the 'gard' sound

Starling - ok

Bunny - too sickling sweet

Cinnamon - ok

Begonia - not a pretty plant, not a pretty sound

Magenta - has the darkness you like, but not for me, people would try to shorten it to Maggie

Frostine - like Frost for a boy, this seems silly

Ginger - ok

Ursula - ok, nms

Meadow - find it a bit trendy and weak

Strawberry - no

Starlight - know someone who used this as a middle name, but I don't like it

Moonbeam - see Moonstone

Zelda - ok

Luna - like this, but not sure I could use it

Honeysuckle - honey and suck in the same name, no way

Prairie - lovely

Pixie - cheesy

Silverbell - nms

Galaxy - nms

Ocean - like this but feels masculine, I like Oceane for a girl

Snowdrop - cheesy, prefer the Welsh Eirlys, but I know you don't like Celtic names

Seaflower - ok

Snowflake = cheesy

Moonflower - see other moon names

Snapdragon - no

Echo - like, but the echo, echo things would drive her nuts

like Opal, Prairie, Starling, Zelda, Oceam

[tay2thestars]

Opal - I like it! It's dainty without being old ladyish. Opal is the main character's middle name (that she goes by; her first name is India) in the children's novel Because of Winn-Dixie. I love the combo Opal Silverbell(e); but I think I suggested it to you already

Moonstone - Moonstones are items in the Pokemon games; that's what I thought of first. How about just Moon?

Gardenia - I really like this one! I see what you mean about the 'Gar' part being masculine sounding, but I think that the 'denia' ending balances it out in a melodic, sweet way.

Starling - This is alright; but I prefer other bird names like Kestrel.

Bunny - Way too stripperish; also Playboy bunnies.

Cinnamon - I think this is cute; another alternative is Cassia, which means cinnamon. A suggestion: Pepper?

Begonia - I don't like this flower name that much; I don't think it sounds pretty.

Magenta - I don't think this has an attractive sound either.

Frostine - I want to like it, but there's something about it that bugs me...

Ginger - Cute, but I can only see this on a redhead.

Ursula - All I think of is The Little Mermaid. Also don't like the sound.

Meadow - I think this would be a cute middle name, but a very trendy, cutesy first name.

Strawberry - How about just Berry? I don't like the 'Straw' part, and I think it would be a very trendy, cutesy first name.

Starlight - Stripperish to me.

Moonbeam - Stripperish to me.

Zelda - Legend of Zelda games; she is a video game princess. Not my favorite association. How about Zella?

Luna - Cute, but nms.

Honeysuckle - Cutsey, trendy first name. I don't like any of the nicknames this name gives.

Prairie - Cute, I see potental in this. Only "bad" association I can think of is Prairie Dawn from Sesame Street, but even then, that's not a horrible association.

Pixie - Stripperish. Cute nickname though.

Silverbell - I like this, but as I stated above, I think it's perfect complement to Opal.

Galaxy - I see an outgoing, Sci-Fi loving girl who is a forward thinker. Don't think it will work as well for a shy girl.

Ocean - Pretty! I also like the French Oceane spelling. If you like the sea reference, maybe Marina or Marine might appeal to you?

Snowdrop - I don't see this as a name at all. I see this as two words put together that maybe shouldn't be.

Seaflower - Cute, but I think this would be better as a middle name.

Snowflake - I think this would be a better pet name.

Moonflower - I like Moon better. Moonflower could be a cool middle name though.

Snapdragon - Punk girl, maybe a little goth, someone who really doesn't care about what others think. It might be too over the top for the average girl.

Echo - My favorite on this list. I would love to use it myself, but would probably settle for it as a middle name I think this has a super pretty sound and yeah, the echo, echo, echo thing might be annoying; but I think it could be a cute joke between her and her friends or something like that. Echo Silverbell(e) is also very pretty.

Favorites: Echo, Gardenia, and Silverbell