Finally, a short list that's under control, what do you think of our top few combos?

[blade]

George RR Martin unabashedly stole real names and tweaked them only slightly to get the general feel he wanted for his characters. Him stealing Melisande is a tribute to how awesome it is.

Averill is genuinely unisex, but the original namesake is a woman (St Everild). I had a female tutor at Oxford called Averill and she embodied is perfectly-- she was a world expert on something very obscure and fusty, but also flew gliders cross-country.

[raptreverie]

My favorites are Beatrix Lucine and Odelia Fae.

There's not too much to say about Beatrix Lucine except that it has a great rhythm and is both beautiful and interesting. Simply outstanding.

Odelia Fae is stunning and more of a show stopper than Beatrix Lucine. I am also not a fan of Delia on its own, but that 'O' really changes it up. I absolutely love the names Odile and Odelia, as they ooze both class and fun (if that makes sense). I also love that you'd be using Odette as a nn. It's so cute, but verges on being a bit too princessy to use on its own, imo. I personally think Fae is darling in the middle and gives Odelia a nice light hearted feel. I much prefer Fae to Mae, Ivy, Sparrow, etc.

Melisande Felice would be in a close third place. Melusine (mel-oo-SEEN) is very pretty, but Melisande is ~much~ nicer and flows so much better with Felice.

I'm personally not a huge fan of Magdalene or Dorothea. I really want to love Calliope, but just can't get myself to do so. Calla Winifred is super cute, but gives off a different vibe from you other names.

[njordv]

Woah, Nice list!
I like Magdalene Elspeth, Beatrix Lucine,
And Calliope Winifred.
I would suggest Elspeth Magdalene, as I prefer Elspeth.
Don't really like Dorothea, Odelia, Melusine and agree Melisande is better.

[cosmonaut]

EHHHHHHHHHH, this comment is under construction.

[cosmonaut]

Sorry, the HTML got messed up in my last comment. Take two!

Slightly updated list after consulting S.O. and taking your feedback into consideration, with a few questions.

@raptreverie, I’m so glad you see the appeal of Odelia Fae, too. I find Fae so lovely, and when paired with Odelia, it’s exactly what I’m going for. But it got cut. IT’S A COLD, COLD WORLD.

@njordv – Thank you for suggesting Elspeth Magdalene, I like it : )

Question 1: How do you tend to pronounce Magdalene? mag-da-LEEN or MAG-duh-len? When in reference to Mary Magdalene, people tend to exclusively say [MAG-duh-len, but I pronounce it mag-duh-LEEN when it's on its own, and feel like that's legitimate considering it's not French? The bigger question, if I introduce her as mag-duh-LEEN, will people still call her MAG-duh-len? I find MAG-duh-len beautiful, too. It's just less distinct from Madeline, imo. I also sometimes say, MAG-duh-leen.

List:

Beatrix Lucine (S.O. loves this, I'm not yet sold on Lucine.)
Beatrix Magdalene (I love this, but too much name? Syllabic emphasis too similar? How would you pronounce Magdalene here for optimal flow?)
Beatrix Helene (prn: heh-LEEN) or Beatrix Selene (do x and s run into each other?)

Tamsin Everild (too obscure and medieval? I proposed Averill to Boo, they prefer variation Everild, but not Everlid…Will likely steal both Everild and Averill for my boy list. Is Tamsin too goofy? I prefer Thomasine, but obviously too close to my name?).

Magdalene Elspeth (I've been pronouncing this MAG-duh-leen EL-spith, so a slight variation of my usual. Open to any pronunciations, and maybe like Ulysses, I'll pronounce it multiple ways depending on my mood (yoo-LYSS-us, vs. yoo-LYSS-eez). We agree Elisabeth is better flow-wise, but we can't get over the commoness of it as a middle

Mae Elspeth (not fairytaley enough?)

Mae Bryony (I want to like this more than I do. Convince me? Or talk me out of it altogether?)

Mae Flower (just kidding)

Marigold Elsbeth (nn Mae. BLAME IT ON THE HORMONES)

Can I get some suggestions for middle names to go with Odelia (occasional nn Odette/Odetta?)? I think Fern and Fleur are a no-go, but we're open. I thought Fae was too cute, but alas, it was one of the least liked of our picks.

[raisingreaders]

I prefer Beatrix, but not a fan of Lilou as the MN. Odelia is my second favorite.

[blade]

I pronounce Magdalene as in Mary Magdalene-- MAG-da-len. But many others, even when referring to MM, say mag-da-LEEN, so that might be idiosyncratic. If you want to be very posh and medieval you can say MAUD-lin (exactly like the word maudlin). This was the Norman French pronunciation that --> Madeleine in France; Magdalen College, Oxford, is pronounced "maudlin." I actually think emphasizing the G separates is from Madeleine, as opposed to emphasizing the last syllable.

Beatrix: 3-syllable name with emphasis on the first; your ear has clued you in correctly that pairing it with a middle name which emphasizes the final syllable is especially mellifulous. Hence BE-a-trix lu-CINE, he-LENE [btw I prn. he-lehn, not he-leen], and mag-da-LEEN. My favorite is still Lucine-- so bright, sprightly, yet serious. Whereas Lucy is girlish, Lucinda is honky tonk, and Lucille is midcentury, Lucine remains fresh and undiscovered.

Tamsin Everild is lovely and very interesting. Tamsin is vanishingly rare this side of the Atlantic, and is just the thing to pair with Everild.

Magdalene Elspeth is a little less flowy. Elspeth is a LOT of consonant sounds and I think if would work best with something liquid and vowel-rich, i.e. Elspeth Allaire (Allaire being the medieval feminine form of Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers).

I dislike Mae as a first name, especially when something as lovely as Bryony is displaced for it.

I blame Marigold on the hormones, and on the anachronistic Downton Abbey.

Middles for Odelia:

Odelia Blaise
Odelia Bay
Odelia Blythe
Odelia Lourdes
Odelia Maeve
Odelia Peace
Odelia Pearl
Odelia Sadhh (SIYV, "good heart, gentle, peaceful"-- name of an ancient Irish queen)
Odelia Vale

[flick]

I love Beatrix Lucine and Magdalene Elspeth.

[cosmonaut]

@flick, Those seem to be the front-runners! I like them both a great deal.

@blade, Elspeth Allaire, oooooo *grabby hands*. That's lovely and unexpected and gorgeous. Allaire in general. Adding it to the list. How did you come to know so much about names? Also, professional opinion, is Mimi too much of a stretch as a nick name for Magdalene?

[blade]

We're all hobbyists, but for me it comes from a deep love of linguistics, history and cultures, coupled with sociological observations. Glad you liked Allaire; it is one of my absolute favorites.

Mimi would make a very sweet nn for Magdalene!