Narrowing it down...again.

[sagittaria]

I had narrowed my name list for my second daughter to two names--Gemma Claire or Sophia Claire. However, I keep bringing back names I vetoed as well as finding a new one. My list has expanded again and it's driving me crazy!

First off, Claire is the name my husband chose. It is not a favorite of mine but we compromised. I get to chose the FN.
Secondly, this list various with the style of names. I have a couple popular names, a couple of fairly popular and some very uncommon.
Lastly, My daughter's name is Cadence, which is generally uncommon and feminine without being frilly. I sort of want to keep with that style. However, I also have two stepchildren, Nathaniel and Alana (uh-LAY-nuh).

Here we go:

Waverly: As a name and sibset, I have gotten an overall positive response. My worry is it is too 'out there'. A good nickname could be Avi/Avy. My husband isn't a fan. (Nathaniel, Alana, Cadence and Waverly/Cadence and Waverly)

Gemma: I am 50/50 on this one. I like it. It's pretty and unique and another name I have gotten positive reviews on. I am not sure if I like it enough to name my daughter. (Nathaniel, Alana, Cadence and Gemma/Cadence and Gemma)

Tatum: I had this name picked out before I knew I was having a girl. I know my mother-in-law is fond of this name. Like Waverly, it is uncommon and feminine without being frilly. (Nathaniel, Alana, Cadence and Tatum/Cadence and Tatum)

Zoey: This is a name I keep coming back to. I didn't care for it in the beginning but it has grown on me. It's in the top 50 of popular names and rising. (Nathaniel, Alana, Cadence and Zoey/Cadence and Zoey)

Madison: I would have never considered this name before but it started to grow on me. My husband likes it. My issue is popularity since it is #8 in SS. However, it's popularity is declining. (Nathaniel, Alana, Cadence and Madison/Cadence and Madison)

Sophia: I fell in love with name when I was pregnant with Cadence. I seriously considered changing Cadence to Sophia. My issue is not only the popularity (#2 in US) but commonness of it. While most haven't really heard of Cadence, Sophia is pretty well-known. I guess I might be falling out of love with it but I still consider it.
(Nathaniel, Alana, Cadence and Sophia/Cadence and Sophia)


WDYT? Out of these names, which one seems to fit?

[wootz]

How does your husband feel about the others besides Waverly? I like the way Gemma and Tatum sound, and they fit with Cadence to me. They are both unique enough without being at all weird, they sound feminine but not frilly- like she could be a CEO of a Fortune 500 or a make-up artist or anything in between and those names would work. There also won't be many with the same name around her, I suspect.

[sagittaria]

My husband likes Madison and Sophia, he is so-so on Zoey and Tatum and he doesn't like Gemma.

[l in boston]

I think Madison is one of those names that will be date-stamped, so to speak -- it will be thought of as a very early-21st-century name. Whereas Sophia, as popular as it is, is a classic that will endure.

I love Gemma and like Zoey (though I prefer it as Zoe) and Waverly. I'm kind of meh on Tatum, and think it is the least good match with the sibset.

[jersey_gray]

I really like Madison and Waverly paired with Cadence, Waverly being my favorite. Tatum is not feminine at all-it is very harsh as is the nn Tate. I've never cared for the name Zoey much, it's alright. You can never go wrong with Sophia, that is definitely a timeless classic.

[indianruby]

I think Sophia is your best bet. The others I feel lack substance where as Sophia still holds a lot of class. Claire matches it well. How about another compromise using Clara as a fn? Clara Sophia would be gorgeous!

[stripedsocks]

Going down the list in order:

I find Waverly harsh, more so than similar names like Westerly. It's also a wallpaper company.

I really like Gemma, its femme without being sugary, it's not overly common in the US, and it goes with Cadence without sounding like Cadence, if that makes sense.

I find Tatum more feminine than many surname type names for girls. I vastly prefer it to Madison. I do think of Tatum O'Neal but that's hardly the end of the world.

Zoey - Looks a lot cornier to me this way than if it were spelt Zoe. Zoe is a bit popular for me but is sweet and pleasant.

Madison - is a name I don't see any redeeming merit to, unless your maiden name is Madison.

Sophia - is very, very popular. Yes, its a classic, but so is Sarah, and Sarah is still feeling a bit un-fresh after the '80s and '90s has beat it to death, isn't it? Sophia is a nice name with a nice history to it, don't get me wrong, but if you add up all the Sophias, Sofias, Sophies, and those who are using it as a middle name... there's a lot of them.

Long story short, I would go with Gemma as first pick and then Tatum. Zoe would be in the running without that extraneous y.

[ynnig]

I'd definitely go with Gemma! An easy win for me.

Sophia - don't do it; there are just so many and it kind of sticks out with your other more original children's names.
Same with Madison - uber trendy.
I don't get Waverly at all, could you avoid a nn of Wavy? It sounds a bit silly to me - sorry!
Tatum is my second favourite choice from your list - Tatum Claire has a great ring to it!
Zoey is nice although agree Zoe is better in case you get the Zooey pronunciation.

Yep - I'm still easily hands down a Gemma fan!

[meganelaine]

I think Zoe and Zoey are too trendy now. Spelled Zooey from Salinger's book at least gives a literary reference and is a bit less popular.

Tatum is my favorite followed by Waverly. Tatum is not too feminine and is nice with Tate as a nickname.

I agree that Sophia and Madison are just too popular.

[sagittaria]

That is what bugs me about Sophia and Madison is their popularity. But, I can't help but liking them. Madison and Waverly are the newest additions to my name list. If I could, I would try and use those names to come up with one. However, my husband is set on Claire. LOL. I've mentioned Clara before but I am not a fan and neither is my husband. He likes Claire. (All because of Resident Evil and Heroes). I am having so much more trouble than I had with Cadence. Part of me wants to make sure my husband likes the name too (even though I don't like Claire) and he likes Sophia or Madison. All this name deciding makes my head hurt. LOL.