Time to Make a Decision- Cora, Gwendolen, Phoebe, or Stella?

[malaria]

Gwendolen and Phoebe take the lead for me, with Cora and Stella being very close behind!
Gwen is absolutely adorable, and Bee is so cute as well. Couldn't you just see Gwen, Bee, and Gus running around? Plus, Salinger is a personal favorite, so I love that connection.
If I had to rank them, it would be:
1. Phoebe (but only just barely!!)
2. Gwendolen
3. Cora
4. Stella

[august'smom]

Thank you all for your feedback! I have no idea how we're going to decide.

[rollo]

What about Gwendolyn Felicity (kind of gives a Phoebe vibe)?

or

Stella Gwyneth

or

Cordelia Ellen nn Delia or Cora

or

Fiona Gwendolyn
Fenella Iris
Esther Phoebe
Phoebe Elise
Eliza Corinne
Gwendolyn Darcy
Gwendolyn Daisy
Penelope Cora nn Penny
Phoebe Charlotte

rollo

[wootz]

Only about 3400 Stella's born in 2010 as opposed to around nearly 23,000 Isabella's. I honestly wouldn't worry about that level of popularity if it feels right and you love it. At any rate, Stella gets my vote.

[emiliaj]

Phoebe and Stella. Both fresh and quirky. I like the fact that they are both 6 letters. Phoebe also appears in Shakespeare.


emiliaj

[whit32]

Cora is my favorite! I love the name, and Cora in The Last of the Mohicans is a great character. The book, not the movie. From what I've heard, the movie is vastly different from the book. (I've never seen the movie) My second favorite, I think, is Gwendolen, though with Cora, I might just go with Gwen. I don't really like Phoebe or Stella. They just have bad name images to me.

[august'smom]

Thanks everyone. Though the votes obviously won't actually be determining our decision, Cora, Phoebe, and Stella all seem to have about the same amount of support. Gwendolen is just a little behind.

Regarding Cora's literary history- it's not that she doesn't appear in literature. She does, as I mentioned early, in both The Last of the Mohicans and Cora Unashamed. That's not the issue. It's the fact that while Gwendolen, Phoebe, and Stella have literary connections that we *love*, Cora doesn't. We don't just want a literary name for the sake of having a literary name. It means less to us if we don't love the book. Though as I'm writing this, my husband is telling me that he actually "really likes" The Last of the Mohicans. Whatever that means. Anyway, we love The Catcher in the Rye, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Importance of Being Earnest. The Last of the Mohicans and Cora Unashamed are just sort of there. So I guess long story short, we don't want a literary name. We want a literary name from a book we love.

Hm. I see that even just in this thread multiple people spelled Gwendolen with a Y, which makes me ask- if people "misspell" it when it's in the title, does a little Gwendolen have any hope of not saying "G-W-E-N-D-O-L-E-N" her whole life? That's almost enough to make me push it to the middle spot. But then I remember how much I love the nickname Gwen.

Regarding Stella's popularity, 69 were born in our state in 2010. There were 496 Isabellas born. But then you consider some of the names higher on the list than Stella, like Maeve, Nora, Sadie and Violet. I hardly think those are everywhere or overused. At the moment , I'm thinking that the popularity is a nonfactor.

[sillysheila]

Hm. I see that even just in this thread multiple people spelled Gwendolen with a Y, which makes me ask- if people "misspell" it when it's in the title, does a little Gwendolen have any hope of not saying "G-W-E-N-D-O-L-E-N" her whole life? That's almost enough to make me push it to the middle spot. But then I remember how much I love the nickname Gwen.

I think she will have to spell her name often. And if you put it in the middle, you can still call her Gwen. I call my Grace Patricia "Pat" more than "Grace". FWIW, I think Phoebe Gwendolen is a beautiful name.

[kyemsma]

I agree with you that Stella's popularity is a non-issue. I have only met one little Stella in the last few years, and I work with preschoolers. I just love Phoebe and Stella together! How about Stella Gwendolen?
BTW, I think if you picked Gwendolen, you and she may be facing a lot of questions in regard to the correct spelling. I do love Gwendolen and Phoebe together, however!

[emjae]

I personally really like the name Cora, but I think it seems like you like Phoebe more. Go with what you two love! And I think the nn Bee is adorable!