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Hm, Iris gets a strong showing
Thanks for the feedback. My husband and my perceptions of the the names are a bit different, so it's really interesting to see what other people's impression are.Lucia is the new item to our list, and I've been the least sure how others perceive it. My husband is cagey, wanting Lucy, or Lucy as a nickname. Notably response to Lucia here are the most mixed. There's also the problem of us having an unusual very Germanic last name, which we want to complement but not overplay. Lucy clearly seems less controversial, at least in everyday use. Lucia nn Lucy certain leaves a girl some options.Lydia is a long time like with me, it goes up and down with my husband.Iris is my husband's favorite name. (Given half a moment, he'd write Rosemary on the list as well.) I really like Iris too, but was unsure of how it is perceived. Interestingly, it seems to get a strong response here that matches my husband's affection for it.An interesting aside - to us, August is a Germanic "Augustus' and is very much a grandfather name. We get a bit of that response from people, but we underestimated how much people would perceive it as a word-name (the month!) or trendy (although they tend to like the trend the think they hear). For better or worse, I suspect we might get the same dynamic out of Iris - people will either hear it for the more Victorian name it was, or they'll hear it as the trend it's jump in popularity must signal. August and Iris can both make you think of ancient references or be "thing" names. I worry slightly the Iris on a girl REALLY makes August sound like a month a name. It is a minor drawback though, since people think it anyway.Lydia and August probably both names sound more traditional, at least while the kids are in the same room.Dilemmas! Thanks for the feedback!
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Lucia nn Lucy seems fine to me, even with a German last name. I'll go out on a limb here and assume it's something like Lautenschlaeger. Lucia Lautenschlaeger is very pleasing. Also, Lucia has been used in Germany for centuries. Even one of J.S. Bach's grandchildren was named Lucia.

This message was edited 12/18/2014, 8:30 AM

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I think Lucia is more appealing than Iris. I like Lydia too, but Lucia *just* edges it out.
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*AS A COMBO, Lydia and August probably MAKE both names sound more traditional, at least while the kids are in the same room.(I suppose one effect of the slightly trendier combo, August and Iris, is that both names have something of a vivacious quality...)
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