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I like Evelyn when pronounced EEV-lin - sharp and elegant. I'm also very fond of Evelyn on a boy (same pronunciation).

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Lucy is lovely - sweet, but energetic. I'm reading Dracula, so Lucy Westenra (which is a fantastic surname) is currently my main association.

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I've written about Michael above.

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I find Joseph unattractive. That being said, I really like an idea of a Joseph who goes by Seph.

Evelyn - I love how soft this is and how it rolls off the tongue. I'm quite surprised you dislike it because to me it's a bit similar to Oliver in sound. But then again there are many names I love that I'd completely dislike if I just changed one letter.

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Lillian - I dislike this as well, it seems clumsy to me. It's odd because Lily has been my favorite for ages. Lilian looks much better to me but as it is not as established it would be annoying to correct people all of the time (also it's a boys name in France).

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Sarah - I used to dislike it but there is something warm and classic about it that I like now. I imagine a woman in a bonnet serving hot soup to her family. I love Sara because of "A Little Princess".

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Hannah - similar to Sarah (image) and fun to say.

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Abigail - I dislike Abbie but I love the friendly witchiness of Abigail.

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Lucy - gives me carefree childhood in the english countryside vibes.

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Belinda - not a fan so I can't help with this one ;)

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Michael - I sort of like it since "Peter Pan" I guess because it gives me a nostalgic/childhood feeling and there was a Michael in "Mary Poppins" too. So I sort of like the full name but dislike Mike.

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The others I also dislike.

Joseph is a steady, reliable, tolerant, discerning hardworker who likes the good things in life but doesn't take them for granted.

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Joey is an energetic kid. He's probably a little spoiled or snarky, but he's good-natured overall.

This message was edited 9/27/2022, 5:59 PM

I can't believe I forgot Evelyn! Evelyn should really be in my OP. I'm with you on this - the vowels are all schwas and they create a rather limp name, even with the V.

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I like Sara without the H, though even then the ubiquity of the sound has sort of removed the charm from the name.

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Abigail was among my favorites a long time ago, but now I'm more or less indifferent. This was both because I thought the nickname Abby was fun, and my grandmother's name is Gail; so there's family attachment for me.

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Michael has the same problem as Sarah: I'd like Michael a lot more if every other set of parents with a baby boy in the '50s through the '90s didn't decide it was the best name ever. I also personally know a lot of Davids / Daves, but don't know if it's necessarily as popular as Michael on a wider scale.

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I used to dislike Joseph, but that was mostly because I can't stand Joey. Joseph as a full name is fine, and Joe is okay. No Joey, though.

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In another reply I talked about how "fun" I perceived Nathan to be. I definitely prefer it to the similar (and more popular) Ethan.

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Agree with you on the rest - especially any -inda name. Don't get those at all.

Hannah and Sarah are soft and feminine, strong, comforting, grounding, wholesome. Breezy enough to be little girls, but respectable enough to be someone's pioneer ancestor. I can see how one would find them bland and square, though. I feel that way about Anne and Leah.
I feel like Abigail is kinda the new Deborah ... old testament chic. I only like it because I like Gail a lot. Not feeling Abby.
I think Belinda is a poetic seeming name, smacks of 'belle' and 'linda' = pretty. It's like Bonita only less Hispanic. A little bit in the same spirit as Colleen, maybe.

This message was edited 9/27/2022, 10:21 AM