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[Opinions] Eleanor and Evelyn
I love Eleanor "Nora" and Evelyn (possibly "Evie"?) DF is completely against Eleanor, he says it sounds like an old lady's name. And Evelyn isn't much better in his opinion. *sigh.* How I wish I'd fallen in love with a fellow name nerd.So, WDYTO Evelyn and Eleanor? Not necessarily as a sibsit.
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I love Eleanor. Love love love. I MIGHT be even starting to get my hubby to like it! Evelyn is cute too.
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I love Eleanor and Evelyn, though I slightly prefer Eleanor as Evelyn seems trendy even though it's really not (because of the -lyn ending no doubt.) Anyway, I do love Eleanor. It would be one of the names I'd consider if I were having a daughter. I adore the nickname Ellie. It's just so cute. I can't believe your DF thinks Eleanor is old ladyish. That saddens me. :(
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They're both very pretty names. Maybe you could sell him on Evelyn, which is more trendy-sounding?
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Yes, they are "old lady" but that's not a bad thing. Did you explain that "old lady" is in? Matilda, Hannah, Charlotte, Ruby, Violet... That said, I lovelovelove Eleanor. She's on my list, nn Ellie but Nora's sweet, I have nothing against Nora, I'm just really into Ellie. Evelyn was my great-grandmother's name (well, her middle name; Clara Evelyn, went by Evelyn). I think she's spunky, especially with the nn Evie.
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I'm not a fan of Eleanor either I have to admit. I'm just not fond of the sound or look if this name. Evelyn I love though, especially with the nn Evie.
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I like Eleanor very much, and I really want to like Evelyn but I can't. I've got wonderful associations with it, but the sound is just plain unattractive. By comparison, Eleanor dances and sparkles!Might he feel better if you turned Evelyn inside-out and made it Lyneve? I could cope with that, all right.
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I like Eleanor. I think it's very elegant and not old-lady-ish at all. Nora is a bit old sounding though. Well, not 'old' really, but just too bland for Eleanor. It's like using Sarah for Seraphina, or Karen for Kreszentia. I prefer Ela, Nor, and Elen.
Evelyn is a little, well, I don't know. Sometimes I like it, but sometimes the -lyn turns me off, because -lyn used to be the -aden of girls names... I like Evie though.
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I really like Evelyn. I have known a few Evelyns, young and old.Eleanor is nice too, but I prefer Evelyn alot more.What about Elise or Eloise?
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Eleanor is nms, but I absolutely love Evelyn and will definitly name my daughter this. Evelyn is also my grandmother and I love her :)
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I love both names. Eleanor is one of my best friends names, and so I'm used to it. Plus, there are so many nn possible (Elle, Ellie, Nora, Lea?). As for Evelyn, I think it is gorgeous, and I don't really see it as onenof those old lady names. And I would not use it as a sibset. I'm staunchly against same-letter siblings or families. It's tacky.
So love the names, and sorry about you husband. :)
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I love both of them. Evelyn slightly more than Eleanor. I think they're classic and timeless, not 'old lady'. I do think that Eleanor is a bit heavy for a little girl, so either Nora or Ellie would work as nn. But I find it (both of them actually) incredibly interesting on a young woman and very refreshing in the sea of Madisons, Mackenzies and Emmas. My combo for Evelyn is Evelyn Georgia and for Eleanor it's Thea Eleanor. And for what it's worth I think they would make a wonderful sibset.
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I love Eleanor - it's so classic and elegant. Nora makes an adorable, youthfull nickname.Some alternatives your DF might like:
Eleanora
Eleonora [eh-leh-AW-nora]
Leonor [lee-o-nor]
LeonoraI don't care for Evelyn, although Evie is beautiful. It's quite dated and masculine (`la Evelyn Waugh). I prefer the feminine forms, Eveline or Evelina.
More alternatives:
Eve
Evangeline
Evadne
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Eleanor, yes. Love.Evelyn is old lady.
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I hate Eleanor, I think it's so dull and quiet.However I love Evelyn. I thinks it's awsome, really livly.I like just Nora, Nora on it's own is pretty cool.
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Lol, Eleanor sounds a lot more modern to me than Evelyn. I still am in shock that Evelyn is in the Top 100!Anyway, I love both names! And funny, I actually wanted to name my first baby Eleanor Evelyn (nn Nora), despite how it doesn't flow that well. Evelyn is my grandmother's name, so we do plan to use it for our first daughter's mn, and I still do think of "her" name as Eleanor.I think Eleanor has this very elegant, airy quality about it. It's very dark red and brown and lush. Very pretty. Evelyn is more springy and bright. I'd prefer to see Eleanor used just since it's less common, but on the other hand I can definitely see it getting a lot more popular one of these days. You really can't go wrong with either! I'd go laugh at your DF for his opinion on the matter. :)
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I love Eleanor and like Evelyn.
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I like and respect Eleanor, but Nora is just darling and one of my favourite names. I know it's wrong, but I just like to use it on its own. ;) Evelyn is also a gorgeous name, which exudes a classic confidence which is never out of style. I really like both names, but I do not like same letter sibsets. Could you convince him on maybe using Evie and Nora as full names? I know it's not the same, but they're a lot more modern and youthful. How do you feel about Evangeline or Madeleine, which are older, classic and distinguished but don't have that "old lady" feel?
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I like Evelyn quite a bit as it's my grandmother's name. I don't care for it with nicknames, though. Nothing sounds particularly natural with it and I think they kind of cheapen the name; it really is prettiest in its full form. I'm not a fan of Evie, given Evelyn's lack of a long E sound. Evelyn works best to me if you don't try to make it trendy or update it in any sense. Evie subverts that idea for me. I have a friend of a friend with two young children, Daniel and Evelyn. I love those names together, so handsome and classic. Reminds me of a sibset I know my age (mid to late twenties) named Henry and Lillian. Throwbacks before throwbacks became popular. :-DEleanor I'm okay with, but I'm feeling kind of bombarded with it from it being so huge around here on the boards. I'd probably like it more in real life where there isn't such a glut of them. A bit off topic, but I always think of Constance as being the natural pair to Eleanor.

This message was edited 7/13/2010, 8:24 AM

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Until recently I felt that Eleanor was an old lady's name too, but now I'm really liking Elly as a nn so Eleanor has been sounding nicer and younger by the day :)Maybe you could try to get him on board with Nora first, and then explain why you'd like the full name to be the official one?Evelyn is a former favourite of mine that I don't like so much anymore because Eve, Eva, Ava, have gotten more popular, and I was always more sold on the those. I still like it's alright though.
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They are ok, not my favourites, but not very exciting and I can totally see where your husband is coming from. Most non-name-people are entirely unimpressed with names like Eleonor and Evelyn because they are the names of their great aunts.What about Eve or Eva, or Lenore? Those usually test very well with the unsuspecting public, and are still very beautiful and not overly common.
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I adore Eleanor and it is one of the few names that have made my list of names I'd really consider using on a real life child. It is classic, strong and feminine and has so many great nicknames to choose from.I like Evelyn too but I mainly like it for the possible nn Evie. I love Evie so much but would never use it as a full name and I don't really *love* any of the names it can be a nn for enough to actually consider them. It is a name I'd like to see someone else use though.
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