View Message

I really like Belle for a double name or middle name. I used to have Etta-Belle & Zara-Belle on my GP list. I still have Henrietta Sophia Belle on my list. I don't like it for a nickname for Isabelle or Isabella. Belle on it's on with a double name/middle name is really lovely!

---

Emmeline Belle is gorgeous! Phoebe Belle is little bit of a mouthful, I don't think it really flows together as well as Emmeline Belle does.

I think Belle is a very dated, low-class kind of name. Like Belle Watling in Gone with the Wind; I think she typifies my impression of the name pretty well.

---

Also, as a middle name, it's hard to avoid the combo sounding redneck. Lula Belle, Clara Belle, Ada Belle, Rosa Belle. Just not attractive.

I think Belle is lovely; can't imagine it being taken as "trashy". Emmeline Belle is very nice. Phoebe Belle has the "b" sound too close, for my ear. I like Tallulah Belle and Belle Cordelia. Some other ideas...

---

Anwen Belle
Evelyn Belle
Georgina Belle
Jessamine Belle
Gwendolen Belle
Rosaline Belle
Josephine Belle
Fiona Belle
Sylvia Belle - couldn't help it :)

I do think it is rather low-class.

Sprout, Tire, Tower... No thanks.

I think that the MN Belle is very cute and I don't feel that it is common or low class. All the combos with the bell endings are usually one word and not two so I don't see how they are relavent to this. I prefer Emmeline Belle to Phoebe Belle though.

I like Belle as a first name, but I avoid it as a middle name. I think it makes combos sound very rural, sort of backwoods and country. That's not nearly as negative as tacky or trashy, but it's not something I like in a combo.

---

I think Belle is very sweet, I've always liked it. Phoebe Belle is ok, but the b sounds run into each other a bit. Emmeline Belle is pretty though.

I do like Belle, however, I'm not sure I'd ever use it because I fear it would come across as a bit twee. OTOH, it was the mn of my ggm (Ida Belle) and I love the flow of Mary Belle and have considered that briefly. Of your two combos, I prefer Emmeline Belle (nice flow there).

No I don't think it's trashy or tacky. In fact, I first think of "la belle époque" when I see the name Belle and that's very much not-trashy.

---

Phoebe Belle is bouncy and cute. I like the "bee-beh" part. Emmeline Belle is very pretty too. Emilia Belle would be very nice.

---

I rather like pairing Belle the way I do Chloe - with something that needs a bit of warming up or a bit of fluff. Something where a little sweetness is an enhancement and not overwhleming. So something like:

---

Agnes Belle
Georgina Belle
Enid Belle
Edie Belle
Winifred Belle
Susan Belle
Dorothy Belle
Ruth Belle
Norma Belle
Esther Belle
Gwendolen Belle (Gwendolen is a very strong name for me)
Harriet Belle

---

But I understand completely if others don't see the appeal of such names.

I don't find it trashy or tacky, just lacking in substance. It seems better as a middle name than a first name, but I still prefer names ending in -belle or beginning with Bel- over just Belle.

---

I like both Phoebe and Emmeline, but Phoebe Belle sounds very cutesy. I prefer Phoebe Belinda, Phoebe Isabelle, and Phoebe Annabelle. Emmeline Belle has a nice flow. I don't mind it.