Collins Fieldhouse girls basketball team, 1917 Seattle Municipal Archives via Flickr
March Madness continues, and the competition is fierce!
Elodie barely squeaked past Claire. A mere two votes decided that race.
The biggest victory went to Adele. She thoroughly trounced Eithne, garnering 86% of the vote to her rival’s mere 14%. Lydia and Lila both won by impressive margins, suggesting that L truly is the letter to watch.
One surprise was watching Louisa win handily over Stella. Has this star already had her moment? Are too many Hollywood littles wearing out Stella before she really catches on?
My biggest heartache was watching Romilly lose out to Lorelei, especially because that was a close one – Lorelei earned 55% of the vote.
And now, on to the quarter-finals!
It’s a rhyme time match-up: Isla versus Lila
Little Women’s Louisa versus Hamlet’s Ophelia
The elaborate Lydia versus the trim Adele
Three-syllable showdown: Lorelei versus Elodie
How surprising to see the Elodie love! I introduced Elodie as an option for our daughter before she was born this past November. The day before she was born, my husband vetoed Elodie because (and I quote) “she will spend her life searching for something that is missing and when she is in her 40s, a therapist will tell her it is the letter “M”.”
So although I would have been happy with a girl called Elodie, instead the name was the catalyst that got me my top name choice. Serena Jane wears her name well.
Serena Jane — lovely!
I can hear him saying that!
LOVE the name Serena Jane, and I continue to be impressed by your naming style.
Since Isla is Spanish for Island, I just cant’ wrap my head around it as a name.
I easily chose Isla over Lila, because I’m used to the Scandinavian spelling of Laila and always think Lila looks like Leela.
Adele vs. Lydia – you’re killing me here. Two favorites. I voted the straight L ticket – Lila, Louisa, Lydia, and Lorelei.
I named my cat Ophelia…because I loved it so, but Louisa is much better for a little girl, I think.
Ophelia seems ‘too much’ of a name for a child, even for most women. I wonder if it made this poll because it’s kind of a fascinating name — although not a name most people would actually name their child. I think Ophelia is darling for a cat!
Someone please explain Elodie to me. It doesn’t even feel like a proper name. I grew up with a girl named Melody and Elodie just sounds like a poor version of this name.
I really hope Louisa wins the whole thing, what a great name!
I’m not fond of Elodie, either. And I don’t understand the hatred for Lorelei at all…
I’m not fond of Elodie either. It seems forced.
I voted Isla, Louisa, Adele, and Elodie. The hardest was Isla vs Lila. If it had been Lilah, it would have won, but the Lila spelling looks like it’s missing something. That’s probably because I know a Lilah (whose twin sister is Tali).
I was sad to see Romilly go, especially to Lorelei. If it comes down to Isla vs Elodie. I might not be able to choose!
Lydia vs. Adele was so difficult! But I had to choose Lydia because I have a soft spot for her. Lydia is a name I try to suggest to parents contemplating names like Sophia, Isabella, etc. as a less common alternative but equally melodic.
I just don’t see the appeal of Isla. And this is coming from someone who is naming their soon-to-be-here daughter Maia! There is just something off putting in Isla’s spelling and pronunciation. It sounds incomplete to me.
Totally agree. I don’t like Isla. It reminds me immediately of island, desert places, loneliness, Robinson Cruso
I was sad to see Esme eliminated in the first round. I’ve come to love the name since it was conferred on a niece last Nov. (I liked the name well enough before that but just hadn’t thought about it much.) Our Esme’s older brother is Dashiell; I was surprised to see both of these non-top 1000 names in this poll.
If Lila was LEE luh, I’d have voted for it.
And hopefully now Lorelei gets kicked to the curb, I can’t remember in the first round if I voted for miserable rock of death Lorelei or mispronounced surname Romilly, or if I left it. My memory rocks.
Hmm…it looks like the crazy L trend for girls in France might be making its way into the English-speaking world. I’m really surprised Louisa is so popular; it looks like it could win this whole thing.
I think english-speakers have already picked up on the trend. My MIL works at a preschool and *almost all* the girls names have lots of Ls in them.
Wow, Lorelei vs. Elodie was the only easy one (Elodie!). I didn’t even vote on Adele vs. Lydia — impossible! Louisa’s one of my favorites, so I had to vote for it, but Ophelia’s a huge guilty pleasure of mine. Lila and Isla are both pretty, but very trendy, so neither are particular favorites of mine. I ended up voting for Isla because it’s the name of my 4-year-old cousin. ๐
Count me sad at Romilly’s defeat. I *so* like her!
As it stands now, the girls were easy: Lila, Louisa, Adele & Elodie were my votes. I’m really hoping Louisa wins, she’s my absolute favorite name in the whole roundup.
I do find Lorelei a teensy bit bloodthirsty, so not lovely. ๐ Lydia’s beautiful, but I always end up singing “the tattooed lady!” after Lydia. Just can’t make myself stop. Other than those two minor problems, I have nothing against the ones I didn’t vote for. It was easier to do the girls this time than the boys! ๐
Ditto this: As it stands now, the girls were easy: Lila, Louisa, Adele & Elodie were my votes. I
Louisa and Ophelia were tough but chose Louisa as it is more usable. Sam with Lila, Isla always seems a bit old on a little girl. I strongly dislike Adele so Lydia was chosen. And the only way I could choose between Lorelei and Elodie, was the fact the Elodie could quite easily join all the Ellie’s, and for 2011 I am avoiding Ellie names, cos there seem to be loads of Ellie’s!
Isla and Lila were hardest here because I don’t particularly care for either name. For some reason they always feel awkward in my mouth.
And I’ll admit – I’m a big lover of the L sound. My daughter (who is obsessed with the alphabet right now) always asks what my favorite letter it, and I tell her L every time. So I’m not surprised to see it getting a lot of love. It rolls so beautifully off the tongue. ๐
I did better with this bracket – only two of my predictions were off. And the way the voting currently stands, I could have the next round completely right.
As for my voting, Isla/Lila was tough because I don’t particularly like either, but I went with Lila because the Sweet Valley books introduced it to me so it’s been familiar longer. And I admire the names Lydia and Adele pretty equally, but Lydia won because I have a sister with that name.
Elodie and Ophelia both feel prettier and younger than their opponents so I went with them.
Could you have made the pairings more difficult? ๐
I had such a hard time not voting for Ophelia, since it has been a favorite guilty pleasure of mine for at least 10 years, but I just had to go with Louisa as the more usable of the two.
Isla and Lila was difficult, too. They’re both lovely names, but neither is a personal favorite. Ultimately, I went with Isla.
Lydia and Adele have both appeared on my extended favorites list at one time or another, and I think they have a similar appeal — feminine, sweet, old-fashioned, normal-sounding, in use, but not too common (and the same consonants to boot). I picked Lydia just because it’s so fun to say. Lydia, Lydia, Lydia! See how it trips delicately off the tongue? I love that in a name.
Lorelei and Elodie was the only easy one. Lorelei is gorgeous, but it has been ruined for me through such strong pop-culture associations. So I went with Elodie.
Much harder than the boys! I can’t decide on Isla vs Lila. I like them both, and if it was spelled Lilah I wouldn’t have a problem, but as it is, hmmm.
Notice that every one of these names has a prominent L in them?