Maddie writes:
HELLO!
I’m 32 weeks pregnant with twin girls! Wow I’m huge.
Anyway, my husband and I have the standard opposite taste issue, wherein his ideal name is something like Natalie, and mine is something like Ione, Idris, or Cadia – by which I mean he likes things that sound conventional and feminine and I like things that sound…I dunno. Unique and more gender-neutral, I guess. But this puts our compromise zone somewhere in the realm of many of your readers and writers – we’re looking for a name that’s not too common but still pronounceable, traditional but unusual, and basically the same thing everyone else is looking for. Another compromise possibility is the nature name, Willow, Rose, etc, but our last name is Forrester. So that’s a toughie. We want the two names to coordinate but not be matchy-matchy.
Middle names are set (almost), as our family tends to use last names as middle names. One middle name will be my maiden name, Stone, and the other will either be one of his family names, Lawton, or possibly (especially if we pick a gender neutral name), another family name: Louise. They’ll have an older brother named Sam (Samuel). (Don’t even get me STARTED on that naming process, WOW was it tough, though in the end we went for a name we decided we’d name our theoretical son during a romantic moment in 2002. He’s kinda named after Yosemite Sam. Yeah, I know. Moving on!)
So, as this is my way, I created a spreadsheet with LOTS of names, and we each rated each name 1-10, and then we added the scores, and now we have a “short list,” to which we are not committed at all. None of my weird name preferences made the cut, as they were all torpedoed and given a 1 by him; none of his cheerleader names made it, either, as I gave them 2’s. Though I have to say, looking at this mathematically, that I generally liked way more names than he did. My average score across the names was around a 7, his was closer to a 3.
Here’s the list (and the rankings):
First place (18.5 points):
* Edie (which would be short for either Eden or Edith. Edith has family significance, but it really hard to match. I love Eden, but we’re not a religious family. Is it too religious?)
Second place (18 points):
* Linden
* PhoebeThird Place (17 points):
* Lillian
Fourth Place (16 points):
* Annabelle
* Eliza
* Lyra
* CallaFifth Place (15 points):
* Jill
* Juliet
* Molly
* SadiaHonorable Mentions (14 points, but with 7-7 splits, meaning we kinda agree on them, I didn’t include the 14-ers that were 10-4)
* Clara
* Eleanor
* Jillian
* PenelopeThe one fairly unusual name we both like but feel like we really can’t slap a kid with is Persephone, or Percy for short. SO CUTE. But so many syllables! And I’m not sure it passes the resume test, even though stylistically it’s actually quite similar to Stephanie, right? Also, how the heck do you match Persephone? We do also like Willa and Isadora (the second of which means “gift of fertility,” which seems oh so appropriate for one of these very surprising twins.) We’d probably go for Izzy as a nickname, but Sadie is also an option. Our closest winning combo as of yesterday is Eden Stone and Linden Louise. Edie and Lindy. Lindy Lou. Linden, however, is a tree. Could we use it with Forrester? Anyway, we change our minds all the time!
The meanings themselves are not our primary concern, but we don’t want to inadvertently categorize or label the girls. For example, we were thinking of Edith Stone and Calla Lawton for a while, but Edith means “powerful in battle,” and Calla means “pretty,” so……..no-go. As a note! I was completely willing to go for Louise, or maybe Louisa, as a first name if I’d be allowed to use the nickname Lua, which I think is beautiful. This idea did not catch on.
Anyway – what do you think? Will we ever find two names that make us both happy? Could you put Persephone on a resume? Should we just each name one and have a completely mismatched Natalie and Idris? Help?
I love the spreadsheet. I love it.
Though Eden is a place name from the Bible, I think of it as a non-religious name that a religious person could use with another layer of meaning—similar to the name Noah, which is fully mainstreamed yet to a religious person would have the added benefit of the biblical association.
I wonder if you’d like a name I’ve encountered the last few years (that is, I’ve encountered a single person WITH this name periodically over the last few years, and each time I hear her name I have a positive reaction to it): Eidelyn. It’s pronounced like the word eye, then a dah/deh sound and then a lyn—with the emphasis on the eye syllable. The nickname is Eidey, which rhymes with Heidi and is one vowel-sound off from Edie. One reason I think it might be a good fit for your family is that the name is highly unusual/exotic—and yet I, with my generally mainstream/common tastes, find I like it. So I have hopes it will appeal to both of you.
I’d pair it with Lorelei, another unusual/exotic name that appeals to my conventional tastes. Eidelyn and Lorelei. I like how they sound quite different but also have the “eye” sound in common (and the same number of syllables), and I like the visual compatibility of them: same number of letters, the repeating E and I and L.
However, this gives us a middle name problem. If you feel the way I do about initials that spell things, Eidelyn can’t be with either Louise or Lawton—but with Stone, maybe it sounds like “idol in stone”? One option is to find another spelling. Idelyn, for example. Idelyn Louise and Lorelei Stone. (I think I’d copy one of my friends here: she had one of her twins be the “older/firstborn” twin and have the less-significant family name, and the other twin had the more significant family name—so they each had something special.) Or maybe Eidelyn Stone is not a big deal, since they’ll hardly ever be said together, and maybe only sound like “idol in stone” to people with a lot of Sunday School in their backgrounds.
Another option would be to abandon the family-name middle names, and do each name like this: your favorites from his list as first names; his favorites from your list as middle names. I love family names, so I’m reluctant to push this—but something like Phoebe Idris and Eliza Ione might work very nicely, or Eliza Penelope and Annabel Persephone.
I want to put a huge positive push for Persephone—but I think what I really want is for it to get more common so we can all use it without worrying about it being too odd. (I think I would spell the nickname “Persey” or “Persie,” to increase the association with the full version.) You’re right: it’s so similar to Stephanie, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be used—and yet it isn’t used. I think I would pair it with Seraphina or Felicity or Philomena or Willemina or Anastasia—another long unusual name. With nicknames Percy and Sera, or Percy and Fliss, or Percy and Phil, or Percy and Willa, or Percy and Annie. There’s also Sophronia, with the adorable nickname Phronsie (I remember this from The Five Little Peppers). Percy and Phronsie. And I think Isadora goes well with it too: Persephone and Isadora, Percy and Izzie.
Or do you like any of those sibling-name-for-Persephone names together, without Persephone? Felicity and Anastasia is my favorite set. Felicity Louise and Anastasia Stone. Or Felicity Lawton and Annabel Stone.
To me, Linden with Forrester is fine. I knew Linden was a tree, so I can’t explain why it doesn’t bother me. It just doesn’t, that’s all. I like Linden and Phoebe together (a phoebe is a bird, which goes nicely with tree) instead of Linden and Eden: the repeating -den endings of Linden and Eden bothers me a little, and also the way one girl gets three letters with her -den and the other gets only one. (I put the tree/-den things in the same paragraph because I think it demonstrates nicely the huge subjectivity of baby-naming. The next person reading this could think “WHAT!! But to me the tree thing is a big problem, and the ‘number of letters’ thing is ridiculous! And I LIKE the twinniness of the matching endings!”)
I think Lyra and Calla are beautiful together. Lyra Stone and Calla Lawton.
Or Iris and Calla. Calla Lawton and Iris Stone.
I also love Penelope and Annabel. Annabel Stone and Penelope Lawton. Annie and Penny.
Isadora (“gift of fertility”) would be nice with Felicity (“lucky, happy”). Izzy and Fliss.
From nowhere: Imogen Stone and Bronwyn Louise. Beatrix Lawton and Genevieve Stone.
I’m getting a little overwhelmed—so many great names, so many interesting combinations! What would the rest of you pair up?
Name updates! Maddie writes:
Hey hey!
Welcome to baby girls Cl@ra R0berts and Ph0ebe St0ne F0rrester!
Based on everyone’s input, I actually pulled hard for Persephone/Persey (and I agreed with you on the spelling), but even though my darling husband actually suggested it, he was not to be persuaded. Which is fine, I love their names. We ended up with what I would describe as classic names that I also love. They go well with my son’s name, and I think they also go very well with each other.
There were a couple of external factors. For one thing, Sam arbitrarily decided that one of the babies was named Fifi, which we were not okay with, but we took his opinion into consideration when we named Ph0ebe.
Cl@ra’s name was a bit of a come from behind victory – we talked about it for the first time on the way to the hospital. We liked it with Ph0ebe and the middle names, too (R0berts is another family name). We also got a kick out of naming Baby A Cl@ra and Baby B Ph0ebe. I’m completely in love with it now, even though originally I thought it was a touch too feminine for my tastes. It edged out Calla, which my husband didn’t think coordinated with Ph0ebe.
There’s also this:
Origin of the name Ph0ebe: Feminine form of the Greek Phoibos (bright one), which is derived from phoibos (bright).Origin of the name Cl@ra: from the Latin clārus (bright, clear, famous).
Not matchy-matchy, but kinda fun, right?
(Ph0ebe is on the left/top, in the pic).
I lovelovelove your list, and the Bronwyn suggestion. And if at all possible, I would encourage you and anyone else to use Persephone. That is one of my top favorite names that my husband gives a big NO to, and maybe if it becomes more common he’ll come around. Five years ago, how popular was Penelope? And NOW look at it! Up and comer!
I love the name Eden. I’ve only known one Eden and she suited her name perfectly- she was long legged, graceful, and elegant. I’ve never thought of it as a religious name either. Eden and Iris.
I LOVE Eden, and persephone. Also, as far as your spreadsheet goes, DH and I did a similar thing, but ranked the names 1-17 (we had 17 names on our list) We coulnd’t give all the names 1 or something, we had to rate inorder of preference. Then we added our scores together and looked at the top few, and then picked a middle name off the list that went with it. Does that make sense?
I like Eden and Edith! Not super matchy, but coordinate well.
I also think Persephone is really cool and I would try to use it for a 1st or middle name. I love Philomena too. I have a sister named Philomena and we call her “Nina”, “Mena” and “Phil” for short. Such pretty names with so many nn possibilities.
Persephone and Isadora nn Persie and Sadie. SO CUTE, BEST COMBO EVER!
Having said that, Lyra and Edie are a lovely pair too.
I really love Edith as whole name option too.
I think it’s a bit weird having a really feminine name for one twin and then a unisex name for the other. Especially if you’re already worried about the meanings clashing and forcing personality upon them.
Btw, to me, Idris is a boy’s name. I’ve known a few, I think it’s of African origin.
I like Lyra and Calla. They are a great twin set, and they sound lovely with Samuel/Sam.
I also agree, FTR, that Idris is solely masculine in my mind. I think of Idris Elba, a very strong (and handsome, holy moly!) actor.
There are so many great names on your list I’m not going to suggest any new ones and I’m also going to leave aside the question of middle names. It probably makes sense to take this one step at a time and getting first names you like with each other, with Sam and with your last name is a big first step.
Starting at the top of your ranked list, I think any combination of Eden, Linden and Phoebe would make a nice set of twin names. Linden & Phoebe is probably my favorite of the three combinations.
Moving down a bit I like:
Lillian & Annabelle
Eleanor & Annabelle
Jillian & Juliet
Clara & Willa
Isadora & Penelope
Good luck!
I’m no help to the reader, but I couldn’t let a reference to The Five Little Peppers go by. I didn’t think I could like you more Swistle, but now I do. I have always loved the name Phronsie for that very reason.
So Percy and Phronsie get my vote, they sound so cute together.
I like Phoebe and Penelope. :)
I definitely consider “Eden” a NON-religious name, similar to “Nevaeh,” “Bliss,” or “Destiny.”
I second Persephone and Isadora!! Quite possibly one of the loveliest set of twin names I’ve ever heard – I’d go with Persephone Louise and Isadora Stone. Swoon!!
Linden would probably be too much for me, but the next town over from us is called Linden and they put trees on everything, so I am constantly being reminded that Linden is a tree. Most people probably are not.
Combinations I like:
Lyra and Phoebe
Sadia and Eliza
Eden and Calla
My grandma was named Enid Julia Stone. Enid Stone is nice. And Enid means soul. I think Edie works for a nn. And I like Phoebe with it.
I knew a girl in college named Andromeda, and she had no problem putting that on resumes, which makes me think Persephone would be just as easy. Those would be wicked awesome twins too, Andromeda and Persephone nn Andie and Persie.
I knew Linden was a tree, but only because it’s the root word of my last name, and have no problem Linden Forrester either. It’s close to the popular names London and Landon, but I think much prettier!
I also really like Eden and Phoebe or Linden and Phoebe, but Eden and Linden is kinda matchy for my taste.
Good Luck!!
-Angela
Lyra Stone and Calla Lawton. So. Beautiful. Like two frontier heroines or amazing women authors of the nineteenth century. Fantastic!
Although, I freely admit to being a little stumped for a nn for Lyra. I know a Neith who went by Nene when she was little, so maybe something like Lyly? Lyley? Combine Lyra and Stone into Lys? And Callie of course. Still love it. Lyley and Callie.
I like religious names, and I don’t think Eden seems so to me.
I like Annie and Penny. They sound great with Sam!
We did a similar voting system before the baby was born, but we ended up using the white board in the post partum room to write out the names. We held the baby up next to each name to see if it worked. It is a little different than your spreadsheet system, so that might be refreshing if you need that!
I once knew a girl named Persephone. Her nicknames were ‘Seph’ and ‘Sephie’. She was charming, lively, and imaginative. Her mother confided that they had ALMOST named her Epiphany instead with ‘Pip’ or ‘Pippy’ as a nickname. The names DO go remarkably well together without being too matchy-matchy. Both have four syllables, similar shared sounds, and the same level of creativity… all while giving each one their own inital.
I’ll toss Daphne onto your pile, too. Iris and Daphne (both are flowers, established names, and totally underused). Phoebe and Daphne (the Greek connection is subtle and pleasant). Phoebe Stone and Daphne Lawton… strong, feminine, intriguing.
Best wishes to you and your growing family! Curious and excited to hear what you two decide upon.
I think Eden Stone and Linden Louise are the perfect names! They have the same “en” sound but are not to matchy! Both names are so pretty, Im actually now wishing i could have twin girls and use the names together! I love the nn Edie and Lindy Lou too,very sweet!
Congrats and all the best xx
I think Persephone might be nice hypothetically but not sure how it would be in practice.
I love Eden for you. Eden Stone, or Eden Lawson Forrester sounds very distinguished.
Eden and Lyra would be my top pick, as I think both names go so well with Sam(uel). Edie and Lillie or Eden and Lyris.
Calla too – Sam, Edie, and Callie.
It seems your preference goes towards names with Greek origins–
so, what about
Chara (joyful) and Daphne (laurel)?
Eleni (light) and Iris (rainbow)
Calliope (beautiful music) and Penelope — Callie and Penny, or Poppy
Eva (life) and Gaia (earth)
Eva and Zoe – both names mean “life”.
Or, what about Luella, or Luana? You could each have your nicknames?
Luella and Callie?
Or Eden and Cleo?
Another very uncommon name, but with familiar syllables (and reminds me of Natalie) is Talia. It can also be spelled Tahlia. I like Talia and Pheobe best together, maybe because they both end in vowels? – Stephanie
Persephone is a Masterpiece Theatre kind of name, and that’s exactly where I recently heard it – on a character in the revival of “Upstairs, Downstairs”: the beautiful, rebellious Lady Persephone, nn Persy.
Persephone comes across as upper class English, and so it’s not surprising to find a couple of baby Persephones in the Telegraph announcements too. What’s especially interesting is to see what their siblings are named:
Persephone Elizabeth, a sister for Hermione, Ella and Henry
Persephone Yannick [double surname], a sister for Honor
With a son called Sam, Persephone may be too much over the top for one of your twins, but it would make an interesting middle name, as in this Telegraph announcement:
Ella Persephone, a sister for Charlie and Evie
I LOVE Swistle’s suggestions of Annabel Persephone and Eliza Penelope — really grand names without being too grand.
Best wishes (and can’t wait to hear what you name your twin girls)!
Totally random thought – Edith and Alice, nn Edie and Lissie.
Lyra and Calla! So pretty! Works really well with the middle names a commenter above specified. I think this would be my favorite sibset, but there are other really amazing ones from within your list…
Annabelle and Juliet
Molly and Eliza
My top three! (or six!) :)
love, love, love twins. Congratulations!
I was ready to say that Persephone would be tough to find a sister name for… but the more I thought about it, I think Isadora goes really well. Both are unusual names, but not unheard of.
Linden and Eden is probably my least favorite combo because of the matchy endings and, while Eden sounds very feminine to me, Linden isn’t at all.
Your spreadsheet has some great names! I think my favorites are Calla and Annabelle.
I wouldn’t use Calla with Lily. What about Isabel and Belinda? They are the names of strong female characters in Ogden Nash Poems, and (I think) were the names of his daughters.
Isabel Stone and Belinda Louise.
I forgot to say that then you still have Izzy and Lindy Lou.
I just wanted to say how excited I am that someone else likes Idris. It’s a secret like of mine, along with Ibis (which sounds prettier than it looks) and to some extent Iris and Eirene. I really like Idris, but I’m not entirely sure it’s ready for use, and I doubt a little bit how much I’ll like it over time. Idris is a masculine name most commonly–I think there was an actor from The Wire named Idris? and it’s the name of the imaginary city in Cassandra Clare’s bestselling YA series. I like the suggested pairing of Eden and Iris, which smushed together almost make Idris. Pair those classic, elegantly simple first names with longer middle names, like Eden Isadora and Iris Persephone. I would veer away from Eden and Linden, though, especially given the last name, as the two -en endings plus the forest/tree/garden matchiness seems a bit too much.
Persephone and Idris are two of my favorite names ever (and though I’ve heard Idris used for both sexes, I do lean more towards it being a boy’s name personally). I absolutley think you should use the name Persephone (with Persie or Sephie as a nickname) and not worry about the resume factor – it’s a great name from classical mythology, and I think anyone educated looking at it would probably hold the bearer of such a name in higher regard than a woman saddled with a “cheerleader” name (fair or not – it happens. I’m guilty of it myself). I love it paired with Isadora as well, so I think that’s your best set and really hope you go for it.
From other suggestions, I think Iris and Calla are a great pair. Both flower names, but pretty underused, and thus refreshing.
My third choice would be Linden with Phoebe (I’m not as much of a fan of Eden – to me it does fall into the “cheerleader” set more) – though I almost think Linden gets you back to the same problem as Idris – a great name, but especially paired with something more feminine, it seems unfair to mark one twin as clearly a girl while the other one could go either way on paper. Especially at school where the class list might not include the middle name to help the teacher know if they’re looking for a girl or a boy. If you go with Phoebe, I’d go back to one of the flower names to use for her sister – Iris, Calla or Daphne.
Good luck! I really hope you write back to Swistle when you’ve had the girls so we know what you ultimately picked from your great list of options.
I love Persephone and Isadora. How about Persephone Louise and Isadora Stone Forrester?
We were also spreadsheet namers and it worked to narrow the list but not to make that final (emotional) leap. Good luck!
I would react really positively if I met a young Persephone. Love it!
“The Forgotten Hours” by Kate Morton is a book featuring twin sisters, Seraphina and Persephone with a younger sister called Juniper. Another character is Edie. Fabulous book with great names. Love heaps of the suggestions but also suspect my husband would veto most!
Eden seems very heavily religious to me. I would much prefer Edith for a nonreligious couple.
I think Persephone is completely useable, and I think it passes the resume test in that it’s a very classic name. One might assume that Persephone comes from an intellectual family, but that’s hardly a negative association. The only reason it is NOT on our list for a next girl is because it is too similar to Stephanie, as you pointed out, and that’s a name already in our nuclear family unit.
I like Sophronia with it. Another classic like it is Sophonisba, that I think would pair quite well with Persephone, if you wouldn’t get tripped up with similar sounds. Sophie and Persie! Or Aletheia, perhaps? Theia and Persie! I also like Hermione and Ariadne, which are similar in style but the -ne endings are too much similarity for me, so I think you have to pick just your favorite.
For me, Linden would be a bit much with Forrester (more so than any non-tree botanical names would be), but I’ve done lot of tree-based research with students so I’m perhaps more aware of Linden being a tree than most people are.
Although I like the name is Persephone, I might scratch my head if I met a young Persephone with a brother named Samuel. I don’t tend to think that parents should limit themselves to sibling sets that coordinate, but the style difference between Persephone and Samuel would strike me as odd for half a second and it may be something to consider, particularly if you think it would make Sam feel like the odd one out.
I think some of your other choices “fit” better with a big brother Sam.
Some of my favorite combinations from your list and Swistle’s suggestions:
Phoebe Lawton and Penelope Stone. Sam, Phee, and Penny.
Calla Lawton and Annabelle Stone. Sam, Calla and Anna/Belle (I love the matching double Ls!)
Imogen Lawton and Isadora Stone. Sam, Ginny and Izzie.
And a few suggestions of my own:
Evelyn Lawton and Edith Stone. Sam, Evie and Edie.
Cecelia Lawton and Penelope Stone. Sam, Cece and Penny.
Lucille Lawton and Edith Stone. Sam, Lucy and Edie.
Maeve Lawton and Daphne Stone. Sam, Maeve and Daphne.
Estella Lawton and Camilla Stone (more double Ls). Sam, Stella and Milla.
Piper Lawton and Linden Stone. Sam, Piper and Linden.
Please update us on what you choose! All the best to you and your growing family.
I know a little girl named Eadie. That is her given name and not a nickname. Her parents tastes were quite similar to you and your husbands, i.e. completely different from each other.
I like the idea of using Edith if it has family significance to you, and I would pair it with Lillian from your list. Edith and Lillian, Edie and Lily.
Congratulations and good luck.
For me I would stick with clearly feminine names for both girls which rules out Linden and Idris for me. If you use Eden, perhaps not Stone as the middle since it seems like a Stone from Eden and (to me) emphasizes the place name element.
I’d go with your 3rd place: Lillian (nn Lilly) and Eden (nn Edie). The matching “n” sounds at the end sound nice to me. Eden Louise and Lillian Stone.
Good luck!
I’ve been on vacation, and I’m sorry I’m late contributing here, as I love your names! I cracked up when I read about your spreadsheet because that is something I would do.
I love Ione and I wish it would get a little more attention, but not too much attention. To me Ione doesn’t really sound all that unusual now that other Greek names like Chloe and Zoe have become mainstream. I think of Ione as a less popular alternative to those two. Does your husband like Chloe and Zoe? The Greek Phoebe made it to your list. Would pointing out the similarity between Ione, Chloe, Zoe and Phoebe maybe win him over? My husband thought Ione was “horrible” and when I mentioned Ione to my Mom she made a face! But you know what I say: today’s “weird” name is tomorrow’s top new trend. The challenge with Ione is find a twin name.
Ione and Xanthe (too weird for your husband?)
Ione and Isis (like Iris from Swistle’s list but a little more unusual)
Ione and Effie?
Effie (pronounced like the initials F and E) is very similar to the mainstream Ellie and Evie and sounds sort of like Edie/ Eden from your list. However, Ione and Effie may be too similar in sound but too different in origin for you, sort of like being too similar and too different at the same time.
I’m trying to dig deep for you and avoid rehashing all of my favorites, but even though I’m done having kids, I love to dream about having girl twins named:
Felicity and Cecilia.
I love how Felicity and Cecilia have so many of the same letters but sound different enough that they aren’t confusing.
And as a guilty pleasure, I’m going to suggest:
Gertrude and Prudence (nn Tru and Pru)
Too matchy? I don’t normally like matchy even for twins, but I love the idea of Tru and Pru. I suspect these names will sound too stuffy for your husband based on your letter to Switsle, but I just love the idea so much I’m going to throw it out there.
Gertrude and Prudence
Tru and Pru!!!
Love it!
I must admit I was too overwhelmed to think about whether or not the middle names go with any of my suggestions.
Good luck! I hope you write back with an update.
I know two Edens – one who is 6 who we met at Christian preschool and one who is a baby who we met at church. So it does read ‘religious / Christian name’ to me personally.
I prefer Edith for you.
Also agree with the person who said that Eden sounds very feminine but Linden sounds gender-neutral or even more masculine, making me think of the male name Landon. Personally I would want twin girls names to be equally feminine or unisex sounding.
First, I love Swistle’s original suggestion of Eidelyn and Lorelei. LOVE them. Love the pairing, love the names, love the nick names. LOVE. That’s my top vote, but I’m guessing your husband will veto it.
Also, someone mentioned the pairing of Iris and Daphne and I also love that pairing, but that may be because my coworker has twin daughters (age 9) named Iris and Daphne so it’s comfortable and familiar and lovely because they are lovely girls.
Good luck–so many good choices!
I don’t think Edith and Idris would be mismatched, and then you can each get one first name that really suits your tastes. Idris and Eliza are also nice together.
Idris Louise and
Edith Stone
Idris Stone and
Eliza Louise
Those make lovely sets–perfectly feminine, unusual, enough of a compromise, family honoring, and each gets something they love most?
I think you could use the name Persephone and “borrow” the nickname Phronsie that is used for Sophronia. Phronsie is a fully plausible nickname for Persephone.
Persephone and Penelope, Phronsie and Penny.
Or, Philomena and Penelope, with Nina and Nellie as nicknames.
Clara and Phoebe are beautiful names, and I love the subtle tie between them with the meanings. Congratulations!