the names:

• Sarai Matilda
• Sarai Juniper
• Sarai Charlotte
• Sarai Opal
• Sarai Cordelia
• Sarai Nadia
• Sarai Ginevra
• Sarai Jane
• Sarai Felicity
• Sarai Elspeth
• Sarai Eloise

the explanations

Sarai Matilda - I love the sound of this. SaraiMatilda give me warrior princess vibes. It's full of strength and femininity too. It's balanced between familiar and distinctive. What's holding me back is that I don't have a deep attachment to Matilda. I was never a huge Dahl fan so that connection doesn't win me, but i do love the feel and sound of the name

Sarai Juniper - Juniper is lively and sweet. It's a subtle nod to my mum as it's similar (but not overly so) to her name and my mum is really important to me. Juniper is also associated with the name Ginevra, one of my favourite characters from fiction. What holds me back is that they might be too much together?

Sarai Charlotte- Charlotte is a favourite classic of mine. It honours Charlotte Brontë, one of my favourite authors. It's a nod to my mum and nan whose middle names are Jane (Charlotte Brontë wrote Jane Eyre). It reminds me of my trip to Haworth/Brontë country this year with my mum. It's well balanced. What holds me back is that Charlotte is my go to middle for two other fave names.

Sarai Jane - Jane is a nod to the Brontës and it's my mum and Nan's middle name. I've also had two dreams in which i have a daughter called Sarai Jane. I like the simplicity of it but what holds me back is I've always said I wouldn't do direct honours and though my nan likes her middle, I'm not sure my mum would

Sarai Opal - Opal is a beautiful sounding word and it's a stone that reminds me of holidays, the sea, the summer and the sky. It captures different colours and reflects, it was the name of the class I was in, my great nan had a special opal ring she passed down through the family. Gemstone names also seem to ve a thing in my family. What holds me back is that it might be too much together?

Sarai Cordelia-for the meaning, daughter of the sea. The sea is so important and healing for me. Again, is it too much?

Sarai Eloise or Sarai Elspeth - El- names are important to me at the moment for various reasons, and these are also two names my mum loves and considered

A few miscellaneous choices are: Sarai Felicity (joy), Sarai Nadia (hope) and Sarai Ginevra (for miss fanshawe)