Oh my God...can you make the choice between the first two any more difficult?! I like them both...can I write an arguement for both? :p
I think I would choose
Mercedes nn
Dee.
Dee is so spunky and
Mercedes is extremey pretty with so many nn options should she not look like a
Dee or if she wanted to ever go by something else. From what I have read of your posts, your Catholicism is important to you and is reflected in your naming, and
Mercedes has the added Catholic bonus to it without it seeming overly pious. Its beautiful, spunky and unusual.
Edmond on the other hand only has the one (albeit great) nn of
Eddy. I can also only see
Edmond on a certain type of person whereas
Mercedes seems more versitile to me.
Of the next two the choice is much easier for me. Hands down,
Ruth. I love the nn
Ruthie, it is a name that ages really well, it is timeless and classic, yet doesn't have the popularity of
Sarah,
Elizabeth or
Katherine. It ages really well.
Valerie will inevitably be
Val which I really dislike (although I do like Vally).
Val fits into the ugly old man names to me like
Al,
Cal,
Bob, and Mal (okay
Bob is random but it reminds me of
Bob :p), which aren't the best association for me on a little girl.