So, my friend - who has a very popular 80s/90s name herself - is stuck in a rut of popular names. Now, there is nothing wrong with these popular, lovely names, but she needs some help from you all with giving her some new, but similar, alternatives. Can we do it? Yes we can! (We’re Nameberry, aren’t we?)
Her favorites:
[name]Emma[/name] [name]Olivia[/name]
[name]Olivia[/name] [name]Isabella[/name]
She also likes [name]Sophia[/name] and [name]Gabriella[/name].
(Note: She isn’t a fan of what she considers to be stuffy classics like, say, [name]Lydia[/name]. I’ve suggested those sorts of things to her.)
To be perfectly honest, I love a lot of those same names, and it is hard not to think of it as a crime that they are so popular. I do have some alternatives, but honestly, if those are the names she loves and the popularity doesn’t bother her, I think that she should go for it. (It’s a little difficult for me to say since I have a trendy 80s name… but that’s the decision parents have to make.)
Names like [name]Emma[/name]:
[name]Naomi[/name]
[name]Amelia[/name]
[name]Emmeline[/name]
[name]Isabella[/name]:
[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Isla[/name]
[name]Anneliese[/name] (or if that is too heavy for her: [name]Annalise[/name])
[name]Isadora[/name]
Alternatives to [name]Emma[/name]:
[name]Emmeline[/name] - [name]Emmeline[/name] [name]Sophia[/name] or [name]Emmeline[/name] [name]Sophie[/name] would be cute
[name]Emerson[/name]
[name]Remy[/name] - [name]Remy[/name] [name]Sophia[/name] or [name]Remy[/name] [name]Isabella[/name]
[name]Clementine[/name]
[name]Gemma[/name] - maybe [name]Gemma[/name] [name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Demi[/name]
Alternatives to [name]Olivia[/name]:
[name]Liv[/name] - [name]Liv[/name] [name]Isabella[/name] would be pretty
[name]Livia[/name]
[name]Olive[/name] - [name]Olive[/name] [name]Francesca[/name] would be nice
[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Alice[/name]
[name]Ivy[/name]
Alternatives to [name]Isabella[/name] (love it, hate its popularity):
[name]Isabel[/name] - still popular, although not as much
[name]Belle[/name] - [name]Belle[/name] [name]Cassandra[/name] would be nice
[name]Annabel[/name]
[name]Francesca[/name]
[name]Liliana[/name]
[name]Arabella[/name]
[name]Ariel[/name]
Alternatives to [name]Sophia[/name]:
[name]Sophie[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name] - [name]Caroline[/name] [name]Emily[/name] would be pretty
[name]Celia[/name]
[name]Lucy[/name]
[name]Zoe[/name]
[name]Chloe[/name] - still pretty popular though
[name]Delilah[/name]
Alternatives to [name]Gabriella[/name]:
[name]Eleanor[/name]
[name]Elianna[/name]
[name]Camilla[/name]
[name]Milena[/name] - it’s a stretch, but worth a shot
[name]Jennie[/name] - you and her actually share the same name! - I like a lot of the names on her list, too, despite their popularity. I think that [name]Emma[/name], [name]Olivia[/name], and [name]Sophia[/name] are classic, elegant, and feminine! I think she’s worried that a future child would fall into a sea of other girls with the same name, but I agree - if these are what she loves, she should use them!
Maybe I should try and convince her of that! I would hate for her to settle…
