I have this love/hate relationship with [name]Sophia[/name]. I love the beauty of it, but hate the popularity… it takes away from the beauty. I need to be convinced that either it’s gorgeous and I won’t regret using it, or I need to be convinced that it’s becoming tacky to use. To make things more difficult, my husband loves [name]Sophia[/name]. We would name our daughter [name]Sophia[/name] [name]Alexandrie[/name] (al-ex-AHN-dree).
When I allow myself to consider using a different name, I find myself adoring [name]Mila[/name] [name]Alexandrie[/name]. I guess there’s [name]Mila[/name] [name]Sophia[/name], too. Unfortunately, I don’t know if [name]Mila[/name] has the same type of beauty as [name]Sophia[/name] once had before the popularity (or maybe still has?).
Why would I talk you out of [name]Sophia[/name]? It was my great-grandmother’s name – [name]Sofie[/name] [name]Katarine[/name] – and it’s beautiful. I teach in the South, and there’s not one [name]Sophia[/name]/[name]Sophie[/name] in my entire high school.
I’m probably the wrong person to respond because I don’t care about popularity, and I don’t think it detracts from a name’s beauty (I certainly don’t think it makes the name tacky!).
[name]Mila[/name] is pretty, but it has a very different vibe, for me, than [name]Sophia[/name] and a very different sort of beauty. Between the two, I find [name]Sophia[/name] far lovelier and stronger. But [name]Mila[/name]'s not bad, and if you and your husband both love it and are so bothered by [name]Sophia[/name]'s popularity, then it’s a solid choice. I’d rank your possibilities as [name]Sophia[/name] [name]Alexandrie[/name], [name]Mila[/name] [name]Sophia[/name], and [name]Mila[/name] [name]Alexandrie[/name].
Thank you all. I guess I have been feeling a little insecure about the popularity of [name]Sophia[/name] since three of my distant friends (maybe just acquaintances) just named their daughter’s [name]Sophia[/name]… I just want to make sure my baby’s name is just as special as she is! I do [name]LOVE[/name] the combination [name]Sophia[/name] [name]Alexandrie[/name] (although [name]Sophie[/name] [name]Alexandrie[/name] would flow better, but I would only use [name]Sophia[/name]).
Goodhope, I think you’re right about [name]Mila[/name] being just a different kind of beauty than [name]Sophia[/name]. That’s how I feel, too.
Please use [name]Sophia[/name]! It is such a beautiful name, and there is a reason why so many parents love it. [name]Sophia[/name] is a classic beauty, and I don’t think you will regret using it. I have only met 1 [name]Sophia[/name] here (eastern U.S.), and she is 10 years old.
Okay in Southern Califonia I hear [name]Sophia[/name] everywhere, absolutely everywhere and decided i didn’t like it. Thing is I just heard it last night again in the store and thought Oh another [name]Sophia[/name], but boy that name is beautiful. So even though it has been used to death near me I still see it’s beauty. The other thing is after College not all ones peers are the same age so it becomes more and more unlikely she will know too many other sophias. She will be an adult longer than a child. P.S. I call my daughter [name]Ella[/name] which is uber popular in other places,because I loved it too much to care. If you love [name]Sophia[/name] it is gorgeous, it is super popular (here anyway) and you will probably feel a tinge of regret not using it any time you see another sweet [name]Sophia[/name]. I say use itand if she thinks its too popular she could use [name]Alex[/name]
I’ll play devil’s advocate for you - I like the name [name]Sophia[/name] but wouldn’t use it. It is really popular where I live and I’m against uber-popular names. I’m a [name]Jessica[/name] and was always 1 of 3 or 4 in every grade in school (not to mention that we were usually lumped in with the Jennifers). I know several people have commented that it not that popular in their area, and I think that is a consideration. But I would not use it in my current location (South).
[name]Don[/name]'t bother with [name]Mila[/name]. It’s rising on the charts fast thanks to [name]Mila[/name] Kunis. [name]How[/name] about naming your daughter [name]Sophronia[/name] and use [name]Sophia[/name] as a nick name?
[name]Sophia[/name] [name]Alexandrie[/name] is just lovely. Use it!
There is no guarantee that [name]Mila[/name] won’t become just as popular as it is on the rise anyway (eg. We have a [name]Mila[/name] in our Mothers Group and no Sophias) and it seems crazy to go for a name you love less, just because less people love it.
[name]Sophia[/name] is popular but not in the way of some other names that became popular very quickly and almost as quickly died out. [name]Sophia[/name] is classic and timeless…in the same way that my daughter’s name - [name]Abigail[/name] is. Some names are just always going to be gorgeous. I know I would have regretted it SO much had we not used [name]Abigail[/name].
[name]Don[/name]'t do [name]Sophia[/name]. Please. I live in So [name]Cal[/name] and it seems like every 3rd child is named [name]Sophia[/name]. It’s getting ridiculous. I think it’s worse than [name]Jennifer[/name] in the 70’s.
If you do name her [name]Sophia[/name] realize she will always have to use her last name right after giving her first to everyone, always.
If it’s really the one you love, you’ll regret not using it.
It will be up to chance whether she will end up having other Sophias in her classes at school. I have a name that is top 20 for the year I was born ([name]Erin[/name]) yet I never had another [name]Erin[/name] (another female [name]Erin[/name], at least) in any of my classes from Kindergarten through college. Then I went to grad school and there were about four Erins just in my program!
You can’t control what other parents name their children, only what you name yours. As others have said, [name]Mila[/name] is rising fast too, so I think if you’re between the two of them you should go with the one you love.
Other ideas along the lines of [name]Sophia[/name] and [name]Mila[/name]:
[name]Aria[/name]
[name]Amica[/name]
[name]Amara[/name]
[name]Acacia[/name]
[name]Phaedra[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Sela[/name]
[name]Marlo[/name]
[name]Raya[/name]
Very well said. I hadn’t thought of it that way before. I have been concerned that [name]Mila[/name] was starting to get popular, so thanks for the tip.
Great suggestions! I do like [name]Amara[/name], [name]Acacia[/name], and [name]Sela[/name].
Wow, I really like [name]Sela[/name] (say-la)! [name]Just[/name] like Psalms in the Bible, which is very cool. I’ll run it by DH. Is [name]Sela[/name] [name]Sophia[/name] too much? [name]Sela[/name] [name]Alexandrie[/name]?
[name]Amara[/name] is gorgeous, too. [name]Amara[/name] [name]Sophia[/name]?
I also love [name]Aria[/name] and [name]Raya[/name]. [name]Aria[/name] [name]Francesca[/name] is the name of my gorgeous niece, and [name]Raya[/name] is the name of my future niece
[name]Sophia[/name] is a name I’ve considered if I were to have another girl one day. It’s just so beautiful. There are some names that don’t loose their spark no matter how popular they get. They’re timeless. [name]Sophia[/name] is one of them. I think you can use it now. I think you can use it 50 years from now. [name]Even[/name] hundreds of years from now. [name]Sophia[/name] will still be a beautiful name. I understand completely where you’re coming from about the popularity of a name, but I keep trying to tell myself what I just typed to you. In the end, if you love the name and it’s a beautiful name, it just doesn’t matter. I love it!
Nobody should talk you out of the name you love the most! I think that you are going to regret going with a different name. You will always wish you named her [name]Sophia[/name].
Oh and I love [name]Sela[/name] but the pronunciation is See-la. [name]Say[/name]-la is spelled [name]Selah[/name] at least that is what I have been told!
