In love with a name but too popular?

[name_m]Both[/name_m] of us loved one of the first girl names I came across, [name_f]Ella[/name_f]. It was actually the second. [name_u]Piper[/name_u] was our first, but during a conversation with my mother and sister, my mother brought it up (she did not know we liked it) and both absolutely hated it. (we had decided not to share any names we decided to avoid having people influence our decision, this was a complete fluke, haha).

I am in love with [name_f]Ella[/name_f]. However, I just had a conversation with my best friend who is due with a baby girl any day now. She isn’t telling her name and we were talking about it. She did say she was going to go with [name_f]Ella[/name_f] (again, I didn’t mention it), but found that there are a lot girls with that name now. I didn’t mention it to her at the time in case she changes her mind and uses it.
A quick check online confirms that it is a popular name at the moment. When I mentioned it to my cousin (also expecting), it was her second choice. So yeah, I’m thinking it is more popular than I expected although I don’t know any Ellas at the moment (my friend also has a 4 year old, I don’t any yet so she is probably knows a lot more about what is popular around here than I do).

I was looking for a simple name, easy to pronounce and spell, that is familiar but not common. Sigh. I am torn between going with it anyway or finding something else.

Thoughts?

I spent some time here this morning and found a few others that interest me. I haven’t run them by DH yet.

[name_f]Maren[/name_f]/[name_f]Marin[/name_f] (water name, has meaning for us)
[name_f]Aria[/name_f]/[name_u]Arya[/name_u] (worried about the Game of Thrones connection)
[name_f]Natalia[/name_f]
They don’t really fit any of my criteria either. Haha.

I like [name_f]Aria[/name_f]

[name_f]Aria[/name_f] is lovely. Also [name_f]Lyra[/name_f], [name_f]Arielle[/name_f], [name_f]Merida[/name_f], [name_f]Marielle[/name_f], [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_f]Lauren[/name_f].

I have never heard [name_f]Isla[/name_f] until my friend named her daugher that. Now I see it suggested a lot. I do love it but it is out for us. I do like the other suggestions. [name_m]Will[/name_m] run by DH.

I really like [name_f]Aria[/name_f] and [name_f]Maren[/name_f] (this spelling)

What about [name_f]Lila[/name_f], [name_f]Elodie[/name_f]/[name_f]Eloise[/name_f] (names you gan get [name_f]Ella[/name_f] from) or even [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Arabella[/name_f], [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] could be shortened to [name_f]Ella[/name_f], and then she would have a different name than all the other [name_f]Ella[/name_f]'s.

[name_f]Lila[/name_f] is a close friend’s child as well. I have considered the longer -ella names and using it as a nickname.

[name_f]Ella[/name_f] is beyond popular and I wouldn’t use it for that reason (luckily I’m not a fan of it anyway!) Here are a few other suggestions that may fit your criteria:

[name_f]Elle[/name_f] (imo it’s more elegant and less common than [name_f]Ella[/name_f] but has the same vibe)
[name_f]Elsa[/name_f]
[name_f]Etta[/name_f]
[name_f]Elise[/name_f]
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
[name_f]Lila[/name_f]
[name_f]Lola[/name_f]
[name_f]Lana[/name_f]
[name_f]Luna[/name_f]
[name_f]Layla[/name_f]
[name_f]Mae[/name_f]/[name_f]May[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f]
[name_f]Eve[/name_f]
[name_f]Eva[/name_f]
[name_f]Rose[/name_f]
[name_f]Grace[/name_f]
[name_f]Briar[/name_f]
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]
[name_f]Alice[/name_f]
[name_f]Ava[/name_f]
[name_f]Ida[/name_f]
[name_f]Isla[/name_f]
[name_f]Ada[/name_f]
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f]
[name_u]Ruby[/name_u]
[name_f]Laurel[/name_f]
[name_f]Lorna[/name_f]
[name_f]Lyra[/name_f]
[name_f]Mia[/name_f]
[name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Mara[/name_f]
[name_f]Belle[/name_f]
[name_f]Violet[/name_f]
[name_u]Quinn[/name_u]
[name_u]Shea[/name_u]
[name_f]Cora[/name_f]
[name_f]Clara[/name_f]

P.s. [name_f]Aria[/name_f] is lovely too!

[name_f]My[/name_f] favorite way to get to [name_f]Ella[/name_f] is [name_f]Elena[/name_f]. Have you considered that one?

I don’t know any Ellas and I work with children. But it seems like it is pretty popular near you, so I would either choose a different name or choose one with [name_f]Ella[/name_f] as a nn, like [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Elowen[/name_f], Elestren, [name_f]Eleri[/name_f], [name_f]Electra[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanora[/name_f], [name_f]Eliana[/name_f], [name_f]Elina[/name_f], [name_f]Eliora[/name_f], or [name_f]Eliza[/name_f].
[name_f]Maren[/name_f]- I like [name_f]Maren[/name_f], it is uncommon but not unrecognizable.
[name_f]Aria[/name_f]/[name_u]Arya[/name_u]- If you want to avoid Game of Thrones, I would go with [name_f]Aria[/name_f] (I like this spelling better anyway).
[name_f]Natalia[/name_f]- I’m loving [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] right now. It has lots of nn options ([name_u]Nat[/name_u], [name_m]Natty[/name_m], [name_u]Tallie[/name_u], [name_f]Talia[/name_f], [name_f]Tilly[/name_f], etc) and it is unexpected but not too out there.
[name_m]How[/name_m] about:
[name_f]Felicity[/name_f]- Lissy, [name_f]Cissy[/name_f], Fliss, [name_f]Flick[/name_f], [name_f]Tilly[/name_f] as nns
[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f]
[name_f]Coraline[/name_f]
[name_f]Adeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]
[name_u]Clare[/name_u]/[name_f]Claire[/name_f]/[name_f]Clara[/name_f]
[name_f]Willa[/name_f]
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]
[name_f]Iris[/name_f]
[name_f]Cleo[/name_f]
[name_f]Chloe[/name_f]
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]
[name_f]Zoe[/name_f]
[name_f]Anna[/name_f]
[name_f]Anastasia[/name_f]
[name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]/[name_f]Annabella[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Ella[/name_f])/[name_f]Amabel[/name_f]/[name_f]Mabel[/name_f] (pronounced like [name_f]May[/name_f]-[name_f]Belle[/name_f])
[name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f]/[name_f]Gwendolen[/name_f]
[name_f]Esme[/name_f]/[name_f]Esmee[/name_f] (pronounced Ez-[name_f]May[/name_f])
[name_f]Faye[/name_f]
[name_f]Mae[/name_f]/[name_f]May[/name_f]
I hope that helped! I’m sorry you favorite name is so popular near you. But if you love the name, use it! [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t avoid your favorite name because other people liked it too.