We are expecting a baby girl any day now and since we have found out the gender, my mind and heart got stuck with the name Ella. I searched and tried a lot of options but nothing else spoke to me. My husband also fell in love with Ella and could not offer any other name. We like its classy, jazzy and vintage vibes. But he has a niece whose name is Isabella (she goes by Bella). So I was happy with our name choice and honestly this thought has never crossed my mind till I made a comment to my husband the other day how interesting it might be that Isabella (Bella) and Ella sound similar.
We live in the same town, have family gatherings and spend a lot of time together, so it is going to be a lot of interaction as well. Will it be weird to have cousins with similar names? Do you think I should give up on Ella? I tried hundreds of other options but we cannot find the one.
I could consider couple other names but they do not give me the same energy, so far the options are:
I initially thought you meant you had another daughter named [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]. A niece? Doesnât matter. There are many many Isabellas and Ellas out there. It is not like they are both named [name_f]Tribeca[/name_f] or something rare.
Iâd stick with [name_f]Ella[/name_f]! I wouldnât change my name choice based on what a moody teenager thought about it. Eventually sheâll be an adult and hopefully mature enough to not care. I get where youâre coming from about wanting to avoid negativity surrounding your baby, but I really donât think choosing the name you love will be harmful to her.
I agree with harvest-endellion here! Surely [name_f]Bella[/name_f] will have met many others named [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Bella[/name_f], [name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Ellie[/name_f], and the like, so any negative reaction she may have to the name would be an overreaction. I definitely wouldnât change the name Iâd picked based on it being too similar to a cousin whoâs gonna be at least 13 years older than my child.
I donât think rhyming cousin names are a big deal. It sounds like your niece is going through a prickly period right now, and I think youâd regret including her current emotions (which come and go for us all!) as an influence in your naming decision. If [name_f]Ella[/name_f] is babyâs name, thatâs how it is.
One of the most helpful principles Iâve come across in my life so far (especially as a parent) is that in most cases other peopleâs feelings are theirs to feel, and not your problems to solve. Iâd suggest that even if she hates that her baby cousinâs name rhymes with hers, thatâs ok! Itâs ok for her to feel that way and process it, and the best way you could support her is to just accept she feels that way without being stung or trying to fix it or giving her emotions way too much power over your choices.
It sounds like youâre close to your niece, and it might be worthwhile to spend time with her before baby most-likely-Ella is born, to connect and bond!
Iâd go with [name_f]Ella[/name_f] because itâs not like itâs [name_f]Annie[/name_f] (niece) & [name_f]Anna[/name_f] (daughter) in which case itâs literally the same name. [name_f]Ella[/name_f] is a completely different name with completely different origins than [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] or [name_f]Bella[/name_f] which is a form of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] if Iâm right. Ellaâs been around forever & is a timeless name. Also as a teen, unless youâre naming them the same name (like [name_f]Annie[/name_f] & [name_f]Anna[/name_f] or [name_f]Julia[/name_f] & Jules) sheâll get over it.
If Bellaâs feelings are making it feel potentially problematic for you to use [name_f]Ella[/name_f] itself, would you consider using [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], [name_f]Helena[/name_f], [name_f]Elodie[/name_f], or another longer name that can be easily shortened to [name_f]Ella[/name_f]? Then youâd have [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] nn [name_f]Bella[/name_f] and (for example) [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] nn [name_f]Ella[/name_f], which might go over better.
(Overall though I agree with PPs that cousins this far apart in age having rhyming names is not objectively a problem.)
This is exactly what I thought too. It doesnât sound like it will be a big deal at all. If you love the name so much I wouldnât let the opinions of a teenager impact your decision. They only issue would be that the Ella would be misheard for Bella or vice versa. If this doesnât concern you then definitely use the name. Ella has become a name in its own right and it would be ridiculous for someone to claim you were copying.
I actually know two sisters named Isabella and Ella, from what I know there has never been any issues and I honestly didnât even realise the names had the same origin until a few weeks ago.
Youâve listed Ella, Stella and Emma as your favourite names. While my vote definitely goes to Ella, I think that if you canât have Ella you should rule out Stella too is it has the same problem (too rhymy). Emma is a beautiful name and one of my all time favourites but Ella is obviously the right one for you.
I personally think that [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Bella[/name_f] are too close, as you pointed out [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] goes by [name_f]Bella[/name_f].
However! I think it all depends on the relationship between the extended family, if [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Bella[/name_f] would be close like sisters (like I have been with my cousins), then Iâd go against it and pick a different name. If it was any other relationship between family, I probably wouldnât care about it.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] a postscript. I think itâs important that we donât enable kids and teens into thinking they rule the world.
The name you and your partner love best for your child is what you should name your child.
absolutely agree with the post above. it doesnât matter, and you shouldnât miss out on using a name you really love just to save the feelings of one person. ella is lovely!
Isabella and Ella are totally not too similar for cousins! Sisters yes, cousins no! Totally okay to me!
Another note I have is⌠I have cousins called Grace and Grey (both girls, and they live in the same, attend family gatherings together very often, etc) and while it can be a little confusing, itâs not too bad.
Another vote for [name_f]Ella[/name_f] - if you love it you should just stick with it. One day she might actually be honoured. Iâd be mortified if Iâm prickly teenage behaviour had a lifelong consequence for a family member and it might hurt your relationship with her in the future if you always had a little smidge of resentment and she never truely knew why x
Theyâre similar, but Iâd go with [name_f]Ella[/name_f] anyway. Theyâre two different names from different linguistic families, and Iâd never think of calling an [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] âEllaâ. And there are so many [name_f]Ella[/name_f] names out there. You shouldnât have to avoid them. Besides, if this niece is upset that youâre even having a baby and you think she may exhibit sour behavior to your baby because of her name, sheâs not the person you should worry about pleasing. Your niece will grow out of this, but your babyâs name is forever.
I grew up with cousins [name_u]Ollie[/name_u] and [name_f]Mollie[/name_f] and it was a literal non-issue. I do like the suggestion of giving her a longer name like [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] or [name_f]Elodie[/name_f] if you could get on board with any of those
I donât know if I would pick a longer name you didnât love in the hopes it would be shortened to âElla.â I feel like a lot of the time âElâ names are shortened to Ellie. Or she might want to be Ellie and then youâd live the rest of your life thinking âWell, crap, we should have just named her Ella!â As long as it doesnât bother you, go with the name you love!
Also I just remembered based on otherâs posts that you can differentiate them even further by refering to them as âIsabella whoâs called Bellaâ & âLittle Ellaâ (in your head at least) & even if you name her [name_f]Ella[/name_f], she might go by [name_f]Elle[/name_f], or [name_f]Ellie[/name_f], or some other nickname completely of her own making, especially if anyone in your family is a nickname person.
