[name]Amelia[/name], [name]Emilia[/name], [name]Emma[/name], Ellaleigh… Everleigh?
…
Mommy to a beauty 
Thanks! But all of them sound a bit too close to [name]Emily[/name]
Well for started [name]Lily[/name] is not a “HP” name. It’s a name USED in HP. [name]Hermione[/name] is a HP name. [name]Lily[/name], is not.
I’d definitely use it for [name]Emily[/name] replacement. Besides, [name]Lily[/name] [name]Evans[/name] from HP is a wonderful and positive name sake. So not worth nixing imo.
Perhaps you could name her [name]Emma[/name] with the middle name of [name]Leigh[/name]. That way her name is [name]Emma[/name], but you can easily call her [name]Emma[/name]-[name]Leigh[/name] as a nickname.
Other ideas:
[name]Hailey[/name]
[name]Kailey[/name]
[name]Marley[/name]
When I think of [name]Emily[/name], I also think of-
[name]Molly[/name], [name]Sadie[/name], [name]Julia[/name], [name]Meg[/name]/[name]Maggie[/name], [name]Jenna[/name], [name]Bonnie[/name], [name]Betsy[/name], [name]Anna[/name], [name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Catherine[/name], [name]Caroline[/name], [name]Jane[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Josie[/name]/[name]Josephine[/name]
Thanks berries!
Notcinammon, I have been gaining more appreciation for the name [name]Josephine[/name] lately, but I’m not so in love with its spanish version, [name]Josefina[/name]. Maybe I’d use it as a middle name?
[name]Emmeline[/name] is my favourite like-[name]Emily[/name] name.
[name]Esme[/name] and [name]Esmeralda[/name] are also favourites but not as [name]Emily[/name]-ish. I really love them though.
My husband loves [name]Ember[/name], but his style is a bit gothier than mine. (He likes [name]Ember[/name]… and [name]Winter[/name], [name]Raven[/name], [name]Indigo[/name], [name]Luna[/name]…etc.)
We both like [name]Emerald[/name]… don’t know what that says about my taste.
I never thought of [name]Esme[/name] as a nickname for [name]Esmeralda[/name], though that makes perfect sense. I like the sound of [name]Ember[/name] and love [name]Winter[/name] but I don’t have the guts to actually use them myself. I think [name]Esmeralda[/name] and [name]Emerald[/name] are great ideas; my birthday is in [name]May[/name], but I dont think I would use them either. But I appreciate the ideas! Thanks!
As someone whose almost (I’ll explain the “almost” in a minute) absolute favourite name is [name]Emily[/name], I understand your love of this name. It’s pretty, it’s spunky, it conjures the image of a soft, artsy type with a sunny smile and a quiet strength (to me, anyway - despite the popularity, I still found its sound a little quirky, vintage and sweet) but is right at home on a firecracker sport-star type too. Did I mention that the idea of a little [name]Em[/name] is just adorable? The name is downright gorgeous. You say it makes you smile when you say it. So use it. Please.
If you really can’t bring yourself to use [name]Emily[/name], there is [name]ONE[/name] other name that I think fits the bill (now this one is my absolute favourite). I’m biased of course, because it’s my name, but every time someone uses it I silently thank my parents for choosing it. The name is [name]Lucy[/name]. I could rave for hours about how much I love my name, but you probably don’t want to hear that. I’ll just tell you that I like its mixture of spunkiness and sweetness. It’s feisty, yet soft and endearing. I’m not a girly-girl or anything, but I enjoy how people have to soften a little when they say this name - I actually credit this name for getting me out of trouble with on a few occasions… never worked with my family, but I’ve often thought it was finding out my name that has softened some people when they were trying to tell me off as a teenager! haha (sorry, that’s probably not what you want to hear!!!)
It can still be taken seriously, though - I actually work in the medical field and I’ve found having a sweeter name to be a bonus. After all, I want to empathise and connect with my patients, not terrify them with a totally commanding image!
p.s. If [name]Lucy[/name] does happen to be off-limits or not your style, [name]Millicent[/name] ([name]Millie[/name]) has a similar feeling to both names without sounding like you’re “copying” [name]Emily[/name].
[name]Lily[/name] isn’t a [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] name! I mean yes his mum was [name]Lily[/name], but she wasn’t really in the books. And people are still using [name]Harry[/name].
I even heard of one couple naming their son [name]Harry[/name], even though their last name was [name]Potter[/name], insisting [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] was jut a fad that would die out. I’m more inclined to think of [name]How[/name] I Met Your Mother with [name]Lily[/name].
I have a friend named [name]Lucy[/name] who has made very similar comments about the name 
Great suggestion and for great reasons!
[name]Lucy[/name] IS a great name, I didnt think of it as being an extra sweet name, but when I think about it I guess you’re right! That’s a cute story! I used to always think of of I [name]Love[/name] [name]Lucy[/name] and Peanuts, which are not bad associations at all! However, my husband’s aunt goes by [name]Lucy[/name], and though he doesnt hate her, I dont think he would want to name his daughter after her. And that made it kindof lose it’s luster for me as well. [name]Ah[/name], another relative conflict. 
But thanks for the suggestion! I’m glad you love your name!
I hate to disagree with everyone, but I thought it might be interesting for the community to know. I grew up with [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name], and to me, [name]Lily[/name] IS a [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] name. She may not be a major character, but she’s so revered, that she’s almost like a fairy tale character. Everything is good when [name]Lily[/name] [name]Evans[/name] is around. That’s always my first thought when I hear [name]Lily[/name]. That being said, I don’t think that makes it unusable at all. It’s a lovely name with a lovely history, and now an extra lovely association. I’d use it, just like I’d use [name]Harry[/name] or [name]Hermione[/name].
First off, isn’t your sister in law’s daughter your niece too? Well, that’s irrelevant, sorry.
[name]How[/name] about:
[name]Emma[/name]
[name]Evelyn[/name]
[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Emmeline[/name]
[name]Emery[/name]
[name]Ella[/name]
If you’re going for something that sounds phonetically close to [name]Emily[/name], I think you have some great suggestions here. But if you’re looking for something that conjures up the same feeling as [name]Emily[/name]…which I think of as a sweet, soft, classic name, I really love [name]Corinne[/name] (or one of it’s variations). It’s at the top of my list so I’m biased right now. Also, I see [name]Emily[/name] as timeless and not just a trend (even though it’s SUPER popular). I really liked the blog a while back about choosing truly timeless names. It might help you…
https://nameberry.com/blog/classic-girls’-names-how-to-choose-one-that’s-truly-timeless
As for the [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] connection, I think that’s silly. There are a lot of great names that are used in novels, movies, TV shows…so what. If you like it, use it.
I think [name]Sarah[/name] and [name]Katie[/name] have the same sweet feel. [name]Love[/name] suggestion of [name]Amelia[/name]. [name]How[/name] about:
[name]Sarah[/name]
[name]Katie[/name]
[name]Lucy[/name]
[name]Rachel[/name]
[name]Leah[/name]/[name]Lia[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Kate[/name]
Spacecow, as someone who also grew up with Harry Potter, I’m glad that you like the association, I guess it would be a lot worse if I loved the name Bellatrix or something like that.
And juma, of course! I was just describing my situation that way, but I love and normally DO call her my niece. From your list, I love Evelyn and Eliza. Is Eliza too short to stand on it’s own on a bc?
Vbjodi, I have a name crush on Corinne! It does have a similar feel. I’ll check out that list, I definitely love timeless names.
Boyandgirl, thanks! I saw your post on my other forum too. :). Sarah is up there in my favorites. Katie and Kate are short for another favorite, Catherine.
Thanks, Berries!
Growing up with [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] or not, [name]Lily[/name] is not a ‘[name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name]’ name the same way that [name]Hermione[/name] is. [name]Lily[/name] has been popular/common for years and YEARS, where [name]Hermione[/name] was under the radar until the HP books/movies. Names tend to feel “owned” by books/movies when they shoot from obscurity to common usage based on one piece of media. Common names used in entertainment are still just common names.
It’s sorta like saying that [name]Sam[/name] is a ‘[name]Lord[/name] of the Rings’ name… [name]Alice[/name] is a ‘Twilight’ name… [name]Luke[/name] is a ‘[name]Percy[/name] [name]Jackson[/name]’ name… [name]Marisa[/name] is a ‘His Dark Materials’ name… [name]Helen[/name], or for that matter [name]Susan[/name], [name]Lucy[/name], [name]Peter[/name] (take your pick!) are ‘Chronicles of [name]Narnia[/name]’ names.
The [name]Lily[/name] association may be there for some, but not most, and is basically isolated to a certain demographic (those in the target age group for the HP books at release, and gosh it’s hard to believe those ‘kids’ are already having babies of their own!).
[name]Just[/name] sayin’. I’d hate to see anyone discount any name purely based on this sort of association, because people often blow that out of proportion and/or overestimate the long-term impact of using such a name. If people want to use it as an excuse to veto a name that would otherwise be in consideration, fine – but it’s definitely silly to say that a name that was in common usage before and continues to be after is off-limits because it exists in the book.
So true, yellow! Thanks!