See the results of this poll: Which name do you like best?
Respondents: 63 (This poll is closed)
- Siena: 9 (14%)
- Raphaela: 11 (17%)
- Claire: 17 (27%)
- Louisa: 26 (41%)
I love both [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Louisa[/name]. [name]Raphaela[/name] is cute, too.
I adore [name]Raphaela[/name]! [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Louisa[/name] are nice as well.
[name]Louisa[/name] [name]Claire[/name] would be GORGEOUS!
Thanks for the input guys. It’s really helpful. Interesting to see that [name]Siena[/name] has not been too popular.
One other name, sticking with the Italian theme (since last name will be Puerto Rican), is [name]Chiara[/name]. I am a bit nervous that people would not know how to pronounce it (Key-A-rah). Any thoughts?
Thanks again for voting and your comments!
By the way, those who do not like [name]Siena[/name], can you share your reasons why? Does it not sound feminine etc? Interested to know. And for all the names, I have a thick skin, so don’t be worried about what you say. 
I voted for [name]Raphaela[/name] and [name]Louisa[/name]…very pretty.
I prefer [name]Clara[/name] to [name]Claire[/name]…
[name]Siena[/name] is pretty. maybe some are turned off by the actress [name]Sienna[/name] [name]Miller[/name]…
I love both [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Louisa[/name]-- they’re two of my favorite names. [name]Raphaela[/name] is nice, but not my favorite. I really don’t like [name]Siena[/name], and it doesn’t fit with the others on your list. It’s a place, which makes it not a legitimate name, and it’s also becoming super trendy. I think it has a pretty sound, though, but I think you have much better (and gorgeous) options on your list.
[name]Siena[/name] isn’t awful or anything, but it reminds me of the Toyota [name]Sienna[/name] minivan. Also, people would tend to spell it as [name]Sienna[/name]. The name has a pretty sound, but I do much prefer [name]Louisa[/name] and [name]Claire[/name].
All good reasons. Thank you for your insights!
[name]Hi[/name]! I voted for [name]Louisa[/name] and [name]Claire[/name], with [name]Raphaela[/name] in third (a close third). My reason for not choosing [name]Siena[/name] is that it feels really trendy to me, especially in comparison to classics like [name]Louisa[/name] and [name]Claire[/name]. I really love [name]Raphaela[/name], too, but simply voted for [name]Louisa[/name] and [name]Claire[/name] because I’m a classic name nerd.
I like your other name, [name]Chiara[/name], more than I do [name]Siena[/name]. I pronounced it correctly, but like you said, there’s a good chance that the name may encounter some pronunciation issues. I think it’s very pretty, though.
Some more Italian names you may like (or hate) :
[name]Allegra[/name]
[name]Aria[/name]
[name]Cosetta[/name]
[name]Delfina[/name]
[name]Eleonora[/name] (I love the [name]Eleanora[/name] spelling)
[name]Emiliana[/name]
[name]Francesca[/name]
[name]Gemma[/name]
[name]Leonora[/name]
[name]Lucia[/name]
[name]Mattea[/name]
[name]Simona[/name]
[name]Viviana[/name]
Good luck!
I was put off the name [name]Sienna[/name] ([name]Siena[/name]) when I heard a tot call herself Sinner instead of [name]Sienna[/name].
What about
[name]Valentina[/name] [name]Rose[/name] or [name]Valentina[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name]?
Interesting ideas and good name suggestions! Thanks!
A child’s own pronounciation of their name when they are not yet able to speak clearly is something I had not considered! I can see how “sinner” might be the closest a kid could get for a while, and that is not a good name! I guess I could envision “loser” resulting from [name]Louisa[/name], but it’s such a classic name that other people would probably be able to figure it out at least. 
As for [name]Chiara[/name], that was always one of my favorite names. My husband already has a niece with that name spelled with a “k” - “[name]Kiara[/name]”. She is a teenager now, but she and our child will be first cousins. Would it be bad to name our’s [name]Chiara[/name] too?
This name thing is really tough!!
I love [name]Chiara[/name]! I actually just stumbled across this variation of the name recently and I adore the meaning “clear or bright”.
The Irish name [name]Kiara[/name] has always been a favorite of mine, but in celtic it means “dark beauty or night”. (Unfortunately, not really something I can see on my fair-skinned, blonde, blue-eyed children.) I honestly think the name [name]Kiara[/name] in Irish is supposed to be pronounced “[name]Keer[/name]-ah”, but it has been americanized as “ki-ah-rah”.
[name]Chiara[/name], on the other hand, is pronounced “kee-[name]AH[/name]-rah”, has latin roots and has been in use (especially in [name]Italy[/name]) since the middle ages. (All reasons why I love it!)
I regards to your niece, [name]Kiara[/name]. I would talk to her about how she would feel about you using a similar sounding name. Chances are that she will be thrilled that you would be (in a way) honoring her with a namesake. It may even make her feel closer to your daughter because they will have something special in common. However, the question is, would you (or your husband) feel awkward using the name? If you love it, then go for it. (My first cousin and I are a couple years apart and we both have the same middle name. I don’t think it really bothered anyone, but having first names in common might be a little different.)
If you’re still feeling a bit unsure, there are several wonderful variations of the name that you might want to consider instead.
[name]Clare[/name], [name]Clara[/name] (english)
[name]Claire[/name] (french) Looks like it’s already being considered.
[name]Clarice[/name] (english,french,italian)
[name]Clarissa[/name] (english)
Claritia (latin)
[name]Clarisa[/name] (spanish)
[name]Clarita[/name] (spanish, originally a diminutive form)
Good [name]Luck[/name]!
[name]Raphaela[/name] [name]Claire[/name] would be lovely 
Absolutely! They’re pronounced the exact same way! I’d say even for second cousins, or even as a middle name it’s [name]WAY[/name] too close. I’m a teenager, and I can’t even imaging having a baby cousin with the same name… it would get so confusing. Plus she might feel like her name got ‘stolen’. I think you have some lovely, gorgeous choices, though!
my name is [name]Chiara[/name]
When I was living in the US, most people didn’t know how to pronounce it correctly. I got chee-a-rah, she-a-rah, kee-rah…
I guess if you decide to go with [name]Chiara[/name] your daughter will have to correct people a lot.
As for your other names, I think [name]Louisa[/name] is very pretty. [name]Claire[/name] isn’t bad either but honestly I like the italian version a lot better, hehe
[name]Siena[/name] is a city so it doesn’t feel like a name at all to me.
[name]Chiara[/name]- do you live in [name]Italy[/name]? If so, what names are popular over there right now?
Yes I do live in [name]Italy[/name].
Well, I’m pretty sure that the most popular name right now is [name]Sofia[/name]. There are so many little girls and babies named [name]Sofia[/name], while it wasn’t very common 20 years ago.
Then [name]Giulia[/name] (I think it has been the most popular name for the past 15/20 years or so), [name]Martina[/name], [name]Alice[/name], [name]Chiara[/name], [name]Sara[/name], [name]Elisa[/name], [name]Giorgia[/name], [name]Aurora[/name], [name]Gaia[/name], [name]Matilde[/name], [name]Emma[/name], [name]Giada[/name], [name]Beatrice[/name], [name]Alessia[/name]…
For little boys I’d say [name]Matteo[/name], [name]Lorenzo[/name], [name]Andrea[/name], [name]Mattia[/name], [name]Alessandro[/name], [name]Riccardo[/name], [name]Gabriele[/name], [name]Davide[/name], [name]Tommaso[/name], [name]Christian[/name]/[name]Cristian[/name], [name]Leonardo[/name], [name]Federico[/name], [name]Filippo[/name], [name]Francesco[/name], [name]Luca[/name], [name]Samuele[/name]…
raphaela, it is different and cute!