[name]Hi[/name]… I’ve lurked here for ages and have posted a few times before I knew my baby’s gender (and received some really helpful, thoughtful answers so thank you), but now I’m really stuck on trying to decide on a name for my second daughter due in [name]January[/name]. It’s actually become a real stress in our marriage! My first is [name]Lily[/name] [name]Kate[/name] [name]Lorraine[/name]. Our last name is Blamire. Part of the problem is that my husband and I are not seeing eye to eye on names, to say the least. I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Isla[/name] but he really doesn’t. He says he’ll accept it if I really want it but under duress. Sigh. We don’t agree on any other name, except for one. We both really love [name]Ella[/name] but are put off by its popularity. FYI, she’ll have two middle names, the third one being [name]Vivien[/name] after her gran and the order is set e.g. [name]Vivien[/name] can’t be moved to second name place. So what do you think? Should we just go for [name]Ella[/name], despite its popularity, because its the only name we both love (and its not like we didn’t choose a really popular name for our first, albeit unknowingly)? Or should I push through [name]Isla[/name] since its a little less popular (although rising fast I know) and a beautiful name? And what about middle names? I love [name]Isla[/name] [name]Rose[/name] [name]Vivien[/name] ([name]Rose[/name] after my Grandma) but think if we go with [name]Ella[/name], we’d want something a little more original for a middle name, preferably one syllable… [name]Wren[/name]? [name]Plum[/name]? [name]Pearl[/name]?
Other names we’ve thought of but have mostly put aside because we can’t agree, just to get a sense of our style, are [name]Rosie[/name], [name]Gemma[/name], and [name]Violet[/name]. Anyway, sorry for the rant. Thanks in advance for any and all feedback. Much appreciated.
It’s me again. One more question I forgot to ask of you name experts… how popular is [name]Ella[/name] really? I mean I know where it is on the vital stats list in [name]Canada[/name] (where we live) and where it falls on the U.S. SSA list, but how often do you personally encounter Ellas? Are they everywhere? Thanks again for your help.
I like [name]Ella[/name] Blamire better. If you are worried about popularity then maybe a longer more formal name may suit.
I know that [name]Isabella[/name] is popular but what a gorgeous name and it would fit so well with [name]Vivien[/name] and surname. Of course her nn would be [name]Ella[/name].
I think the high wave of [name]Ella[/name]'s is over so if you like it so much just run with it.
Have you considered the name [name]Elsa[/name]? It is similar to [name]Isla[/name] and [name]Ella[/name], but not as popular as [name]Ella[/name]. But it has a similar sound to [name]Ella[/name], so maybe your husband would like it more than [name]Isla[/name]. [name]Just[/name] a thought!
I do find a lot of [name]Ella[/name]'s, [name]Elle[/name]'s, [name]Ellie[/name]'s, [name]Bella[/name]'s in our area (I live in the Midwest), but popularity now isn’t the same as what it was when growing up with 6 [name]Jennifer[/name]'s in my class. But I totally understand your concerns…we cut several off of our list because they were in the top 30. But if you truly love [name]Ella[/name], I wouldn’t let the popularity hold you back. I also wouldn’t push the name [name]Isla[/name] and have your husband kind of resentful forever, either…it just isn’t worth it.
I do like the sound of a one syllable second middle.
[name]Ella[/name] [name]Rose[/name] [name]Vivien[/name] is lovely!
I’ll try to think of a few more and come back.
[name]Hi[/name], don’t let the naming process be a drag! It’s suppose to be fun. You chose a great name once (love [name]Lily[/name] [name]Kate[/name]) so I’m sure you’ll do it again. To me, [name]Ella[/name] is a nickname for [name]Isabella[/name], [name]Estella[/name], [name]Stella[/name], [name]Arabella[/name], [name]Gabriella[/name] and any other name ending with “ella”. [name]Do[/name] any of these names appeal to you? I like [name]Isla[/name] better than [name]Ella[/name] and I think [name]Isla[/name] [name]Vivien[/name] [name]Rose[/name] has a better flow than [name]Isla[/name] [name]Rose[/name] [name]Vivien[/name] but that’s just my preference. [name]Do[/name] you like [name]Vivien[/name] enough to choose it as a first name? FYI - I don’t know what Canadian province you live in but the 2008 statistics from [name]Ontario[/name] has [name]Ella[/name] at No# 10 so it’s popular in that province. [name]Nova[/name] [name]Scotia[/name] for that year had [name]Ella[/name] at #9. Here are some suggestions for names based on your style.
Unfortunately [name]Ella[/name] is just as popular as the statistics make it seem. I teach a dance classes for kids under 6 and it has been a long time since I have not had at least one [name]Ella[/name] somewhere in there. (not to mention all the other *ella names like [name]Isabella[/name]/[name]Isabel[/name], [name]Bella[/name],or [name]Ellie[/name]). However if you both really like it then there is no reason not to use it. It is still a beautiful name and goes quite nicely with [name]Lily[/name]. I wouldn’t push [name]Isla[/name] if he really doesn’t like it, just not worth it. Would you consider a variant of [name]Rose[/name] as the MN? I love honoring MNs and think that honoring two grandmother’s with one name is lovely. Maybe [name]Ella[/name] [name]Rosalia[/name] [name]Vivien[/name]? Or to stick with the one syllable idea: [name]Ella[/name] [name]Sage[/name] [name]Vivien[/name], [name]Ella[/name] [name]Gwyn[/name] [name]Vivien[/name], [name]Ella[/name] [name]June[/name] [name]Vivien[/name], or [name]Ella[/name] [name]Fleur[/name] [name]Vivien[/name].
Some other names to think about:
[name]Ivy[/name] (to many flowers though?)
[name]Julia[/name]
[name]Wren[/name] (I know you suggested it as a MN, but I think it would make a nice sister for [name]Lily[/name])
[name]Delia[/name]
[name]Stella[/name]
[name]Mila[/name] (mee-la)
[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Marie[/name]
[name]Eve[/name]
[name]Maeve[/name]
[name]Rosa[/name]
[name]Tessa[/name]
[name]Anna[/name]
I had no idea [name]Ella[/name] was so popular in [name]Canada[/name]. wow!
Tell your husband the popularit stats of it being top 10 and lots of little girls named [name]Ella[/name]. Tell him the reality is she will always be [name]Ella[/name] _. (insert your last name initial here), in class. And that’s why you want to go with [name]Isla[/name]. If you agreed to give him full power (with your veto rights within reason) on the middle name would he go with [name]Isla[/name]?
My vote is [name]Ella[/name] if you both love it! It’s beautiful and you don’t want to use a name your husband doesn’t like. I love [name]Isla[/name] too, but use the name that you both love and don’t worry about popularity. I love [name]Ella[/name] [name]Vivien[/name] [name]Rose[/name]! I think it’s GORGEOUS!
[name]Hi[/name]-- I agree with the poster who said the high wave of ellas is over. I know of one who must be 5. I know a lot of celebs used it about 5 yrs ago. To be honest, I’m not hearing a ton of them in real life these days. I hear [name]Isabella[/name] a ton though. I’m in new jersey-- it may be a regional thing. I have a school aged daughter and I haven’t heard of one in her school. I think it may be a moderately popular nn for el names, but if you love it I say use it or you’ll regret. I don’t think it’s so megapopular that you need to worry. You could look up popularity in your state.
I agree with a pp, I think [name]Ella[/name] is beginning to go down in popularity, her most popular days are probably behind her whereas Islas are just begining. I say you go with [name]Ella[/name] since you both love it. I dont think [name]Ella[/name] isnt any more popular that [name]Lily[/name]. I dont know any Ellas btw.
I like [name]Ella[/name]. If you both love it, then I wouldn’t worry about the popularity. And it goes so beautifully with [name]Lily[/name]. It’s important that your husband like the name too.
I love [name]Ella[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] [name]Vivien[/name]! It’s so gorgeous with [name]Lily[/name] [name]Kate[/name] [name]Lorraine[/name]. I also like
[name]Ella[/name] [name]June[/name] [name]Vivien[/name]
[name]Ella[/name] [name]Plum[/name] [name]Vivien[/name] (I love [name]Plum[/name] - I’m just not daring enough to use it - if you are, go for it!)
[name]Ella[/name] [name]Tess[/name] [name]Vivien[/name]
[name]Ella[/name] [name]Ruby[/name] [name]Vivien[/name]
[name]Ella[/name] [name]Mae[/name] [name]Vivien[/name]
[name]Ella[/name] [name]Louise[/name] [name]Vivien[/name]
I love [name]Ella[/name]! I don’t know any, although I do know a few girls with nn [name]Ellie[/name]. My favorites are [name]Ella[/name] [name]Plum[/name] [name]Vivien[/name] and [name]Ella[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] [name]Vivien[/name] - so pretty and goes with [name]Lily[/name] [name]Kate[/name] [name]Lorraine[/name].
Other ideas: [name]Nora[/name], [name]Cara[/name], [name]Maeve[/name], [name]Clara[/name], [name]Delia[/name]
[name]Clara[/name] [name]Pearl[/name] [name]Vivien[/name] would be outstanding, as would [name]Delia[/name] [name]Claire[/name] [name]Vivien[/name].
Thank you all for your help! I’m coming around to agree with most of you that even though [name]Ella[/name] is popular, it’s on the descent not the ascent, and regardless if we love it, we should just go with it! It’s really also the only name we both like.
@jadediana - Thank you so much for the suggestion of [name]Ella[/name] [name]Fleur[/name] [name]Vivien[/name]. My husband loves it and so do I!
@gwensmom - [name]Clara[/name] is a lovely name and we had it on an earlier list. I would seriously consider it but for some reason my husband has since rejected it! Thanks for the suggestions.
@mischa - Thank you for all the suggestions. You totally have our (well, really, my) style down perfectly. We have considered every name on your list and my husband doesn’t like any of them. Sigh. But you’re right about not letting the naming process be a drag… a good reminder.
@gigi22 - [name]Elsa[/name] is really cute but unfortunately we have an [name]Elsa[/name] in our lives already. Would be wierd to use the name. Thanks though. And totally agree that it’s not worth pushing a name on my husband. I don’t want the niggling doubt that he really doesn’t like the name of our daughter.
All of this being said, after reading all of your feedback and thinking [name]Ella[/name] was it, my husband out of nowhere last night told me that [name]Isla[/name] is growing on him. What!!? So far I think its [name]Ella[/name] - thanks to all of your feedback - but I’ll let you know if he has some sort of [name]Isla[/name] conversion.