Recap: my husband and I love Elena (Elaine is common on my mom’s side and Helen was my grandma on my dad’s, we also want names that work in English, Spanish, and Italian.) My husband has a daughter from a previous relationship named Elliona, who goes exclusively by Ellie. He didn’t help name her, they only recently connected, she lives out of state and will be significantly older than her siblings (10+ years). My concern was that Ellie and Elena are too similar, which seems to be the case, even if she goes by her full name, Elena Caterina. Some people suggested using Lena, but our top choice for a girl is Luna, so I don’t love the idea of Luna and Lena as sisters.
I’ve always loved the nickname Lainey, which I think is different enough from Luna and Ellie and works well as a sister. So, what are your thoughts on changing the spelling to Elaina and calling her Lainey?
i think elliona and elaina are still too close for siblings - although elliona and lainey are fine. have you considered raina? it sounds like elaina and has the nickname rain/rainey, but is different enough that it works with elliona.
Oh you know what I LOVE [name_f]Reina[/name_f], which works well in Spanish and Italian too. [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Caterina[/name_f] might be a bit too much, but we could work with some other middle ideas (like Tereza).
What about [name_f]Leonora[/name_f] or [name_f]Helene[/name_f] with nickname [name_f]Lainey[/name_f]?
However, if you and your husband are set on [name_f]Elena[/name_f], I think given that big sister lives out of state, goes by [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] and doesn’t have a very close relationship with your husband, it would probably be ok.
I like [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Caterina[/name_f], but I can see how it might be a bit matchy. [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Tereza[/name_f] has a great flow!
It’s still very similar but you know nobody is gonna stop it and put you in name jail if you do it. [name_f]My[/name_f] only suggestion is to have [name_f]Lainey[/name_f] be the legal name but it’s apples and oranges really.
I’m not a big fan of [name_f]Leonora[/name_f], especially with the potential [name_f]Nora[/name_f] nickname, and I prefer [name_f]Helena[/name_f] to [name_f]Helene[/name_f]. I also don’t like the way [name_f]Helene[/name_f] is pronounced in Spanish. I love the idea of [name_f]Reina[/name_f] though!
Thank you! I like [name_f]Reina[/name_f] [name_f]Caterina[/name_f] as well, but not sure if it’s too much. What do you think, [name_f]Caterina[/name_f] or [name_f]Tereza[/name_f]?
[name_f]Isadora[/name_f] is one of our first name choices. We have [name_f]Luna[/name_f] [name_f]Patrizia[/name_f] and [name_f]Isadora[/name_f] [name_f]Grazia[/name_f] (middles are family names). We’ve also considered [name_f]Valentina[/name_f] and [name_f]Elizabeta[/name_f] in addition to [name_f]Tereza[/name_f] as middles. [name_f]Luna[/name_f] [name_f]Patrizia[/name_f] is the only combo that’s set.
I think [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] is still too close to Elliona. [name_f]My[/name_f] main concern is that [name_f]Elaina[/name_f] may choose to go by [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] at some point, and then they’d have the same name.
I do think that you could probably use [name_f]Alaina[/name_f]. The change of spelling makes the visually distinct & avoids any possibility of her going by [name_f]Ellie[/name_f].
This is so tricky! On a day-to-day basis it sounds like it wouldn’t be too confusing, but I agree with you that I’d be concerned about Ellie’s feelings. I don’t know if this is a realistic option for you, but would it be possible for you to ask her? I can definitely see a big sister being honored to share a similar name to her baby sister–but of course on the flip side, I can also see room for resentment. So it could be worth it to ask, maybe framing it as whether she hypothetically likes the idea rather than presenting it as a nearly-done deal that you’re just asking final permission on (to create less pressure). I also like @Sadie307’s idea of using [name_f]Alaina[/name_f], if that appeals to you, to avoid any chance of ending up with two Ellies. Good luck!
They’re still too close for me. [name_m]Just[/name_m] [name_f]Lainey[/name_f] would be fine but my sister [name_f]Eliana[/name_f] is ALWAYS (and I mean like 98% of the time) having her name mistaken for [name_f]Elaina[/name_f]. That’s what gives me the most pause, even if his daughter spells [name_f]Eliana[/name_f] differently.
Ehh… I wouldn’t do it. What if [name_f]Elena[/name_f] decides to go by [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]? If I were [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] I’d feel like they didn’t think about me at all during naming process.
[name_f]Elaina[/name_f] looks even more similar, so potentially more confusing.
From what I know of sister’s a new baby is competition for attention so any way you can make a kid feel distinct is nice. But if she’s too young to be aware probably she won’t care because it’ll be to her the way things always have been.
