Thanks for your input.
I personally don’t see anything wrong with the name Evia. It’s very pretty and when I saw it, it reminded me of Evie. I’m the type of person who would pick a name because I like and not really care if anyones else does, except my husband of course. If your still second guessing yourself and don’t feel Eva is right for your child go with Evia. Some people on both sides of our family don’t like that we plan on naming our baby girl Aurélie but we both love it so that’s her name. As long as you and your husband agree on that name I would go with it.
It’s a beautiful name that your family would grow to love once they see the baby and begin to associate it with a person as well as a place I believe!
If you love [name]Evia[/name], then go with that. The meaning behind it is extremely personal, and it’s not like you’re naming her [name]Aphrodite[/name] or [name]Hera[/name] or something. It’s no different than naming your kid [name]Paris[/name], [name]Boston[/name], [name]London[/name], [name]Dallas[/name], etc. It’s a word that translates very well into a name. You’ll still call her [name]Evie[/name] and [name]Eve[/name] and [name]Eva[/name] as nicknames anyway, regardless what her formal name is. You’re obviously not happy with the name you’ve chosen, so change it.
[name]Evia[/name] all the way, sometimes people are just wrong. [name]Even[/name] Pops!
If I were you I wouldn’t change it to [name]Evia[/name] if the people who live there and your Father think it’s a terrible name idea, it just seems sort of tarnished. Assuming you are Greek have you considered any Greek names if you really want to change it? These are my suggestions
- Leave it alone and find a nn you like
- Choose a name to elongate it such as Evelise, [name]Eveline[/name], etc
- Ask your Father and family to suggest a name they think would honor [name]Evia[/name] or important places and things there and see how you feel about it.
LOL atira- that is what we call my dad, Pops! 
I don’t see why you can’t call [name]Eva[/name] [name]Evi[/name]. They’re close enough that [name]Evi[/name] could be a suitable nickname for [name]Eva[/name]. If you decide to change it, I think you should go with what you and your husband want. Your family will adapt. But I wouldn’t wait too long to change it. I think it would be confusing to a baby to change her name once she’s learned to respond to it.
Thetxbelle- that is a good way of describing it - “tarnished”. That’s sort of how I feel about it, which is why I didn’t choose it. As much as it conjures wonderful memories and beautiful imagery for me, it bothers me very much that my father dislikes it.
It’s YOUR choice - yours and your husband’s. NO [name]ONE[/name] [name]ELSE[/name] gets a say, [name]IMO[/name]. It’s your baby, YOU get to live with her everyday, call her name everyday, change her diapers and pull all-nighters with her when she’s sick. Your reward (one of many): getting to choose her name - ANY name YOU like. Of course family can share opinions, and your father might even have a valid point - if your daughter named [name]Evia[/name] went to the place also called [name]Evia[/name], she might feel weird! But so? It’s still YOUR choice! Besides, he already had a shot at naming kids…when he named YOU!
[name]Evia[/name] is lovely, unique and special to you. If you and your husband love it, and it FEELS like her name, go for it!! It’s really cute! And I love nn [name]Evi[/name].
I really wouldn’t worry what pops would think.
If [name]Evia[/name] was just some place that had special meaning for you and your husband, then I’d say “sure, go for it” but since it’s where your father is from and he doesn’t care for the name (and the rest of your family/friends from [name]Evia[/name] doesn’t care for it either), then I don’t think you should use it. I know that I would certainly dislike it if one of my children decided to name a kid after my hometown and quite frankly, I’d find it embarrassing to tell people. In the end, it’s your choice but since you’re considering a name that’s heavily connected to your father, I think you should respect his wishes on the subject.
Also, I think the nickname [name]Evi[/name] works just fine for [name]Eva[/name] (I’ve known people that used this as a nickname for [name]Evangeline[/name] and [name]Evelyn[/name], spelled [name]Evie[/name] but pronounced ev-ee, and no one was ever confused by it).
Ditto to all of this!
I think a nice compromise between getting [name]Eva[/name] and honouring your father’s birthplace would be to use [name]Evadne[/name]. It’s Greek, I think it’s obvious enough in the honouring of [name]Evia[/name]-the-place, and you still get the nickname of [name]Eva[/name]/[name]Evi[/name].
I definitely think that since your father doesn’t like [name]Evia[/name] and doesn’t see it as a name, it would grate on him to have a granddaughter with a name he doesn’t see as a name. The sentiment is lovely but if you’re really trying to honour him and his birthplace, I think you should respect his opinion on it, even though you ultimately make the call (and I do have to say, [name]Evia[/name] is quite lovely).
I know in Spain there are some names that are used densely in certain regions and not at all in other parts of the country, due to Saints, or past heroes, or folklore… maybe there are names special and specific to where your father is from? Something to look in to.
In any case, I think [name]Evadne[/name] would work really well in your situation, but if that isn’t your cup of tea, then I suggest you ask your father for some ‘primary source’ insight.
Good luck!