So many of my favourite names are very popular, so I’m wondering which of these “popular but with a twist” names you think is more distinctive, or just more lovely.
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f]
[name_f]Emilia[/name_f]
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
Strangely, my other favourites are a lot less common:
[name_f]Calista[/name_f]
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f]
[name_f]Grier[/name_f]
[name_f]Mariel[/name_f]
Appreciate any thoughts/opinions!
I love the spelling [name_f]Isobel[/name_f]! [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] is probably more distinctive if you use the full name, but [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] is a very common nickname.
I like [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] 
I love [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], but [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] is very distinctive. You could even go with [name_f]Isabeau[/name_f].
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f] is lovely! I really like that spelling! [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] is also really nice! [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] is sweet too, but it sounds too similar to [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] to be distinctive
From your less popular list, [name_f]Calista[/name_f] and, [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] and [name_f]Mariel[/name_f] are lovely! You might like [name_f]Mirabel[/name_f] - kind of like [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] and [name_f]Mariel[/name_f] - and [name_f]Eliora[/name_f] - a bit like [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], a bit like [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] and a bit like [name_f]Calista[/name_f].
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f] and [name_f]Grier[/name_f] are my favourites, though I also like [name_f]Isobel[/name_f], [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], [name_f]Juliet[/name_f]. I think [name_f]Grier[/name_f] is the most distinctive.
I would say that the [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] spelling is most distinctive, as [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] is in the top 100, and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] ranks at 140. However, with the combined spellings of [name_f]Isabel/name_f and [name_f]Isobel[/name_f], and [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], and [name_f]Emelia[/name_f], I think [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] and [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] [name_m]FEEL[/name_m] more popular than [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] does?
Good luck!
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f] and [name_f]Mariel[/name_f] are among my own favorites. I also find them very distinctive.
[name_f]Grier[/name_f] and [name_f]Calista[/name_f] are also distinctive names to me.
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f] and [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] both have soundalikes ([name_f]Isabella[/name_f] and [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]) in the top 10. [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] is probably the most distinctive choice of the three. [name_f]Grier[/name_f] and [name_f]Calista[/name_f] feel most distinctive of the remaining four.
Of [name_f]Isobel[/name_f], [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], I think [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] seems the most distinctive. Ortherwise, your less common favorites have that advantage of standing out. I especially like [name_f]Calista[/name_f] or [name_f]Grier[/name_f].
For me, [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] and [name_f]Callista[/name_f] and even [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] stand out for me!
I love [name_f]Isobel[/name_f]!! I think it’s gorgeous and uncommon but not too “out there.” I also have a soft spot for [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], especially since that was one of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_m]Bennett[/name_m]'s nicknames in Pride and Prejudice. Out of the others, [name_f]Calista[/name_f] is my favorite. I’ve never met anyone with that name but it just sounds so lovely and elegant.
I love [name_f]Calista[/name_f] and [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], although I prefer it spelled [name_f]Juliette[/name_f].
I think [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] is probably more distinctive just because although it is equally as classic, it’s less widely used at the moment.
I really like [name_f]Calista[/name_f], but I have never been a fan of [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] or [name_f]Grier[/name_f] - can’t put a finger on why but I think [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] especially is probably a pretty good choice as it ages well and is a classic. [name_f]Mariel[/name_f] feels a little tired to me.
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f] feels overused, but [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] are sweet.
I love [name_f]Calista[/name_f] and [name_f]Mariel[/name_f]! Easy to pronounce and write, quirky but sweet and they have cute nicknames. [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] is nice as well.
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f] is my favourite.
I don’t know where you’re located, but in the US or at least in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic area any form of [name_f]Isabel[/name_f]/[name_f]Isabella[/name_f] has been hugely popular for 20 years or more…my 20-year-old daughter had at least half a dozen girls out of around 100 in her graduating high school class who were named one of the variants in that family. So for me it’s feeling tired rather than distinctive.
I really like [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] & [name_f]Emiliana[/name_f] even more, but I hear a lot of people saying that it sounds just like [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], which is also very popular in this area.
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f] is a name that I’ve grown fonder of & I don’t know of anyone w/a daughter named [name_f]Eliza[/name_f].
[name_f]Calista[/name_f] is more unique; I don’t know anyone w/the name other than [name_f]Calista[/name_f] Flockhart, the actress.
I love [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] & don’t know anyone w/this name, so to me it’s quite distinctive.
The only [name_f]Grier[/name_f] I know of is one of [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] Shields’ daughters.
[name_f]Mariel[/name_f] is also distinctive, but it doesn’t seem as distinctive as [name_f]Juliet[/name_f]…maybe because [name_f]Marisol[/name_f] was popular a few years back?
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f], [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], and [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] all fall into the same category for me. With [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] and [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], I’d be worried about the constant [name_f]Isabel[/name_f]/[name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] and [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] confusion. [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] is more straightforward, and probably my favorite of the three.
From your list, I find [name_f]Calista[/name_f] and [name_f]Grier[/name_f] (though prefer the spelling [name_f]Greer[/name_f]) much more distinctive.
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f] - great name - but people would constantly ask her is her name spelt [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Isabel[/name_f] or [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] and may mishear [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] instead of [name_f]Isobel[/name_f].
[name_f]Emilia[/name_f] - [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] is currently quite high and I fear you might get [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] instead of [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] on many forms you can’t write yourself
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f] - it’s your best option, not similar to any other name besides [name_f]Elise[/name_f] and [name_f]Elisa[/name_f], which are pronounced quite differently
Which is more distinctive? - I believe answer is [name_f]Eliza[/name_f]
On the other hand, I really think most distinctive name on your list is [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] - it has only two spelling variation and neither of them is overly popular.
i love [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] and [name_f]Juliet[/name_f]! [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] would actually be a really nice combo. [name_f]Mariel[/name_f] is very nice too