Name gone

I would just mention it to them in a "Oh my God what are the chances" sort of way. Tell them you have had the name picked from the start and don't leave room for discussion as such.
All those names are beautiful x

i think you should check, if you value their friendship. if you're not that bothered then go ahead and use it. as people say..no-one owns a name, but personally i think its about being considerate to a friend. people are called names to distinguish each other and if we all had the same name it would cause confusion or people being called big/little x to differentiate. if its a very popular name then they can't care about this - but you say its not used much where you live...so maybe they chose it in part because its unusual (as we did and then had friends copy - who i thought were close - this has always soured my view of them as i can't help but feel they didn't give a toss about us).

I know friends who have a daughter with the same name as their close friends' daughter, born a few weeks later.

Really not been a problem. I think there might have been a tiny at first but that is all.

And it's not that common a name either!

I think you should use the name.

Flying cloud when DH and I were thinking of names for DC2 we rejected a name we love because a couple we know in a similar relationship as you describe had already used it.
We took ages to name DC2 and really wanted to use this name, two years later they had their DC3 and called him the name we chose for DC2. So they clearly wouldn't have given a toss if we had used the name.
Have you thought about asking them, my friend asked if I minded her using DD's name, I didn't and DD was delighted.

If someone did start seeker's thread and to be fair, there have been similar threads, they would get a lot of
"Oh ffs, you don't own the name" and "What did you expect, it's in the top 100. You should have done what I did, my dd is David, a nice strong name".

Imagine this thread from the other way round

"We called our dd a name we love-now 4 weeks later a couple we see a lot both professionally and socially have used the exact same name!i'm so upset- just don't understand how they could do this. There are so many lovely names in the world, why did they copy ours? I know I don't own the name- but this is a really strange thing to do, surely? I want to change my dd's name now, but I love it so much and it really suits her- she must hqve known how upset this would mqke me, surely?"

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cordelia and Felicity. I had would have had Cordelia on my list but it sounds awful with our surname.

Unless they are close friends I'd just use it. chances are if you both picked the same name at the same time it is going to be very popular anyway, so it's hardly going to be be a one-off.

However, if you are quite close to them and see them a lot, then personally I wouldn't. But if you are adamant that you still want tol use it, it is very important that at the FIRST opportunity you light-heartedly say to them:

Arrggh! Damn you! you've pinched my baby's name from under my nose! I've had it earmarked forever, and I hope you understand that I am still going to use it, and I'm not copying you, honestly!'

That way, although they might still be pissed off, at least they will know you are genuine, as opposed to one of those irritating friends who has just thought 'Ohh, I like that, I'll think I'll copy it myself.' (Which would piss me off no end if I were her, especially if it was a very unusual name.)

I still think you should go for the name you like, but if you are adamant not to, this site might help: www.nymbler.com/

Leticia?

Evaneline in my previous post sould have read Evangeline!
I also offer you Cora. And Ava.

Oops. X-post with about 12 people

Oh my Goodness. OP; you must choose the name you love. There is nothing wrong with two little girls having the same name and quite honestly, we're not still friends with any of the couples we knew when our first baby was born. Lives change.

That said, if another couple has chosen a name you love it may be a sign that it's about to fall into the "overused" category so be careful. Flora is beautiful, but a good alternative might be Florence? or Nora? I really like Felicity and Cordelia too.

Stella and Eva / Ava and Amelia / Emilia are reaaaalllly popular where I live. Every third child is called Ava. Ava = the new Madison ... don't do it.

Flora - Fleur, Dora, Florence, Flavia, Nora,
Emilia - Amelie, Amy, Emma, Esme, Amelia, Mila, Celia, Delia, Cecelia
Scarlett - Charlotte, Ruby, Carla, Carly
Stella - Bella, Stephanie, Estella, Estelle
Cordelia - Corinne, Delia, Della, Cecelia, Celia
Eva - Evaneline, Eve, Genevieve, Evelyn, Emma,
Felicity - Melissa, Alegra, Felicia, Phillippa.

Ha, I have an Isla and I have lost count of the amount of times people have read it written down and said is-la. I am glad DH talked me out of Eilidh which was my original choice.

maybe you could find a similar name, for example

Flora - Florence
Emilia - Emily, Amelia, Emma
Scarlett - Carlotta, Charlotte
Stella - Estelle, Esther, Estrella, Sadella
Cordelia - Cornelia, Corrina, Ophelia, Coraline, Delia, Kordula
Eva - Ava, Evie, Evelyn, Eve, Evangeline
Felicity - Felicia, Felicitas

Do it, one of the girls from my nct group named her dd with my dd's name a month before dd was born (does that make sense?).

I ummed and ahhed about changing the name and didn't, she is now a very good friend and the girls spend a lot of time together. It doesn't matter that they have the same name at all.

All pretty names, my faves are Flora and Emilia.

Elsa, Isla, Iona and Anna all kind of fit with your choices too and shouldn't have any pronunciation issues

Use it. Tell friends its a family name or something. Laugh about coincidences then forget it.

They're fairly standard names (even if not in the top 10) so its not like re-using a made-up name iyswim.

Some ideas for slightly changing the name (no idea which it is)
Flora --> Fleur
Emilia --> Emma/Emily/Amelie/Amelia....
Scarlett --> no idea sorry! but Charlotte rhymes
Stella --> Estelle
Eva --> Evalyn

Love Stella, my dd was very almost a Stella.

Love Flora and Eva. Felicity is also pretty.

Not keen on Emilia (really really popular at the moment); Scarlett and Cordelia not so nice.

Not sure about Stella but how about Bella?