Struggling with girl's name...

El-O-Wen

Elowen - it's a Cornish name. Very pretty, unusual and suitable for all ages.

Louisa, Erica, Alicia, Merryn,

I knew a girl at Irish college named Libhín (pr Liv-EEN).

You could go for Lavinia and still call her Livvy. :)

If you've ruled out Eva because of your friend's daughter, I'd consider ruling out Aoife too. It sounds a lot like Eva (in some accents more than others) and can be mistaken for it (by the uninitiated). It's a pretty name - expect a small spike now Una from the Saturdays has named her daughter it. Aoife's really popular in Ireland (top 10) - it might indicate a future rise here.

In case Irish names are your thing, you might want to think about Caitlin, Ciara, Saoirse, Niamh, Roisin, Erin, Clodagh, Tara, Orla, Orlaith, and Sinead. I think they are all very adaptable in England.

From what you've said, I like the idea of using Olive as a first name. It sounds soft and pretty, is easy to spell, honours a family member, and seems familiar because of Olivia's popularity. I like it. It's a shame your husband doesn't! The further you get from Olive, the harder it is to pin it down to honouring your husband's late mum but you might think one of the following would do the trick:
Odette
Olwen
Oona
Ophelia
Oriana
Ottilie

You could even give your daughter the same initials as her late grandmother too. You might like a name ending in O - there aren't too many for girls but there's always Cleo.

In ancient Greece, the olive was a symbol of Athena as well as a token of peace and fertility, and olive wreaths were awarded to the winners at the Olympic games. So Athena or Olympia (fitting with London 2012!) could be unusual ways to honour Olive.

But if you're not sure on Olive or Olivia, you could always 'save' the name in case you have a son later on and use Oliver or use it as a middle name.

I also really like Amélie as a first name - again, I really like the sound of it - but I'm not a fan of Eloise. It sounds a little bit harsh to my ears but I do like Louisa. It's just my personal preference and I think Eloise is a solid, sensible name (important criteria for me) nonetheless. There's also Heloise and Elodie is another one to consider - just gorgeous.

Other names that might fit the bill if you're not already sold on Aoife (following on from your vowel-heavy shortlist):
Ada
Aine
Aisling
Alice
Adeline
Anna
Eimear
Erin
Edith
Eliza(beth)
Emma
Evelyn
Ida
Ione
India
Iris
Isabel
Isla
Ismay
Ivy

I like Adeline

Aoife Eloise sounds nice to me.

I like the idea of three names (though I would have run out of names myself).

Aoife Madeleine Olivia
Aoife Katherine Eloise

I'm not sure Freya goes well as a third name, and as a second name there would be too many Fs running into each other.

Aoife Lucy
Aoife Juliette
Aoife Coralie
Aoife Miranda
Aoife Ruby
Aoife Lauren
Aoife Megan
Aoife Holly
Aoife Jennifer

DD3 has a very popular name (chosen as it's a family name) and there is only one other in her class and two others in the school. The name suits her, and to me she is 'my Popularname'. (Giving her a quirky name would have backfired as she is a retiring soul with flaming red hair, and an unusual name would have made her stand out more than she could have coped with. Very glad I didn't call her Clementine, which I was considering, and though I was also considering a very Irish name, I think she would have been a walking cliche.)

DD4 has an off the charts unpopular name (again, chosen because it's a family name) and we met the only other one we have ever met in her class when she started school. They are best friends.

Definitely don't worry about popular names - dtd has a classic but slightly unusual name we picked due to family tree. She is 6.5months and I've met 5 different people who know a child with the same name.

I would have a few options then after her birth have a cup of tea and look at her with dh and decide then. We did that with dd1 and ruled out our 2 favourite names and went for one we discussed 3 years before on honeymoon! She's now 4 and it's definitely right for her.

Would you consider Caoimhe? (pronounced either Queeva or Keeva)

Elsa?
Ailsa?
Ailbhe/Alvy?
Una?
Maebh/Maeve?
Róisín

The Gráinnes I know (lots) have all had pronunciation problems when they ventured outside Ireland ('grain', 'grainy', 'granny')

Ainé or Aine (Irish Anna, oornya)? I love Aoife, but its too pop in Ireland for me! Olive is lovely and more unusual than Olivia.

Adelaide? (although with Adele, you'd be accused of naming after a celeb!) Eloise is nice but I know 3, all teen mums and its tainted it a bit.

Fionn, Ruth, Gráinne (Gr-oonia)?

My sister is Katie Eloise so I love Eloise.

Not very common and not out there either.

skies i reckon we should just name our babies GIRLS as i have nt a clue either what name i am gonna pick.
I do love the name Aoife its a really pretty name and one of my friends calls her daughter that.
Oliva Rose is one of my options and i love Willow but DP hates it we hate any name we suggest to eachother so reckon i am gonna have to pull one from a hat lol.

Aoife is lovely. Very popular in Ireland though. What about Eva or Eve? Or Eimear/Emer? I have an Eimear :)

Olivia is lovely too, but too popular for me.

Orla, Ciara/Keira are also beautiful Irish names.

Orla Amelie would be lovely too.