Which scenario would be easier to live with?

Oh, I like Amalia (old Visigoth name, isn't it?), but if you don't, how about Amelia or Amaranth(a) instead?

Maryz - have to say I find the mis-understanding quite useful if it's someone I'm not particularly interested in knowing my details, as it were.

Brillian post Stellan: love your reasoning and alternative name suggestions.

Rocío is a tricky one for a child to pull off in England. It's pronounce ro-THEE-o or ro-SEE-o (if you're Latin American) and, for most Brits, that's just not apparent from the spelling. You're likely to get people calling her Rocky-o until they're told. I agree with the other comments that, on first glance, people will likely assume it to be a boys' name. I realise it is popular in Spain and some Latin American countries but that doesn't necessarily mean it translates well into English. If you don't live in Spain or a large Spanish community in the UK, I'd perhaps think again. If you're happy for your daughter to have to explain her name when she meets new people who haven't come across it before, go ahead. Spaniards might expect her to be Spanish though...

I don't think your choice has to be between obscure (at least in the UK) and mega-popular. There are plenty of uncommon names that are easy for English speakers to spell and/or pronounce. For example, if you like Rocío and Eva, here are some other names that might tick your boxes:

Saskia
Rosario
Lucia
Evangelina or Evangeline
Evanthia
Genevieve
Guinevere
Evelina
Geneva
Ines (ee-NEZ)
Alba
Adriana
Marina
Athena
Eugenia
Dorothea
Juno
Nico
Calista or Calixta
Serafina or Seraphina
Rafaella
Carmelita
Celestia
Calypso
Margot
Clio or Cleo
Theodora
Leonie
Thea
Alethea (al-uh-THEE-uh or a-LEE-thee-a)
Leona
Fiona

Rocio is terrible, no-one will ever have a clue how to say it and anyway its looks like a boys name. Eva is just dullsville.

Having a name no-one knows or can pronounce is equally irritating as an adult, trust me.

Congratulations on impending arrival!

Go with whichever name best suits her when she arrives.

Both mine and DH's names are unusual - his causes challenges when people have only seen it written down, and mine when people hear it spoken as it's too close to an, unrelated, more familiar name.
Neither of us have been particularly bothered by needing to repeat / explain to those who have mis-heard.
Small child's name has a similar risk of misunderstanding though, but hopefully, unlike Maryz DD, the middle name won't be resorted to later in life.

Maryz - hopefully yours grows out of it soon. Maybe sell it on the 'but people will remember you more if they have to keep repeating'?

I prefer unusual names but not a huge fan of Rocio, how about Roisin?

Not keen on Rocio, but would usually say a more unusual name would be my choice.

You have to ask yourself why you are naming your child. If the answer is to identify her (which would be my answer), then naming her Eve is not going to do a great job because there are so, so many little Eves/Evies/Evas out there already. Rocio, on the other hand, will be YOUR DAUGHTER - most people don't know any other Rocios so they will associate the name with her. And most people remember how to pronounce a name when told once.

I agree with the reasons you've given for hesitating. Eve (and variants) is an extremely popular name at the moment. Rocio sounds nice but I think sounds like a boy's name as it's far more unusual for a girl's name to end in o.

Are there any similar names you like that wouldn't have these problems?

Eve... Evelina, nn Lina (so not Evie)?
Rocio... Thea?

Rocio looks and sounds like a boys name to me - possibly because it's simila to Rocco That name is not to my tastes as I prefer more 'girly ' sounding names.

That said, I agree with you about the problem with Eva as a name. It's gorgeous, but very popular. We know a few people with an Eva/Evie/Evelyn name.

One of my friends who has an Eva uses the Gaelic spelling of it: Aoibha (same pronunciation). Her Aoibha is 6 and she said that if shed known that the name would get as popular as it has, she wouldn't have chosen it. She'd have gone for Genevieve as she'd still of had Eva/Eve/Evie as a NN, whilst still having a relatively unusual name.

I'd rather have the popular name. It would drive me crazy having to spell/correct people on my names pronunciation.

My maiden name was unusual and difficult for English people to spell (Danish surname). I was glad to change it when I got married.

I love Aoife, and part of the appeal would be watching dhs family try and pronounce it (evil grin).

I dont like overly used names, as I was one of at least three with the same name in my class. Id rather give a quirky first name and maybe tag on a 'sensible' middle name.

Do you mind me asking what are the names you are toying between?

It depends on the child. What would you and DH prefer? Are you confident, outgoing people who would like the chance to explain your name or are you shy, quiet people who would hate the attention of having to spell/explain your name all the time?

For me, I'd rather the popular name.

Does the difficult to spell name have a nn that is easier to say/spell?