Names for a baby girl

I like both - Isla is my favourite , but Alana has the advantage of being less commonly used. I think I’d pick Isla but both are great choices.

Alana is so pretty, I’m never sure why it’s so underused (maybe due to spelling confusion? Some people prefer Alannah, but I definitely like the simplified, more elegant looking Alana spelling better).

I suspect Isla might not age as well as Alana- Isla’s become very trendy over the last couple of decades. Plus with Grace being such a popular middle name now, Alana Grace at least stands out a bit more than Isla Grace.

I don't think you and I share similar taste.

Plenty of people do. I did. I couldn't care less whether the rest of the population of young females had Rose, Grace or May as middle names.

Madeleine.

Really boring, sorry.

You can't always foresee that, and if you love the name, you should use it. I went to a tiny rural school, and there were 9/10 pupils in my year. Two were called Margarets and two Valeries. It wasn't ever an issue. And then we moved on from school and out in the world where there were all sorts of names.

It would always be your 'Sarah Jane' or your 'Emma Louise' anyway.

Have you looked at the top 20 names for girls? There are Isla and Emilia Graces everywhere. Why can't anyone pick middle names for girls that aren't Rose, Grace or May

Isla Grace and Millie Grace are both really lovely! Both the two syllable first name Isla Grace has a slightly more flowing feel and Millie Grace has a sweet and classic charm.

Personally I like Isla Grace better with a one syllable surname but either one is a lovely name.

Congrats on your little one🤗

It’s so difficult to find a middle ground- because if a name is well known enough to be easy to spell and pronounce, it’s either likely to be Top 100 (or even 200 is too popular for some people) or dated and used used primarily by 40s/50’s plus. Or considered too “try hard” /odd - especially for boys.

To try to find a middle ground name I often use the old Gossip Girl Rufus and Serena example - both used in similar low numbers, both easy to say and spell, but luckily Serena is considered generally acceptable but Rufus often seems to get “no” or “dogs name” on here.

@IamnotwhouthinkIam , there are advantages to having a popular name, but I'm glad that my name isn't unique or overwhelmingly ordinary.
People probably have more positive thoughts about an Emily than a Gertrude.

Possibly not when they were born, as Amelia wasn’t as popular then. And I don’t know about Wickstead but with the thespian circles Fox was born into it would have been easy enough to say “Like the character in Othello”. I suspect you’d get a blank look if you tried that with many people though.

And nobody ever wins the popularity debate as even “experts” can’t agree (it’s a bit like indoor vs outdoor cats, nursery for 2 years olds etc) - I suspect there is no right answer as there are pros and cons to both. I personally think there are more pluses to having a popular name than not - only because rare is the name that is easy to say and spell, but not dated or “weird” but also not popular! But accept that other people feel differently.

@Runnerinthenight , I haven't a clue, but they weren't born at a time when there were thousands of Amelias registered every year. I alwys thought that Emilia was Em-ill-ya but if someone says it more like Em-eel-ya, it sounds very close to Amelia.

Popular doesn't mean it's a poor choice but your child might be one of several 'Sarah Janes' or 'Emma Louises'.

Iris

'Popular' doesn't mean it's a poor choice though?

When you drill it down, there might only be a small number of babies given the 'popular' name, and tbh I would rather 'popular' than some outlandish or made-up name anyway!!!

I think that when it's the first child, and people haven't been around children, they don't realise how popular some names, are, so it's a reasonable, helpful point.

Isla was popular, at baby groups, and there were 2 in my son's class, throughout primary; one spelled 'Aiyla' and one 'Isla'. He's 14, now.

And, of course, Grace is one of the big 3 'filler' middle names, along with Rose and May. But, if you haven't been around children, or on Mumsnet, you may not know this.

I prefer Emilia, but again, it/Amelia, was popular among my children's age group.

When you break down the 'popular names', it doesn't necessarily translate into a huge number of babies being given a certain name per year! Most of all, you don't want to give them a name they are going to be embarrassed by in years to come!

Does that happen to Emilia Wickstead, fashion designer? Or Emilia Fox, actress?

And?? I'd rather be "boring" than use some chavvy, madey-uppy name!

And actually, not "every girl has those middle names"! Neither of mine do. Middle names are hardly ever used in any case!

Yes, we are all different and our tastes are different, and the feedback we offer is different. You seem to want posters to conform to what you consider to be 'useful feedback'.

It totally depends on the circumstances as to whether the feedback "too popular" is useful.

When someone is asking which sounds best out of two names, and the feedback is "neither as they're both too popular" that doesn't sound particularly helpful or useful to me, when the OP has given no indication that they see popularity as a problem.

If someone directly asks about the popularity of a name, it's obviously worth commenting if you think it's too popular. If someone claims to be looking for unusual but is considering names far from unusual, it may be useful feedback that actually their choices are far more usual than they'd probably like. When popularity isn't asked about though, it's not really useful to tell someone their choices are all too popular. Not everyone wants unusual. There may be a 'happy medium' for you, but not everyone is bothered whether their child's name is in the top 10 or not. For many, finding something they both love and agree on is all that matters. We're all different.

I really like Emilia and it goes nicely with Grace. Isla is nice too but I’m not sure Isla Pang sounds quite right!

How about Isabella?

There's a happy medium, @BoleynMemories13 . Most feedback is useful, apart from the 'Have you considered Felicity, Aveline, Isabella or Arabella? when the OP was asking 'Ava or Isla?'