having to rethink the chosen name!!

[Ruidh]

The name we had chosen for our bump has just been ruined for me! So its back to the drawing board. Honest and brutal opinion please!
Also, might sway opinions to be aware that although I am from the south east we are living in the west country so accents may affect choice.
Here is the list:

Elvie
Alva
Elva
Ethne
Etta
Avalene
Iana
Ayana
Kailyn
Keara
Mairi
Nya
Nyla
Myla

Mairi is my favourite from your list. Would prefer Ava, not on your list but similar.

Myla is a posh lingerie shop

Haha! Thanks for the heads up about Myla!
Ava was the name we had chosen that we now cannot have. I'm really annoyed.
I like Mairi but worry about the accent here and wonder if people will say it how I like it?!

I like Etta (so long as it fits with surname, ie not Lott!) and Mairi best. I fear Elvie and Alva would be mistaken for Evie and Ava all the time, and possibly Elva for Eva too, sorry.

I like Iana, too. Vaguely considered it as my dad is Ian!

If you like but can't have Ava, how about Ada or Asa?

Or indeed Anya

I love Ava, very nearly used for for DD but had a last minute change Is there a good reason why you can't use it, like your sister/best friend just called her DD Ava? If some random person you hardly know just used it then don't worry, use it anyway.

Very good reason (though my husband disagrees), upshot is - just couldn't stand to have that name now.

I like the suggestion of Ada as that was my great nanas name but not sure how some of the family might take it.
Also when I see Asa or Ada I tend to read Asda!!

Edie?

Aya?

Hmm, hadn't thought about Asda crosses Ada off own list

Your list sounds very much like you are trying your hardest to make up names that sound like Ava!

FWIW Ava is madly overdone at the mo I reckon so chin up!

I only really like Mhairi from your list, but I think you need to truly step away from the Ava - Alva?! It's 'the name we had because we couldn't have Ava.' Not good!

How about:

Nina

Tamar

Anna

Melissa

Talia

Elvie/Elva will be mistaken for Eve/Evie of which there are millions. Myla and Etta the nicest but just my opinion.

Hmm....may have to admit the finding names that are close to Ava is true. Maybe I will have to give up on that and start again!

Why not Eva instead of Ava?

(Is Elva pronounced Elver? Elvers are baby eels.)

Love Etta btw... but possibly as a nickname, Julietta or Elizabeta or similar?

Keara is OK but prefer Chiara spelling.

Etta nice as nickname for Julietta or Henrietta etc, as Chateauneuf says.

I like Nina and Talia as suggested above too.

How about

Iona
Ivy
Nina
Marla
Adela
Alana
Caitlin
Sara
Julia
Grace
Zara
Emma
Maya
Alma
Clara
Cara
Emily
Megan
Laura
Georgia

Elvie -- Nice.

Alva Nice there is an Irish name Ailbhe that has virtually the same pronunciation (more of an 'eh' sound at the end) that is sometimes rendered as Alvy in English.
Elva -- Nice. I knew one growing up in Ireland, It was a version of Ailbhe.
Ethne -- Irish name is properly spelled Eithne and can be pronounced ETH-na or EN-ya. Is this what you were shooting for?
Etta -- Nice as nn for Juliet or Henrietta or maybe Harriet. I would use a longer name for BC purposes.
Avalene -- OK; I think I prefer the spelling Aveline. The downside is that it looks a bit like Valvoline or Vaseline. Would you consider Evaline ?
Iana -- How to pronounce? EE-anna, Yana, Eye-anna?? Seems a bit madey uppey? Jana is nice if pronounced Yana..
Ayana -- Again madey uppey sounding, and fluffy, very indefinite combination of sounds.
Kailyn -- American madey uppey Oirish name and truly horrible. It belongs in the same family as Kayden and Kayla and Kaitlyn.
Keara -- Prefer the Irish spelling Ciara.
Mairi -- Nice but I think there would be problems with pronunciation.
Nya -- Nice
Nyla -- Nice
Myla -- underwear. Mila or Milla (pr. Meela) are nicer imo.

Would you consider:
Alvy
Eithne/Enya
Evaline
Jana
Ciara
Mila/Milla
Chaya (pr Kh-eye-ah)

or:
Mella
Elfrieda
Elke
Eliska (Czech version of Elizabeth)
Eliza
Elise
Ivanna/Evanna
Niamh
Marit
Marie
Maris
Elsa
Alannah

I love Etta. A great, strong name.

Ayana is pretty. I like Mairi, too.

The other are really made-up sounding, sorry. Avalene, Kailyn and Keara (Ciara? Kiera?) are horrendous. Myla, Nyla, Nya are also bad.

Ethne and Alva aren't very pretty. Elvie is like 'Elf' - awful.

Sylvie
Elsie
Effie
Elodie
Jannah (Yanna)
Yara
Aine (Awn-ya)
Anya
Eleri
Aphra
????

Mara
Merryn

What a shame u have been put off Ava, its dd2 name and its beautiful. Dd1 is May which unusual as a first name.

How about Iona, Adele or Isla.

Some of your names sound made up (sorry). I think it would be better to go for a recognisable name otherwise it might look like you're just playing scrabble with Ava.

Etta is lovely.

You can't call a child Alva - its a small, slightly rough IIRC, town in Scotland.

Elvie - no, bit like Evie but not quite
Alva - no
Elva - no
Ethne - no
Etta - quite nice
Avalene - no
Iana - no
Ayana- ok
Kailyn - no, looks made up
Keara - quite like Ciara/Kira
Mairi - no
Nya - nice
Nyla - ok
Myla - like, but not as much as Marla

Nia?