Is Emily too popular?

[Mrsgrumble]

Struggling with girls baby name. Don't know sex so might not be an issue :)

Ellen is our preferred (also like Mary and Maeve) but niece is Ella. That's probably a no no ???

Also considering Evelyn

SIL is so laid back but I wouldn't want to offend either

They say Emily is popular, but I've never met an Emily under the age of 21!

It's very popular. I'm pretty sure it's been in the top five for many years now.

I know at least four under the age of three, from the (not very many) toddler groups I go to.

I know several under 3.

Helena may work...

Ellen is beautiful.

Biased though - it's my middle name!

Emily is ranked one now, isn't it?

I haven't met any children of that name.
Evies, Lilies, Marthas, Ella's but no Emilies.
Know a couple of Amelies too.

How about Elena or Eleni?

Maeve such a wonderful name! I like it a lot! Emily is unfortunately a very popular name((

I'm impartial as I have an Emily. So yes, I think it's a lovely name and you should choose it

Emily is nice

Love the name Emily, only know one but think it is one of those names that will never date and always looks and sounds lovely.

I like Ellen but prefer it spelt Ellyn for some reason!

Love Emily

I know 10 Emilys, from ages 2-22, and have met a few young Emilys at my work recently.

Ellen and Maeve are great, I don't think Ellen and Ella are too close

I have a 27 yr old Emily Beatrice. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman ( I am biased)

I'm not a fan of Emily, I don't want to offend anyone who has one but I find it a bit dull and 'prissy'. I'm obviously in the minority as it is extremely popular!

Ellen is nice but possibly too close in sound, though it feels like a very different name to Ella. I like the pp's suggestion of Helena.

How about Erin? That has a similar sound and feel.

I'm really not a fan of Emily either. Think it's terribly frumpy and agree that it sounds very prissy too.

All the other names on your list are better than Emily.

Emily was no 4 on list of top 100 girls names in 2012 (most recent figures for England and Wales) www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/aug/12/top-100-baby-names-2012-girls-boys-list

I like Mary and Maeve.

Ellen is also nice, but, if you are worried about popularity:
Ella was no 18, Ellie was no 35.

It is popular here.

What about Emilia?

I like Amelia but there are loads of them too.

Elaine is v unusual now.

I prefer Elena to Ellen.

Or there's lelaina or Lena.

Alternatives to mary could be Molly, Marissa, marianne, Marina, Mary-Jane, Mariette, Mhairi.

Alternatives to maeve could be lavender, violet, indigo, neve, Niamh.

I like Emily but it is super popular here, along with Emma, Emilia and a few other similar ones.

Ellen is way nicer than Emily.

Mary is lovely. Or Marianne as pp suggested. Or Marielle..