Matilde, Esmeralda, Ana or Fabiola?

[Mum8]

Due in a few weeks and no name for Dd2. Thought we decided on Esmeralda but now we r thinking it's a syllable too long. We wanted a unique Spanish name we both love but hard to find. DH likes Ana, it's nice but so common. Thought of Matilde but maybe that's common too and Fabiol a new suggestion but it's just that DH not that fond and neither me tbh. Still undecided and find it so hard. Any suggestions? Do you like any of these names and why?

Meant Fabiola above not Fabiol of course 😉

I like Esmeralda and Ana from your choices.

Can't figure out how to pronounce Matilde and Fabiola is surely a joke?

Fabiola sounds like aereola to me, sorry!

Are you and DP Spanish, or do you just want a Spanish feel?

I'm sorry but isn't Esmeralda a witch from a children's tale?!

Ana lovely or Matilde ok

DH is Spanish which is why we wanted a Spanish name but I guess Latin names in general will work

I don't like Fabiola. It sounds like a virus.
Ana is nice but very normal. Esmerelda is more 'out there', so you need to decide which way you want to jump with that. FWIW I love Esmerelda. She was the gypsy from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Matilde- is it pronounced like Matilda or the French Mathilde? Either is pretty.

I like esmerelda but then I like hunchback of notre dame! What about valentina

I once worked with a spanish lady called Belen. I thought that was very stylish. Is Pilar still a popular name, because that is pretty, too.

I know a half Spanish Maite (not sure of spelling - I think I'm missing an accent) pronounced similar to Mighty. Brilliant girl, cute name.

We love Maite but live in the UK where everyone will say mate so we ruled that out. Pillar and Belen also not work will in English we think, it's like pillar and let me not explain the second lol. Esmerelda we thought of is spelled Esmeralda mostly in Spanish and Matilde is pronounced like Matilda but with e at the end, like e in end

I love Ana! Not keen on the others. I like Valentina too, and Juliette.

I knew a girl called Azahara once (means flower / orange blossom) - quite a pretty name I think but you might have a "Z pronunciation issue" in the uk

Or how about Elena? Or Marta?

Esmeralda is absolutely beautiful. It's the name of Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling's first daughter.

Matilde is not Spanish. And there will be so many Matildas around. I'd choose something more individual.

I think it's a wonderful idea to use a Spanish name. There are so many pretty ones that might be a bit different to the typical girls' names here.

My suggestions are: Alondra; Carolina; Alicia; Catalina; Eloisa; Leonor; Leonora (pronounced: lay-o-nora); Marisa; Ines (pronounced In-ess); Isidora; Nina; Rosalia; Marta; Lucia; Gabriela; Rocio; Amalia; Florencia; Elena; Violeta.

I'd avoid Isabel or Sofia as they are now so popular here that they won't be seen as particularly Spanish.

I like Matilde best. How about Mafalda?

I actually like Fabiola, but I think you'd get a lot of people mispronouncing it (hence the 'virus/areola' comments from PPs, who I think are reading it as fab-ee-OH-la, which is ugly as hell. It is pronounced fab-EE-o-la). So I would rule it out for that reason.

Not keen on any of the above. Fabiana is nicer than Fabiola.
What about..
Valentina
Alessandra
Isadora
Socorro
Adriana
HTH

Oh and Ines! Love Ines.

Ana

Ana

I think matilde is ok but she will be forever correcting people calling her Matilda

Esmeralda is beautiful, but I also like the suggestion of Valentina.

Ana would get confused with Anna a lot, I think.

Isn't Anna the same as Ana in pronunciation? We do like Esmeralda but concerned it will be shorted to Esme which is OK but not our favourite name. Prefer the full name but wish it were a 3 syllable one. DH does not like Valentina... Wish we had a name we felt that was it straightaway...

There was an absolutely dreadful girl called Fabiola in the year above me at school, so that's a no from me. all your other choices are lovely, though I do like a PP's suggestion of Pilar...

Townmouse is spot on. What a difference a stressed syllable can make.

Beatriz?
Mercedes?

I've already posted with some other suggestions but I'm getting the feeling you want more comments on your current shortlist. :)

I think Fabiola is quite nice, although it's an Italian name not a Spanish one.

Yes, Ana is pronounced exactly the same as Anna. Anna is top 70 but it's not an obviously trendy 2016/17 name like Matilda. ( I know loads of Matildas). And you're spelling it the Spanish way which makes it stand out. It's quite lovely and classic. I don't think you'd find maybe people who disliked Ana.