Baby Girl name inspiration - Mia/Freya/Niamh

[Gelpennen]

I’m finding it impossible (with 5 weeks to go..) to think of girls names I really like. Not keen on anything too classic but equally nothing too out there…

names I do quite like:

Mia
Freya
Niamh
Lily

Please let me know what you think or any other suggestions ☺️

*what about Keira?
I like Kiera it's more unusual. *

@caringcarer , as I pp, spelling issues.

I know a Nyla and a Nyree, these came to mind when I saw your list.

Our list was:

Pearl
Lauren
Ruby
Penelope
Cleopatra
Opal
Coral
Mary
Mary-Anne

I also like the name Mia, but like you, I was worried about the popularity of it so went with Nia!☺️

I love all except Mia. That's only because any Mia I've ever known has been a bit of a wet lettuce!

They're all overdone and twee, including Niamh.

Niamh isn't particularly overdone, it's that it blends into the Eve/Evie/Eva/Ava/Ivy/Evelyn/Aoife trend. Mia and Freya are definitely overdone.

Nia is nice but I know loads of them.

What a silly comment - the name is known worldwide not just in Ireland.

We liked Lily and Niamh and chose Niamh with Ella as a middle name, our daughter loves her name.

@Justenjoyinglife , it probably isn't known worldwide. Just because you are familiar with it, doesn't mean everyone is.

I've heard Nia mispronounced fairly recently by the BBC.

My 21 year old is called Mia. My 1 year old is called Savannah.

Mia says Savannah has the prettier name!

I also considered Freya, Sophia and Tallulah.

My son was going to be Amelia or Jasmine if he had been a girl, but he was a boy, so I used those names for my cats!

As an Irish person hearing an Irish name in any accent other than Irish makes my ears bleed. It never sounds right believe me.

@Berlinlover , they don't sound right do they. I can almost ignore Niamh said as Neev and Tadhg said as Tighg, but Orla said as All-uh is blooming awful.

I think Niamh is quite popular these days so I don't think you'd have the issues with spelling and pronunciation that everyone is saying. I love the name Mia and would have used it but already have one in the family. All the names i loved were taken in my family so jad to find others. I have 2 girls and i don't worry about names being "over-used". Elaina isn't my real name, my real name is far more unusual and caused me issues my whole life so I have purposely avoided that for my daughters! Some suggestions :

Ella
Maisie
Amelie
Phoebe
Lana
Luna

@Elaina87 , Niamh is traditionally Nee-'v not Neev. Names like Niamh and Phoebe get the vowels transposed fairly often (Naimh and Pheobe)

I loved Niamh but not the spelling so we have a Nieve.

Disagree!

@Catb1987 , does it sound like naive or does it rhyme with sieve?

Bit off-piste:

Fiona
Shelagh/Sheila
Daria
Cora

We had 2 names picked way before my daughter was born but when she arrived the names just didn't suit her. Her dad said a name we hadn't even thought of (Paige) and it was perfect for her. My son was called 'the baby' for 5 days because I just couldn't decide which name suited him!
I like Niamh and Freya. I also love the name Ada.

My neighbour's baby was several weeks old without a name. The baby is still referred to them as 'The Baby' as far as I know. I don't like asking again.

Not spelt like that

I really don't get the snobbery about Niamh not sounding right unless it's said by an Irish person. Do you really expect a name to never leave Ireland?
I'm Scottish and my son has a Scottish name which includes the 'ch' sound. I'm in England so it always gets pronounced with "ck" but I expect that as the sound just isn't isn't used here. I wouldn't not use it because of that.

@mintich , it's not snobbery, it's that if people struggle with the spelling or pronunciations it can be a PITA, and you end up using a different name.

I can think of a few who go by their middle name because they had a non-English name, Something like William Eilir Davies now known as Will Davies, not Eilir as he was until he started working, or Lleucu Ann Evans using Lucy or Ann as her name.
Eilir and Lleucu are perfectly normal names but they don't travel - both have only one sound that's the same in Welsh and English (l and c).

@kirstenblest but Niamh definitely does travel.

I grew up in an area where Niamh and Siobhan were in use but fairly unusual. The names were frequently mispronounced and misspelt. The names are far more mainstream now, but I don't particularly think they'll be the easiest.

Niamh has lost it's original pronunciation and people tend to transpose the letters or try to spell it as it sounds.