Can’t decide between two names! Help?

[Peacfairy]

Since finding out that we’re expecting a girl, we have been calling her Ayla Grace , we have a 2 year old named Mia and we always refer to her as Mimi. I’m now close to my due date and am second guessing her name and I’ll state my reasons below. We also have loved the name Millie since finding out but never went with it.
With Ayla I don’t feel there’s a way to nickname her , Lala , or even ay doesn’t sounds right to me. We have shared the name with a few people and had a mixed response, some love it , my brother hated it and my mother keeps saying Isla when we want her name to be Ayla - said like the spelling Ay-la. And I’m worried people will call her Isla in school and don’t want to be forever correcting people on her name. However I love that it’s different. Unlikly to be another Ayla in her class at school, it’s not common but again it’s not wildly out there.
With Millie, it sounds great with Mia , can nickname her Mils for short, no confusion on the pronunciation but only down sides are mother in law hates it and said it’s a dogs name , and we have a cousin abroad named Millie , have never met her but wouldn’t want her to feel we’re copying or naming baby after her. Also haven’t a clue on a middle name for Millie either, our daughter Mia has a middle name so we’d like our second born to have one.
what name do you prefer ? What would you go with ? And middle name suggestions for Millie please.

could call her Mikayla and use either nickname

I like Millie more really. 'Dog's name' - whar a stupid thing for your MIL to say. It's not Fido or Spot is it?! It's just that a lot of people these days are giving their dogs human names, so you could say that about any name really.

Do you mean Ay (rhymes with hay) - la? Are you sure, because I know a little Ayla and they pronounce it the same as Isla. And there are so many Islas.

@Pemba name Ayla has two pronunciation. It's hard to say one is more correct than other, depends where are you from.

I like suggestions of Mikayla and it's unlikely to be dog name because it's longer name

otherwise I like Millie more than Ayla.

I do feel that Millie is already like a nickname though, should be short for something - Camilla? (unfortunate namesake though!). Originally it would have been for Millicent or Mildred but they seem very old fashioned now. There must be something else that Millie can be short for?

I agree that Millie and Mia or Millie and Mimi sound cute together.

Camilla is a very pretty name really and it would avoid the potential problem of 2 sisters with the same initials getting their post mixed up when they're older (perhaps not so much of a thing these days). It's just that Queen Camilla kind of spoils it.

Emily or Emmeline nn Millie

Amelia with nn Millie?

Ooh yes, that works! Different initial and also both very pretty names in their own right.

I think Millie and Mimi are too similar. And it's a pita when letters arrive all addressed to same initials. ( We made that mistake).

How about Layla? I had a friend nn Lalli which was cute.

I also like a PP's suggestion of Michaela or Mikayla with Mikki ( cute) or Aylie as nn.

Ayla could be nn Ayzie or Aylie.

Nicknames evolve, you don't really choose them.

Ayla
Shayla
Kayla
Amy
Michaela
Leah
Lena
Rekha

I love Ayla OP 🙂 I didn’t even consider it might be pronounced as Isla

I think Ayla will get called Isla - also you mentioned that the fact their won't be another one at school as a benefit, but to me it's so close to Ayla, she'll be part of the Isla/Ayla pack.

Millie is much nicer and not a dogs name.

With such a lovely name like ‘Mia’ why does she have to be ‘Mimi’…
What is it with young British mums giving silly nicknames nowadays.
ok not the point of the thread and this will never change.

FWIW, Ayla is nicer than Millie. Much more like a proper name.

Would never pronounce Ayla as Isla - I've come across a couple working in schools - and pronouncing Mikayla just sound like a big whinge to me (it isn't my favourite name...).

As others have said, Millie is a nickname itself. Cute for a child, but imagine applying it to a 40 year old bank manager or FTSE 500 business leader. Not so cute.

Finally, who cares what your MIL, brother etc think of your chosen name. If you like it, go for it. You're never going to please everyone, so stop trying to name your child by committee.

Isn’t it Isla?

Anyway, choose something completely different for this baby.

Grace is lovely ❤️

Ay to rhyme with hay yes!
like Layla without the first L - Ayla

Millie and Mia? No.
Ayla is sooo much nicer.

Yes ay to rhyme with hay
layla with the first L - Ayla

Neither did I till we ‘choose it’ , before looking online and telling people our name we was pretty set with Ayla but really don’t want the confusion of it being pronounced Isla

She knows her name is Mia but family refer to her as Mimi, and she now calls herself Mimi - I’ve heard ridiculous baby nicknames like ‘jelly bean’ ect so I’m not mad at her being referred to as Mimi , I myself think it’s cute. If and when she decides she doesn’t like her nn we can go back to saying Mia it’s really not a big deal, what ever name we choose this time round we’d like it sound nice paired with Mia / Mimi hence why I added that info

If you call your daughter Ayla, she will spend a lifetime having to spell her name and telling people how to pronounce it. Just like you’ve had to.

x

If Ayla is going to annoy you getting pronounced Isla then I'd bin it.

Millie I like but it doesn't sound like it's already short for something. Camilla would make sense if that's where its evolved from.

I'd be tempted to go back to the beginning because neither of these seem right for you.

I’d definitely go with Ayla. Millie is repeating initials and bit too similar. Plus I prefer Ayla.

That confusion is out there, just like people won't know whether someone is Katherine or Catherine (or variants). Pointless letting it bother you.

My DD best friend is a Millie, but its short for Amelia. Its a lovely name.
I now a little Ayla, and she is constantly called 'Isla' x