Linda, Andrea, Sophia or Emma

[pimlicopubber]

Hello,
My husband and I didn't grow up in the UK, so we could really use some name advice. We've picked names that work in both of our languages (ending in -a among other things) and sound okay in English.
Here are our favourites: Linda, Andrea, Sophia, or Emma.
Are there any major no-gos here? I like them all, but I have small reservations about each:
Linda & Andrea: I like the sound and that they are not everywhere right now, but I'm aware they feel quite old-fashioned in the UK (or at least the US). Andrea also seems a bit awkward to pronounce? I guess the girl would be "Andy".
Sophia: my husband's favourite but the spelling is different in my native language.
Emma: Lovely name and we don't know any Emmas in the UK, but it's currently the most popular name in my home country, and several of our friends already have children with similar names.

We'd love to hear your thoughts or if any of these carry unexpected vibes!

Of course all of these are fine but as someone who has a very foreign sounding first name I'd like to make sure that the child will not have to spell their name every time they introduce themselves!

Sophia is my favourite. I also like the spelling Sofia.

How do you spell it in your native language?

Linda is really quite old-fashioned. Might get away with Andrea (Devil Wears Prada) but would probably get called AND-ree-uh rather than OND-ray-uh. Neither of them would ever be asked how to spell their names, though!

Sophia and Emma are very pretty, both quite timeless.

Sofia, but it makes me feel the Bulgarian capital

I find it difficult to find balance between "old fashioned" and "half of the class will have this name"!

Sophia is lovely, and Sofia while not the usual spelling in the UK is not unheard of.
I like Emma and Andrea as well but not as much.
I think Linda is too old fashioned. Most Lindas I know are my age (60). It was popular in the 60s!

I think of Linda and Andrea as very 'late middle aged' and probably not ready for a come back just yet. There's nothing wrong with either of them, they're just dated.

Sophia is lovely, but popular. Emma is my favourite name so that gets my vote. It's not as popular in the UK as it was a few years ago though I know it is in other countries.

I actually think those names are pretty. Yes they are associated with older but that often happens just when they become popular names again because they sound good. What about Helen, Jane, Caroline Joanne, Joanna or Sarah?

Linda is the name of a couple of my aunts, aged 60-early 70s. The only Andrea (Andi) that I know is also retired.

Emma was very popular in the 1990's, so you don't hear of many younger ones (although my DN would have been one, if he'd been a girl). Sophia/Sofia is a younger name, and would get my vote.

Sophia and emma sre both lovely

I would go with Sophia as the others are dated and your daughter may not like having a name associated with older adults.

Linda and Andrea are quite old fashioned nowadays especially Linda. Most people would just assume she was named after someone. Sophia and Emma are both timeless but I think Sophia edges it due to the elegant and magical vibe

I like Sophia best as well but Linda would actually be more unusual because, as Pps say, it’s old-fashioned and not quite ready for a come back so you would be ahead of the curve! If you love it start the trend!

Sophia and Emma are lovely names. The other two are not.

@pimlicopubber , you can use Baby name explorer to look up how popular the names are.
Both Sophia and Sofia are very popular. Individually they are the 13th and 12th most popular names in England & Wales. Combined, it's the most popular girl's name.
The other 3 are less likely to be as common.

I wouldn’t go for Linda, if you really like it maybe Lydia? But that’s the only one I wouldn’t consider

Sophia is a gorgeous classic name and def my favourite from your liist

Emma is fine, was very popular, I know loads in their late 20s/30s. It is edging into the fine but meh category for me.

Andrea is quite nice actually, yes it’s a name more common in women in their 50s but it’s pretty and wouldn’t raise any eyebrows for me.

Linda no. Too dated and not ready for its Elsie/Ruby/Margot revival cycle yet.

I think of these ones, it's got to be Emma. Linda and Andrea are very old-fashioned and scream 'born between 1945 and 1965'. Sophia is lovely but it's very common. Emma has been common in the past but isn't at the moment, is a classic with no particular connotations attached.

Sophia and Sofia are both lovely.
Emma is quite nice.
I really like Andrea and it's less common too.
Not keen on Linda.

Emma is my favourite, it's lovely. Sophia is nice too. Linda and Andrea are too dated.

Sophia and Emma are both timeless. I was at school in the 1960s and 1970s with Lindas and Andreas and thank my parents for choosing a timeless name for me that is recognised across Europe as a dignified female name. Avoid Linda and Andrea!

I work with a lot of older people, over 70s and there are quite a few Linda’s so I wouldn’t personally chose that name. I am in my 50s and know a few Andrea’s my age. I like Sophia and Emma. Like a pp suggested if you are looking for names ending in ‘a’ Lydia is nice. There is also Elena which is a classic name, just a different spelling from the traditional way.

How about Belinda instead of Linda (although I do like Linda)?
Connie
Nicola
Sarah
Katya
Emilia

Belinda is worse than Linda

i like Linda but it has 'mean girl' associations for me.
Not keen on Andrea and 'Andy' for a girl is awful.
Sophia/Sofia is too popular.
I like Emma.

I agree with everyone saying Linda and Andrea are very dated. All the Lindas and Andreas I know are around my age (60s).

I have never heard Andrea pronounced OND-ray-uh.

Sophia and Emma are both lovely names and I was going to say that you can’t go wrong with either. However, there are two ways of pronouncing Sophia

I presume you will pronounce it with FEE as the middle syllable, but the more traditional English pronunciation is FYE (though I hardly ever hear that these days and the only one I know personally is in her 60s).

Emma is therefore the safer option!