Great Alternitives to popular names!

For Emma: Ebba or Enna.
Olivia: Livia
Sophia: Sophina
Ava: Avalon or Avery.
Madison: Madelyn, Madelena

Which are your favorite?

I like Sophina!

I would like to add something for Isabella: Orabella, or Isaline.

I like Sophina, too!

I like Avalon and Madelena if it was Magdalena...

For Emma: Ebba or Enna. --I think I like Ebba best. Also consider: Gemma, Emmeline, Imma.

Olivia: Livia. --I find Livia too "just-short-for-Olivia". Olive, however, has a great ring to it.

Sophia: Sophina. --This one's okay, but not a personal favorite. Also consider: Sapphira, Seraphina/Serafine(+ other spelling alternatives), Sabina nn Bia.

Ava: Avalon or Avery. --Actually, I think of Ava as the new Avery. Avalon is cool, but not my naming style; it'd work great for someone else, though! Also consider: Ada (AY-dah), nn for Adelaide or Adelina, or Ida/Dinah sounding names.

Madison: Madelyn, Madelena. --To me, Madelyn just makes it trendier looking. I like where you're going with Madelena, although I'd add a G (Magdelena). Other M alternatives: Mabel, Maeva, Marcelline, Mirabel, Marguerite "Mamie", or if you're going for the "last-name-as-first", Lennox or Campbell (if you can forget about the soup).


I really liked a lot of your names; I totally think their better than the overused originals.
(:

Yay! My grandmother's name is Ebba. I am very glad to see it get some love. I always thought it was pretty but had never seen anyone else with it. For the longest time I thought her mother had made it up.

For me, "Sophina" is my name of endearment for my 14 year old granddaughter Sophie (given name Sophia). I've never thought of Sophina as a 'real' name, but just as a take-off on Sophie's name. I don't think there would be much to be gained if one were to name a baby Sophina instead of Sophia: she still might be called the almost equally popular Sophie.

I think if parents really love a name they should use it and not worry about whether or not their child might encounter others with her/his name. Two of the 14 boys in my twin grandsons' preschool class were called Adrian, #68 the year they were born -- now who would have predicted that? On the other hand, there were no duplicates of either of the twins' names which were #5 and #18 the year of their birth.

And while alternatives are interesting, for some parents they're just not as desirable as the original. For parents who really want a name that happens to be in the top 10, like Emma, then often only Emma will do.

I love Olive instead of Olivia.