Indulge this overthinking baby namer on girl names

[coconuthead]

Hey ladies. I thought I could hold off on posting about this stuff for awhile but I am weak. We found out yesterday I am having a girl. I am so excited but we have been struggling with girl names since I was pg with DS. Basically we have two names that we are really debating between and these names are both beautiful, we both love both of them but DH has a distinct preference for one while I have a preference for the other one! I would love to get some input. 

Estelle (DH's preference)
Celeste (My preference)
Miriam (Just in case we throw up our hands and declare we can never decide between the other two)

So, a little background on what I feel are the pro's and con's. Estelle gives an indirect nod to my grandmother Stella but I worry that would be more trouble than it's worth because I can almost hear family members saying: "Her name was Stella not Estelle!" I love how uncommon Estelle is but as low as it is on the SSA list I worry because it has climbed significantly in the past few years from not on the list at all in 2011 to 823 in 2015. That is super low but I worry about the trending. I worry that people will try to call her Elle or Ellie. I love the sound, look, and meaning of the name. 

Celeste is just gorgeous. I just love this name. It is much higher on the SSA list at 499 but it isn't trending so that rank worries me much less. It doesn't honor family but neither does my son's name. The big problem with Celeste is that my niece has a name with a similar sounding first syllable and DH and I are debating how big a deal that is. We live in the same town as my sister and niece, they will be 9 years apart, and we see them once or twice a year. The name starts with Sel and is made up. I think that we can just have my family call her Estie/Este and it won't be a problem but I don't want my sister and bil harboring hidden resentment because we selected a name with a similarish sound. 

Thanks for listening to all my crazy ladies. For reference DS is Luc.ian Bar.ack and our boy name this time was Hugo Alistair. 

[Widget123]

Regarding SSA placement, I think its safe to say the odds of your DD having another Estelle and Celeste in class with her are extremely low. I would not consider either name trendy. Having a niece with a name beginning with Sel is also a non-issue to me; I am assuming Sel is not her nickname.

That being said, I think if you like Celeste better, you should stay on the train of trying to convince your H to be okay with that name. It sounds like you still have plenty of time.

ETA: I generally have no clear favorite of the 3 names you listed but I guess gun to my head I would pick Celeste.

[helenahhandbasket]

Both Celeste and Estelle are lovely.

I think I prefer Celeste slightly.

The same beginning sound wouldn't bother me and I think it would be strange if your sister was upset by it.

Miriam is also lovely.

[billyhorrible]

Estelle - lovely and a nice family nod. If you're worried about your family's reaction, then don't tell them. It can be something just for you.

I also really like Celeste. And I wouldn't worry about similar sounding first syllables. They're cousins, not sisters.

Go with whichever you love more, or feels right once you meet her.

[seamonster]

I like all your names, especially Celeste and Miriam. I wouldn't worry about the popularity numbers. It's really unlikely they'd have another kid in the same class with the same name.

I do think think the same sound beginning is a big deal unless the girls are getting the same nickname. And people should get over objections to using a variant of a name.

[honeylemon]

I think they're all beautiful and nowhere near trendy or popular. Choose the one you love.

That being said, Miriam is my favorite.

[icedtea]

I wouldn't worry about your niece's name. I like all your options, though I think I prefer Estelle slightly. Maybe.

[Deleted]

I wouldn't worry about popularity for any of your names. Celeste is beautiful and your niece's name isn't a problem. Estelle is also a nice choice. I'm a huge fan of Miriam, but I don't love it as much with Lucian as a sibling.

[dreadpiratebuttercup]

Miriam is my favorite of that last, followed by Estelle, then Celeste. I think Estella would be beautiful as well.

I wouldn't worry too much about trendiness with any of these names.

P.S. I adore your son's name, and am swooning over Hugo Alistair!

[cabbagecabbage]

Your boys names are so nice and I'm incredibly hard to please for boys. I really love Celeste, as in it makes me gasp a little. Estelle and Miriam are lovely but not the same.

Celeste and another Sel name (I'm imagining Selena even though you said it was made up) doesn't bother me at all.

Celeste could be a nod to grandma too, as it means heavenly and Stella means star.

Anecdotally, I know an Estelle (goes by Essie) and an Estella, and a few Stellas but I don't know any Celestes.

[cosmicav]

I like Celeste the best of your choices (though they all are so lovely), and I think it goes best with your son's name (which I also love). I don't think you can go wrong with whichever one you choose.

[coconuthead]

Thank you ladies! I really appreciate everyone's input. You have really alleviated my concerns about popularity which I kinda knew that was a silly concern but thank you for affirming it. I like how pp pointed out that Celeste could be a subtle nod to my grandmother as well, I didn't think of that. I think I will try to nudge hubby towards Celeste but Estelle is lovely too so if we choose that at the end of the day it wouldn't be the worst. I love Miriam as well but as a pp pointed out it doesn't flow as well with DS's name. Thanks again ladies!