Sorry about the gobbledeygook at the top of the page. oh and our first child is called Nathan Alexander.

I don't love the repetitive sounds in Aria Sophia.

My favorite combination would be Emily Aria James.  It gives you an usual name to break up the two more popular names, and I like the way it flows.

I totally agree with Emily Aria James.  It's beautiful.

While Emily James is not unique, it's extremely lovely and charming.  Really, really lovely.

I usually do not like repeating sounds at the end of names, but for some reason Aria Sophia works for me--maybe because it echoes the very classic Anna Sofia.  I think both names sound nice, so I think it's a matter of deciding what style you prefer.  Emily sounds both very classic and a bit dated to me (just since I knew so many growing up, I would expect an Emily to be 20-40 years old today)--but it is worlds away from Stephanie or Melissa in feeling very time-stamped, more like Rachel or Rebecca in feel to me.  Aria sounds much more modern, and of course Italian.  Right or wrong, in my mind it would be grouped with overtly musical names like Cadence or Melody, or flowery names like Allegra, Paloma, Serafina, etc.

If you've loved a name for 15 years and your hubby is good with it then you should use it.  I think we can over emphasize how terrible it is to have a popular name.   I think the fact that it's waining in popularity means that she's less likely to have another Emily in her class which is annoying.

Go with the name you've loved for over 15 years.

Emily Sophia sounds lovely.

I love Aria Sophia. It reminds me of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (a gorgeous building that was once a church, then a mosque, now a museum), which then makes me think of a lovely song that would have been sung there. The name itself sounds musical, even without knowing what an aria is. Normally I'm not a fan of repeating endings, but in this case it works really well.

As for Sophia in the middle spot, I think having a name that is traditionally popular for the FN as a MN freshens it up A LOT for me, and I see it more as a pretty name than an overused one, if that makes sense. I think they both bring out the best qualities in each other.

Emily, while a nice, wholesome name, is personally ruined for me by too many bad associations growing up, so I can't give you an unbiased opinion.

If you've loved Emily Sophia for that long, and your husband is good with it-then I say use it.  It's a lovely, classic name.  

Emily Aria is also lovely if you wanted to get Aria in there someplace (and Sophia would be a great sister name to Emily if you wanted to use it later).

I agree that if you've love Emily Sophia for 15 years and your husband is on board you should use it! Yes, it's a little popular but I actually only know a couple of Emily's under 5.  Most are 10-20 so it will stand out a bit from all the Charlottes and Olivias.

I agree that Aria is a more distinctive choice and I love Aria but go with Emily if that is where your heart is.

Aria Sophia actually works for me even though I don't normally like matchy endings either.

I think that if you have consistently loved Emily Sophia for 15 years you should use it!  Chances are you'll still love it for the next 15+. 

Even when Emily was in the #1 spot, I always felt that it had a charming timeless quality to it... not too frilly or trendy, just really pretty.  Plus Emily sounds excellent as a sibling to Nathan!  Both classic!

Having said that, I understand the urge to not use a popular name for your daughter.  Aria is also very pretty, and I agree that although I usually don't like repeating sounds, Aria Sophia sounds lovely!

My vote is for you to use the name you truly love the most!

I think that Aria Sophia works despite the matching endings because the two names have different stress patterns, which de-emphasizes the matching final syllable.

It's A-ree-a so-FEE-a, not a-REE-a so-FEE-a, which wouldn't work at all.

Now, if I were to choose between the names for myself, I would go with Aria. However, I'm not you, and I think that you should go where your heart takes you. Will you always lament the name that got away because of fear of popularity? Will you regret playing it safely with the go-to name that's been in your head for years? Would Emily Aria be a satisfying compromise? Only you can know the answers to those questions and you need to trust your instincts :)

I agree with the rest: follow your heart. Maybe thinking about what it is you love about each name will help you realize which priorities are the most important. There's always the old trick of flipping a coin and seeing whether you're disappointed at the (still non-binding!) outcome ...

While James may be common, it has the distinct advantages of a smooth, traditional sound and easy spelling, so that makes it easy to pair any manner of names with it. I rather like the repeated m in Emily James, and since that's a long time favorite and one your husband loves too, I think you can't go wrong with it. Any two of your names could be combined as first and middle or work well for sisters, as others have suggested. As Karyn points out, the different stress patterns in Aria and Sophia prevent the double -ia endings from sounding too matchy.

I'll throw a couple other names out for you that combine some of the features of your favorites: Amelia/Emilia, Aurelia, Cecily, Cecliia, Mariel, Romilly. Maybe one might appeal to you and your husband, perhaps for a middle name combined with one or the other of your top two.

- kalmia (reposting, not logged in)

I like Emily Sophia despite the popularity and thnk it goes well with your other child. I also like Aria Sophia. Emily Aria doesn't flow as well for me. Even Sophia Aria is a little off in flow.