Girl names too similar?

kitty21436

I recently fell in love with the name Eliana and DH loves it too.

Then he pointed out that it was similar to a dear friend's baby girl's name who we spend a lot of time with and similar to a niece's name. So I'm seeking the unbiased opinions of internet strangers:

Is Eliana too similar to Liliana and Adrianna? If so, are all "...iana" names out?

Bringmemylongswordho

It is very close to Liliana and depending on how often my daughter would be around that child I would consider other names. 

The Ana ending itself isn't necessarily a deal breaker to me.

KyleeWaller

The only thing I would ever personally avoid would be using the exact name of a relative in the same generation as my child. I think Eliana is just fine to use. Not to mention, I bet there is a high chance that Eliana will eventually go by NN Ellie or Ella, and Liliana by NN Lilly. 

mrsleon-to-be

I would say it would only be too similar for siblings.  I think it's fine with friends.  

virginiaunicorn11

mrsleon-to-be said:

I would say it would only be too similar for siblings.  I think it's fine with friends.  

+1

ETA a very good friend who we see weekly just named her baby something almost identical to my son's name. We do get teased ("Dr. Seuss friends!") but I'm not a person that cares about that stuff - and anyway, obviously my son is older so it's clear he was named first

kitty21436

Thanks everyone for the input!

@KyleeWaller you have a good point about NN, there are several for Eliana that we think are cute.

While we are close to the families with Liliana and Adrianna, we dont live in the same towns or go to the same churches or anything like that. So there would be visits/gatherings where they would be together it wouldn't be an every day (or every week) occurrence. 

We still have time so I'll keep looking while keeping Eliana on the short list. Who knows maybe there is a different name out there that will suddenly bump Eliana down on the list (it did afterall suddenly come in and bump our prior #1 girl name, which had been our #1 for a couple of years).

I really appreciate all the feedback.

ETA: I realize I contradicted myself a bit about how often we see these families. We've always spent a lot of time with them (about once a week) but now that there are little ones in the mix with their own schedules and routines, we are at a once a month or so rate, and I can see that getting more challenging as our families grow. 

satuttle1014

I like the name Eliana. As it was said that nn are used alot. Maybe around the families use a nn. I don't see why you should have to change if you like it.