Help! Needing a Name

NAMES, NAMES, NAMES!
There seems to be a huge hoopla about names in our house lately. Sorin is attached to certain names, while I'm patiently waiting to stumble upon the right name for our new daughter. Daniel wants to name her now so that she has an identity of sorts and I think the kids feel the same. She is faceless and nameless.....much like a birth child in the womb. A name gives her greater substance in reality. I understand this, but don't want to rush to the wrong name too quickly. I suppose whatever we chose wouldn't be set in stone at this point, but it would certainly be set in the kids' hearts. Below is a short list of names we're toying with. Interestingly, my Indian Yahoo group was on the topic of names today and how frustrating it is that Westerners cannot pronounce most Indian names correctly. I'm sure many cultural, ethnic names have this problem and I certainly don't want our daughter correcting everyone she meets. I'm not objective, as I love most Indian and Ethiopian names and am familiar with pronunciation. I forget that most people in the US aren't and it's why I named my dog Lakshmi. I have found this to be problematic with babysitters and extended family.....they either make rude, silly comments, laugh at the name, or simply cannot pronounce it no matter how many times we correct them. We want to be sensitive to this, but at the same time honor her heritage.

We love the idea of using an Indian name that is also found in Ethiopia. Many Islamic and Sanskrit names are used there, so we're researching those. This is a tiny list of names we like, some more than others...

Indira (Goddess)
Anjali (means both 'offering' and 'angel')
Meera (prosperous) used both in India and Ethiopia
Amira (Princess) used both in India and Ethiopia
Ameera (Princess) used both in India and Ethiopia, my top choice for now
Amara (Everlasting) used both in India and Ethiopia
Ella (Torch; bright light) *Sorin's favorite
Willow (the Willow tree) My favorite tree
Semira (Fulfilled) used both in India and Ethiopia
Semeera " "
Gabrielle (God is my strength)
Nandi (Happiness; joy) used both in India and Ethiopia
Rain (a nature name...love those!)
Chandra (the Moon; shining) Sanskrit
Dhara (planet Earth) Sanskrit. Another nature name
Heena (Vine)
Henna (the Henna plant)
Kamala (Born of the Lotus) Sanskrit
Jewel (Precious stone)
Lavender (the flower) 'Lavi' for short
Meghana (Thunder) Sanskrit
River (another nature name)
Zinnia (the flower)

I don't think many of the above leave much room for error or mispronunciantion, but we may be surprised! We love the idea of a name that is connected with both India and Ethiopia, mainly due to our spiritual ties to India...not because of Andrew Prasad (but it is a sweet connection also).

Last evening we simply suggested a few of these names at the dinner table and Sorin went bonkers, got very upset and was obviously very attached to 'Ella'. She firmly demanded us to name her Ella....who knows? Maybe it will be 'Ella Nandi', bright torch of joy! Or she may have a name we haven't discovered yet. All I do know for certain is that the kids are begging for a name so they can start talking about her as if she's a real person. I did this with both of my biological children prior to birth, and it made a huge difference. Daniel and I will be making some decisions this month, or at least narrowing it down considerably.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.