How Would You Pronounce This?

[theBeeMama]

Hi, ladies. I have been so incredibly out of the loop lately. I lurk and check in but life has been nutty.

I have been wanting to post and ask this for a couple weeks now, though, so here goes:

How would you pronounce the name "Eila"?

[Deleted]

EYE-la

[mrsdee1982]

I would pronounce that like eye-la

[Deleted]

I see it as eye-la too

[whoopsadaisy]

I think I would pronounce it EYE-la, too. But, I definitely had to think about it.

[kemdupuis]

I agree- I'd pronounce it Eye-Lah. I've also seen this name spelled as Ila or Isla.

[noeliav]

Another vote for EYE-lah.

[theBeeMama]

YAY. Isla was my favorite girl name but people kept mispronouncing it, so I found this spelling which is Hebrew (which I love) and it has a special meaning to me... So I'm loving it. Now to convince DH. Haha;)

[alayne926]

Mar 6, 2015 11:17:58 GMT -5 whoopsadaisy said:

I think I would pronounce it EYE-la, too. But, I definitely had to think about it.

This for me too

[Deleted]

Mar 6, 2015 11:23:34 GMT -5 theBeeMama said:

YAY. Isla was my favorite girl name but people kept mispronouncing it, so I found this spelling which is Hebrew (which I love) and it has a special meaning to me... So I'm loving it. Now to convince DH. Haha;)

My instinct is to pronounce Isla EES-la, as in the Spanish work for island, even though I'm aware that  lots of people are using it as EYE-la.  But I grew up in New Mexico so when I see a legit Spanish word that's just where my brain is going to go. 

[theBeeMama]

Mar 6, 2015 11:43:15 GMT -5 @jimbobcooter said:

Mar 6, 2015 11:23:34 GMT -5 theBeeMama said:

YAY. Isla was my favorite girl name but people kept mispronouncing it, so I found this spelling which is Hebrew (which I love) and it has a special meaning to me... So I'm loving it. Now to convince DH. Haha;)

My instinct is to pronounce Isla EES-la, as in the Spanish work for island, even though I'm aware that  lots of people are using it as EYE-la.  But I grew up in New Mexico so when I see a legit Spanish word that's just where my brain is going to go. 

Yeah, JBC, I get that. And even though it's an easy thing to correct, I don't want to set my daughter up for a lifetime of having to correct people's pronunciation of her name. So I'm thinking maybe Eila is a better option.

[billyhorrible]

I'm just going to throw this out there - Isla is one of the fastest rising girls' names over the past few years (It went from 297 in 2010 to 167 in 2013, for reference the name Ellie only jumped 30 spots in the same time period). If your circle doesn't know how to pronounce it now, I would bet by the time your daughter is in kindergarten it will be as well known as Sophia. In which case, your daughter may have some issues with her "specially spelled" name because she's going to have to correct people who assume it's going to be spelled Isla.

[theBeeMama]

Mar 6, 2015 12:03:48 GMT -5 billyhorrible said:

I'm just going to throw this out there - Isla is one of the fastest rising girls' names over the past few years (It went from 297 in 2010 to 167 in 2013, for reference the name Ellie only jumped 30 spots in the same time period). If your circle doesn't know how to pronounce it now, I would bet by the time your daughter is in kindergarten it will be as well known as Sophia. In which case, your daughter may have some issues with her "specially spelled" name because she's going to have to correct people who assume it's going to be spelled Isla.

That's a good point!

[sidneyvicious]

I love the name and the spelling Eila. It's unique but not You-nee'k

[turtletyme]

I must be weird. I thought this spelling would be pronounced AY-la.

[Widget123]

Mar 6, 2015 12:03:48 GMT -5 billyhorrible said:

I'm just going to throw this out there - Isla is one of the fastest rising girls' names over the past few years (It went from 297 in 2010 to 167 in 2013, for reference the name Ellie only jumped 30 spots in the same time period). If your circle doesn't know how to pronounce it now, I would bet by the time your daughter is in kindergarten it will be as well known as Sophia. In which case, your daughter may have some issues with her "specially spelled" name because she's going to have to correct people who assume it's going to be spelled Isla.

I agree. Isla is popular enough that people should be able to pronounce it.  Eila confuses me and I'm not a fan of rarer spellings for common names.  But to each its own.

[ombradellarosa]

My first thought was eye-lah, but then I second-guessed and thought maybe ee-lah. I would probably stumble through that if I saw it on paper, and I would expect teachers reading the roll on the first day to do the same. I don't know that there is a way to spell that that someone sometime won't stumble over it, but I think it's a very pretty name.

[theBeeMama]

I really appreciate all the input! It's funny because having been homeschooled and planning on homeschooling my children, I never consider the teacher/student dynamic!

My first name is Leah... It's not the most common name ever, but one that you'd think everyone would know/know how to pronounce... (Strangely enough, it was on a "projected most popular baby names for 2015" list I saw, while Isla was not.) And yet every time I went to the doctor growing up I got called "Lee". And sometimes "Leia". (Usually by nerdy dudes who are flirting with me and hope to heavens I'm names after a Star Wars character.)

Annnyway, I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to ditch a name that I really like just because some people will get it wrong. Unless you name your kid something like Kate or Brian I feel like there's a chance that somebody may mispronounce it. But at the same time I don't want to give my daughter a complex. Lol *sigh* I don't know. I think we'll just have to wait until she's born to decide. I feel like once I see her I'll know her name!