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The eye-zah pronunciation

"EYE-zuh" is a fantastic sounding name. But Isa, particularly with all the little Isabellas running around, will never get you that pronunciation in the real world.

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"EYE-zuh" reminds me of the name Feivel and a guy I know named Eivel ("EYE-vel"). Eivel, as far as a quickie internet search goes, seems to be a surname. So maybe that's not in the cards. Hmmm.

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Ivo can be pronounced, "EYE-vo," and has always fascinated me. It's so deliciously medieval. I first heard it on a minor character in BBC's "Berkley Square," set in Edwardian London. The uppercrust family was obviously still in the throws of Victorian preferences for Gothic, medieval sounding names. It's probably more correctly pronounced, "EE-vo," but "EYE-vo" can also work.

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Then there's always Asa ("AY-suh") which is a different sound and vibe than "EYE-zuh," but much easier to pull off for you and your child.

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Wait, maybe I can find "EYE-zuh" in an African database. Stand by.

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ETA: No luck. I found Izem and Mosi ("MO-zee"), but nothing that I could get "EYE-zuh" as a nn from. Bummer.

This message was edited 5/19/2014, 3:45 PM

I'm only familiar with the EE-sah prn, and I've only ever seen it on girls.

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It's hard to say how difficult people will find it. Some will do it correctly, some won't. People can just be corrected. Just about every name will confuse someone. My cousin Sam has people who can't pronounce it right!

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I like EE-sah more because I'm more used to it. I could see myself warming up to EYE-zah but I will probably always view it as feminine.

The first I encountered the name was on my boyfriend's brother. I really like it. The correct pronunciation is EE-suh/EE-sah though, so I really think it would be better as a nickname for Isaac or Isaiah if you want the EYE-zah pronunciation.

Firstly, I thought this was a feminine name when I saw it. My instinct would've been to pronounce it EE-sah. I think most people would have a lot of difficulty with this name and there'd always be a hesitation before the name gets pronounced.

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What about Isaac? Your partner could call him Isa for short if he wants and it would get rid of the pronunciation issue for everyone else.

I have an Aunt named Isa who pronounces it 'EYE-zah', so that's feminine to me. I know Isa 'EE-sah' as the Arabic form of Jesus, so to me that's the masculine pronunciation.

I immediately read it as ee-suh not eye-zah. I think it looks feminine, too. What is it about Isa that he likes? Maybe Esa would would better help people pronounce it the way he likes, but it still looks feminine.

Gawrsh. I've always known it as a nn for Isabella, confusingly pronounced EYE-zah. I had a great-aunt Isabella who wrote her name and address on the back of every envelope she ever posted: Isa Lastname. She was never called Isa, or even Isabella, so it seems like an abbreviation rather than a nn - like nineteenth-century businesses that were known as, say, Geo, Joh and Thos Smith instead of George, John and Thomas.

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If it's a version of Isaiah, then the EYEzah version makes sense. and if you used Isaiah and called him Isa the pronunciation would be easy to explain.

I always thought it was the nn for Isabel. I think people would always go to the familiar EE sah, and assume it's a girl.