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HelpIsla, Ayla, Eilidh or Ailish? (more)
I like all of these names a lot, but can obviously not use them together.
Which one do you prefer?
Isla (EYE-la)
Ayla (EYE-la), Turkish name)
Eilidh (AY-lee)
Ailish (AY-lish, I am not sure if I prefer Ailís, Ailish or Aylish, you can change the spelling)
Could you please comment on the names? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each name?
Does Ailish seem made-up to you? It is a form of Alice but I guess many people don't know it. I also worry that Ayla (EYE-la) will be mistaken for a kreatyf spelling of Isla instead of a separate name. Does Eilidh (AY-lee) sound trendy?
Which one do you prefer?
Isla (EYE-la)
Ayla (EYE-la), Turkish name)
Eilidh (AY-lee)
Ailish (AY-lish, I am not sure if I prefer Ailís, Ailish or Aylish, you can change the spelling)
Could you please comment on the names? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each name?
Does Ailish seem made-up to you? It is a form of Alice but I guess many people don't know it. I also worry that Ayla (EYE-la) will be mistaken for a kreatyf spelling of Isla instead of a separate name. Does Eilidh (AY-lee) sound trendy?
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Replies
Isla: would be my choice. Obvious pronunciation, and familiar.
Ayla: could be EYEla, could be AYla, would be both! Avoid.
Eilidh: no. Really, just no. Could be pronounced in a wide variety of ways, and the right way sounds sickly, as if she was ailing.
Ailish: I would prefer Ailís, but I love Alice and would use it without hesitation, so the issue wouldn't arise.
Ayla: could be EYEla, could be AYla, would be both! Avoid.
Eilidh: no. Really, just no. Could be pronounced in a wide variety of ways, and the right way sounds sickly, as if she was ailing.
Ailish: I would prefer Ailís, but I love Alice and would use it without hesitation, so the issue wouldn't arise.
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I like both Isla and Ayla. I don't think it matters that people have to be taught to say it, and I think some will need that no matter how you spell it. Most of the time, we hear names before we read them, so it's rarely a bother.
I personally prefer to spell EYE-la as Eila. It just looks like EYE-la to me, because I learned to read Eileen as eye-Leen.
Isla is probably the most recognizable, and would need the least teaching. I like the look of it more than Ayla.
But I like the meaning of Ayla more. I've seen Ayla used, for a friend's family member, and I struggled a little to learn to read it as EYE-la. But it's no worse than teaching people that your Kyra is pronounced Kira.
I guess it does look a little "trendy" - if I didn't know it was Turkish I might be reminded of Kayla, or Layla. It wouldn't matter to me, though.
Eilidh is a neat name. Seems less substantial to me than Isla or Ayla. Not trendy, but trendy sound. And the silent dh ... I know this makes me sound like a hick American, and it might not matter to you at all and that's fair - but it annoys me a little if it is used for someone who wasn't personally from Scotland or named after someone who was. I'd rather see it anglicized - Eily, or even Ailey or Aylee. Otherwise it's kinda like Eithne instead of Edna or Enya... why make it difficult? I don't emotionally distinguish between an American-not-Scottish person choosing Eilidh, and an American person choosing McKaelagh. I know better, but.
Ailish just makes me think of Billie "Eyelash" ... and I've never seen Ailish before, and so to me, yeah, it does seem made up, like a very trendy name that is purely a riff on Eilish. So I respond to it about like I responded to Miley in 2007. I don't like the -ish ending, generally, because my brain turns it into the English suffix -ish.
I personally prefer to spell EYE-la as Eila. It just looks like EYE-la to me, because I learned to read Eileen as eye-Leen.
Isla is probably the most recognizable, and would need the least teaching. I like the look of it more than Ayla.
But I like the meaning of Ayla more. I've seen Ayla used, for a friend's family member, and I struggled a little to learn to read it as EYE-la. But it's no worse than teaching people that your Kyra is pronounced Kira.
I guess it does look a little "trendy" - if I didn't know it was Turkish I might be reminded of Kayla, or Layla. It wouldn't matter to me, though.
Eilidh is a neat name. Seems less substantial to me than Isla or Ayla. Not trendy, but trendy sound. And the silent dh ... I know this makes me sound like a hick American, and it might not matter to you at all and that's fair - but it annoys me a little if it is used for someone who wasn't personally from Scotland or named after someone who was. I'd rather see it anglicized - Eily, or even Ailey or Aylee. Otherwise it's kinda like Eithne instead of Edna or Enya... why make it difficult? I don't emotionally distinguish between an American-not-Scottish person choosing Eilidh, and an American person choosing McKaelagh. I know better, but.
Ailish just makes me think of Billie "Eyelash" ... and I've never seen Ailish before, and so to me, yeah, it does seem made up, like a very trendy name that is purely a riff on Eilish. So I respond to it about like I responded to Miley in 2007. I don't like the -ish ending, generally, because my brain turns it into the English suffix -ish.
This message was edited 7/31/2020, 8:59 PM
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