View Message

The Hebrew origin is a bit fanciful for a number of reasons. The Hebrew root is H'L'L, as in the male name Hilel, and the exclamation Hallelujah, and means "glory, praise", not "circle of light". The latter sense is from Greek Halo,to which there is only a speculative connection. Further, a Hebrew name if it existed would be Hilah, not Hylah. In names of foreign origin, y represents an original front u similar to Greek upsilon "υ or Υ", or German ü, which in English only is pronounced as /i/, e.g. Lydia.

---

Hylah as a native American name meaning tree frog seems even more fanciful. While frogs are totems, they are also a common cultural symbol of ugliness or monstrosity. For example in some legends a vain girl is turned into a frog as punishment. Further, I can find no language where anything like Hylah is used as a frog name, and something as specific as "tree frog" is usually a much longer compound.