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Re: Jolene, Arlene, and Aileen
1. The song is still pretty popular, I have seen contestants on American Idol and the Voice and like that sing it. There's also a newer song by the same name, but different lyrics. The name of the group escapes me right now.
2. The Wuornos connection isn't exactly obscure; there was a very popular movie made about it, and like I said, she's the first Aileen you find when you Google. As to pronunciation, as far as I know it is usually Eye-Leen.We don't need to set the sky on fire. A little glow will do just fine.
Bob Ross
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I think the most common pronunciation now is Eye-leen. Rhyming the first syllable with "say" was an pronunciation of the early 20th century used by parents who found the name in a written source and didn't realize what the traditional pronunciation was.There is a lot of confusion today between Aileen and the Hispanic Aylen. I have seen quite a few examples of Hispanic girls with the spellings Ailin or Aylin, pronounced "eye-leen".
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