Help us with a girls name!

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-14-2005
Help us with a girls name!
7
Mon, 08-01-2005 - 4:51pm

Help us with a girls name!

Anais (An-ays)
Samara
Suraya (Sur-eye-a)
Autumn
Isla (Eye-la)
Esme
India
Niamh (Neeve)
All opinions/suggestions very welcome!

You will be able to change your vote.




Edited 8/1/2005 5:56 pm ET ET by carioki
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 08-01-2005 - 5:16pm

I just wanted to make two pronounciation comments:

The two Anais that I have known (yes, I actually have known two!) both pronounced it Ahna-ees. That's also how the writer (last night starting with an N, but I can't for the life of me remember the rest) and the perfume from the 70s were both pronounced too. Using a different pronounication than this might mean that your DD will always be correcting people.

Suraya pronounced Sur-eye-a sounds much too much like psoriasis to be attractive.

JMHO

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2004
Mon, 08-01-2005 - 7:16pm
Personally, I would steer clear of spellings that do not mesh with expected pronunciation (assuming that you are in the US, and it would be mostly Americans pronouncing her name). Anais is a bit more well-known, thanks to the perfume and author. However, I am not familiar with Niamh or Isla, and know I would completely mess up the pronunciation. Some names, like Sean, are well enough known to most Americans that we know the pronunciation. For others, like Niamh and Isla, they are not well known enough for most Americans to know how to pronounce them. Would you feel comfortable transliterating them (using a spelling that reflects their American English pronunciation?)
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-14-2005
Tue, 08-02-2005 - 4:04pm

Hi,

Thanks for your opinions. Just thought I'd add some information that might shed some more light on the topic!

We do pronounce Anais the same way...it was just a typo that won't change on here no matter how many times I press edit!! Grr! Sorry about that!

I forgot to mention that we aren't American but British. Here, the pronunciation of Niamh and Isla isn't a problem. I understand that Niamh looks unusual but its quite common in England, in fact more common than Sarah, Isabel, Anna, Victoria (11th most popular in Ireland, 20th in Scotland) so I don't think it would be necessary to anglicanise the spelling.

The middle name will probably be Kate (family name) or maybe Brook (my maiden name). It really depends on what sounds best with the first name we decide upon. Any other suggestions gratefully accepted!

We have two sons already, 7 y.o. twins named Joseph Adam and Daniel James (who inevitably everybody calls Joe and Dan). Although the boys have more 'common' names, we've gone for family names for them, but wanted something a bit different in we have a girl.

Hope that helps!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-28-2003
Tue, 08-02-2005 - 4:36pm
I think Isla is a beautful name, excellent choice. I also really like India as well.
Avatar for tuffykenwell
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Tue, 08-23-2005 - 10:04pm

Horribly biased here LOL but I

momma to

Rhys, Niamh, Isla and Deirdre!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-18-2005
Sun, 08-28-2005 - 10:54pm
I LOVE the name Autumn. That's my daughter's name! She's almost 3 and her name is Autumn Rose. I like Autumn Kate or Autumn Brook though, both very cute. Pick whichever name you truly love, that's what I did.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-11-2005
Tue, 08-30-2005 - 1:18pm
anias nin...a provacative french author that had a relationship with henry miller. anais pronounced as you had indicated.