your opinions on spelling of name

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
your opinions on spelling of name
11
Tue, 08-02-2005 - 11:02pm

Hello,

I posted here a while back about choosing a name for the daughter we are adopting from India. It's a long story, but my husband (who never has an opinion on names) came up with the name "Sela," and we have decided that this is the perfect name for our daughter! My question is what spelling you all prefer.

"Sela" is Hebrew and means Rock, but could probably pass for an Indian name. It's nice that it's a biblical name because both of our bio sons' names are biblical (Samuel and Luke).

"Seela" is probably a derivation of the Hindu name "Sheela,' which means "character."

"Sila" is the wife of the Hindu god, Lord Ram, who represents perfection and moral excellence (she's usually called Sita). "Sila" is also a term used in Buddhism that represents virtue and moral conduct.

I tend to lean toward the spelling Seela, but I like the significance of the Sila spelling. Do you think Sila would be constantly mispronounced and misspelled? This is a big issue for me. I refuse to give my children a name that is hard to pronounce or spell, LOL.

Looking forward to your opinions!

Julie

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2004
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 9:24am

Are you going for a pronunciation of "see-la"


If so, I would go with the Seela spelling.

 

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Avatar for midwestmom2000
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 11:57am
I prefer Sela. Seela would be my 2nd choice. Good luck.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 1:39pm

I like the spelling "Sela" best it just looks more natural to me But then again I am the one who thinks "Colin" should be spelled "Collin"

Goood Luck!

ia
Avatar for haarlasr
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 2:00pm

Although I like the significance of Sila, I think it will always be pronounced Sigh-la and will be misspelled. I'd go with the Sela spelling for ease of use. Also, it goes nicely with your other boys' biblical names while still maintaining an Indian quality. Seela would be my second choice, but I think Sela looks nicer.

JMO,
Stephanie

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-03-2005
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 2:38pm
I like Sela or Seela a lot. I think that Sila might cause some confusion while she is in school
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-11-2004
Wed, 08-03-2005 - 4:32pm

I also like the spelling Sela better than Seela ... it's a nice compromise between a spelling that will provoke incorrect pronunciation, and a spelling that exaggerates the phonetics but looks less simple and neat.

On a personal note: my parents decided to name me Jena rather than Jenna, and even though I get "Gina" once in a blue moon, I like having four nice little letters. :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2005
Thu, 08-04-2005 - 9:06am

Hi Julie,

I think it depends on the pronounciation - the meanings are beautiful, but who's to say that it absolutely has to be spelled a certain way to mean something.

If it's prounounced SI-LA, I would use Sila.
If it's pronounced SEE-LA, I would use Seela.
And if it's prounounced SEH-LA, I would use Sela.

When I first read each name, that is how I would have pronounced them.
All are beautiful by the way!

Happy Parenting!
Krissy

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Thu, 08-04-2005 - 11:23am

Thanks to everyone for your input. All of the spellings would be pronounced like "Seela." The reason I was leaning toward that spelling was not for pronunciation purposes so much as that it is a traditional Indian spelling whereas "Sela" is not. For example, some other common Indian names are Neela, Neema, Seema, Meera, Meena, Seeta, and so on.

I have definitely ruled out Sila ... I would never think of pronouncing it with a long I sound but I think think you're right that most people probably would.

Again, thanks for your input! We still haven't decided, but it's great to get other people's opinions.

Julie

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-23-2005
Thu, 08-04-2005 - 3:47pm

I would go with Seela. I prefer the look of Sela - but honestly when I first read it, I was thinking with a short e - like seh-la.


I think it is a great name choice though, however you spell it!


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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-14-2005
Thu, 08-04-2005 - 5:53pm
Out of the options I prefer Sela. I already know a pakistani girl called Sila (sigh-la) so that would rule that spelling out although I think it looks pretty

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