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Baby Name musings...
One of the girl names we're tossing around is Isla (pronounced eye-lah). I think it sounds really pretty but am not in love with how it looks written down.
Part of me thinks that how a name sounds when spoken is more important than it looks written down, but I'm wondering how true that is in today's world with all the online communication that takes place...
Also, I wonder if a hard to pronounce name would hurt my kid profesionally as an adult. I was looking up the top Forbes CEO list the other day and they all have super common easy to pronounce names like William, Michael, John etc. (and are all men, but that's a post for a whole other day!) We already have a fairly common, easy to pronounce last name though... so I feel like we need *some* originality!
Anyway, no real point to the post, just random baby name musings. I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts on the name Isla, or just on the spoken vs. written name debate in general.
Hope you're all having a good Monday!
Re: Baby Name musings...
I love, love, love that name! There are definitely some out there that pronounce it phonetically, but I think it's becoming a bit more common, so I think that will change over time.
Are you planning on finding out the sex at your next U/S?
I am a person that pronounces names as they are spelt; and so I would totally be saying Is- lah; BUT I do do do love the name as it should be pronounced as Eye- Lah; I don;t believe it is a hard to pronounce name as much as it would alway be spelt wrong in my thoughts.
I wouldnt see the name hindering her as an adult; I think that if you want or are able to achieve something based on your ability not your name!? IMO
Maybe find alternative spelling?!
I love the name too! And I think it goes nicely with our last name.
I'm not planning on finding the sex out (although starting this week I have really wanted to!), my big US is next week, I think I will hold out for the surprise though!
I have no clue what an alternative spelling would be, other than to make up my own and write out Eyelah, which I do not llike the look of at all (and think people would probably butcher even more than Isla).
One of the other sounds-pretty-looks-weird names I like is the Irish name Aoife (pronouced ee-Fa). I would never use it though because I think it's too far from a Canadian norm and no one would ever get it. Isla I think is a bit different, but still managable.
People constantly get my name wrong, but I have come to expect it and simply correct them. I would rather have an unusual, pretty name that people have problems pronouncing, then be one of a thousand common names.
As for the spelling thing, being a teacher, I see so many different spellings of names, and honestly, most of the time it looks ignorant to me. I say if you love the name, spell it how it is supposed to be spelled and don't worry about if people can't pronounce it:)
I think Isla is a really pretty name - I'd never heard of it until that actress Isla Fisher came along:)
I think this has more to do with the distribution of power in N. America and less about these men having easy to pronounce names.
Go with whatever you and your partner love. Isla sounds gorgeous and there really aren't many names anymore that are totally easy to pronounce. DH went through his life with Bryn (people can't often read it or repeat it properly) but I love it.
I think Isla is a beautiful name! We too struggled with names that are unique but not impossible to pronounce. I hear you on Aoife, it was a name we were considering for DD but in the end we also decided not to use it. My family has a tradition of Scottish and Gaelic names but we couldn't find anything that fit perfectly.
For instance my middle name is Aoibhan - pronounced (EE-van) but it throws everyone for a loop.
I personally think that Isla is a happy medium. We named DD Neve and went with the anglicized pronunciaton, (N-eh-ve) She still gets (N-uh-v) or (N-ee-ve) alot but I honestly don't mind it and people don't seem bothered at all when I gently correct them. Maybe because I also have a strange name, I'm used to this but even people with common names get misspellings and mispronunciations. I also think that you should go with the traditional spelling if you use it. I personally find alternative/trendy spellings much more troublesome than just a unique name, but that's just me!
I have a friend with the name Aiofe... when I first saw it I immediately asked her how to say her name because it is obvious it wasnt' (a -ie -of-e)
What about spelling Isla (I-Lah); it is hard with names what are not everyday names...
I am sure though if you did use the name that people would become familiar with it.
I love the name Isla. I think that is becoming a very popular girls name right now so once your DD is old enough to enter the workforce, it may very well be one of those "common" names that you mentioned in your post. I don't even mind the way it is spelled.
I know how you feel about not wanting to curse your DD with a name that may hinder her employment chances in life later on. That is why we chose the name Alexis for DD even though we are not huge fans of the name itself but we love the nickname form of it (Lexi). We felt that Lexi sounds to Stripper like for a doctor, lawyer or CEO of a company:-)
Fabulous, Shannon! Love love love the name Isla
I don't think a lot of people will get it wrong, especially if she corrects teachers and colleagues (I know that I make a point of writing down the way to pronounce my students' names when I've been corrected, so that I don't do it again).
To me Isla reads like eye-lah.. just like when you see the word "island" you know it's not is-land, right?
PLUS I think Isla lastname sounds wickedawesomeness.
I like the name and the spelling! Do you you have a middle name to go with it? I agree that Isla Lastname sounds good. I also think the initials (without the last name) are cool because it's one of Jupiter's moons :P
What are you thinking for boy names?
I hang my head in shame... thanks Naltalie ...You have helped me pull my brain out of summer mod. DUH...
Isla... like island...Sorry Shannon...
Please ignore my "dumbness"
The name is beautiful.. I agree with pp's and that it will become more popular and that Isla could be a ceo or doctor!?
I wouldn't think that that many would get it wrong- it's like the actress Isla Fisher.
My husband knows a woman named Ila, pronounced the same way.
One of my good friends named her daughter Isla. It was on my name list too, but Stasha veto'd it early on.
Isla is gaining in popularity, so it may not be a very uncommon name at all in a few years. And it's actually a very common name in certain parts of the world - one of the main reasons Stasha veto'd it is because it's extremely popular where he is from. This also makes me think that it'll gain in popularity over here, as people seem to be leaning towards more European names lately. As the actress Isla Fischer gets more notoriety I think more and more people will figure out how to say the name properly too. It's a gorgeous name and I love it!
I don't think having an uncommon name will hold someone back in their careers. In fact, I think having an extremely common name can often hold you back, because people can't remember which person goes with which name. I know I've never met another Chantal and I love the fact that I'm the only one I've met. I've had people tell me that they remembered me at a party where I was a wallflower only because my name was so unique. So I think having a different name can work in someone's favor.
Thanks for all the comments ladies! The name isn't seeming nearly as "weird" to me now as it was earlier this week when I was thinking about it.
I do really like it, if we use it I think we'll definitely go with the traditional spelling.
Nattie it's funny you mention the word island, that's what the name comes from, yet when I first saw it written (something about the actress Isla Fisher) I pronouced it Iz-lah. It wasn't until I saw an interview with her that I realized my mistake.
And speaking of Isla Fisher, I watched Shopaholic the other day, and was almost positive it was you there on thes screen in some of the scenes (the dancing one with the fan was the one that most reminded me of you, if you've seen it)
Anyway, thanks for all the opinions ladies! I don't want to share a lot of names with friends/family so it's helpful to get feedback here