Name Spelling- WDYT?

Rory419

Hello ladies!  DH and I have been mulling this over for the past few days and I wanted to ask your opinions.  Ever since early in our pregnancy, our girl name was going to be Lorelai.  We have settled on the middle name Rose.  However recently, we have been wondering if we should spell her first name the more traditional way: Lorelei.  Now I know that the name in general is not a traditional name, and honestly the first time I really knew the name was the newer "ai" spelling (from Gilmore Girls,) but I think there is some charm to spelling it the old German way.   Most of our friends prefer the spelling we have  been using but the ones who prefer the others have valid points (less "trendy," cool traditional spelling, etc.)  WDYT? Do you think one is more phonetic than the other?  Prettier? Make more sense?  A catch is our last name has an "ai" in it, but it is pronounced "ay" like raisin, not the way you would pronounce Lorelai...not sure if that would ever be confusing.  Anyway I am probably making a big deal over something kind of silly, but I am genuinely torn.  TIA!

broomy

I love this name! I would go with the traditional spelling, Lorelei. The "-ai" does look more like it would be pronounced "Lorelay" (like maybe you liked Lorelei but were trying to create a new name that was similar). The traditional spelling is much more charming.

krissyh21

When I was reading your post I thought the pronunciation was LoreLAY the way you first spelled it. 

I would go for the less confusing more traditional spelling. 

07bride

Lorelei- I would pronounce the end as "lay" like the Hawaiian lei

Lorelie- I would pronounce the end as "lee" like Natalie

Lorelai- I would pronounce the end as "lye" like lanai or samurai

I prefer Lorelai because it makes more sense to me and looks very pretty

j_luvs_r

broomhead78:

I love this name! I would go with the traditional spelling, Lorelei. The "-ai" does look more like it would be pronounced "Lorelay" (like maybe you liked Lorelei but were trying to create a new name that was similar). The traditional spelling is much more charming.

I completely agree with this. I have Lorelei on my list. 

brennatay

krissyh21:

When I was reading your post I thought the pronunciation was LoreLAY the way you first spelled it. 

I would go for the less confusing more traditional spelling. 

This exactly.

bakedlaurabean

The traditional spelling with -lei looks like "lay" to me. The newer spelling -lai looks like "lye."

I do think it might be confusing if you choose the -lai spelling and your last name also has an -ai that is pronounced differently.

qtpa2t

I've only ever seen the traditional spelling of Lorelei, so if I had seen it ending in -ai, I would assume you were attempting a different pronounciation.

mejumpmore1

I think that because it is not a very common name and there are going to be a lot of people who don't know the Old German spelling that you can take a liberty on the spelling and easily get away with it. 

JoyGotDots

I prefer Lorelai

MamaFantastic

mejumpmore1:

I think that because it is not a very common name and there are going to be a lot of people who don't know the Old German spelling that you can take a liberty on the spelling and easily get away with it. 

this!  i wouldn't have been able to tell you which spelling was the more traditional one, nor do i prefer one spelling over the other.  both are pretty!  either way, i would have pronounced it correctly because i knew someone with this name when i was younger.

monkey7106

07bride:

Lorelei- I would pronounce the end as "lay" like the Hawaiian lei

Lorelie- I would pronounce the end as "lee" like Natalie

Lorelai- I would pronounce the end as "lye" like lanai or samurai

I prefer Lorelai because it makes more sense to me and looks very pretty

 

Exactly!!

erinms

I like the spelling "Lorelai".  I think it is pretty and is phonetically more correct for the way you want to pronounce it.  But I think people will pronounce Lorelei the same way if you want to spell it that way.

Is your name Rory?   

FutureMrs.Steen

I would pronounce them all the same and don't prefer one spelling to the other. I think people will just ask her how she spells her name since this isn't a common name.

Rory419

Thanks for all the input.  I am still indecisive since everyone who suggested Lorelei had very good points and I really think it is cool.  However I think I am leaning toward Lorelai because that is just how I have been spelling ever since we stared thinking of names and it would feel odd to change it for me and all the family/friends who have been spelling it that way.  But I am still not putting the other spelling out of the running. 

erinms:

I like the spelling "Lorelai".  I think it is pretty and is phonetically more correct for the way you want to pronounce it.  But I think people will pronounce Lorelei the same way if you want to spell it that way.

Is your name Rory?   

No, my name is not Rory or anything like Rory :-)  I am a Gilmore Girls fan (which is a bit embarassing to admit now because people think I am naming my daughter after Lorelai Gilmore when really DH and I just like the name a lot.)  It was a nickname I had from my college roommate, and when I picked the sn, I was not yet pregnant, much less even thinking ahead enough that I would actually have a girl and name her Lorelai.  And for the record, I will not nickname my daughter Rory either.  If she does end up having a nickname, it would be Lila (Lye-la)

TheNextWest

I think both spellings are equally as pretty and I pronounce them the same. However, I think with your LN, I would go with Lorelei spelling.

erinms

Rory419:

No, my name is not Rory or anything like Rory :-)  I am a Gilmore Girls fan (which is a bit embarassing to admit now because people think I am naming my daughter after Lorelai Gilmore when really DH and I just like the name a lot.)  It was a nickname I had from my college roommate, and when I picked the sn, I was not yet pregnant, much less even thinking ahead enough that I would actually have a girl and name her Lorelai.  And for the record, I will not nickname my daughter Rory either.  If she does end up having a nickname, it would be Lila (Lye-la)

 No, not embarrassing at all.  I would just think you would get A LOT of comments if you were a mother/daughter duo called Rory and Lorelai, so I was curious.  I think Lorelai (or Lorelei) is a beautiful name.  

funnibaby

Definitely Loralei.  Loralai to me would mean a pronounciation of LoraLay instead of LoraLie.

Heather